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CNN Live Today

Rehnquist Ill; Terror Suspects in London; Discovery Delay; Homeland Security Shake-Up

Aired July 14, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to pick up with those live pictures once again and go to the breaking news that's happening right now in New York City. Tell you what we know as you join us here at the top of the hour.
Good morning to all of you.

This scene, we're told, the Upper West Side of Manhattan, 100th and Broadway. We're getting word that four people have been injured. A building under construction. And apparently what happened earlier this morning, a wall and some scaffolding collapsed. Four people injured. They've been taken to the hospital. Getting numbers. About 100 firefighters on the scene working to diligently get through that rubble of that collapsed building.

More on that as the morning goes on. Right now let's take a look at what else is happening "Now in the News."

The U.S. military says two high-ranking al Qaeda leaders with ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been captured in Iraq. The two are suspected to have carried out attacks against foreign diplomats, including the recent murder of the Egyptian envoy in Baghdad.

The launch of the space shuttle Discovery is on hold at least until Saturday, perhaps as late as September. A faulty fuel sensor forced NASA to postpone yesterday's scheduled blastoff. Technicians are now deciding whether the problem can be fixed on the pad or if the spaceship must be returned to its hangar.

Right now Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff explaining to the House Committee his plan to overhaul his department. Chertoff said yesterday the department will refocus on major threats, including a possible nuclear attack. We'll talk with a former DHS inspector general in about 30 minutes about those proposed changes.

Good morning on this Thursday morning. I'm Daryn Kagan.

We're going to start with increased speculation over the possible retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The 80-year-old Rehnquist is in the hospital after being admitted with a fever. Our Congressional Correspondent Joe Johns is outside the Supreme Court building in Washington.

Joe, good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Hints, mainly, about the health of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. We're watching the movement of security vehicles and a limousine outside the hospital where he was taken. The hospital where he spent the night. He was taken there with a fever.

The court here saying virtually nothing about whether the chief justice might be released from the hospital this morning or sometime today. However, strong suggestions, we would call them, that if the chief is in fact released today, he's more likely to work at home, if he works at all, and not follow his regular custom, which would be to come here to work at the court.

Chief Justice Rehnquist, of course, 80 years old, suffering from thyroid cancer. A great deal of speculation that continues about whether he might consider stepping down from the court. Clearly no word on that.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: All right. You'll be monitoring that for us from the Supreme Court in Washington.

Thank you, Joe.

JOHNS: OK.

KAGAN: Other news this morning, a U.S. military spokesman says coalition forces in Iraq have captured two high ranking terror suspects. They're believed to have close ties with Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Let's go right to Baghdad for more. CNN's Aneesh Raman is there.

Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

A push back against the insurgency, as you say. The U.S. military today announcing the capture of two key figures in al Qaeda in Iraq. First, they are Abu Seba. He was captured on Saturday. Based on intelligence - Abu Seba Asari (ph). He is described as a senior lieutenant in al Qaeda in Iraq, a close aide to Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.

But perhaps, as importantly, he is being directly linked to the murder last week of Egypt's top envoy to Iraq, Ihad Sherif, and the attacks on the Bahrainian/Pakistani diplomats here in the capital city. That attack, of course, having enormous diplomatic implications on the ground. This capture hopefully trying to ease concerns by diplomats in Iraq.

Also captured a day later, on Sunday, a man by the name of Abu Aziz. He is described by officials as in charge of al Qaeda in Iraq's Baghdad operation. Also, again, a key aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Both men now in custody, being questioned. The hope that they can lead to actionable intelligence on the whereabouts of Zarqawi himself.

Now the announcement comes on a day where we saw a dual suicide bombing take place at a main check point outside the green zone. That, of course, the highly fortified area that houses both the U.S. military and key components of the Iraqi government. A suicide car bomb went off first. That was followed by a suicide bomber with an explosives vest. At least one person was killed. Five others wounded.

Among the wounded, Daryn, we're told, was a third potential suicide bomber. His vest did not detonate. U.S. military officials saying this is a success by Iraqi forces preventing these bombers from getting any closer and preventing the casualties from being much higher.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh, let's get back to these arrests. Any clues about how the men were captured?

RAMAN: No. We know very little, as is often the case. Whatever led to their capture could lead to the capture, obviously, of others. We do know specifically that the man captured on Saturday, Abu Seba, he was, they say, captured based on intelligence. They haven't said the same about Abu Aziz.

