Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Raid Shows Al Qaeda May Have Been Plotting New York Attacks; Arrest Warrants For Ahmed And Salem Chalabi; Evidence To Clear Peterson?; Sudan Agrees To New Peace Talks; Filipino Twins Recovering

Aired August 09, 2004 - 14:00   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Tourist helicopters used as terror weapons? New reports emerging about al Qaeda's attack planning and surveillance in the New York City area.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, new evidence that could clear Scott Peterson, and an appearance from a star witness. We'll get you ready for the next steps in the case.

O'BRIEN: Two-year-old twins spending their first days apart. Their relieved mother talks about her dreams for them finally coming true.

NGUYEN: And super soy -- does this popular food really live up to the hype? Our Dr. Gupta is on the case. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.

NGUYEN: Tourist helicopters crashing into New York City landmarks, explosive-laden limousines sent careening into buildings: These are just two scenarios reported today of what al Qaeda may have been planning for America. The information came from evidence seized in overseas raids, but the White House is playing down these theories.

CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington with the latest -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Betty, a joint bulletin to law enforcement from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security says Al Qaeda operatives are known to have considered conducting an attack against U.S. interests using a helicopter packed with explosives. Although the bulletin says there is no credible, specific evidence that helicopters will be used to attack, it says the threat cannot be discounted.

Law enforcement sources tell CNN helicopters were mentioned in the mountain of materials recently seized in Pakistan. According to these sources, the intelligence indicated that Al Qaeda was very deliberate and specific in its casing, exploring how to rent a helicopter and how one might be used in a terrorist attack.

The bulletin says terrorists may see helicopters as an attractive weapon due to their maneuverability, and non-threatening appearance when flying at low altitudes in urban environments. It says possible attack scenarios could involve the hijacking of commercial flights or the hiring of a helicopter from a charter or tour operator. The bulletin says the choppers could be used in suicide attacks against high profile ground targets or to attack the public in open areas.

It also mentions the possibility that helicopters could be used to introduce chemical or biological weapons into high rise building ventilation systems, or that those sorts of materials could be dispersed via spraying equipment on helicopters. The bulletin then goes on to enumerate protective measures owners, operators, pilots, and maintenance crews should adopt, including screen passengers and requiring them to present IDs.

But keep this in mind. Despite all this very specific detail, officials say there is no evidence that Al Qaeda is currently planning to use helicopters in an aerial attack. Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: But nonetheless, security is on the alert. What's being done at all these areas where helicopters are giving people tours of New York?

MESERVE: Well, some of those operators already had some sorts of protective procedures in place, and they continue to follow those. There is some anticipation that there may be some new directives forthcoming from the department of Homeland Security and others, relative to what additional steps they should take in the future. No details on that yet -- Betty.

NGUYEN: I was also reading today there were some screenings that may be taking place there as well. Jeanne Meserve, thank you.

The White House believes al Qaeda's plan to attack the U.S. was foiled, but Pakistan says it came at its expense. Pakistan says Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan was working as a mole with al Qaeda. This is until the U.S. leaked his name and blew his cover. The move is drawing criticism within the U.S. administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: In this situation, in my view, they should have kept their mouths shut and just said, "We have information, trust us," and I think that would have been good enough for me, and I would hope for, also, others who say, "Gosh, we want to get more open."

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I don't know what might have been going on in Pakistan. I will say this, that we did not, of course, publicly disclose his name.

UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: But it was disclosed in Washington on background...

RICE: On background. And the problem is that when you're trying to strike a balance between giving enough information to the public so that they know that you're dealing with a specific, credible, different kind of threat than you've dealt with in the past, you're always weighing that against kind of operational considerations. We've tried to strike a balance. We think, for the most part, we've struck a balance. But it's, indeed, a very difficult balance to strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Democratic Senator Charles Schumer is asking the White House to explain how and why it leaked Khan's name -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: There are no signs of a letup to the bloody uprising in Najaf, in Iraq. Fighting came to a brief lull today, but only to evacuate the injured. U.S. Marines have taken control of the troubled region for multinational forces. Since last week, the U.S. military says it has killed more than 300 fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. Today, al-Sadr raised the rhetoric, swearing to fight to the death.

