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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Terror Level Orange: What Does it Really Mean?

Aired February 07, 2003 - 22:00   ET

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

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


AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening again, everyone.
We find ourselves today thinking about Hollywood's great master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock, of course, directed "Psycho" and "Rear Window" and "North By Northwest" and all those other terrific movies.

It doesn't matter how often you've seen them, Hitchcock's movies shake you up every time. That's because he knew exactly what he was doing. He thought it all out.

He said, for instance, that if you're watching a scene with a bunch of people sitting around a conference table and then out of nowhere, kaboom, there's an explosion, well, that's just a surprise.

On the other hand, if by then you've already seen someone in a hotel room putting a bomb together in a brief case, seen that someone twisting the wires together, securing the explosives, setting the timer, and then you see him bring that brief case into a conference room, where he puts it under his chair, well, that's something else altogether.

You're forced to sit there knowing or fearing you know precisely what's going to happen. Only there's nothing you can do, nothing at all but sit and sweat and twitch and wait.

Seems to us that's pretty much where the world is right now. We know or fear we know what's going to happen. And we know, too, that on the whole face of the Earth there are only very few people who can do anything at all to keep it from happening.

All the rest of us are out here in the dark like Hitchcock's movie-goers, all but able to hear the ticking in the brief case and there's nothing we can do but sweat and twitch and wait. Hitchcock really did know what he was doing. The waiting is excruciating.

And so is the news of the day.

We begin with the government raising the terror level threat this afternoon. Jeanne Meserve is on that and a lot of the program on that, too. Jeanne, a headline from you.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the threat level is up to orange and there is particular concern tonight about the East Coast, hotels, subways and chemical attacks -- Brown. BROWN: Jeanne, thank you. The latest on the diplomacy involving Iraq. Richard Roth has been talking to the U.N. weapons inspectors today before they get to Baghdad over the weekend. So Richard, a headline from you.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Top U.N. weapons inspectors leave in about three and a half hours for Baghdad. It will be their third trip in three months. If they don't have much success, they won't be going back. And that could have a lot more meaning.

BROWN: Richard, thank you.

And on now to the mystery of what brought down the Shuttle Columbia. Brian Cabell has now taken over our coverage, so Brian, a headline from you.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, new evidence continues to be collected here, new photographs are coming in. But officials here warn that they can't draw any conclusions any time soon. And they say the new phase of this investigation is likely to be painstaking and tedious -- Aaron.

BROWN: Brian, thank you. Back with all of you shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT for Friday, the 7th of February, we told you we're now in the high risk level of a terror attack. But what does that actually mean for local authorities in the front lines? We'll talk with Miami's police chief now, John Timoney.

We'll look at the NBA star who has been called hotter than Hunan cooking, Yao Ming, a big deal on the court and a big deal off the court, too.

And "Segment 7" tonight is to honor those who boldly go, a brief history of humanity's greatest explorers from ancient Egypt to our lost heroes of the Shuttle Columbia.

All of that in the hour ahead on this Friday night. But we begin with words of caution and concern.

For the first time since the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the government raised the threat level today. Cities and states, especially those on the East Coast, are on increased alert. Little by little this evening we've been getting more and more details, some ideas of what the threat may be, what type of attack could be planned and who may be the most likely target.

We'll talk with Michael Isikoff in a moment about his reporting tonight, involving Jewish targets. But we begin with two of our own reports, starting with the latest from CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Law enforcement sources say intelligence suggests there could be an attack on the East Coast of the United States. Intercepted messages specifically mention subways and hotels but not any one city. Sources also say there is information suggesting so-called soft targets in Saudi Arabia could be hit.

JOHN ASHCROFT, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Recent intelligence reports suggest that al Qaeda leaders have emphasized planning for attacks on apartment buildings, hotels and other soft or lightly secured targets.

ARENA: Officials say a variety of intelligence sources, human and electronic, suggest the attack could be non-conventional.

ASHCROFT: Al Qaeda continues to demonstrate a very serious interest in chemical, biological as well radiological devices.

ARENA: Sources say recent information suggests al Qaeda may be further along than previously thought in procuring elements to make a radiological dirty bomb.

Another factor, the FBI is looking for this man, 36-year-old Mohammad Shar Mohammed Khan, for questioning. His name and age maybe be fictitious, but it is believed he came into the United States after September of 2001. Sources say his name came up as part of an overseas investigation. They say he allegedly made threats against the United States.

U.S. officials say the latest threat information about al Qaeda is being taken seriously, because there's a lot of it. It's coming from a variety of sources and several locations and the information is consistent.

Perhaps most ominous, the timing of a possible attack. Intelligence suggests terrorists may act as early as next week, coinciding with the end of the Muslim observance of the Hajj.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: As you heard, the threats mention subways, among other potential targets. There are only a few cities on the East Coast that have subways, of course, among them the only two places in the country that have already been attacked by al Qaeda.

The mayor of one of those cities told people today go about your business normally. That would be the new normal, not the old in New York.

And tonight some new information about what they are worried about. Here again, CNN'S Jeanne Meserve.

Jeanne?

MESERVE: Aaron, the information we're picking up tonight indicates that there is particular concern about the possibility of a chemical attack and secondarily, a radiological attack. The Virginia state health commissioner has sent a letter to health care providers in his state saying ricin, cyanide and organophosphates like the nerve agents Saren and VX are of possible concern, as are radiological devices or dirty bombs.

The District of Columbia health department is asking its health community to check protocols for dealing with ricin and a range of chemical agents. Ricin, of course, the substance found recently in a raid in London.

Officials tell CNN that command centers operated by the Department of Human Services and the Center for Disease Control have beefed up their personnel and medical response teams have been put on heightened alert.

But the response to the hike in the threat alert level is taking many other forms as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) The threat got close attention in New York City.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: We will pay special attention to places where lots of people gather, especially public places like lobbies of hotels, apartment buildings and our subway system.

MESERVE: Other potential targets: symbols of the United States and its power and the energy, transportation and financial services sectors.

Because of al Qaeda's continuing efforts to obtain chemical, biological and radiological weapons, the health community was put on alert.

It is impossible to protect every potential target, but at border crossings like at this one in Buffalo, N.Y., there was more scrutiny of people and vehicles. In the District of Columbia, the joint operation center that coordinates the local and federal response to emergencies was revved up and at airports, there were more parking restrictions, random examinations and more air marshals in the skies.

ED FLYNN, SECRETARY, MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC SAFETY: Clearly airports are essential parts of our transportation grid. Airports have been facilities that have been attacked in the past or used as a basis for attack.

MESERVE: In the midst of all this, the public is being told to carry on as usual.

TOM RIDGE, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We are not recommending that events be canceled or travel or other plans be changed.

MESERVE: Officials are asking Americans to be vigilant and report anything suspicious. They are also advising the public to prepare in case the increase in security does not disrupt or deter a terrorist attack -- Aaron.

BROWN: So go about your business normally, but prepare?

MESERVE: That's right. It sounds like a contradictory message.

BROWN: It does to me, yes.

MESERVE: But they're urging people to go to web sites, the Department of Homeland Security has one, the American Red Cross has one with some very specific information about the sorts of things one should have in one's house to prepare.

The fact is, Aaron, that if there is some kind of attack, in many instances an individual will be in fact the first responder for their family. So they feel it's better for people to be aware of the possibilities, have some sense of what might be coming down the pike and how to get ready.

BROWN: Thank you, Jeanne Meserve in Washington tonight.

Hard to believe this is the way we're living these days, isn't it? We're getting some more reporting on just what the terror targets might be from Michael Isikoff, who is working the story for "Newsweek" magazine. And he's stopped working for a little bit to talk to us in Washington tonight and I assume on deadline.

Michael, what are you hearing?

MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK:" That one of the factors that pushed the Bush Administration to make this decision was a large volume of reports that came in just in the last couple of days about threats to Jewish targets inside the United States: synagogues and Jewish organizations, Jewish-owned businesses, hotels, resorts, all of that was picked up in the electronic chatter that the intelligence community was picking up.

