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CNN Sunday Morning
Authorities Announce Foiled Terror Plot; Woman Plows Car Into Crowd in Washington, D.C.
Aired June 03, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Hello there, everybody. From the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, this is Sunday, June the 3rd. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Yes. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
We want to thank you for starting your day with us. It is 9 a.m. here in the East where federal authorities say they have smashed a chilling terror plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The devastation that would be caused, had this plot succeeded, is just unthinkable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: A plot to blow up fuel tanks and pipelines at New York's JFK Airport.
Who are the suspects? And the plan - would it have worked?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, a car just came flying by. It looked like a bolt of lightning.
HOLMES: A horrible accident in Washington, D.C. A woman plows her car through a crowd at a packed street festival. We're going to hear from the witnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And all eyes on New Hampshire today. It is D-Day for Democrats. And that is debate time, live in prime time, right here on CNN. We are on the trail with the candidates.
HOLMES: But first, the chilling plan that could have cost unthinkable destruction. Federal officials say they've broken up a terror plot targeting New York's JFK Airport.
Here's what we know right now. Four men are in custody this morning, one of them here in the U.S. He appeared in court yesterday afternoon. Two other suspects were arrested in Trinidad. The fourth is still being sought.
So, we've got three in custody, actually - the correction we need to make - a fourth man being sought. Authorities say the plot did not target any flights.
More details now on exactly what authorities say the terror suspects were planning to do, the alleged plot involved, blowing up fuel supply tanks and pipelines.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins us live from New York with more for us. Good morning to you, Debra.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK: Good morning there, T.J.
And we do want to make this clear. This was a plot not against airplanes, but the fuel supply tanks, the pipelines and also the buildings.
And the alleged goal was to attack a highly symbolic target like JFK Airport, with the intent of hurting the U.S. economy. One of the suspects allegedly saying, "If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MERSHON, FBI: I don't think we're prepared to describe the efficacy of the attacks, other than the scope of their plans, was for something spectacular. I believe there were even references that it would outstrip the 9/11 event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, there are four suspects. One of the them is a former cargo worker at JFK Airport. He is 63-year-old Russell Defreitas. He was arrested in Brooklyn Friday, and he was charged with conspiring to bomb the airport.
Another suspect, Abdul Kadir, is a former member of parliament in Guyana. He was arrested in Trinidad along with another man. The fourth suspect, he is believed to be in Guyana. He is still at large.
Now, authorities say they don't believe that the group had any connection to al Qaeda. They stressed that this was a plot that was in its planning stages, and not operational.
Authorities said that they were tipped off by an informant, who had actually been approached by one of these men to take part in the alleged attack.
Now, New York City's police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, says the big concern was not only an attack on the fuel tanks, but also the 40- mile fuel pipeline that stretches through New Jersey to the airport.
The men in custody have not entered any plea yet - T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Deborah Feyerick for us this morning. Thank you so much. Al Qaeda wannabes is how one official describes the suspects in the alleged terror plot against JFK Airport. According to the criminal complaint, they were in contact with a network of Muslim extremists.
We get more on the suspects from CNN's Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON (voice-over): The apparent mastermind of the alleged plot, Russell Defreitas, is 63. He came to the U.S. from Guyana in the late '60s and became a naturalized U.S. citizen about a year later, according to a law enforcement official.
Defreitas, now retired, worked for two companies handling cargo at JFK Airport.
The complaint released has Defreitas boasting that he learned bomb-making in Guyana. He said, when he worked at the airport, "these things used to come into my brain - well, I could blow this place up. And I would sit and see a plane taxing up the runway. And I would say, if I could get a rocket, then I could do a hit. By myself I am thinking these things. But I had no connections with no Arabs or nobody."
At some point, Defreitas came in contact with suspect Abdul Kadir. Kadir was one-time mayor of the city of Linden, Guyana, the second-largest city in the South American nation.
He was also a member of the Guyana parliament for five years until he left that position in 2006. His wife, speaking by phone to CNN, insists Kadir has no links to terrorism, and can only imagine he's being framed.