Two men, both prominent and somewhat controversial figures in Iraq, are now wanted fugitives. Arrest warrants were issued yesterday for Ahmed Chalabi and his nephew Salem. Today, both men are vowing to return to Iraq to clear their names.

CNN's John Vause has that from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a little more than a year, Ahmed Chalabi has gone from a potential Iraqi prime minister making a triumphant return from exile to a wanted man. A warrant for Dr. Chalabi was issued by Iraq's chief criminal court Judge Zuhair al-Maliky.

ZUHAIR AL-MALIKY, CHIEF CRIMINAL COURT JUDGE: Based on complaints submitted to this court by the Central Bank of Iraq concerning counterfeited money.

VAUSE: Counterfeit notes were found during a raid on Chalabi's Baghdad home. He's accused of exchanging them for new currency. Chalabi admits he had some counterfeit dinars, but only because of his work with the now defunct Iraqi governing council and their attempts, he says, to stop the forgeries from being circulated.

AHMED CHALABI, FMR. IRAQI COUNCIL MEMBER: The charges are outrageous and false. I deny them. They are not true. The judge who made them has a personal vendetta against me and my family.

VAUSE: And the governor of the central bank is reported as saying that a complaint against Chalabi was never lodged. There was no request for charges to be laid. Chalabi's nephew, Salem, is facing much more serious charges, wanted in connection with the murder of the director general of the finance ministry.

SALEM CHALABI, WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH MURDER: To do all this and be charged with this kind of ridiculous thing really is outrageous for me.

VAUSE: The man overseeing the trial of Saddam Hussein is himself now facing the death penalty, reinstated over the weekend by the interim government.

AL-MALIKY: I want to emphasize that it is suspicions.

VAUSE: Right now, Salem Chalabi is in London, Ahmed Chalabi Tehran. Both man say they'll return to clear their names. But if charged, there is no trial by jury in Iraq. They'll face a panel of three judges. Regardless of what happens, this is another blow to Ahmed Chalabi's political ambitions. Scorned by the U.S., he's been accused of giving classified information to Iran and is widely seen as the source of bad intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and all the time lacking popular support among Iraqis.

ISMAIL ZAIR, AL SABAH AL-JADEED NEWSPAPER: I think this is the end of Ahmed Chalabi himself. He is a good survivor, but not this time.

VAUSE (on-camera): Both Chalabis say the charges against them are ridiculous, and they blame it on a return of Baath Party officials to the Iraqi government. But the chief criminal judge insists these cases have nothing to do with politics.

John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: News across America now. Four suspects in those gruesome Florida killings make their first court appearance today. A judge denied them bond and appointed each public defenders. The suspects are charged with first degree murder and armed burglary. Authorities in Deltona say the motive for the six killings was a stolen Xbox and some clothing.

Terry Nichols expresses remorse over the Oklahoma City bombing. A state court today sentenced the bombing co-conspirator to life without parole. Nichols told the court his heart goes out to the victims and survivors. Nichols is already serving the same sentence on federal charges.

And they're on power watch in California. The head of the state's power grid is urging users to cut back on their electricity usage through Wednesday. A grid spokeswoman says there is little danger of blackouts, but power supplies are tight -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: In the Scott Peterson case, evidence and expectations -- the defense looking at key evidence they say could clear their client, as a key witness gets ready to take the stand.

Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could Scott Peterson walk out of court a free man as a result of this newly discovered evidence? His attorney Mark Geragos thinks it's possible, but legal observers here are doubtful. MICHAEL CARDOZA, LEGAL ANALYST: My sense of this is whatever it is, it will not end this trial. But it certainly could help the defense.

