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Explosive Used to Crash Russian Plane; Will Peace Prevail in Najaf?; Bush Signs Orders for Agencies Against Terrorism; Bryant Jury Selection

Aired August 27, 2004 - 12:59   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: Explosive discovery: Evidence that terror brought down at least one of two crashed Russian planes. We're live from Moscow.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Peace in Najaf: After weeks of violence, will the top Shiite cleric be able to keep the peace at the mosque?

O'BRIEN: U.S. intelligence shakeup: President Bush prepares to expand the power of the CIA director. We're live at the White House.

PHILLIPS: Give up the gold? Another twist for American gymnast Paul Hamm in the medal mess.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's gold medal winning LIVE FROM starts right now.

Up first this hour, no smoking gun, but pretty close. Telltale traces of explosives in the wreckage of a doomed Russian airliner. This is the second of two air disasters that took place three minutes and 450 miles apart on Tuesday night. Today, forensics aren't the only red flags suggesting terrorism.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote brings us up to date from Moscow -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, we're just starting to get some of the first hard clues in this mystery -- well, what has been a mystery until today. And that specifically is that the investigators found some traces of explosives at one of the two crash sites.

In the laboratories, they discovered that those explosives were hexogen. Hexogen is an explosive that has been used in terrorist attacks here in Russia before.

Russian authorities also confirmed that that same plane did emit at least one, perhaps two signals indicating that they were having trouble onboard -- one SOS signal and one hijacking signal that was communicated orally. That was the plane that was headed to Sochi, bringing tourists to the Russian resort town of Sochi, on the Black Sea. Now, the other plane, they haven't found any traces of explosives yet, so they're not being as conclusive, and they are not as convinced yet, publicly, that that plane was brought down by terrorists as they are with the first one we were just discussing. But still, there are some telltale signs there, they say.

For example, they are looking at a body -- or I should say body parts that they found today of a 40th passenger. We haven't heard much about this passenger yet. The body parts, they say, belong to a Chechen woman who checked in to the flight, got onto the plane, bought her tickets just minutes before she got onboard.

And what really is suspicious for Russian authorities is that neither she nor a Chechen woman who was on the other plane were being met by anyone at the airports they were flying to.

Chechen terrorists have used female suicide bombers in the past, so Russian authorities are going to be looking at that very carefully -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ryan, the particular aircraft that was headed to Sochi along the Black Sea, it just so happens that's where Vladimir Putin has a dacha. There's some indication that there was knowledge onboard that aircraft that something was awry. Are investigators looking into the possibility that passengers thwarted an attempt to fly right into Putin's house?

CHILCOTE: I'm sure they're looking at that possibility. After all, we're talking about the Federal Security Service. Their main job is counterterrorism. They're the successor agency of the KGB. What they're not doing is they're not talking about that publicly. That is pretty much speculative talk that has been left to the media.

They've told the general public very little, but it is a fact that that plane was on its way to Sochi, where the Russian president was on a working vacation at that time. So, it is possible that, of course, that was their intention. We simply don't know, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow, thanks much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's Mike Brooks is a veteran investigator. He was assigned to the FBI for the Lockerbie case and TWA. He joins us to kind of walk us through the investigation that's taking place now in Russia.

Let's get right to the hexogen that was discovered and talk about this explosive device.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a high explosive. People probably are more familiar with C4, which is a plastic explosive. But again, this is a high explosive, and there's more crystal than powder, but very similar to C4. If there is evidence, what they're going to be looking for are some pitting of the metal, which are little tiny pinhole pricks.

Because when a bomb goes off like this, Kyra, and they use a high explosive, it actually -- super-heated gasses have to go somewhere, and they explode with such ferocity that it pokes little holes through the metal, and that's one of the things they're going to look for. And also, you have a thermal event, or a fire, when something like this explodes.

They're going to look for some charring, those kind of things, of different parts, to find out exactly where the bomb was when it went off.

