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Two Teens Arrested and Accused of Plotting to Attack School; President Bush Appeals for Patience in Wake of Iraq Progress Report; Near Collision on Runway

Aired July 13, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Terror in Bohemia. Police in that quiet town on Long Island arrest two teens accused of plotting to attack a local high school.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A suspended student's journal may have blown the lid off. And we expect to hear more in a news conference later this hour.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A story developing out of New York City. Two teens arrested for allegedly plotting against their own school.

Jason Carroll joins us now from our New York bureau with the very latest on this -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Don, we're getting a little bit more information about this. This plot centers on a high school about 45 miles away from New York City, Connetquot High School.

This whole plot unraveled on July 6th. That's when authorities acquired a journal from a 15-year-old student from the high school who was actually out on suspension.

When they confiscated this journal, they found that he had plans to try to obtain a semiautomatic weapon, as well as gunpowder. Apparently, he had tried to do this on several occasions.

They also, Don, found videotapes which they describe as "chilling". They say that this plan was an elaborate plan to try to attack teachers and students at the school.

Police also arrested a 17-year-old who was conspiring allegedly with this 15-year-old to carry out the plan. Both, according to authorities, were having problems in school. Police calling these two teenagers "troubled".

A press conference is scheduled on this at 2:30, just about a half hour from now. School was not in session at this point. This plot allegedly was to be carried out at a later time -- Don.

LEMON: All right. We'll check back at about 2:30 p.m. Eastern to see what's going on with that press conference.

Jason Carroll in our New York bureau.

Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Very little of today's Iraq news is what the White House wants to hear. It follows on the heels of what's being called a sober assessment of progress there prompting the president to once again urge patience.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is at the White House.

Brianna, Iraq was at the heart of the White House briefing this morning. What did Tony Snow and the likes of him have to say?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iraq was at the heart of the briefing. And really at the heart of the briefing, the issue today was this break, this recess that the Iraqi parliament is going to be taking this summer. It was two months, it's now one month, the month of August. But this is still controversial, especially with yesterday's report.

It was an anything but glowing report of the political progress that the Iraqi parliament has made. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was pressed on that and here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You know, it's 130 degrees in Baghdad in August. I'll pass on your recommendation.

QUESTION: Tony, Tony, I'm sorry, that's -- you know...

SNOW: No.

QUESTION: ... I mean, there are a lot of things that happened by September, and it's 130 degrees for the U.S. military also in Iraq.

SNOW: You know, that's a good point. And it's 130 degrees for the Iraqi military, and the Iraqis, you know, let them -- my understanding is that at this juncture they're going to take August off, but, you know, they may change their minds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And in recent weeks and months, this is something that has really upset many members of Congress, including many members of the president's own party -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, President Bush also held a teleconference with Iraqis this morning, right? What came of that? What did they talk about?

KEILAR: This was a teleconference he had. Now, here on the Washington side -- and we got a chance to peek in today -- here on the Washington side, there was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, also Vice President Dick Cheney, many others, and they were meeting with some leaders over -- some provisional reconstruction leaders over in Iraq. This is a joint effort between the military and also civilian experts, experts in fields like urban planning and economic development.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have briefed us on the grassroots effort to improve services, to improve the economy, to encourage local government, all aiming at enhancing this concept of reconciliation from the bottom up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And you see the White House here emphasizing this progress, bottom-up progress, grassroots progress. We also heard something like this from Tony Snow when he was talking about steps that had been made in Anbar province.

You see the White House trying to stress local level progress, especially in light of that report we saw yesterday which showed that top-down progress coming out of Baghdad is really very dismal -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Brianna Kieler at the White House.

Thanks, Brianna.

And more proof now -- not that we need it -- that there's no safe place to be or work in, in Baghdad. An Iraqi journalist, a reporter for "The New York Times," was killed there today, shot dead on his way to work.

Twenty-three-year-old Khalid Hassan (ph) was a four-year "Times" employee. He was killed in the same Shiite neighborhood where police found the bullet-riddled bodies of six people, two women and a child among them.

At least 110 journalists have been killed in Iraq since this war started.