DORNIN: Geragos says it could potentially exonerate Peterson. A source close to the case tells CNN it's a piece of physical evidence found close to the remains of Laci Peterson or her unborn son. Following the evidence announcement, Geragos emerged from court with Peterson's mother Jackie, but refused to elaborate.

MARK GERAGOS, SCOTT PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: All I can tell you is that, obviously, as the judge indicated, we need to follow up on it, and that's what we're going to do.

DORNIN: Geragos said outside the courtroom the evidence was turned over to the defense by the prosecution. Two days earlier, prosecutors were soundly rebuked by the judge for not turning over all evidence to the defense. Judge Alfred Delucchi was so angry he struck down the testimony of one prosecution witness. Another prosecution witness testified Peterson searched the Internet for boat and fishing information early in the same month his wife went missing.

Last week's proceedings also revealed that Peterson ordered pornography channels to be added to his cable TV just a few weeks following his wife's disappearance. Court will resume Tuesday. And coming up, the star prosecution witness is expected to finally take the stand -- Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former girlfriend. In a trial that often has many empty seats in the courtroom, for this witness, there won't be any. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Redwood City, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: A cry for help from a country experiencing a mind boggling humanitarian crisis. CNN's Christiane Amanpour is there. Card confusion -- how can Medicare users be sure they're not making a costly mistake? We'll tell you about the dilemma over those discount cards. And who is behind the presidential political ads you're seeing on TV these days? The campaign-funding sneak attacks, ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We are monitoring a news conference in New York where the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, today, along with the police commissioner, are talking about security preparations for the GOP Convention. But also, they talked about the possibility of using helicopters -- terrorists using helicopters to conduct attacks on the city. And here's what Mayor Bloomberg had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: You may rest assured that without this information, if you try to get on a helicopter in New York City, you have to go through a magnetometer or a handheld wand, and they look at your identification and they check everything you carry. That's been going on since 9/11. This is nothing new, to discover that an aircraft can be used as a weapon. There's 2,800 lives that were given, sadly, to bring that point home to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: News around the world now. Four people are dead and seven others injured after a steam leak at a nuclear plant in Japan. Officials say the steam was not radioactive, though it still is the country's worst-ever accident at a nuclear power plant. Four British rowers say they have some unfinished business in the Atlantic. They were rescued yesterday off the coast of Ireland. Stormy seas shattered their attempt to set a record for crossing the ocean. The accident happened just 300 miles from their goal -- so close.

And Big Bird to Bombay? The U.S. government is spending a half million dollars for a revamped version of "Sesame Street" to be produced for India. The show will be adapted for radio since most rural families don't own televisions. "Sesame Street India" is expected to encourage girls to attend school and to be treated equally.

O'BRIEN: Sudan has agreed to a new round of peace talks aimed at ending the fighting in Darfur. The government has just three weeks to make some kind of progress or face U.N. sanctions. Fighting between rebels and Arab militias in Darfur has forced roughly a million people from their homes. The U.N. says it's the worst humanitarian crisis.

Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports on the condition in the refugee camps.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here at the Riyadh camp outside Al Junaynah, the capital of Western Darfur. And what can you see is people living in basic structures. You can't even call these huts, because they're just a bunch of twigs and straw matting that people have had to put up.

They don't even have plastic shelter, and that's going to be a big, big problem, because the rainy season has just started. Sometimes it comes down in sheets -- like as one person described, sheets of glass. And this is what's going to inundate them, so they're desperate for some kind of permanent structures.

Now, it smells a bit of sewage because there is no proper drainage, and it's a little rancid, as well. Here we are, this -- if you can just get rid of the children for a second out of the camera frame -- is what a lot of the people have got to eat. Those who can afford it get to eat some of this meat that's actually been out here for hours and hours in the blazing heat.

For some reason, they all think it's very funny that we're here taking this picture, but this is, in fact, the pitiful fact of what these people have to go through. There simply isn't enough food out here yet. Even though Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Secretary General of the U.N. Kofi Annan made high-profile visits to Darfur about a month or so ago, the aid pipeline is only just opening up. And because the aid agencies hadn't pre-planned, hadn't got big stockpiles in place in Darfur, it is quite slow -- in fact, too slow -- getting food to them.

