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Escaped Prisoner Loose Near Virginia Tech; First Charges Filed in British Terror Plot

Aired August 21, 2006 - 14:29   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Upscale retailers have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of a strong economy. But now that the economy is slowing, well, the picture may not be quite so rosy.
Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange with that story.

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PHILLIPS: We're now with Tony Harris on that manhunt in Virginia -- Tony?

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Continues, absolutely, Kyra. You know, just a couple minutes ago we talked to Ally Gray, a student at Virginia Tech, and she's holed up in her off-campus apartment. Her street sort of cordoned off right now as police continue to search for William Charles Morva. We're getting a better sense with each passing moment, Kyra, of just how tense the scene was at the Virginia Tech campus this morning as the manhunt moved, actually on campus.

Madison Van Duyne is a tech student. She's on the line with us right now. Madison, good to talk to you, are you OK?

MADISON VAN DUYNE, VIRGINIA TECH STUDENT (on phone): Yes. I'm doing good. Thank you, Tony. How are you?

HARRIS: Outstanding. Let me see if I can get the timeline correct here. Were you at Squires Hall this morning?

VAN DUYNE: Yes, I was. I was actually walking up to the stairs when the suspect, William, was supposedly in the building.

HARRIS: Wow, OK.

VAN DUYNE: So a very intense situation.

HARRIS: All right, let me stop you there for a moment and then we'll go back to that scene. But give me a sense of where you are now and describe the situation as it is right now at this moment for you.

VAN DUYNE: I'm actually locked in my apartment trying to keep safe. When looking outside, there is not any students that I can see. I think everybody is just trying to keep off the streets and as safe as possible. HARRIS: Are you on campus or off campus?

VAN DUYNE: I am off campus.

HARRIS: OK, and the street that your apartment is on, is that pretty much cordoned off? Are you seeing some police activity at all?

VAN DUYNE: We actually are having helicopters fly over our apartments every about five minutes. So I've been seeing that. There are police officers on the street right in front of my apartment. I'm seeing all that.

HARRIS: So right now at the moment, Madison, how do you feel?

VAN DUYNE: It's a little intense. I'm just kind of shocked that all of this is going on on our first day of school, you know.

HARRIS: Exactly. OK, so take us back to this morning. I guess the emergency advisory was posted on the site, the college, the university's site this morning about 10:30 a.m. Is that about when you learned that there was a problem?

VAN DUYNE: Yes, actually, I had not gotten on the site. So I didn't really realize that there was a problem. I was trying to get to my class, which is in the student center where he was.

HARRIS: Yes.

VAN DUYNE: And he -- as I was going there, I was seeing all these police officers walking off and I didn't really think anything about it. So I was going around the other way to get in and then law enforcement from every direction started running up, blocking the students from the building.

HARRIS: And describe that scene so it's not just you heading to class, there are other students in that student center, as well. So describe that scene for us.

VAN DUYNE: It was just total chaos. There were lots of officers around with their guns out, pointed at the building and the students were being backed away by police officers trying to get us out of the area and back to safety.

HARRIS: I would imagine there was a fair bit of confusion. We can see video now of some of the students running away from, I guess that is the student center. But if we throw the picture up of the suspect, again William Charles Morva. You know, he's 24-years-old, he's young enough to have been mistaken for any of the students on campus.

VAN DUYNE: Yes, that is true. I think that is probably the scariest part, is that I mean without seeing his picture, you know, he could be anybody because there's so many students on campus.

HARRIS: OK, so, you're ushered out of Squires Hall, you're told you can't go to your class and then what do you do? VAN DUYNE: Virginia Tech did a wonderful job with having buses ready for the students to get on and go back to their apartments and a lot of people were advised to go back to their dorms and I'm pretty sure all the dorms were locked down now. So, they did a great job getting everybody out to safety. I was told my roommate actually was in a class and they came and got them out of classes and evacuated the whole university.

HARRIS: All right, follow instructions, OK? Do the right thing, follow the instructions.