PHILLIPS: So, let's talk about this explosive powder. I mean, I was looking through -- it's been used in a number of terrorist activity -- used by the Chechen rebels quite a bit. It is cheap? Is it easy to get?

BROOKS: Fairly easy to get. It's in a lot of military ordinance -- RPG-7s, artillery shells, landmines, these kinds of things. So, it can be extracted from them and then put to use in improvised explosives such as this.

We go back to the Pan Am 103 case where the bomb went off in the plane over Lockerbie. That explosive was packed into a radio -- was a radio cassette player and put into some luggage.

So, again, we don't know, in this particular case, whether it was self-initiated by someone who was on the plane or if it was in the cargo hold of the plane. It took months and months in the Lockerbie case to find out exactly what happened.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, two questions. Knowing the security situation at this airport, is it possible that some of this could have been in a small suitcase? Could it have gotten into the cargo area?

BROOKS: It's possible. My aviation security sources tell me that the security for domestic flights into Moscow isn't what it should be. Now, on the international flights, because there are U.S. carriers that fly from Moscow to the United States and back every single day. But the international security procedures are up to snuff, and the United States makes sure that that does happen.

PHILLIPS: So, you're saying you don't have to worry if you're on an American...

BROOKS: No.

PHILLIPS: ... an American-based airline.

BROOKS: Right. An American carrier coming from Moscow or going to Moscow is nothing to worry about. The United States makes sure that those security procedures are up to snuff -- the Transportation Security Administration, as well as the U.S. carriers themselves, make sure that those are up to standard.

PHILLIPS: Still two bodies unaccounted for -- two Chechen women.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: Immediately, you think of the black widows.

BROOKS: Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, women have been used -- and the Chechens, they have also targeted transportation in Russia -- subways, trains, and now possibly and airplane. So, again, it will take some time to put the pieces together.

And Pan Am 103, referring back to that case, because everyone's familiar with that case of aviation terrorism, it took them almost 10 months to really come up with the piece of evidence.

And the one piece that they came up with, Kyra, was a timing device no bigger than your thumbnail. This Russian terrorist act was spread out, in this one particular, is spread out over 25 square miles. The Lockerbie case was spread out over hundreds of miles, and they were able to find this one little piece of evidence, but it did take a long time.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mike Brooks, thanks.

BROOKS: Good to see you.

O'BRIEN: And now, to Najaf, where almost a month of death and destruction, sound and fury has given way to peace and quiet, at least for today. The transformation follows the dramatic intervention of Iraq's most senior, most respected Shiite cleric.

And CNN's John Vause has watched it all from his post in Baghdad. John, what's the latest?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Well, it is all quiet tonight in the city of Najaf. Iraqi police control the streets around the Imam Ali mosque. That was one of the conditions laid out in this peace deal struck by al-Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr, that Iraqi police have control of the Imam Ali shrine.

Now, loudspeakers around the mosque earlier today made an announcement on behalf of Muqtada al-Sadr, calling on his Mehdi Militia to lay down their weapons and leave the shrine. Right now, the mosque is locked shut, and it is deserted. But before that, thousands of pilgrims made the journey to the mosque to celebrate the end of the fighting after Sistani negotiated that peace deal.

He returned to Najaf only yesterday and, within hours, held a face to face meeting with Muqtada al-Sadr. But it was a deadly day leading up to this peace deal. The Iraqi Health Ministry says 110 people were killed, 500 wounded in fighting before al-Sistani arrived in Najaf, but deaths are also in Kufa.

Sistani, a short time ago, issuing a statement expressing his sorrow and regret for the people who were killed in that violence. Miles, it remains to be seen what happens in the days and the weeks ahead. There are some reports that members of the Mehdi Militia have, in fact, been taking their weapons home. A spokesperson for al-Sadr says that while the Mehdi Militia may have been disarmed, it has not been disbanded. And Muqtada al-Sadr himself has received an amnesty. He is a free man. He is free to walk wherever he wants, according to the Iraqi government. Critics have suggested that leaves him free to cause trouble on another day. And while this crisis in Najaf has passed, there are still many problems facing the interim Iraqi government.