And that's not the only problem. If you pan around this camp, you'll see that it's just -- really just little structures. And what happens is, the most vulnerable, the little kids, they're the first ones to go. The USAID is estimating that unless massive amounts of aid get to these kinds of camps quickly, then, at best, there could be 300,000 people dead in Darfur by the end of this year. That's at best. If aid does not get here quickly, there could be, according to USAID, a million lives lost in Darfur.

Now, the acting part of the ethnic cleansing is basically over; the active military campaign by the Sudanese government against what started as a rebellion is basically over. And now, the humanitarian phase, the disease phase, is really setting in. When there's malnutrition amongst any of these people who you see here, people who don't have enough to eat -- and particularly the vulnerable, the women and children, when they don't have enough to eat, that's when they become the most susceptible to disease.

There's already diarrhea. There are respiratory diseases. There's septicemia. There are all sorts of things, including the possibility of a malaria outbreak at the end of the rainy season at the end of September that could cause mass death.

In all, about two million people are at risk. They need help, and they need it quickly. I'm Christiane Amanpour in the Riyadh camp, Al Junaynah, in Darfur.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Desperate situation there. Well, possible targets of terror in New York and the nation's capital. We'll talk with a Time magazine reporter about fascinating new reports emerging about al Qaeda's plan...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Conjoined twins now hope to live separate lives. Two- year-old Filipino boys who were born joined at the head are now recovering after their separation surgery last week. Doctors at Montefiore Medical Center in New York say Carl and Clarence Aguirre are doing just fine so far. Their mother says she is looking forward to holding them and cuddling them one by one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you like the way they look without the bandages?

ARLENE AGUIRRE, MOTHER OF CONJOINED TWINS: They're very handsome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The boys are doing very well. They are sedated, but they're very rousable. They look around.

AGUIRRE: From the very beginning, I know that when I first found that I have conjoined twins, I know that this is a real risky operation, and I know that I might lose one of them. But it never stopped me doing it. I have to get a chance that they will be separated. And that's it. My dream's come true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After much angst and looking at those two brains, it was very interesting. At one point, I just looked down, and I don't know why I missed it before, but there was an area where two -- we call gyri (ph) -- the unfolding of the brains had come together, and I could see where these veins were coming out and going in opposite directions.

And it was obviously a clear anatomical area to go through, because this was the closest part of their abutment. And we just followed it through. It took us 20 minutes, and then it came apart.

AGUIRRE: It's very amazing that I can see them alive and lying on the bed -- you know, two separate beds. And it's really unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been extraordinarily pleased at how well both of these boys have done. Clarence remains the most rambunctious of the two, Carl the most laid back, the philosopher. Carl has been our biggest concern all along. We actually CAT scanned him yesterday -- we did a CT scan, and all of us (INAUDIBLE) -- included, were impressed at how well his brain looks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Although we were quite, you know, optimistic about their chances, their recovery has been, I think, beyond our best expectations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was concerned post-op that we were close to the motor strip, that one or the other of these children would lose some motor skills, either not be able to move an arm or leg, and that has not proved to be the case.

AGUIRRE: They really recognize my voice, so for me, it's unbelievable, because it's just only one day, two days after the surgery, but they really recognize me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it may be too early to predict, but basically, what we have laying ahead is to reconstruct the missing portions of skullcap. But I can tell you that, at this point, Carl and Clarence have a full head of hair. They have normal hairlines. They do not have visible scars on their faces. So we've set Carl and Clarence up for, I hope to be, an excellent reconstruction.

AGUIRRE: I already called my family after I received from Dr. Staffenberg that my boys are already separated. So I told them that I am the mother of two separate boys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: I can only begin to imagine the joy that mother is feeling right about now.

O'BRIEN: Yeah, I mean, it's such an optimistic thing. Obviously, they're not out of the woods, but we'll be watching that one closely. It sounds great, though.