It got reported in and today the FBI, in a 90-minute conference call from FBI headquarters to all field offices around the country, advised the special agents in charge to get in touch with Jewish leaders in their jurisdictions, to make contact with them, warn them and advise them and to also tell state and local law enforcement about these threats to Jewish targets and to enhance security for these facilities.

BROWN: Have you talked to people within the Jewish community who have received those calls? Do you have any sense of what specifically they are being told?

ISIKOFF: Yes. As it turns out, the Anti-Defamation League, which is a prominent Jewish civil rights group, was having its annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, just this weekend. And I talked a few hours ago to Abraham Foxman, the executive director of the group, who had been contacted by the FBI today.

He was told that there was no specific information about an attack on his organization or any other particular organization but he was asked to help the FBI identify possible Jewish targets.

And one thing that was a little bit curious was there was questioning about hotels, hotels that were owned by Jewish individuals or Jewish interests.

And this comes into the context of during the FBI conference call, there was specific reference to something we hadn't heard before, which was that the Bali attack by al Qaeda a few months ago that killed nearly 200 people in Indonesia, the FBI has linked that to some apparent Jewish ownership of the discotheque hotel where the attack took place and that this was brought up and the possibility of attacks on Jewish-owned hotels was specifically mentioned.

BROWN: Look, given who we're dealing with, the idea that they would go after people or interests, Jewish interests is not particularly surprising.

Is it -- have Jewish groups been warned before in the period since 9/11? Have they been warned before of anything like this? I guess what I'm getting at, or trying to get, at is how unusual this moment is.

ISIKOFF: Well, yes, they have been warned before and this has been part of the mix, certainly, since September 11.

What was -- what was important here was that in the previous go- around, we haven't raised the threat level since September 10, and it was ratcheted back down a couple weeks later. And even though there had been reports about intelligence chatter about possible attacks coming over the last, you know, four or five months, at each time the administration has said that they did not feel the need to raise the terror level, because there was no specificity to the threats.

Well, the Jewish linkage was viewed by many administration officials as a level of specificity that justified taking this step today.

BROWN: Michael, thanks for coming in on short notice.

And Michael's reporting is on the web site, the "Newsweek" web site, if you want to go read that. You can do that after the program.

Thank you, Michael, very much.

Michael Isikoff from "Newsweek" magazine.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, more on the terror alert. We'll talk with the police chief of Miami, Florida, John Timoney, about how his city is preparing.

Later, Hans Blix on his way back into Iraq. CNN's Richard Roth talked to him today. We'll have a live report from Cyprus on that, and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues out of New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: John Timoney joins us tonight, former Philadelphia commissioner of the police department. Since the first of the year, doing that job in Miami, Florida. We're always glad to have him with us, and we are pleased to see him tonight.

John, chief, good evening to you.

JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE CHIEF: Good evening, Aaron.

BROWN: Can you confirm, basically, Michael's reporting that you were told -- You have a large Jewish community in Miami -- to take particular concern around Jewish interests?

TIMONEY: Yes. I mean, Mike obviously has got good sources. And you know, today I guess this warning today, probably for the first time, mentions hotels and soft targets.

So with that in mind I took a chopper ride all over Miami today. As you're well aware, there are quite a few hotels along the beach, both in Miami Beach and the city of Miami, all along the waterways. And, of course, always any high-rise building is always a possible target.

And then there are some other obviously Jewish interests that need special attention.

And so Miami like other police departments, we've ratcheted it up. And so, for example, tonight you'll see more police officers, you'll see police officers in front of locations that last night they weren't there.

And so for the next -- for the near future, at least, until this thing subsides or we get further information, you're going to see increased attention at both traditional targets but also at soft targets.

BROWN: Do you -- Give me a little nuts and bolts here. Do you put -- Are there more officers on the streets or are just they in different places and more visible?

TIMONEY: It's a combination of both. I mean, you need minimum staffing levels just to answer the 911 calls. But first, you've got to cover mandatory posts and special attention. And so what you lack in resources, you know, you use overtime to pick up the slack, if you will.

BROWN: And, you know, the more you do this, the more expensive it gets now. I hate to ask about this, but these are tough times for cities and states.

Does the financial part of this become a burden?

TIMONEY: Yes, you know, we've discussed this on your program in the past. I view the whole issue of homeland defense, really, as being part of the Defense Department's budget. And while there have been monies earmarked in Washington for localities, none of that's been realized yet. And I don't know what the holdup is, but we're hoping there's some bucks coming our way.

BROWN: You arrived in Miami the first of the year.

TIMONEY: Correct.

BROWN: And do you find a police department that has prepared itself for the kinds of possibilities of bioterrorism, dirty bombs, that sort of thing?

TIMONEY: Correct. I mean, the -- they have worked with colleagues across America, and including our federal friends, in preparing and studying and doing all sorts of training exercises, working a lot with first responders, the Miami City Fire Department. But also, you know, Dade County has 31 different police departments within that county and of necessity you're going to have to have greater cooperation and coordination.

BROWN: There was a story today, I think I saw it today, maybe yesterday, I think it was today, of a Cuban Coast Guard boat that basically made a run for it.

TIMONEY: Extraordinary.

BROWN: And they had to find people to surrender to, basically, it was so easy to get in the country. That's not your jurisdiction, but it is your area.

TIMONEY: Right.

BROWN: Does that kind of thing give you pause?

BROWN: You know, it's down in the Keys.

And the one thing you notice when you go up by helicopter how vast -- and this is just South Florida -- how vast the coastline is to inland waterways, leading these tributaries, leading in.

There are so many ways to come into this country, not just by land and air but by sea. And so it creates a great challenge.

But I think it was a bit of an embarrassment last night where four Cuban sailors stole the equivalent of a U-boat, landed in Key West and then went around looking for a place or for police officials to surrender to. So it's a little embarrassing.

BROWN: We wish you nothing but a boring next few days down there.

TIMONEY: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: Thanks. Good to see you, John.

TIMONEY: Good to see you.

BROWN: John Timoney in Miami tonight. Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, it's back to Iraq for Hans Blix, the weapons inspector. We'll hear what he has to say about that, coming up next from Richard Roth who is on the road with him.

And controversy over the British dossier mentioned by Secretary of State Powell against Saddam Hussein, just where it came from. Lots on Iraq, just after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We heard about a gift given from the Russian foreign minister to the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan the other day. It was the carving of a bear juggling five balls on a tightrope stretched between two poles, war and peace.

Secretary Annan is supposed to be the bear and he's not alone on the tightrope. So is his chief weapons inspector, who's headed back to Baghdad this weekend, even as Washington makes it clear that its patience with the inspections process has run out.

So we go back down to Richard Roth who spoke with Hans Blix earlier today.

Richard, good evening to you.

ROTH: Good evening and good morning here from Cyprus. The only lights on this cold, dark beach, Aaron, come from the hotel of chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, who hopes Iraq will see the light this weekend when he arrives, along with Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

I flew here to Cyprus with Hans Blix, and I asked him what are his red lines, what is it going to take for this weekend's talks to be a success?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS BLIX, U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, a number of things. Above all, we need the Iraqis to make a commitment. Either to present whatever remains, all weapons of mass destruction, and they might go around the country and see what there is. They have appointed a commission of inquiry, so I think they could do that.

Or if there is nothing left, then they should give adequate explanations for it, as regard to VX or anthrax or anything else.

ROTH: President Bush said the game is over to the Iraqis. But you're a player in this game. What does that statement do for you?

BLIX: Well, it's high time, yes. We all know that. And I think I've said that it's five minutes to 12. That is true. But it's not finished yet.

And I am quite sure that everybody will wait for our report to the Security Council on the 14th of February. And we also see how they are discussing new resolutions; that will also take some time. So it's not midnight yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: On this beach, though, it will be sun up in a few hours and Blix and ElBaradei, with a team, head back to Baghdad.

Blix told me on the plane that he thought the private interview for the first time of an Iraqi scientist a couple of days ago could be a turning point, he said, a turning of the tide. But if it's just the only one, it's just an isolated incident, he said, with little importance -- Aaron.

BROWN: You know, I always have trouble reading Mr. Blix. Do you get any sense that he is -- has he given up? Does he have any reasonable expectation that this will end peacefully?