ISHA KADIR, WIFE OF ABDUL KADIR (by telephone): I was shocked, because, I, you know, my husband, we are Muslims for 33 years. And no way at no time we were ever involved in anything of plots of bombings, or any plots against America. We are not - we are not a part of that. We have family - both of us - family in America.
KOCH (on camera): Isha Kadir said Defreitas came to visit her husband in Guyana for a week earlier this year. She confirmed her husband also knows the other two suspects - Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad, who is currently in custody in that country with Kadir, and Abdul Nur of Guyana, who is still at large.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO)
NGUYEN: The JFK Airport plot had been in the works for almost a year-and-a-half, according to authorities.
So, more on this plot now and the investigation from CNN security analyst, Pat D'Amuro. He is a former assistant director for the FBI in New York, and he joins us by phone this morning.
We thank you for your time. Good morning.
PAT D'AMURO, CNN SECURITY ANALYST (by telephone): Good morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: The first thing I want to ask you is, one of the men quoted in the indictment says that this would have caused more destruction than the September 11th attacks.
Now, you're a security analyst. Looking at what they had planned - allegedly had planned - do you agree with that? Or is that an overstatement?
D'AMURO: Well, Betty, you know, fuel lines have been threatened in the past. And what can be caused by that is, if the fuel lines are full, they're actually at times less dangerous than when they're filled with fumes.
So, we don't know exactly when this would have been hit, if it would have been filled with fuel. It all depends how they would have conducted out this attack.
I could have been very devastating, yes.
NGUYEN: Well, one of the men accused was a cargo employee at JFK Airport - a former cargo employee.
What does this plot say about the security gaps when it comes to airport workers, as well as air cargo and all of the things that, I guess, could lead to a possible loop in the system, so that terrorism can strike?
D'AMURO: Absolutely, Betty.
A lot of companies don't realize the cost that it takes to investigate people before you hire them. And when you put individuals and vendors - I mean, JFK is serviced by thousands of vendors every day - these individuals have to undergo a background check to make sure they don't have connections to terrorist organizations.
It takes time and it takes money.
NGUYEN: Should additional screenings be put in place?
D'AMURO: Absolutely. We need to continue. As we can see, as time is evolving here, terrorist threats are changing, they're evolving, to try to avoid detection.
Security is something that you don't set in place one day. It's a growing entity. It needs to grow with the company, with the area you're trying to secure. And it has to ever change to make sure it's addressing those threats.
NGUYEN: Pat, these arrests came after a year-long investigation. What do you know about the men accused? Have they been on watch lists before?
D'AMURO: I'm not hearing that they have been. This is another good situation where a FBI informant provided some information about individuals that were plotting to conduct a terrorist attack.
The FBI has made significant efforts to go out there and recruit individuals that, when they come into this type of information, they report it back to the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
NGUYEN: We understand that the men never got to the stage where they were purchasing explosives. So, what does this say on the whole about the investigation, about those involved in thwarting this attack? Was there good cooperation here, international cooperation at that?
D'AMURO: Well, it appears that there must have been some international cooperation, because these individuals were arrested overseas.
You don't always - you don't have to have the explosive material to be charged. I'm not quite sure why the FBI decided to bring this investigation down now.
There must have been some reason for them wanting to do that - a situation where maybe somebody was going or traveling to a location that they weren't going to be able to get hold of them, the possibility that they were soon to obtain some explosive material.
You don't want to let an investigation run where you're going to lose contact with the individuals that are plotting the terrorist attack.
NGUYEN: Pat D'Amuro, CNN security analyst, joining us by phone this morning. We thank you for your insight.
D'AMURO: Take care.
NGUYEN: Well, a plausible plot or mission impossible? Could the alleged terror plot against JFK Airport actually happen?
Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has some answers from terrorism experts. That is coming up at the half-hour.
HOLMES: A D.C. street festival was anything but festive after a car plowed into a crowd of people. Police say 35 people were injured, seven of them seriously.