Throughout the process, as Iraqi security forces have become more of the face of the military presence in Iraq, they have said and seen higher levels of cooperation by the Iraqi public, better intelligence. What led exactly to these arrests, we don't know. But the hope is that these arrests will lead to the capture of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad.

Thank you.

It's one week after the London terror bombings, a day of remembrance. The British observed two minutes of silence at midday to honor the dead and the wounded. People stopped, traffic stopped and people came out of their homes and businesses. Members of the royal family also observed the silence from Buckingham Palace. Besides remembering the bombing victims, the event was billed as an act of solidarity against terrorism. A vigil will be held in three hours from now at Trafalgar Square. Emergency service personnel who responded to the attacks will be honored.

Now turning to the latest on the investigation into those bombings. With four suspected suicide bombers confirmed dead, the focus turns to who may have directed that operation. To Leeds, England, now, for more from CNN's Jim Boulden.

Jim.

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Let me tell you, first of all, what's happening here behind me. This area has been cordoned off in just the last few moments. Let me step out of the way for a moment and show you what's going on here.

Daryn, this is an area near one of the homes of one of the suspected bombers. We've actually been walking around this area for the last 48 hours but something has spooked the police in the last hour. They have cordoned off the area, they brought in those red double-decker buses that you all know so well, and they moved people out of the area. They're not allowing the residents back in.

We're being told that they've evacuated a school. They've also evacuated a mosque. And what's happened possibly is they found some bomb material or something in this area that is really got them concerned.

This, of course, is a very fluid situation. The police have only been here on the ground in Leeds for the past three days. That's when the news broke they were raiding homes in this area. And they continue to raid homes. They continue to move from home to home. Very painstaking forensic investigation is go on here, Daryn.

And, of course, that's worrying a lot of people in this region. And yesterday we spent some time with community leaders and the residents of the area to try to - so they could try to come to terms with what's going on here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOULDEN, (voice over): The enemy within. The English city of Leeds woke Wednesday to claims four of the suspected suicide bombers were young British-born Muslims from various parts of their tight-knit community. Local leaders met Wednesday to present a unified stance for Leeds, across ethnic and religious lines.

JOHN BATTLE, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Let the police do their patient work and support them in doing that. And then say, yes, our neighborhoods face real challenges now, but we're going to stand together to face these challenges properly.

BOULDEN: One of the excused young men loved cricket, we are told, and worked here at his father's local fish and chip shop. Another told his mother he was heading to London with friends. Achmed (ph) knew two of the men as good athletes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, yeah, sport large, yeah.

BOULDEN: In what way?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, football, cricket. This I knew that they were very, very good players. Should have played for Pakistan.

BOULDEN: Are you surprised that they are involved in this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, yeah, very surprised. Very surprised. BOULDEN: While police crime scene investigators suited up for a second day of detailed searches, moms and dads walked their children to the local primary school. This 12-year-old boy wanted to talk about what this might do to his neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All white people, black people, Asian people, they all used to get on. And now after like the bomb and everything, we're all terrified because we never thought that (INAUDIBLE), who we know and talked to, would be capable of bombing London and killing this much people.

BOULDEN: Bombing London and the police say leaving clues to their deeds in houses and cars around Leeds, including potential bomb making equipment just minutes from the city's center.

The houses in this part of Leeds were evacuated Tuesday morning when the army used a controlled explosion to gain entry into a premise somewhere back there. Now the residents of this area tell us it may not be until Thursday when they can return to their homes.

These men are desperate for it all to end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They won't let me in for my medicine. I am a poorly man. I'm a diabetic and they won't let me in my house. And just, see, where the yellow car is.

BOULDEN: This woman came back from her graduation ceremony at Leeds University to find that student housing was behind police line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: to find that it's so local, yeah, to find that - I mean, my house is actually, I was told by the police, right in the center of where they were investigating. So, I mean, I could have been - I could have seen these people.

BOULDEN: About 30 residents are sleeping this community hall. Food and water is being supplied by the city. But hundreds of people who were forced from their homes are being put up by neighbors. A testament, people here say, to the spirit of Leeds that even four local bombers could not break.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOULDEN: Now we are expecting a police press conference back in London in the next few minutes and we could learn a lot more at that time, Daryn, about the so-called fifth man. The man who could have been behind all of this that police are trying to find out who the mastermind was who put these four men up to this bombing.