In Mosul to the North, there was a car bomb which targeted a U.S. military convoy. Eight civilians were wounded, and a U.S. soldier was wounded. And here in Baghdad, in the central part of the city, there were explosions and gunfire, as well. Twelve U.S. soldiers were wounded in two separate grenade attacks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: So, John, is it accurate to say then Muqtada al-Sadr really hasn't lost any prestige in the eyes of his followers, and thus, really could bring them all back to arms again if need be. And just related to that, what is the current accurate number on the Mehdi Militia? Do we know?

VAUSE: Well, that's a very good question. At the height of this standoff, it was thought that Muqtada al-Sadr had as many as 2,000 men inside the Imam Ali shrine. But that's not his power base. His power base is here in Baghdad, in the slum of Sadr City. There's two million people who live in Sadr City, many of them -- an unknown number, of course -- support Muqtada al-Sadr. So, that's the strength of his Mehdi Militia.

As far as this situation in Najaf, what is being suggested is that this is a truce. It is not a solution. This is what the interim Iraqi government was trying to avoid. They wanted a conclusive end to Muqtada al-Sadr once and for all.

But as you suggest, Miles, his prestige has grown. He walks away from this without giving into the interim government, without giving into the U.S.

He saves face. He hands the keys back to the religious authority. He says he's done it for Iraq to end further bloodshed. He certainly grows in prestige at the end of this.

O'BRIEN: CNN's John Vause in Baghdad, thank you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, they don't call Baghdad's Haifa Street "Little Fallujah" for nothing. That area was a battleground today between insurgents armed with grenades and U.S. forces and tanks. When it was over, 12 GIs were hurt, eight suspected attackers detained.

Up north in Mosul, a car bomb wounded 12 Iraqis and one U.S. soldier. A captain says the blast went off as a U.S. military convoy moved through a traffic circle. A U.S. armored vehicle was slightly damaged.

Italy is bitterly confirming the death in Iraq of a journalist taken hostage a week ago. The Arab network Al-Jazeera says a group called the Islamic Army in Iraq killed Enzo Baldoni because Italy refused to withdraw its troops as the Philippines did when a Filipino truck driver was captured last month.

In our next hour, we're going to talk about the dangers of gathering news with Rodney Pinder of the International News Safety Institute. That's at 2:45 p.m. Eastern, right here on LIVE FROM.

O'BRIEN: Crowd control: How New York's finest plan to deal with the thousands of protesters expected at the Republican National Convention -- some with clothes, some not.

Plus, potential jurors in the Kobe Bryant case arrive at a Colorado courthouse 14 months after the alleged crime. We're live on that story on LIVE FROM, of course.

And an international gymnastics group has a little request for American Paul Hamm: "Could you give back that medal, please, Mr. Hamm?" Details ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: President Bush will put pen to paper in the name of national security today, signing executive orders, the White House says, will help find and stop terrorists. The orders will give the CIA director additional powers and create a National Counterterrorism Center. Some critics say that's not enough.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us with the latest on this -- Susan.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, later today, President Bush is expected to sign those executive orders, those directives. This is a part of those recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.

We are told not to expect any major fanfare, an announcement, or even a ceremony. This is going to take place very quietly, but the White House is going to brief us later today on some of those details.

Now, this happens while the White House is negotiating with Congress on how to create a new, powerful position, a national intelligence director, one who would report directly to the president. But these presidential directives today would immediately put in motion some steps that the president endorsed back on August 2.

First, it would establish a National Counterterrorism Center. That, essentially, would be kind of a warehouse for intelligence analysis. Also, it would give the CIA director greater interim power, essentially performing some of the duties that the national director would take on at a later date, including the oversight of 15 intelligence agencies. And finally, they would establish guidelines for greater sharing of intelligence between those agencies.