A Maryland woman who was driving the car has been charged with aggravated assault while armed. Police say blood tests are being done now, and more charges could come.
Later this hour, we'll hear from some of the witnesses to this accident.
NGUYEN: T.J., a lot at stake for those presidential candidates over the next two days. Yes, like a job for the White House, maybe? Up next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, we are headed live to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That is where the Democrats wrapped up preparation for tonight's major presidential debate.
HOLMES: Also, look here. A rare sighting of Fidel Castro. We'll tell you about this.
Plus, we've got something else for you.
Well, you remember this one, Betty?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Do you really? Seriously?
NGUYEN: I definitely have heard it.
HOLMES: You've heard it, don't remember it - because it turns 40 this weekend, the Beatles classic. That's coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Presidential hopefuls, both Democrats and Republicans, are telling voters where they stand on critical issues during two separate debates on CNN.
And tonight, the Democrats go head-to-head at 7 Eastern. The pre-game show starts at 5. And then Tuesday night, it is the Republicans' turn in the spotlight.
Two must-see political debates right here on CNN.
Well, before heading to New Hampshire for tonight's debate, some top Democrats made a side trip, shall we say, to Iowa, looking for support in the other early state.
CNN's Dana Bash joins us live from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this morning with a look at how they all fared.
Hi there.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA: Hi, Betty.
Well, they came for what Iowa Democrats call their Hall of Fame dinner. It's a dinner essentially to raise money to put on the first- in-the-nation caucuses in January. It certainly made for a very, very busy weekend for most Democrats who want to be the next president.
But Iowa Democrats considered this event a big one. And so, those who are trying to get the support from Democrats here made sure not just to focus on tonight's debate in New Hampshire, but to be right here last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
BASH (voice-over): The carnival-like atmosphere was a reminder that, for all the attention elsewhere, Iowa comes first.
And each Democratic presidential candidate came with a goal.
Hillary Clinton's was to smooth ruffled feathers over a leaked campaign memo suggesting she abandoned the Iowa caucuses.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, D-NEW YORK, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I plan to spend so much time in Iowa, I'll be able to caucus for myself before it's over.
BASH: Chris Dodd appealed to keep his long-shot bid alive.
SEN. CHRIS DODD, D-CONNECTICUT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Out here in Iowa you've got an awful habit over the years of sort of doing what you think is best when caucus time arrives. I hear you have a habit of trying to prove the pundits wrong.
BASH: It was a chance for Iowa's most influential Democratic activists to size up their '08 options. They heard a new challenge on the war.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, D-NEW MEXICO, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I call on the Congress before their summer vacation, their summer recess, to de-authorize this war on Article 1 grounds of the War Powers Act.
BASH: A familiar dig at Democratic candidates in Congress.
JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is a time for backbone. It is a time for courage. It is a time for bold, visionary leadership in this country.
(APPLAUSE)
And the place - and the place that that begins is on the war in Iraq.
BASH: And a rebuttal from the only Democratic senator to vote yes to a war spending bill.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN, D-DELAWARE, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But we know, until we get 17 Republicans to vote with us, there is nothing we can do to stop this war.
BASH: But there was also some self-deprecating humor from the Democrat who placed second in Iowa in 2004 and needs a win this time.
EDWARDS: And I still believe in an America where you can come from absolutely nothing to spending $400 on a haircut.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO)
BASH (on camera): Now, all of the Democratic candidates were well received. Democratic activists think that they have a pretty good crop to choose from in terms of their '08 candidates.
Now, the most applause last night, Betty, did go to Hillary Clinton. But she also paid to have the most supporters in that ballroom.
As soon as all of the Democrats who spoke were done, they spoke for about 10 minutes, they got back on a plane, went back East to prepare for tonight's debate in New Hampshire - Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, you know someone who didn't get much applause at all, and that's Obama, because he didn't even show up.
What kind of effect is that going to have?
BASH: Well, he was a no-show. And there were people who we talked to, many people who were not happy about that. Instead of saying yes to the invitation to this dinner last night, he was out in California raising some campaign cash.