Daryn.

KAGAN: We will check back with you as you monitor it.

Jim Boulden from Leeds, England.

Thank you. Back here in the U.S., NASA hoping to have a better idea today of when it can make another try at launching Discovery. Yesterday afternoon's liftoff was scrubbed due to a problem with a fuel sensor. CNN's Sean Callebs is at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Good morning, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

We can tell you right now there are no fewer than 11 separate NASA teams holding meetings about technical problems, things that could have led to yesterday's scrubbing of the Discovery launch just two-and-a-half hours before schedule liftoff. Now in a perfect world, right now the astronauts would be getting their first full day in space, but we know the shuttle isn't in a perfect world. It is still on launchpad 39-B. There is a live picture of it sitting out there.

NASA hopes the soonest it could launch Discovery would be Saturday. All 11 of these technical teams meeting are going to get together at noon Eastern time at a mission management team meeting and then they'll have a better idea of theoretically when they could launch. So it will be sometime after noon before we can tell you.

If you'd like to see the face of disappointment, just look at the astronauts. All seven had already climbed aboard Discovery. This is something NASA and the astronauts have been waiting for, for the past two-and-a-half years since the tragedy of the Columbia shuttle derailed the space system back in February of 2003. And they're also facing a certain degree of pressure. They need to get back up and working on the International Space Station, which has basically come to a halt because the shuttle is the only orbiter large enough to carry any of the heavy equipment needed to continue construction on the International Space Station.

Let me show you a bit about what they're concerned about. A model of the shuttle here. We talk about the external fuel tank where the fuel sensor was. It's actually two separate tanks, oxygen here and hydrogen here. The concern is, if the problem is down here with one of the sensors, it would involve a rollback. They would have to take the orbiter back to the vehicle assembly building and that could take some time.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Sean Callebs, live from Florida.

Thank you.

We move on now to Southern California. Firefighters there are getting the upper hand on a wildfire that threatened hundreds of homes. As you can see here, flames came within a few dozen yards of some of the homes. Amazingly, there were no reports of damage to any of the houses. Firefighters say the area had been cleared of brush and that kept the fire from getting fuel. At last report, the fire was 75 percent contained.

Let's check on what weather look like in Southern California, across the country. Jill Brown is here with that.

Hi, Jill.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Let's see if we can update you on the situation in New York City. The Upper West Side of New York, 100th and Broadway. This is a partial building collapse. Now we're hearing that subway service in this part of the city, the Upper West Side, has been suspended. It was just a little while ago that the wall and scaffolding collapsed here. Four people injured, taken to the hospital. This was a building that was under construction and about 100 firefighters on the scene still working at that site.

Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, angry residents take to the streets of Los Angeles over the shooting death of a baby by the LAPD. More on that investigation coming up.

Plus, they're used in every-day life but banned during in-air flight. Could that change? A look at just who is lobbying for you to chat while traveling.

And later, will "Lost" be found? Will "Deadwood" see any life? And will "Desperate Housewives" become hopeful? Still to come, the Emmy nominations came out this morning. We'll take a look at which television shows are in the running.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go back to our breaking news story taking place on the Upper West side of Manhattan. A partial building collapse. An eyewitness on the scene, Jeff Rosenthal, joins us on the phone right now.

Jeff, are you still at the scene?

JEFF ROSENTHAL, WITNESSED COLLAPSE: Yes, I am.

KAGAN: And what do you know that's happened? Or what did you witness?

ROSENTHAL: Well, as I said, I was just walking under the scaffolding. I was on my way in to a newsstand to get some coffee. And just right behind me, I must have been about three or four feet behind me, was the end of the scaffolding. I heard it start to rumble and my cell phone actually had rang. I went to pick it up at the same time I watched the whole thing collapse.

There was a woman behind me who was half trapped in and out of the rubble. So everybody came from around Broadway, just all the pedestrians, so we all pulled here out. She was kind of cut up but she was screaming for her baby. So, at that point, we just started looking for her baby. Some paramedics came. They were right there within a minute or two, so they must have been off-duty or just in the neighborhood. They - we watched them pull the baby out after about two or three minutes and it just looked blue. They put it in the ambulance and then a bunch of us just jumped on top of the rubble and started pulling up rubble. Just big bricks and everything because there were a bunch of people under there. We were on there for about 10 or 15 minutes. As the firemen came, we were helping the firemen up until they were fully staffed.

