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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Blast in Baghdad Destroys U.N. Building; Israelis Suspend Talks With Palestinian Authority; Schwarzenegger Puts out First Political Ad

Aired August 19, 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, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
It's been a discouraging day for those who seek a more peaceful world, two cowardly attacks dominate the program tonight. In one the victims, including poor children, were riding a bus, hardly a provocative act and in the other the dead were not members of some occupying army but humanitarians, people trying to make life a little easier for the people of Iraq.

Each of these acts will spark reactions, consequences, and they are not likely to be pretty either. As we said, it's been a discouraging day for those who seek a more peaceful world and it's where we begin the whip tonight.

Jane Arraf is in Baghdad with the latest on the bombing of the U.N. headquarters, Jane start us with a headline please.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Aaron, the rescue effort for possible survivors in that destroyed building behind us is over but the search for questions will start as soon as the sun comes up, including what happens to the U.N. now.

BROWN: Jane, thank you. We'll get to you at the top tonight.

The other scene of bloodshed tonight, Michael Holmes is in Jerusalem, the site of a suicide bombing aboard a city bus, Michael a headline.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the Israelis have suspended talks with the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority has suspended talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and, at the end of the day, in a Jerusalem suburb not far from where I stand, 18 people are dead, upwards of 100 are wounded, many of them children -- Aaron.

BROWN: Michael, thank you.

On to California now and the recall campaign, a couple of stories there to report tonight, Dan Lothian on all of them, Dan your headline.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, it was a busy day on the recall campaign trail. Governor Gray Davis was taking responsibility for some of the state's problems. His lieutenant governor says he has a solution to fix all those problems and Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in his own TV ad, a political ad -- Aaron.

BROWN: Dan, thank you.

And, to West Virginia now and the latest on the investigation into a string of deadly shootings. Jeanne Meserve has been working that so, Jeanne, a headline from you tonight.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, no additional shootings but no break in the case. Investigators say they are following up on ten good leads, one of them involving a possible drug connection -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jeanne, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT what now for the road map to peace in the Middle East? Hard not to be deeply pessimistic when you see the pictures from the streets of Jerusalem today. We'll talk to the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.

The investigation continues into what left millions powerless last week. The name of one company continues to surface as potentially part of the problem. First Energy is the company. John Zarrella takes a look at that and we'll talk with another journalist who has been covering this company for years.

And, that extra special bonus at the end of it all, sort of the lollapalooza of news, our nightly look at morning papers on a day we need something to laugh about, all of that and more in the hour ahead. We suspect that the morning papers will all lead with the bombing in Iraq.

Today's bombing in Baghdad signifies a quantum leap in many respects. It was larger and more lethal aimed not at soldiers but at civilians and potentially at least the work of forces having more to do with jihad than some sort of ordinary Iraqi resistance, just one of the possibilities, none of them comforting tonight. The hard reality isn't any easier. One suicide bomber and at least 17 people dead.

We begin with CNN's Jane Arraf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARRAF (voice-over): It was an attack which seemed painstakingly planned for maximum impact. Inside the United Nations Headquarters a TV crew was recording a news conference when the blast hit.

A truck loaded with explosives on an access road detonated and a large part of the U.N. presence here came tumbling down. Seventeen U.N. staff were killed including senior members of the U.N., dozens more wounded.

The truck was parked below the office of U.N. Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. He died as rescue workers struggled to free him from the rubble. His spokesman said Vieira de Mello, who had been due to leave here in September, had worked tirelessly to help Iraqis get back on their feet. SALIM LONE, U.N. BAGHDAD SPOKESMAN: I grieve mostly for the people of Iraq because he was the man who could really have helped bring about an end to occupation, an end to the trauma the people of Iraq have suffered for so long to lead the reconstruction efforts.

ARRAF: With the dead and wounded carried away and the U.N. counting its losses, the U.S. Army cleared the debris throughout the night. Heavy machinery removed huge chunks of concrete and twisted metal. The crater where the truck exploded was roped off by the FBI for investigation.

PAUL BREMER, U.S. IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATOR: We will operate on two levels. We will try to find the people who did this and bring them to justice. The Iraqi police are already working hard on the scene at the U.N. building tonight and we will do our best to disrupt and thwart attacks in the future to the extent the intelligence allows us to do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARRAF: And, as the sun comes up over this shattered building that was the heart of U.N. operations here, there are a lot of questions that are going to have to be answered in just the next few hours including what happens to the U.N. and its massive operations throughout the country starting from now -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jane, just quickly, any claims of responsibility yet?

ARRAF: None and we haven't seen any claims either for the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy. It's likely that we won't. This clearly was an attack that was aimed to show that the coalition forces cannot control the country and perhaps have an influence in how long they stay. It's not clear that there is a specific group that will take responsibility for it -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jane, thank you, Jane Arraf our Bureau Chief in Baghdad tonight.

As we said at the top, the dead today did not wear fatigues. Their mission wasn't war, precisely the opposite, tackling the problems the soldiers cannot seem to fix.

That's historically the business of the United Nations and, although most of us see it as this huge, global organization, tonight it is more like a small town where tragedy has struck.

Here's CNN's Michael Okwu.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shock and disbelief at U.N. Headquarters. Everyone appeared to know someone of the 300 staffers who work in the Baghdad office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventeen people dead at that huge blast. OKWU: By early afternoon all 191 flags of the U.N. member nations were lowered, the U.N. flag at half staff as news of casualties trickled in. Among the dead Sergio Vieira de Mello, the 55-year-old veteran of missions in East Timor, Kosovo, and Cambodia. A tireless advocate of refugees and human rights he was Secretary- General Kofi Annan's top man in Iraq.

FRED ECKHARD, U.N. SPOKESMAN: I can think of no one we could less afford to spare or who would be more acutely missed throughout the U.N. system than Sergio.

OKWU: His main concern getting Iraqis to be more involved in running their own country.

SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO: I consider the development of a culture of human rights in Iraq as fundamental to stability and true peace in that country.

OKWU: Just weeks ago Vieira de Mello made this prescient warning about U.N. safety in Iraq.

DE MELLO: The United Nations presence in Iraq remains vulnerable to any who would seek to target our organization. Our security continues to rely significantly on the reputation of the United Nations, our ability to demonstrate meaningfully that we are in Iraq to assist its people in our independence.

OKWU: U.N. staffers expressed some concern about their operations on the ground.

MARK MALLOCH BROWN, DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME: A lot of our ability to get out and assess the damage in the future reconstruction plans will at least, I suspect, temporally be on hold as we take stock of how we can better protect our staff.

OKWU: In a statement, the Security Council said the attack won't stop the U.N.'s work in Iraq.

FAYSSAL MEKDAD, U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: On the contrary, this necessitates that the United Nations takes all measures to deeper its role in Iraq.

OKWU (on camera): Still, a U.N. official said sending staffers to risky regions is one thing, sending them to lethal ones is another.

Michael Okwu, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: White House reaction tonight comes from the ranch in Crawford, Texas, the president's ranch, the president calling the bombing a test of American will. Left unsaid, however, much in the way of specifics as to how U.S. policy will change if at all in response to today's attack.

Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush got the news on the golf course, a call from his national security adviser informing him of the bomb blast that rocked the U.N. headquarters in Iraq.

Quickly, the president left the 12th hole and headed back to his Crawford ranch calling the U.N. Civil Administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to offer assistance. Moments later the president delivered a message of resolve that the U.S. and U.N. mission in Iraq would not be deterred.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By attempting to spread chaos and fear, terrorists are testing our will. Across the world they are finding that our will cannot be shaken.

MALVEAUX: But later in the day more devastating news, the U.N. special envoy in Iraq caught in the blast has died. At least 18 countries are providing troops in Iraq to assist in U.S. peacekeeping and the U.N. is at the forefront of providing humanitarian assistance.

The administration framed today's attack as one against the Iraqi people. Mr. Bush used the bombing to make a plea for their help.

BUSH: The Iraqi people face a challenge and they face a choice. The terrorists want to return to the days of torture chambers and mass graves. The Iraqis who want peace and freedom must reject them and fight terror and the United States and many in the world will be there to help them.

(on camera): While some in the Bush administration fear that the bombing will deter countries from participating in Iraqi reconstruction, a senior White House official says there is so much outrage in the international community it may actually galvanize countries to work for democracy in Iraq.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, in Crawford, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: With us now from Baghdad is Dexter Filkins, one of the "New York Times" reporters who is filing on the bombing in tomorrow's paper. It's good to see you. Was a corner turned today? Has the playing field, if you will, dramatically changed because of what happened today?