LEMON: Arrested for one murder, suspected of five others. An Illinois truck driver's problems are mounting today. Police say they might have nabbed a serial killer.

Bruce Mendenhall is being held in Nashville, Tennessee, right now. He was formally charged last night with killing 25-year-old Sarah Hulbert and dumping her body at a truck stop. Yesterday, a detective noticed Mendenhall's yellow 18-wheeler matched one link to the case.

Now, the officer says he stopped Mendenhall, then noticed some dried blood in the truck's cab.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked if I could get up inside the cab to have a visual look around, and he said OK. At that point, we got a consent to search. I got up inside the vehicle, and I saw some more evidence that I considered incriminating at that time, and then we stopped at that point and we felt very strongly that we were probably in the right truck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And Nashville police say Mendenhall has implicated himself in Hulbert's death, as well as five other murders in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Indiana.

PHILLIPS: Fierce winds, pounding rains, at least 17 people hurt. This is Okinawa as Typhoon Man-Yi blows ashore. Its winds clocked at more than 100 miles an hour.

Tens of thousands of people are in the dark, and nearly 20 of inches of rain have flooded the islands.

For I-Reporter Julianne Miles and others on the island, typhoons are just a way of life. Here's her view of the back of this one from her back porch. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANNE MILES, KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA: It's 20 minutes to eight in the morning. This is Typhoon Man-Yi. It's about -- the eye wall is about 15 nautical miles south of Kadena Air Base right now.

This is the tree in my back yard being blown strongly by this Category 5 typhoon. And here we are in our concrete houses and everything's fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: As Julianne Miles put it, when you build everything from hotels, to storage sheds, with reinforced concrete, you don't wind up spending billions to recover from a storm.

I-Reporter Lori Valdez has lived in Okinawa has lived in Okinawa since 2005 and says this is the worst typhoon she's ever seen. Her yard may be a mess, but her house is OK. The typhoon is going north, just toward Tokyo.

Now, when it's going to hit the main island -- well, when is it going to hit the main island? That's the question.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Well, it could have been a disaster. Two airliners carrying hundreds of passengers came within 100 feet of each other at a Florida airport. It happened this week.

Reporter Roger Lohse of CNN affiliate WPLG reports from Fort Lauderdale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROBERT LOHSE, REPORTER, WPLG (voice over): It happened around 2:30 on the airport's north runway. A Delta flight from Atlanta was on final approach when a United plane taxied right into its path.

The approaching pilot couldn't see the plane on the ground because its nose was tilted up slightly for landing. When air traffic controllers told the pilot to abort, he quickly pulled up and flew directly over the plane on the ground.

PAUL ZAPPIA, PASSENGER: And all of a sudden, he goes into a steep climb, and I'm thinking, so is the guy next to me. A guy just overshot the runway.

LOHSE: Paul Zappia was on the Delta plane. He says passengers had no idea how close they came to disaster until the pilot got on the intercom once they were back in the air.

ZAPPIA: Everybody on the plane clapped.

LOHSE: The FAA says it's not uncommon for pilots to abort landing at the last second, but rarely is it because there's another aircraft directly in the way. There have been three of these runway incursions at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood in the past year. The FAA says this time it appears the pilot of the 10th (ph) plane on the ground is at fault.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The United flight was instructed to make a turn on to a taxi way. Apparently, the crew missed that turn and entered the active runway within moments of the Delta flight touching down.

LOHSE: She says the planes came within a hundred feet of each other.

Zappia figures if the air traffic controller or pilot had hesitated for a second, he might not be standing here to tell the story.

(on camera): How are you feeling today?

ZAPPIA: Very spiritual.

LOHSE: Very spiritual?

ZAPPIA: You know -- yes. No, I just feel blessed to be alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And that was Roger Lohse reporting.

And also reports that the United flight taking off from Fort Lauderdale arrived safely at its destination, Dulles International Airport, in Washington.

PHILLIPS: Dedicated to her family, her country, and the world at large. Lady Bird Johnson honored today in Texas for her long life and lasting legacy.

LEMON: And once considered a top contender for the GOP nomination, Senator John McCain struggles to keep his presidential campaign a float.