They're not used to that here in Iowa, Betty. They are used to getting their invitations accepted, especially to what Democratic activists consider such a mandatory event like this fund-raiser to put on their caucuses last night.
They're used to candidates coming and kissing their ring, to be honest with you. And that didn't happen.
Now, Obama's campaign says that he is absolutely committed to Iowa, that he's been here nine times and he's going to continue to come back. But the fact that he didn't appear on the same stage as the other candidates who were invited, it's going to be interesting to see whether or not that hurts him with some of the activists who were in that room last night.
NGUYEN: Committed the "no ring-kissing" this time around.
Thank you, Dana.
HOLMES: And we do want to go from Iowa now to New Hampshire, tonight's debate giving the candidates a chance to score points with voters there. They're all looking to get a leg up on the sizable competition.
But who really needs to hit a homerun tonight?
Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is live in Manchester this morning.
You know, we talk about who needs to hit a homerun. What is a homerun when you're sharing the stage with this many other people this early on? What is a homerun tonight?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well, you know, the New Hampshire primary does not always pick a winner, but it usually separates the starters from the non- starters. (BEGIN VIDEO)
BILL SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Hillary Clinton has the most to lose in the New Hampshire debate. She's the frontrunner, nationally and in New Hampshire.
The most recent poll in New Hampshire shows Clinton with a double-digit lead over John Edwards and Barack Obama, with the other candidates in single digits.
New Hampshire is likely to be crucial for Clinton. Most polls show the New York senator facing a tough fight in Iowa. If she loses Iowa, she needs New Hampshire to do for her what it did for her husband in 1992 - make her the comeback kid.
The top issue among New Hampshire Democratic voters - Iraq. Watch for Obama and Edwards to try to score points with New Hampshire's passionate anti-war constituency, and suggest that they are stronger anti-war candidates than Clinton.
EDWARDS: I will stand strongly and proudly against this president, because he's wrong about this war.
BILL SCHNEIDER: Obama is likely to target New Hampshire Independents, who can vote in the Democratic primary. They are intensely anti-war and anti-Bush. And they respond to a candidate who is new and different.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, D-ILLINOIS, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, I think that our best strategy in the coming months between now and September is to continue to build pressure, continue to ratchet up the pressure, for the sort of plan that I introduced.
BILL SCHNEIDER: Clinton's game plan? Not to let any hint of daylight come between them and her on Iraq.
CLINTON: If the president does not get us out of Iraq before the end of his term, when I am president, I will.
(END VIDEO)
BILL SCHNEIDER (on camera): Hillary Clinton's secret weapon here in New Hampshire - women. And health care is a very big issue among women voters. It's supposed to be Hillary Clinton's issue.
But now, Obama and Edwards have come out with their own plans for universal health care coverage. Their claim? Hey, it's our issue, too - T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Is this meant for a national audience, as well? It's going to be on national TV. But are they specifically knowing that just New Hampshire is paying attention?
And why should - what is your pitch right now for why the rest of the country still needs to pay attention tonight? Because a lot of people at this stage aren't interested. BILL SCHNEIDER: Well, people - it's a year-and-a-half before the election. A lot of people are wondering, why is this starting so early?
Well, one reason is that it's a wide open race. There's no incumbent president or vice president. Anyone can win, and it looks like everybody's running.
Another is that a lot of people - especially Democrats - are eager to go beyond Bush. They consider Bush a lame duck, a lot of voters do. And they want to move on.
And starting the campaign this early shows an eagerness to move on around the country.
HOLMES: All right. Bill Schneider there for us, senior political analyst. Thank you so much, sir.
And still to come this hour, our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, takes a look at the political underdogs forgotten by many, but still hoping for a big old surprise. We'll have that at about 9:45 Eastern this morning.
And stay with CNN for complete coverage of the Democratic debate at 5 p.m. Eastern. Lou Dobbs joins Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television, for a full preview of the debate.