ROTH: Well, I asked him that on the plane. He says he's just as set, just as pursuing a dynamic series of investigations, inspections. He hates to be aggressive. That word he does not like.

And he -- But he has said again if the troops go, he knows his job is done. But he's 74 years old, he knows this is his last post, really, and he wants to just ride it out and do the best job he can.

One other note, Aaron, though he's the chief U.N. weapons inspector, with everything on the line, we go by commercial plane and just to get from Vienna today, Friday, in the U.S. to Budapest to here, the plane had computer problems and he couldn't get a flight, even, and it looked like it would be even difficult to get to Baghdad by commercial air.

BROWN: It's frustrations all around. Richard, thank you.

Richard Roth is in Cyprus -- on Cyprus tonight.

You can almost imagine this was going through the head of Secretary of State Powell when he laid out his case this week against Iraq. He must have been thinking, don't give the skeptics even the smallest opening to challenge our evidence or our argument.

It turns out the British did that for him. It has to do with the British government dossier that Secretary Powell praised on Wednesday and a discovery that a major part it have came, not from some plugged in spymaster, but was lifted from the writings last year of a young academic.

The British government tonight admitted the mistake but it insists it does not take away from the core argument that Iraq is defying the world.

Still, on both sides of the Atlantic, there are some red faces. Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This British report on Iraq was published just a day before U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made his address to the U.N.

It reads like an up-to-the minute intelligence-based analysis of the Iraqi threat. Colin Powell even praised it.

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I would call my colleagues' attention to the fine paper that the United Kingdom distributed yesterday, which describes in exquisite detail Iraqi deception activities.

CHANCE: Published on the prime minister's web site and called "Iraq, Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation", the paper outlines the scope of Saddam's intelligence operators, but similarities to previously published works have been noticed.

GLEN RANGWALA, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: Many of the words and phrases that it used I recalled from another context. So I searched around the other articles that I'd read on Iraq's organizations, its military and security organizations, and realized that large sections of the British government's dossier were actually copied.

CHANCE: In fact, he says, of 19 pages in the British document, several appear to come from this, an article last September in a small journal, the Middle East Review of International Affairs. The author, Ibrahim al-Marashi, is a postgraduate student in Monterey, California

A comparison of the documents reveals large sections do appear in both. This, for example, six paragraphs long on Saddam's special security operations. The exact same words are in the California student's paper.

There are also identical grammatical errors. This sentence has a comma in the wrong place in the original, and again in the British dossier. The suggestion is, some sections were simply cut and pasted.

Amid accusations of intellectual theft, what's also concerning intelligence analysts is that the original Californian work isn't current, but instead a historical analysis of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait before the last Gulf War. Analysts say the report may cause loss of public faith in what they're being told.

(on camera): The actual contents of this British report may indeed be accurate and the basic case it makes against Iraq unaffected. But as this controversy builds, the government here is facing further questions from an already skeptical British public about how it handles information that could be used to justify a war.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A couple more stories now from around the world, beginning in South America: A powerful explosion rocked Bogota, Colombia tonight. At least nine people have died, more than 100 injured. A 10-story building has been set afire. The blast apparently destroyed a club frequented by politicians and businessmen. It is not exactly clear yet what caused it.

And pilgrims continue to pour into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the annual pilgrimage called the Hajj, which is required of faithful Muslims at least once in their lifetime. The vast crowds -- estimates vary to 1.5 to three million people -- have always made the Hajj difficult and dangerous. A looming war now makes it difficult, dangerous and tense.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT: gathering the evidence. What went wrong aboard the shuttle Columbia, from debris to photos? And later: the next big Chinese import, Yao Ming, taking on the NBA and Madison Avenue at the same time.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: And ahead on NEWSNIGHT: a big find in the hunt for pieces of the shuttle Columbia -- that and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We liked the way one writer described the investigation into the shuttle Columbia disaster: an anguished countdown in reverse.

Today, the attention focused on a new image captured by an Air Force camera in the final moments of the Columbia mission and what could be a very discovery important on the ground: a piece of one of the wings.

Once again, here's CNN's Brian Cabell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABELL (voice-over): About a minute before the shuttle Columbia broke apart, an Air Force camera at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, caught this image of Columbia overhead. If you look at the right wing, there appears to be a jagged edge on the front of it, possibly an indication of problems. There's also what appears to be a cloud of smoke trailing behind the right side.

RON DITTEMORE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: It's not clear to me that it reveals anything significantly at this point. We've got a long way to go and we have to add up all the different photographs and look at every piece of information and catalogue it properly, until we get the right data set.

CABELL: NASA also released diagrams of the problematic left wing in the final seven minutes before Columbia broke apart. Initially, all the sensors, the circles, were green, indicating they were operating properly. But then, over the next few minutes, the sensors, one by one, started turning red, indicating a high temperature. And then some started shutting down altogether.

DITTEMORE: OK, here we are at approximately 7:54 a.m. Central Standard Time, no reports from the crew, no reports from our flight control teams. Everything is operating and functioning nominally in all of our systems. All we are seeing is some of these sensors dropping off-line in a sequence of events over a period of time.

CABELL: Investigators are trying to learn what the pattern of sensor failures might mean.

Of particular in the investigation is this portion of the shuttle wing, about 2 feet long, that was found Thursday in Nacogdoches, Texas. The insulating tiles were still attached to it. Investigators don't yet know whether it's from the left wing or the right wing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABELL: Investigators so far have recovered and catalogued more than 1,000 items of debris. And, in the next few days, they're hoping to get to many more. But what they're hearing is that they also have 350 reports of debris outside the states of Louisiana and Texas. None of those have been confirmed yet. The only confirmed items so far they have are within Texas and Louisiana -- Aaron.

BROWN: All right, thank you, Brian Cabell in Houston tonight.

Quickly, a few stories from around the country, beginning with a massive pileup in the southwest part of Michigan: 60 vehicles were involved in the accident caused by heavy snow and a lack of visibility, caused by heavy snow. Six ambulances and several fire departments responded to the scene, working to free people who had become trapped in their cars. Two people died.

On to the Clara Harris murder trial in Texas, Ms. Harris accused of killing her husband by running him over after she discovered him having an affair. Ms. Harris testified today that she -- quote -- "didn't know who was driving. Everything seemed like a dream." Harris says it was all an accident. Prosecutors say it was murder.

And the man who's lived the longest with a self-contained artificial heart died today. Tom Christerson had an artificial heart for nearly 17 months. He was the second to get the AbioCor heart. Two others have it and are still alive because of it.

And ahead on this Friday evening on NEWSNIGHT from New York: the Shanghai sensation of the NBA, Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets. He's become a marketer's dream.

And Beth Nissen tonight on explorers throughout history, courageous and indispensable.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Houston's adopted son, all the way from Shanghai, their NBA star, Yao Ming, the next big thing -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The NBA All-Star Game hasn't happened yet, but there's already been an upset. Starting at center for the Western conference this weekend not perhaps the most dominating center ever to play the game, Shaquille O'Neal, but a first-year player with fewer than 50 NBA games under his belt.

It's all the more amazing when you realize that this rookie hadn't even been to the United States a year ago, comes from China, which does not exactly have a great basketball tradition. But Yao Ming is not your average basketball player, as both the NBA and Madison Avenue have quickly discovered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They go one-on-one here.

BROWN: First of all, the guy can play, maybe not the best yet, but he can play.

DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: I don't think he's yet in Shaq's category. All of the experts would tell you that, given a couple of years, there will be no doubt that Houston made a good choice in selecting him with the first pick in the NBA draft.

BROWN: When the Chinese government agreed to let Yao Ming come to the United States and play in the NBA, the Houston Rockets gave him $17 million and pinned their hopes on his 7 foot, 5 inch frame. His first few games in Texas were dismal. And then he settled in, scoring career highs, blocking shots against some of the league's best. So, yes, the guy can play.

And he can also sell. From computers to credit cards, Yao is cashing in.

JIMMY SIEGEL, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BBDO: He is the guy.

STERN: Rookies usually don't make it quite as big as Yao has in his first year.