PHILLIPS: An international sports star moves to Hollywood. Promoters think no one can vend it like Beckham. Can he sell America on soccer?

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Fredricka Whitfield working details on a developing story for us right in the NEWSROOM.

Fred, what do you have?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you, Kyra.

Well, a terrible construction accident in Miami. Let's look at some of the pictures right now of a view of the construction site where they are now trying to determine why one of the construction workers died when apparently something was being hoisted. A cable snapped and somehow this one construction worker got tangled in the mess, this cable, and subsequently died right there on the scene.

They have not been able to locate or retrieve the body as of yet. Those efforts are under way. Meantime, a terrible accident taking place here at 13th Street and South Miami Avenue at this construction site -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep tracking it with you.

Thanks, Fred.

(NEWSBREAK)

PHILLIPS: New movement from the Republican side of the aisle on an amendment to change the course of Iraq war.

Dana Bash just received the statement from Senator Lugar on the new amendment. She joins us live on Capitol Hill.

What does it say, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you'll remember, Kyra, Senator Richard Lugar made quite a splash a couple of weeks ago, when -- he's obviously a very influential Republican here on foreign policy matters -- he came out and said the time to change course in Iraq is now. Well, this -- with this particular measure, he has teamed up with Senator John Warner, another influential Republican here, and essentially what it looks like is he's given up on that idea of -- that the president is going to change course now, meaning before September. So what this does, this particular piece of legislation, is requires that the president and the White House start coming up with a plan for after September, after General David Petraeus comes back with his report, his final report on how the surge is going. And what this says is that the president would be required to give a plan, to present a plan to Congress by October 16th of this year that includes -- that talks about how he's going to initiate what Senator Lugar calls post-September contingencies, including a drawdown or redeployment of forces. And it also says that the plan says that it has to be executed by no later than December 31st.

So what he is saying here is that they don't support timelines, they don't support deadlines, but they do want, and not just want, they're mandating that the president give to Congress a plan, a plan that includes how they're going start bringing troops home. And one of the things that this says, it also will say that the rationale for war in 2002, that is obsolete, and essentially says the authorization for war that the Congress gave the president in 2002 is obsolete and requires revision.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dana Bash on the Hill.

Thanks.

LEMON: When it comes to Lady Bird Johnson, Jan Jarboe Russell wrote the book. The former first lady's biographer joins us straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, China just can't seem to catch a break. It seems like every week there's a new food crisis. And this week, well, it's no different. Dumplings made with real cardboard.

The disturbing details from CNN's John Vause in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On state-run national television, viewers across China watched the latest food horror story unfold, an undercover investigation exposing small roadside stores in Beijing which use cardboard instead of meat as the main ingredient in a snack known as baozas (ph). They're like dumplings, and are as popular here as hot dogs in the U.S.

"Most people can't taste the difference. It fools the average person," this man says.

Authorities have announced a citywide crackdown on illegal food vendors because many fail to meet the lowest of health standards. But the communist government has a much bigger problem than bad street food and is struggling with an international crisis, from tainted pet food, to toxic toys.

In the past week, Beijing has announced an immediate ban on diethylene glycol, a solvent found in antifreeze, from being used in toothpaste. Small food must improve hygiene or be shut down. And from September, all food exports will have an inspection and quarantine symbol to guarantee safety.

The U.S. has warned standards had better improve.

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, COMMERCE SECRETARY: I believe that what they do now will determine whether they continue to be a growing, exporting country, a country with future growth viability, or they stop their growth.

VAUSE: And state media reports the People's Liberation Army is now insisting food suppliers pass hygiene and safety tests. "To strengthen food safety is to guarantee that PLA's combat capacity," said one official in the China daily newspaper. And with the Olympics a year away, a food quality monitoring system will be trialed next month.

(on camera): Despite all the controversy, the mounting evidence of widespread problems, one high-ranking Chinese officials says it is "the malicious stirrings of foreign media which is to blame for this crisis."

John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don lemon.

An alleged plot uncovered. Now two Long Island high school students are under arrest.

