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Egyptian Man Arrested in Connection with London Bombings; London Reflects Diverse Backgrounds; NASA Still Working to Repair Shuttle; Baghdad's Mayor Continues Despite Adversity; Blind Readers Have Shorter Wait for Braille "Potter"

Aired July 15, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, HOST: Also in the news, Chief Justice William Rehnquist says he is tired of all the speculation. Rehnquist released a statement after leaving a Virginia hospital. He said he's not about to announce his retirement from the Supreme Court and plans to continue his duties as chief justice as long as his health permits.
Although the husband of an outed CIA operative has said Karl Rove should be, quote, "frog marched out of the White House in handcuffs," the top White House aide remains at the president's side -- you see right there -- amid a swirl of Capitol Hill controversy. The Associated Press reports Rove told a grand jury he did talk to two reporters but said he first learned about Valerie Plame from the news media and not government sources.

It is a formula for suspicion, at least at the very least. Forensic geography and circumstance all adding up to detention in Cairo of a biochemist who was taught and was teaching in Leeds, England. For days now, Leeds has been the focus of the London bomb investigation, on which we get the latest from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He could be a living link to the London bombings. Magdy Mahmoud El-Nashar, age 33, an Egyptian chemistry expert arrested in Cairo on Britain's request. British agents are believed to be with Egyptian officials as he's questioned.

In Leeds, where he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry earlier this year, police have been continuing their forensic search of properties linked to the suspected bombers, including one rented by el-Nashar. Sources say home made explosive material has been found in one of the properties, the same kind British shoe bomber Richard Reid had in his shoes when he tried to blow up a transatlantic flight in 2001.

COMMISSIONER IAN BLAIR, METROPOLITAN POLICE: Because one day we hope to put people on trial, I'm not in a position to discuss the explosives. I have said before this explosion has the hallmarks of al Qaeda: the simultaneous explosions, the fact that the dead appear to be sort of foot soldiers. And what we've got to find is the people who trained them, the people who made the bombs, the people who financed it.

CHANCE: And this is the face of the man police say was one such foot soldier, responsible for the London bus bombing. It's one of the explosions that shocked the British capital. Identified as Hasib Hussain, he's just 18, photographed by security cameras at Luton Train Station on the day of the attacks. He's wearing a backpack which police believe concealed his bomb.

They're also confirming the identity of another suspect, Shahzad Tanweer, 22 years old from Leeds, pictured here as a schoolboy back in 1995. He's believed to be responsible for the Aldgate bombing which killed seven.

The third suspect, Mohammed Sadique Khan, who's 30, has been linked to the Edgware Road explosion. These are his wedding pictures. He was a primary school teacher and a father of an 8-month-old son.

As Londoners continue to grieve their loss, a fourth suspected bomber has been named by U.S. officials to CNN as Jamaican born Germain Morris Lindsay, a convert to Islam, most likely killed, say police, in the explosion between Russell Square and King's Cross.

(on camera) Police say this is an investigation that will be complex. Ands the latest arrest in Egypt has underlined, one with an international reach. It could be many months, they say, before those who planned the attacks, trained the bombers and encouraged them to strike are ever caught.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The attacks of 7/7 have been called London's bloodies since World War II. But it's a very different London than it was in 1944. And the Londoners killed and hurt in the bombings reflect the modern city's awesome diversity.

Here's CNN's Robyn Curnow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People from nearly every nation in the world live in London. Like the Bangladeshis who live in Brick Lane, East London, nearly every group has made a little corner of the British capital their own.

Linking this diverse population are the buses and underground subway system. So when the bombs exploded last Thursday, the dead and the missing came from around the world: Nigeria, Poland, Sri Lanka, Romania, Israel, America, Italy, Turkey, Tunisia, Australia.

MAYOR KEN LIVINGSTONE, LONDON: People come from around the world, two to 300 languages spoken in this city, 200 nationalities represented in this city. And what those bombers wanted was that we would turn on each other like animals in a cage. Nobody did that. And the thing they most sought to do they were defeated on.

CURNOW: This week the city united in grief. The Greek bus driver of the bombed Number 30 bus echoing the thoughts of many Londoners. GEORGE PSARADAKIS, DRIVER OF NO. 30 BUS: You will not defeat us. And you will not break us.

CURNOW: A global defiance against terrorism.