One important note, of course, to notice here, Miles, is that when it comes to the real authority of this figure, the national intelligence director, that is still in question, and it's all about budget authority. That is something that would require an act of Congress to actually come through and to deliver. That is something that they are still very much debating -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: With the start of the Republican National Convention just three days away, CNN is taking a closer look at the man who will accept the party's nomination Thursday night. Sunday on "CNN PRESENTS," "The Mission of George W. Bush." We examine the aftermath of September 11th.

John King has a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: And I walked up to his right ear, leaned over and whispered in, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack." I wanted to be efficient in how I delivered the message, but I also wanted to be unambiguous about the consequence.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Testing time for a president just seven months in office.

ERIC DRAPER, PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: We were approaching Washington, and everyone had noticed the fighter jets that escorted Air Force One outside. And we had been on the plane all day without being in Washington. It's -- we were finally home.

MARY MATALIN, FMR. ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: I remember the night of 9/11 saying to us, "This is the mission of this government. This is the mission of this administration. We will bring these terrorists, in whatever form it takes, to justice."

KING: Two new challenges: rally the country from its shock and comfort the families.

GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We come before god to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.

I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.

DRAPER: Pretty emotional. He cried with a lot of the families. He hugged a lot of the families. Everyone had tears in their eyes. The families were holding pictures of their loved ones, who they lost. It was very intense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can see the pretty intense documentary "The Mission of George W. Bush" on "CNN SUNDAY" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, followed by a special pre-convention edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."

O'BRIEN: Up next on LIVE FROM, on a dog day afternoon...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW GOFF, SAVED DOG FROM ALLIGATOR: Without even thinking, I jumped in the water, I jumped on the gator...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: What happened next is proof that this guy really loves his dog. Later on LIVE FROM...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have their own oxygen masks, their own goggles...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: A skydiving hot dog. This mutt is on a mission. We'll tell you what it is. And Monday, in-depth as the Republicans bring their party to the Big Apple. What will their strategy be to win the hearts and minds of American voters?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, new numbers just confirm the economy was stuck in a bit of a rut this spring. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details...

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Checking stories in the news now, the first U.S. military tribunal since World War II have wrapped up at Guantanamo Bay, the fourth and final hearing delayed because the suspects' attorney said she needed more time to prepare. The hearing was for a Sudanese man and alleged bodyguard to Osama bin Laden.

No charges against a Florida man who snapped and set a Marine van on fire after finding out his son had been killed in Iraq. Police say Carlos Arredondo was distraught and didn't try to hurt anyone besides himself. He was inside that van when he set it on fire. A psychiatrist will examine Arredondo once he recovers from his burns.

Grief and shock at Ole Miss today after a deadly fraternity house fire. The blaze swept through the Alpha Tau Omega House earlier this morning. The University of Mississippi says three students were killed. No word on what started it.

PHILLIPS: After more than a year of headlines and hearings, the Kobe Bryant trial is underway. Hundreds of people showed up at the Eagle County Courthouse in Colorado just this morning for the first step in jury selection.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is there -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, things are definitely moving along here at the Eagle County Courthouse. The first group of about 100 potential jurors has filled out their questionnaires and gone home. The judge has already spoken to the second group, and they're wrapping up their questionnaires now.

Two more groups scheduled to come in this afternoon. And by the time we're done today, close to 500 people will have been sworn in and answered the 82 written questions.

Now, come next week, Kobe Bryant himself will be back in court, and we may well see his accuser, as well. By that time, the jury pool will have been whittled down to about 50 people. And this is a pretty big generalization, but legal experts say prosecutors will be looking for feminists, or people who tend to believe women over men.

The defense, meanwhile, will be looking for sports fans, particularly those fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG SILVERMAN, FMR. PROSECUTOR: Beyond that, they may be looking for women as well, because women have a tendency to sometimes judge other women more harshly. Men are brought up to be protective of women, and it's an interesting gender dynamic in this case, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Now, over the weekend, the attorneys will review those questionnaires and most of the people who come here today will be excluded based on those answers. The ones who remain next Monday and Tuesday will be questioned individually on things such as their views on celebrity or the publicity in this trial, even their feelings about the race of both the defendant and his accuser -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Chris Lawrence, live from Eagle, Colorado. Thanks.