DEXTER FILKINS, "NEW YORK TIMES": Absolutely. It's a much scarier place today. I mean nobody has done anything like this. I mean in the past you've had, you know, there have been attacks mainly on U.S. soldiers, which is bad enough, and ten, 12 days ago there was an attack on the Jordanian Embassy that killed a lot of people but this is just a whole new, this is a whole new era here and I think everybody feels it.

BROWN: Why is this different from the Jordanian Embassy attack? FILKINS: Well, it's not really. It's a lot -- the bomb that was used was a lot bigger but you had a lot of civilians killed in that attack as well. I think what's particularly chilling about this one is that they went after the people, the very people who were trying to rebuild this country and it's obvious that the whole goal here was to just make as many people suffer as possible and they've certainly accomplished that today.

BROWN: Who possibly benefits from this horrible, cowardly act today?

FILKINS: I don't -- it's hard to say. I don't know that they're even thinking about that. I mean I can say that American officials have been very, very concerned just over the past couple of weeks.

I was talking with some people the night before the blast at the Jordanian Embassy about a group called Ansar Islam, which if you'll recall it's a militant Islamic group that was based in northern Iraq. It was attacked by the American forces during the war.

There's a great concern on the part of the Americans here that this group was dispersed but now they've come back and they believe that there are hundreds of these guys in Baghdad now and that they're planning attacks.

And so, it's hard to say who did this but there are several hundred people out there who the Americans believe are here who certainly want to do this kind of thing.

BROWN: Does the fact that no one has claimed responsibility give us any clue as to who might be behind it?

FILKINS: No. I mean I think, you know, this group that I'm speaking of, Ansar Islam, it's believed to be kind of an umbrella group for any kind of Islamic group that wants to attack the west or western targets or the United States.

So, I mean it could be three guys, it could be 50 but, you know, the sad thing about these attacks is it doesn't take very much money and it doesn't take a lot of people to carry them out.

BROWN: Who was responsible for security around the building and what sort of security was there around the building when the truck pulled up?

FILKINS: Well, there wasn't very much security around the building and, in fact, my understanding is, is that the American Army had offered to help the U.N. beef up security.

If you go to a lot of these sites, international organizations and some of the embassies and certainly the military targets, you know, there are armored personnel carriers, there's troops around there. There was none of that at the U.N. There were some armed guards.

There were some guys standing around with Kalashnikovs but the U.N. politely said no, thanks very much, but we don't want to send the wrong message and we want to try to be open and we want to invite the Iraqi people in and, of course, again I mean it's just the kind of thing that gets targeted here and it's just the kind of attitude that gets punished.

BROWN: I want to go back to the beginning for a second. You said it is a much -- it feels to be a much more dangerous place today. In terms of the work of reporters, humanitarian groups and the rest do you sense that there will be some pulling back because of what happened today?

FILKINS: Well, it's -- there won't be on our part but it's hard to believe that things won't tighten up and, again, that just makes everything more difficult because everybody here, whether it's the soldiers or the aid organizations could all, you know, just get behind the sandbags and get in their bunkers and stay reasonably safe but then they wouldn't be able to do their work. I mean their work is getting out and getting in touch with people and helping them and so it's just they're caught in a very tough situation.

BROWN: Dexter thanks for your time. I know it's early there and it's been a long day for you and probably another long day ahead. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. Dexter Filkins of the "New York Times."

FILKINS: Yes, thank you.

BROWN: He will file with a colleague in tomorrow's edition of the paper. We'll probably have a look at that before the program is over.

Ahead on the program tonight, a suicide bombing, another, brings the Mid East peace process to a halt. We'll tell you what happened there.

We'll also talk with Saeb Erakat to tell us what the Palestinians are going to do in the wake of this.

And later, the sniper, the drugs, and why police are linking the two.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's little you can say about a day in which two enormous bombings jostle for the lead except thank goodness it's over. At least 18 people died today in a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem and, like the attack in Baghdad, the bombing represents a challenge to all sides of a very dicey equation, in this case Israeli, Palestinian, and American

Here again, CNN's Michael Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES (voice-over): It was a balmy summer's evening in West Jerusalem. The streets and busses crammed with locals who had been clinging to the hope that a cease-fire by Palestinian militants might hold.

That hope shattered when a double length bus, the #2, was blown apart by a suicide bomber. The bus was filled with scores of people, many of the victims ultra Orthodox Jews who had been praying at the Western or Wailing Wall in the Old City.

Among the dead several children, among the wounded at least one baby. Israeli authorities say the bomber had come from the West Bank city of Hebron, stood in the center of the bus, and detonated what police said was a large bomb.

There have been in recent weeks two other suicide bombings, responses say Palestinian militant groups to several Israeli military raids in the West Bank. But despite that, it has been a period of relative calm in Israel and Tuesday night the streets were bustling, the restaurants doing a brisk trade.

The bus came literally as the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was talking to the militant Islamic Jihad about extending its cease-fire. That same group later claiming responsibility for the bombing as did another militant group Hamas.

Both said their cease-fire set to run until the end of September would remain in effect and that the bombing was a response to Israeli military operations in the West Bank, including one that led to the death of a militant leader of Islamic Jihad Mohammad Sidr in Hebron last week. Prime Minister Abbas condemned the attack within hours saying it harmed the Palestinian cause and was a terrible act. Israeli officials went on the attack.

GIDEON MEIR, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: The Palestinian Authority must make up its mind do they want peace with Israel or do they want peace with Hamas and Islamic Jihad? Both don't go hand in hand.

HOLMES: As always happens after such an attack, the Israeli Security Cabinet will convene Wednesday to discuss possible steps.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now that cabinet meeting due to start in just a few hours, Aaron, on the table the closure of the West Bank, something that hasn't been seen for a while as the road map has stumbled its way along.

Also what one senior Israeli official told me was a plan to perhaps take what he called the necessary security steps that Palestinians have failed to take, his words.

Now, also on the Palestinian side clearly this is not a good thing for Mahmoud Abbas as he tried to establish credibility and standing on the Palestinian street. They're embarrassing for him. He immediately responded by saying he was cutting off any connection or any talks, negotiations, dialogue with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and he said that some unspecified actions would be taken in the days ahead -- Aaron.

BROWN: I'm going to get to the Palestinian side in a second but let's just stay for a second on the Israeli side. I think we understand what closing up the West Bank means. Talk about this other option, that means going in again, retaking cities, reoccupying cities, is that what they're saying?

HOLMES: It's hard to know what they're saying but in the past my experience has been if they say take the necessary steps it will often mean tanks and armored personnel carriers.

BROWN: OK.

HOLMES: I think in this situation the Sharon government is going to be under enormous pressure from the U.S. to not do that.

BROWN: Michael, thank you, Michael Holmes in Jerusalem tonight.

So, as you just heard the Palestinian Prime Minister condemned the attack but he finds himself at odds with the very groups that can effectively veto his efforts as they did today so where does that leave the negotiations? Where does it leave the road map? Where does it leave the Palestinian Authority?

We're joined on the phone by Saeb Erakat, always a major player on the Palestinian side and he is in Jericho this morning for him, good to have you with us.

Does this not prove the point that Israelis have been making for some time, that some Israelis have been making for some time that whether Mr. Abbas wants to or not isn't the point, he doesn't seem willing in the end to take the actions necessary to crack down on the terrorists?

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: Well, Aaron, let me have the Palestinian Authority condemn with the strongest possible terms this attack which undermines Palestinian interests, which attempts to sabotage the road map and derail the peace process and I really hope that the Israelis will not shoot themselves in the foot by suspending the negotiations.

On the contrary, we should (unintelligible) with a strong message that the peace process will continue, that negotiations will continue. Aaron, we were supposed to be meeting last night in order to hand over to us by the Israelis four major cities in the West Bank because, you know, the West Bank today is absolutely under Israeli occupation.

They were supposed to turn back Jericho, my city I'm speaking to you from, and Tulkarem, Ramallah and Kalkilya and later in the week move -- later on in the month and next month move to Hebron, Jenin, other areas because the West Bank, Aaron, is absolutely under Israeli control. The Israelis... BROWN: Sir.

ERAKAT: ...don't have to send their tanks back into our city.

BROWN: Fair point. Let me just come back to the question. Does this not prove the point that critics of the road map have made on the Israeli side which is that your side either unwilling to or unable to stop the terrorists attacks?

