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CNN Live Today

United Nations Meeting; Airline Terror Plot; The Suspects; Liquid Bombs; Travel Restrictions; Airline Tickets; Travel Delays

Aired August 11, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're out of time. A big thank you to Tony for helping us out this week. I love working with you. Come back any time. We'd love to have you.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. Leave the light on for me.

O'BRIEN: You've got it.

Let's get right to Daryn. She's at the CNN Center. Going to be with you for the next couple of hours.

Hey, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Tony, stay safe.

HARRIS: Thank you. On my way back. On my way back to see you.

KAGAN: You're headed back and there's voices in my head all at once. OK. You have safe travels and Soledad you have a great weekend.

HARRIS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Thanks. Likewise.

KAGAN: We will go ahead and get started. We already have a lot going on. Beginning at the United Nations. And we're standing by. We have confirmed that U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, says that they are very, very close to the agreement on the Mideast, which means that they would be getting close to a vote in the Security Council on a Mideast peace deal. The ambassador had this to say just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I have been right every time, too, and I'll be right again this morning when I say we're getting closer. And I have every aspiration to vote this afternoon, assuming, of course, all the members of the council are willing to waive the 24-hour rule. We're not yet at agreement, but we are very close. And if you'll discuss me, I now need to go explain that.

QUESTION: How has the sequencing been worked out regarding Israel out, Lebanon and UNIFIL in?

BOLTON: When the text is ready to be released, we'll be happy to discuss that and many other issues. Thanks very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And our senior correspondent at the United Nations, Richard Roth, standing by to tell us more about this latest progress.

Good morning.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The U.S. ambassador there referring to the 24-hour rule. That's a standard procedure where countries are allowed to have 24 hours to consider it after it's been introduced ready to be voted on. But they don't always have to wait 24 hours. The U.S. is, obviously, putting intense political pressure on. Condoleezza Rice is in town in New York. The British foreign secretary, the French foreign minister are on their way.

But there are still details to be worked out. Condoleezza Rice is the closer to seal the deal. The key issues regarding what's left that the Arab group, Lebanon, they are opposed to the terms of the resolution whereby robust peacekeepers in southern Lebanon would have the power to shoot, enforcement powers. Lebanon doesn't want that. They want more modest rules of engagement for those forces. So Israel would leave at the same time Lebanon government forces and expanded U.N. peace keeping mission would get in there. It's a very tricky Rubik's cube is what the diplomats have been describing, trying to resolve the differences.

So there's no timetable yet for a vote. It could be a very long day for the diplomats. Ambassador Bolton and his colleagues among the permanent nations on the Security Council are now behind closed door huddling over the resolution.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Let me pick up on your baseball analogy as Condoleezza Rice is the closer. Would the team play on Saturday or would this tabled till Monday if they can't get it together today?

ROTH: I think extra innings is always possible beginning tomorrow.

KAGAN: All right. Thank you. Richard Roth at the U.N. We will be checking back with you.

Meanwhile, let's go ahead and bring you up-to-date on the airline terror plot. Here is what we know right now.

British officials name 19 of 24 plot suspects. They're accused of planning to blow up trans-Atlantic flight. The men range in age from 17 to 35 and have names commonly found in Pakistan. Evidence of an al Qaeda connection may be growing. That word from government officials in the U.S. and Great Britain. They tell CNN, two of the suspects may have met with a suspected al Qaeda operative in Pakistan.

U.S. airlines remain on high alert this morning. National Guard troops are helping with airport security in California, New York and Massachusetts. Passengers also face a second security check today for those newly banned liquids and gels.

CNN's vast worldwide resources are in play for this still developing story. More than a half dozen reporters are on the scene in London. And in the U.S., the other end of the terror plot, a full line-up of correspondents working this story.

Let's go to London now for the latest on the terror plot investigation. Our John Vause reports from one of the sites that was raided by police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's believed nine of the suspects came from this neighborhood in London, Walthamstow. Just across the road, police remain on guard outside one of the properties which was raided over the past 24 hours.

