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CNN Live Today

Nomination Near?; Sister Act

Aired July 19, 2005 - 10:30   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 right at the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.
President Bush could name his Supreme Court nominee as early as today. There are a number of names on the list of possible candidates. Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter says it's crucial that balance be maintained on the high court.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is looking for ways to deal with Islamic extremism. He met with members of the Muslim community later today in the wake of the London terror bombings. Nick Roberts has a full report coming up in about 10 minutes.

For the first time in two years, Canadian cattle is being shipped to the U.S.. Canadian beef was banned in 2003 after Canada reported a case of mad cow disease. The federal appeals court lifted that ban last week.

And lock up that Acura Integra. It tops a list of most stolen vehicles, especially the 1999 model. An insurance industry report says street racers covet the Integra's fast engine.

There is word that President Bush may announce his choice for a Supreme Court vacancy today. We're taking a close are look at who the nominee might be.

Our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me for a discussion from New York.

Jeff, good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, D.K.

KAGAN: Who are you watching for?

TOOBIN: Well, it looks like the attention is shifting towards women. Originally that did not...

KAGAN: It shouldn't be the biggest surprise.

TOOBIN: Originally when -- you know, the story has moved so quickly. When Justice O'Connor announced her retirement, that wasn't necessarily the first qualification people were talking about.

When Laura Bush last week started talking how she would like to see a woman appointed. She's not someone to speak out of school a lot. There has been a lot more attention on the possible woman candidates.

KAGAN: So let's look at some of them.

TOOBIN: OK, the two Ediths have been mentioned. They are both from the court of appeals that sits in New Orleans, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Edith Clement is maybe the most surprising possibility. She is somewhat of a stealth candidate. She has not on the court of appeals very long, about four years. She was a trial court judge in New Orleans. She was the judge who presided over Governor Edwards' trial, but she does not have a high political profile. Certainly would be a surprise to those of us, and I would include myself among them, who thought President Bush would pick an outspoken, well-known conservative. That would be...

KAGAN: Well, what makes her attractive then, besides the fact that you can't tell a lot about her?

TOOBIN: Well, you know what, I'm a little baffled to tell you the truth about what makes her so attractive. She has no blemishes on her record, certainly. There are suggestions that she has some ties going back with the Bush family. Bush's college roommate is apparently a friend of hers, not an enormously close tie and far as I can tell, but certainly someone with a reputation for integrity, for intelligence, but not someone who would rank among the giants of the appeals court bench.

KAGAN: OK, let's move past the Kevin Bacon game of degrees of separation. Move on to the next potential nominee.

TOOBIN: Now Edith Jones was the runner-up when the first President Bush appointed David Souter to the court. The first President Bush even interviewed Edith Jones. She's been on the court since 1985, 20 years, long record, very distinguished, very conservative, outspoken in support of the death penalty, has very clearly indicated she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, a favorite of conservatives. Some people think she might have trouble getting confirmed, but there is someone who has a clear record over 20 years as an appeals court judge.

KAGAN: Less than a minute left, who are a couple, in the interests of equal opportunity, male names you can come up with?

TOOBIN: Michael Luttig on the Fourth Circuit quite some time, very outspoken, distinguished conservative. John Roberts relatively new to the bench on the court of appeals for the District of Columbia, very eminent conservative lawyer in front of the Supreme Court, not as much of a record as a lawyer, as a judge so far, because he's only been on the bench a couple years.

KAGAN: Jeffrey Toobin, I know you're standing by, watching to see if anything pops today.

TOOBIN: We'll see.

KAGAN: Thank you. We're going to switch courts now, change of pace, from the Supreme Court to the tennis court. Venus and Serena Williams are taking their act to reality television.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, and Serena takes a nasty tumble. This match might be over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: "Venus and Serena For Real" debuts tomorrow night on the ABC Family network. The sisters are here right now to talk about the new show and their real jobs on tour.

Ladies, good morning!

SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS STAR: Good morning.

VENUS WILLIAMS, TENNIS STAR: Good morning.

KAGAN: Venus, a little belated here, but congratulations on your fabulous Wimbledon title just a couple weeks ago. That was a dose of reality, was it not?

V. WILLIAMS: Yes, it was an amazing experience in general, and I'm glad to come out the victor in that. It was not easy.

KAGAN: Lindsay Davenport gave you a run for your money, but you hung on. Congratulations.

V. WILLIAMS: Thank you.

KAGAN: What are we going to see in this reality show?

S. WILLIAMS: Well, there's just so many ups and downs in the show. You get to see us win. You get to see us lose. You get to see us laugh and almost cry, and you get to see us have fun and argue, and, you know, it's just a...

KAGAN: You sisters argue? Sisters who argue? I'm shocked.