(on camera) Londoners are not a sentimental lot, nor do they dwell on their diversity, but people here are acutely aware that, even though the attacks took place on British soil, the violence was felt across the world.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Back in this country, another disappointing day for the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery. NASA has announced that it will not launch Discovery on Sunday.

To find out why, we go to CNN's Sean Callebs, who is standing by live at the Kennedy Space Center.

Why, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.

Indeed, NASA said yesterday under the best of circumstances perhaps they could launch the shuttle on Sunday. Well, those best of circumstances didn't materialize. Now, they're saying it's going to be the end of next we're at the earliest before Discovery will get off the launch pad.

It remains out there right now, where it has been for several days. And engineers, teams known as pad rats are now doing work on the shuttle itself. The problem remains an intermittent problem with a faulty fuel gauge sensor.

Now, there are four sensors in the bottom of the external fuel tank where the hydrogen is. One of those sensors is malfunctioning. NASA has been trying to pinpoint the problem. Is it in the sensor itself, cable and wiring? Or something to do with the electronics within the shuttle?

Well, apparently they believe it is not in the external fuel tank, because right now they have no plans for a rollback. If they were going to try and take that fuel sensor out they would have to take the shuttle, the tank and everything back into the large vehicle assembly building.

So now they think it is in the electronics. We hope to hear from the mission management team, Betty, in about two and a half hours. And we're told they will have a specific day when they plan for the launch. The astronauts will remain here at least for tonight, though.

NGUYEN: Yes, Sean, because originally Sunday was supposed to be optimistic, if they could even get a launch by then. Now we're learning maybe tend of the week. Is that being optimistic, too, does it sound?

CALLEBS: It's difficult to say. I don't think NASA at this point would come out and say they believe they have a specific launch date if they couldn't do that.

Now they were basically doing troubleshooting from the very beginning. Yesterday we heard Wayne Hale say that they would actually start by jiggling -- by jiggling cables to see if there was a short or something of that nature.

But apparently, they must have the problem somewhat pinpointed. They have had teams of engineers from one end of the country to the other trying to go back through and find the problem. So hopefully, the seven astronauts will be in the shuttle next time this week. We'll wait and find out.

NGUYEN: All right, Sean. Thank you.

Now more on Hurricane Emily. It has lost some strength today and was downgraded to a Category 3 storm, but Emily is still powerful, and it's hard to predict whether it will make -- whether it will make it to the U.S. shores.

CNN meteorologist Jill Brown joins us now with the latest from the National Weather Service.

And Jill, you know, if it does make it to the U.S. sores -- shores, it was predicted somewhere in south Texas. And they really don't need the rain.

JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, but you know what, Betty? Up until a couple of days ago they did have a little bit of deficit in Texas, believe it or not. But they more than made up for that. There's still some rain there today, which we'll look at.

But in the meantime we're worried about -- we're a little bit concerned here about Emily. It has been downgraded. It's a Category 3. The winds have continued to diminish with every update we've had from the hurricane center. So great news here.

We watch the track over the next few hours, a few days, I should say. You'll notice that these are the -- this is the latest on the stats, 115. Now, when you watch this track you'll notice that it looks like it increases in strength. That's really only because the track has not been updated. So this 120 when it's close to Jamaica, I think that will probably change when we get the next update at 5 p.m. on the track with all this new data figured out.

But I want to show you the path coming close to the Yucatan Peninsula and then up off the coast of Texas or Mexico by the first of next week. So maybe Wednesday if we have any effects from it.

So if we're not going to be dealing with a hurricane this weekend what we will be dealing with is more rain in Texas and the eastern U.S. and then extremely hot weather in the west. That is not going to change, Betty. So basically, what we have today sort of goes into the weekend.

NGUYEN: Yes, all right. Speaking of the rain in Texas, taking a look at news across America right now. Streets that look like rivers in Houston, Texas. Look at this. Heavy rains have put parts of that city under water. Several people had to be rescued from floodwaters yesterday. And thousands are without power. A flood watch is in effect for dozens of counties in and around the Houston/Galveston area.

Now a man who hoped this video would get him into a stuntman school is learning about the legal system the hard way. An off-duty police officer in Pennsylvania spotted the man making this tape -- look at him -- and cited him for reckless endangerment. Yes. The cameraman, driver and another passenger are also facing charges.