ERAKAT: Well, Aaron, I think in the road map we have responsibilities. We should maintain the oneness of our authority. Parallel authorities should not be tolerated but the process was just beginning.

We need to take control back. We need to begin taking our role in order to decide exactly what you said to maintain the oneness of our authority to make sure that the rule of law applies to all Palestinians and no Palestinians are allowed to take the law into their own hands through such actions.

Yesterday, and this is why and this is the reason why this process, this peace process must continue. I urge the American president. I urge the quartet, other members of the quartet, to exert every possible effort in order to ensure that the peace process will continue because for the last two years we had tried the military solutions.

We had tried the tanks rolling in towns, sieges, closures and so on. It just did not stop these things from happening and I believe that. The only thing that will stop this from happening is to strengthen the Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and strengthen the implementation of the road map.

BROWN: OK, we've got probably a minute left. Let me try and ask one more question. Do you believe that the Palestinian Authority now must more aggressively, that it can't make nice with Islamic Jihad and Hamas, it can't say please don't do this anymore, it has to go in in an aggressive way and take them out?

ERAKAT: Well, I think last night both President Arafat and Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, have instructed all Palestinian security forces, especially in Gaza because as I told you we don't have a presence for security in the West Bank yet. I hope that we can (unintelligible) as soon as possible to conduct a major investigation into the matter and the instructions are very clear to bring those who plan and perpetrated this attack to justice.

And I hope that we will be given the chance to do that and I hope that the communications and negotiations will continue and I hope that the United States will continue involved in trying to implement the road map from all its aspects.

BROWN: Mr. Erakat, as always, it's nice to have you on the program. We appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Still ahead on the program tonight, California candidates take to the airwaves. Arnold Schwarzenegger first on TV but will that make him first at the ballot box?

That and the governor speaks as well, lots going on in California.

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's an axiom in politics: Never let your opponent define you; it won't be flattering. For the last few days, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been on the wrong side of that wisdom, his Republican opponents getting in a few tough shots at his expense, the Democrats, too. Today, he tried to turn things around with his first campaign ad.

Meantime, Gray Davis, California's governor, made the first major political speech of his campaign to stay in office.

Here's CNN's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cheered by supporters and accompanied by his wife, Governor Gray Davis stepped up to the mike and took responsibility for some of California's problems.

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I know many of you feel that I was too slow to act during the energy crisis. I got your message. And I accept that criticism.

LOTHIAN: In his first major speech focusing on the recall effort, Davis blasted Republicans for -- quote -- "trying to steal elections." He promised to get a handle on budget problems by appointing a commission and vowed to fight. Was it enough?

SHERRY BEBITCH-JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Just as no other candidate to replace him has given us anything in the way of really hard, detailed solutions, the governor didn't do that either. He simply said, basically: This happened. I dealt with it. Trust me.

LOTHIAN: Democratic candidate Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante says he has specifics, unveiling a tough-love plan of $8 billion in new taxes he says will solve the state's budget woes.

LT. GOV. CRUZ BUSTAMANTE (D-CA), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The folks at the top have to pay their fair share. The folks at the bottom have to pay something. And the people being squeezed in the middle need some relief from car taxes and college fees.

LOTHIAN: But the leading Republican in the race, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is calling on voters to give him a chance to fix California, unveiling a 60-second ad outlining a general vision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running for governor to lead a movement for change and give California back its future. I stand for fiscally responsible government, rebuilding California's economic engine, putting the needs of children first, and reforming our political system, so that the public interest comes before special interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Arnold Schwarzenegger will be meeting tomorrow with his economic recovery council. His chief economic adviser, Warren Buffett, is expected to be there. It's a mostly closed meeting. But everyone is waiting to see if, after that meeting, Schwarzenegger will give specifics about his economic plan -- Aaron.

BROWN: That's sort of what this whole thing has come down to, is when we find out what Mr. Schwarzenegger thinks about anything. We didn't find out much in the ad. Do they have a timetable? Did they give you all any clues as to when they're going to make policy statements?

LOTHIAN: We have not gotten any clues about that, but that's why it's so important, if he's meeting with all of his top economic advisers tomorrow, perhaps that is when, or soon after that, we will be able to find out some specifics. That is what the voters and certainly the media have been looking for.

BROWN: Well, this media is. Thank you very much, Dan Lothian, in California tonight.

Still to come on the program: a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world; plus, following the blackout trail, from the power grid to the power overloads, all lines leading to one company. Is that fair? We'll see.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The elevator story, the roller coaster story. Yikes.

A few stories from around the world now, starting with a piece of welcome news from Iraq. Haven't had much of that. Kurdish forces at Mosul captured another top member of the old regime. He is Taha Yassin Ramadan, former vice president, a man once called "Saddam's Knuckles." He is the one who called the Saudi foreign minister a dog and worse during a meeting of the Gulf states in the days before the war.

In Afghanistan -- you all remember Afghanistan, don't you? -- an explosion ripped through the home of the brother of President Hamid Karzai. The blast, which was caused by explosives being stored in the basement, was apparently an accident. Rough justice in Morocco: a court today sentencing four men to death, 83 others to prison, this for their part in planning suicide bombings last may in Casablanca, bombings that killed 33 people.

A few more stories now from around the United States, beginning with a very messy night, to say the least, in Las Vegas. Almost 3 inches of rain fell in the area this afternoon. That has caused flash floods, trapped some drivers in their cars, swamped some neighborhoods. Some people had to be rescued by helicopter, as you can see. All in all, kind of a wet day in the desert, in this case, in Las Vegas.

And drivers in Phoenix, Arizona, may get some relief from the gas shortage in a few days. The operator of a pipeline that normally supplies the area got an OK today to begin safety tests. That means the line could be back in service by the weekend. The line ruptured late last month, was shut down completely last week because of safety concerns.

Still ahead on the program tonight: new leads in the West Virginia sniper case. Believe it or not, drugs may be connected somehow.

We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: If there was any one thing that made the sniper attacks last fall so terrifying, it was their utter randomness, no clear pattern, no obvious motive, no easy way to protect yourself.

In recent days, the people of Charleston, West Virginia, feared they were seeing the same sort of terror, a string of deadly shootings. Now some residents believe it's not as random as it might seem. They see a link to drugs. If investigators believed that for certain, they are keeping it to themselves.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On bicycle, investigators made the rounds of Campbell's Creek, where one victim lived and was shot, where another victim grew up. Some of the locals believe the shootings are linked to the area drug trade.

CHIEF PHIL MORRIS, KANAWHA COUNTY SHERIFFS: In this area, there's a lot of drugs that have been bought and sold. And the public here is concerned.

MESERVE (on camera): What kind of drugs are we talking about?

MORRIS: Methamphetamines.

MESERVE (voice-over): Law enforcement won't say whether they have linked any of the victims to drugs. Okey Meadows, the victim who grew up in Campbell's Creek, had nothing to do with them, according to his grandfather.

KENNETH TINSLEY, VICTIM'S GRANDFATHER: My grandson was a good boy. Never did drugs, never drank and never smoked. And went to church.

MESERVE: The third shooting took place in the city of Charleston. And the victim there had no known connection to Campbell's Creek. The locals say there is an active drug trade in this area, too, and suspect that the phones at which Gary Carrier were shot are sometimes used for drug deals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Investigators say they're following up on 10 good leads, but some close to the investigation say the real key is likely to be that dark truck that was spotted at the scene of one of the shootings. No progress on that front is reported -- Aaron, back to you.

BROWN: Have there been actual witnesses to the shootings themselves? Have they been able to tell much of the story?

MESERVE: I had a conversation tonight with a woman who says she was at the Speedway where Jeanie Patton was shot last Thursday night. She told a harrowing story of being inside the store. She and the clerk thought they heard a firecracker. The cashier said, where did that woman who was pumping gas go?

She went out. She saw Jeanie Patton lying on the ground, blood coming out of the back of her head, $5 near her hand, with which she was going to pay for her gas. This witness ran back inside, told the cashier to call 911. Then she went back out to Jeanie Patton. She said she was in pain, she was confused. She grasped for her arm. She stayed with her until she died. She very much wants the family to know that she was not alone when she died.

By coincidence, this woman also knows Okey Meadows Jr., who was the other victim to be shot that night. He used to work for this witness. And she says he was vivacious, hard-working, dependable. She never saw any indication that he had anything to do with drugs.