And then at 7 p.m., it's the candidates' turn to talk in that debate. And Wolf Blitzer is going to be moderating that event. Plus, for the first time, the candidates taking questions from the voters.
And then afterwards, Larry King, Anderson Cooper and John Roberts join Wolf to chart the winners and the losers - a full night of the best political coverage on TV.
NGUYEN: Well, you also want to stay tuned to see this, because a car plows into a crowd at a street festival last night in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I dove through the window. I threw it in park. You know what she did? She pushed on the accelerator!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A bizarre story here coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST, CNN WEATHER CENTER: The remnants of what was Tropical Storm Barry brings the threat of severe weather and flooding from New Jersey down through Georgia. I'll have your complete Sunday forecast coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: An ancient Mayan ceremony performed on a beach on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The reenactment dates back 500 years. The Mayans would set off in canoes in the middle of the night in search of honor from the moon goddess.
This weekend, Mayan descendants revive the tradition with dances and prayers, highlighted by an eight-hour canoe trip across open water. Organizers say they'll try to make this an annual event.
NGUYEN: Bonnie Schneider is looking at the weather outside. Not as pretty as we saw there in the Yucatan, unfortunately.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER: And you know, it wasn't so nice in the Yucatan just a few days ago when Tropical Storm Barry was getting going. That's actually where it originated.
Now we have this moisture - lots of rain and even severe weather breaking out - in parts of North Carolina. Let's take a closer look at this system.
Right now it looks a lot better. New Bern was reporting some tornadic activity to the north of that city, but we haven't had a confirmation of an actual tornado, just Doppler radar indicated one. No warnings at this time, but some heavy rain across South Carolina and Georgia right now - not in north Georgia, but in coastal sections of Georgia and more towards Savannah.
Now, looking ahead, flood threats have been posted. There is a flood watch, not just across New Jersey, but we have flood watches into upstate New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
As the remnants of Barry work their way to the north and east on Monday, we'll run the risk of flooding, particularly in low-lying areas that tend to flood quickly. If you live in a community like that, watch out, because heavy rain is on the way.
Another area we're watching is Dallas, Texas. We had a tornado warning earlier, north and west of that city. That has expired. But look at this - a very impressive line of thunderstorms rolling into the Dallas area, into Fort Worth, as well. And these do contain some very, very heavy thunderstorms, so we're watching this system as it pushes further to the south and to the east.
So, a lot of severe weather in pockets of the country like Texas and North Carolina. We will keep you posted - T.J., Betty.
NGUYEN: We'll be watching. Thank you, Bonnie.
HOLMES: Thank you, Bonnie.
NGUYEN: Well, just imagine the possibilities. What if the plot to attack JFK Airport had succeeded? Up next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, a look at what could have happened if pipelines and buildings were damaged.
HOLMES: Plus, a car plows into a crowd at a Washington street festival. Witness accounts coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody, welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes and you're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And coming up some air time for the presidential candidates you may not know so well, the political underdogs looking for your support.
NGUYEN: Plus, talk about a storm of a story. You've to see what happened in Florida when Tropical Storm Barry came crashing through.
But first though, we want to tell you a chilling plan that could have caused unthinkable destruction. Federal officials say they've broken up a terror plot targeting New York's JFK Airport. Here's what we know right now.
Four men are charged this morning, one of them is in custody, here in the U.S., he appeared in court yesterday afternoon. Now, two other suspects were arrested in Trinidad; the fourth, still being sought. Authorities say the plot did not target any flights and they say the suspects were planning to blow up fuel supply tanks and pipelines.
Well, the details, they are chilling and the outcome sounds catastrophic, but would it have worked? Terrorism experts disagree about the feasibility of the alleged plot against JFK Airport. Here's our Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reporter: this is a fuel tank fire at Denver's airport in 1990. It is spectacular, but confined. If the plotters hoped to cause a chain reaction of massive explosions and destroy JFK International Airport, expert opinion is split on whether this scenario would succeed.
Breaching the thick steel side of a tank would stake several pounds of plastic explosives, experts say. According to the criminal complaint the plotters talked about dynamite.
