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Level Of Preparedness For Possible Terrorist Attacks; Threats Put Finance Sector On Edge; Putting 9/11 Commission's Recommendations In Place
Aired August 02, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Just about half past the hour now -- the eight o'clock hour, that is -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Up next, we'll get a report from the White House on these latest unusually specific terrorism warnings. We'll also talk to New Jersey Governor James McGreevey about one of the sites named, and that would be the Prudential Building there in Newark.
Also, Sanjay Gupta will be with us a little bit later, telling us about a new device that could some day allow people to treat depression with tiny bursts of electricity. Interesting.
But right now we're going to go to Bill Hemmer standing by in Grand Rapids once again. Bill, hello.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning again. We are in Gerald Ford country here in the western part of Michigan. And it's quite obvious once you come into this area.
The airport has his name, the highway has his name, the federal building, the library -- all named after President Ford. Usually western Michigan goes Republican. However, the state of Michigan back in 2000 favored Al Gore by five points.
Obviously, Republicans trying to change that this time around. President Bush in the month of July -- four visits to this state. He's back again on Thursday in Saginaw, north of our location here in Grand Rapids.
Also here today, John Kerry coming into territory where the president was on Friday. Two events scheduled, in fact. We'll be here for one about 10 a.m. Eastern time and before that event gets underway Senator Kerry will be my guest live on AMERICAN MORNING.
We will have it all for you moving forward. Heidi, back to you now in New York.
COLLINS: All right, Bill, thanks for that.
As you know, security has been increased in three cities. One of the areas is the New York Stock Exchange that has been mentioned.
We're going to take you straight there now where we see Charles Schumer standing by. He's going to the microphone. Let's listen in for just a moment to see what he has to say this morning. (LIVE NEWS EVENT)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: That's nice. People are going to be fine. Yes. All right. Nice to see you. Hey, how are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us...
SCHUMER: We'll be ready in a minute, sir, OK?
(END LIVE NEWS EVENT)
COLLINS: You heard him say -- Senator Charles Schumer getting ready for a press conference here that we've been waiting for this morning outside the New York Stock Exchange.
Expected to join him as well is the New York Stock Exchange CEO, John Thain. We will bring it to you just as soon as possible, as soon as they are ready.
Meanwhile, security has been increased in three cities because of the potential for terror attacks against financial targets.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is standing by. We will get to her in just a moment. For now, though, back to the New York Stock Exchange and Senator Schumer.
(LIVE NEWS EVENT)
SCHUMER: We're here to show solidarity with the people of the New York Stock Exchange -- in a broader sense the people of New York -- and the people of the world, who are not going to be cowered by terrorism in any way.
The bottom line is very simple, and that is that the terrorists want to scare us. If every time they made a threat we stopped doing what we're doing, they win. And so we feel it's almost a moral imperative for everybody to go about their jobs.
There may be a few butterflies in some stomachs, but you still go forward. You still move forward and do what you have to do. And I feel as an elected official and somebody exhorting people to come to work that I ought to be here, too, with the people.
One thing we know: New Yorkers are a plucky group. We showed the world after 9/11 that we were not going to let terror deter us. Downtown is booming, the Stock Exchange is continuing in their great tradition as the center of New York financial leadership, and world financial leadership, and I am confident that New Yorkers will rise to the occasion.
As to these specific threats, the bottom line is you can't be too careful in the post-9/11 world and the NYSE, the NYPD and the federal government are taking every precaution.
But remember this: You still have a greater chance, God forbid, of being hurt when you drive your car 20 miles than from terrorism.
So, we certainly ought to be going about our lives. And that's what we're doing here and that's what we're showing this morning.
I would just like to compliment John Thain in the broader sense because he has taken this institution, which is so essential to New York, and so essential to America and the world, in terms of finance, and moved it forward right into the 21st century very quickly.
He is a great leader, and we're glad to have him. And with the same care and skill that the Stock Exchange is moving forward as a financial institution, it is making itself one of the most secure places in New York City. And so I'd like to thank John and turn it over to him.
JOHN THAIN, CEO, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: Wow, thank you. Thank you, Chuck. We are open for business. We intend to keep the Exchange functioning both for the benefit of the U.S. markets and for the benefit of the world markets.