VAN DUYNE: I am, trust me.

HARRIS: Because we're in contact with your dad and we're going to find out how you're doing, all right?

VAN DUYNE: OK, sounds good.

HARRIS: All right Madison Van Duyne, you take care of yourself.

VAN DUYNE: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Kyra, we'll keep an eye on it.

VAN DUYNE: OK, bye.

HARRIS: Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Deadly and enduring. Police in Britain sum up the threat of terrorism as they file the first charges in an alleged plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has been following the story from the very beginning. She joins us from New York. So Deb, what kind of evidence do they have?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well they have a lot of evidence, Kyra. First of all, let's talk about the bomb making materials. They have got chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide. They've got electrical components, plus documents which appear to talk about the devices. Also they've got martyrdom tapes from some of the alleged suicide bombers.

You know, police have been watch watching these guys for months now and so they just have a bonanza of surveillance tapes, both audio and digital. But also, keep in mind, the quantity of digital information, 400 computers, 200 cell phones along with 8,000 other items. Those include DVDs, CDs, memory sticks. So, investigators have a lot of information right now.

PHILLIPS: Now, eight of them were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Put that into context for us.

FEYERICK: Well what's really interesting if you remember the subway plot of last year, the subway attacks of last year, had police actually caught those guys prior to those attacks taking place, that's what they would have been charged with: conspiracy to commit murder. I spoke to one expert, a former commander at Scotland Yard, he tells me that these charges are very, very serious and that they would not be bringing these suspects up on those charges if they had any doubt that they couldn't prove it. So it seems these are charges they will be able to prove.

PHILLIPS: Now, one woman was released but another is in custody. Can you tell us about that?

FEYERICK: Well, what we're looking into, we're told by one source close to the investigation that prosecutors may have announced the charges today because the lawyer for one of the women was trying to get her released on a technicality.

Police did have more time to hold these people, to question them, but it's unclear as to why they decided today was the day to make the announcement. In fact, it took many of the experts that I was talking to really by surprise. They thought that the charges would come towards the end of the week.

One woman, as you said, has been released, but another woman, she is in custody and she has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

PHILLIPS: The U.K. is bound by different laws and rules. How important do you think is this information that was released today?

FEYERICK: Well, it's very important. Again, some of the experts that I talked to, sources that are close to investigators say that it appears police really have this case locked down. And it puts to rest any talk, especially by some members of the Muslim community that this was a fabrication, that this was made up, that prosecutors wouldn't be able to charge this.

On the contrary, by releasing this kind of information, which they don't normally do, it really shows that they're going to be able to go after these guys. But not only that, but it also sends up a red flag to other people whose names may show up on those computers, may show up on those cell phones. So this investigation, a long way to go. A wide net and I'm sure others are going to get caught up into it -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, Deb Feyerick, thanks so much.

Well straight ahead, they say they're spiritually connected to children. They say they're battling for children's civil rights. They are the men and women who want to legalize sex with your kids. Inside the World Wide Web of pedophiles, next.

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PHILLIPS: Well, it's a sure sign that school is back in session. The Teen Choice Awards and just ask your kids, this year's show did not disappoint. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer was all over it. Were you really, A.J., every second? A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT HOST: All over it. I'm over it right now, Kyra. All over it, that is. No, everybody showed up for this thing. Truly an A-list of who's who. It was the eighth annual Teen Choice Awards. Took place last night. The awards were hosted by Jessica Simpson, but it was Britney Spears' husband Kevin Federline that really caught everybody's attention. He had his performance of his very first single, "Lost Control."

And there you have it. Federline's performance was introduced by Britney Spears. Spears asked the crowd to help her give a warm welcome to her hubby. Now Nick Lachey won choice love song for his single, "What's Left of Me." Being that his ex-wife Jessica Simpson was hosting the show he said, quote, "I just want to start off by saying, awkward a little bit." A lot of stars on hand, as I mention, including Christina Milian, Nelly Furtado and Timbaland and Rihanna was also there.