And now, obviously, all the police and the firemen are here. They checked us out and they saw that I had some blood on me. It's not my blood, obviously, so I'm OK and they just told me basically to wait here. And I guess the detective needs to speak to me. But really it was just - it was just a disaster. It sounded like an earthquake. The whole building collapsed.

KAGAN: So you actually heard it before you saw it?

ROSENTHAL: Well, what happened was, my cell phone had actually rung at the same time it was collapsing, so I was turning around. I only saw the - probably it was collapsing for a good 10 seconds before I saw it. I had actually turned around as it was in the middle of collapsing.

KAGAN: And do you know what it was before it collapsed?

ROSENTHAL: Well, yeah, they're building - I mean, I don't know what they're doing. It's been a graffiti - there's an old Grasiti's here for a while. There are workmen here, I mean, every day, you know, but it doesn't look like they're getting anywhere. Rubble falls off of that place every single day that you walk by. It doesn't, you know, - I mean, I talk to people in the neighborhood and it doesn't look safe anyway.

And, you know, there were just workmen up there. I mean, I don't know what they were doing. I just know that they were up there. You could hear them banging around.

And as I said, just as soon as I got off, as soon as I got out from under it, it collapsed. There was a woman right behind me with a baby and, as I said, it's just probably every pedestrian in the neighborhood came to ran and help. Now we got the woman right out. What we were looking for after that with the firemen was - there were probably at least 10 or 15 people that were, you know, way behind me that were under there. And I don't know. I know they got out like three or four I saw but I don't know if they got the rest of them out.

KAGAN: Absolutely incredible. And as we're watching pictures now, the firefighters, we're hearing there's about 100 New York firefighters on the scene.

ROSENTHAL: Yes. I mean they're all over the place, the fire and the police.

KAGAN: Going through the rubble piece by piece, trying to find - also dogs we can see in the pictures.

ROSENTHAL: Yes, there are dogs here. I mean, I thought I hurt myself because I've got blood on my sneakers and my legs but the paramedics looked at me and it's not my blood. So, I mean, at least I know I'm OK, which I know that doesn't sound great but, you know, I think if my phone didn't ring, I don't know if I still would have been under there.

KAGAN: That's amazing. Whoever called you, you better thank them.

ROSENTHAL: Yes, well right now, actually, the cell phone's - a lot of the cell phones, here they won't let you call out. They say for emergency use only.

KAGAN: The other incredible story, as you tell it, is not just that this building was a partial building collapse, but as New Yorkers contend to do, they band together, dropped whatever they were doing and came to the rescue of their fellow New Yorkers.

ROSENTHAL: Oh, yes, everybody stops. Everybody came running from across Broadway, from behind me, from in front of me. I ran in to the newsstand and grab about 20 bottles of water and he just, you know, threw the water at me and, you know, we came running out with it as fast as we could. Everybody was helping up until the firemen, you know, basically told us to get off the rubble, that it wasn't safe.

KAGAN: And for now they're telling you and some others just to stay put?

ROSENTHAL: Yes. Well, they told me to. One of the detectives I happened to have mentioned something to them about, you know, seeing some rubble falling off of it in the past and he just asked me to stick around and talk to him. So I don't know how long that's going to be. Obviously they busy.

KAGAN: Well, Jeff, we're glad that you're OK and thank you for giving us an eyewitness account of what happened there on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Right now we want to go ahead and listen to our affiliate WABC.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But now we see him back here. There you can see one of the police dogs that's been brought into the scene now. And it looks like, in this particular area, the police department has been concentrate on one spot, trying to clear out an area where they can get access to maybe a clearing underneath this debris. They have brought in the dog. That dog, of course, trained to sniff for human scent down underneath there, may give this - the police department and the firefighters a better idea of where to dig underneath should there be somebody trapped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the best search and rescue teams anywhere. They call them Task Force One. One of the first responders this morning was Rescue One. It came from Midtown at 43rd Street.

Jeff Rawson (ph) back down on the ground with some more information.