Earlier today, police arrived, removing bags of evidence. Four, maybe five clear bags taken away. Inside those bags VHS videotapes, as well as DVDs. What looked like ordinary, everyday movies. But also handwritten documents and printed documents, as well.

This house here at Walthamstow, just across the road from the main mosque here. Many worshipers arriving for Friday prayers. The people inside this mosque say they do feel as if they are under siege. Earlier all they would say is that we know nothing. We know nothing about this alleged terror plot.

This scene here, with the media and the police on guard outside this house being repeated in a number of streets here in Walthamstow, but also across neighborhoods in London, in particular High Wycombe and also in Britain's second largest city, Birmingham. Searches still underway. Police taking away computers, as well as looking for any other documents which may give them evidence about anybody else who was possibly involved in this alleged terror plot.

John Vause, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Police are not saying much about the 24 suspects, but we can piece together bits of information based on neighbor's comment. Nice chap. That's a common description. Most people who know the men are simply stunned.

Many of the suspects lived in modest working class homes. Most were in their 20s, but two are teenagers and one is only 17. Most appear to be the children of Pakistani immigrants. Neighbors describe young men who were fond of fish and chips and Liverpool soccer. One lived with his widowed mother. Another is described as an ordinary family man. He's expecting his first child.

More now on the investigation with our justice correspondent Kelli Arena.

By they way, good to have you here in Atlanta once again.

What first raised suspicion about that there might be a plot going on here?

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was someone from the Muslim community who had an acquaintance. And this was right after the London bombing attacks last summer. Everyone was on edge. He said that there was something suspicious about the way that this acquaintance was acting. And so contacted authorities in Britain and turns out that they were on to something.

KAGAN: OK. Now we were just talking about a number of the young men that are in custody. Is it possible there are more conspirators out there?

ARENA: Yes. I mean you know there are 24 in custody in Britain. Seven in custody in Pakistan. There's this number five floating around that investigators are looking for five more individuals. We're told to stay away from numbers because this is an ongoing investigation. You go into somebody's house, you do a search, it leads you to another individual. So because of the flexible nature of that, that number of people they're looking for would be flexible. But both, on both sides of the pond, U.K., U.S., they're saying the key players are in custody.

KAGAN: What about an alleged key player back in Pakistan?

ARENA: Well, you know, there's other things, saying oh there's a mastermind in Pakistan. The officials we speak to are not describing this man like -- just to backtrack, two suspects allegedly traveled to Pakistan to meet with this man, Natiur Rehman, who has been described by U.S. officials as an explosives expert who has connections to al Qaeda.

They allegedly met with him. His involvement in the plot is very unclear at this point. He remains at large. So if it turns out that he's a bigger player, maybe, we don't know at this point.

And we also know that there was some money that was wired from Pakistan back to the U.K. All of this, of course, suggesting, because it's Pakistan, that there might be al Qaeda involvement.

KAGAN: And then any -- besides the flights that were due to come here to the U.S., any other ties here to the U.S.? Any other roads or leads?

ARENA: There were phone calls. There were phone calls that were made recently by some of these suspects back to the United States. We're told that there were like a couple of hundred FBI agents working on this investigation. Those leads were run down, cleared. They say so far no evidence that there's anybody here in the U.S. who participated in that plot.

And we also know that the number of FISA (ph) warrants, the secret warrants you get, the terrorist investigations, that number spiked in the last couple of weeks. And so lots of, you know, frenzied activity going on. But from every corner, Daryn, they keep saying, nothing leading back here yet. So all clear on the U.S. side.

KAGAN: But when you talk about checking out those phone calls, isn't that the exact kind of wiretapping that's become so controversial? Or not wiretapping, but following those . . .

ARENA: Yes, but those are lead-based, though. Those are definitely lead-based, as opposed to . . .

KAGAN: Which would be different.

ARENA: Right.

KAGAN: Those random . . .

ARENA: Which is a little different.

KAGAN: Right. Got it. Right. Kelli Arena, thank you. Good to have you here with us.