Some say it's an impossible job, and coming up we, will profile the man who's trying to run Baghdad under nearly impossible circumstances.

Also, Jack Nicklaus bids farewell to one of his favorite golf tournaments.

And these Harry Potter fans see their literary hero a little differently. We'll explain. That's ahead on LIVE FROM.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We have this news just in to CNN. The family of the man believed to have blown himself up on that double-decker bus in London has issued a statement. There is the man there. His name is Hasib Mir Hussain, 18 years old, from Leeds.

His family says that they had no knowledge of his activities and that if they had, quote, "We would have done everything in our power to stop him. We, the family of Hasib Mir Hussain, are devastated over the events of the past few days. Hasib was a loving and normal young man who gave us no concern, and we are having difficulty taking this in. Our thoughts are with all the bereaved families, and we have to live ourselves with the loss of our son in these difficult circumstances."

The family went on to urge anyone with information about the attacks or information leading up to the bombings to fully cooperate with authorities. They also added that, quote, "This is a difficult time and we ask that you let us grieve for our son in private."

Again the family making a statement. Eighteen-year-old Hussain is believed by authorities to be the man who blew himself up on that double-decker bus nearly an hour after the bombs went off in the Underground. Of course, we'll continue to follow this investigation and bring you the latest.

It has been a particularly violent day in the Middle East. Israel carried out simultaneous air strikes in Gaza and the West Bank, targeting Palestinian militants. Palestinian sources say seven Hamas militants were killed. The air strike followed yesterday's rocket attack by Palestinian militants that killed an Israeli woman.

The Israeli army says shortly after today's air strikes, militants fired three rockets into Israel, wounding two people.

And in Iraq, insurgents launched a series of car bomb attacks across Baghdad today. The U.S. military says as many as 30 people were killed in four of the bombings. The U.S. military also announced two U.S. Marines were killed when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device in Iraq's Anbar province yesterday.

Not surprisingly, Baghdad's mayor wears a bulletproof vest, but given the size of the task that he faces, protecting himself may be the easiest part. CNN's Aneesh Raman reports on the effort to rebuild a major city on a shoestring budget.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nine a.m. and the day begins as any other. The flak jacket comes off, the endless paperwork comes out. Ahead of Dr. Alaa Tamimi is the near impossible, running Baghdad.

MAYOR ALAA TAMIMI, BAGHDAD: It's not only bad infrastructure. It is bad in the behavior of the people itself.

RAMAN: Few would want this job; even fewer could do it. Tamimi has done it for 16 months, his, now a well known face, and at an 11 a.m. meeting with deputies, his commitment commands respect.

TAMIMI: Iraq, pretty big problems now. It's a very difficult period of its life. They need people like me.

RAMAN: Tamimi fled Iraq in 1995, swearing he'd return only to be buried or when Saddam fell. He never expected it would be the latter.

TAMIMI: I'm very proud (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

RAMAN: Now the engineer by training is trying to bring back basic services with a paltry budget, the attempt ripe with frustration. Weeks ago he was ready to resign.

TAMIMI: Anyone when he had the job should do something. Should have means to do his job.

RAMAN: By "means," Tamimi means money. He's asked for one billion U.S. dollars to run Baghdad this year. He says he got 85 million.

But in an afternoon meeting at the behest of the prime minister, he's persuaded to stay on.

(voice-over) The difficulties facing Tamimi are really unparalleled in the world. New York, for example, has an operating budget 600 times that of Baghdad with roughly the same number of residents.

TAMIMI: I'm one of the best who can handle such -- such activity.

RAMAN: It's a city where, while interviewing the mayor, his lights go out. And a city where security is a permanent issue. Every visit to a site here comes with both peril and purpose.

TAMIMI: You know, explosion happened before 15 minutes. You see American there. This is our service. We want to work. We want to construct.

RAMAN: Working some 18 hours a day while his family stays abroad, Tamimi's boyish face exudes youthful energy and idealism. His passion for Baghdad is astounding.

TAMIMI: I prefer my country more than my family. I prefer Baghdad more than myself. It is my country, my city.

RAMAN: At home his son's pictures are everywhere, their connection obvious, but his thoughts of what's to come are typically mixed.

(on camera) Do you think you'll create the Baghdad that one day that he'll want to move back to?

TAMIMI: I hope. I hope. I am optimistic.