Security has always been an issue for the New York Stock Exchange. We take our security precautions very seriously and the security of our people and everyone inside the building are very important to us.
We have, with the help of the New York Stock Exchange, beefed up our security here, but fundamentally we believe this is a very, very safe place to work, and we intend to keep the place open, and we very much appreciate the support of Senator Schumer, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and all of those in the New York City Police Department who help keep us safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anything...
(END LIVE NEWS EVENT)
COLLINS: We have just heard as we said from CEO of the New York Stock Exchange John Thain just finishing up there in part to -- Senator Charles Schumer outside that building, one of the -- potential targets, I should say, named this morning in New York City.
Also, Newark, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., named in these possible attacks. So, standing by for us now is Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey. Mr. Governor thanks for being with us this morning.
GOV. JIM McGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: We have heard Prudential Plaza obviously is one of these buildings that has been mentioned in this terrorist possible plot. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says everyone should go about their business. Be aware, but go about their business.
How can you assure the 1,600 employees there that they will be safe when they come to work this morning? MCGREEVEY: Well, as my discussions with Secretary Tom Ridge -- I think we were concerned with the specificity of the plans on behalf of al Qaeda. What we're doing is a number of things.
I mean, one -- obviously, we bolstered the number of state police, local police departments -- we're providing for strong employee identification. We've also instituted road barriers, very much as you would upon an entrance in terms of a military installation, to provide an enhanced opportunity for police to conduct surveillance.
We have our canine; we have our bomb units out. Also our state police are on ferries, are on trains and we also automatically implement every time we go to level orange certain safety protocols that have been adopted by the financial services industry.
So we've been preparing for this, Heidi, if you will, for two- and-a-half years. These plans are in place and now we're implementing the plans and they are frankly being implemented on an almost seamless basis.
The only thing we ask the public, obviously, show up to work, continue life as normal, but if you do see suspicious activity, understand your responsibility as a citizen and report that suspicious activity to the state police.
COLLINS: Do you think its possible, Mr. Governor, that by making these threats public as has been done -- at least starting yesterday -- with Secretary Ridge -- that its possible the terrorists will not be caught? Is that something that people are thinking about?
MCGREEVEY: I think that's one of the concerns and, Heidi, in this particular instance, the degree of clarity or the focus for example on the Prudential Financial Services Building I think made it a sound judgment to issue this warning to the public.
It provides for the immediacy of police working in close cooperation, but obviously the public has to understand what is at risk in terms of the inconvenience of employee identification and roadblocks, vehicle identifications and also the threat of a vehicle bomb.
In New Jersey, we're stopping emergency vehicles, limousines, HAZMAT vehicles, and I think that's all-important and we ask the public to work with us cooperatively. But by highlighting the specific information that we've received, we're asking the public, if you will, to serve as an active partner in our efforts to make our community safe.
And we're also working with the entirety of the financial services industry in the northern section of the state, whether it's Hudson County, Goldman-Sacks or any number of the banking and financial services community to also heighten awareness within those institutions.
COLLINS: Governor McGreevey, I'm not sure if you've heard some of the things that we've been getting this morning.
One senior intelligence official -- worked in the business for 24 years -- says he's never seen this much detail; this much specific information as far as a threat is concerned. If a terrorist is so prepared, can the state of New Jersey or anywhere else for that matter ever really counter a terrorist attack?
MCGREEVEY: Well, I think the information was incredibly detailed and the fact that the information had been upgraded in terms of the Intel reports on behalf of al Qaeda operations -- this was clearly a pre-operational planning document, a planning concern. And so, what we're trying to do in New Jersey is not only distribute critical information, but do everything necessary.
What we've done, Heidi, in our state is divide our economy within certain specific sectors and adopt best practices so that when we trigger a heightened alert, all of those industries, all of those companies within that sector adopt the best practices and move toward protocols that will increase the safety and security of our families.
What we ask people -- we're Americans. We can't live in fear -- to go on with your normal life, to work closely with the police departments. I think we're exceptionally well prepared.
I would argue the fact that we've distributed this information, we've already automatically instituted certain protocols demonstrates that we're at a heightened -- not only heightened level of security but we're at a heightened level of preparedness and we're moving on, continuing our daily lives.