Well, heightened security means more restriction and waiting for travelers. The Transportation Security Administration says no liquid or gels will be permitted on carry-on luggage. That includes beverages, as well as creams and lotions. Items like toothpaste, shampoo and hair gels are also banned. Baby formula and medicine must be presented for inspection at security checkpoints.

U.S. airlines remain on alert, especially for commercial flights arriving from the United Kingdom. That security level has been bumped up from high to severe, the highest rung on the threat ladder.

Billions of dollars spent to keep you safe on airplanes, but high tech security can't check liquids and gels that might bring down a plane. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is working that angle of the terror investigation. She will join us in just a minute.

Speaking of all these liquids, these everyday products that could conceal liquid bomb ingredients, our investigative correspondent Drew Griffin take as look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It is the simplicity of the plot that is so scary. Separate passengers, each carrying one piece of a bomb. The ingredients on their own, not enough to raise suspicion. And according to the former head of security at the Tel Aviv's Benvarian (ph) Airport, current screening technology would most likely have missed it. RAFI RON, FORMER SECURITY DIRECTOR, TEL AVIV AIRPORT: We can certainly assume that this was one of the reasons that the terrorists have chosen to focus on this type of explosive material form because they believe that it would be more difficult for us to detect.

GRIFFIN: Here is one way it could work. The plotters, perhaps as many as four, board a plane and take seats throughout the cabin. At a predetermined moment, the leader leaves his seat carrying a small carry-on bag. He collects an ingredient along the way. Other participants get the signal to meet at a washroom. They provide the final pieces.

Inside the bathroom, the leader begins mixing the chemicals. Then he attaches an electronic trigger, until now disguised as a cell phone. Once the bomb is complete, the leader returns to his seat or wherever he deems to be the most effective spot and triggers it. Killing himself and destroying the plane.

And experts tell us it wouldn't take much. Liquids that could easily fit into containers of household items, things people normally take on planes. Then mix together on board. In this case, something as small as a sports drink and maybe some hair gel.

DENISE NORMAN, GA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: It could take as little as a water bottle to cause enough damage to an aircraft.

GRIFFIN: British intelligence officials report the planned explosive mixture was to be peroxide-based and involved liquid and paste-like ingredients, according to official U.S. sources. Previous CNN investigations in Afghanistan have uncovered al Qaeda training videos and documents giving step-by-step instructions in using similar household and industrial chemicals to create bombs. Individually, the components that in small amounts would be hard to detect, which is why airport security expert Rafi Ron say it would be much more effective to search for suspicious people instead of suspicious liquids.

RON: It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact that they are under a tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and many other people around them in a short period of time and all the other factors that affect their behavior.

GRIFFIN: More time spent searching for the terrorist themselves, he says, not just their deadly tools.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can catch more of Drew Griffin's investigative report on "Paula Zahn Now" weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

Officials say that the foiled plane plot bears the al Qaeda trademark. Now more than ever you really need to know your enemies. So Wednesday night, August 23rd, a special CNN Presents, the must watch, "In the Footsteps of bin Laden." A CNN Presents special investigation. Our team traveled to four continents and 10 countries to discover the real Osama bin Laden and his power over legions of drones who do his deadly bidding. Wednesday night, August 23rd, at 9:00 Eastern, only right here on CNN.

Once again, we're keeping an eye on the United Nations. U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, says, "we are now very, very close to an agreement." He hopes for a vote at the end of the afternoon. Maybe that part's not going to happen according to our Richard Roth. We are monitoring things as Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, is in New York City for the end part of that deal.

Let's get back to your traveling. You can forget carrying on. New travel restrictions affect the way you pack your bags today. Our Kareen Wynter is at LAX where people are learning that firsthand.

Good morning, Kareen.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

And I'm going to show you some of the drastic measures some travelers are taking to make sure that they don't leave their liquids lotion here behind as part of these new restrictions. This woman's making sure that she takes it out of her bag at the last minute and gets through security quickly. I'll have all the details coming up in a live report, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Looking forward to that. Thank you, Kareen.

Travel tension. You're about to fly. You want to change your plans. Are the airlines helping you out with some extra wiggle room on that? Gerri Willis will have tips for you. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: U.S. airlines remain on high alert this morning. National Guard troops are helping with airport security in California, New York and Massachusetts. Passengers also face a second security check today for those newly banned liquid gels.