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 27, 2004 - 12:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Explosive discovery: Evidence that terror brought down at least one of two crashed Russian planes. We're live from Moscow.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Peace in Najaf: After weeks of violence, will the top Shiite cleric be able to keep the peace at the mosque?

O'BRIEN: U.S. intelligence shakeup: President Bush prepares to expand the power of the CIA director. We're live at the White House.

PHILLIPS: Give up the gold? Another twist for American gymnast Paul Hamm in the medal mess.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's gold medal winning LIVE FROM starts right now.

Up first this hour, no smoking gun, but pretty close. Telltale traces of explosives in the wreckage of a doomed Russian airliner. This is the second of two air disasters that took place three minutes and 450 miles apart on Tuesday night. Today, forensics aren't the only red flags suggesting terrorism.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote brings us up to date from Moscow -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, we're just starting to get some of the first hard clues in this mystery -- well, what has been a mystery until today. And that specifically is that the investigators found some traces of explosives at one of the two crash sites.

In the laboratories, they discovered that those explosives were hexogen. Hexogen is an explosive that has been used in terrorist attacks here in Russia before.

Russian authorities also confirmed that that same plane did emit at least one, perhaps two signals indicating that they were having trouble onboard -- one SOS signal and one hijacking signal that was communicated orally. That was the plane that was headed to Sochi, bringing tourists to the Russian resort town of Sochi, on the Black Sea. Now, the other plane, they haven't found any traces of explosives yet, so they're not being as conclusive, and they are not as convinced yet, publicly, that that plane was brought down by terrorists as they are with the first one we were just discussing. But still, there are some telltale signs there, they say.

For example, they are looking at a body -- or I should say body parts that they found today of a 40th passenger. We haven't heard much about this passenger yet. The body parts, they say, belong to a Chechen woman who checked in to the flight, got onto the plane, bought her tickets just minutes before she got onboard.

And what really is suspicious for Russian authorities is that neither she nor a Chechen woman who was on the other plane were being met by anyone at the airports they were flying to.

Chechen terrorists have used female suicide bombers in the past, so Russian authorities are going to be looking at that very carefully -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ryan, the particular aircraft that was headed to Sochi along the Black Sea, it just so happens that's where Vladimir Putin has a dacha. There's some indication that there was knowledge onboard that aircraft that something was awry. Are investigators looking into the possibility that passengers thwarted an attempt to fly right into Putin's house?

CHILCOTE: I'm sure they're looking at that possibility. After all, we're talking about the Federal Security Service. Their main job is counterterrorism. They're the successor agency of the KGB. What they're not doing is they're not talking about that publicly. That is pretty much speculative talk that has been left to the media.

They've told the general public very little, but it is a fact that that plane was on its way to Sochi, where the Russian president was on a working vacation at that time. So, it is possible that, of course, that was their intention. We simply don't know, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow, thanks much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's Mike Brooks is a veteran investigator. He was assigned to the FBI for the Lockerbie case and TWA. He joins us to kind of walk us through the investigation that's taking place now in Russia.

Let's get right to the hexogen that was discovered and talk about this explosive device.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a high explosive. People probably are more familiar with C4, which is a plastic explosive. But again, this is a high explosive, and there's more crystal than powder, but very similar to C4. If there is evidence, what they're going to be looking for are some pitting of the metal, which are little tiny pinhole pricks.

Because when a bomb goes off like this, Kyra, and they use a high explosive, it actually -- super-heated gasses have to go somewhere, and they explode with such ferocity that it pokes little holes through the metal, and that's one of the things they're going to look for. And also, you have a thermal event, or a fire, when something like this explodes.

They're going to look for some charring, those kind of things, of different parts, to find out exactly where the bomb was when it went off.

PHILLIPS: So, let's talk about this explosive powder. I mean, I was looking through -- it's been used in a number of terrorist activity -- used by the Chechen rebels quite a bit. It is cheap? Is it easy to get?