Jeff, what can you tell us. JEFF RAWSON (ph): Yes, Steve, I've actually been looking for eyewitnesses to try to piece this puzzle together exactly what happened. Orin Adler (ph) is joining us.

You were just feet away. What did you see?

ORIN ADLER: The wall came crashing down. I a heard a loud bang. I saw a bunch of people running. I threw my jacket off and ran towards the debris. On the ground we saw an arm sticking out, so we started just clearing the debris to get to the person there.

RAWSON: Did you?

ADLER: We did indeed very quickly. And it was a woman was screaming, my baby, my baby. So we were trying to get towards the baby. We could see a stroller wheel sticking out also, trying to get towards that debris. We formed a chain line, just moved brick and all the debris. We found another pocket with an adult. We cleared him and eventually got to the baby. And just behind the baby was another adult that we helped clear.

RAWSON: How is the baby?

ADLER: The baby did not look very good. It did not look conscious. I'm a father of a 10-week-old and this baby wasn't crying, which did not seem like a good sign. It was very, very sad and scary.

RAWSON: It were frantic as they were trying to lift the debris out. There were civilians I saw in there trying to help out as well, including yourself?

ADLER: There were about 10, 15 civilians. People ran out from the diner.

KAGAN: The stories continue to come in. This is the sight at the Upper West Side of New York City. A partial building collapse. At least four people injured. From eyewitnesses we've been able to talk to and that man, apparently a baby among the injured.

We continue to collect the information. Other news plus this story straight ahead after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And we go back now to our breaking news story. The Upper West Side of Manhattan, a partial building collapse. We've been hearing a number of eyewitness accounts talking about how a scaffolding, just about over an hour ago, just gave way, started to rumble and the entire thing came down.

We know at this point, at least four people have been injured and taken to a local hospital. We're hearing from those eyewitness accounts, among the injured a baby. You can see a number of firefighters on the scene right now continuing to go through the rubble, perhaps looking for any other survivors or victims.

Let's join our affiliate coverage right now, WABC.

RAWSON: Power equipment coming. They'll cut this down to manageable sizes where it can be moved by and. And then you see, just like we're seeing now, that whole crew will go back to work once again and start moving that debris off the pile and out into the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeff, we saw the OEM director coming in with Jeff, and I just jotted these numbers down. He says you're looking at a collapsing of 25 x 275. That's what he said to Jeff. So, obviously, you're talking up and down Broadway 275 feet and 25 feet out, as you said, into what I guess it spilled into the third lane on Broadway?

RAWSON: Yes. You can see by these pictures here. Now the pile that you see right there, that's debris that's been moved off by hand. This debris on the bottom of your screen, you see that rescue worker waking across the Safeway sign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

RAWSON: This had all spilled out in the street when the collapse happened. That's the kind of force. That right there, you can tell by the blue plywood, that is part of the sidewalk covering that collapsed. So when the wall came down from the supermarket, it actually pushed that sidewalk scaffolding across two lanes of traffic and into the third lane of traffic here southbound on Broadway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeff, let me just set the scene in case folks are just joining us. You're coming up on 10:30 now watching WABC's coverage of a partial wall collapse. This happen at 100th Street up on the Upper West side, just on Broadway. The site of an old Grasiti's, which was being torn down to make room for a large, new building. Probably the largest building in that area. Tallest for several blocks, 37-story tower.

The developer, Gary Barnett (ph), of Nextel (ph) Development Corporation, that's the principal, a $1.8 billion purchase in Donald Trump's River Side South area. So that's - that's where you are right now, to set the scene.

Let's go back down to Jeff Rawson.

Jeff, I know you've got witnesses. If at any time you could asked them, did they hear anything prior to. Anything that might have begin them a little bit of warning.

RAWSON: I'll actually ask one in just a minute.

But I wanted to come back to you to bring you some new information I just got from a fire chief here on the scene. I said, are there any more construction workers that you know of that are trapped inside the rubble? Because clearly they are still digging away in there. He said, at this moment, there are no reports of anybody missing. There are no reports of anybody trapped, which is certainly good news. The reason they're still digging is because you can never be completely sure. That's why we've seen the (INAUDIBLE) step down a bit, notched down. It was really at a feverish pitch when we first arrived. We've noticed a definite change and now we know the reason. According to a fire chief on the scene, confirming for eyewitness news, no reports of anyone missing. No reports of anyone trapped. But you can never be completely sure.

