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Supreme Nominee Courts Senators; Emily Slams Ashore; London Terror Investigation

Aired July 20, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Making the rounds, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts courting senators for a seat on the highest court -- live from Washington in just a moment.
Emily slams ashore. We're live from the Texas and Mexico coast with more on the damage there.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And the 1:00 Central time advisory has just come in on Emily. We'll bring that to you and tell you what's next for southern Texas. That's all coming up.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jacqui.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

On the road to confirmation, Judge John Roberts, the man picked to replace retiring Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O'Connor, is on Capitol Hill this hour courting support. Judge Roberts already is well known in Washington, where he is currently serving as a U.S. Court of Appeals. And the former private attorney has argued 39 cases before the high court.

So, what's the reaction to the president's choice?

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken at the White House.

Hi, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello.

And a lot of this becomes formulaic. Here's a cliche we haven't used, however, Daniel going into the lion's den, which might describe John Roberts going to Capitol Hill, not his first meetings, which were with fellow Republicans, who have enthusiastically embraced Roberts as the president's nomination.

But there are going to be Democrats who have a much more adversarial point of view, as we found out. Already, some of the groups that call themselves progressive are parsing the thin writings that Roberts has accumulated as a judge over just two years and a legal career that involves such issues as abortion. And there are already sending up the alarms.

However, the alarms are not as strident as they might have been because Roberts has not been somebody who is considered by anybody to be an extremist when it comes to legal or political philosophy. So, it's gotten off to a very cordial start thus far, Roberts now beginning what is going to be a long, long effort to try and win over the hearts and minds of enough senators to be confirmed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bob Franken from the White House there. We'll follow reaction as it happens throughout the day, of course.

And Judge Roberts faces what's sure to be a complex confirmation process. His Senate sponsor, in this case, former Senator Fred Thompson, will help Roberts maneuver through the approval process. Thompson will also help prepare Roberts for the expected Judiciary Committee questioning.

Well, the American Bar Association and interest groups then will have a chance to weigh in. And then, after the confirmation hearings, members of the Judiciary Committee vote on the nominee. That nomination then goes to the full Senate, where a majority vote is required for confirmation. But that vote could be delayed by a filibuster.

Well, what about the people's expectations? How does Judge Roberts compare with what they want in a new Supreme Court justice?

Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has been looking into it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Do Americans want a new justice who would make the Supreme Court more conservative or more liberal? The CNN/ USA Today /Gallup poll asked that last month.

More conservative beats more liberal, 41 to 30 percent. But if you take into account the 25 percent who want to keep the court as it is now, you get a total of 66 percent opposed to a more liberal court. And 55 percent who oppose a more conservative court. There's no consensus behind any shift in the court left or right.

But there is strong consensus on one issue: Should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that established a woman's constitutional right to an abortion? The answer, by better than two to one, is no.

We can expect John Roberts' records on that issue to be closely examined.

Suppose most Democratic senators disagree with Roberts on the issues? What should they do? A majority say they should work to defeat them. Forty percent say Democrats should vote to confirm the president's choice. Sounds like people think Democrats should show some fight, but only if they have legitimate disagreements with Roberts.

And even a larger majority, 58 percent, believe it is very likely that Democrats will try to block a nominee for inappropriate political reasons. That's a warning to Democrats. If you chose to fight the Roberts nomination, the public needs to understand why.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

PHILLIPS: Battled, bruised, but not broken, a second stretch of Mexican coastline pummeled by Hurricane Emily today. It made landfall just before dawn near San Fernando, Mexico, about 75 miles south of the U.S. border.

Familiar hallmarks of the storm, flooding, landslides, power outages, reported from northern Mexico to South Texas and, yes, lots of rain.

Our crews are covering both sides of the border, Chris Lawrence on South Padre Island in Texas, and Randi Kaye in Monterrey, Mexico.

Randi, we'll start with you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, Kyra.

I can tell you right now that the rain is harder than we've seen all day. It's been raining here now solidly for about five hours. We're in Monterrey, Mexico, population, about 2.5 million. It's a highly populated area, Mexico's third largest city. And rain is certainly starting to gather. Flooding is starting to begin in the downtown area. Just walking over to our live shot location, I can see that.

