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Terror Threats Set London on Edge; China Sees Trend of Unsafe Exports
Aired June 29, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Gasoline, propane, and nails. No explosion this time, but investigations, suspicions, apprehension blanketing London and reverberating far beyond.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Police in New York take precautions while homeland security takes a new look at the terror threat in America.
Hello. I'm Kyra Phillips in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. We're watching it all for you in this very busy Friday right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Terror alert in London. It's been a day of frustration and frazzled nerves as police deal with what is a potentially explosive threat and possibly one more.
Here's what we know at this point. London police have closed a road near Buckingham Palace and are carefully going over a vehicle they describe as suspicious.
If they're being overcautious, there's good reason. Just hours ago, the bomb squad defused what appears to be a powerful car bomb parked outside a nightclub. It was loaded with nails, gasoline and gas canisters.
Who's behind it? Who's the intended target? No answer to either question yet. And a manhunt for suspects is underway right now. But everyone who saw the bomb agreed that it would have been devastating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINSTON BECK, PARKED NEAR SUSPECT VEHICLE: It just shows how vigilant you've got to be, you know? That anytime, anything can happen at any time, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, London police just finished a briefing at Scotland Yard. Let's get straight to London. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.
Bring us up to date, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we've been hearing from the police throughout the day that they're stepping up their patrols through the city, stepping up their vigilance. They're been asking members of the public to be vigilant.
They say that these increased patrols are not as a result of any known specific threat, that these are designed to reassure the public. And that was what we heard from the assistant police commissioner, Tariq Ghaffur, telling people they need to be alert, but that they should be reassured the police are on top of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARIQ GHAFFUR, LONDON ASSISTANT POLICE COMMISSIONER: What I want to do is to reassure Londoners that we're doing everything possible to actually make them safe. We put huge amount of reassurance patrols on our boroughs. There are a significant number of events that are taking place all over the weekend in London. We are reviewing the plans for those events to make sure that safety and security is No. 1 priority in relation to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: However, a lot of people will be concerned that this car bomb, apparent car bomb, was able to get through what is essentially quite a tight security situation in London.
Police have been expecting this type of attack for some time -- for some time now. They say that the terror threat here is high. The country's terror threat level is at its second highest level, meaning that terrorists are here with not only the capability but the intent of carrying out attacks.
So people will be asking how come this car bomb was able to park right outside a nightclub at a very busy time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, there was constant talk about reassuring the public. How does the public feel? Is it business as usual today, or do you see less people out on the streets?
ROBERTSON: It feels as if it's business as usual. Where it isn't business as usual are where the streets are cordoned and closed off.
There will be theaters and cinemas and nightclubs tonight inside those cordoned off areas that will be empty, that will be no shows. Will people tend to stay away from some of London's nightclubs tonight? That's quite possible.
But while I was walking out on the streets just a few minutes ago, it was quite obvious to me that there are a lot of people out in London tonight. They are enjoying themselves in the pubs and in the -- in other places here, pretty much as they do every Friday night.
It does seem for a lot of people here, there was a hiccup in the security system, but they're going to carry on as much as normal. And that's what really worries the police here. Because they want people to be vigilant. They're appealing for them to be vigilant. They've been saying, and they said again today, they want people to pay attention. They're concerned that people aren't worried enough about the threats that they see are very real. And they emphasized that today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much.
LEMON: And how is this playing out here, especially in a city that's experienced terrorism? New York is taking what the mayor calls a little extra precaution in light of the scare.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly met with reporters just minutes ago, and CNN's national correspondent, Jason Carroll, joins us live with the latest on that -- Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Don, that press conference with the mayor and the police commissioner just wrapped up just a few minutes ago. They talked about some of the additional security measures that are in place here in the city.
It just so happens, Don, that New York City's terrorism task force chief is actually in London right now. He was there for a conference. And so they are in constant communication with him about what is happening there in terms of what is happening here.
In terms of what is happening here, Commissioner Kelly talked about some of the additional security measures that are in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: We are taking some precautions, as the mayor said, must stress the fact that there is no specific threat against New York City.