COLLINS: All right -- Governor Jim McGreevey...
MCGREEVEY: Thanks for your time, Heidi.
COLLINS: ... of New Jersey, thanks to you as well. Nice to see you this morning.
And now back to the White House and CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us there from -- with the very latest from there. Suzanne, hello.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Heidi.
Two of those buildings that were cited, the increased terrorist alert, the IMF building and the World Bank are just a couple of blocks here away from the White House.
Now this administration, as well as the president, realizes there is a political risk here perhaps even political backlash from raising that terror alert level. But White House officials saying it is very much worth it.
At the same time there are Bush critics and skeptics who have come out questioning the timing of this announcement this following what was expected to be a Kerry bounce after the Democratic convention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The financial buildings targeted for a possible attack in Washington, the IMF and World Bank are just a few blocks away from the White House.
There the president was briefed by his Homeland Security team that there was very new information coming in about potential terrorist threats. The intelligence came over a 72-hour period, a White House spokeswoman said -- Mr. Bush first learning of the new threats while he was campaigning on the road over the weekend.
From telephone briefings with his Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Top homeland security officials met at the White House twice over the weekend before the president signed off on Ridge's recommendation Sunday morning to raise the terror alert in the financial sector.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Now this is the first time we have chosen to use the Homeland Security advisory system in such a targeted way.
MALVEAUX: Even before Ridge emerged, news of the move was immediately met with skepticism by some Bush critics.
DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. VERMONT GOVERNOR: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush he plays this trump card, which is terrorism.
His whole campaign is based on the notion that I can keep you safe; therefore in times of difficulty for America, stick with me and then out comes Tom Ridge.
It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics and I suspect there's some of both in it.
MALVEAUX: But not everyone believes the announcement was politically motivated.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I don't think anybody who has any fear or who is in their right mind would think that the president or the secretary of homeland security would raise an alert level and scare people for political reasons.
MARK RACICOT, BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN CHMN.: No one would engage in that sort of thing and to suggest that I think corrodes the confidence of the people of this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now Heidi, within hours President Bush is going to be meeting with his cabinet at the White House, then is expected that he is going to make an announcement signing off on some of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. It is not expected that he is going to endorse the main one, the central one, of a national director of intelligence within the White House.
There is some concern that that person would not have the kind of autonomy and independence that makes that position credible, but we do expect the president is going to announce some executive orders that he will sign off on including information sharing as well as an increase in the kind of investment in human intelligence -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, we'll get back to you should that happen soon. Thanks so much, live from the White House.
Forty-two minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of the day's other news with Kelly Wallace. Hi, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again Heidi. Good morning, everyone.
We begin once again in Iraq where a Turkish hostage has apparently been killed. A tape of the execution has been posted on the Internet but reports have not been confirmed by Turkish officials.
Meanwhile, some hopeful news for a Somali truck driver. The Arabic language network Al-Jazeera says the militant group has decided to free the hostage after his Kuwaiti employer agreed to stop working in Iraq.
A new development in the investigation into who leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative to the news media. A State Department official now confirms that Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before a federal grand jury on July 16, but officials say he is not a subject of the inquiry. The CIA operative was named in a newspaper column by Robert Novak in July 2003.
A case of road rage in Tacoma, Washington. Police say one driver cut another off on Washington's Interstate 5. That led to a screaming match. The vehicles pulled over -- then things got really violent when one driver was stabbed, the other driver was shot in the stomach. Police have charged the gunman with first-degree assault.
And Tropical Storm Alex is slowly making its way toward land. The first named storm of the 2004 hurricane season is moving north. Yesterday folks along Myrtle Beach, South Carolina were preparing for the storm.
The tropical storm warning is posted from the South Santee River in South Carolina to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Winds have been clocked at up to 40 miles an hour -- hard to believe, Heidi, it's already hurricane season.
COLLINS: Yes, last time they had one; the island of Ocracoke was almost completely demolished, so -- unbelievable.
WALLACE: Bracing -- for the worst.
COLLINS: They know what they're doing there, that's for sure. Thanks Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COLLINS: Still to come now this morning, considering the latest terror threat, is there going to be a run on ATMs? Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Now more on how the new terror threat could affect the markets and just how well are U.S. banks actually prepared for threats like these. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business" this morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you. Obviously big news on Wall Street, a lot of people very jittery this morning coming to work. It'll be interesting to see how things go after the opening bell.