RAMAN (voice-over): What he hopes Baghdad can be is what keeps its mayor motivated, and so tomorrow he'll do this all again.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: We're going to shift gears now. Harry Potter madness. Some of the whiz kid's biggest mans have never seen his movies, but they know the books very well. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The legend of the links steps off the green and into retirement. Well, a modern day phenomenon tears up the birth place of golf in St. Andrews, Scotland. Jack Nicklaus hit an 18th hole birdie at the British Open today to close out an illustrious career. The Golden Bear had tears in his eyes as he picked up his ball.

And Tiger Woods is on track to crush his own record-setting performance at the 2000 Open with an 11 under par 67. Woods is four strokes ahead of the nearest competitor. Wow.

Slightly past midnight tonight, when many people are getting into bed others will be just starting their night turning the first page of the sixth Harry Potter book. But, fans who use their fingers to read "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will have to wait just a little bit longer. CNN's Jason Carroll reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're off the conveyor belt, shot by photographers. Security is tight. Fans everywhere, like these children, anxiously awaiting the arrival of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

(on camera) Who's a Harry Potter fan? Just raise your hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a Harry Potter fiend.

CARROLL: A Harry Potter fiend.

(voice-over) These Potter fiends know all about the midnight magic parties at bookstores on the eve of a new Potter release. They cringe when their sighted friends, those who can see, get the books first.

(on camera) What was that like for you guys having to wait?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so annoying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so annoying.

CARROLL (voice-over): All of these children are blind, students at the Perkins School in Watertown, Massachusetts. Eddie Tabor says he usually can't get Braille or audio copies of a new Potter book until weeks or months after its release.

EDDIE TABOR, STUDENT/HARRY POTTER READER: Everyone else can be talking about the book and they get to read it right away. And we're just like sitting there, like, oh, come on.

CARROLL: Michelle Smith has been told she looks like Potter's friend Hermione. And so she likes to follow what happens to Hermione, but she prefers to read it in Braille and not listen to it on audiotape.

(on camera) What's the difference between listening and reading it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes you miss, you like miss the punctuation marks, and so you don't know who's saying it.

JUDI CANNON, PERKINS SCHOOL LIBRARIAN: This is the book of the season.

CARROLL (voice-over): Judy Canon is the school's librarian.

CANNON: Everyone is going to be talking about this book. And one of the important things, as being a blind person, is to participate in those discussions. It's very, very important. CARROLL: So important the book's publisher put aside concerns the plot would get out and gave the National Braille Press an advance copy to be translated.

WILLIAM RAEDER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS: It's a mighty good feeling to get this out in a timely fashion.

CARROLL: This time Harry Potter in Braille will be released almost at the same time as the written version, just a day or two following it. The Braille version is nine volumes long, each one containing about 130 pages. That adds up to nearly 1,200 pages, twice the number of the written version.

(on camera) You've got in your hot possession here what a lot of people want to, you know, take a look at and get their hands on. I think a lot of people are going to be -- you know, shocked that we're this close to it.

RAEDER: We're this close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thin man stepped out of the cauldron.

CARROLL (voice-over): Very soon Potter fans like Ashley Bernard can stop rereading the last book and start talking with her classmates about the new one.

ASHLEY BERNARD, STUDENT/HARRY POTTER READER: For the day it comes out, everyone is going crazy. So I want to have it as fast as possible so that I can join in the talk.

CARROLL: Will Harry Potter finally defeat his nemesis Voldemort? This time, wannabe wizards everywhere won't have to wait to read what happens.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Watertown, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: From Harry Potter to Martha Stewart. She hasn't exactly been sitting around the house watching the soaps since she got out of prison. Kathleen Hays has that story live from the New York Stock Exchange.

So what has she been doing, Kathleen?

(STOCK REPORT)

NGUYEN: All right, Kathleen.

And that wraps up this Friday edition of LIVE FROM. Now here's Joe Johns with a preview of what's ahead on "INSIDE POLITICS."

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Betty. Thanks. The Iowa caucuses are still two and a half years away. So why are a handful of presidential hopefuls invading Des Moines this weekend?

President Bush once again stands by his man. We'll have the latest in the fight over Karl Rove.

If you are confused about the CIA leak controversy, stay tuned. We'll go to school on how the story unfolded.

All of this and much more when I go "INSIDE POLITICS" in two minutes.

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END

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