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Egyptians Hold Biochemist in London Terror Probe; Officers Teach Passengers how to Spot Terrorists; Supreme Court Watch

Aired July 15, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Does this man have any answers about those who carried out the terror attacks in London? We will have the latest on that investigation.
Also, what is life like for British Muslims in the aftermath of the London attacks? I'll have live reaction from Leeds.

And we are live from London just hours before the release of the latest "Harry Potter" book. You can only imagine the craze.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta I'm Betty Nguyen. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Is he a witness, a suspect, or a victim of circumstance? A man of science, a terrorist, or both? Magdy el-Nashar is an Egyptian biochemist and Ph.D. from Leeds University, today being held and questioned in Cairo in the aftermath of the terror in London.

CNN's John Vause is following events from Leeds, which remains the epicenter of the bomb investigation. And he joins us now.

John, what do you know?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, there's still much that isn't being told about Magdy el-Nashar, but there are some pieces of information which we can piece together.

We know that he is from Egypt, that he has a house in Cairo. We also know that earlier today he has arrested by Egyptian authorities at Cairo International Airport. We do not know if he was entering the country or if in fact he was leaving the country.

We also know that el-Nashar rented an apartment here in Leeds. It is this apartment behind me. It is still being searched today by police. It was one of the first six initial properties that were raided here on Tuesday morning.

Now, when that raid got under way, police called in the bomb squad. They evacuated this neighborhood. Hundreds of people were forced to leave.

At the time, all police would say is that inside this house was a substance which could possibly be harmful to the public. Separately, as this inquiry moves forward, we are being told by those close to the investigation that they have found traces of an explosive known as TATP. Now, as far as el-Nashar is concerned, he's also linked to the London bombings. A telephone number found on a cell phone in the debris linked el-Nashar to the scene.

The British press is calling him "The Chemist." He recently received a doctorate from Leeds University in biochemistry. He also studied chemical engineering at Raleigh at North Carolina State. But officials here at Leeds University say they have not seen him on campus since the beginning of this month -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. John Vause in Leeds. Thank you for that update.

A new poll indicates most Americans believe it is inevitable that terrorists will hit mass transit somewhere in the U.S. sometime in the future. New York police, however, are apparently among the minority, who believe such attacks are preventable.

Now, if you're willing to experiment, CNN's Kelly Wallace has a captivating case in point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE (voice-over): Susan Stein, a New York City mother of three, was taking a bus home last Thursday morning when a police officer did a random safety check and talked about something startling.

SUSAN STEIN, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: What really struck me was that he began talking about what a suicide bomber would look like. And I was shocked.

WALLACE: Then, he got specific.

STEIN: He said, "If you notice someone who would get on a bus in the summer with a heavy coat or with something heavy around their waist, this -- you need to notify the driver immediately."

WALLACE: He then used language new to her, but common to terrorism experts.

STEIN: He used the word "zombie." He said, "Right before a suicide bomber would commit that act, they would look like a zombie." It was unbelievable.

WALLACE (on camera): When people are listening to what this person is saying, what is the mood like on the bus?

STEIN: It was serious. People were serious. They -- I have to believe that they had never heard this before. And he had everyone's attention. He actually commanded it.

WALLACE (voice-over): And so we wondered, in light of last week's London bomb blast, had New York City police started something new, not just doing routine checks...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just checking to make sure everything's fine.

WALLACE: ... but also specifically warning passengers to beware of suicide bombers. New York's police commissioner says no.

RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: We're a big organization. And somebody -- some enterprising sergeant may have given them talking points. And that's always possible. But it's not a policy where he's get on and saying, "Hi, my name is," and look out for this. You know, we don't have that right now.

WALLACE: Still, the commissioner did not rule out such a policy in the future. Susan Stein thinks it would be a good idea.

STEIN: It was a remainder, but it wasn't a remainder on TV with another color coming up that people are just not even hearing anymore. It was a police officer practically talking to directly to you and saying, this can happen, here's what to do to avoid it.

WALLACE: And after a day when New Yorkers couldn't help but remember September 11, she hopes New Yorkers remain vigilant.

(on camera): Do you feel like it's just a matter of time before we see a suicide bombing in the U.S.?

STEIN: I do. God forgive me for even saying it out loud, but I do.

WALLACE: Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable covering of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist has gaveled to rest the rumors that he will retire from the U.S. Supreme Court. For President Bush, the chance to shape the high court may have narrowed just a little, at least for now.

CNN's Bob Franken has the story now from Washington.

So the rumors, they're all over. He said it himself, not retiring.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. In fact, he seemed to be quite irritated by what he called the unfounded rumors and the speculation which we certainly freely engaged in, as did just about everybody in the media and everybody in Washington and those who pay attention to these things. And, of course, in the process, he's had to deal with cameras outside his house, something that is known not to please the chief justice, cameras that were still there this morning after the announcement, showing him leaving in a wheelchair, getting into his limousine and coming down to the court, where he's had at work. Consistent with the statement he put out almost petulantly last night, saying, "I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement. I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as chief justice as long as my health permits."