Let's check in on the travel flow at Los Angeles International Airport. Our Kareen Wynter joins me live from LAX.

Good morning.

WYNTER: Daryn, good morning to you.

And officers I spoke with here today say they've never seen anything like this in terms of the volume of people coming here today. And when you think of this airport being one of the nation's busiest, they say, you know, we're used to the crowds, but this unprecedented level of security is really, really heightened things here and so they describe what we're seeing, a little bit of what you're seeing right now as crazy.

I want to talk to -- I want to introduce you to one of the passengers here. Her name is Diane Kline. You're headed to Hawaii to celebrate your 60th birthday.

DIANE KLINE, TRAVELER: Yes, indeed, with my friends.

WYNTER: And you're smiling. I haven't seen a lot of happy faces here.

KLINE: Well, there's not a whole lot we can do and I'm sure they'll take my water at some point and I'll forfeit my lip stick and all the little things that they'll find, you know. We gave it a lot of thought and went through our bags last night and took all the liquids and all the gel things and made sure our medicines, you know, were with us and had our names and things on them. So just little things we could do. But it is a little different here at the airport.

WYNTER: And you see all of the extra officers around us and the National Guard's also here. How do you feel? Does that make you a little bit more comfortable traveling?

KLINE: Well, I feel better today. I'm sure that they're, you know, looking through things and all the dogs. And I think everybody is trying their best and making it safe. And I don't mind waiting in a longer line. And I kind of went through 9/11. I was in D.C. at the time. And security was heavy then too. But they have to do it.

WYNTER: Diane, best of luck to you in your travels. Happy birthday.

KLINE: Oh, thank you very much.

WYNTER: And that gives you a little bit of the sampling of reaction here, Daryn. But not a lot of people are as upbeat as Diane. That's because of the very, very long lines inside. And some people, while they say that they are happy with the added layers of security, the police presence that's here, the California National Guard that's also here, bomb sniffing dogs walking around all around us, they say it is somewhat of an invasion when it comes to their personal space, especially when you're talking about LAX. They said it's already cramped here and it's even more cramped with this new heightened level.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Kareen Wynter live in Los Angeles. Thank you.

Let's get some new details on the terror investigation. For that go to our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, who's in Washington, D.C.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, Daryn, what I wanted to talk to you about is what experts call a gaping hole in aviation security. Despite the billions of dollars spent on screening machines since 9/11, there is no technology deployed to specifically detect liquid explosives or their components. So-called puffer machines deployed at many airports can detect traces of explosives. But if a terrorist is very carefully or if he is only carrying a component of a liquid explosive, those machines won't pick up anything. Officials say machines to ferret out liquid explosives are being developed but none is ready to be deployed on a large scale.

Among the technologies being looked at, one that analyzes the density of materials and alarms when it detects something with the characteristic of explosives. Another bombards an object with subatomic particles to detect dangerous materials. And there are others all being aggressively marketed as the answer to this security threat.

Meanwhile, authorities are reduced to doing things the old fashioned way, taking away your liquids and gels. But even that protocol is far from foolproof. For instance, if someone is carrying a liquid on their body and doesn't get a patdown, a magnetometer isn't going to find it. And liquids can be bought at concessions on the other side of security screening. A second inspection for liquids at airport gates has up to now only been done on a random basis. But officials do hope the steps they're taking currently will be a deterrent until there is a better mousetrap.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So do you think these new no liquid rules are here to stay?

MESERVE: Well, it's a possibility for sure some experts are saying at least. The TSA right now isn't saying when they're going to discontinue these things, in part because this investigation hasn't been completely wrapped up. But they also aren't giving a definite end date. I think they really have to look very thoroughly at their screening protocols and figure out if there is a way that they can improvise to try and detect the dangerous stuff.

KAGAN: For now, if it pours, I guess leave it at home would be a good rule.

MESERVE: That's right.

KAGAN: Jeanne, thank you.

MESERVE: You bet.