NGUYEN: It is a key component of America's booming construction industry, and its price, well, it's skyrocketing...

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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 August 9, 2004 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Tourist helicopters used as terror weapons? New reports emerging about al Qaeda's attack planning and surveillance in the New York City area.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, new evidence that could clear Scott Peterson, and an appearance from a star witness. We'll get you ready for the next steps in the case.

O'BRIEN: Two-year-old twins spending their first days apart. Their relieved mother talks about her dreams for them finally coming true.

NGUYEN: And super soy -- does this popular food really live up to the hype? Our Dr. Gupta is on the case. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.

NGUYEN: Tourist helicopters crashing into New York City landmarks, explosive-laden limousines sent careening into buildings: These are just two scenarios reported today of what al Qaeda may have been planning for America. The information came from evidence seized in overseas raids, but the White House is playing down these theories.

CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington with the latest -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Betty, a joint bulletin to law enforcement from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security says Al Qaeda operatives are known to have considered conducting an attack against U.S. interests using a helicopter packed with explosives. Although the bulletin says there is no credible, specific evidence that helicopters will be used to attack, it says the threat cannot be discounted.

Law enforcement sources tell CNN helicopters were mentioned in the mountain of materials recently seized in Pakistan. According to these sources, the intelligence indicated that Al Qaeda was very deliberate and specific in its casing, exploring how to rent a helicopter and how one might be used in a terrorist attack.

The bulletin says terrorists may see helicopters as an attractive weapon due to their maneuverability, and non-threatening appearance when flying at low altitudes in urban environments. It says possible attack scenarios could involve the hijacking of commercial flights or the hiring of a helicopter from a charter or tour operator. The bulletin says the choppers could be used in suicide attacks against high profile ground targets or to attack the public in open areas.

It also mentions the possibility that helicopters could be used to introduce chemical or biological weapons into high rise building ventilation systems, or that those sorts of materials could be dispersed via spraying equipment on helicopters. The bulletin then goes on to enumerate protective measures owners, operators, pilots, and maintenance crews should adopt, including screen passengers and requiring them to present IDs.

But keep this in mind. Despite all this very specific detail, officials say there is no evidence that Al Qaeda is currently planning to use helicopters in an aerial attack. Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: But nonetheless, security is on the alert. What's being done at all these areas where helicopters are giving people tours of New York?

MESERVE: Well, some of those operators already had some sorts of protective procedures in place, and they continue to follow those. There is some anticipation that there may be some new directives forthcoming from the department of Homeland Security and others, relative to what additional steps they should take in the future. No details on that yet -- Betty.

NGUYEN: I was also reading today there were some screenings that may be taking place there as well. Jeanne Meserve, thank you.

The White House believes al Qaeda's plan to attack the U.S. was foiled, but Pakistan says it came at its expense. Pakistan says Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan was working as a mole with al Qaeda. This is until the U.S. leaked his name and blew his cover. The move is drawing criticism within the U.S. administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: In this situation, in my view, they should have kept their mouths shut and just said, "We have information, trust us," and I think that would have been good enough for me, and I would hope for, also, others who say, "Gosh, we want to get more open."

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I don't know what might have been going on in Pakistan. I will say this, that we did not, of course, publicly disclose his name.

UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: But it was disclosed in Washington on background...

RICE: On background. And the problem is that when you're trying to strike a balance between giving enough information to the public so that they know that you're dealing with a specific, credible, different kind of threat than you've dealt with in the past, you're always weighing that against kind of operational considerations. We've tried to strike a balance. We think, for the most part, we've struck a balance. But it's, indeed, a very difficult balance to strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Democratic Senator Charles Schumer is asking the White House to explain how and why it leaked Khan's name -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: There are no signs of a letup to the bloody uprising in Najaf, in Iraq. Fighting came to a brief lull today, but only to evacuate the injured. U.S. Marines have taken control of the troubled region for multinational forces. Since last week, the U.S. military says it has killed more than 300 fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. Today, al-Sadr raised the rhetoric, swearing to fight to the death.