And let also say, Aaron, that at that Speedway that night, this witness says she saw no absolutely sign of the Ford F-150 that police are looking for -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, that's a lot. Jeanne, thank you very much -- Jeanne Meserve, who is in Charleston, West Virginia, tonight.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT: the trail for the blackout culprit. We look for culprits in these sorts of things. The road seems, at least the early one, to lead to one company. We'll talk about that and more.

NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: On now to the investigation into last week's blackout. And something we can't stress enough -- for our tastes, at least -- it's too early to pinpoint the cause.

That said, industry investigators have tracked down transmission lines in Ohio as a possible source. And the company that owns three of four of those suspect lines has reportedly had its share of troubles this summer and before.

The latest from CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Power industry experts are looking at four tripped transmission lines in Ohio as a possible starting point of the cascading blackout. Three of the lines are owned by FirstEnergy. One is co-owned with American Electric. Federal energy officials say it is still too soon to blame last Thursday's events on FirstEnergy or anyone else.

WILLIAM MASSEY, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION: It should not have cascaded like this. So there was a failure somewhere. But we do not know where that failure was yet. And I have not prejudged that.

ZARRELLA: But FirstEnergy has had its share of other difficulties. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled, FirstEnergy violated the federal Clean Air Act by not installing anti-pollution equipment at its Sammis coal-fired plant while making other upgrades.

In his summary, Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. wrote -- quote -- "By any standard, the enforcement of the Clean Air Act with regard to the Sammis plant has been disastrous" -- end quote. And the company's Davis-Besse nuclear plant has been down since 2002, when acid corrosion was found in the reactor.

DOROTHEA MATTHEWS, CREDITSIGHTS UTILITIES ANALYST: What we're looking at is a series of what people are calling bad luck. But after a while, when you get that much bad luck, you have to start looking around and wondering why they're having all this bad luck and other people aren't.

ZARRELLA: A FirstEnergy spokesman says the company believes it is in full compliance with federal air pollution rules at its Sammis plant. Regarding its Davis-Besse nuclear plant, the company says -- quote -- "We are looking to restart in the fall. We have made good progress there. We have changed out the management to make sure it doesn't happen again" -- end quote.

And FirstEnergy says, it's premature to be pinning last Thursday's events on them. Energy officials say the data from the affected power companies is so good, there's no doubt they'll find the root cause of the blackout.

John Zarrella, CNN, Cleveland. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, we said a few moments ago FirstEnergy has had a rough summer. John said it, too. At least one reporter says the company's troubles go back a lot farther than that.

Greg Palast is an investigative reporter for the BBC. And he joins us tonight.

Very briefly, why does an investigative reporter for the BBC have any knowledge about FirstEnergy?

GREG PALAST, BBC INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, because before I was a reporter, an investigative reporter, I was an investigatory. And I dug into FirstEnergy and the rest of this power pirates crew for the governor of Ohio and for the state commissions that used to regulate these guys, before we had deregulation.

BROWN: You paint a picture of a company that is -- and I don't think anyone disputes this -- is up to its eyeballs in debt because of all these acquisitions, is under pressure to reduce debt, and so has cut corners, cut corners, and cut corners.

PALAST: No kidding.

First of all, this is the company under the -- now this alias of FirstEnergy that was the model for the movie "China Syndrome," the Ohio unit. Its Pennsylvania unit gave us the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

BROWN: But did they own -- the company that was running Three Mile Island, did they own -- FirstEnergy own it at the time of the Three Mile Island incident?

PALAST: Well, they merged together to create this kind of monstrosity.

BROWN: But that was later, wasn't it?

PALAST: Right.

So what happened is that you've got a company with a long history of bad record-keeping, fiddling with the books, playing games with their engineering. But in the good old days of regulation, we used to be able to nail these guys, investigate them, say, you didn't spend enough money. You've got to fix these problems, the "China Syndrome" problem, which was faked well until we caught them.

We can't do that today. What you really have to go back to is ultimately not which of these units brought down the system, because the power problem cascaded throughout the system. It should have been stopped. The third company, called Niagara Mohawk, they just laid off 800 people, almost their entire maintenance staff. It's owned by the British, by the way. And they just carted off that money back to England. That's a problem with deregulation.

Same with FirstEnergy. You have to understand, they've laid off hundreds of workers. They've slashed maintenance.

BROWN: Without getting too sort of overwhelmed by these, what exactly has been deregulated in the grid structure?

PALAST: Very simple, we've stopped telling these guys exactly how much money they should spend. That used to be the rule of deregulation.

We gave them like government budgets. You spend so much money. We would track them. We had a system of accounting that accounted for each nut and bolt in the system. Yes, little bureaucrats, thick rule books. We kept the lights on. It was cheap. It was a system that worked.

Then we deregulated and said, let the miracle of the free markets take over. Well, the miracle has been higher prices and blackouts here and in California. Ultimately, it's not the utilities. You've got to go back to the dim bulbs in the White House.

BROWN: FirstEnergy went out and gobbled up, bought up a lot of other companies. It's become, as we all saw, the power grid company, basically, in the Northeast. And in doing so, are they -- have rates gone up?

PALAST: Yes.

You have to understand is that rates have gone up as these merges have occurred, because, also, some of the increase is invisible. As the price of oil collapsed, the savings was not passed on to customers. When we look at the expansion of FirstEnergy across the Northeast, don't forget, in the Midwest, they also went into England. They went all over the world. They went into the power trading business, basically putting the money into the casino of power trading. So they ended up with no cash.

BROWN: They say, well, maybe our lines were at fault, maybe they weren't; it's simply too early to know. That's probably fair, isn't it? Is it probably too early to know.

PALAST: No, it's not fair.

Look, the job of the utility executive is not to ask, where did the problem start? Their job is to keep the lights on, to be able to react to the problems.

BROWN: Fair point.

PALAST: That's what we pay them to do, to keep those guys in place. But they laid off all the workers. So when the emergency hit, it's like, if you get rid of all the firemen and you have a fire, you've got an empty firehouse. This is what happened.

So they saved the money. You don't notice it in electric systems because they're highly automated. But you end up, when there's an emergency that hits, you're in trouble.

BROWN: Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming in.

PALAST: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: I appreciate it very much.

Morning papers, yes, that's what we'll do, morning papers.

We'll take a break first. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK. Okeydokey, that was. Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world.

Start with "The New York Times." Look, everybody's leading the same, all right? So we'll look at some other things in the paper. But "The Times" doesn't normally throw up a big headline. By the way, they're betting in the control room how many papers I get in tonight. "Huge Suicide Blast Demolishes U.N. Headquarters in Baghdad: Top Aide Official Among 17 Dead." Dexter Filkins filed. His story is the main story. And then an analysis piece: "Chaos as an Anti-U.S. Strategy." "The New York Times" reporting on the day.

"Hartford Courant" -- well, yes. "Hartford Courant," same picture. Whose is it? Getty picture. "Blows to Peace" is the headline. "Baghdad U.N. Blast Kills at Least 17." And that's a great picture, isn't it? I mean, it's an awful picture. Down here in the "Hartford Courant" in Hartford, Connecticut, "Firm Bids For Couch Gambling." Why would you bet on your couch? No, it's actually horse racing you can do from home.

"The Chicago Sun-Times": "U.N. Envoy, 19 Others" -- everybody's got different numbers on this, by the way -- "Killed by Iraq Bomb." "Bush Likely to Face More Pressure to Get International Help." This is another terrific picture in there. And the weather tomorrow in Chicago pretty much sums up the news today, dastardly. It doesn't sound very good, does it?

How we doing on time, David?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A minute six.

BROWN: A minute six? All right, I need to pace myself.

"The San Francisco Chronicle." "Davis Pleads For Voters' Support." Their big headline on the recall, "Bustamante's Budget: Tax the Rich, Cut Car Fees For the Poor." And then, on attack, this is Governor Davis, as we reported earlier. "GOP Accused of Trying to Steal the Election." But the story that I actually want to point out here, "Woman Killed By" -- I'm not laughing about this, OK, honestly -- "Woman Killed by Shark Off Coast." But are we going to be doing that again, the whole summer of shark things? There's serious stuff going on. Just a message to the bosses.

"The Detroit Free Press." Down here in the corner, please. "Super Festival Will Mark Super Bowl." OK. That's in 2006, 900 days until the Super Bowl and counting in Detroit.

That's morning papers. That's the program. We'll see you tomorrow.