In fact, Steve, excuse me, sir, one of our witnesses - on of our witnesses just walked back and I wanted to ask him what you wanted to ask me.

Real quick question. I'm sorry. Our anchor, Steve Barnalstine (ph), wanted to know, did you hear any kind of rumblings before when this happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I just head it rumble when it started to fall. It just kind of just fell. It was all a big rumble, so I couldn't - I really couldn't tell you if the rupabling started before or during.

RAWSON: So there was no - there were no warning signs of this building before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not at all.

RAWSON: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just started falling and rumbling. That was about it.

RAWSON: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. No problem.

RAWSON: Steve, that's the answer to your question right there, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Jeff.

RAWSON: No problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know the baby that he helped pull out, that man there, that was the guy you talked to before.

RAWSON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 3-month-old girl. She's still being evaluated, which certainly is a good sign. I know the second witness that you spoke of said she was not crying, never a good sign. St. Luke's has also two women and a 3-year-old girl -- a 3-month-old girl, my correction, 3-month-old girl. So very much a newborn. Still being evaluated.

As you look above in News Copter 7, you're looking down. And John, that is a good sign, because you would think, with the construction site, all the guys would account for each other. The Grasiti's folks, perhaps, if they're still there, would account for each other. Now you -- perhaps we're just talking stragglers in the neighborhood who or may not have family would be their only folks that they would be worried about at this point?

RAWSON: That is very true. You would think that the construction workers would be able to all account for each other, as you said. But we mentioned before, these rescue crews will keep working until they hit the bottom, literally, because they just want to make sure that there wasn't somebody -- maybe somebody walking through the neighborhood alone. Of course, there's a lot of possibilities on how someone could be in the neighborhood as this wall came down.

So these crews will continue to work and it's also -- as we said before, they seem to be working in layers. They clear out layer of debris that can be moved by hand because, again, there are no large machines in here like back hoe to move this debris out. The debris is all being moved by hand.

KAGAN: We're going to continue monitoring this story out of the upper West side of Manhattan in New York City. There's a partial building collapse, a very scary scene for folks as they were headed to work earlier this morning, about 9:00 a.m. This was the site of an old supermarket -- a Grasiti's that was coming down in order for an office tower to go up. Some eyewitnesses said that they heard some rumbling and that it all came down.

We know of at least four victims that were taken to a hospital. A number of eyewitnesses talked about helping to rescue a baby. According to our affiliate WABC, that 3-month-old girl is being evaluated as to her condition. On the scene, you still see New York City Fire Department. You see their collapse team, you see emergency service workers from the New York Police Department, as well.

At this point, WABC is reporting it's not believed that any more missing people are in that rubble. Still, in order to be sure, they continue to work there at the scene. We will keep monitoring that situation.

Right now, let's take a look at what else is happening "Now in the News."

Hurricane Emily is lashing the islands of the southeastern Caribbean. Grenada, still recovering from Hurricane Ivan, took a pounding. The Category 1 storm will move through the islands and into the Caribbean. It could intensify as it moves toward the Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist is in a suburban Washington hospital for tests and observation. Rehnquist was admitted Tuesday night, suffering from a fever. The chief justice has been battling thyroid cancer since October. Doctors say it's not unusual for a cancer patient to check into the hospital with a fever.

Opening statements begin at the top of the hour in the nation's first wrongful death trial involving Vioxx. The case is being heard in Angleton, Texas. Lawyers for Robert Ernst say the drug caused him to die in his sleep. Merck and Company attorneys argue Vioxx had nothing to do with his death. The company pulled the painkiller off the market in September.

A three-judge panel in Aruba is expected to decide today whether to allow police to rearrest two brothers once held in the Natalee Holloway case. Holloway was last seen with the brothers, along with 17-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot, before she disappeared on May 30th. So far, no one has been charged in that crime.

Are you ready for ring tones in coach? Coming up, Congress is looking at the use of cell phones during airline travel. We'll have the latest on that debate.

And has your favorite TV show been nominated for an Emmy? We're going to update you on this year's nominations, ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here we are one day after the announcement of a major department shake-up. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, as we look at live pictures from Capitol Hill. He is presenting his new strategy for fighting terror to the House Homeland Security Committee. Chertoff says the agency will focus on catastrophic threats, in spite of the dangers of a nuclear attack. He also announced the creation of new high-level positions, including a chief intelligence officer, and Chertoff cited the need to improve technology to secure the borders. Among changes for first-time visitors coming into the U.S., they will now have to provide prints from all ten fingers instead of just just two.

