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White House Mum on Rove Allegations; Police Arrest Man in Connection with London Bombings; NASA Prepared for Tomorrow's Shuttle Launch; Mother Demands Answers on Child Shot in Standoff; White House Press Secretary Grilled Over Rove

Aired July 12, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," another bombing, this one outside a shopping mall in Netanya, Israel. Two people killed, at least 30 others wounded. Netanya is just a few miles from the West Bank. And Palestinian leaders condemned that attack as an attempt to sabotage ongoing peace efforts.
One arrest made, and London investigators are said to be hot on the trail of others who may have taken part in Thursday's deadly train and bus bombings. They're focusing on four men seen on a surveillance tape from the King's Cross station just ahead of the blast.

An emotional debate over stem cell research. Senator Arlen Specter, who's battling cancer, wants fellow senators to lift the funding restrictions on such research. A bill to do just that has already passed the House.

A lack of leads may force some searchers from Texas to pack up and leave Aruba. The group has been on the island for three weeks now, looking for any sign of missing American teenager Natalee Holloway. They found a sandal, some clothing and jewelry, but none of it is Holloway's.

Up first this hour, confidence in the formally confidential source. He's Karl Rove, arguably President Bush's most trusted, most powerful, most indispensable aide and advisor, who's standing supposedly some diminished by his apparent role in outing a CIA operative. That's far from the final word in this story of secrets and denials and no comments.

CNN's Bob Franken heard them all.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Well, usually we can get the story du jour comment from President Bush at whatever the photo op is of the day, but that was not to be today. The president was meeting with the prime minister of Singapore, came the question afterwards, "What about Karl Rove?" And the president had no comment.

Matching what up to now has been a just absolute refusal to comment on the Rove matter by his press secretary Scott McClellan. McClellan repeatedly said, under onslaught from reporters, that he was not going to comment because it all came within the confines of an investigation.

But the peppering of questions continued. Was the president maintaining his confidence in Karl Rove? Should Karl Rove have his security clearance taken away? What about the president's confidence?

Finally, Scott McClellan, who has not budged up until now, budged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Any individual who works here at the White House has the president's confidence. They wouldn't be working here if they didn't have the president's confidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And that would include Karl Rove, said Scott McClellan.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are making it very clear that the confidence they have right now is that they believe, confidently, that Karl Rove has become a potent political issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The White House's credibility is at issue here. And I believe very clearly Karl Rove ought to be fired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question. You were nodding (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm nodding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Senator Clinton is nodding and everybody is waiting to see if the White House, Kyra, blinks on the Karl Rove matter.

PHILLIPS: So what's the talk, Bob, and what are you hearing from your sources? Will Karl Rove come forward and talk, like a lot of people are asking him to do?

FRANKEN: Well, the White House is making it clear that right now it is going to still to the confidentiality of the investigation. The lawyer for Karl Rove says he has talked to the grand jury but assured that Rove is not suspected of a crime.

Everybody is parsing his words very carefully. I think the thing to watch for is how the political winds blow.

PHILLIPS: Bob Franken, live from the White House, thank you so much.

And much more on the Karl Grove -- Karl Rove, rather, and the CIA leak today on "INSIDE POLITICS." John King talks with former White House advisor David Gergen about how explosive this could be for the president. That's today, 3:30 Eastern.

And speaking of naming names, Mr. Bush didn't in a brief Q&A on the subject of the vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States. During a photo op with the visiting prime minister of Singapore, the president talked about the process of choosing a successor to retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor without getting too specific.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am going to be deliberate in the process, because I want the American people to know that, when I finally make a decision, it's going to be one based upon a lot of research and a lot of thought about the character of the person, the integrity of the person, the ability the person to do the job and the philosophy of the person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The president met over breakfast with the leadership of the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee, all of whom had a lot to chew on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: We have a long ways to go. The president has thousands of names that I'm sure -- at least hundreds of names that he will go through. He didn't give us any names. There were a lot of names discussed in the meeting of which we're not going to talk about any of those names. I think that's an agreement that we have. And we'll stick by that.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I think that the word ought to go out that the special interest groups vastly overstate their influence, that what they are doing is counter productive and a lot of the times insulting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: She is not a special interest, but Laura Bush weighed in today, all the way from South Africa. Mrs. Bush told an interviewer she would really like the president to replace O'Connor with another woman.

A security alert has been declared at Britain's House of Commons. Few details are known, but it comes just days after London was rocked by a series of terrorist attacks.