And, of course, it's his health that has been fueling this now for months. He has announced that he is being treated for thyroid cancer. And ever since that announcement, there has been speculation that the chief was going to step down.

Imagine the surprise when it was another justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, who said she would retired. She, often described as the all-important swing vote on the court, and her replacement is bound, certainly under the circumstances now, to create a major fight later this summer.

The president says he will make his announcement in a timely fashion, and then there will be what is probably going to be the confirmation battle of all confirmation battles. Certainly one of the toughest ones in a long time. And out of all of this, there is a hope that when the court reconvenes in October, there is a new justice sitting there, and the same chief justice -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Hey, Bob, let me ask you this: when Rehnquist made his announcement that he's not going to retire, was the White House informed beforehand? And if not, is that a break from the norm?

FRANKEN: No, it's not a break from the norm, and no, they weren't informed. The president would not call for that. It was just something clearly that the chief justice decided, you know what? I want to do this, I'm tired of all this, let's get this out there.

NGUYEN: All right. There you have it. Not retiring. Bob, thank you.

Also in Washington, developments today in the criminal probe into who blew the cover of a U.S. intelligence operative. The big question remains, what was the role of Karl Rove, the chief political adviser to President Bush?

With that story, CNN's Ed Henry from Capitol Hill.

Hi, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Betty.

That's right. CNN has confirmed that, in fact, Karl Rove testified to a grand jury that he talked talk with two journalists, Robert Novak and Matt Cooper, about this CIA operative, Valerie Plame. But Rove also testified that he learned her identity from the news media, not from any sensitive government information or sources that he had on his own.

The significance there is that this is an account to suggest that Rove was not guilty of any wrongdoing. And it's very important to point out that we do not have the account of Matt Cooper, who testified to the grand jury this week about his conversation with Rove, and what he says about it. And also, Robert Novak has repeatedly not talked about whether or not he has testified to the grand jury, whether or not he has, in fact, cooperated with this investigation.

So it's an incomplete account right now. But this is at least what we're hearing about Rove, what Rove testified about.

Now, Rove today, when we had a camera outside his house before he headed to the White House for work, he did not talk about the case at all. But I can tell you that here on Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats cannot stop talking about this.

In fact, yesterday, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer brought in Joe Wilson, who once again basically charged that Karl Rove had engineered a dirty -- political dirty trick against his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson. And then Wilson came on CNN to rip into Rove again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH WILSON, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR: The president has said that he would fire and his White House spokesman has said that he would fire anybody who was involved in the leak. It's now clear that Mr. Rove had given Matt Cooper my wife's name four days before the Novak article appeared. In other words, before her identity was publicly compromised.

I find what he did then and afterwards to be an outrageous abuse of power. And I don't believe that the president should keep him in the White House. I think he should fire him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, Republicans say that it's Wilson and Democrats lawmakers who are, in fact, smearing Karl Rove, not the other way around. And they also insist that Rove, again, is guilty of no wrongdoing. And I can tell you that Republican lawmakers like Peter King, the congressman from New York, are also raising questions now about Joe Wilson's credibility, and they're not laying off Wilson's wife either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Joe Wilson's report, everything he said was filled with lies. She was aware of that. And as a member of the United States government, she knows that her husband is spreading lies about the president of the United States at time of war. She knew that she was involving -- she was involved in recommending him for a job, which he was denying. And to me, once that happens, it's hard for her morally to complain.

I'm not even talking about the legalities. I'm talking about almost like the legal principle of clean hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Rove, meanwhile, got a second straight day of public -- a vote of public confidence from the president on that long walk to the presidential helicopter from the White House. We saw that yesterday; again the picture today.

Also, the Senate last night rejected a Democratic attempt to strip Rove of his security clearance -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Ed, here's my question to you: was Wilson's wife undercover at the time that her name was outed? And how does that factor into all of this?

HENRY: Well, Joe Wilson himself has suggested that she was not undercover at the time. We do not have independent verification of whether she was or wasn't because she was undercover at some point and we don't have the actual information of her entire time at the CIA.

That bottom line is, yes, that will play a critical factor, perhaps, in this legal case about whether or not this was a crime. But again, it's very confusing about exactly where this investigation is headed.

What we're getting today is an account of what Karl Rove testified to the grand jury about. But there are a lot of other people that we believe have gone before that grand jury, like Matt Cooper. And we don't yet know what they have said -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Ed Henry helping us sort it all out. Thank you, Ed.

President Bush talks trade in North Carolina. The president toured a textile mill in Belmont which critics say would be hurt by the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The pact signed by the U.S. a year ago and passed by the Senate would sharply lower trade barriers from five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. Most of North Carolina's congressional delegation opposes the agreement, saying it will result in job losses.

Life has changed for many who live in London following the terrorist attacks. British Muslims are among those most effected by the blasts. Find out what they are saying ahead on LIVE FROM.