We've increased the deployment of our critical response vehicles, focusing on -- on tour sites. To a certain extent, Times Square, Harold Square, the theater district. We are increasing our coverage in the transit system, certainly for this rush hour this afternoon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Again, they wanted to be clear that there has been no specific threat to New York City. Some of the security measures that are in place would have been in place anyway, Don, because of the upcoming holiday season.
Also, additionally, the security that we're told that has been added will remain in place until they get further information coming from London -- Don.
LEMON: And Jason, on the streets, New Yorkers taking this in stride, or do they appear to be concerned?
CARROLL: You know, New Yorkers are always taking things in stride. As you know, Don, in terms of what has been happening here, New York City has been on a heightened state of alert -- that's Code Orange, if you will -- post-9/11.
And so when you're here in New York and you're taking a subway, you're always seeing officers on the subway. You're always seeing, you know, the campaign, "If you see something, say something." It's really just a part of life here in New York City -- Don.
LEMON: Jason Carroll in New York. Thank you for that report, Jason.
PHILLIPS: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it considers today's terror scare in London a localized incident, but it's watching the investigation closely.
CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Washington with more -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, U.S. officials from President Bush on down carefully monitoring this situation and offering to assist in any way they can with the British investigation.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff did issue a statement a short time ago. Let me read part of that to you: "I have seen no specific credible information suggesting that this incident is connected to a threat to the homeland. We have no plans at this time to change the U.S. threat level."
He encouraged the public to go out and enjoy the upcoming holiday.
Now of course, many U.S. law enforcement agencies have representatives on the ground in London. They are monitoring what is happening there. CNN's Kelli Arena spoke to one counterterrorism official who's familiar with the investigation and was told that this investigation is following several tracks.
Of course, they're trying to trace the car and its ownership. That's something they hope won't take that long. They're also looking at the forensics of what is inside that car. And also looking at the cameras, the mini closed circuit television cameras that dot the landscape in London, looking for any clues as to who might have done this.
Right now, investigators telling Kelli they don't know what the motivation for this was. They do not know whether it was aimed at the new prime minister in Britain or not. They are not putting a label on this. They are not calling it international terrorism at this point of time.
As a matter of fact, New York City's police commissioner, in his press conference a short time ago, also emphasized that they don't know yet whether this is international terrorism.
Kelli, also being told that no intelligence came in before the attack. There have been no claims of responsibility. And there was no intelligence suggesting any future attacks. As in New York, many cities around the country are taking only modest precautions, if any. At this point in time, the Department of Homeland Security urging vigilance on the part of law enforcement agencies and on the part of the public.
And sadly enough, when it comes to vehicle-borne explosives, that's really about all you can do, because cars, of course, are absolutely everywhere in our society, and many places are close to large groups of people.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jeanne Meserve. Keep in touch, thanks.
LEMON: Take a good look at this. It's close-up shots of gas canisters seen on the street while police investigated the terror alert. Earlier in the CNN NEWSROOM, we spoke to a photographer who came across that car bomb. This is what he saw and what you can see for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL WEIR, PHOTOGRAPHER: I was in the area last night literally coming home from work. In fact, around the nightclubs and around the restaurants in -- basically in London, in town. And I thought nothing of it.
I literally was on my way home to Trafalgar Square. And on the way, I passed this incident. I see all the tape cordons being put up around the place and asked the police officer, what is going on? I just didn't understand what was going on. I just asked him. He turned around and went, "Oh, there's a suspect package in one of the cars."
There was rumors flying about that he just fled the scene immediately. I really don't know. That was just rumors of people that was inside the club that just said that he run. He run and run and run and got away.
It was the stuff in the back seat in the car that caught my eye. It was just stuff that -- I don't know whether it was, obviously, the person who created the attack or whether it is the police or some sort that tried covering up whatever was on the back seat of the vehicle.
And as you can quite clearly see in our photos that there was clearly something in the back -- back of the motor that was covered up by a rug or a carpet or something.
So -- and I'm wondering what was underneath it. I just had an idea like it was caravan gas, like what you use for a gas cooker when you're in a caravan, when you're on holiday, things like that. Or what you -- you know, just general gas or what you put matting down on the roof with.
But it was propane. The one I photographed was the only one that I see, but rumors were flying about there was two or three others in the car, through other people that had been around there before me. But whether that's true or not, I still don't know.