Here with more on the shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security is CNN security analyst Clark Kent Ervin. He is a former inspector general at the agency, so he knows the place well. Good morning, Clark.

CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's talk about some of the changes, including two additions, two new chief officers. One for intelligence, one for medical.

ERVIN: Right.

KAGAN: As in bioterrorism. Good additions?

ERVIN: Yes. I think it's very important, needless to say, that the Department of Homeland Security have access to the intelligence that it needs to protect the homeland. We saw the events in London last week could have been prevented if there had been intelligence indicating an imminent attack. So it's critically important, and I applaud that.

KAGAN: Some of the things that are not changing, however? ERVIN: Well, I have one concern in particular about the intelligence movement and that is...

KAGAN: OK.

ERVIN: ... the people right now who are working the intelligence unit are working side by side with the people whose job it is to protect critical infrastructure in the United States, our energy sector, our transportation sector, the food supply, et cetera. It's very important for them to working very closely together. We saw in 9/11 that there was intelligence indicating the attack, but that information was not communicated adequately and urgently to the aviation sector so that it could protect itself. So, I think that's a cautionary note. We have to look at that and hope that that does not result in the diminution of protection of critical infrastructure.

KAGAN: We have looked at the vulnerability of our transportation systems here in the U.S., especially in light of what happened last week in London. No really administrative changes with transportation, and some people were surprised by that.

ERVIN: Yes, I, myself, was surprised by that. The TSA in particular has had great difficulty over the past couple of years. And, as you say, the secretary has decided to continue TSA as it is and to reaffirm that it is supposed to focus not just on aviation security, but security as a whole. And that's important because we know that TSA has spent a lot of money and focused most of its attention, the lion's share of it, on aviation security. And yet, as the events in London last week demonstrate, all of us are vulnerable to attacks on mass transit.

KAGAN: Also the color code. This is something that people are either confused by or just completely ignore. That's going to change for now.

ERVIN: That's right. That, too, is a little surprising. That said, there have already been some refinements in that system. Of course, last week, the secretary rightly, I think, announced a calibrated, targeted change in the threat system to raise the level, just for the transit sector, since there's heightened concern about that, given those events.

And of course this is the second time the threat level has been raised in a targeted way. It was raised last year when there was a specific target against the financial sector of New York, Washington and New Jersey.

So going forward, when intelligence is specific enough to permit that, I think you'll continue to see the threat level raised and lowered, depending on threats to particular sectors and sites.

KAGAN: Clark Kent Ervin, thank you for your insight this morning.

ERVIN: Thank you, Daryn. KAGAN: There is news coming out of London, in Scotland Yard. This is a news presser that's being updated now. Fifty three, the official death count on the bombing from last week.

Let's listen in to Scotland Yard.

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PETER CLARKE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER: ... in any of the explosions.

We now believe that we know the identity of the fourth man who arrived in the group at King's Cross. We have just received forensic evidence which makes it very likely that he died in the explosion at Russell Square. Formal identification is of course a matter for the coroner.

I would this afternoon like to make a specific appeal in relation to the events leading up to, and including the explosion on the number 30 bus. We are, this afternoon, releasing a CCTV image and photograph of Hasib Hussain, age 28, who died in the explosion on the bus in Tavistock Square. We now believe he was responsible for carrying out this attack which claimed the lives of 13 people.

The picture shows Hussain at Luton station at about 20 past 7:00 on the morning of July 7th. We know he traveled from West Yorkshire, and that he arrived in London with three other men.

You'll be able to see from the CCTV image that he was carrying a rucksack.

We need to establish his movements up until 9:47 A.M., when the explosion occurred in Tavistock Square. And in particular, his movements between the time he left King's Cross and when he boarded the number-30 bus.

The question I'm asking the public is, did you see this man at King's Cross? Was he alone or with others? Do you know the route he took from the station? Did you see him get on to a number-30 bus? And if you did, where and when was that?

We are also keen to speak to everyone who was on that number-30 bus. The bus started its journey at Marble Arch at 9:00. By five past 9:00, it was in Gloucester Place, and at 10 past 9:00 in the Marlapin (ph) Road. By 9:30 a.m., it was in the Euston Road, near the junction with Gower Street, heading east.