JAKE MAGISH, SIGAM ENGINEERING: Even if they're successful in making a tank fail and you get 100,000 gallons of jet fuel gushing out and you're able to ignite it, I mean, it's emotional, it's dramatic, but the tank next to the tank that's gushing and spilling fuel, isn't going to fail.
MESERVE: This schematic shows a system of underground pipes which carries fuels to gates and aircraft, like the one at JFK, but much smaller. One government aviation official says at JFK, those pipes sometimes contain vapor and an explosion at a fuel tank could trigger other explosions in the pipes spreading destruction throughout the airport, perhaps even to aircraft at the gate. John Goglia disagrees.
JOHN GOGLIA, FRM NTSB MEMBER: To have that happen would be extremely, extremely unlikely.
MESERVE: Goglia investigated the crash of TWA flight 800, which was brought down by an explosion in its fuel tank. Investigators found it very hard to find a mix of jet fuel, heat, vapor and oxygen that would explode, so he is skeptical the plot was viable.
GOGLIA: You couldn't control or count on having vapor in those pipes from the tanks, the supply tanks, the fuel (INAUDIBLE), to the gates. There's just -- no way you could get that done.
MESERVE (on camera): So opinion about the feasibility of the plots could not be more split. On one hand, a government aviation official says it could have shut down JFK for some time; on the other, an expert calls it a mission impossible scenario.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the White House released this statement regarding the terror arrests. It reads, "The president has been briefed and updated regularly on the progress of the investigation and this case is a good example of international counterterrorism cooperation."
The FBI says the terror suspects' targeted JFK airport because of the popularity of its namesake, President Kennedy, but the status and location of the airport also make it a tempting target. CNN's Rick Sanchez has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the crow flies, it's 12 miles from mid-town Manhattan. As a plane nice it's the jumping off point to the rest of the world. JFK is the biggest of the city's big three passenger airports, along with La Guardia and Newark. Eight terminals, nearly nine miles of runway, and people, oh, yes.
You may have been one of 40 million passengers who leave from or arrive at JFK every year on one of about 100 international airlines. Lots of people show up there to work, as well. More than 35,000 employees to keep all of those passengers secure, fed, and moving.
And it's not only paying passengers that keep JFK one of the busiest airports in the world, air freight, about 20 percent of the country's commercial cargo passes in or out through Kennedy's air gateway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And thanks to our Rick Sanchez for that. And you can stay with CNN for the latest on the JFK terror plot investigation. We'll have updates throughout the day and bring you any new developments as they happen.
A D.C. street festival turns tragic after a car plowed into a crowd of people. Police say 35 people were injured, seven seriously. Frantic witnesses describe what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden a car just came flying by. It looked like a bolt of lightning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I dove through the window and threw it in park. Do you know what she did? She pushed on the accelerator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A Maryland woman who was driving the car has been charged with aggravated assault while armed. Police say blood tests are being done, and more charges could be on the way.
Seven U.S. Soldiers have been killed in Iraq this weekend. The military announced today they died in the Baghdad area and in the volatile Diyala and Nineveh provinces to the north of the capital. The deaths bring the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the war began to 3,487.
We are monitoring pictures out of China this morning where a strong earthquake is prompts massive evacuations. A China's news agency reports that homes have collapsed and hundreds are injured and at least three people have been killed. The quake hit in the early morning hours while most people were sleeping.
And take a look at this, out of Cuba -- an appearance by el presidente. New video of Fidel Castro shown on Cuban television. It's the first TV appearance by the Cuban leader in four months. He's wearing his now trademarked tracksuit. He met with the head of Vietnam's communist party. The 80-year-old Castro has been out of the public eye since undergoing intentional surgery last July. Castro's brother, Raul, is still leading the government in his absence.
NGUYEN: Well, you hear a lot about the frontrunners in a race for president, but what about the rest of the field -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yeah, next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, got a closer look at all the guys who we have to call B-listers sometimes, sorry, and their search for an audience, that's coming up.