Bit shocked that I was in the right place at the right time. That really sums up being a photographer, to be quite honest. I think if I had known what was actually going on, I don't think I would have been hanging about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So, was it Al Qaeda or home-grown terrorists? We'll direct those questions to our expert, coming up straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And also, can a camera make you safer? How about four million cameras? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, London lives with Big Brother and divided opinion over the constant surveillance. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: 1:14 Eastern Time. Here are the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
London police have closed several streets after finding suspicious vehicles. They say one discovery turned out to be a false alarm. A car parked -- packed, rather, with fuel and nails was found outside a nightclub this morning and safely defused.
And here in the U.S., the Supreme Court has reversed an earlier decision and will hear appeals from two terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay. At issue are the rights of terror detainees and the rules that have been created to put them on trial.
And the U.N. Security Council has officially shut down the inspection teams responsible for monitoring Iraq's weapons programs under Saddam Hussein. The U.N. created the teams after the 1991 Gulf War.
LEMON: And right now, Scotland Yard is scrutinizing video from closed circuit cameras perched all over London. They're hoping to see who parked the Mercedes crammed with gasoline, propane, and nails.
Cameras like these are all over London, but not everyone thinks they fight crime. The story from CNN's Paula Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The entire country, especially London, seems to be in a constant state of surveillance. There are more than four million cameras trained on almost every corner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You twist it clockwise to zoom in.
NEWTON: That's one camera for every 15 people. On any given day here, you can be caught on camera more than 300 times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see you on (ph) Whitcomb Street. Continue on the Shattesbury Avenue towards Piccadilly Circus.
NEWTON: On a random walk through Central London, they could track and trace my every move with a better view than most police officers walking the beat.
Most recently, suspected terrorists were caught after being captured on camera. The men blamed for launching suicide attacks in London last summer showed up on more than a few CCTVs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've seen a reduction of 33 percent in street crime in the area. And that's fantastic. People are crying out to have CCTV. They feel secure. They feel like they wander the streets at night, that someone is out there keeping an eye open for anything wrong doing.
NEWTON: But critics warn the viewing of surveillance video should be left to the professionals, not your next-door neighbors.
JEN CORLEW, LIBERTY: This is a bit -- a bit voyeuristic. It's a bit like a little Big Brother in the community. There's a lot of room for abuse. And I don't think that putting it in civilian's hands, rather than police hands, is really effective.
NIGEL DAWES, SHOP OWNER: I have one of our -- one of these circuit trollies (ph) actually perched on the railings.
NEWTON: And Nigel Dawes has a little story for every person who believes a camera will make them safer. He was robbed last spring, and the whole thing was caught on a CCTV camera outside his shop. He called police, and they said they just didn't have the time to look at the video.
DAWES: They can't put -- spend all this money putting these in, and then say, "Well, we haven't had a chance to review the footage."
NEWTON: Still, this surveillance service will be rolled out to as many as 70,000 homes by early next year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is huge (ph).
NEWTON: As far as many residents are concerned, seeing is believing. They just feel safer knowing someone is watching.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Were lives saved? Probably. But so is a treasure trove of evidence. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we're going to talk with a global terror expert about the clues contained in that unexploded car bomb.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Made in China. Those words are causing anxiety from consumers here in the U.S. First over pet food, now toys, tires, toothpaste, and even fish. Why all the trouble? CNN's John Vause takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now, it's the fish and the shrimp, the latest addition to a buffet of tainted and shoddy Chinese exports from toxic toothpaste, made with chemicals normally used in antifreeze, to Thomas the Tank engines coated in lead-based paint.
Even so, the government here is now urging all countries to honor trade deals, a spokesman saying, "In principle, if you don't find any problem, Chinese goods should be allowed to be exported."
But so far this year, health inspectors here have closed 180 food processing factories because authorities say formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were being added to candy, pickles, crackers, and seafood.
The government says the vast majority were small, unlicensed operators employing fewer than ten workers. Most of the country's one million food processing plants are small and privately owned.
So, too, an estimated 200 million farms, tiny, about a third of an acre. And that, say experts, makes enforcing regulations an immense challenge.
HU JIGUO, AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY (through translator): The small companies are the ones who have the problems. They have no standards. Sometimes they deliberately break the law.