BROWN: Advertisers took one good long look up at Yao Ming's smile and signed on. And a smile is pretty much what they get, given his limited English. But it is the smile that they want.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VISA AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yo.

YAO MING, NBA PLAYER: Can I write a check?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEGEL: I think, in this case, being Chinese helped him connect to the American audience, because, again, there was a certain fascination about him. And Americans were curious about him. Who is he? What's he like? What does he think? I think people are very, very curious about this guy.

BROWN: Ad executive Jimmy Siegel cast Yao Ming in the latest Visa commercial, a commercial that debuted on Super Bowl night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VISA AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yo.

MING: Yao.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: It's estimated that 138 million people, nearly half the U.S. population, tuned in to watch at least a portion of the big game. It was the big guy's star turn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And cut.

BROWN: Yao grew up in Shanghai, both his parents former basketball stars on the Chinese national team.

YAO ZHI YUAN, FATHER OF YAO MING (through translator): When Yao was young, we did not notice any special talent. But when he first touched a basketball and really got into serious training, they could almost immediately see that he had an instinct.

MING (through translator): Unlike traditional Chinese parents, where the son is expected to follow the father, they gave me the freedom to choose what I wanted to do. And that was the most important thing for my growth.

BROWN: In October of last year, Yao Ming got his wish. He was given permission by the government to leave China for the NBA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APPLE AD)

ANNOUNCER: The next big and small things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: As big as he's become, Yao is no Michael Jordan. There is that language problem. A team translator hopes to solve that. But he's only 22, still adjusting his game and his life. And, as a player and a seller, he still has plenty of time to -- well, to grow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A little bit more on the Yao phenomenon with someone who has covered sports marketing for years, Terry Lefton. He's editor at large for "Sports Business Daily" and he's in Atlanta for the All-Star Game tonight.

Nice to see you.

Does this have legs or is this kind of a one-shot deal, do you think? TERRY LEFTON, EDITOR AT LARGE, "SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY": No, he's so early on as a player, he can only get better. I think any basketball expert would tell you that.

Plus, I think it's intriguing that big marketers, like Apple, like Visa -- and, just yesterday, a Gatorade commercial was filmed -- have latched onto him much quickly than any marketers usually do. But, as interesting as it is to see him marketed in this country, I think all these marketers see it as access to the biggest consumer market in the word, 1.3 billion Chinese, the same reasons a lot of marketers are jockeying to get into the Beijing Olympics that are coming up. I think that's the long term.

BROWN: So, it's really -- so, at least as you see it, it's really not so much about whether he can sell in Cleveland as whether he can sell in Canton?

LEFTON: I think that's the larger question. Do you think Visa wants to sell lots of payment products in China? Do you think Apple wants to sell lots of laptops? Do you think Gatorade wants to sell lots of isotonic beverages? Well, sure. Long term, that's really what it's all about.

BROWN: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but it seems to me, those athletes who have had extraordinary success in advertising are, first and foremost, champions. I think Arnold Palmer still brings in $15 million a year. I think Chris Evert still probably does pretty well, Tiger, obviously.

Does he need to be -- does Yao need to be a champion at some point to have the kind of staying power of the real big moneymakers?

LEFTON: If you're going to compare him to Jordan.

But even remember, endorsements mean very little to people that make as much money on the court or on the field as athletes do now, so, in dollar terms, maybe not. But to be one of the best endorsers of all time, well, sure, you have to have a record. But, once again, I get back to the fact that he's global like nobody else is. And that global attraction is what makes him unique and what makes him special.

So, if he never wins an NBA title, he may be a great endorser just because of that.

BROWN: Do you think the fact that he comes across as a nice kid, that he's not especially brash, he's not a trash-talker, a chest- thumper, that sort of thing, does that make him all the more endearing to advertisers?

LEFTON: At a time when particularly NBA people, the mainstream just thinks, yes, maybe they're a little bit too hip-hop, maybe they're just a little bit too out of the mainstream, he seems like, yes, a real nice guy. And he's got the weight of a country on his shoulders. And he seems to be bearing up very well.

As you pointed out before, he's got a great smile as well. And I don't know if you caught it before, Aaron, but one of your commercials today outside the segment was the Yao Ming Apple spot.

BROWN: Was it? No, I did not. I don't see the commercials. But there you go.

Just a final thing. Is this a sign that, not so much the internationalization or the globalization of basketball, but the globalization of all advertising, that one guy in America -- a Chinese guy in America in this case -- can be used, in a dramatic way, to penetrate a huge market overseas, the Asian, not just the Chinese, but the Asian market?

LEFTON: Right.

Well, I will tie them up by saying that sports are a marketing business. And if that wasn't true, I wouldn't have a job. So, therefore, yes, that's true. I will tell you, quite candidly, Major League Baseball had a lot more foreign players a lot sooner than the NBA. The same is true of the NHL.

This really fits perfectly with the way the league has positioned itself this year. They've positioned themselves as the global sport. That's their latest spin. God help us, it actually became true. Yao has become a very good player very quickly. And that's where the league's heading. That's where it's positioned itself. And the league is on Yao's back, to some extent, right now.

BROWN: It's a fascinating story and we hope he does well over the weekend down at the All-Star Game in Atlanta.

It's good to talk to you, Terry. Thanks a lot.

LEFTON: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you, Terry Lefton.

And still ahead tonight: a lovely closing piece tonight, the never-ending quest, the explorers who lived and breathed and often died for their desire to discover.

We'll wrap it up for a Friday night when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Finally from us tonight: discovery.

A friend of Kalpana Chawla, one of the Columbia seven, recalled something she once said, "We're just camping out here on Earth." The place she really wanted to go was Mars. She and her crewmates are the kind of people who are born, though, not made, explorers.

Why it is that way and why we have this need to explore, we cannot know. That's part of the mystery, the mystery of this uniquely human desire to explore.

Here's CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It seems to be encoded in the human DNA, the desire, the drive to explore.

MICHAEL NOVACEK, PROVOST, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: Exploration is part of human nature. People have a desire to look beyond the ridges and the range, the summit of the mountain at the edge of the continent, over into the ocean.

NISSEN: From the Egyptians in 1492 B.C., to Columbus in 1492 A.D., humans have set off for the horizon to see what can be seen, learn what can be learned.

CAPT. ALFRED MCLAREN, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, THE EXPLORERS CLUB: It boils down to the search for new knowledge, satisfying your curiosity, and going beyond the point that other people have gone before you.

NISSEN: Explorers' quests have never been easy, have always been perilous. There are long lists of the lost: Magellan, Cook, Scott.

NOVACEK: Going somewhere where, as the saying goes, no man has gone before or no human has gone before entails some risk.

NISSEN: As a people, Americans have been especially willing to take the risks and explore new frontiers. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's expedition west into the unknown territories of North America.

NOVACEK: The tendency, the passion was to strike out into this new, open, beautiful wilderness. This country, this nation's history represents a history of exploration.

NISSEN: Great expeditions continued into the 20th century, even after most of the Earth's corners had been visited, charted. Explorers set out for the top and bottom of the world: Perry to the North Pole, Amundsen to the South Pole.

A series of Arctic explorers began chipping away at the mysteries of the frozen frontiers. Then, mid-century, attention turned to the final frontier, space. The Soviets were first, launching Sputnik in 1957, sending the first human into space four years later. The Americans followed, sending John Glenn into orbit in 1962. Seven years later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the first human steps on to the service of the moon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, 1969)

BRUCE MCCANDLESS, NASA MISSION CONTROL: They've got the flag up now and you can see the stars and stripes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: In the three decades since, humans have watched the long-unreachable frontier of space become a familiar place, where a few intrepid humans live and work. Yet, there is still so much in space to explore. NOVACEK: There are not only star systems out there, billions of star systems, but we've now identified over a hundred star systems that have planets. We're still really only on the edge of an age of exploration.

NISSEN: Humans are already planning new ventures deeper into space, and, on Earth, deeper into the vast oceans, deeper under the Arctic ice.

MCLAREN: Out of this quest for knowledge, new questions come to mind, new avenues of pursuit. It's never-ending.

NISSEN: Never-ending, the elemental human need to find, to experience, to map as far as our sight and our vision will allow.

Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We'll see you Sunday night from Kuwait, and all next week as well.

Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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







Aired February 7, 2003 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening again, everyone.
We find ourselves today thinking about Hollywood's great master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock, of course, directed "Psycho" and "Rear Window" and "North By Northwest" and all those other terrific movies.

It doesn't matter how often you've seen them, Hitchcock's movies shake you up every time. That's because he knew exactly what he was doing. He thought it all out.

He said, for instance, that if you're watching a scene with a bunch of people sitting around a conference table and then out of nowhere, kaboom, there's an explosion, well, that's just a surprise.

On the other hand, if by then you've already seen someone in a hotel room putting a bomb together in a brief case, seen that someone twisting the wires together, securing the explosives, setting the timer, and then you see him bring that brief case into a conference room, where he puts it under his chair, well, that's something else altogether.

You're forced to sit there knowing or fearing you know precisely what's going to happen. Only there's nothing you can do, nothing at all but sit and sweat and twitch and wait.

Seems to us that's pretty much where the world is right now. We know or fear we know what's going to happen. And we know, too, that on the whole face of the Earth there are only very few people who can do anything at all to keep it from happening.

All the rest of us are out here in the dark like Hitchcock's movie-goers, all but able to hear the ticking in the brief case and there's nothing we can do but sweat and twitch and wait. Hitchcock really did know what he was doing. The waiting is excruciating.

And so is the news of the day.

We begin with the government raising the terror level threat this afternoon. Jeanne Meserve is on that and a lot of the program on that, too. Jeanne, a headline from you.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the threat level is up to orange and there is particular concern tonight about the East Coast, hotels, subways and chemical attacks -- Brown. BROWN: Jeanne, thank you. The latest on the diplomacy involving Iraq. Richard Roth has been talking to the U.N. weapons inspectors today before they get to Baghdad over the weekend. So Richard, a headline from you.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Top U.N. weapons inspectors leave in about three and a half hours for Baghdad. It will be their third trip in three months. If they don't have much success, they won't be going back. And that could have a lot more meaning.

BROWN: Richard, thank you.

And on now to the mystery of what brought down the Shuttle Columbia. Brian Cabell has now taken over our coverage, so Brian, a headline from you.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, new evidence continues to be collected here, new photographs are coming in. But officials here warn that they can't draw any conclusions any time soon. And they say the new phase of this investigation is likely to be painstaking and tedious -- Aaron.

BROWN: Brian, thank you. Back with all of you shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT for Friday, the 7th of February, we told you we're now in the high risk level of a terror attack. But what does that actually mean for local authorities in the front lines? We'll talk with Miami's police chief now, John Timoney.

We'll look at the NBA star who has been called hotter than Hunan cooking, Yao Ming, a big deal on the court and a big deal off the court, too.

And "Segment 7" tonight is to honor those who boldly go, a brief history of humanity's greatest explorers from ancient Egypt to our lost heroes of the Shuttle Columbia.

All of that in the hour ahead on this Friday night. But we begin with words of caution and concern.

For the first time since the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the government raised the threat level today. Cities and states, especially those on the East Coast, are on increased alert. Little by little this evening we've been getting more and more details, some ideas of what the threat may be, what type of attack could be planned and who may be the most likely target.

We'll talk with Michael Isikoff in a moment about his reporting tonight, involving Jewish targets. But we begin with two of our own reports, starting with the latest from CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Law enforcement sources say intelligence suggests there could be an attack on the East Coast of the United States. Intercepted messages specifically mention subways and hotels but not any one city. Sources also say there is information suggesting so-called soft targets in Saudi Arabia could be hit.

JOHN ASHCROFT, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Recent intelligence reports suggest that al Qaeda leaders have emphasized planning for attacks on apartment buildings, hotels and other soft or lightly secured targets.

ARENA: Officials say a variety of intelligence sources, human and electronic, suggest the attack could be non-conventional.

ASHCROFT: Al Qaeda continues to demonstrate a very serious interest in chemical, biological as well radiological devices.

ARENA: Sources say recent information suggests al Qaeda may be further along than previously thought in procuring elements to make a radiological dirty bomb.

Another factor, the FBI is looking for this man, 36-year-old Mohammad Shar Mohammed Khan, for questioning. His name and age maybe be fictitious, but it is believed he came into the United States after September of 2001. Sources say his name came up as part of an overseas investigation. They say he allegedly made threats against the United States.

U.S. officials say the latest threat information about al Qaeda is being taken seriously, because there's a lot of it. It's coming from a variety of sources and several locations and the information is consistent.

Perhaps most ominous, the timing of a possible attack. Intelligence suggests terrorists may act as early as next week, coinciding with the end of the Muslim observance of the Hajj.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: As you heard, the threats mention subways, among other potential targets. There are only a few cities on the East Coast that have subways, of course, among them the only two places in the country that have already been attacked by al Qaeda.

The mayor of one of those cities told people today go about your business normally. That would be the new normal, not the old in New York.

And tonight some new information about what they are worried about. Here again, CNN'S Jeanne Meserve.

Jeanne?

MESERVE: Aaron, the information we're picking up tonight indicates that there is particular concern about the possibility of a chemical attack and secondarily, a radiological attack. The Virginia state health commissioner has sent a letter to health care providers in his state saying ricin, cyanide and organophosphates like the nerve agents Saren and VX are of possible concern, as are radiological devices or dirty bombs.

The District of Columbia health department is asking its health community to check protocols for dealing with ricin and a range of chemical agents. Ricin, of course, the substance found recently in a raid in London.

Officials tell CNN that command centers operated by the Department of Human Services and the Center for Disease Control have beefed up their personnel and medical response teams have been put on heightened alert.

But the response to the hike in the threat alert level is taking many other forms as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) The threat got close attention in New York City.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: We will pay special attention to places where lots of people gather, especially public places like lobbies of hotels, apartment buildings and our subway system.

MESERVE: Other potential targets: symbols of the United States and its power and the energy, transportation and financial services sectors.

Because of al Qaeda's continuing efforts to obtain chemical, biological and radiological weapons, the health community was put on alert.

It is impossible to protect every potential target, but at border crossings like at this one in Buffalo, N.Y., there was more scrutiny of people and vehicles. In the District of Columbia, the joint operation center that coordinates the local and federal response to emergencies was revved up and at airports, there were more parking restrictions, random examinations and more air marshals in the skies.

ED FLYNN, SECRETARY, MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC SAFETY: Clearly airports are essential parts of our transportation grid. Airports have been facilities that have been attacked in the past or used as a basis for attack.

MESERVE: In the midst of all this, the public is being told to carry on as usual.

TOM RIDGE, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We are not recommending that events be canceled or travel or other plans be changed.

MESERVE: Officials are asking Americans to be vigilant and report anything suspicious. They are also advising the public to prepare in case the increase in security does not disrupt or deter a terrorist attack -- Aaron.

BROWN: So go about your business normally, but prepare?

MESERVE: That's right. It sounds like a contradictory message.

BROWN: It does to me, yes.

MESERVE: But they're urging people to go to web sites, the Department of Homeland Security has one, the American Red Cross has one with some very specific information about the sorts of things one should have in one's house to prepare.

The fact is, Aaron, that if there is some kind of attack, in many instances an individual will be in fact the first responder for their family. So they feel it's better for people to be aware of the possibilities, have some sense of what might be coming down the pike and how to get ready.

BROWN: Thank you, Jeanne Meserve in Washington tonight.

Hard to believe this is the way we're living these days, isn't it? We're getting some more reporting on just what the terror targets might be from Michael Isikoff, who is working the story for "Newsweek" magazine. And he's stopped working for a little bit to talk to us in Washington tonight and I assume on deadline.

Michael, what are you hearing?

MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK:" That one of the factors that pushed the Bush Administration to make this decision was a large volume of reports that came in just in the last couple of days about threats to Jewish targets inside the United States: synagogues and Jewish organizations, Jewish-owned businesses, hotels, resorts, all of that was picked up in the electronic chatter that the intelligence community was picking up.

It got reported in and today the FBI, in a 90-minute conference call from FBI headquarters to all field offices around the country, advised the special agents in charge to get in touch with Jewish leaders in their jurisdictions, to make contact with them, warn them and advise them and to also tell state and local law enforcement about these threats to Jewish targets and to enhance security for these facilities.