Let's take a quick look backwards at July, though, because we did just finish up that month. Not a good one for investors. You can see here particularly the Nasdaq even with stocks recovering the last week of the month.
This morning though of course the big news is the terror threat. Stocks in Europe down not so bad. Averages there are down less than one percent. Dow futures, though, Heidi down about 50 points, not so bad, considering.
Obviously officials are trying to keep all things as normal as possible.
COLLINS: Well, then, getting to the nation's banks. How prepared are they now for terror threats like this? I mean, are they looking back to what they learned from 9/11?
SERWER: Absolutely. They are a lot more prepared than they used to be. First of all, going backwards a little bit again. ATMs and bank wire systems are some of the most backed up computer systems on the planet and have been for a long time but in particular after 9/11 more and more redundancies built into the system.
John Thain, the chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, down in front of that facility earlier this morning, talking about trying to keep the system safe and reassuring investors.
Interesting also last summer, Heidi, the blackout that hit much of the northeast, a lot of the ATMs were down for a 24-hour period or so, but that was an electrical problem. If there is a situation where say a facility is blown up, God forbid, it's unlikely that that would effect the entire ATM system because there are so many redundancies and its so spread out over such a wide area.
Monday is always a big day for ATMs anyway, because people need cash after the weekend -- Fridays and Mondays are the big day -- so there's probably plenty of cash in the system right now. I wouldn't expect a big run or any problems this morning. COLLINS: All right. Let's keep it that way?
SERWER: Let's hope so.
COLLINS: Andy Serwer, thanks so much for that.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Still to come now how much do you know about your kid's driver's Ed teacher? There's one big question you might want to start asking. "The Cafferty File" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back. Jack's here now.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed I am.
COLLINS: Hello Jack.
CAFFERTY: Time for "The Cafferty File." Wolf-Dieter is his name and he lives in Berlin. He has spent 40 years as a driving instructor, and in that time he has taught 1,000 students and helped them get their driver's licenses.
Then the other day he got into a minor accident and police made a startling discovery. This guy has no driver's license himself. He flunked his driver's test 40 years ago, said he was too afraid to re- take the test. The fender bender was the only accident he's had in all those 40 years.
Ain't that interesting?
Your tax dollars at work: A charity that runs the Statue of Liberty being probed by Congress because of some questionable expenses. Now the statue has been closed to the public since September 11 for three years. It's scheduled to re-open tomorrow.
The items under scrutiny include high salaries for executives. The foundation has been paying the president $300,000 a year, even though the statue has been closed for the last three years. And they spend $45,000 a year for a dog who is responsibility is to chase away geese on the island that holds the statue of liberty.
COLLINS: That's a good job.
CAFFERTY: Turning now to our scorecard. Number of days since the 9/11 Commission made recommendations protecting the country against terrorism: 11. Number of recommendations adopted by Congress: zero. But maybe the politicians are finally getting your message.
The Senate held the first of a series of hearings on Friday. The House is scheduled to do the same. This is the time of year when Congress is usually on vacation and spotting politicians in Washington in August is like finding a spotted owl in your bathroom. Also, President Bush is expected to announce initiatives acting on the Commission's recommendations later today. White House officials refusing to specify which recommendations, but the immediate focus has been on reprogramming funding within the agencies and creating a new intelligence director to oversee the nation's intelligence gathering. We will continue to keep track of what they're doing down there in the nation's capitol.
COLLINS: Yes, I think it's going to be his own package so a little bit more about that I think later on today.
All right thanks so much Jack.
Still to come this morning: More on the heightened terror alert in three U.S. cities, including a conversation with one of the men running for president. Bill is standing by in Grand Rapids to tell us a little bit more about that.
HEMMER: Yes, Heidi thanks. And back to this whole issue about the terror alerts. Jack, you stay on them by the way about these hearings there in D.C.
I want to know a bit later what is your sense about the mood in the environment there in New York City after this announcement came out yesterday. We will talk to Senator Kerry about that. He wants to be the next president. We'll talk to him about the terror alerts and also the new polling numbers coming out after Boston.