S. WILLIAMS: Shocking that it happens every day.

KAGAN: Why did you want to do the show, Venus?

S. WILLIAMS: Well, basically, because there's been so many people out there's who assume they knew what our life was like, so many critics who assumed that they knew what it was like for us to go out there and play each other in the Wimbledon final, the U.S. Open final, and finally we just got the chance to kind of have our say and kind of put it out there what it's really like, and we couldn't resist.

KAGAN: OK, the tennis is just the beginning of the story. You got a big family. You've got fashion interests. There's acting interests. There's so much outside of this. I thought the most interesting thing reading about your series, you guys wore out the producers. They had to say, timeout, hold on, we cannot keep up with your schedule.

S. WILLIAMS: Yes, our schedule is so hectic that, I mean, eventually they were like, whoa, we're just going to have to meet you there at a later date or something like that. I don't know how we do it, to be honest with you, because we work really hard, on the court, off the court, then we have fashion, and we have acting, and then we have design, and then we have, you know, so many different meetings that we're taking and still trying to do. It's just mind-boggling.

KAGAN: What about the personal life? As young, single, hot, fantastic women, there's going to be a lot of interest there. Did you want cameras following that part of your life?

S. WILLIAMS: That was interesting, because we had the cameras on pretty much 24 hours a day. They weren't any limitations as to what we showed on film.

KAGAN: So that was fair game, so to speak ask.

V. WILLIAMS: That was fair game.

KAGAN: Tennis question for you now. There is a dearth of young women like you, let's say, coming through the pipeline, as you guys eventually will move on from tennis. There are not a lot of young American women who are coming in to take your place. They seem to come from Russia, overseas, other places. Why aren't young girls getting involved in tennis?

V. WILLIAMS: That's hard to say, it really is, because we spend so much time just at practice and kind of nurturing our own career that we don't get to see what's happening at the kind of grassroots level. So we hope, you know, that will change in the next few years.

KAGAN: And was there anything -- you said there was nothing off limits with this -- there was never, what you said, OK...

S. WILLIAMS: Well, everything was pretty much a go, besides the obvious, but we just had the cameras on. We were comfortable with it, because we knew getting into it what it was going to do, and we wanted to have something to show that can show our fans a side of us that they've never been able to see before. And so we thought, well, let's go all out. If we're going to do this, let's just do it.

KAGAN: Have you seen it?

S. WILLIAMS: Yes, we saw it, of course. We had a few -- we saw a lot of the different versions of it. So -- it's hilarious. I mean, you're going to laugh your heads off. It's hilarious.

KAGAN: OK, well, it debuts tomorrow night, the ABC Family Channel, 10:00 p.m. We'll be watching for it. Any news you need to make here? Every time you guys go into a tournament, everyone's speculating this is the last time, you're ready to hang it up, too many interests outside?

S. WILLIAMS: Oh, no!

KAGAN: No?

V. WILLIAMS: Not until you hear from us.

KAGAN: OK. Well, when you do, you come on back and you can make the announcement here.

V. WILLIAMS: You're going to have to tune in, because you have to hear our stories.

KAGAN: OK, thank you. "Venus and Serena Williams For Real," we'll be watching.

Thank you.

A check of markets just ahead, plus Tony Blair gets so active in London. We'll tell you about his meeting today with Afghanistan's president.

And later, usually they're pretty scary, but this little guy, not too bad. Not only is he tiny, he's also white, the story behind this rare alligator, coming up.

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KAGAN: Turning to our CNN "Security Watch," a federal appeals court is hearing a major case that focuses on the war on terror and the rights of a U.S. citizen. At the center of the case is Jose Padilla. He is accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb in the U.S. Padilla is an American citizen and he has been held without charges as a so-called enemy combatant for more than three years. The Justice Department is appealing a February ruling which found that Padilla had to be either charged or released.

A Senate committee is hearing from Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff today about his plan to reorganize his department. Chertoff plans to have Homeland Security focus on protecting the borders and dealing with catastrophic threats to the nation. He's calling for state and local governments to assume more responsibility for trains, bus and subway securities.

We at CNN are committed to bringing you the most reliable news about your security. Stay tuned to CNN, day and night.

In the wake of the London terror bombings, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is exploring ways to reduce Muslim extremism. He held a summit this morning with Muslim community leaders.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more now from London. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a task force means a group that will come together and specifically -- more specifically, look a the issues that have perhaps led to the London bombings, the issues within Muslim communities in Britain. And that's what was at the heart of the meeting today. 25 different Muslim leaders came here today. Four of them M.P.s in the government here.

What Tony Blair was talking to them about was how they could look into their communities and deal with the issue of this very small number of radical Muslims who are espousing a very firebrand version of Islam, a brand of Islam that is believed or suspected may have been behind motivating the young men from Leeds to perpetrating the bombing attack in London two weeks ago.