Also from Great Britain, an emotional farewell for a golfing legend. Jack Nicklaus is saluted by his fans.

And "Harry Potter" magic is alive and well. We will get a live update from London on the latest installment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: We've been watching some developments in the London terror investigation. Let's go now to CNN's John Vause in Leeds for the latest on that.

John, what's happening there?

VAUSE: Hi, Betty.

Well, I was talking to you just a short time ago, and pretty much as soon as we finished that report we've had a lot of activity here in the last couple of minutes. The police have moved in. You can see they have formed a cordon around this apartment here.

This is the apartment of Magdy el-Nashar. They've been searching this for the last couple of days.

We also have some army officers which we've seen on the ground here. This truck brought in with sandbags, and there's also probably just behind here -- I don't know how close we can get to it, but you can -- it's like a front-end loader, which is over here as well.

You can just see it. I hope you can see it just behind the truck here.

Now, of course there's been a lot of reports in the British media that a bathtub in this -- in this apartment may have been used to mix some of the explosives. Now, we don't know if they're here to take the bathtub away or whether the sandbags are here for some kind of controlled explosion or whether they're worried about something which they found inside.

But the police now keeping everybody away. They haven't evacuated the neighborhood or anything like that. The residents are still here. But they have certainly secured the area, and a lot more activity going on now than there has been for the last few hours -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, just curious, I mean, you have those sandbags there, and this, of course, is near a factory there, a chemical factory. Do you think some evacuations may come soon? I mean, it's very curious as to what they're doing.

VAUSE: Well, it is very curious what they're doing right now, indeed, Betty. But as far as this bomb-making factory, if there was any danger to the public, what we have seen with the -- with the police here over the last couple of days, if there is even a hint that there could be explosives in any of these premises which they have been searching, they have been cordoning off quite a big area around these search areas.

Yesterday, they sealed off about a square mile around just one shop front because there may have been the risk of some kind of bombs or explosives inside. So I get the feeling that because we're -- we are still here, that we haven't been moved on, that they don't think that there's anything which is too danger inside.

The British police, the London police -- or West Yorkshire police, rather, are very cautious when it comes to that kind of thing. But, of course, the one thing here which we seem to think could be happening here is the removal of that bathtub from -- from the premises here.

Also, maybe because the sandbags are here, they could be preparing for some type of controlled explosion. Now, they have done that a couple of times over the last few days during the course of this investigation. On Tuesday, they used a controlled explosion to gain entry into one premises, and also there were two cars which were left at Luton train station, just north of London. They used controlled explosions there as well to neutralize some explosive material in those vehicles.

So as this happens, as we get some more news, Betty, we'll let you know what's going on.

NGUYEN: All right. So far no evacuations in the immediate area. John Vause will be following it.

We'll be checking in with you. Thank you, John.

There is another dangerous hurricane churning through the Caribbean. We will have the latest on the forecast. Talking about Hurricane Emily and her progress. That is just ahead.

And new word from NASA on the schedule for a possible shuttle launch. We'll have an update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, another week, another major hurricane. It is hurricane season after all. At this hour, Emily is eying Jamaica after losing a little steam. Jill Brown is here to give us the latest on Emily.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: The Shuttle Discovery will not soar into space on Sunday. About a half-hour ago, NASA announced it was delaying liftoff until next week at the earliest.

CNN's Sean Callebs is standing by live at the Kennedy Space Center with the latest information.

Why the delay, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yesterday, when NASA came out, they said Sunday was going to be optimistic at best. Basically, they had to have a perfect world for those 24 hours. Everything had to fall in place, they had to be able to find the intermittent problem and they had to be able to resolve it.

Well, it didn't happen. And I don't think NASA really expected that it would happen. So they said that the shuttle launch of Discovery is now postponed until the end of next week at the very earliest.

Let's take you out to the launch pad, and you can see Discovery out there. And right now pad rats, are what they're known as, those are a number of engineers, crew members who are working to get inside a panel toward the bottom of the shuttle. That is where they believe the problem with the faulty fuel sensor lies. That's some good news, because if it would have been in the external fuel tank, there are four sensors, four fuel sensors in the bottom of the hydrogen area of the fuel tank. And it was one of those sensors causing problems.

If it would have been in the external fuel tank, they would have had to have a rollback. That means take the shuttle and everything back to the vehicle assembly building. And they would have had to postpone the launch for quite some time. Now they are hoping that they are going to be able to get Discovery off the ground and up to the International Space Station at the end of next week.

The seven astronauts will remain here at the Kennedy Space Center, at least tonight. We're expecting a briefing from the mission management team around 5:00 or 5:30 Eastern Time. At that time, we should know, Betty, exactly what day NASA hopes to schedule the launch -- Betty.

NGUYEN: We'll be watching, Sean. Thank you.

The NHL is reaching out to hockey fans alienated by the long layoff. And ticket prices are coming down. Kathleen Hays joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with that story.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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