PHILLIPS: We're waiting to hear the latest about a potentially deadly conspiracy from Suffolk County Police.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: That press conference about those two teenagers arrested expected to start at any moment now. We'll bring it to you live here in the CNN NEWSROOM. In the meantime, we want to update you on this.

Police in Long Island say they have arrested two students, a 15- year-old and a 17-year-old. The 15-year-old juvenile was on long-term suspension from the school. Police say they uncovered a plot which included a journal which contained numerous terror threats, and they planned to attack the school, staff and students at a future date. It was supposedly written by that 15-year-old.

New information that's just into the CNN NEWSROOM says an additional journal -- police found a videotaped journal in which the 15-year-old appeared. It was very elaborate, according to police, and one of the videotapes was at least 10 minutes long. He called the 15- year-old a "very troubled youngster".

We're going to get the details on all of this at a press conference as soon as it starts in Suffolk County -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thousands of people right now are turning out to pay their respects to Lady Bird Johnson. Austin, Texas, you can see the lines gathering as her casket now rests at the LBJ Library and Museum.

She became the First Lady in one of the darkest days of U.S. history, right after the assassination of JFK. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president, Lady Bird by his side the entire time.

We're going to remember her life and legacy. She wanted to be a newspaper reporter, but she fell in love with a 26-year-old congressional aid named LBJ, and the rest is history. We're going to remember her life.

She died at 94, but we'll remember all the things she did from the environment to the Civil Rights Movement with our guest, Jan Jarboe Russell.

LEMON: A little bit goofed up, not completely sane. That's how an elderly Pennsylvania man describes his daughter, Marjorie Diehl- Armstrong who was charged this week in an elaborate and bizarre bank robbery four years ago. Feds say she wanted the money to hire a hitman to kill her father. He's now speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAROLD DIEHL, FATHER OF MARJORIE DIEHL-ARMSTRONG: She was an only child. My wife was a school teacher and Marjorie was a straight A student because of her mother, and I -- her mother and me and Marjorie. Three people and everything was wonderful, but things don't stay wonderful and I don't know where she went wrong or whatever happened.

She believes in other people and if somebody lies to her and tells her this is the best way to do this, why don't you kill your husband or kill your father, she was supposed to kill me. I heard other people tell me that. And -- I wasn't going to run away, I wasn't going to move away. I knew she wasn't going kill me either, because I wasn't going let her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, one person was killed after the bank robbery. Brian Wells, a pizza delivery man had walked into the bank with a bomb fastened around his neck. Before the bomb went off, he told police he was forced to take part. Investigators now say he was in on that scheme. Diehl-Armstrong, meantime is in state prison for killing her live-in boyfriend a month before the robbery.

PHILLIPS: New developments in a closely-watched police investigation just outside Chicago. Police now say that Craig Stebic (ph) is a person of interest in the disappearance of his estranged wife. They also say that Lisa Stebic (ph) was most likely the victim of foul play. She's been missing for more than two months. Her cousin Melanie Greenberg says she's anxious to know whether Craig was involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE GREENBURG, LISA STEBIC'S COUSIN: Well, I know he was the last person to see her that day. I don't know what happened to Lisa. All I know is that there's no way that she would leave her two precious children. Something has happened to Lisa. What exactly that something is, I don't know, but our family needs closure. We need to find out what has happened to Lisa. We need to get to the bottom of this mystery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Stebic investigation drew national attention earlier this week because of a controversy involving a reporter covering the case. A Chicago television station fired the reporter after she was seen at Craig Stebic's home wearing a swimsuit.

LEMON: A piece of South Carolina's past is burning to the ground right now in Anderson. A cotton mill built in 1897 is just, well, it's about history. Luckily, there are no reports of anyone being inside. It closed years ago. This is the second mill fire in Anderson this week. Firefighters say they've got the upper hand right now, but they're worried the roof could collapse and push the flames into some nearby woods.

The cotton mill was the first in the country to run on electricity over a long distance powerline. Firefighters expect the building to burn for days and they aren't sure how the fire started.