VAUSE: And it's all made worse by overlapping agencies.
HENK BEKEDAM, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Nine major ministries have responsibilities in food safety. That poses instantly a coordination issue.
VAUSE: None of this is helped, say analysts, by the razor-thin profit margins for many suppliers.
The chemical melamine, for example, normally used to make plastic, was added to wheat gluten, because it's a cheap way to fake high protein levels and increase the sale price and was not illegal here until dogs and cats began dying in the United States after eating pet food tainted with the chemical.
(on camera) In many ways, China is like the Wild West, a developing country still developing rules about how to deal with a booming food processing industry, which now has an image problem like never before.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, most of the buzz today is about the iPhone. Another smart phone is stealing some of the thunder on Wall Street. Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange with the latest from BlackBerry, or of course, as we call it, the CrackBerry. Right? We can never get our hands off of it.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Get your thumbs going, Kyra. We all have it. Right?
PHILLIPS: Right.
ELAM: Sales of Research in Motion -- that's actually the company that makes the BlackBerry -- are surging, get this, 20 percent today. And the reason? A big boost in both earnings and sales. Analysts are calling BlackBerry's success, quote, "outstanding blowout results."
It appears one of the big reasons could be the buzz around the iPhone, believe it or not. Worldwide, the demand for smart phones continue to climb. But iPhones won't be available later today, as we all know, 6 p.m. in every time zone. And even then, they will only be released here in the U.S.
BlackBerries are available in more than 100 countries. And so the company appears to be well-positioned to benefit from the demand.
Research in Motion also declared a three-for-one stock split, so that's helping things along, as well, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, you would think that the buzz would also help a company like Palm that also offers a smart phone, right?
ELAM: Yes, you would -- you would exactly think that. And sales of its Treo smart phone have increased, but sales of its handheld computers actually fell and so did the company's quarterly profit.
The company says it expects a negative iPhone effect but hopes customers will eventually prefer the Treo to Apple's offering.
Palm also hopes, like BlackBerry, that the interest in smart phones will only be a benefit. Shares of Palm are down more than 3 percent.
(STOCK REPORT)
ELAM: Now, before you head out for some holiday travel -- I know it's a big holiday week coming up -- you want to hear the latest news on traffic. I'll tell you which states are seeing the most congestion when we come back, Kyra and Don.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Steph.
LEMON: No relief in sight for a water weary Texas. The National Weather Service is forecasting more rain today for already-flooded areas. So far, storms have been blamed for 11 deaths in the state.
In Oklahoma, more of the same. Rain continues to fall, causing more flooding in areas already soaked by more than two weeks of record rainfall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was coming down through the driveway. It was right up over the -- where the bead is on the firefighters. Running down there like a river.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sick and tired of it. About to mildew (ph) down here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I bet they are sick and tired. Forecasters say, though, the rain could continue to fall through the middle of next week.
In California, big progress in the battle against a wildfire near Lake Tahoe. Fire crews have contained about 70 percent of the 3,100- acre blaze, thanks in part to a second straight day of calmer winds. Some roads in the area have been reopened, and some evacuees are being allowed back home, or what remains of home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's sad, but it's not the end of the world, you know? It's not hitting me as hard as I thought. But it's sad. Twenty years. This whole neighborhood. It's just stuff. That's all it is, is stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, since it broke out last Sunday, the fire has destroyed more than 250 homes.
And speaking of wildfires, firefighters are getting the upper hand on a wild fire in Maui. Fire crews say the 1,400-acre blaze is about 80 percent contained. The fire threatened several homes and prompted numerous evacuations. One home has been destroyed, but no injuries to report in this one.
PHILLIPS: Were lives saved? Probably. But so is a treasure trove of evidence. Straight ahead from the NEWSROOM, we're going to talk with a global terror expert about the clues contained in that unexploded car bomb.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.
He reads the terrorist tea leaves.
PHILLIPS: We're going to ask a global security expert about today's foiled London attack and the clues that offer us about future plans. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. It's our top story this hour, terror alert in London. This car discovered outside a crowded club overnight was apparently a bomb on wheels. Packed with propane canisters, gasoline containers, and nails that could have blasted a huge chunk of this street and who knows how many people.