There's about six inches or five inches of rain on the streets. And take a look here. This is the main river that runs right through the city of Monterrey. This is the Rio Santa Catarina. When Hurricane Gilbert rolled through here back in 1988, the river rose to 10 feet high and 150 yards wide.

And, right now, we're looking at it. We've been watching it rise as the day has gone on. And we're probably looking at, at least three feet of water down there. So, they're hoping it doesn't get any higher.

We want to show you some pictures of when -- when Hurricane Emily did make landfall. That is in the town of (AUDIO GAP) in Mexico. That's just across the Rio Grande from the Brownsville, Texas, area. There has been some damage there. We are told they've also set up some -- some shelters. We've also set up some shelters here in the Monterrey area, about 155 shelters, we're told, are now open. And a few people are in those shelters.

Yesterday afternoon, the -- emergency workers went around locally here with just fliers going door to door. That's how they do it here in Monterrey, door to door, letting folks know that the storm was coming and they should evacuate by 8:00 last night. So, apparently, some folks did. They're most concerned about the low-lying areas nearby this river. As I said, that (AUDIO GAP) or the storm surge, since we're inland. We're not on the coast. It's mostly the flooding. Gilbert, when it rolled through here back in 1988, it killed 260 people and left massive flooding here. We're surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. They're about 14,000 feet high. (INAUDIBLE)

PHILLIPS: As you can imagine, it's hard with those videophones, especially dealing with that severe weather, to keep a good signal. But that was our Randi Kaye reporting actually from a very beautiful place in Mexico, Monterrey, Mexico. A lot of tourists go to that area, and, obviously, people there bracing for Hurricane Emily. We'll continue to check in with Randi Kaye, if anything happens, of course.

Now, South Texas also dodged a bullet, no direct hit from Emily. But the storm's winds and rain are still pretty much pounding that area. And thousands of people are now without power.

Chris Lawrence is looking at the aftermath on South Padre Island -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, one word.

You know, this was pretty good. Everybody we have talked to say they feel like they really dodged a bullet here. I think a lot of the rain that we had earlier has moved down to where -- over to where Randi is. This is probably the least rain they we have seen probably in the last four or five hours. It's really tapered off.

As we drove around just up and down the coast here, there was some minor damage. We saw some streetlights out. We saw some of the businesses had the busted windows from the wind damage. And we also saw a few signs that were crumpled up on the side, a few power lines that were hanging down. The crews are out there. They're trying to fix that.

In the entire Rio Grande Valley right now, probably I'd say about 23,000, 24,000 people still without power. But the crews are out there and they're working. And they tell us they don't expect it to be too long before they get that power turned back on.

Back here, you can see the ocean is still churning up, but nowhere near what it was before. At one point, we were seeing the waves literally crashing into us right here, and just covering -- water covering the entire beach, the water now starting to recede a little bit there.

This storm did bring some rain. And for this area, it's much- needed rain. The entire Rio Grande Valley has been suffering from a drought and a lot of folks here told us, hey, if we get three, four inches of rain, that's a good thing. That's one good thing to come out of this hurricane. If we got six, seven, eight nine inches of rain, that would be a problem. We'd be looking at flooding.

Right now, you know, we haven't gotten off the island yet, but from everything we're hearing from everyone, it doesn't appear that that much rain fell. So, it looks like right now, tentatively, we may be out of the woods here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's good news. Chris, thank you so much.

Well, let's talk more about that drought that Chris just talked about. You know, the aftermath of Emily, wetting down the parched Rio Grande, as even Randi Kaye mentioned that.

Elsewhere, searing temperatures, too.

Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has more on the heat and the storm and the drought and everything else that we're seeing come out of this weather.

JERAS: Yes, a lot going on today, Kyra.

And in terms of the drought specifically, on average, across the Rio Valley, I'm seeing numbers between about three and eight inches below normal so far for the year, with some locations only receiving a couple of inches so far for the year.

Brownsville, at 10:00 central time, you did have a report of about two inches of rain. And that was since last night at midnight. And you could see more rain certainly on the way. But the worst of it a little farther to the south and also off to the west of there.

We think most of southern Texas, on average, is going to be picking up maybe two to four inches of rainfall. And this is certainly welcome rain. And, hopefully, all that flooding isn't going to happen. It looks like it should be into parts of Mexico. And we're especially concerned about the mountainous areas and Monterrey, where Randi Kaye was, because we could deal with mudslides in addition to that.