PHILLIPS: The government rested its terrorism case today against Jose Padilla, the U.S. citizen held without charges for three-and-a- half years. His case was packaged with two other suspects when the Justice Department finally charged him and moved him from military custody.

A jury in Miami has listened to nine weeks of prosecution testimony aimed at showing how Padilla provided material support to terrorists who intended to kill and kidnap people overseas. He was never charged with the government's chief initial allegation that he plotted to detonate a radioactive bomb on U.S. soil.

Now, how hard would it be for someone to get enough nuclear material to make a so-called dirty bomb? Apparently, not as hard as you might think it.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The panic of a dirty bomb attack, a blast of radiological material designed as seen in this simulation, to inflict mostly chaos and moderate harm. Who can pull it off?

GREGORY KUTZ, GAO INVESTIGATOR: We were able to beat the system with a basic ruse.

TODD: Congressional investigators say that earlier this year, they conducted a clandestine operation, created a bogus company, used it to get a real license for radioactive material from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They doctored up that license, then used it to at least start to buy enough material to make a moderate-sized dirty bomb.

KUTZ: We bought from public sources that anyone could buy from.

TODD: They say aside from a couple of phone calls and faxes, no one at the NRC checked to see if they were legitimate. The NRC says it's plugging the gaps.

EDWARD MCGAFFIGAN, NRC COMMISSIONER: We have to have greater defense and depth in our system. We are going to have to do a better job with these manufacturers and distributors to make sure that they're not putting the dollar ahead of the American people.

TODD: NRC officials also say the amount of dirty bomb material the investigators were after would have only had the radiation equivalent of a CAT scan to the chest. The investigators say that's not the point. They say they could have kept right on buying material until they had enough to do some real damage.

And Homeland Security Expert David Heyman, who's done several exercises on radiological attacks, adds this.

DAVID HEYMAN, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC INTL. STUDIES: Any amount of stuff will be considered dangerous in the public mind. If you have a dirty bomb that goes off, that's a large explosion with a little bit of radiation in there. Once we start detecting radiation, people will get scared.

TODD (on camera): An even greater threat according to Heyman, radiological material in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere, much of it, he says, still not secured and the small amount needed for a dirty bomb could easily be brought across U.S. borders.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, we want to update you now on our breaking story we've been reporting all afternoon here on CNN in the NEWSROOM. It's about two teenagers arrested in Suffolk County, New York, for allegedly plotting against their school. Officials there call it a terrorist-type plot.

They've also found videotapes and also a journal saying that there were terrorist insinuations inside those journals and inside of those tapes. Live press conference expected to start at any moment. As soon as that happens, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You're looking at the podium there as they prepare for that press conference.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, when it comes to Lady Bird Johnson, Jan Jarboe Russell wrote the book. The former First Lady's biographer joins us next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, we want to update you on some breaking news we've been telling you about here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're awaiting a press conference in Suffolk County where police there say they have uncovered a plot by at least two teen students in the area to harm staff and students in the school. One of them is a 15-year-old, one of them is a 17-year-old.

A press conference expected to start shortly to give us the details on this alleged, what they're calling a terrorist-type plot, on this school in Suffolk county, New York.

PHILLIPS: A public farewell to a gracious first lady and champion of the environment. Lady Bird Johnson lies in reposed at the LBJ Library and Museum this afternoon. Just as her husband did 34 years ago.

Tomorrow dignitaries will gather for their good-bye. Among them, current and former first ladies, Laura and Barbara Bush.

Jan Jarboe Russell knows her very well. She's penned a biography, she joins us from New York to reminisce of it. Jan, great to see you.

Let's start out with just her name, Lady Bird Johnson. I can't tell you how many people today said, how exactly did she get that name? Tell us about Alice Tittle.

JAN JARBOE RUSSELL, AUTHOR, "LADY BIRD: A BIOGRAPHY": Well, it's great to be with you, Kyra.

Lady Bird was born in Karnack, Texas and it's the southern part of the world of Texas. And her nurse, Alice Tittle, took one look at her and said she's as pretty as a lady bird. And, Lady Bird always said that she fought that name for a long time. She preferred her given name, which was Claudia, but Lady Bird ended up suiting her just fine because it gave her the same initials as her incredibly powerful husband, Lyndon Baines Johnson.