Two men, both prominent and somewhat controversial figures in Iraq, are now wanted fugitives. Arrest warrants were issued yesterday for Ahmed Chalabi and his nephew Salem. Today, both men are vowing to return to Iraq to clear their names.

CNN's John Vause has that from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a little more than a year, Ahmed Chalabi has gone from a potential Iraqi prime minister making a triumphant return from exile to a wanted man. A warrant for Dr. Chalabi was issued by Iraq's chief criminal court Judge Zuhair al-Maliky.

ZUHAIR AL-MALIKY, CHIEF CRIMINAL COURT JUDGE: Based on complaints submitted to this court by the Central Bank of Iraq concerning counterfeited money.

VAUSE: Counterfeit notes were found during a raid on Chalabi's Baghdad home. He's accused of exchanging them for new currency. Chalabi admits he had some counterfeit dinars, but only because of his work with the now defunct Iraqi governing council and their attempts, he says, to stop the forgeries from being circulated.

AHMED CHALABI, FMR. IRAQI COUNCIL MEMBER: The charges are outrageous and false. I deny them. They are not true. The judge who made them has a personal vendetta against me and my family.

VAUSE: And the governor of the central bank is reported as saying that a complaint against Chalabi was never lodged. There was no request for charges to be laid. Chalabi's nephew, Salem, is facing much more serious charges, wanted in connection with the murder of the director general of the finance ministry.

SALEM CHALABI, WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH MURDER: To do all this and be charged with this kind of ridiculous thing really is outrageous for me.

VAUSE: The man overseeing the trial of Saddam Hussein is himself now facing the death penalty, reinstated over the weekend by the interim government.

AL-MALIKY: I want to emphasize that it is suspicions.

VAUSE: Right now, Salem Chalabi is in London, Ahmed Chalabi Tehran. Both man say they'll return to clear their names. But if charged, there is no trial by jury in Iraq. They'll face a panel of three judges. Regardless of what happens, this is another blow to Ahmed Chalabi's political ambitions. Scorned by the U.S., he's been accused of giving classified information to Iran and is widely seen as the source of bad intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and all the time lacking popular support among Iraqis.

ISMAIL ZAIR, AL SABAH AL-JADEED NEWSPAPER: I think this is the end of Ahmed Chalabi himself. He is a good survivor, but not this time.

VAUSE (on-camera): Both Chalabis say the charges against them are ridiculous, and they blame it on a return of Baath Party officials to the Iraqi government. But the chief criminal judge insists these cases have nothing to do with politics.

John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: News across America now. Four suspects in those gruesome Florida killings make their first court appearance today. A judge denied them bond and appointed each public defenders. The suspects are charged with first degree murder and armed burglary. Authorities in Deltona say the motive for the six killings was a stolen Xbox and some clothing.

Terry Nichols expresses remorse over the Oklahoma City bombing. A state court today sentenced the bombing co-conspirator to life without parole. Nichols told the court his heart goes out to the victims and survivors. Nichols is already serving the same sentence on federal charges.

And they're on power watch in California. The head of the state's power grid is urging users to cut back on their electricity usage through Wednesday. A grid spokeswoman says there is little danger of blackouts, but power supplies are tight -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: In the Scott Peterson case, evidence and expectations -- the defense looking at key evidence they say could clear their client, as a key witness gets ready to take the stand.

Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could Scott Peterson walk out of court a free man as a result of this newly discovered evidence? His attorney Mark Geragos thinks it's possible, but legal observers here are doubtful. MICHAEL CARDOZA, LEGAL ANALYST: My sense of this is whatever it is, it will not end this trial. But it certainly could help the defense.

DORNIN: Geragos says it could potentially exonerate Peterson. A source close to the case tells CNN it's a piece of physical evidence found close to the remains of Laci Peterson or her unborn son. Following the evidence announcement, Geragos emerged from court with Peterson's mother Jackie, but refused to elaborate.