Tornadoes, that's been another concern. We've had a number of touchdowns, a little bit of damage. And you can see new warnings in effect right now, one tornado reported at Northeastern Duval County in Texas, law enforcement reporting a tornado about 22 miles northwest of Alice there. We also have Doppler-radar-indicated warnings in effect for Goliad County, also for Jim Wells County yet again. That tornado warning has been extended. And McMullen County expecting a possible tornado there as well.

So, take cover at this time, if you live in those counties. These heavier bands have a history of producing about two to three inches of rain per hour, a little lesser in some of these lighter amounts. The storm continuing to weaken, Kyra, about 80 miles per hour now, so still a Category 1, should be a tropical storm tonight, tropical depression and becoming all gone by the end of tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: All right, a little bit of good news. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters. Whatever the weather, you can check the forecast day or night online. Just go to CNN.com/weather. Our Web site not only tracks storm systems and weather patterns, but can tell you exactly what you need to know to be safe.

Well, investigating terror. We'll talk about that straight ahead, as forensics teams examine the train remains. Other investigators are trying to figure out who else was involved in those bombings. We're live from London with the latest.

What's it like to have every aspect of your life under the microscope? We're going to talk with a former federal judge about what Supreme Court nominee John Roberts is facing.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, and London workers remove a mangled train carriage that was bombed in the July 7 terror attacks. The coach, wrapped in blue tarps, was pulled from the deep tunnel at the Edgware Road subway station. Forensic scientists examined it underground and plan to do more tests at a secure facility.

Meantime, London Underground is hoping everything will be up and running again in two weeks.

As for investigators, well, they're turning up some of the attention and focusing on Pakistan. Britain has asked authorities there to help round up suspects.

For the latest on that, let's bring in CNN's Robin Oakley in London.

What did you learn, Robin?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we've essentially been hearing today from Tony Blair in the House of Commons and from Charles Clarke, the British home secretary, on what the new anti- terrorist laws will be.

Mr. Clarke confirmed that there are now 56 dead in the London bombings. Tony Blair concentrated prime minister's question time on the international aspects and he said he'd been talking to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, and that the British authorities worried that some of the London bombers appear to have had contact with madrasas, religious schools, in Pakistan. He said he had received an assurance from the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I've spoken to President Musharraf about this. And there is a -- a real desire and willingness on the part of the Pakistani government to deal with those madrasas that are preaching this type of extremism.

And I think we all know that the roots of this go very, very deep. They're not always to be found in our own country, but to be found in other countries as well. And we are also looking at the possibility of holding a conference which will bring together some of the main countries who are both areas of concern and who have been closely involved in these issues in order to try to take concerted action right across the world to try and root out this type of extremist teaching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OAKLEY: Charles Clarke, the home secretary, then spelled out the new anti-terror laws that the British government is proposing, with the support of the main opposition parties.

There are going to be three key measures. One is to make acts preparatory to terrorism an offense in the future. This is to enable the security authorities to get in early to thwart the activities of terrorists without losing the chance of bringing a successful prosecution against them. Then indirect incitement to terrorism will become an offense.

Of course, it's already an offense to directly incite terrorism. This is designed to get at the preachers of hate, people who condone or glorify suicide bombing elsewhere and who are thereby felt to encourage terrorism in Britain. Also, they're going to widen the definition of what constitutes training being given or accepted for terrorist activities, dealing with dangerous substances and so on.

That is going to be codified as a new offense. And Charles Clarke also spelled out how he's going to deport more people from Britain who stir up terrorist hatred and stop people coming into Britain who are not conducive to the public good. There will be a wide database internationally and people will be held out in future -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Robin, did the Internet come up at all and the whole virtual battlefield that's taking place and all the recruiting that is happening on the Internet? Our terrorists -- our analysts with regard to terrorism talk about that all the time, and that you don't see as many madrasas or training camps, like you did before the war on terrorism.

You're seeing so much building of the terrorist network within the Internet.

OAKLEY: Well, yes, the Internet did come up in a sense, in that Charles Clarke was outlining the sort of activities that would lead to people being deported from Britain or not admitted into Britain.