BROOKS: Fairly easy to get. It's in a lot of military ordinance -- RPG-7s, artillery shells, landmines, these kinds of things. So, it can be extracted from them and then put to use in improvised explosives such as this.

We go back to the Pan Am 103 case where the bomb went off in the plane over Lockerbie. That explosive was packed into a radio -- was a radio cassette player and put into some luggage.

So, again, we don't know, in this particular case, whether it was self-initiated by someone who was on the plane or if it was in the cargo hold of the plane. It took months and months in the Lockerbie case to find out exactly what happened.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, two questions. Knowing the security situation at this airport, is it possible that some of this could have been in a small suitcase? Could it have gotten into the cargo area?

BROOKS: It's possible. My aviation security sources tell me that the security for domestic flights into Moscow isn't what it should be. Now, on the international flights, because there are U.S. carriers that fly from Moscow to the United States and back every single day. But the international security procedures are up to snuff, and the United States makes sure that that does happen.

PHILLIPS: So, you're saying you don't have to worry if you're on an American...

BROOKS: No.

PHILLIPS: ... an American-based airline.

BROOKS: Right. An American carrier coming from Moscow or going to Moscow is nothing to worry about. The United States makes sure that those security procedures are up to snuff -- the Transportation Security Administration, as well as the U.S. carriers themselves, make sure that those are up to standard.

PHILLIPS: Still two bodies unaccounted for -- two Chechen women.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: Immediately, you think of the black widows.

BROOKS: Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, women have been used -- and the Chechens, they have also targeted transportation in Russia -- subways, trains, and now possibly and airplane. So, again, it will take some time to put the pieces together.

And Pan Am 103, referring back to that case, because everyone's familiar with that case of aviation terrorism, it took them almost 10 months to really come up with the piece of evidence.

And the one piece that they came up with, Kyra, was a timing device no bigger than your thumbnail. This Russian terrorist act was spread out, in this one particular, is spread out over 25 square miles. The Lockerbie case was spread out over hundreds of miles, and they were able to find this one little piece of evidence, but it did take a long time.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mike Brooks, thanks.

BROOKS: Good to see you.

O'BRIEN: And now, to Najaf, where almost a month of death and destruction, sound and fury has given way to peace and quiet, at least for today. The transformation follows the dramatic intervention of Iraq's most senior, most respected Shiite cleric.

And CNN's John Vause has watched it all from his post in Baghdad. John, what's the latest?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Well, it is all quiet tonight in the city of Najaf. Iraqi police control the streets around the Imam Ali mosque. That was one of the conditions laid out in this peace deal struck by al-Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr, that Iraqi police have control of the Imam Ali shrine.

Now, loudspeakers around the mosque earlier today made an announcement on behalf of Muqtada al-Sadr, calling on his Mehdi Militia to lay down their weapons and leave the shrine. Right now, the mosque is locked shut, and it is deserted. But before that, thousands of pilgrims made the journey to the mosque to celebrate the end of the fighting after Sistani negotiated that peace deal.

He returned to Najaf only yesterday and, within hours, held a face to face meeting with Muqtada al-Sadr. But it was a deadly day leading up to this peace deal. The Iraqi Health Ministry says 110 people were killed, 500 wounded in fighting before al-Sistani arrived in Najaf, but deaths are also in Kufa.

Sistani, a short time ago, issuing a statement expressing his sorrow and regret for the people who were killed in that violence. Miles, it remains to be seen what happens in the days and the weeks ahead. There are some reports that members of the Mehdi Militia have, in fact, been taking their weapons home. A spokesperson for al-Sadr says that while the Mehdi Militia may have been disarmed, it has not been disbanded. And Muqtada al-Sadr himself has received an amnesty. He is a free man. He is free to walk wherever he wants, according to the Iraqi government. Critics have suggested that leaves him free to cause trouble on another day. And while this crisis in Najaf has passed, there are still many problems facing the interim Iraqi government.