MARK GERAGOS, SCOTT PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: All I can tell you is that, obviously, as the judge indicated, we need to follow up on it, and that's what we're going to do.

DORNIN: Geragos said outside the courtroom the evidence was turned over to the defense by the prosecution. Two days earlier, prosecutors were soundly rebuked by the judge for not turning over all evidence to the defense. Judge Alfred Delucchi was so angry he struck down the testimony of one prosecution witness. Another prosecution witness testified Peterson searched the Internet for boat and fishing information early in the same month his wife went missing.

Last week's proceedings also revealed that Peterson ordered pornography channels to be added to his cable TV just a few weeks following his wife's disappearance. Court will resume Tuesday. And coming up, the star prosecution witness is expected to finally take the stand -- Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former girlfriend. In a trial that often has many empty seats in the courtroom, for this witness, there won't be any. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Redwood City, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: A cry for help from a country experiencing a mind boggling humanitarian crisis. CNN's Christiane Amanpour is there. Card confusion -- how can Medicare users be sure they're not making a costly mistake? We'll tell you about the dilemma over those discount cards. And who is behind the presidential political ads you're seeing on TV these days? The campaign-funding sneak attacks, ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We are monitoring a news conference in New York where the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, today, along with the police commissioner, are talking about security preparations for the GOP Convention. But also, they talked about the possibility of using helicopters -- terrorists using helicopters to conduct attacks on the city. And here's what Mayor Bloomberg had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: You may rest assured that without this information, if you try to get on a helicopter in New York City, you have to go through a magnetometer or a handheld wand, and they look at your identification and they check everything you carry. That's been going on since 9/11. This is nothing new, to discover that an aircraft can be used as a weapon. There's 2,800 lives that were given, sadly, to bring that point home to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: News around the world now. Four people are dead and seven others injured after a steam leak at a nuclear plant in Japan. Officials say the steam was not radioactive, though it still is the country's worst-ever accident at a nuclear power plant. Four British rowers say they have some unfinished business in the Atlantic. They were rescued yesterday off the coast of Ireland. Stormy seas shattered their attempt to set a record for crossing the ocean. The accident happened just 300 miles from their goal -- so close.

And Big Bird to Bombay? The U.S. government is spending a half million dollars for a revamped version of "Sesame Street" to be produced for India. The show will be adapted for radio since most rural families don't own televisions. "Sesame Street India" is expected to encourage girls to attend school and to be treated equally.

O'BRIEN: Sudan has agreed to a new round of peace talks aimed at ending the fighting in Darfur. The government has just three weeks to make some kind of progress or face U.N. sanctions. Fighting between rebels and Arab militias in Darfur has forced roughly a million people from their homes. The U.N. says it's the worst humanitarian crisis.

Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports on the condition in the refugee camps.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here at the Riyadh camp outside Al Junaynah, the capital of Western Darfur. And what can you see is people living in basic structures. You can't even call these huts, because they're just a bunch of twigs and straw matting that people have had to put up.

They don't even have plastic shelter, and that's going to be a big, big problem, because the rainy season has just started. Sometimes it comes down in sheets -- like as one person described, sheets of glass. And this is what's going to inundate them, so they're desperate for some kind of permanent structures.

Now, it smells a bit of sewage because there is no proper drainage, and it's a little rancid, as well. Here we are, this -- if you can just get rid of the children for a second out of the camera frame -- is what a lot of the people have got to eat. Those who can afford it get to eat some of this meat that's actually been out here for hours and hours in the blazing heat.

For some reason, they all think it's very funny that we're here taking this picture, but this is, in fact, the pitiful fact of what these people have to go through. There simply isn't enough food out here yet. Even though Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Secretary General of the U.N. Kofi Annan made high-profile visits to Darfur about a month or so ago, the aid pipeline is only just opening up. And because the aid agencies hadn't pre-planned, hadn't got big stockpiles in place in Darfur, it is quite slow -- in fact, too slow -- getting food to them.