PHILLIPS: So it works very well together.

Now, Jan, she didn't give a lot of interviews. And I'm trying to even remember the last time she ever sat down with a reporter, but you had the chance to really spend some amazing time with her. How were you able to build on that relationship? How did you score the time with her?

RUSSELL: Well, I was working for "Texas Monthly," when she became -- on her 81st birthday. And I did a long interview with her and I got so interested in her that I decided to do a book. And so I did get several interviews with Mrs. Johnson in the course of doing my book, and it was fantastic.

PHILLIPS: Well, tell me about some of the best moments.

RUSSEL: Well, I think that when she talks about the environment, Kyra, it was -- I think the reason that she was such a fantastic first lady is that she set her own agenda.

Wild flowers were something she cared about. Her mother died when she was 5 years old and one of the few memories that she has of her mother is of walking through the woods with a bouquet of wildflowers in her hand.

And so Lady Bird had this life long love of nature, and when she became first lady, of course, we were in Vietnam. It was a period of great civil unrest in our country, and she turned to nature to remind us that we should protect our natural beauty. And that's really how the American environmental movement got publicly accepted. She was green before Al Gore was green.

PHILLIPS: Jan, do me a favor, if you can, stay with us. We have to step away to a news conference right now.

RUSSELL: All right.

PHILLIPS: A developing story. OK. But stay with us. Tell our producers if you can continue to talk with us. We are going go to that real quickly and hopefully we can continue our talk.

RUSSELL: That would be great, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jan.

LEMON: That press conference happening now in Suffolk county, New York, about that school, alleged terror plot.

RICHARD DORMER, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: With the assistance of the Connetquot School System, the superintendent is here on my left. It's Dr. Alan Groveman and he's the superintendent.

I got chief of the department, Robert Anthony Moore, to my left. Chief of Detectives Dominic Barone (ph) and I got Detective Lieutenant Riley, Fifth Squad Commanding Officer, who was in charge of this investigation that we're going talk about now.

You probably know that this incident referenced the Connetquot School -- high school, and Suffolk county police department have arrested two subjects for conspiring to injure students and staff at Connetquot High School in Bohemia.

On Friday, that was last Friday, a journal containing explicit threats, and this is a copy of the journal in my hand. Containing explicit threats was found in the parking lot of McDonald's restaurant in Bohemia, 3850 Veterans Highway, Bohemia. And in that journal, there were specific threats against students and staff at the Connetquot High School.

The finders delivered the journal to the high school and walked into the school and handed it over to the clerical personnel in the school and left. We didn't have a chance to interview them. School security didn't have a chance to interview them, and we don't know who these two people are.

After reviewing the contents of the journal, authorities immediately contacted the police. And I've got to commend Connetquot High School administrators for immediately reaching out to the police department and, of course, the police immediately responded.

Now, I should mention at that time, that in Columbine this didn't happen. When they had information on troubled students and threats against people in the school. A disaster was averted by a combination of the alert citizens turning over the journal, the courageous school officials who immediately called the police and the diligent police work that was conducted in this investigation under the direction of Detective Lieutenant Ed Riley.

Of particular concern, was that the journal made explicit threats against students and staff at the school. And actually named a number of students, they were actually named in the journal. The threats were to shoot students and staff, and to detonate explosives materials at the school.

The author of the journal was quickly identified by the police, working with the school district, as a 15-year-old who had been suspended from school for a prior incident in which he had threatened violence. The investigation also indicated that he had elicited the cooperation of a 17-year-old friend to carry out this elaborate plan.

The search of the student's home resulted in the confiscation of the computer. Now a search of the computer, after we'd obtained a search warrant, revealed that the 15-year-old had made numerous inquiries and multiple attempts to purchase weapons. Including an oozy machine rifle or automatic rifle, and five pounds of explosives black powder, which I found out can be obtained or purchased on the internet.

The investigation is ongoing, as to if any weapons had been acquired over the internet by this 15-year-old. Taken into custody was the 15-year-old juvenile who cannot be identified, and the 17- year-old who was identified as Michael McDonough of 14 Lincoln Avenue, Bohemia.