Until then, 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





Talks With Palestinian Authority; Schwarzenegger Puts out First Political Ad>


Aired August 19, 2003 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
It's been a discouraging day for those who seek a more peaceful world, two cowardly attacks dominate the program tonight. In one the victims, including poor children, were riding a bus, hardly a provocative act and in the other the dead were not members of some occupying army but humanitarians, people trying to make life a little easier for the people of Iraq.

Each of these acts will spark reactions, consequences, and they are not likely to be pretty either. As we said, it's been a discouraging day for those who seek a more peaceful world and it's where we begin the whip tonight.

Jane Arraf is in Baghdad with the latest on the bombing of the U.N. headquarters, Jane start us with a headline please.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Aaron, the rescue effort for possible survivors in that destroyed building behind us is over but the search for questions will start as soon as the sun comes up, including what happens to the U.N. now.

BROWN: Jane, thank you. We'll get to you at the top tonight.

The other scene of bloodshed tonight, Michael Holmes is in Jerusalem, the site of a suicide bombing aboard a city bus, Michael a headline.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the Israelis have suspended talks with the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority has suspended talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and, at the end of the day, in a Jerusalem suburb not far from where I stand, 18 people are dead, upwards of 100 are wounded, many of them children -- Aaron.

BROWN: Michael, thank you.

On to California now and the recall campaign, a couple of stories there to report tonight, Dan Lothian on all of them, Dan your headline.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, it was a busy day on the recall campaign trail. Governor Gray Davis was taking responsibility for some of the state's problems. His lieutenant governor says he has a solution to fix all those problems and Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in his own TV ad, a political ad -- Aaron.

BROWN: Dan, thank you.

And, to West Virginia now and the latest on the investigation into a string of deadly shootings. Jeanne Meserve has been working that so, Jeanne, a headline from you tonight.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, no additional shootings but no break in the case. Investigators say they are following up on ten good leads, one of them involving a possible drug connection -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jeanne, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT what now for the road map to peace in the Middle East? Hard not to be deeply pessimistic when you see the pictures from the streets of Jerusalem today. We'll talk to the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.

The investigation continues into what left millions powerless last week. The name of one company continues to surface as potentially part of the problem. First Energy is the company. John Zarrella takes a look at that and we'll talk with another journalist who has been covering this company for years.

And, that extra special bonus at the end of it all, sort of the lollapalooza of news, our nightly look at morning papers on a day we need something to laugh about, all of that and more in the hour ahead. We suspect that the morning papers will all lead with the bombing in Iraq.

Today's bombing in Baghdad signifies a quantum leap in many respects. It was larger and more lethal aimed not at soldiers but at civilians and potentially at least the work of forces having more to do with jihad than some sort of ordinary Iraqi resistance, just one of the possibilities, none of them comforting tonight. The hard reality isn't any easier. One suicide bomber and at least 17 people dead.

We begin with CNN's Jane Arraf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARRAF (voice-over): It was an attack which seemed painstakingly planned for maximum impact. Inside the United Nations Headquarters a TV crew was recording a news conference when the blast hit.

A truck loaded with explosives on an access road detonated and a large part of the U.N. presence here came tumbling down. Seventeen U.N. staff were killed including senior members of the U.N., dozens more wounded.

The truck was parked below the office of U.N. Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. He died as rescue workers struggled to free him from the rubble. His spokesman said Vieira de Mello, who had been due to leave here in September, had worked tirelessly to help Iraqis get back on their feet. SALIM LONE, U.N. BAGHDAD SPOKESMAN: I grieve mostly for the people of Iraq because he was the man who could really have helped bring about an end to occupation, an end to the trauma the people of Iraq have suffered for so long to lead the reconstruction efforts.

ARRAF: With the dead and wounded carried away and the U.N. counting its losses, the U.S. Army cleared the debris throughout the night. Heavy machinery removed huge chunks of concrete and twisted metal. The crater where the truck exploded was roped off by the FBI for investigation.

PAUL BREMER, U.S. IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATOR: We will operate on two levels. We will try to find the people who did this and bring them to justice. The Iraqi police are already working hard on the scene at the U.N. building tonight and we will do our best to disrupt and thwart attacks in the future to the extent the intelligence allows us to do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARRAF: And, as the sun comes up over this shattered building that was the heart of U.N. operations here, there are a lot of questions that are going to have to be answered in just the next few hours including what happens to the U.N. and its massive operations throughout the country starting from now -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jane, just quickly, any claims of responsibility yet?

ARRAF: None and we haven't seen any claims either for the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy. It's likely that we won't. This clearly was an attack that was aimed to show that the coalition forces cannot control the country and perhaps have an influence in how long they stay. It's not clear that there is a specific group that will take responsibility for it -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jane, thank you, Jane Arraf our Bureau Chief in Baghdad tonight.

As we said at the top, the dead today did not wear fatigues. Their mission wasn't war, precisely the opposite, tackling the problems the soldiers cannot seem to fix.

That's historically the business of the United Nations and, although most of us see it as this huge, global organization, tonight it is more like a small town where tragedy has struck.

Here's CNN's Michael Okwu.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shock and disbelief at U.N. Headquarters. Everyone appeared to know someone of the 300 staffers who work in the Baghdad office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventeen people dead at that huge blast. OKWU: By early afternoon all 191 flags of the U.N. member nations were lowered, the U.N. flag at half staff as news of casualties trickled in. Among the dead Sergio Vieira de Mello, the 55-year-old veteran of missions in East Timor, Kosovo, and Cambodia. A tireless advocate of refugees and human rights he was Secretary- General Kofi Annan's top man in Iraq.

FRED ECKHARD, U.N. SPOKESMAN: I can think of no one we could less afford to spare or who would be more acutely missed throughout the U.N. system than Sergio.

OKWU: His main concern getting Iraqis to be more involved in running their own country.

SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO: I consider the development of a culture of human rights in Iraq as fundamental to stability and true peace in that country.

OKWU: Just weeks ago Vieira de Mello made this prescient warning about U.N. safety in Iraq.

DE MELLO: The United Nations presence in Iraq remains vulnerable to any who would seek to target our organization. Our security continues to rely significantly on the reputation of the United Nations, our ability to demonstrate meaningfully that we are in Iraq to assist its people in our independence.

OKWU: U.N. staffers expressed some concern about their operations on the ground.

MARK MALLOCH BROWN, DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME: A lot of our ability to get out and assess the damage in the future reconstruction plans will at least, I suspect, temporally be on hold as we take stock of how we can better protect our staff.

OKWU: In a statement, the Security Council said the attack won't stop the U.N.'s work in Iraq.

FAYSSAL MEKDAD, U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: On the contrary, this necessitates that the United Nations takes all measures to deeper its role in Iraq.

OKWU (on camera): Still, a U.N. official said sending staffers to risky regions is one thing, sending them to lethal ones is another.

Michael Okwu, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: White House reaction tonight comes from the ranch in Crawford, Texas, the president's ranch, the president calling the bombing a test of American will. Left unsaid, however, much in the way of specifics as to how U.S. policy will change if at all in response to today's attack.

Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush got the news on the golf course, a call from his national security adviser informing him of the bomb blast that rocked the U.N. headquarters in Iraq.

Quickly, the president left the 12th hole and headed back to his Crawford ranch calling the U.N. Civil Administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to offer assistance. Moments later the president delivered a message of resolve that the U.S. and U.N. mission in Iraq would not be deterred.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By attempting to spread chaos and fear, terrorists are testing our will. Across the world they are finding that our will cannot be shaken.

MALVEAUX: But later in the day more devastating news, the U.N. special envoy in Iraq caught in the blast has died. At least 18 countries are providing troops in Iraq to assist in U.S. peacekeeping and the U.N. is at the forefront of providing humanitarian assistance.

The administration framed today's attack as one against the Iraqi people. Mr. Bush used the bombing to make a plea for their help.

BUSH: The Iraqi people face a challenge and they face a choice. The terrorists want to return to the days of torture chambers and mass graves. The Iraqis who want peace and freedom must reject them and fight terror and the United States and many in the world will be there to help them.

(on camera): While some in the Bush administration fear that the bombing will deter countries from participating in Iraqi reconstruction, a senior White House official says there is so much outrage in the international community it may actually galvanize countries to work for democracy in Iraq.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, in Crawford, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: With us now from Baghdad is Dexter Filkins, one of the "New York Times" reporters who is filing on the bombing in tomorrow's paper. It's good to see you. Was a corner turned today? Has the playing field, if you will, dramatically changed because of what happened today?