In Mosul to the North, there was a car bomb which targeted a U.S. military convoy. Eight civilians were wounded, and a U.S. soldier was wounded. And here in Baghdad, in the central part of the city, there were explosions and gunfire, as well. Twelve U.S. soldiers were wounded in two separate grenade attacks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: So, John, is it accurate to say then Muqtada al-Sadr really hasn't lost any prestige in the eyes of his followers, and thus, really could bring them all back to arms again if need be. And just related to that, what is the current accurate number on the Mehdi Militia? Do we know?

VAUSE: Well, that's a very good question. At the height of this standoff, it was thought that Muqtada al-Sadr had as many as 2,000 men inside the Imam Ali shrine. But that's not his power base. His power base is here in Baghdad, in the slum of Sadr City. There's two million people who live in Sadr City, many of them -- an unknown number, of course -- support Muqtada al-Sadr. So, that's the strength of his Mehdi Militia.

As far as this situation in Najaf, what is being suggested is that this is a truce. It is not a solution. This is what the interim Iraqi government was trying to avoid. They wanted a conclusive end to Muqtada al-Sadr once and for all.

But as you suggest, Miles, his prestige has grown. He walks away from this without giving into the interim government, without giving into the U.S.

He saves face. He hands the keys back to the religious authority. He says he's done it for Iraq to end further bloodshed. He certainly grows in prestige at the end of this.

O'BRIEN: CNN's John Vause in Baghdad, thank you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, they don't call Baghdad's Haifa Street "Little Fallujah" for nothing. That area was a battleground today between insurgents armed with grenades and U.S. forces and tanks. When it was over, 12 GIs were hurt, eight suspected attackers detained.

Up north in Mosul, a car bomb wounded 12 Iraqis and one U.S. soldier. A captain says the blast went off as a U.S. military convoy moved through a traffic circle. A U.S. armored vehicle was slightly damaged.

Italy is bitterly confirming the death in Iraq of a journalist taken hostage a week ago. The Arab network Al-Jazeera says a group called the Islamic Army in Iraq killed Enzo Baldoni because Italy refused to withdraw its troops as the Philippines did when a Filipino truck driver was captured last month.

In our next hour, we're going to talk about the dangers of gathering news with Rodney Pinder of the International News Safety Institute. That's at 2:45 p.m. Eastern, right here on LIVE FROM.

O'BRIEN: Crowd control: How New York's finest plan to deal with the thousands of protesters expected at the Republican National Convention -- some with clothes, some not.

Plus, potential jurors in the Kobe Bryant case arrive at a Colorado courthouse 14 months after the alleged crime. We're live on that story on LIVE FROM, of course.

And an international gymnastics group has a little request for American Paul Hamm: "Could you give back that medal, please, Mr. Hamm?" Details ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: President Bush will put pen to paper in the name of national security today, signing executive orders, the White House says, will help find and stop terrorists. The orders will give the CIA director additional powers and create a National Counterterrorism Center. Some critics say that's not enough.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us with the latest on this -- Susan.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, later today, President Bush is expected to sign those executive orders, those directives. This is a part of those recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.

We are told not to expect any major fanfare, an announcement, or even a ceremony. This is going to take place very quietly, but the White House is going to brief us later today on some of those details.

Now, this happens while the White House is negotiating with Congress on how to create a new, powerful position, a national intelligence director, one who would report directly to the president. But these presidential directives today would immediately put in motion some steps that the president endorsed back on August 2.

First, it would establish a National Counterterrorism Center. That, essentially, would be kind of a warehouse for intelligence analysis. Also, it would give the CIA director greater interim power, essentially performing some of the duties that the national director would take on at a later date, including the oversight of 15 intelligence agencies. And finally, they would establish guidelines for greater sharing of intelligence between those agencies.

One important note, of course, to notice here, Miles, is that when it comes to the real authority of this figure, the national intelligence director, that is still in question, and it's all about budget authority. That is something that would require an act of Congress to actually come through and to deliver. That is something that they are still very much debating -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: With the start of the Republican National Convention just three days away, CNN is taking a closer look at the man who will accept the party's nomination Thursday night. Sunday on "CNN PRESENTS," "The Mission of George W. Bush." We examine the aftermath of September 11th.