BROWN: Have you talked to people within the Jewish community who have received those calls? Do you have any sense of what specifically they are being told?

ISIKOFF: Yes. As it turns out, the Anti-Defamation League, which is a prominent Jewish civil rights group, was having its annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, just this weekend. And I talked a few hours ago to Abraham Foxman, the executive director of the group, who had been contacted by the FBI today.

He was told that there was no specific information about an attack on his organization or any other particular organization but he was asked to help the FBI identify possible Jewish targets.

And one thing that was a little bit curious was there was questioning about hotels, hotels that were owned by Jewish individuals or Jewish interests.

And this comes into the context of during the FBI conference call, there was specific reference to something we hadn't heard before, which was that the Bali attack by al Qaeda a few months ago that killed nearly 200 people in Indonesia, the FBI has linked that to some apparent Jewish ownership of the discotheque hotel where the attack took place and that this was brought up and the possibility of attacks on Jewish-owned hotels was specifically mentioned.

BROWN: Look, given who we're dealing with, the idea that they would go after people or interests, Jewish interests is not particularly surprising.

Is it -- have Jewish groups been warned before in the period since 9/11? Have they been warned before of anything like this? I guess what I'm getting at, or trying to get, at is how unusual this moment is.

ISIKOFF: Well, yes, they have been warned before and this has been part of the mix, certainly, since September 11.

What was -- what was important here was that in the previous go- around, we haven't raised the threat level since September 10, and it was ratcheted back down a couple weeks later. And even though there had been reports about intelligence chatter about possible attacks coming over the last, you know, four or five months, at each time the administration has said that they did not feel the need to raise the terror level, because there was no specificity to the threats.

Well, the Jewish linkage was viewed by many administration officials as a level of specificity that justified taking this step today.

BROWN: Michael, thanks for coming in on short notice.

And Michael's reporting is on the web site, the "Newsweek" web site, if you want to go read that. You can do that after the program.

Thank you, Michael, very much.

Michael Isikoff from "Newsweek" magazine.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, more on the terror alert. We'll talk with the police chief of Miami, Florida, John Timoney, about how his city is preparing.

Later, Hans Blix on his way back into Iraq. CNN's Richard Roth talked to him today. We'll have a live report from Cyprus on that, and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues out of New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: John Timoney joins us tonight, former Philadelphia commissioner of the police department. Since the first of the year, doing that job in Miami, Florida. We're always glad to have him with us, and we are pleased to see him tonight.

John, chief, good evening to you.

JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE CHIEF: Good evening, Aaron.

BROWN: Can you confirm, basically, Michael's reporting that you were told -- You have a large Jewish community in Miami -- to take particular concern around Jewish interests?

TIMONEY: Yes. I mean, Mike obviously has got good sources. And you know, today I guess this warning today, probably for the first time, mentions hotels and soft targets.

So with that in mind I took a chopper ride all over Miami today. As you're well aware, there are quite a few hotels along the beach, both in Miami Beach and the city of Miami, all along the waterways. And, of course, always any high-rise building is always a possible target.

And then there are some other obviously Jewish interests that need special attention.

And so Miami like other police departments, we've ratcheted it up. And so, for example, tonight you'll see more police officers, you'll see police officers in front of locations that last night they weren't there.

And so for the next -- for the near future, at least, until this thing subsides or we get further information, you're going to see increased attention at both traditional targets but also at soft targets.

BROWN: Do you -- Give me a little nuts and bolts here. Do you put -- Are there more officers on the streets or are just they in different places and more visible?

TIMONEY: It's a combination of both. I mean, you need minimum staffing levels just to answer the 911 calls. But first, you've got to cover mandatory posts and special attention. And so what you lack in resources, you know, you use overtime to pick up the slack, if you will.

BROWN: And, you know, the more you do this, the more expensive it gets now. I hate to ask about this, but these are tough times for cities and states.

Does the financial part of this become a burden?

TIMONEY: Yes, you know, we've discussed this on your program in the past. I view the whole issue of homeland defense, really, as being part of the Defense Department's budget. And while there have been monies earmarked in Washington for localities, none of that's been realized yet. And I don't know what the holdup is, but we're hoping there's some bucks coming our way.

BROWN: You arrived in Miami the first of the year.

TIMONEY: Correct.

BROWN: And do you find a police department that has prepared itself for the kinds of possibilities of bioterrorism, dirty bombs, that sort of thing?

TIMONEY: Correct. I mean, the -- they have worked with colleagues across America, and including our federal friends, in preparing and studying and doing all sorts of training exercises, working a lot with first responders, the Miami City Fire Department. But also, you know, Dade County has 31 different police departments within that county and of necessity you're going to have to have greater cooperation and coordination.

BROWN: There was a story today, I think I saw it today, maybe yesterday, I think it was today, of a Cuban Coast Guard boat that basically made a run for it.

TIMONEY: Extraordinary.

BROWN: And they had to find people to surrender to, basically, it was so easy to get in the country. That's not your jurisdiction, but it is your area.

TIMONEY: Right.

BROWN: Does that kind of thing give you pause?

BROWN: You know, it's down in the Keys.

And the one thing you notice when you go up by helicopter how vast -- and this is just South Florida -- how vast the coastline is to inland waterways, leading these tributaries, leading in.

There are so many ways to come into this country, not just by land and air but by sea. And so it creates a great challenge.

But I think it was a bit of an embarrassment last night where four Cuban sailors stole the equivalent of a U-boat, landed in Key West and then went around looking for a place or for police officials to surrender to. So it's a little embarrassing.

BROWN: We wish you nothing but a boring next few days down there.

TIMONEY: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: Thanks. Good to see you, John.

TIMONEY: Good to see you.

BROWN: John Timoney in Miami tonight. Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, it's back to Iraq for Hans Blix, the weapons inspector. We'll hear what he has to say about that, coming up next from Richard Roth who is on the road with him.

And controversy over the British dossier mentioned by Secretary of State Powell against Saddam Hussein, just where it came from. Lots on Iraq, just after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We heard about a gift given from the Russian foreign minister to the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan the other day. It was the carving of a bear juggling five balls on a tightrope stretched between two poles, war and peace.

Secretary Annan is supposed to be the bear and he's not alone on the tightrope. So is his chief weapons inspector, who's headed back to Baghdad this weekend, even as Washington makes it clear that its patience with the inspections process has run out.

So we go back down to Richard Roth who spoke with Hans Blix earlier today.

Richard, good evening to you.

ROTH: Good evening and good morning here from Cyprus. The only lights on this cold, dark beach, Aaron, come from the hotel of chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, who hopes Iraq will see the light this weekend when he arrives, along with Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

I flew here to Cyprus with Hans Blix, and I asked him what are his red lines, what is it going to take for this weekend's talks to be a success?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS BLIX, U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, a number of things. Above all, we need the Iraqis to make a commitment. Either to present whatever remains, all weapons of mass destruction, and they might go around the country and see what there is. They have appointed a commission of inquiry, so I think they could do that.

Or if there is nothing left, then they should give adequate explanations for it, as regard to VX or anthrax or anything else.

ROTH: President Bush said the game is over to the Iraqis. But you're a player in this game. What does that statement do for you?

BLIX: Well, it's high time, yes. We all know that. And I think I've said that it's five minutes to 12. That is true. But it's not finished yet.

And I am quite sure that everybody will wait for our report to the Security Council on the 14th of February. And we also see how they are discussing new resolutions; that will also take some time. So it's not midnight yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: On this beach, though, it will be sun up in a few hours and Blix and ElBaradei, with a team, head back to Baghdad.

Blix told me on the plane that he thought the private interview for the first time of an Iraqi scientist a couple of days ago could be a turning point, he said, a turning of the tide. But if it's just the only one, it's just an isolated incident, he said, with little importance -- Aaron.

BROWN: You know, I always have trouble reading Mr. Blix. Do you get any sense that he is -- has he given up? Does he have any reasonable expectation that this will end peacefully?