Today authorities announced several key developments after raiding six homes.

CNN's Alessio Vinci explains what was found and at whom police are pointing the finger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): British police say they are investigating four men they believe met at King's Cross Station shortly before 8:30 the morning of the attacks. Police say the men were seen on closed circuit security cameras.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have since found personal documents bearing the names of three of those four men close to the seats of three of the explosions.

VINCI: The fourth suspect was reported missing by his family Thursday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As regard to the man who was reported missing, some of his property was found on the Route 30 bus in Tavistock Square.

VINCI: Investigators say three of the suspects came from West Yorkshire, 200 Miles north of London.

Tuesday morning police conducted several raids there and arrested one man in connection with the bombings. He is being questioned in London.

Later in the day, in Lutton, about 30 Miles north of the capital, investigators found a car they believe is linked to the attacks parked at a railway station.

Police officials called these significant but early leads, and the investigation will continue in the days and weeks to come. They say help from the general public has been instrumental.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been several hundred witness statement taken. Over a thousand different actions being raised which have been prompted by some very useful and constructive calls from the public to our anti-terrorist hot line. They've been in excess of 2,000.

VINCI (on camera): Top political officials say they are confident perpetrators of the attacks will be tracked down. At the same time they warn that cities like London or even New York remain at risk. And another attack here is likely. They just can't say when.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Two Americans who were found wounded in the attacks are said to be making a slow and steady recovery. Sisters Emily and Kathleen Benton from Tennessee were only 10 feet away from one of the bombs that blew up on a London subway. One suffered broken bones and skin damage. The other has shrapnel wounds to their foot. Both women have undergone surgery at Duke University Hospital. Doctors say they are totally stable.

News around the world now.

The death toll is rising at the site of a mine accident in China. Rescue workers have pulled at least 76 bodies from a shaft after a gas explosion in the mine. Seven miners are missing. China's coal mines are seen as the deadliest in the world.

East-West photo op. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today in Tokyo. Rice says that Washington packs Japan's push to resolve old cases of kidnappings, allegedly by North Korean agents. The subject is likely to come up when six-party talks with North Korea resume later this month. Rice says the main issue will be North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Prince Albert II formerly formally enthroned today as the official head of the state. His father, the former ruler, Prince Rainier, died in April. Albert accepts his new duty just a week after he confirmed that he fathered a child out of wedlock with a flight attendant.

Ready for liftoff. This time tomorrow the crew of Discovery should just be minutes away from rocketing into space. That wait has been a long and painful one for the entire NASA team.

Let's check in with CNN's Sean Callebs at the Kennedy Space Center.

Hi, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

A two and a half year wait, long and painful for many of the legions of workers here at NASA. But I can tell a great deal of excitement today. A lot of people really looking forward to tomorrow.

And of course, at this time tomorrow we will be immersed in our hour-long special with Miles O'Brien leading up to the return to space.

If you can just look over my left shoulder for just a moment, you can see the countdown clock. It is right now on 11 hours. That is a built-in hold that NASA has virtually on every launch.

In the foreground, you can see just some of the 2,600-plus journalists, many from overseas, who are here to document this.

Well, the weather looks perfect right behind me now. However, there are some concerns. Indeed that is one of the overriding concerns at this hour. Even with the puffy white clouds and blue sky, NASA say there is still a 40 percent chance of foul weather could ground Discovery tomorrow. And it wouldn't take rain, lightning or extreme wind. Heavy cloud cover could be enough to do that.

The reason: there are more than 112 cameras aimed at Discovery during liftoff. Those cameras will document every second of the liftoff, and engineers and scientists also pour over those pictures. And they will try to determine if any damage has been caused to the orbiter by debris during liftoff.

Of course, we all remember what happened to Columbia when it disintegrated during re-entry into Earth. And it was blamed on a pound and a half piece of foam that struck the leading edge of the left wing, causing that problem.

Still, NASA says everything is a go right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF SPAULDING, NASA TEST DIRECTOR: I'm proud to report that our vehicle is ready, the team is ready. I think our nation is ready. With some luck our weather will be ready so that we can begin our historic mission of returning the shuttle to flight and bringing her crew safely home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Indeed, bringing the crew safely home after a 12-day mission. Well, aside from the 50-plus improvements to the shuttle at a cost of more than $1 billion, it will be a busy time for the crew in their nearly two weeks in space. They're going to have three EBA's or spacewalks.

In the first the crew will go out, the two astronauts will go out and check the orbiter to make sure there were no cracks or holes during liftoff.