Here's the neighborhood. Central London near Piccadilly Circus, in the heart of the city's theater, cinema, and night life district. Police defused the bomb before it could detonate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINSTON BECK, PARKED NEAR SUSPECT VEHICLE: That was a scary moment for me, you know, when I learned that there was such a device right opposite of where I am parked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Another street near Buckingham Palace is close at the moment while police check another suspicious car. No word on what, if anything, has turned up there. We're all over this story. And, of course, we'll update you on any developments.
Now let's bring in John Pike. He's the director of globalsecurity.org. A security analyst and information database. He joins us live from Washington.
John, I was actually -- I've been watching you all morning, what you've had to say about this. And it was interesting what you had to say about the plans there and possible plans in the United States. What does this tell us about these type of attacks moving closer to the U.S.?
JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: Well, we're still not sure because we still don't understand what the authorities of the United Kingdom have learned about this particular bomb. But the concern is that they were initially saying that there were some similarities between this car bomb in London and car bombs that we've been seeing in Iraq. One of the big concerns that the counter-IED people have had in Iraq is the repetitive (ph) with which different groups over there are able to learn from each other.
And you have to be concerned that if bomb makers in London were picking up on bomb-making trips from Iraq, that maybe that sort of knowledge is going to continue to spread. And one of the big concerns, of course, about the United Kingdom is the relative ease with which UK nationals are able to enter the United States and possibly bringing (ph) not simply that knowledge with them, but that intent as well.
PHILLIPS: So, John, how is the recruitment and the skills -- how is that all happening? Is it through the Internet? Is it the growth of cells in London? What's your take on how they're communicating and how they are learning from each other?
PIKE: Well, I mean, part of it, obviously, has to be the Internet. I mean back in the old days, you know, you actually had to own a printing press or at least have a mimeograph machine or some sort of means for reducing your content. Where as today, you can get a cheap hosting plan and you'll be in business. Anybody on the planet can see it.
It is said that they're also using various clandestine communication techniques to disseminate operational information that in the old days you would have to have microdots (ph) and short wave radios and all sorts of really complex stuff of the sort that you just don't need anymore. So it's a lot easier to do today than it was say 20 years ago.
PHILLIPS: Well, this isn't the first time that we've seen these plots in London, versus the lack, thank goodness, of those type of plots in the United States. So what is it that you think we are doing? And what is London -- what are the authorities in London not doing? And is that a fair question?
PIKE: Well, it is. And, you know, I mean, it's sort of like they say about advertising. You know that half your money is going to be wasted, you just don't know which half. I mean evidently we're doing something right. I think it's still too soon to know what we're doing right and what we're doing that's just a waste of time or annoying.
But, evidently, there is a disaffection in the Islamic community in the United Kingdom that, fortunately, is not present here in the United States. We've had a number of plots uncovered here in the United States, but, fortunately, they were at a very, very early stage. You don't know whether they were guilty of anything more than just stupidity, but you do have to be concerned that eventually -- eventually we're going to -- there's the possibility that we're going to see stuff like this in London.
PHILLIPS: Well, you bring up an interesting point about the treatment of the Islamic community. Is that something that we are doing better here in the U.S. with regard to embracing the Islamic community, whereas in London that's not happening. So you're seeing sort of what happened in France with the protests there and those -- the immigrants and how they have been treated, is there . . .
PIKE: Well, that's certainly one interpretation that people offer. I think another interpretation would have to be that it's simply easier to move around in western Europe than it is in the United States. I mean there's simply not that many point of entry to America. It's a well-known fact that some of these airports are very tightly surveilled and it may simply be that a lot of them have decided that it's just too hard to attack the United States. We can hope that that continues to be the case for whatever reason it's been thus far.
PHILLIPS: Another thing, too, this car bomb in London, this plot. When I was in Iraq, I mean, the car bombs, they weren't nice cars, John. I mean they were, you know . . .
PIKE: Jalopies. PHILLIPS: There you go. They were jalopies. So you see a Mercedes in this case. Does that tell us anything about the money trail or the support or the sophistication?
PIKE: Well, obviously, that's what they're going to be trying to figure out right now. Of course, you think about a Mercedes, that's an expensive car. On the other hand, a stolen Mercedes is not that expensive. A leased or rented Mercedes is pretty cheap. And if I know that I'm going to blow the thing up and then disappear, you'd be perfectly prepared to make a small down payment and make the first payment.