DEXTER FILKINS, "NEW YORK TIMES": Absolutely. It's a much scarier place today. I mean nobody has done anything like this. I mean in the past you've had, you know, there have been attacks mainly on U.S. soldiers, which is bad enough, and ten, 12 days ago there was an attack on the Jordanian Embassy that killed a lot of people but this is just a whole new, this is a whole new era here and I think everybody feels it.

BROWN: Why is this different from the Jordanian Embassy attack? FILKINS: Well, it's not really. It's a lot -- the bomb that was used was a lot bigger but you had a lot of civilians killed in that attack as well. I think what's particularly chilling about this one is that they went after the people, the very people who were trying to rebuild this country and it's obvious that the whole goal here was to just make as many people suffer as possible and they've certainly accomplished that today.

BROWN: Who possibly benefits from this horrible, cowardly act today?

FILKINS: I don't -- it's hard to say. I don't know that they're even thinking about that. I mean I can say that American officials have been very, very concerned just over the past couple of weeks.

I was talking with some people the night before the blast at the Jordanian Embassy about a group called Ansar Islam, which if you'll recall it's a militant Islamic group that was based in northern Iraq. It was attacked by the American forces during the war.

There's a great concern on the part of the Americans here that this group was dispersed but now they've come back and they believe that there are hundreds of these guys in Baghdad now and that they're planning attacks.

And so, it's hard to say who did this but there are several hundred people out there who the Americans believe are here who certainly want to do this kind of thing.

BROWN: Does the fact that no one has claimed responsibility give us any clue as to who might be behind it?

FILKINS: No. I mean I think, you know, this group that I'm speaking of, Ansar Islam, it's believed to be kind of an umbrella group for any kind of Islamic group that wants to attack the west or western targets or the United States.

So, I mean it could be three guys, it could be 50 but, you know, the sad thing about these attacks is it doesn't take very much money and it doesn't take a lot of people to carry them out.

BROWN: Who was responsible for security around the building and what sort of security was there around the building when the truck pulled up?

FILKINS: Well, there wasn't very much security around the building and, in fact, my understanding is, is that the American Army had offered to help the U.N. beef up security.

If you go to a lot of these sites, international organizations and some of the embassies and certainly the military targets, you know, there are armored personnel carriers, there's troops around there. There was none of that at the U.N. There were some armed guards.

There were some guys standing around with Kalashnikovs but the U.N. politely said no, thanks very much, but we don't want to send the wrong message and we want to try to be open and we want to invite the Iraqi people in and, of course, again I mean it's just the kind of thing that gets targeted here and it's just the kind of attitude that gets punished.

BROWN: I want to go back to the beginning for a second. You said it is a much -- it feels to be a much more dangerous place today. In terms of the work of reporters, humanitarian groups and the rest do you sense that there will be some pulling back because of what happened today?

FILKINS: Well, it's -- there won't be on our part but it's hard to believe that things won't tighten up and, again, that just makes everything more difficult because everybody here, whether it's the soldiers or the aid organizations could all, you know, just get behind the sandbags and get in their bunkers and stay reasonably safe but then they wouldn't be able to do their work. I mean their work is getting out and getting in touch with people and helping them and so it's just they're caught in a very tough situation.

BROWN: Dexter thanks for your time. I know it's early there and it's been a long day for you and probably another long day ahead. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. Dexter Filkins of the "New York Times."

FILKINS: Yes, thank you.

BROWN: He will file with a colleague in tomorrow's edition of the paper. We'll probably have a look at that before the program is over.

Ahead on the program tonight, a suicide bombing, another, brings the Mid East peace process to a halt. We'll tell you what happened there.

We'll also talk with Saeb Erakat to tell us what the Palestinians are going to do in the wake of this.

And later, the sniper, the drugs, and why police are linking the two.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's little you can say about a day in which two enormous bombings jostle for the lead except thank goodness it's over. At least 18 people died today in a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem and, like the attack in Baghdad, the bombing represents a challenge to all sides of a very dicey equation, in this case Israeli, Palestinian, and American

Here again, CNN's Michael Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES (voice-over): It was a balmy summer's evening in West Jerusalem. The streets and busses crammed with locals who had been clinging to the hope that a cease-fire by Palestinian militants might hold.

That hope shattered when a double length bus, the #2, was blown apart by a suicide bomber. The bus was filled with scores of people, many of the victims ultra Orthodox Jews who had been praying at the Western or Wailing Wall in the Old City.

Among the dead several children, among the wounded at least one baby. Israeli authorities say the bomber had come from the West Bank city of Hebron, stood in the center of the bus, and detonated what police said was a large bomb.

There have been in recent weeks two other suicide bombings, responses say Palestinian militant groups to several Israeli military raids in the West Bank. But despite that, it has been a period of relative calm in Israel and Tuesday night the streets were bustling, the restaurants doing a brisk trade.

The bus came literally as the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was talking to the militant Islamic Jihad about extending its cease-fire. That same group later claiming responsibility for the bombing as did another militant group Hamas.

Both said their cease-fire set to run until the end of September would remain in effect and that the bombing was a response to Israeli military operations in the West Bank, including one that led to the death of a militant leader of Islamic Jihad Mohammad Sidr in Hebron last week. Prime Minister Abbas condemned the attack within hours saying it harmed the Palestinian cause and was a terrible act. Israeli officials went on the attack.

GIDEON MEIR, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: The Palestinian Authority must make up its mind do they want peace with Israel or do they want peace with Hamas and Islamic Jihad? Both don't go hand in hand.

HOLMES: As always happens after such an attack, the Israeli Security Cabinet will convene Wednesday to discuss possible steps.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now that cabinet meeting due to start in just a few hours, Aaron, on the table the closure of the West Bank, something that hasn't been seen for a while as the road map has stumbled its way along.

Also what one senior Israeli official told me was a plan to perhaps take what he called the necessary security steps that Palestinians have failed to take, his words.

Now, also on the Palestinian side clearly this is not a good thing for Mahmoud Abbas as he tried to establish credibility and standing on the Palestinian street. They're embarrassing for him. He immediately responded by saying he was cutting off any connection or any talks, negotiations, dialogue with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and he said that some unspecified actions would be taken in the days ahead -- Aaron.

BROWN: I'm going to get to the Palestinian side in a second but let's just stay for a second on the Israeli side. I think we understand what closing up the West Bank means. Talk about this other option, that means going in again, retaking cities, reoccupying cities, is that what they're saying?

HOLMES: It's hard to know what they're saying but in the past my experience has been if they say take the necessary steps it will often mean tanks and armored personnel carriers.

BROWN: OK.

HOLMES: I think in this situation the Sharon government is going to be under enormous pressure from the U.S. to not do that.

BROWN: Michael, thank you, Michael Holmes in Jerusalem tonight.

So, as you just heard the Palestinian Prime Minister condemned the attack but he finds himself at odds with the very groups that can effectively veto his efforts as they did today so where does that leave the negotiations? Where does it leave the road map? Where does it leave the Palestinian Authority?

We're joined on the phone by Saeb Erakat, always a major player on the Palestinian side and he is in Jericho this morning for him, good to have you with us.

Does this not prove the point that Israelis have been making for some time, that some Israelis have been making for some time that whether Mr. Abbas wants to or not isn't the point, he doesn't seem willing in the end to take the actions necessary to crack down on the terrorists?

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: Well, Aaron, let me have the Palestinian Authority condemn with the strongest possible terms this attack which undermines Palestinian interests, which attempts to sabotage the road map and derail the peace process and I really hope that the Israelis will not shoot themselves in the foot by suspending the negotiations.

On the contrary, we should (unintelligible) with a strong message that the peace process will continue, that negotiations will continue. Aaron, we were supposed to be meeting last night in order to hand over to us by the Israelis four major cities in the West Bank because, you know, the West Bank today is absolutely under Israeli occupation.

They were supposed to turn back Jericho, my city I'm speaking to you from, and Tulkarem, Ramallah and Kalkilya and later in the week move -- later on in the month and next month move to Hebron, Jenin, other areas because the West Bank, Aaron, is absolutely under Israeli control. The Israelis... BROWN: Sir.

ERAKAT: ...don't have to send their tanks back into our city.

BROWN: Fair point. Let me just come back to the question. Does this not prove the point that critics of the road map have made on the Israeli side which is that your side either unwilling to or unable to stop the terrorists attacks?