As I mentioned before, the investigation was a coordinated effort with the Connetquot School District. Now, we also at this time would like to mention that if there's anybody out there that has information, further information that would assist us in this investigation, they can give us this information by calling the Fifth Squad at 631-854-8552 or crimestoppers at 1-800-220-tips. All calls will be kept in confidence.

We are concerned that they may have purchased some weapons or material to make weapons. We're not sure. That's why we would like, if anybody, especially students in the school, have any information that would help us.

Now, if I may, please. Please, I just want to -- you know, I viewed along with the chief of detectives, and the detective lieutenant the tape. One of the tapes that was made by the 15-year- old and it was a very chilling tape. It was a kin to the tapes that we all saw from Columbine. And we also viewed -- I also viewed the journal, and I just want to give you a sense of what's in the tapes and what's in the journal.

This young 15-year-old, mentions a number of persons by name and states he will kill them. He indicates that he was sad, depressed, excited, feeling left out. He had mixed emotions. He indicated mixed emotions such as these suck. Students will die, ha. I will start a chain of terrorism in the world, and there's a picture of a pipe bomb going boom and persons lying on the ground. It's a drawing in the journal. I want to kill so many people in the war zone and the target, so many, this will go down in history. Take out everyone there, then turn the guns on the cops and then on myself, perfecto. I want to leave a lasting impression on the world.

This was -- if I may, this was a very serious situation. And who knows where it would have ended up, but it was very quickly brought to a successful conclusion with the combined efforts of citizens, as I mentioned, the school administration and the police department.

I think that's a change in how we handled violence in schools over the past few years in Suffolk county. I commend everybody that was involved in the investigation, I thank them. And, again, if there are any questions now we are open.

QUESTION: You found videotapes that they had taken of themselves?

DORMER: Well, was there a video of the 15-year-old.

QUESTION: OK. And how -- what was his demeanor? Was he carrying a weapon? Can you just kind of describe for us? Him, how ...

DORMER: No. He wasn't carrying a weapon. He was face on the video, and he was very explicit in what he wanted to do with people in the school district, in the school. And he was very explicit about why he was doing this.

QUESTION: Can you describe for us a little bit, though, instead of explicit, tell us what he was saying and how he was saying it?

DORMER: Well, you know, that's as you know, that's part of the evidence and that's going to be part of the court case. So I don't want to, you know, give you -- I can't give you information, too much information about that without damaging the evidence, which now will go to family court.

QUESTION: Did his parents know this was going? Do you have any indication that his parents knew about any of this?

DORMER: No. There's no indication that the parents were aware of this. Now, you know, the superintendent and I have talked about this, and the 15-year-old was a troubled youngster. And did have problems in the school and was receiving special attention. His mom was aware of that, and was working with the school to help her son and that's the information we have.

On McDonough, I don't have too much information on him because that's a different school. It's Satrem (ph) North High School, and -- but from my understanding, he did have some problems in the school district.

QUESTION: Commission you said, you know why he did this. Was because he'd been suspended from the prior thing? What was it? What was his motivation?

DORMER: Well, he felt that everybody was against him. The world was against him. He was having trouble in his relationships, and he was very upset at life in general and the world in general. And, without getting too specific as you noticed the quotes, I mean, the reason that I give you that, is to give you an insight into how he was thinking. He felt that everybody was against him.

QUESTION: Does anyone else have knowledge of this? Do you know if any other friends knew about what was going on?

DORMER: No. Ed, do we have any indication that any of the other kids?

ED RILEY, DETECTIVE: We're still under investigation examining his computers. It could take some time.'

QUESTION: On the mike, please.

RILEY: I'm sorry. We're still investigating that aspect. It doesn't appear there was a great number of kids involved. We know that these two were involved. If there was someone else involved we're looking into that now, through his computer.

QUESTION: Can you describe the student? Did he have lots of friends? Was he a loner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The student had friends in the school. He was relatively social, but we have had him under watch for quite a while.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the reaction of the district and step a little bit closer to the podium. Obviously, as the school superintendent, your worst nightmare, I would imagine.