And that's not the only problem. If you pan around this camp, you'll see that it's just -- really just little structures. And what happens is, the most vulnerable, the little kids, they're the first ones to go. The USAID is estimating that unless massive amounts of aid get to these kinds of camps quickly, then, at best, there could be 300,000 people dead in Darfur by the end of this year. That's at best. If aid does not get here quickly, there could be, according to USAID, a million lives lost in Darfur.

Now, the acting part of the ethnic cleansing is basically over; the active military campaign by the Sudanese government against what started as a rebellion is basically over. And now, the humanitarian phase, the disease phase, is really setting in. When there's malnutrition amongst any of these people who you see here, people who don't have enough to eat -- and particularly the vulnerable, the women and children, when they don't have enough to eat, that's when they become the most susceptible to disease.

There's already diarrhea. There are respiratory diseases. There's septicemia. There are all sorts of things, including the possibility of a malaria outbreak at the end of the rainy season at the end of September that could cause mass death.

In all, about two million people are at risk. They need help, and they need it quickly. I'm Christiane Amanpour in the Riyadh camp, Al Junaynah, in Darfur.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Desperate situation there. Well, possible targets of terror in New York and the nation's capital. We'll talk with a Time magazine reporter about fascinating new reports emerging about al Qaeda's plan...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Conjoined twins now hope to live separate lives. Two- year-old Filipino boys who were born joined at the head are now recovering after their separation surgery last week. Doctors at Montefiore Medical Center in New York say Carl and Clarence Aguirre are doing just fine so far. Their mother says she is looking forward to holding them and cuddling them one by one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you like the way they look without the bandages?

ARLENE AGUIRRE, MOTHER OF CONJOINED TWINS: They're very handsome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The boys are doing very well. They are sedated, but they're very rousable. They look around.

AGUIRRE: From the very beginning, I know that when I first found that I have conjoined twins, I know that this is a real risky operation, and I know that I might lose one of them. But it never stopped me doing it. I have to get a chance that they will be separated. And that's it. My dream's come true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After much angst and looking at those two brains, it was very interesting. At one point, I just looked down, and I don't know why I missed it before, but there was an area where two -- we call gyri (ph) -- the unfolding of the brains had come together, and I could see where these veins were coming out and going in opposite directions.

And it was obviously a clear anatomical area to go through, because this was the closest part of their abutment. And we just followed it through. It took us 20 minutes, and then it came apart.

AGUIRRE: It's very amazing that I can see them alive and lying on the bed -- you know, two separate beds. And it's really unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been extraordinarily pleased at how well both of these boys have done. Clarence remains the most rambunctious of the two, Carl the most laid back, the philosopher. Carl has been our biggest concern all along. We actually CAT scanned him yesterday -- we did a CT scan, and all of us (INAUDIBLE) -- included, were impressed at how well his brain looks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Although we were quite, you know, optimistic about their chances, their recovery has been, I think, beyond our best expectations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was concerned post-op that we were close to the motor strip, that one or the other of these children would lose some motor skills, either not be able to move an arm or leg, and that has not proved to be the case.

AGUIRRE: They really recognize my voice, so for me, it's unbelievable, because it's just only one day, two days after the surgery, but they really recognize me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it may be too early to predict, but basically, what we have laying ahead is to reconstruct the missing portions of skullcap. But I can tell you that, at this point, Carl and Clarence have a full head of hair. They have normal hairlines. They do not have visible scars on their faces. So we've set Carl and Clarence up for, I hope to be, an excellent reconstruction.

AGUIRRE: I already called my family after I received from Dr. Staffenberg that my boys are already separated. So I told them that I am the mother of two separate boys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: I can only begin to imagine the joy that mother is feeling right about now.

O'BRIEN: Yeah, I mean, it's such an optimistic thing. Obviously, they're not out of the woods, but we'll be watching that one closely. It sounds great, though.

NGUYEN: It is a key component of America's booming construction industry, and its price, well, it's skyrocketing...

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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