Our coverage continues; we're with the Election Express here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Back in a moment live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 2, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Just about half past the hour now -- the eight o'clock hour, that is -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Up next, we'll get a report from the White House on these latest unusually specific terrorism warnings. We'll also talk to New Jersey Governor James McGreevey about one of the sites named, and that would be the Prudential Building there in Newark.
Also, Sanjay Gupta will be with us a little bit later, telling us about a new device that could some day allow people to treat depression with tiny bursts of electricity. Interesting.
But right now we're going to go to Bill Hemmer standing by in Grand Rapids once again. Bill, hello.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning again. We are in Gerald Ford country here in the western part of Michigan. And it's quite obvious once you come into this area.
The airport has his name, the highway has his name, the federal building, the library -- all named after President Ford. Usually western Michigan goes Republican. However, the state of Michigan back in 2000 favored Al Gore by five points.
Obviously, Republicans trying to change that this time around. President Bush in the month of July -- four visits to this state. He's back again on Thursday in Saginaw, north of our location here in Grand Rapids.
Also here today, John Kerry coming into territory where the president was on Friday. Two events scheduled, in fact. We'll be here for one about 10 a.m. Eastern time and before that event gets underway Senator Kerry will be my guest live on AMERICAN MORNING.
We will have it all for you moving forward. Heidi, back to you now in New York.
COLLINS: All right, Bill, thanks for that.
As you know, security has been increased in three cities. One of the areas is the New York Stock Exchange that has been mentioned.
We're going to take you straight there now where we see Charles Schumer standing by. He's going to the microphone. Let's listen in for just a moment to see what he has to say this morning. (LIVE NEWS EVENT)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: That's nice. People are going to be fine. Yes. All right. Nice to see you. Hey, how are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us...
SCHUMER: We'll be ready in a minute, sir, OK?
(END LIVE NEWS EVENT)
COLLINS: You heard him say -- Senator Charles Schumer getting ready for a press conference here that we've been waiting for this morning outside the New York Stock Exchange.
Expected to join him as well is the New York Stock Exchange CEO, John Thain. We will bring it to you just as soon as possible, as soon as they are ready.
Meanwhile, security has been increased in three cities because of the potential for terror attacks against financial targets.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is standing by. We will get to her in just a moment. For now, though, back to the New York Stock Exchange and Senator Schumer.
(LIVE NEWS EVENT)
SCHUMER: We're here to show solidarity with the people of the New York Stock Exchange -- in a broader sense the people of New York -- and the people of the world, who are not going to be cowered by terrorism in any way.
The bottom line is very simple, and that is that the terrorists want to scare us. If every time they made a threat we stopped doing what we're doing, they win. And so we feel it's almost a moral imperative for everybody to go about their jobs.
There may be a few butterflies in some stomachs, but you still go forward. You still move forward and do what you have to do. And I feel as an elected official and somebody exhorting people to come to work that I ought to be here, too, with the people.
One thing we know: New Yorkers are a plucky group. We showed the world after 9/11 that we were not going to let terror deter us. Downtown is booming, the Stock Exchange is continuing in their great tradition as the center of New York financial leadership, and world financial leadership, and I am confident that New Yorkers will rise to the occasion.
As to these specific threats, the bottom line is you can't be too careful in the post-9/11 world and the NYSE, the NYPD and the federal government are taking every precaution.
But remember this: You still have a greater chance, God forbid, of being hurt when you drive your car 20 miles than from terrorism.
So, we certainly ought to be going about our lives. And that's what we're doing here and that's what we're showing this morning.
I would just like to compliment John Thain in the broader sense because he has taken this institution, which is so essential to New York, and so essential to America and the world, in terms of finance, and moved it forward right into the 21st century very quickly.
He is a great leader, and we're glad to have him. And with the same care and skill that the Stock Exchange is moving forward as a financial institution, it is making itself one of the most secure places in New York City. And so I'd like to thank John and turn it over to him.
JOHN THAIN, CEO, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: Wow, thank you. Thank you, Chuck. We are open for business. We intend to keep the Exchange functioning both for the benefit of the U.S. markets and for the benefit of the world markets.
Security has always been an issue for the New York Stock Exchange. We take our security precautions very seriously and the security of our people and everyone inside the building are very important to us.
