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CNN Live Today

London Terror Attacks: The Investigation; Funding Fight; Is Rove the Leak?

Aired July 12, 2005 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It could be one of the biggest threats to your health this summer, and it's no bigger than an eraser on a pencil. Stay tuned to find out why there are increased concerns about ticks and lime disease.
An American filmmaker held for months by U.S. forces in Iraq. Hear from family members about their difficult ordeal.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

And here's what's happening "Now in the News."

Police have shut down a railway station in Luton, England, north of London. They're investigating a car suspected of being involved in the London terror attacks. Police also raided five homes in northern England today in connection with the London bombings. There has been no word of any arrest. Details and a live report just ahead.

Four explosions struck the grounds of a power plant in northern Spain today. We're told that the blast came shortly after two warnings. Calls were made from the separatist group ETA. Authorities say there was no damage and no one was hurt. The plan is still in the testing phase.

A hearing is scheduled today in Aruba for the suspect held in the Natalee Holloway disappearance. Joran Van Der Sloot is appealing an order that he be held for up to 60 days longer. Earlier today, a judge heard arguments in the case of two brothers who were detained and then released. Prosecutors are appealing the order releasing them.

Senators are holding a hearing on stem cell research. This focus is a bill that would lift federal restrictions on research involving hymen embryos.

And good morning. Good morning, everyone. From the CNN Center, this is CNN LIVE TODAY.

It is 11:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia; 4:00 p.m. in London; and 5:00 p.m. in Barcelona, Spain. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Daryn Kagan.

Up first this hour, new developments in the London terror investigation. Events are unfolding in northern England, about 200 miles from the scene of the terror attacks. Anti-terror police are searching five homes in connection with the bombings. Hundreds of people in the area were evacuated.

Also, according to published reports, military-quality high-grade explosives were used in the London attacks. Police are scrutinizing 2,500 security camera tapes, searching for clues.

More on the investigation now from Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson. He joins us from Leeds, England -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the very latest on the investigation, two British broadcasting companies have announced that the suspected bomber aboard the bus that was the fourth detonation in those explosions in London was on board the bus when the explosion happened. The police say that they've identified his body. That being reported by several British broadcasters.

We've also just heard from the police in the last hour or so that they have closed down a mainline railway station about 30 miles north of London. That, they say, because there's a suspect car parked -- a car there. They want to seal the area so that they can exam the vehicle. They say they believe it is connected with the blast in London last Thursday.

And here in Leeds, the first raids connected to those blasts last week took place at 6:30 this morning, almost -- almost 11 hours ago. Police came to this street, a numbers of other streets in this neighborhood. And according to at least one neighbor in this area, took away one person.

The police have not said whether they've arrested anyone, whether they've detained anyone. But five premises early in the morning here and Leeds were investigated by police. The area is still cordoned off.

Several hours later, we also understand that the police used a controlled explosion to gain entry to a building elsewhere in Leeds. That building, they believe, may have contained explosives. Army bomb disposal experts were brought in to assist the police with getting into that premises. And to do that, we're told that about 500 to 600 people in the area were evacuated -- Tony.

HARRIS: Nic Robertson in Leeds, England. Nic, we appreciate it. Thank you.

Four explosions went off on the grounds of a new power plant in northern Spain today. Police say the explosions came shortly after warning calls in the name of the Basque separatist group ETA. No one was injured.

ETA is blamed for more than 800 killings in its fight for Basque independence in northern Spain. The group is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.

A bomb threat shut down the subway system in Warsaw, Poland, today. The city's only underground was evacuated after a called warning of a bomb. Warsaw has been hit by a rash of bomb alerts recently. So far, all of them have turned out to be false alarms. Poland is considered a potential terrorist target since it has deployed troops to Iraq.

The terror bombings in London raise concerns about mass transit security in the U.S., and now lawmakers are fighting over funds to safeguard those systems.

Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry has details in this "Security Watch" report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As you stand in an airport security line, think of this. America's rail and subway systems carry 16 times more passengers than the airlines do. But since 9/11, $20 billion has been spent on aviation security and only $250 million to protect mass transit.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: The reason is we suffered an attack using the air system on 9/11, and that's what we responded to. There really hasn't been much effort for mass transit security.

HENRY: Last month, in fact, the Republican-led Senate actually slashed the transit security budget by $50 million.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please start moving down. This is for your safety.

HENRY: In the wake of the London attacks, that has sparked outrage.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Instead of building on what we need to be doing to ensure the safety and security of our transit and transportation systems, we're going backwards.

HENRY: Russell Square say they'll restore the money this week. But Democrats are now demanding millions more.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: With what happened in London, maybe we can finally get the majority to agree with some of the basic needs of this country as it relates to first responders.

HENRY: Some frustrated Republicans worry new funds will be wasted after hundreds of reports chronicling government mismanagement.

SEN. JUDD GREGG (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: If you take this pile there, which I probably can't even pick up, and this pile here and put it on top here, you end up with -- it'll all fall over, unfortunately. You end up with almost three feet, nine inches of reports about things that are not going that well at the homeland security department.

HENRY: The president's homeland security chief insists the administration has already beefed up transit security.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We've done a lot of vulnerability assessments. We've worked to have additional canine resources, dogs, explosive dogs, additional detection equipment out in the field. We've done a lot with respect to biodetection. Some of this is not visible and shouldn't be visible to the ordinary commuter.

HENRY: Even those sounding the alarm acknowledge the transit systems are relatively safe.

FALKENRATH: You have a much greater risk of slipping in the bathtub or being struck by a car crossing the street than you do of suffering a terrorist attack in the subway tonight.

HENRY (on camera): But key lawmakers say the London bombings should be a wake-up call that al Qaeda could strike on America's railways.

Ed Henry, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And CNN "Security Watch" keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

President Bush's right-hand man, Karl Rove, is under scrutiny today. Did he expose an undercover CIA operative to a reporter? And if he did, did his actions amount to a crime?

National Correspondent Bob Franken's at the White House this morning.

Good morning, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And according to the e-mails that Rove's lawyer acknowledges, Matthew Cooper, "TIME" magazine reporter, was told by Rove that Valerie Plame -- he did not name her, but that the wife of a person who had been in a controversy with the administration worked for the CIA. However, the law says the person must have been identified for it to be illegal by someone who actually knew and described the fact that she was an undercover agent. Well, the lawyer says that did not happen.

The White House is answering no questions about it, no questions about earlier promises to fire whomever was identified as the leaker. Those promises from Scott McClellan, the press secretary, and President Bush.

Now, the president is today talking about the Supreme Court. He is taking the Democrats up on their desires for a consultation on who will be the nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. They had breakfast this morning. The president said the Democrats were not shy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They've got strong opinions, and I wanted to hear them. And they have shared some opinions with me. And, of course, they're sharing -- many senators are sharing their opinions with others on my staff. We're actively seeking recommendations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Well, and the Democrats are really quite pleased. As the Republican and Democratic Senate leaders left the breakfast at the White House, the Democratic Senate leader, Harry Reid, was almost euphoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I feel comfortable and good that we're going to be able to have someone that is a consensus candidate. We certainly hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: But if somebody is of the opinion that there's not going to be a controversy, Reid's counterpart, the Republican majority leader, went to the Senate floor not too long afterwards to say, hey, Democrats, it's the president's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: Co-nomination rather than consultation may be their ultimate goal. Some senators may prefer to choose the nominee for the president, but that's not the way the system works. That's not the way the Constitution works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And the way that Washington works, Tony, is that whatever happens, there's going to be a controversy. And there may be a second one.

We still have not heard from the chief justice, William Rehnquist. We all know about the rumors swirling around about his resignation. So far that hasn't happened. But whether there are two -- two members of the court to replace or one, Washington's going to be a busy place this summer -- Tony.

HARRIS: Whatever the issue. You're right, Bob. We appreciate it. Thank you now.