ERAKAT: Well, Aaron, I think in the road map we have responsibilities. We should maintain the oneness of our authority. Parallel authorities should not be tolerated but the process was just beginning.

We need to take control back. We need to begin taking our role in order to decide exactly what you said to maintain the oneness of our authority to make sure that the rule of law applies to all Palestinians and no Palestinians are allowed to take the law into their own hands through such actions.

Yesterday, and this is why and this is the reason why this process, this peace process must continue. I urge the American president. I urge the quartet, other members of the quartet, to exert every possible effort in order to ensure that the peace process will continue because for the last two years we had tried the military solutions.

We had tried the tanks rolling in towns, sieges, closures and so on. It just did not stop these things from happening and I believe that. The only thing that will stop this from happening is to strengthen the Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and strengthen the implementation of the road map.

BROWN: OK, we've got probably a minute left. Let me try and ask one more question. Do you believe that the Palestinian Authority now must more aggressively, that it can't make nice with Islamic Jihad and Hamas, it can't say please don't do this anymore, it has to go in in an aggressive way and take them out?

ERAKAT: Well, I think last night both President Arafat and Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen, have instructed all Palestinian security forces, especially in Gaza because as I told you we don't have a presence for security in the West Bank yet. I hope that we can (unintelligible) as soon as possible to conduct a major investigation into the matter and the instructions are very clear to bring those who plan and perpetrated this attack to justice.

And I hope that we will be given the chance to do that and I hope that the communications and negotiations will continue and I hope that the United States will continue involved in trying to implement the road map from all its aspects.

BROWN: Mr. Erakat, as always, it's nice to have you on the program. We appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Still ahead on the program tonight, California candidates take to the airwaves. Arnold Schwarzenegger first on TV but will that make him first at the ballot box?

That and the governor speaks as well, lots going on in California.

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's an axiom in politics: Never let your opponent define you; it won't be flattering. For the last few days, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been on the wrong side of that wisdom, his Republican opponents getting in a few tough shots at his expense, the Democrats, too. Today, he tried to turn things around with his first campaign ad.

Meantime, Gray Davis, California's governor, made the first major political speech of his campaign to stay in office.

Here's CNN's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cheered by supporters and accompanied by his wife, Governor Gray Davis stepped up to the mike and took responsibility for some of California's problems.

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I know many of you feel that I was too slow to act during the energy crisis. I got your message. And I accept that criticism.

LOTHIAN: In his first major speech focusing on the recall effort, Davis blasted Republicans for -- quote -- "trying to steal elections." He promised to get a handle on budget problems by appointing a commission and vowed to fight. Was it enough?

SHERRY BEBITCH-JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Just as no other candidate to replace him has given us anything in the way of really hard, detailed solutions, the governor didn't do that either. He simply said, basically: This happened. I dealt with it. Trust me.

LOTHIAN: Democratic candidate Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante says he has specifics, unveiling a tough-love plan of $8 billion in new taxes he says will solve the state's budget woes.

LT. GOV. CRUZ BUSTAMANTE (D-CA), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The folks at the top have to pay their fair share. The folks at the bottom have to pay something. And the people being squeezed in the middle need some relief from car taxes and college fees.

LOTHIAN: But the leading Republican in the race, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is calling on voters to give him a chance to fix California, unveiling a 60-second ad outlining a general vision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD) ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running for governor to lead a movement for change and give California back its future. I stand for fiscally responsible government, rebuilding California's economic engine, putting the needs of children first, and reforming our political system, so that the public interest comes before special interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Arnold Schwarzenegger will be meeting tomorrow with his economic recovery council. His chief economic adviser, Warren Buffett, is expected to be there. It's a mostly closed meeting. But everyone is waiting to see if, after that meeting, Schwarzenegger will give specifics about his economic plan -- Aaron.

BROWN: That's sort of what this whole thing has come down to, is when we find out what Mr. Schwarzenegger thinks about anything. We didn't find out much in the ad. Do they have a timetable? Did they give you all any clues as to when they're going to make policy statements?

LOTHIAN: We have not gotten any clues about that, but that's why it's so important, if he's meeting with all of his top economic advisers tomorrow, perhaps that is when, or soon after that, we will be able to find out some specifics. That is what the voters and certainly the media have been looking for.

BROWN: Well, this media is. Thank you very much, Dan Lothian, in California tonight.

Still to come on the program: a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world; plus, following the blackout trail, from the power grid to the power overloads, all lines leading to one company. Is that fair? We'll see.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The elevator story, the roller coaster story. Yikes.

A few stories from around the world now, starting with a piece of welcome news from Iraq. Haven't had much of that. Kurdish forces at Mosul captured another top member of the old regime. He is Taha Yassin Ramadan, former vice president, a man once called "Saddam's Knuckles." He is the one who called the Saudi foreign minister a dog and worse during a meeting of the Gulf states in the days before the war.

In Afghanistan -- you all remember Afghanistan, don't you? -- an explosion ripped through the home of the brother of President Hamid Karzai. The blast, which was caused by explosives being stored in the basement, was apparently an accident. Rough justice in Morocco: a court today sentencing four men to death, 83 others to prison, this for their part in planning suicide bombings last may in Casablanca, bombings that killed 33 people.

A few more stories now from around the United States, beginning with a very messy night, to say the least, in Las Vegas. Almost 3 inches of rain fell in the area this afternoon. That has caused flash floods, trapped some drivers in their cars, swamped some neighborhoods. Some people had to be rescued by helicopter, as you can see. All in all, kind of a wet day in the desert, in this case, in Las Vegas.

And drivers in Phoenix, Arizona, may get some relief from the gas shortage in a few days. The operator of a pipeline that normally supplies the area got an OK today to begin safety tests. That means the line could be back in service by the weekend. The line ruptured late last month, was shut down completely last week because of safety concerns.

Still ahead on the program tonight: new leads in the West Virginia sniper case. Believe it or not, drugs may be connected somehow.

We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: If there was any one thing that made the sniper attacks last fall so terrifying, it was their utter randomness, no clear pattern, no obvious motive, no easy way to protect yourself.

In recent days, the people of Charleston, West Virginia, feared they were seeing the same sort of terror, a string of deadly shootings. Now some residents believe it's not as random as it might seem. They see a link to drugs. If investigators believed that for certain, they are keeping it to themselves.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On bicycle, investigators made the rounds of Campbell's Creek, where one victim lived and was shot, where another victim grew up. Some of the locals believe the shootings are linked to the area drug trade.

CHIEF PHIL MORRIS, KANAWHA COUNTY SHERIFFS: In this area, there's a lot of drugs that have been bought and sold. And the public here is concerned.

MESERVE (on camera): What kind of drugs are we talking about?

MORRIS: Methamphetamines.

MESERVE (voice-over): Law enforcement won't say whether they have linked any of the victims to drugs. Okey Meadows, the victim who grew up in Campbell's Creek, had nothing to do with them, according to his grandfather.

KENNETH TINSLEY, VICTIM'S GRANDFATHER: My grandson was a good boy. Never did drugs, never drank and never smoked. And went to church.

MESERVE: The third shooting took place in the city of Charleston. And the victim there had no known connection to Campbell's Creek. The locals say there is an active drug trade in this area, too, and suspect that the phones at which Gary Carrier were shot are sometimes used for drug deals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Investigators say they're following up on 10 good leads, but some close to the investigation say the real key is likely to be that dark truck that was spotted at the scene of one of the shootings. No progress on that front is reported -- Aaron, back to you.

BROWN: Have there been actual witnesses to the shootings themselves? Have they been able to tell much of the story?

MESERVE: I had a conversation tonight with a woman who says she was at the Speedway where Jeanie Patton was shot last Thursday night. She told a harrowing story of being inside the store. She and the clerk thought they heard a firecracker. The cashier said, where did that woman who was pumping gas go?

She went out. She saw Jeanie Patton lying on the ground, blood coming out of the back of her head, $5 near her hand, with which she was going to pay for her gas. This witness ran back inside, told the cashier to call 911. Then she went back out to Jeanie Patton. She said she was in pain, she was confused. She grasped for her arm. She stayed with her until she died. She very much wants the family to know that she was not alone when she died.

By coincidence, this woman also knows Okey Meadows Jr., who was the other victim to be shot that night. He used to work for this witness. And she says he was vivacious, hard-working, dependable. She never saw any indication that he had anything to do with drugs.