The closure of King's Cross station, because of the attack on the Underground, meant that the bus had to be diverted from its normal route to travel south into Woven Place and Tavistock Square. The explosion occurred in Tavistock Square at 9:47 a.m.

If you have any information, I would urge you to contact the free confidential anti-terrorist branch hotline, on 0-800-789-321.

We estimate that there will probably be something in the region of 80 people on the bus when the explosion occurred. And so I'd appeal to anyone who was a passenger on that bus, if they have either not been contacted or been spoken to by the police, to contact the hotline.

Yet again, I would very much like to thank the public for their enormous support and for the information which they are giving us. We will, of course, give you further information as is and when it's possible to do so in the future.

May I conclude, please, by repeating the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch hotline number of 0-800-789-321. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That concludes the briefing this afternoon. Thank you.

KAGAN: We have been listening in to an update from Scotland Yard.

Spooky, eerie pictures that they are showing as you look up there on the screen. They believe that's the man who was the suicide bomber onboard the number-30 bus a week ago today. They released his photo. His name, they say, was Hasib Hussain. They are able, through the cameras that are posted around London, and through what they know from their investigation, to know that he was at the Luton train station at 7:20 a.m. The bus exploded at 9:47 a.m. They're asking the public's help there in London in piecing together his whereabouts as they try to put together this investigation.

Also they updated the death, as it now stands at 53. More on that just ahead.

Also a House -- here in the U.S., a House Aviation Committee looking into whether passengers should be allowed to use cell phones during flights. Today's hearing examines whether cell phones interfere with the plane's operation or impact other security measures.

Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

We are at 45 past the hour. The nominations are out. The ladies of Wisteria Lane may not be so desperate, after all. Well, one of them might. We'll tell you who was left out of this year's Emmy Awards. We're going to take you live to Los Angeles for a look at which television shows received coveted nominations.

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KAGAN: Entertainment news coming up. Straight ahead, we're going to get to the bottom of this year's top Emmy nominees. That's coming up.

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KAGAN: Let's check the time around the country. It is 7:53 in Los Angeles. That's where telephones of television stars are sure to be buzzing this morning. We are talking Emmy nominations with Tom O'Neil straight ahead.

And it's 3:53 p.m. in St. Andrews, Scotland. That is where three-time champion Jack Nicklaus makes his final appearance at the British Open. Stay with us as CNN LIVE TODAY swings on.

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KAGAN: Tiger Woods is eating up the course on the first day of the British Open. It's underway in St. Andrews, Scotland. He is the favorite to win, but Jack Nicklaus is getting lots of attention, too, in his final major tournament. Don Riddell has a live report from the Old Course in the 11:00 hour.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jack Nicklaus is so popular in these parts that they've put him on the back of a Scottish bank note to celebrate the end of his major career. And one of the sport's greatest ever champions is planning an emotional farewell at the home of golf, St. Andrews.

JACK NICKLAUS, 3-TIME BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION: As I haven't been able to successfully compete in the last few years, the enjoyment sort of falls out of it. And I felt like St. Andrews, being the special place that it's been in my life, to end my career here is probably the most appropriate place to do so. And, you know, I thought I had done it in 2000, but the RNA honored me basically with sort of -- they hadn't scheduled it, but I'm sure they adjusted their schedule slightly to make sure that 2005 fit the year that I could come and play in the last year and be part of what goes on here. And I think that was very nice and, certainly, I'm delighted to be here and be part of it.

RIDDELL: At his peak, Nicklaus was virtually unbeatable, and he still hasn't lost that competitive spirit. This is how he'd like to finish his final open.

NICKLAUS: Just like that. I promise you, that's exactly what I'd have in my mind.

RIDDELL: The Swilcan Bridge is arguably the most iconic site in world golf, and if emotions do get the better of Nicklaus this week, it will be here where the tears start to flow.

Don Riddell, CNN, at St. Andrews in Scotland.

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KAGAN: And we have a lot more ahead in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY. The debate over stem cell research heats up on Capitol Hill. A vocal leader in the fight for increased research funding joins me live. We'll talk about the other side as well.

Stay with me, as CNN LIVE TODAY continues after a quick break.

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