KAGAN: That does lead to some travel tension. You're about to fly but you want to change your plans. Are the airlines cooperating? What do you do if you can't make that flight given all the new restrictions? We'll check in with Gerri Willis. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The markets have been open almost an hour. It is a weak start for the summer Friday for the stocks. You can see the Dow is down 30 points and the Nasdaq also in negative territory. It is down 13. So if you booked a flight, the plane threat may give you second thoughts about flying. Ticket changes can cost you a bundle. But as security gets tighter, airlines are relaxing some of their rules. Here to explain how you take advantage of that, our personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Gerri, good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

Tip number one here, you've got to check the wiggle room. Airlines are giving you some flexibility if you're holding tickets. So let's take a look at what they're giving you here.

If you had tickets, for example, with American Airlines, you can change your flight date but you must complete your travel by September 1st. If you don't want to fly at all, you can get travel vouchers for future flights. And if you're traveling on Delta to the U.K. before September 1st, you need to change your flight by this Sunday and travel must be completed by September 1st. British Airways will let you change your flight plans if your trip is completed before December 1st.

OK. There are a lot of details here. To get the nitty-gritty, go to the airlines website to get all the information. But the ones I'm describing here, Daryn, no charge for these changes.

KAGAN: But let's talk about the charges because sometimes they'll say, sure, you can change that ticket, but it's going to cost you.

WILLIS: Right. Exactly. If you have a trip to Europe scheduled for later this fall and you just don't feel like flying, you can change your ticket, but this is when the fees start adding up. It will cost you about $150 to $200. In this case, for domestic flights, the change fee is generally $100.

KAGAN: What if you booked through a third party like an online provider?

WILLIS: This is the bad news today. Keep in mind that some airline do not refund tickets purchased through a third party discounter or through Internet sites like Hotwire or Orbitz. Call the agency or packager that you booked through to see what they can offer you. But, let me tell you, the airlines, you know, they're not obligated to help you here.

KAGAN: There's such a thing as terrorism insurance?

WILLIS: Oh, yes, for travel. If you have a cruise or an international trip planned, you may want to consider buying travel insurance that covers acts of terrorism. Now these policies generally cost about 8 percent of your trip. So they're not cheep. But with terrorism insurance, you'll get your money back if you missed your cruise, lost your tour, maybe even missed some nights in a hotel.

Now here's some places you can go to compare insurance policies, insuremytrip.com and insweb.com.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Gerri, thank you.

WILLIS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis.

What about travel delays. Chad Myers is looking at that.

Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn.

I just got a brand new tornado warning in, too. I want to go through a couple of things here.

KAGAN: OK. Do you want to do that first?

MYERS: Sure.

This is actually for western Sarasota County in Florida. I'm just going to read this. A water spot actually was approaching Venice Beach and may come ashore as a tornado. It's just a water spout when it's over water, but it still has the same amount of spin. Probably an F-0 or an F-1. They're not usually big F-4 or F-5 water spouts. But just so you know if you're in that general vicinity. A hazard to boating and a hazard if you are on the beach, obviously.

KAGAN: Right.

MYERS: A couple things I want to show you. We're going to go to Flight Explorer here. And so many planes yesterday were grounded from Heathrow and Gatwick. They just didn't come in. They didn't even have a chance, really, to get off the ground.

But today, if we take a look at this, the planeloads across the country basically it's enormous. Every blue dot on this map here, every blue dot is a plane. So the domestic planes are doing very well.

But I'm going to switch you to a grid here that can filter out every plane unless it came from Heathrow. EGLL is the four-letter international term for Heathrow. EGLL. And we will filter that. Now there aren't so many dots out there. In fact, there are only about seven.

One that started out the earliest is the flight to Dulles. That's UAL Flight 923. It is still over about Maine there.

We did have American Airlines Flight 99, it's going to Chicago. It's on the way. It's in pretty good shape. But all the British Airway flights that usually get off early, didn't get off at all. Here is British Airways Flight 295 going into Chicago. It is late, but it is now just there over Newfoundland. And as we look, and as we look at some of the Virgin airplanes that are on their way, but they are late.

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