We've got more on the CIA and Karl Rove, the leak fallout. Later in the show, we'll look at how those around the White House are trying to dodge, dance, anything to basically avoid the entire subject. A comical look at the techniques coming up.

A Los Angeles filmmaker is heading home after being jailed for almost two months in Iraq by the U.S. military. The details on why U.S. forces believe he was a threat.

And after waiting two-and-a-half years, anticipation, if not stress, is building at NASA. The agency counts down to a new space flight. We'll show you some of the excitement when CNN LIVE TODAY returns in a moment.

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(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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HARRIS: Many Florida residents are getting back to their homes today to see exactly what Hurricane Dennis did. Some of the heaviest damage seems to be in the beachside communities of Navarre, Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach.

CNN's Randi Kaye is in Pensacola Beach this morning -- Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

We are here in Pensacola Beach. And we're watching as the sheriff's department and local police gather. They'll be going in to survey the damage here in the Pensacola Beach area. They'll be going in on ATVs, they'll be rolling through.

They have also set up some trolleys with air conditioning, which is very welcomed here in Florida, for folks to go and survey their homes and see if their homes still exist and see what the damage is there as well.

The bad news is that emergency management told me this morning that the damage appears to be worse than they had initially thought. Whatever Ivan damage they said Dennis has destroyed.

If you take a look at the condo there over my shoulder, you can see that's scaffolding on the building there. That was from repairs being done after Ivan rolled through here in September. Now that damage is now being done to the scaffolding itself. So that has to be pulled down.

But we have some pictures from Pensacola Beach that we wanted to show you, two to three feet of water standing in some of the homes. Some of the homes are just completely gone. Crab's restaurant here as well, which is a big tourist attraction, that had its roof peeled off. So that is bad news for that as well.

A lot of the construction cranes that were working on repairing damage from Ivan have also just split into two, basically like a little erector set, just completely broken.

And at Navarre Beach, where I visited yesterday, the road -- half of the road is completely gone. And it used to be a two-lane road going down to Navarre Beach, and now half the road is basically the ocean.

Many of the homes are gone. Search and rescue teams were there going door to door to see if anybody was indeed inside.

As far as the power situation, there's still about 200,000 people here without power just in the state of Florida. Closer to 300,000 around the southeast. They do hope to have the power up and running again within maybe four or five days.

About four deaths also being reported now related to Hurricane Dennis, including, Tony, that of a 3-year-old boy a couple counties over. Parents making a desperate attempt to evacuate didn't see their son and actually ran over him in their attempt to evacuate their own home -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy. Boy. Randi, judging by those pictures, it's going to be difficult for a lot of people to see what this storm has really done to their lives, their homes and their businesses.

Randi Kaye in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

Randi, thank you.

Let's check in now with Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center to get an update on what Dennis -- what is left of Dennis, what it's doing, and an update on Emily.

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HARRIS: Weather permitting, tomorrow is liftoff day. We'll take a look at the last-minute preparations for the shuttle launch right after this break.

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HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. New information on those British police raids in Leeds this morning. The operation is tied to last week's London's bombings. British media reports police have made several arrests.

And while CNN has not been able to independently confirm that through police, we do know that about 500 to 600 people have been evacuated. And investigators plan a news conference shortly, and we may get more details at that time.

This time tomorrow, the Space Shuttle Discovery should be fueled up and ready for launch. It will be the start of the first manned space flight for NASA since the Columbia disaster. It's now been two- and-a-half years since the orbiter disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing the crew of seven.

As we continue our countdown to Discovery, we focus on the emotional aftermath of the accident seen through the eyes of Jon Clark, a man who lost a wife, and yet, in a way, gained a son when Columbia broke apart.

CNN's Miles O'Brien reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JON CLARK, COLUMBIA WIDOWER: This is my peace and solace now, is going out sailing. This is what I do for comfort.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two-and- half years later, Jon and Ian Clark are still plying a turbulent, uncertain sea of emotion.

CLARK: I just get a lot of enjoyment out of being out here in the wind and feeling a part of her is with us.