NGUYEN: And this, how much do you know about the candidates? Ahead of tonight's debate, that information all at your finger tips, details when CNN SUNDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH BLAKELY, FOUNDER & OWNER, SPANKX, INC: The moment you realize you have the ability to create your life, you can no longer let life happen to you and success to me is when you realize that and you're willing to take the risk to create your own life.
ANNOUNCER: Sarah Blakely it did that. One night she cut the feet off her pantyhose so that she'd have a seamless look underneath her white pants. Armed with the one product Blakely she went on to found a Spanx, a company that sells footless and footed hosiery. With more than 100 styles, its profits have become a must for women.
Last year, retail sales were over $100 mission. In 2006, a more affordable version of Spanx was launched call Assets.
With all of her success, Blakely feels giving back is important. A portion of all Assets and Spanx sales goes to the Sarah Blakely Foundation, which funds women entrepreneurs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: We are going to see a full field of Democrats at tonight's debate in New Hampshire, eight in all. And while they don't all have the same drawing power ones campaign trail, they are in it and to win it. We get that story now from CNN's Candy Crowley, part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Hillary.
SEN HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hi, how are you?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Upper tier candidates can't shake all the hands that come their way. In the lower tier, you go looking for hands.
SEN JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to see you. Yeah. I remember you.
CROWLEY: It is politics at its most basic, face-to-face, voter- by-voter.
BIDEN: I'm Senator Biden, one of the 800 candidates running for president.
CROWLEY: There are tricks of the trade for the also runnings. First, if you can't draw a crowd, go find one. On Memorial Day, Joe Biden took advantage of a breakfast gathering of veterans. Second, show up early and often. In January, Republican Tommy Thompson vowed to campaign in Iowa every weekend. And if they ask you, you should go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, New Hampshire!
CROWLEY: Saturday, the day before the debate, five candidates: Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Kucinich and Gravel, underdogs all, all showed up at the invitation of the state Democratic Party Convention.
BIDEN: My fellow Democrats this war must end. This war must end.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWLEY: MIA from the event, Clinton, Obama, Edwards. The entire upper tier didn't show, they didn't have to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hill-a-ry! Hill-a-ry!
CROWLEY: At the top of the field, you can get your people to come even when you don't.
Down the ladder of the presidential campaign, it is hard to find oxygen, known in the trade as free media.
SEN CHRIS DODD (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People in New Hampshire don't want to be told by pundits outside who's going to win an election.
CROWLEY: Another rule of the underdogs.
DODD: Half measures won't stop this president from continuing our involvement in Iraq's civil war.
CROWLEY: If you can't get free media, raise money and buy some.
The lower tier can be a lonely place, but not a hopeless one. Before he became a phenom on presidential trail, Howard Dean was known as "the little known governor from Vermont." Long before he became president, Jimmy Carter traipsed through Iowa as "Jimmy who."
GOV BILL RICHARDSON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't go to gyms with thousands of people. I go straight to the voters, to their homes, and that's how I'm going to win in Iowa and New Hampshire.
CROWLEY: Anything could happen. The underdogs are banking on it.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. And the best place to get yourself prepped for tonight's debate, right here cnn.com, and to get us in the mood here...
NGUYEN: We're all seeing red, today.
HOLMES: We're all seeing red and it's the perfect -- we're going to set up the setting with music. We thought we'd have music to set the mood.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM DESK: Where's your red tie? You said 9:00. There's so many people disappointed.
Oh god, no!
HOLMES: Look at that.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh! God!
NGUYEN: Somebody is in serious trouble. Big, big trouble. HOLMES: That is outstanding.
DE LA CRUZ: Ladies in red. Oh, stop the madness now.
NGUYEN: Where is Dana Bash in all of that? She was wearing red today too.
DE LA CRUZ: She was wearing red, too. Yeah.
HOLMES: Ladies in red. Well, hello, lady in red.
DE LA CRUZ: Hello to you. Remember yesterday we were talking about that e-mail, told you about the e-mail where the man said his wife was going to vote for "the actor." She didn't know his name, but she thought he was a great actor, so she was going to vote for him for president. Right?