ROTH: Well, I asked him that on the plane. He says he's just as set, just as pursuing a dynamic series of investigations, inspections. He hates to be aggressive. That word he does not like.

And he -- But he has said again if the troops go, he knows his job is done. But he's 74 years old, he knows this is his last post, really, and he wants to just ride it out and do the best job he can.

One other note, Aaron, though he's the chief U.N. weapons inspector, with everything on the line, we go by commercial plane and just to get from Vienna today, Friday, in the U.S. to Budapest to here, the plane had computer problems and he couldn't get a flight, even, and it looked like it would be even difficult to get to Baghdad by commercial air.

BROWN: It's frustrations all around. Richard, thank you.

Richard Roth is in Cyprus -- on Cyprus tonight.

You can almost imagine this was going through the head of Secretary of State Powell when he laid out his case this week against Iraq. He must have been thinking, don't give the skeptics even the smallest opening to challenge our evidence or our argument.

It turns out the British did that for him. It has to do with the British government dossier that Secretary Powell praised on Wednesday and a discovery that a major part it have came, not from some plugged in spymaster, but was lifted from the writings last year of a young academic.

The British government tonight admitted the mistake but it insists it does not take away from the core argument that Iraq is defying the world.

Still, on both sides of the Atlantic, there are some red faces. Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This British report on Iraq was published just a day before U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made his address to the U.N.

It reads like an up-to-the minute intelligence-based analysis of the Iraqi threat. Colin Powell even praised it.

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I would call my colleagues' attention to the fine paper that the United Kingdom distributed yesterday, which describes in exquisite detail Iraqi deception activities.

CHANCE: Published on the prime minister's web site and called "Iraq, Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation", the paper outlines the scope of Saddam's intelligence operators, but similarities to previously published works have been noticed.

GLEN RANGWALA, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: Many of the words and phrases that it used I recalled from another context. So I searched around the other articles that I'd read on Iraq's organizations, its military and security organizations, and realized that large sections of the British government's dossier were actually copied.

CHANCE: In fact, he says, of 19 pages in the British document, several appear to come from this, an article last September in a small journal, the Middle East Review of International Affairs. The author, Ibrahim al-Marashi, is a postgraduate student in Monterey, California

A comparison of the documents reveals large sections do appear in both. This, for example, six paragraphs long on Saddam's special security operations. The exact same words are in the California student's paper.

There are also identical grammatical errors. This sentence has a comma in the wrong place in the original, and again in the British dossier. The suggestion is, some sections were simply cut and pasted.

Amid accusations of intellectual theft, what's also concerning intelligence analysts is that the original Californian work isn't current, but instead a historical analysis of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait before the last Gulf War. Analysts say the report may cause loss of public faith in what they're being told.

(on camera): The actual contents of this British report may indeed be accurate and the basic case it makes against Iraq unaffected. But as this controversy builds, the government here is facing further questions from an already skeptical British public about how it handles information that could be used to justify a war.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A couple more stories now from around the world, beginning in South America: A powerful explosion rocked Bogota, Colombia tonight. At least nine people have died, more than 100 injured. A 10-story building has been set afire. The blast apparently destroyed a club frequented by politicians and businessmen. It is not exactly clear yet what caused it.

And pilgrims continue to pour into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the annual pilgrimage called the Hajj, which is required of faithful Muslims at least once in their lifetime. The vast crowds -- estimates vary to 1.5 to three million people -- have always made the Hajj difficult and dangerous. A looming war now makes it difficult, dangerous and tense.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT: gathering the evidence. What went wrong aboard the shuttle Columbia, from debris to photos? And later: the next big Chinese import, Yao Ming, taking on the NBA and Madison Avenue at the same time.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: And ahead on NEWSNIGHT: a big find in the hunt for pieces of the shuttle Columbia -- that and more, as NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We liked the way one writer described the investigation into the shuttle Columbia disaster: an anguished countdown in reverse.

Today, the attention focused on a new image captured by an Air Force camera in the final moments of the Columbia mission and what could be a very discovery important on the ground: a piece of one of the wings.

Once again, here's CNN's Brian Cabell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABELL (voice-over): About a minute before the shuttle Columbia broke apart, an Air Force camera at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, caught this image of Columbia overhead. If you look at the right wing, there appears to be a jagged edge on the front of it, possibly an indication of problems. There's also what appears to be a cloud of smoke trailing behind the right side.

RON DITTEMORE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: It's not clear to me that it reveals anything significantly at this point. We've got a long way to go and we have to add up all the different photographs and look at every piece of information and catalogue it properly, until we get the right data set.

CABELL: NASA also released diagrams of the problematic left wing in the final seven minutes before Columbia broke apart. Initially, all the sensors, the circles, were green, indicating they were operating properly. But then, over the next few minutes, the sensors, one by one, started turning red, indicating a high temperature. And then some started shutting down altogether.

DITTEMORE: OK, here we are at approximately 7:54 a.m. Central Standard Time, no reports from the crew, no reports from our flight control teams. Everything is operating and functioning nominally in all of our systems. All we are seeing is some of these sensors dropping off-line in a sequence of events over a period of time.

CABELL: Investigators are trying to learn what the pattern of sensor failures might mean.

Of particular in the investigation is this portion of the shuttle wing, about 2 feet long, that was found Thursday in Nacogdoches, Texas. The insulating tiles were still attached to it. Investigators don't yet know whether it's from the left wing or the right wing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABELL: Investigators so far have recovered and catalogued more than 1,000 items of debris. And, in the next few days, they're hoping to get to many more. But what they're hearing is that they also have 350 reports of debris outside the states of Louisiana and Texas. None of those have been confirmed yet. The only confirmed items so far they have are within Texas and Louisiana -- Aaron.

BROWN: All right, thank you, Brian Cabell in Houston tonight.

Quickly, a few stories from around the country, beginning with a massive pileup in the southwest part of Michigan: 60 vehicles were involved in the accident caused by heavy snow and a lack of visibility, caused by heavy snow. Six ambulances and several fire departments responded to the scene, working to free people who had become trapped in their cars. Two people died.

On to the Clara Harris murder trial in Texas, Ms. Harris accused of killing her husband by running him over after she discovered him having an affair. Ms. Harris testified today that she -- quote -- "didn't know who was driving. Everything seemed like a dream." Harris says it was all an accident. Prosecutors say it was murder.

And the man who's lived the longest with a self-contained artificial heart died today. Tom Christerson had an artificial heart for nearly 17 months. He was the second to get the AbioCor heart. Two others have it and are still alive because of it.

And ahead on this Friday evening on NEWSNIGHT from New York: the Shanghai sensation of the NBA, Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets. He's become a marketer's dream.

And Beth Nissen tonight on explorers throughout history, courageous and indispensable.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Houston's adopted son, all the way from Shanghai, their NBA star, Yao Ming, the next big thing -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The NBA All-Star Game hasn't happened yet, but there's already been an upset. Starting at center for the Western conference this weekend not perhaps the most dominating center ever to play the game, Shaquille O'Neal, but a first-year player with fewer than 50 NBA games under his belt.

It's all the more amazing when you realize that this rookie hadn't even been to the United States a year ago, comes from China, which does not exactly have a great basketball tradition. But Yao Ming is not your average basketball player, as both the NBA and Madison Avenue have quickly discovered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They go one-on-one here.

BROWN: First of all, the guy can play, maybe not the best yet, but he can play.

DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: I don't think he's yet in Shaq's category. All of the experts would tell you that, given a couple of years, there will be no doubt that Houston made a good choice in selecting him with the first pick in the NBA draft.

BROWN: When the Chinese government agreed to let Yao Ming come to the United States and play in the NBA, the Houston Rockets gave him $17 million and pinned their hopes on his 7 foot, 5 inch frame. His first few games in Texas were dismal. And then he settled in, scoring career highs, blocking shots against some of the league's best. So, yes, the guy can play.

And he can also sell. From computers to credit cards, Yao is cashing in.

JIMMY SIEGEL, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BBDO: He is the guy.

STERN: Rookies usually don't make it quite as big as Yao has in his first year.

BROWN: Advertisers took one good long look up at Yao Ming's smile and signed on. And a smile is pretty much what they get, given his limited English. But it is the smile that they want.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VISA AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yo.