The second one will take place on day seven and the astronauts will put a large gyroscope about the size of a washing machine in the International Space Station.

And finally, Kyra, on day nine the astronauts will put in a platform on the International Space Station, making it a bit easier for the next team that goes up there to do some work out in space.

And of course, I can tell you Miles O'Brien is chomping at the bit, ready to get in here and bring us all up to date on what's going to happen over the next 24 hours.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll be turning to both of you, Sean Callebs. Thank you so much.

Well, you can watch the final minutes of Discovery's countdown right here on CNN. Our space correspondent, like Sean said, Miles O'Brien, will bring us a first-hand look at the launch beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.

Well, the crew, the orbiter, NASA engineers, they're all set, now if only the weather will cooperate. Jacqui Jeras, how's it looking for launch?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it looks pretty good. Most favorable for takeoff, we think, liftoff tomorrow.

I think the conditions tomorrow afternoon are going to be very similar to what we're seeing right now. That's just about 24 hours away, right?

And this is what the radar picture looks at this time. And there you can see Kennedy Space Center. There are some showers off to the west of there, and we are expecting the chance for some showers and thunderstorms once again for tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be kind of hit and miss, so we can't say for sure there's not going to be a shower or thunderstorm there. It's probably about a 40 percent chance that there will be.

This is our True View system. And take a look at the forecast sky conditions. You can see tomorrow afternoon, the later in the day we get, the more clouds there are going to be and increased chance of showers and thunderstorms. Most of those, we do think, though, will be inland, so that is good news.

Temperature at time of launch should be around 86 degrees.

Also want to mention one other thing before you let me go there, Kyra, and that is Emily, a tropical storm, 50 mile per hour winds. And it is forecast to become a hurricane late tomorrow or early Thursday.

PHILLIPS: Jacqui, for the record, we never let you go. And we'll never let you go. Thank you, Jacqui.

Well a baby is shot and killed, and a community is in shock right now. Could anything more that been done to stop it? We're talking about Los Angeles, California, of course. The child's mother speaks out.

Plus, he won't be going back. Now the home of BTK killer Dennis Rader is sold to the highest bidder.

And later, was it a briefing or a brawl? White House press secretary gets grilled. Our Jeanne Moos turn a roving eye on that and turns in a piece, well, well done.

LIVE FROM will be right back.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News across America now.

The owner of an exotic dance club now holds the keys to BTK killer Dennis Rader's Kansas home. She offered the winning bid of $90,000 in an auction. The self-described real estate investor says she know she overbid for Rader's three-bedroom ranch house, which was assessed at $57,000. But she says she wants the proceeds to benefit the killer's family.

In Idaho the man accused of kidnapping 8-year-old Shasta Groene will be accused today with three counts of murder. Police say Joseph Edward Duncan killed Groene's mother, older brother and mother's boyfriend. The killing of Shasta's other brother, Dylan, falls under the jurisdiction of Montana prosecutors.

Arizona authorities are searching for two young children missing from a home where police found their grandparents and uncle killed. The Maricopa County sheriff's office believes the 18-month-old Brian Cervantes and his 3-year-old sister Jennifer are with their father who police describe as an investigative lead in this case.

An armed suspect, a standoff, an officer shot and now a baby girl is dead. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is in Los Angeles with the story of an agonizing choice and a mother left asking why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One day after 19-month-old Susie Lopez is killed in the middle of a ferocious gun battle, the baby's devastated mother searches for answers.

LORENA LOPEZ, MOTHER: (speaking Spanish)

GUTIERREZ: Lorena Lopez says Los Angeles police did not respect her baby's life. She says she begged police not to shoot at the baby's father, 34-year-old Jose Raul Pena, during a 2 1/2-hour standoff with Los Angeles police. But police say they had no choice.

CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: On three separate occasions he opened fire on officers. Officers have the right to protect themselves, their fellow officers and innocent bystanders and have the right to shoot back when faced with that danger.

GUTIERREZ: Pena, who was holding his 19-month-old daughter in his arms, fired 40 rounds at police, injuring one officer. Police returned fire 90 times. Pena and 19-month-old Susie were killed.

LOPEZ: (speaking Spanish)

GUTIERREZ: Lorena Lopez wants justice. She says she wants to know how her baby ended up in the cross-fire.

BRATTON: My heart goes out to the child's mother and to the family. Unfortunately in this instance the suspect's actions left the officers no choice.