Well tonight HBO is going to be airing the first of two parts of the Spike Lee documentary all about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The documentary is called, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts."

It's going to air both tonight and tomorrow night. In it, Lee interviews dozens of people about the effects of the hurricane. They talk very candidly about their neighborhood and what it's like now. Some residents also talk extensively about the government's involvement. Part three and four will air tomorrow night.

And rapper Busta Rhymes was arraigned yesterday on assault charges. Now all this stems from an incident in which he reportedly attacked a man for spitting on his car. Now police are not releasing too many more details about this particular arrest except to say that it was for an incident that occurred back on August 12th. Rhymes was released arraigned on charges of third-degree assault. He was released on his own recognizance and he's due back in court on October 24th. A lawyer for Rhymes, Scott Leemon said the charge should have only merited a desk appearance.

Now, coming up on tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," as the backlash behind John Mark Karr's business class treatment continues, the movie star treatment may be a precursor of what's to come. We're going to tell you all about how Hollywood is eye on making John Mark Karr a real movie star. It all happens tonight on T.V.'s most provocative entertainment news show, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11 p.m. Eastern on CNN Headline Prime.

Kyra, you have to believe, a made-for-T.V. movie all about this guy, as sick as he may be, if all these charges prove to be true, it can't be far behind.

PHILLIPS: All right, A.J., thanks so much. We'll see you tomorrow.

Well, she's one of America's favorite singer/songwriters and Wednesday night you can hear her exclusive interview with our Larry King. Sheryl Crow on life after cancer and Lance Armstrong. That's Wednesday on "LARRY KING LIVE" at a special time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

For a half century of Sundays she taught the word of God to members of her church. Now she's been booted from teaching Sunday school. Wait till you hear why church leaders fired her. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

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PHILLIPS: Fifty four years and fired. A Sunday school teacher in Watertown, New York got her walking papers last week after more than a half century of faithful service. The shocking part is why. CNN's Carol Costello has chapter and verse.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was not any forewarning about this at all.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mary Lambert has been a member of Watertown's First Baptist Church for 60 years. She has taught Sunday School or bible study for 54 of those years and just last week the 81-year-old Lambert was dismissed from her teaching position because she is a woman.

MARY LAMBERT, FIRED SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER: Am I saddened? Oh, yes, definitely. My heart is broken.

COSTELLO: The letter Lambert received from the church board cited a bible passage from the New Testament prohibiting women from teaching men. It says, quote, a woman should learn in quietness and full submission, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. She must be silent.

LAMBERT: I have had a number of calls from people within the church being as astonished at the letter as I was.

COSTELLO: The church, for its part, says Lambert's firing is about more than just new scriptural qualifications. It issued a statement saying, quote, the board's decision to remove her from a teaching position was multi-faceted and the scriptural rules concerning women teaching men in a church setting was only a small aspect of that decision.

REV. TIMOTHY LEBOUF, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: You know, I believe that women can pursue and excel in any arena of life.

COSTELLO: But Pastor Timothy Lebouf stands by the letter sent to Mary Lambert, raising concerns about how his church views reflect on his other position as a Watertown City Councilman.

MAYOR JEFFREY GRAHAM, WATERTOWN, NEW YORK: If what's said in that letter reflects the councilman's views, those are disturbing remarks in this day in age. Maybe they wouldn't have been disturbing 500 years ago, but they are now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't want an elected official that doesn't want women to have equal rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politics, church and state. They shouldn't mix. They really shouldn't.

COSTELLO: Mary Lambert says she's had her differences with the pastor since he was installed two years ago and believes her dismissal is about church politics, not bible study.

LAMBERT: I think it all goes back to some of the discussions we've had and some of the things that have happened in the past.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.

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PHILLIPS: And you can see Carol Costello's reports bright and early each morning as she joins Soledad and Miles on "AMERICAN MORNING" weekdays at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

Strong words, slick weapons, no signs are on plans to budge as a deadline nears in its nuclear standoff with the U.N.. The latest from Tehran and reaction from the White House.

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