We have, with the help of the New York Stock Exchange, beefed up our security here, but fundamentally we believe this is a very, very safe place to work, and we intend to keep the place open, and we very much appreciate the support of Senator Schumer, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and all of those in the New York City Police Department who help keep us safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anything...
(END LIVE NEWS EVENT)
COLLINS: We have just heard as we said from CEO of the New York Stock Exchange John Thain just finishing up there in part to -- Senator Charles Schumer outside that building, one of the -- potential targets, I should say, named this morning in New York City.
Also, Newark, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., named in these possible attacks. So, standing by for us now is Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey. Mr. Governor thanks for being with us this morning.
GOV. JIM McGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: We have heard Prudential Plaza obviously is one of these buildings that has been mentioned in this terrorist possible plot. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says everyone should go about their business. Be aware, but go about their business.
How can you assure the 1,600 employees there that they will be safe when they come to work this morning? MCGREEVEY: Well, as my discussions with Secretary Tom Ridge -- I think we were concerned with the specificity of the plans on behalf of al Qaeda. What we're doing is a number of things.
I mean, one -- obviously, we bolstered the number of state police, local police departments -- we're providing for strong employee identification. We've also instituted road barriers, very much as you would upon an entrance in terms of a military installation, to provide an enhanced opportunity for police to conduct surveillance.
We have our canine; we have our bomb units out. Also our state police are on ferries, are on trains and we also automatically implement every time we go to level orange certain safety protocols that have been adopted by the financial services industry.
So we've been preparing for this, Heidi, if you will, for two- and-a-half years. These plans are in place and now we're implementing the plans and they are frankly being implemented on an almost seamless basis.
The only thing we ask the public, obviously, show up to work, continue life as normal, but if you do see suspicious activity, understand your responsibility as a citizen and report that suspicious activity to the state police.
COLLINS: Do you think its possible, Mr. Governor, that by making these threats public as has been done -- at least starting yesterday -- with Secretary Ridge -- that its possible the terrorists will not be caught? Is that something that people are thinking about?
MCGREEVEY: I think that's one of the concerns and, Heidi, in this particular instance, the degree of clarity or the focus for example on the Prudential Financial Services Building I think made it a sound judgment to issue this warning to the public.
It provides for the immediacy of police working in close cooperation, but obviously the public has to understand what is at risk in terms of the inconvenience of employee identification and roadblocks, vehicle identifications and also the threat of a vehicle bomb.
In New Jersey, we're stopping emergency vehicles, limousines, HAZMAT vehicles, and I think that's all-important and we ask the public to work with us cooperatively. But by highlighting the specific information that we've received, we're asking the public, if you will, to serve as an active partner in our efforts to make our community safe.
And we're also working with the entirety of the financial services industry in the northern section of the state, whether it's Hudson County, Goldman-Sacks or any number of the banking and financial services community to also heighten awareness within those institutions.
COLLINS: Governor McGreevey, I'm not sure if you've heard some of the things that we've been getting this morning.
One senior intelligence official -- worked in the business for 24 years -- says he's never seen this much detail; this much specific information as far as a threat is concerned. If a terrorist is so prepared, can the state of New Jersey or anywhere else for that matter ever really counter a terrorist attack?
MCGREEVEY: Well, I think the information was incredibly detailed and the fact that the information had been upgraded in terms of the Intel reports on behalf of al Qaeda operations -- this was clearly a pre-operational planning document, a planning concern. And so, what we're trying to do in New Jersey is not only distribute critical information, but do everything necessary.
What we've done, Heidi, in our state is divide our economy within certain specific sectors and adopt best practices so that when we trigger a heightened alert, all of those industries, all of those companies within that sector adopt the best practices and move toward protocols that will increase the safety and security of our families.
What we ask people -- we're Americans. We can't live in fear -- to go on with your normal life, to work closely with the police departments. I think we're exceptionally well prepared.
I would argue the fact that we've distributed this information, we've already automatically instituted certain protocols demonstrates that we're at a heightened -- not only heightened level of security but we're at a heightened level of preparedness and we're moving on, continuing our daily lives.
COLLINS: All right -- Governor Jim McGreevey...
MCGREEVEY: Thanks for your time, Heidi.