YAO MING, NBA PLAYER: Can I write a check?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEGEL: I think, in this case, being Chinese helped him connect to the American audience, because, again, there was a certain fascination about him. And Americans were curious about him. Who is he? What's he like? What does he think? I think people are very, very curious about this guy.

BROWN: Ad executive Jimmy Siegel cast Yao Ming in the latest Visa commercial, a commercial that debuted on Super Bowl night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VISA AD)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yo.

MING: Yao.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: It's estimated that 138 million people, nearly half the U.S. population, tuned in to watch at least a portion of the big game. It was the big guy's star turn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And cut.

BROWN: Yao grew up in Shanghai, both his parents former basketball stars on the Chinese national team.

YAO ZHI YUAN, FATHER OF YAO MING (through translator): When Yao was young, we did not notice any special talent. But when he first touched a basketball and really got into serious training, they could almost immediately see that he had an instinct.

MING (through translator): Unlike traditional Chinese parents, where the son is expected to follow the father, they gave me the freedom to choose what I wanted to do. And that was the most important thing for my growth.

BROWN: In October of last year, Yao Ming got his wish. He was given permission by the government to leave China for the NBA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APPLE AD)

ANNOUNCER: The next big and small things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: As big as he's become, Yao is no Michael Jordan. There is that language problem. A team translator hopes to solve that. But he's only 22, still adjusting his game and his life. And, as a player and a seller, he still has plenty of time to -- well, to grow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A little bit more on the Yao phenomenon with someone who has covered sports marketing for years, Terry Lefton. He's editor at large for "Sports Business Daily" and he's in Atlanta for the All-Star Game tonight.

Nice to see you.

Does this have legs or is this kind of a one-shot deal, do you think? TERRY LEFTON, EDITOR AT LARGE, "SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY": No, he's so early on as a player, he can only get better. I think any basketball expert would tell you that.

Plus, I think it's intriguing that big marketers, like Apple, like Visa -- and, just yesterday, a Gatorade commercial was filmed -- have latched onto him much quickly than any marketers usually do. But, as interesting as it is to see him marketed in this country, I think all these marketers see it as access to the biggest consumer market in the word, 1.3 billion Chinese, the same reasons a lot of marketers are jockeying to get into the Beijing Olympics that are coming up. I think that's the long term.

BROWN: So, it's really -- so, at least as you see it, it's really not so much about whether he can sell in Cleveland as whether he can sell in Canton?

LEFTON: I think that's the larger question. Do you think Visa wants to sell lots of payment products in China? Do you think Apple wants to sell lots of laptops? Do you think Gatorade wants to sell lots of isotonic beverages? Well, sure. Long term, that's really what it's all about.

BROWN: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but it seems to me, those athletes who have had extraordinary success in advertising are, first and foremost, champions. I think Arnold Palmer still brings in $15 million a year. I think Chris Evert still probably does pretty well, Tiger, obviously.

Does he need to be -- does Yao need to be a champion at some point to have the kind of staying power of the real big moneymakers?

LEFTON: If you're going to compare him to Jordan.

But even remember, endorsements mean very little to people that make as much money on the court or on the field as athletes do now, so, in dollar terms, maybe not. But to be one of the best endorsers of all time, well, sure, you have to have a record. But, once again, I get back to the fact that he's global like nobody else is. And that global attraction is what makes him unique and what makes him special.

So, if he never wins an NBA title, he may be a great endorser just because of that.

BROWN: Do you think the fact that he comes across as a nice kid, that he's not especially brash, he's not a trash-talker, a chest- thumper, that sort of thing, does that make him all the more endearing to advertisers?

LEFTON: At a time when particularly NBA people, the mainstream just thinks, yes, maybe they're a little bit too hip-hop, maybe they're just a little bit too out of the mainstream, he seems like, yes, a real nice guy. And he's got the weight of a country on his shoulders. And he seems to be bearing up very well.

As you pointed out before, he's got a great smile as well. And I don't know if you caught it before, Aaron, but one of your commercials today outside the segment was the Yao Ming Apple spot.

BROWN: Was it? No, I did not. I don't see the commercials. But there you go.

Just a final thing. Is this a sign that, not so much the internationalization or the globalization of basketball, but the globalization of all advertising, that one guy in America -- a Chinese guy in America in this case -- can be used, in a dramatic way, to penetrate a huge market overseas, the Asian, not just the Chinese, but the Asian market?

LEFTON: Right.

Well, I will tie them up by saying that sports are a marketing business. And if that wasn't true, I wouldn't have a job. So, therefore, yes, that's true. I will tell you, quite candidly, Major League Baseball had a lot more foreign players a lot sooner than the NBA. The same is true of the NHL.

This really fits perfectly with the way the league has positioned itself this year. They've positioned themselves as the global sport. That's their latest spin. God help us, it actually became true. Yao has become a very good player very quickly. And that's where the league's heading. That's where it's positioned itself. And the league is on Yao's back, to some extent, right now.

BROWN: It's a fascinating story and we hope he does well over the weekend down at the All-Star Game in Atlanta.

It's good to talk to you, Terry. Thanks a lot.

LEFTON: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you, Terry Lefton.

And still ahead tonight: a lovely closing piece tonight, the never-ending quest, the explorers who lived and breathed and often died for their desire to discover.

We'll wrap it up for a Friday night when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Finally from us tonight: discovery.

A friend of Kalpana Chawla, one of the Columbia seven, recalled something she once said, "We're just camping out here on Earth." The place she really wanted to go was Mars. She and her crewmates are the kind of people who are born, though, not made, explorers.

Why it is that way and why we have this need to explore, we cannot know. That's part of the mystery, the mystery of this uniquely human desire to explore.

Here's CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It seems to be encoded in the human DNA, the desire, the drive to explore.

MICHAEL NOVACEK, PROVOST, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: Exploration is part of human nature. People have a desire to look beyond the ridges and the range, the summit of the mountain at the edge of the continent, over into the ocean.

NISSEN: From the Egyptians in 1492 B.C., to Columbus in 1492 A.D., humans have set off for the horizon to see what can be seen, learn what can be learned.

CAPT. ALFRED MCLAREN, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, THE EXPLORERS CLUB: It boils down to the search for new knowledge, satisfying your curiosity, and going beyond the point that other people have gone before you.

NISSEN: Explorers' quests have never been easy, have always been perilous. There are long lists of the lost: Magellan, Cook, Scott.

NOVACEK: Going somewhere where, as the saying goes, no man has gone before or no human has gone before entails some risk.

NISSEN: As a people, Americans have been especially willing to take the risks and explore new frontiers. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's expedition west into the unknown territories of North America.

NOVACEK: The tendency, the passion was to strike out into this new, open, beautiful wilderness. This country, this nation's history represents a history of exploration.

NISSEN: Great expeditions continued into the 20th century, even after most of the Earth's corners had been visited, charted. Explorers set out for the top and bottom of the world: Perry to the North Pole, Amundsen to the South Pole.

A series of Arctic explorers began chipping away at the mysteries of the frozen frontiers. Then, mid-century, attention turned to the final frontier, space. The Soviets were first, launching Sputnik in 1957, sending the first human into space four years later. The Americans followed, sending John Glenn into orbit in 1962. Seven years later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the first human steps on to the service of the moon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, 1969)

BRUCE MCCANDLESS, NASA MISSION CONTROL: They've got the flag up now and you can see the stars and stripes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: In the three decades since, humans have watched the long-unreachable frontier of space become a familiar place, where a few intrepid humans live and work. Yet, there is still so much in space to explore. NOVACEK: There are not only star systems out there, billions of star systems, but we've now identified over a hundred star systems that have planets. We're still really only on the edge of an age of exploration.

NISSEN: Humans are already planning new ventures deeper into space, and, on Earth, deeper into the vast oceans, deeper under the Arctic ice.

MCLAREN: Out of this quest for knowledge, new questions come to mind, new avenues of pursuit. It's never-ending.

NISSEN: Never-ending, the elemental human need to find, to experience, to map as far as our sight and our vision will allow.

Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We'll see you Sunday night from Kuwait, and all next week as well.

Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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