PHILLIPS: That's a good point. John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org.
Great insight today, John. We really appreciate it.
PIKE: Thank you.
LEMON: The FDA blocks several types of seafood imported from China, but how do you know what's still for sale is safe to eat.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
LEMON: That's a very good question. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, tips on shopping at your local fish market.
PHILLIPS: Fighting obesity. One town's solution, go on a diet. We've got the results.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you may want to get up and walk around on your next long flight. The World Health Organization is recommending that travelers exercise their legs and resist taking sleeping pills. A new study shows the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, normally a blood clot in the calves, doubles after travel lasting four hours or more. However, the study points out that even with the increased risks, the chance of getting a blood clot is just one in 6,000.
LEMON: And speaking of exercise, obesity is a national problem. But in one Massachusetts city, they're fighting it and they're winning. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Somerville, Massachusetts, Population, 77,000. It's a modern day town with modern day problems, including surging rates of obesity.
MAYOR JOE CURTATONE, SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS: A third of our population is foreign born. So we have a challenge. And Somerville's a very dynamic city and we don't have a lot of land area. So we have to be very strategic in how we encouraging active living.
GUPTA: Four years ago, Tufts University nutritionists, along with city officials, put the community on a diet, to help its citizens, especially children, keep their weight down. Restaurants offered healthier foods in smaller portions. Bike paths were updated. And school menus added more fruits and vegetables. People were encouraged to walk or bike to work. Kids, like Jonathan Lentini, were told to get out and play and watch what they ate.
JONATHAN LENTINI, SOMERVILLE STUDENT: Like, what do I think is really good and if it's healthy or not.
GUPTA: And it worked. After studying almost 1,700 Somerville elementary school kids over a year, researchers discovered children in this Boston berb (ph) gained weight at a healthy rate, while youngsters their age in two nearby towns gained more.
PROF. CHRISTINA ECONOMOS, TUFTS UNIVERSITY: All children are gaining weight as they grow. And what we want to do in prevent childhood obesity is prevent excess weight gain.
GUPTA: Since the study ended, the city has kept up its healthy attitude. Researchers feel if other communities follow the same steps as Somerville, they, too, could help their future generations avoid the obesity epidemic.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the FDA blocks several types of seafood imported from China. But how do you know what's still for sale and what's safe to eat? Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, tips on shopping at your local fish market.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Was there any warning for this type of event, especially on Islamic websites where investigators usually get their warnings from. Joining us now, Octavia Nasr, who monitors those website for us.
Certain organizations, it's been reported, that there was a warning before. You're saying yes, no?
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is no warning really per say. CBS is reporting that they found a claim on an Islamic website, a radical Islamic website. Well, we looked at that claim. The language is not credible. Certainly not al Qaeda. And, as a matter of fact, we cannot find this claim anywhere. It is not on the Islamic website. Very important here to understand, if there is a credible claim on any of those websites, it will travel like wildfire. And even hours after the fact, there's nothing on Islamic's website to indicate that there's a claim of responsibility or any warning, forewarning, or anything of the sort.
LEMON: Right. If it reaches one, it goes to all of them right away. NASR: Absolutely. And especially that website that CBS is reporting. Now Hezba (ph) is a major, major website. So we entered that website. There is nothing to that effect. Now some times people post things that the administrator goes back and takes out. So there is that chance that something like this happened. But that, by itself, is indication that the posting was not credible.
LEMON: CNN's Octavia Nasr. Keep monitoring that for us and join us if you find anything.
NASR: Absolutely.
LEMON: Thank you for that.
And we also want to tell you a nefarious scheme that short circuited by London police. Now terror experts are sifting through their suspicions -- looking at live pictures now -- to come up with possible suspects. Or rather this is tape from earlier. We'll get one analyst's take. That's coming up next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: And the FDA blocks several types of seafood imported from China. But how do you know what's still for sale is safe to eat. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, tips on shopping at your local fish market.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The Food and Drug Administration is halting the shipments of five fish species from China because they may be contaminated with dangerous chemicals. But unless it's prepackaged, it's hard to tell where your food comes from. So how do you know if the fish you're buying is safe. Gerri Willis at a fish market in Scarsdale, New York, with some tips. One of the most popular markets out there, no doubt.