COLLINS: ... of New Jersey, thanks to you as well. Nice to see you this morning.
And now back to the White House and CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us there from -- with the very latest from there. Suzanne, hello.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Heidi.
Two of those buildings that were cited, the increased terrorist alert, the IMF building and the World Bank are just a couple of blocks here away from the White House.
Now this administration, as well as the president, realizes there is a political risk here perhaps even political backlash from raising that terror alert level. But White House officials saying it is very much worth it.
At the same time there are Bush critics and skeptics who have come out questioning the timing of this announcement this following what was expected to be a Kerry bounce after the Democratic convention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The financial buildings targeted for a possible attack in Washington, the IMF and World Bank are just a few blocks away from the White House.
There the president was briefed by his Homeland Security team that there was very new information coming in about potential terrorist threats. The intelligence came over a 72-hour period, a White House spokeswoman said -- Mr. Bush first learning of the new threats while he was campaigning on the road over the weekend.
From telephone briefings with his Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Top homeland security officials met at the White House twice over the weekend before the president signed off on Ridge's recommendation Sunday morning to raise the terror alert in the financial sector.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Now this is the first time we have chosen to use the Homeland Security advisory system in such a targeted way.
MALVEAUX: Even before Ridge emerged, news of the move was immediately met with skepticism by some Bush critics.
DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. VERMONT GOVERNOR: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush he plays this trump card, which is terrorism.
His whole campaign is based on the notion that I can keep you safe; therefore in times of difficulty for America, stick with me and then out comes Tom Ridge.
It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics and I suspect there's some of both in it.
MALVEAUX: But not everyone believes the announcement was politically motivated.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I don't think anybody who has any fear or who is in their right mind would think that the president or the secretary of homeland security would raise an alert level and scare people for political reasons.
MARK RACICOT, BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN CHMN.: No one would engage in that sort of thing and to suggest that I think corrodes the confidence of the people of this country.
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MALVEAUX: Now Heidi, within hours President Bush is going to be meeting with his cabinet at the White House, then is expected that he is going to make an announcement signing off on some of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. It is not expected that he is going to endorse the main one, the central one, of a national director of intelligence within the White House.
There is some concern that that person would not have the kind of autonomy and independence that makes that position credible, but we do expect the president is going to announce some executive orders that he will sign off on including information sharing as well as an increase in the kind of investment in human intelligence -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, we'll get back to you should that happen soon. Thanks so much, live from the White House.
Forty-two minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of the day's other news with Kelly Wallace. Hi, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again Heidi. Good morning, everyone.
We begin once again in Iraq where a Turkish hostage has apparently been killed. A tape of the execution has been posted on the Internet but reports have not been confirmed by Turkish officials.
Meanwhile, some hopeful news for a Somali truck driver. The Arabic language network Al-Jazeera says the militant group has decided to free the hostage after his Kuwaiti employer agreed to stop working in Iraq.
A new development in the investigation into who leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative to the news media. A State Department official now confirms that Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before a federal grand jury on July 16, but officials say he is not a subject of the inquiry. The CIA operative was named in a newspaper column by Robert Novak in July 2003.
A case of road rage in Tacoma, Washington. Police say one driver cut another off on Washington's Interstate 5. That led to a screaming match. The vehicles pulled over -- then things got really violent when one driver was stabbed, the other driver was shot in the stomach. Police have charged the gunman with first-degree assault.
And Tropical Storm Alex is slowly making its way toward land. The first named storm of the 2004 hurricane season is moving north. Yesterday folks along Myrtle Beach, South Carolina were preparing for the storm.
The tropical storm warning is posted from the South Santee River in South Carolina to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Winds have been clocked at up to 40 miles an hour -- hard to believe, Heidi, it's already hurricane season.
COLLINS: Yes, last time they had one; the island of Ocracoke was almost completely demolished, so -- unbelievable.
WALLACE: Bracing -- for the worst.
COLLINS: They know what they're doing there, that's for sure. Thanks Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COLLINS: Still to come now this morning, considering the latest terror threat, is there going to be a run on ATMs? Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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COLLINS: Now more on how the new terror threat could affect the markets and just how well are U.S. banks actually prepared for threats like these. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business" this morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you. Obviously big news on Wall Street, a lot of people very jittery this morning coming to work. It'll be interesting to see how things go after the opening bell.