O'BRIEN: Their lives changed forever on the morning of February 1, 2003. When Columbia disintegrated, the crew lost, in many respects, so were Jon and Ian.

CLARK: I would have traded for my wife in a heartbeat, even at last second when the vehicle finally broke up. I mean, I would have much rather had me lose my life than have her lose it. But sometimes we have to face our worst fears. Her worst fear would be to lose her -- you know, to not be there for her son. My worst fear would be to be a single parent and both of those fears were materialized.

O'BRIEN: Wife, mother, and astronaut, Captain Laurel Clark was living out her dream, on top of the world, literally and figuratively. But her first trip to space was Columbia's last, and before she left, Ian, then eight years old, seemed to know it.

CLARK: He foresaw his mom not coming back. I'm not sure if it was he knew it was going to be -- what part of the mission it would happen in. But he had a profound overwhelming premonition.

O'BRIEN: Jon Clark is a NASA flight surgeon and an expert on crew survival in a mishap. One week before Laurel and Columbia were to come home, he worked an overnight shift in mission control. He read about the foam striking Columbia's wing, saw there was little concern and thought that was odd.

CLARK: I look back on it and I regret not having made some mention of it. But by that time, all their options were rapidly diminishing. So all it would have done would have been to make matters worse.

O'BRIEN: Jon Clark has thought long and hard about the options NASA would have had if mission managers had taken their heads out of the sand and been true to their can-do lore.

CLARK: I think if NASA had set its mind that there's something that could be done, then something could have been done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.

O'BRIEN: Following the report on the Columbia disaster, NASA admitted it needs to change, but Clark is skeptical that things have changed enough.

CLARK: We have not -- we didn't learn from Challenger. I mean, virtually the same management flaws were evident in Challenger that were evident in Columbia. And so I find it hard to say, well, we should be getting back the return to flight when we haven't addressed those fundamental cultural issues.

O'BRIEN: But that cannot happen without a brutal confrontation with the facts. And this is where Jon Clark's personal loss and his professional expertise have intersected, right here on the floor of his hangar. He was part of the team that sifted through the wreckage of Columbia's crew compartment to see how and when it failed, how the crew responded, how they worked to solve the problems, right up until the end.

CLARK: As I envisioned it, it wasn't horror. It was work the problem, work the problem, work the problem. And maybe at the end there would be that sense that, well, you know, we're not going to make it, but we're here with each other. And I had always envisioned that Laurel grabbed Casey's hand.

O'BRIEN: Jon Clark freely admits he was not a great father to Ian when Laurel was alive, despite her urging. A workaholic, he was largely unavailable to his son.

CLARK: I was never a very good parent with a wife. And I've had to fill a role as a single parent. I can tell you, this is the hardest job I've ever had. Every day, you've got to be there and put on, you know, your best front and get him through the tough times.

I've got the A.C. on. Don't you want that? You'd rather have the windows open? Are you sure?

O'BRIEN:; Now, he says, he is the father Laurel wanted him to be, for all of the wrong reasons. And Ian is a boy who has no recollection of crying the day his mother launched into space. The other day, he came home with a questionnaire.

CLARK: Just a standard school questionnaire, not meant to be of any significance. It said, what do you want to do with your life? And he said I want to go to space. I would say, go, live your dream.

O'BRIEN: Laurel Clark realized her dream and never got to share the wonder with the crew she left behind. But lately, they've been making headway without her, her spirit in the wind that fills their sails.

(on camera): It's not smooth sailing?

CLARK: No, no. It never is. You just have to understand that the pain is there and you're not going to be pain-free. All you can be is -- you can have a lessening of it and a better tolerance of it, but it will still be there. And that's OK.

O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You can log on to CNN.com/shuttle for more special reports on the shuttle's return to flight. And tomorrow, CNN will be live from the Kennedy Space Center for the shuttle liftoff. CNN's space correspondent and "AMERICAN MORNING" host Miles O'Brien anchors our one-hour special tomorrow beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

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