Hi, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Good to hear from you.
You know, we're at the East Chester Fish Gourmet. And as you can see, there's some people in here. They're buying fish. But today the big news, of course, is the problem the FDA is having with Chinese importers. They're banning five kinds of fish -- catfish, basa, shrimp, dace carp and eel.
And the problem with this is that they contains drugs -- antimicrobials -- that the Chinese have been using to get their fish to grow faster, grow bigger and not get sick. Well, U.S. bans those. And now the FDA is saying you cannot import those fish at all.
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So how do I know if some of the fish in my freezer is contaminated or not? WILLIS: Well, look, first off, you know, don't panic about this. The FDA is not saying that they're recalling this fish. People are not getting sick on this.
I have to tell you, the FDA says go ahead and eat this fish. The problem with them is the drugs that the fish are raised with. And what happens is in lab animals in testing they cause cancer. So the exposure would have to be over a very long period of time, years and years, for you to feel some kind of effect.
But at the end of the day, I know there are people out there who are going to say, you know what, I'm going to get rid of this fish. I'm going to throw it out of my freezer. But the FDA says, for right now, it's safe to eat.
PHILLIPS: Well, Gerri, you've got a business background. I don't know if you can answer this or not. But, you know, we were wandering, so this will probably be great for local fishermen, right? Local anglers. I mean, this might mean that we get to buy more local fish versus depending on it from overseas. But yet the overseas fish, I'm guessing, has been a lot cheaper? Is that what the competition has been? And will this be better for our economy?
WILLIS: I've got to tell you, you know, 18 percent of fish in the U.S. are imported from China. So it's been a huge source of fish. And the way they grow it is very, very inexpensively. And they do it, in some cases, by using these sorts of drugs. But you've got to think of what the FDA is doing is going to be better for local fishermen.
You know, look, I want to just mention one other thing, one other precaution people out there can take. We talked to some people in the industry. They say that on labeling you can find out where your fish is from. Whether it's in a box, whether it's under cellophane. Even in a store like this where you see fish that is not in any packaging, you should be able to ask your fishmonger, hey, where's this fish from and they have to be able to tell you because it's stamped on the box they were unpacking it from.
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Gerri Willis. We'll keep checking in. Thank you so much.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
LEMON: I wonder if the iPhone is made in China?
PHILLIPS: Too expensive.
LEMON: Well, what would keep you in a line like this? For some, Justin Timberlake tickets, maybe. For others, the latest gadget from Apple. You know what we're talking about. The company's new iPhone goes on sale in just a few hours. Is it worth the wait? Well, CNN business correspondent Maggie Lake joins us now from the big apple.
Maggie, is it made in China because that's a legitimate question? MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think they had it right, a little too expensive. But, you know, in terms of being worth the wait, we have a whole bunch of people who certainly think so. We're definitely getting into the countdown now. Four hours to go until the lovely little item goes on sale.
Now the Apple store itself, which is behind me, the flagship store, is actually going to close its doors at 2:00 to prepare. What do they need so much time to prepare for? Let's swing the camera around this way and you can get a look. The lines, some people have been on for days, of course. Now it snakes all the way down this lot and around the corner. All these people waiting just to get their hands on the iPhone.
Some people might think that's a little crazy. But this isn't just a cell phone we're talking about. This is supposed to include a full load iPod. You can browse the Internet on it. You can watch videos on it. In addition to making your phone calls, you can watch YouTube videos on it.
And, in fact, one of the journalists, who was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of it, came down here earlier today and was giving these faithfuls a little sneak peek at what they're putting all this time in for. And as you can see, it really looks a lot different from everything else. And the crowd here was certainly wowed.
Now some of the tech reviewers have also given it a thumbs up. But one of the big sticking points, the price tags. One of these baby's is going to cost you $500 to $600 and that's not including the monthly service fee. That's in addition. Now we talked to a lot of people here. They say it's not only worth the price, it's worth the wait.
Don.
LEMON: Well, yes, worth the price, but worth the wait. Is that what you're saying? It seems like$500 to $600, don't you have to have a job in order to be able to afford this. These folks were waiting in line there. It doesn't seem like they're going to work. And, I don't know, let's see, Maggie, can you move out of the way. Let's see what these guys look like?