Let's take a quick look backwards at July, though, because we did just finish up that month. Not a good one for investors. You can see here particularly the Nasdaq even with stocks recovering the last week of the month.
This morning though of course the big news is the terror threat. Stocks in Europe down not so bad. Averages there are down less than one percent. Dow futures, though, Heidi down about 50 points, not so bad, considering.
Obviously officials are trying to keep all things as normal as possible.
COLLINS: Well, then, getting to the nation's banks. How prepared are they now for terror threats like this? I mean, are they looking back to what they learned from 9/11?
SERWER: Absolutely. They are a lot more prepared than they used to be. First of all, going backwards a little bit again. ATMs and bank wire systems are some of the most backed up computer systems on the planet and have been for a long time but in particular after 9/11 more and more redundancies built into the system.
John Thain, the chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, down in front of that facility earlier this morning, talking about trying to keep the system safe and reassuring investors.
Interesting also last summer, Heidi, the blackout that hit much of the northeast, a lot of the ATMs were down for a 24-hour period or so, but that was an electrical problem. If there is a situation where say a facility is blown up, God forbid, it's unlikely that that would effect the entire ATM system because there are so many redundancies and its so spread out over such a wide area.
Monday is always a big day for ATMs anyway, because people need cash after the weekend -- Fridays and Mondays are the big day -- so there's probably plenty of cash in the system right now. I wouldn't expect a big run or any problems this morning. COLLINS: All right. Let's keep it that way?
SERWER: Let's hope so.
COLLINS: Andy Serwer, thanks so much for that.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Still to come now how much do you know about your kid's driver's Ed teacher? There's one big question you might want to start asking. "The Cafferty File" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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COLLINS: Welcome back. Jack's here now.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed I am.
COLLINS: Hello Jack.
CAFFERTY: Time for "The Cafferty File." Wolf-Dieter is his name and he lives in Berlin. He has spent 40 years as a driving instructor, and in that time he has taught 1,000 students and helped them get their driver's licenses.
Then the other day he got into a minor accident and police made a startling discovery. This guy has no driver's license himself. He flunked his driver's test 40 years ago, said he was too afraid to re- take the test. The fender bender was the only accident he's had in all those 40 years.
Ain't that interesting?
Your tax dollars at work: A charity that runs the Statue of Liberty being probed by Congress because of some questionable expenses. Now the statue has been closed to the public since September 11 for three years. It's scheduled to re-open tomorrow.
The items under scrutiny include high salaries for executives. The foundation has been paying the president $300,000 a year, even though the statue has been closed for the last three years. And they spend $45,000 a year for a dog who is responsibility is to chase away geese on the island that holds the statue of liberty.
COLLINS: That's a good job.
CAFFERTY: Turning now to our scorecard. Number of days since the 9/11 Commission made recommendations protecting the country against terrorism: 11. Number of recommendations adopted by Congress: zero. But maybe the politicians are finally getting your message.
The Senate held the first of a series of hearings on Friday. The House is scheduled to do the same. This is the time of year when Congress is usually on vacation and spotting politicians in Washington in August is like finding a spotted owl in your bathroom. Also, President Bush is expected to announce initiatives acting on the Commission's recommendations later today. White House officials refusing to specify which recommendations, but the immediate focus has been on reprogramming funding within the agencies and creating a new intelligence director to oversee the nation's intelligence gathering. We will continue to keep track of what they're doing down there in the nation's capitol.
COLLINS: Yes, I think it's going to be his own package so a little bit more about that I think later on today.
All right thanks so much Jack.
Still to come this morning: More on the heightened terror alert in three U.S. cities, including a conversation with one of the men running for president. Bill is standing by in Grand Rapids to tell us a little bit more about that.
HEMMER: Yes, Heidi thanks. And back to this whole issue about the terror alerts. Jack, you stay on them by the way about these hearings there in D.C.
I want to know a bit later what is your sense about the mood in the environment there in New York City after this announcement came out yesterday. We will talk to Senator Kerry about that. He wants to be the next president. We'll talk to him about the terror alerts and also the new polling numbers coming out after Boston.
Our coverage continues; we're with the Election Express here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Back in a moment live.
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