And let also say, Aaron, that at that Speedway that night, this witness says she saw no absolutely sign of the Ford F-150 that police are looking for -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, that's a lot. Jeanne, thank you very much -- Jeanne Meserve, who is in Charleston, West Virginia, tonight.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT: the trail for the blackout culprit. We look for culprits in these sorts of things. The road seems, at least the early one, to lead to one company. We'll talk about that and more.

NEWSNIGHT continues from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: On now to the investigation into last week's blackout. And something we can't stress enough -- for our tastes, at least -- it's too early to pinpoint the cause.

That said, industry investigators have tracked down transmission lines in Ohio as a possible source. And the company that owns three of four of those suspect lines has reportedly had its share of troubles this summer and before.

The latest from CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Power industry experts are looking at four tripped transmission lines in Ohio as a possible starting point of the cascading blackout. Three of the lines are owned by FirstEnergy. One is co-owned with American Electric. Federal energy officials say it is still too soon to blame last Thursday's events on FirstEnergy or anyone else.

WILLIAM MASSEY, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION: It should not have cascaded like this. So there was a failure somewhere. But we do not know where that failure was yet. And I have not prejudged that.

ZARRELLA: But FirstEnergy has had its share of other difficulties. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled, FirstEnergy violated the federal Clean Air Act by not installing anti-pollution equipment at its Sammis coal-fired plant while making other upgrades.

In his summary, Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. wrote -- quote -- "By any standard, the enforcement of the Clean Air Act with regard to the Sammis plant has been disastrous" -- end quote. And the company's Davis-Besse nuclear plant has been down since 2002, when acid corrosion was found in the reactor.

DOROTHEA MATTHEWS, CREDITSIGHTS UTILITIES ANALYST: What we're looking at is a series of what people are calling bad luck. But after a while, when you get that much bad luck, you have to start looking around and wondering why they're having all this bad luck and other people aren't.

ZARRELLA: A FirstEnergy spokesman says the company believes it is in full compliance with federal air pollution rules at its Sammis plant. Regarding its Davis-Besse nuclear plant, the company says -- quote -- "We are looking to restart in the fall. We have made good progress there. We have changed out the management to make sure it doesn't happen again" -- end quote.

And FirstEnergy says, it's premature to be pinning last Thursday's events on them. Energy officials say the data from the affected power companies is so good, there's no doubt they'll find the root cause of the blackout.

John Zarrella, CNN, Cleveland. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, we said a few moments ago FirstEnergy has had a rough summer. John said it, too. At least one reporter says the company's troubles go back a lot farther than that.

Greg Palast is an investigative reporter for the BBC. And he joins us tonight.

Very briefly, why does an investigative reporter for the BBC have any knowledge about FirstEnergy?

GREG PALAST, BBC INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, because before I was a reporter, an investigative reporter, I was an investigatory. And I dug into FirstEnergy and the rest of this power pirates crew for the governor of Ohio and for the state commissions that used to regulate these guys, before we had deregulation.

BROWN: You paint a picture of a company that is -- and I don't think anyone disputes this -- is up to its eyeballs in debt because of all these acquisitions, is under pressure to reduce debt, and so has cut corners, cut corners, and cut corners.

PALAST: No kidding.

First of all, this is the company under the -- now this alias of FirstEnergy that was the model for the movie "China Syndrome," the Ohio unit. Its Pennsylvania unit gave us the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

BROWN: But did they own -- the company that was running Three Mile Island, did they own -- FirstEnergy own it at the time of the Three Mile Island incident?

PALAST: Well, they merged together to create this kind of monstrosity.

BROWN: But that was later, wasn't it?

PALAST: Right.

So what happened is that you've got a company with a long history of bad record-keeping, fiddling with the books, playing games with their engineering. But in the good old days of regulation, we used to be able to nail these guys, investigate them, say, you didn't spend enough money. You've got to fix these problems, the "China Syndrome" problem, which was faked well until we caught them.

We can't do that today. What you really have to go back to is ultimately not which of these units brought down the system, because the power problem cascaded throughout the system. It should have been stopped. The third company, called Niagara Mohawk, they just laid off 800 people, almost their entire maintenance staff. It's owned by the British, by the way. And they just carted off that money back to England. That's a problem with deregulation.

Same with FirstEnergy. You have to understand, they've laid off hundreds of workers. They've slashed maintenance.

BROWN: Without getting too sort of overwhelmed by these, what exactly has been deregulated in the grid structure?

PALAST: Very simple, we've stopped telling these guys exactly how much money they should spend. That used to be the rule of deregulation.

We gave them like government budgets. You spend so much money. We would track them. We had a system of accounting that accounted for each nut and bolt in the system. Yes, little bureaucrats, thick rule books. We kept the lights on. It was cheap. It was a system that worked.

Then we deregulated and said, let the miracle of the free markets take over. Well, the miracle has been higher prices and blackouts here and in California. Ultimately, it's not the utilities. You've got to go back to the dim bulbs in the White House.

BROWN: FirstEnergy went out and gobbled up, bought up a lot of other companies. It's become, as we all saw, the power grid company, basically, in the Northeast. And in doing so, are they -- have rates gone up?

PALAST: Yes.

You have to understand is that rates have gone up as these merges have occurred, because, also, some of the increase is invisible. As the price of oil collapsed, the savings was not passed on to customers. When we look at the expansion of FirstEnergy across the Northeast, don't forget, in the Midwest, they also went into England. They went all over the world. They went into the power trading business, basically putting the money into the casino of power trading. So they ended up with no cash.

BROWN: They say, well, maybe our lines were at fault, maybe they weren't; it's simply too early to know. That's probably fair, isn't it? Is it probably too early to know.

PALAST: No, it's not fair.

Look, the job of the utility executive is not to ask, where did the problem start? Their job is to keep the lights on, to be able to react to the problems.

BROWN: Fair point.

PALAST: That's what we pay them to do, to keep those guys in place. But they laid off all the workers. So when the emergency hit, it's like, if you get rid of all the firemen and you have a fire, you've got an empty firehouse. This is what happened.

So they saved the money. You don't notice it in electric systems because they're highly automated. But you end up, when there's an emergency that hits, you're in trouble.

BROWN: Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming in.

PALAST: Thanks, Aaron.

BROWN: I appreciate it very much.

Morning papers, yes, that's what we'll do, morning papers.

We'll take a break first. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK. Okeydokey, that was. Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world.

Start with "The New York Times." Look, everybody's leading the same, all right? So we'll look at some other things in the paper. But "The Times" doesn't normally throw up a big headline. By the way, they're betting in the control room how many papers I get in tonight. "Huge Suicide Blast Demolishes U.N. Headquarters in Baghdad: Top Aide Official Among 17 Dead." Dexter Filkins filed. His story is the main story. And then an analysis piece: "Chaos as an Anti-U.S. Strategy." "The New York Times" reporting on the day.

"Hartford Courant" -- well, yes. "Hartford Courant," same picture. Whose is it? Getty picture. "Blows to Peace" is the headline. "Baghdad U.N. Blast Kills at Least 17." And that's a great picture, isn't it? I mean, it's an awful picture. Down here in the "Hartford Courant" in Hartford, Connecticut, "Firm Bids For Couch Gambling." Why would you bet on your couch? No, it's actually horse racing you can do from home.

"The Chicago Sun-Times": "U.N. Envoy, 19 Others" -- everybody's got different numbers on this, by the way -- "Killed by Iraq Bomb." "Bush Likely to Face More Pressure to Get International Help." This is another terrific picture in there. And the weather tomorrow in Chicago pretty much sums up the news today, dastardly. It doesn't sound very good, does it?

How we doing on time, David?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A minute six.

BROWN: A minute six? All right, I need to pace myself.

"The San Francisco Chronicle." "Davis Pleads For Voters' Support." Their big headline on the recall, "Bustamante's Budget: Tax the Rich, Cut Car Fees For the Poor." And then, on attack, this is Governor Davis, as we reported earlier. "GOP Accused of Trying to Steal the Election." But the story that I actually want to point out here, "Woman Killed By" -- I'm not laughing about this, OK, honestly -- "Woman Killed by Shark Off Coast." But are we going to be doing that again, the whole summer of shark things? There's serious stuff going on. Just a message to the bosses.

"The Detroit Free Press." Down here in the corner, please. "Super Festival Will Mark Super Bowl." OK. That's in 2006, 900 days until the Super Bowl and counting in Detroit.

That's morning papers. That's the program. We'll see you tomorrow.

Until then, good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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Talks With Palestinian Authority; Schwarzenegger Puts out First Political Ad>