And he said, basically, the three categories were people who were inciting terrorism by running Web sites on the Internet, people who were preaching in favor of terrorism, or people who were writing articles in favor of terrorism. Those are going to be the people who will be on this international database which British Foreign Office and Home Office officials are going to draw up.

And the presumption will be in the future that if somebody's on that list and they try to come into Britain, a foreign national, then they are almost certainly going to be barred -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Robin Oakley live from London, thank you.

And now to a terror warning in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh has issued an alert to Americans there that more terrorist attacks are possible. Officials say that they have received indications that an attack is in the planning stages and are urging U.S. citizens to keep a low profile and be alert.

Now, back at home, President Bush gets a firsthand look at new cargo screening measures at the Port of Baltimore. Among the state- of-the-art techniques Bush observed were computerized systems, sophisticated radiation detectors and advanced X-ray equipment. The president said the administration is working overtime to prevent those attacks.

Straight ahead, we have all seen the destruction left behind by the Asian earthquake, but we've never heard it until now. That's right, this newly released recording of the rumblings of that undersea quake. We've got the science behind the tsunami straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange. GM's new employee discounts were a big hit, but it certainly didn't help the company's bottom line. I'll have details coming right up after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A story that we're following right now, these pictures courtesy of affiliate WFAA out of Dallas, Texas.

This is north of Saginaw, Texas. It's a plane, a small aircraft, that crashed in the backyard of a residential area. This is actually the backyard of someone's home, just north of Saginaw, Texas. We're told that three people in that airplane are dead. No one on the ground was hurt. It happened about an hour ago, about 1:30 Eastern time. As you can see, firefighters and response crews, rescue crews, have responded to the scene.

Right now, investigators headed that way to try and find out why this commercial aircraft, or this small -- don't know if it's commercial or private, but crashed in the backyard of this home just north of Saginaw, Texas. We're following it for you. We continue to get in pictures from our affiliate WFAA.

We're going to take another quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's still a mystery. Los Angeles Police say they may never know exactly who fired the shot that killed a toddler during a shoot-out with her father. Police say the bullet passed through the body of 19-month-old Suzy Marie Pena, which means it may never be found. That bullet came from a rifle. At least four SWAT team members were carrying that type of weapon.

The child's father fired dozens of rounds at police with a gun before he was killed.

And disturbing details from the autopsies of three little who suffocated in the trunk of a broken-down car. The autopsies show the boys were alive for at least 13 hours, as New Jersey Police and volunteers searched for them last month. The car was just feet from where they had been playing. One of the parents found the boys two days after they disappeared.

General Motors is getting deep into the red ink again.

Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange with the latest -- Susan.

LISOVICZ: Kyra, it's a familiar story.

Whether it's incentives or employee discounts, GM actually recorded a spike in car sales last month, but that was not enough to push GM into the black. The company posted a much bigger than expected loss in the second quarter. The problem? While GM's popular employee discounts for all program did bring back buyers, it also cut into profit margins and didn't do anything at all to offset rising health care costs for workers and retirees.

GM is trying to win benefit cutbacks from the United Auto Workers Union, but the UAW has resisted any changes. GM has also been hard- hit by a dramatic slowdown in SUV sales, which is typically one of the most lucrative sectors for GM, GM shares down more than 1 percent.

As for the rest of the market, well, stocks have turned around, holding on to small gains. Right now, the Dow is up 18 points -- the Nasdaq, meanwhile, up seven points, or a third of a percent -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile -- we were talking about this in our morning meeting, this battle that is taking place I guess we could say among one of the most important things we've been talking about, oil.

LISOVICZ: And everybody wants it, right?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Including one of China's big energy companies.

Well, it appears that Chevron has won the latest round, Kyra, in the fight to take over Unocal. Unocal's board of directors voted in favor of a sweetened offer from Chevron, which, of course, is a U.S. company. Chevron raised its bid last night to more than $17 billion. But that's still $1 billion less than a competing bid for Chinese oil company CNOOC.

However the CNOOC deal has raised national security concerns. And there are lots of questions about -- about whether it could win government approval.

And that is the very latest in the business news world.

Still ahead, Fed Chief Alan Greenspan says the economy is on solid ground. But don't count on this reflected in your paycheck. I'll explain later this hour.

CNN's LIVE FROM continues right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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