John King has a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: And I walked up to his right ear, leaned over and whispered in, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack." I wanted to be efficient in how I delivered the message, but I also wanted to be unambiguous about the consequence.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Testing time for a president just seven months in office.

ERIC DRAPER, PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: We were approaching Washington, and everyone had noticed the fighter jets that escorted Air Force One outside. And we had been on the plane all day without being in Washington. It's -- we were finally home.

MARY MATALIN, FMR. ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: I remember the night of 9/11 saying to us, "This is the mission of this government. This is the mission of this administration. We will bring these terrorists, in whatever form it takes, to justice."

KING: Two new challenges: rally the country from its shock and comfort the families.

GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We come before god to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.

I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.

DRAPER: Pretty emotional. He cried with a lot of the families. He hugged a lot of the families. Everyone had tears in their eyes. The families were holding pictures of their loved ones, who they lost. It was very intense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can see the pretty intense documentary "The Mission of George W. Bush" on "CNN SUNDAY" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, followed by a special pre-convention edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."

O'BRIEN: Up next on LIVE FROM, on a dog day afternoon...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW GOFF, SAVED DOG FROM ALLIGATOR: Without even thinking, I jumped in the water, I jumped on the gator...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: What happened next is proof that this guy really loves his dog. Later on LIVE FROM...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have their own oxygen masks, their own goggles...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: A skydiving hot dog. This mutt is on a mission. We'll tell you what it is. And Monday, in-depth as the Republicans bring their party to the Big Apple. What will their strategy be to win the hearts and minds of American voters?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, new numbers just confirm the economy was stuck in a bit of a rut this spring. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details...

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Checking stories in the news now, the first U.S. military tribunal since World War II have wrapped up at Guantanamo Bay, the fourth and final hearing delayed because the suspects' attorney said she needed more time to prepare. The hearing was for a Sudanese man and alleged bodyguard to Osama bin Laden.

No charges against a Florida man who snapped and set a Marine van on fire after finding out his son had been killed in Iraq. Police say Carlos Arredondo was distraught and didn't try to hurt anyone besides himself. He was inside that van when he set it on fire. A psychiatrist will examine Arredondo once he recovers from his burns.

Grief and shock at Ole Miss today after a deadly fraternity house fire. The blaze swept through the Alpha Tau Omega House earlier this morning. The University of Mississippi says three students were killed. No word on what started it.

PHILLIPS: After more than a year of headlines and hearings, the Kobe Bryant trial is underway. Hundreds of people showed up at the Eagle County Courthouse in Colorado just this morning for the first step in jury selection.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is there -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, things are definitely moving along here at the Eagle County Courthouse. The first group of about 100 potential jurors has filled out their questionnaires and gone home. The judge has already spoken to the second group, and they're wrapping up their questionnaires now.

Two more groups scheduled to come in this afternoon. And by the time we're done today, close to 500 people will have been sworn in and answered the 82 written questions.

Now, come next week, Kobe Bryant himself will be back in court, and we may well see his accuser, as well. By that time, the jury pool will have been whittled down to about 50 people. And this is a pretty big generalization, but legal experts say prosecutors will be looking for feminists, or people who tend to believe women over men.

The defense, meanwhile, will be looking for sports fans, particularly those fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG SILVERMAN, FMR. PROSECUTOR: Beyond that, they may be looking for women as well, because women have a tendency to sometimes judge other women more harshly. Men are brought up to be protective of women, and it's an interesting gender dynamic in this case, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Now, over the weekend, the attorneys will review those questionnaires and most of the people who come here today will be excluded based on those answers. The ones who remain next Monday and Tuesday will be questioned individually on things such as their views on celebrity or the publicity in this trial, even their feelings about the race of both the defendant and his accuser -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Chris Lawrence, live from Eagle, Colorado. Thanks.

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