DR. ALAN. B. GOVEMAN, CONNETQUOT SUPERINTENDENT: It's up there. The superintendent's association has been working very closely with the police department on these very issues. In fact, there is a program called School Resource Officer where there's a police officer assigned specifically to the schools. And that individual was working with us, and was the point person who we turn to at that time and really brought everything forward.

QUESTION: But what's your gut reaction as a superintendent?

GROVEMAN: I'm scared to death. This stuff is terrible. We don't want it to happen, and that's why we watch it so carefully. As the commissioner said, this is a whole new world and we take different actions than we did five, six years ago and that's why we were able to get right on top of it and the police responded immediately.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: I just want to get two things said, so they left this journal at McDonald's in the parking lot? Can you hold up the journal again?

DORMER: Of course. Our understanding is that the journal was found in the parking lot.

QUESTION: They just left it there?

DORMER: No. It looked like -- the way it was folded, from the information we have, and it's sketchy. That's why we would like the female that turned in the journal at the school to come forward, to reach out to the police because they would like to -- we would like to talk to her. But it looks like it might have been lost in the parking lot, fell out of somebody's pocket.

They worked at McDonald's, they worked at McDonald's and the way it was folded, from what the lieutenant tells me, it looked like it might have fell out of somebody's pocket. She picked it up and looked through it, and obviously determined that it came from the school, and delivered it to the school. Which was the right thing to do. And we commend her for doing that.

QUESTION: Does this girl go to the school?

DORMER: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Does this girl go to the school?

DORMER: No. I think it was a mature lady. It wasn't a student. She just happened to find it and it belonged to the school, delivered it to the school, handed in at the desk and left before anybody had a chance to talk to her.

So, of course, then when security looked at it and the administration looked at, they knew right away this was something important. And it was something that the police should be involved with and that's when we got involved.

QUESTION: Do they know who it was because he had his name or other identifying material in the notebook? Or did the school recognize his handwriting or -- how did you nail him?

DORMER: How did you get it?

RILEY: The school gave a lead on who they suspected. And we went over and interviewed that child that night at his house, where he admitted to writing the journal.

QUESTION: Which computer did you confiscate?

RILEY: The 15-year-old's computer was confiscated at his house.

QUESTION: And how did you link to McDonough?

RILEY: The 15-year-old refers to his accomplice extensively in the journal under another name called, Randall, which was an AKA for McDonough.

QUESTION: How involved was McDonough? Describe his role in this?

RILEY: It seems the main instigator of the incident was the 15- year-old. But McDonough did agree to go along with the plan to shoot kids at the high school.

QUESTION: They met at McDonald's.

RILEY: They work at McDonald's. I don't know if they met there, but they both worked there.

QUESTION: What kind of liabilities are on the parents of this now because of their age?

RILEY: I don't know. The parents didn't seem to be aware of this situation. The parents are very cooperative in the investigation.

QUESTION: How did they get guns?

RILEY: It was a conspiracy charge and part of the conspiracy charge, when we confiscated the 15-year-old's computer, we saw there was multiple attempts on the internet to both research guns and also purchase guns including an oozy, an AK-47 and they actually placed an order for five pounds of black powder. The order doesn't appear to have gone through. We don't know at this point, if the 15-year-old took custody of any black powder. We're still researching that, but we did recover from his computer, the purchase order for black powder over the internet.

QUESTION: But McDonough went to a different school and he was going help at Connetquot?

RILEY: We have no indication or evidence neither child said anything other than McDonough.

LEMON: Police in Suffolk county, New York, holding a press conference and the most disturbing words coming out of this. "I will start a chain of terrorism in the world."

Police say those words allegedly written by a 15-year-old student who had been suspended because they thought he would start some sort of violence in the school. Apparently they found this note, this terrorism threat note or booklet in the parking lot of a McDonald's where both students worked. Both students have now been arrested. Police in Suffolk county holding a press conference, talking about the charges against the two men. And asking now for the public's help for more information about this case.

CNN NEWSROOM will continue right after a break.

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