LAKE: Sure. Yes. In fact we asked them, a lot . . .
LEMON: Can these people afford a $500 or $600 telephone?
LAKE: Well, you can see the one guys actually willing to sell his spot, one of our people here, for $5,000. So I think he's considering this a business venture of his own.
Some of the other people played hookie today from work. And there's another fellow halfway down the line whose bosses are paying him to come wait in line and get one for them. So not everybody had to take the day off work, Don, to come and wait here.
LEMON: OK. I mean, I work. I still can't afford a $500 or $600 telephone.
LAKE: Exactly.
LEMON: We'll wait. It will be like a DVD player. It will be $99 in a couple of months and then . . .
LAKE: You know, people said that about the iPod and they were wrong. We'll have to see.
LEMON: OK. So you're calling me out on national TV, Maggie?
LAKE: You know, maybe. Maybe. Maybe a little behind the times. We'll have to see.
LEMON: All right. Thank you. We're going to check back with you in our next hour. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Muslim extremists planting the seeds of terrorism in the next generation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANIF QADIR, YOUTH WORKER: There's a minority in the schools that actually believe blowing people up is quite cool.
CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That blowing people up is cool.
QADIR: It's quite cool, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The war within from Muslim youth, straight ahead on the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here's an update for you in today's developments in London. Investigators are poring over videotape from closed circuit television cameras. They're trying to learn who parked a car bomb near Piccadilly Circus. It was defused before it could go off. Hours later, London police closed Park Lane. It's just on the edge of Hyde Park. They're trying to investigate another suspicious vehicle. No word yet on what, if anything, turned up. Police also closed off part of Fleet Street for a time, but that turned out to be a false alarm.
PHILLIPS: No suspects have been found, but with today's news out of London, many are uttering the words Muslim extremists. Obviously one of their targets is often the west. One of their weapons, Muslim youth. Radicals reach out, planting the seeds to cultivate the next generation of would-be bombers. CNN's special investigations unit takes a closer look at the war within. Here's Christian Amanpour with a previews.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HANIF QADIR, YOUTH WORKER: (INAUDIBLE), I mean, in the schools, that actually believe -- I mean this is Muslims, (INAUDIBLE) Muslims -- and this is very shocking -- that blowing people up is quite cool.
CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That blowing people up is cool.
QADIR: Is quite cool, yes.
AMANPOUR: Last August, British police descended on Walthamstow (ph) saying they had foiled a conspiracy to blow up a dozen U.S.-bound airliners with liquid explosives. This set off the biggest security alert since 9/11.
QADIR: I got an e-mail about that. So I put the question to some of these guys. And the answers that I got back is, when a bomb goes off in Baghdad or in Afghanistan and innocent women and children are killed over there, who cares for them? So if a bomb goes off in America or in London, what's wrong with that.
AMANPOUR: Indeed, a poll in "The Times of London" showed a shocking 13 percent of British Muslims believe the London subway bombers were martyrs. And many British Muslim see the Iraq War as a war against Islam, against them.
We're talking about England here. We're talking about young Muslims who have grown up in this country. I think people would be really stunned to hear you say that it is essentially foreign policy which is causing youngsters to blow themselves up on a subway system and youngsters to think that that's cool.
QADIR: Foreign policy has a lot to do with it. But it's the minority radical groups that use that to get to our young people.
AMANPOUR: And some of those young Muslims are easy pray because they believe the British government crackdown is scapegoating them. As when Minister John Reed (ph) came to talk to Walthamstow (ph) parents.
MINISTER JOHN REED: There are fanatics who are looking to groom and brainwash children, including your children. So all I say is look for those tell tale signs now.
AMANPOUR: One of those fanatics was in the room waiting to pounce.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They may come to your own houses when your house is raid or your . . .
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You can see more on this weekend's CNN Special Investigations Unit special "The War Within," Saturday and Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
Well, it didn't go off, but a car bomb in the heart of London sets of shockwaves reaching all the way to Manhattan.
LEMON: From Piccadilly, to Hyde Park, to Times Square, police are on alert and urge you to be too.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips.
We're all over this story right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And here's what we know in London where the
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