He was also very likely and did hear from those 25 different leaders on their concerns about tough new anti-terrorism legislation that's being planned in Britain. It was discussed in parliament yesterday. Their concerns that this may alienate part of the young Muslim community here, if that legislation isn't -- doesn't appear to be fair, doesn't appear to be valid.

And he will also have heard -- again, and this is something that's heard from think tanks within Britain -- that the issue of the Iraq and the war in Iraq and an ongoing troubles in Afghanistan is something that heightens the potential for radicalism within the young Muslim community here. You would also have heard about alienation between first, second and third generation Muslim families here in Britain. But the very focus of this, to find a way to isolate in the communities and deal with and marginalize radical leader. And doing that through -- he will have appealed to these leaders who came here today, to do that through conversation, through debate and through dialogue within their community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Nic Robertson, reporting from London.

On now to the fight for Iraq. Gunmen opened fire on a minibus filled with civilian workers near a U.S. military base northeast of Baghdad. At least ten people were killed. The workers were employed at the base. Meanwhile, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani says the first draft of Iraq's new constitution will be done by the August 15th deadline at the latest. Today a member of the drafting meeting committee was shot to death in an ambush in Baghdad.

More U.S. military bases could face possible downsizing or closure. A review commission votes today on whether to add to the Pentagon's list of recommended closures. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld already has proposed closing or reducing troops at 62 bases in order to save money.

The man who led U.S. forces during the Vietnam War has died. Retired General William Westmoreland commanded U.S. forces in Vietnam from 1964 until 1968. Westmoreland was a top West Point graduate who served in World War II and the Korean conflict, but his career was defined by the buildup of troops under his command in Vietnam. Westmoreland always contended that the U.S. did not lose the war in Southeast Asia. The retired general died night in Charleston, South Carolina. He was 91 years old.

A scare in the skies after an airline passenger finds a suspicious note. Up next, we'll tell you what the note said and why the pilot decided to land the plane.

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KAGAN: Take a look at this picture. It's a rare white alligator. You can see it here, but not in its current home. The gator is being kept at Riverbank Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina. And it's not on display because it's evidence in a legal case. Two brothers are charged with taking and possessing an American alligator. That's a state crime meant to protect endangered species. The brothers operate a zoo for reptiles, say they took the gator to protect it.

Let's taking a look at other stories making news coast to coast this morning. A threatening note forced an American Airlines flight to Puerto Rico to return to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last night. The FBI says the passenger found a napkin with a bomb threat written on it. The plane was searched, and the flight resumed without incident.

In California, authorities arrest 40 airline pilots who may have been flying with illnesses that should have kept them grounded. Prosecutors say the pilots were collecting disability benefits from Social Security for serious medical and psychological conditions, while maintaining active pilots' licenses.

Confessed serial bomber Eric Rudolph has received two life sentences without parole. Victims of a clinic bombing called him a monster during sentencing in Alabama yesterday. Rudolph told the court he would one day be vindicated.

Surprising results from an obesity study. And it is about news about the nation's first Vioxx trial. CNN's Christy Feig covers both in "The Pulse."

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CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Obese women may be more physically fit than obese men, according to a report by Dutch physicians. The researchers tested the fitness levels of 56 severely obese men and women scheduled for weight reduction surgery. And found the men had a harder time tolerating exercise because of the way fat is distributed on their body.

And the nation's first lawsuit related to the painkiller Vioxx is now under way. Carol Ernst is suing the drug manufacturer Merck over the death of her husband Robert in 2001. Ernst was a 59-year-old personal trainer who used Vioxx to ease hand pain, but died suddenly after six months of taking the drug. Merck says there is no evidence Vioxx was associated with Ernst's death. Merck voluntarily pulled Vioxx off the market last September after a study showed that it increased the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death.

Christy Feig, CNN.

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KAGAN: At least eight deaths are being blamed on the heat in Phoenix, Arizona. Monday's high temperature -- a scorching 113 degrees. Of course, it's hot in Phoenix in the summer, but that is six degrees above normal. Meanwhile, wildfires dotting the Arizona landscape. Last night, high winds drove a brushfire northeast of Phoenix to within 50 feet of some homes.

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KAGAN: The president is behind closed doors right now, meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. The two are expected to take questions from the press in a short time. We're going to bring that to you live, about 50 minutes from now, 5-0.

And they are police officers' last line of defense. What if the makers of some of the nation's bullet-proof vests were cutting corners and costing lives? Stay tuned for our "Special Report," as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

Let's go ahead and take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

Right now at the White House, President Bush is meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a key ally in the war on terror. President Bush and Prime Minister Howard will hold a news conference in about 50 minutes. You'll see that live, right here on CNN, when it happens.

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