GUTIERREZ: Until an autopsy report is completed, it won't be known whose bullets killed the baby, her father's or those of Los Angeles police.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A candle light vigil will be held tonight in memory of 19-month-old Susie Lopez.

Straight ahead on LIVE FROM: all riled up over Rove? Well, yesterday's White House briefing looked more like a battle. Our Jeanne Moos sticks a fork in it coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: There's a massive cloak of secrecy covering the new Harry Potter book, set for a long awaited release on Saturday. But evidently things weren't zipped up tightly enough to keep a few books from slipping out. Fourteen copies of "Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince" were mistakenly sold at a store in Canada. A judge is ordering the early birds not to talk about it, copy it, sell it or even read the book before it's officially released.

Well, the White House says that we could see a big cut in the budget deficit this year. Kathleen Hays once again joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange -- Kathleen.

(STOCK REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, finally more on the Karl Rove controversy and whether he leaked the name of a CIA operative to the media. If the president's political adviser is feeling any heat the White House is keeping a pretty tight lid on it. That's left White House press secretary Scott McClellan squarely on the front burner.

CNN's Jeanne Moos casts a roving eye on how McClellan is taking the heat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about getting grilled. Nothing got pressed and prodded more than the White House press secretary...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bad spot here, Scott, because...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you change your mind?

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: If you'll let me finish.

DAVID GREGORY, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT No, you're not finished. You're not saying anything.

MOOS: Not saying anything except...

MCCLELLAN: While that investigation is ongoing the White House is not going to comment on it.

Our policy continues to be that we're not going to get into commenting. You can keep asking them but you have my response.

MOOS: The left has accused the press of not asking or barely uttering the "R" word, as in Karl Rove, White House deputy chief of staff. But now...

GREGORY: Let me ask you this. Did Karl Rove commit a crime?

MOOS: ... that's practically all they were asking, 23 questions.

MCCLELLAN: Do you have questions on another topic? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.

MOOS: And though press secretary Scott McClellan showered reporters with appreciation for their efforts...

MCCLELLAN: I appreciate your questions.

I appreciate your questions.

I appreciate the question.

MOOS: ... he didn't appreciate it enough to answer, not until the investigation into who leaked the name of a CIA operative is over.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is.

MOOS: Now that "Newsweek" reports Karl Rove's name has surfaced in an e-mail "TIME" magazine was forced by the court to turn over, reporters are attacking the subject as if it's red meat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're not going to respond whether the president has confidence in his deputy chief of staff?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did the president learn that Karl Rove...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you standing by what you said previously?

MCCLELLAN: You've heard my response.

MOOS: It was enough to leave reporters twiddling their pens, looking for answers, perhaps from a higher source.

GREGORY: Scott, this is ridiculous.

MOOS: As anyone who doesn't know, grilling can make you thirsty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you like? We've got fresh lemonade.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A beer.

MOOS: Bet the White House press secretary could use a drink after a briefing that must have seemed anything but brief. Still he managed to smile when it was all over, emitting no visible smoke.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this Tuesday edition of LIVE FROM. Now here's John King with a preview of what's ahead on "INSIDE POLITICS."

And John, I want to thank you. I actually used part of your interview with Karl Rove for my piece today. Thank you very much.

KING: Well, you're so welcome, and thank you, Kyra.

And we're going to continue this debate about Karl Rove. He is usually the man who orchestrates the news. And now he is very much in the news.

Coming up, we'll go in-depth on this political fight over deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove.

Plus, senior senators meet with the president at the White House about that high court opening. I'll talk with senators Arlen Specter and Joe Biden about the Supreme Court battle, just ahead.

All this and much, much more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" in just about two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now in the news, this just in to CNN. We have confirmed that explosives were found in a car at a rail station in Lutton just north of London. You know that Lutton is one of the areas under investigation for where those terrorists that conducted the attacks were residing. We're getting more information, and we'll bring it to you as soon as we get it.

Also interest is growing into Karl Rove's possible role in revealing the name of a CIA operative. The White House is standing by their man. When asked whether the president still has confidence in his top advisor, Scott McClellan said that anyone that works at the White House has the president's confidence or else they wouldn't be working there. Much more on that story just ahead on "INSIDE POLITICS."

And a massive wild fire and a massive response in Colorado where the 12,000 acre Mason Gulch wild fire continues to rage. Hundreds of firefighters, dozens of fire trucks and 15 aircraft now battling that blaze.

Now John King and "INSIDE POLITICS."

END

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