NGUYEN: Fred Thompson.
DE LA CRUZ: Fred Thompson, exactly. You don't want to make your decisions like that. No way. You want to make an informed decision about who you vote for and information all on the candidates, all at your fingertips. All you have to do is log on to cnn.com/election.
But first, I want to show you this time lapsed video of the debate stage as it was being built. We're going to talk about what's going on tonight. This was shot by our New Hampshire affiliate WMUR, a co-sponsor of tonight's debate. A link and video is available on cnn.com/politics.
Pretty cool to watch. The process has been condensed down to about 20 seconds.
Also, a must-see on the politics page is the political ticker. It has all the latest news from the campaign trail and all things politics, including this story about the brand new CNN Election Express. Pretty fancy.
The vehicle is a state-of-the-art TV studio on wheels and it's going to play a prominent role in tonight's debate coverage, not to mention all the months ahead.
And now to those candidates, cnn.com/election breaks it down every way you can want. You can compare their positions on issues, how much money they've raised, who their key supporters and advisors are, their poll standings. I mean, it's a really impressive amount of information all in one easy to use place.
Now, just in case you guys are wondering what I've been doing all morning.
HOLMES: We were wondering.
NGUYEN: Playing pong?
DE LA CRUZ: All right, just for fun, Presidential Pong is proving to be a popular diversion in the CNN newsroom this morning. You can pick your favorite candidate; test your Pong skills against the opposition. And you know, yesterday, I was thinking it was all about Obama, but I was playing as Obama today, I don't know what's going on.
HOLMES: Sure it wasn't just you, though, Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Operator error, maybe?
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, OK. All right, maybe. It's you know, all the red. My head is...
HOLMES: There is a lot of red.
NGUYEN: Dizziness.
DE LA CRUZ: I can't figure it out. And don't forget also, the debate live on Pipeline tonight, with analysis.
NGUYEN: Very good. Thank you, Veronica.
HOLMES: And we are going to ride on out.
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: Can you all please give me that music while I tell people about the best political team on television that begins at 5:00 Eastern today. Got a pregame lineup of the players, their weaknesses, and who's expected to shine.
Then at 7:00 Eastern -- where's my music -- Democratic candidates square off and for the first time they take questions from the voters. Immediately following the debate, who scored, who stumbled? You can join Larry King, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, John Roberts and the Democratic candidates, themselves, live for raw politics, a post- debate breakdown all starts right here tonight at 5:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Gonna work on that music for you. We'll get it to you.
HOLMES: Where's my music?
NGUYEN: When it comes to weather, the question is did Barry bring enough rain to the southeast? Well, Bonnie, what do you know?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, not only are we getting rain, but strong winds right now hitting the mid Attic and southeast coast, plus we're also tracking severe weather in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. I'll have your complete forecast and a look at Barry coming up next on SUNDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Bonnie. Also, table manners, just not an option for this group of heavy eaters. Coming up, a contest where you might get indigestion to get the trophy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: New development in the TB patient case. The CDC says they've contacted more than half the U.S. citizens that flew from Atlanta to Paris on that same flight with Andrew Speaker, including all of those considered at the greatest risk.
Now the CDC is also recommending crewmembers of two transatlantic flights to be notified of potential exposure to TB and be evaluated. Denver health officials issued an order requiring Speaker be detained until lab tests indicate he is no longer contagious.
And one more development for you, the CDC says it is going to investigate how Speaker's father-in-law, who works for the health agency, may have been involved in the incident.
HOLMES: Tropical Storm Barry brings much needed rain to Florida and some unwanted destruction for some folks there. Barry weakened to a tropical depression as it made landfall in the Tampa Bay area, yesterday. But, the storm dumped about seven inches of rain in the region and that could help people out. Crews still trying to put out that wildfire on the Florida/Georgia border may get some help there from the rain.
NGUYEN: So, let's take a look at the rain that came down on Palm, Florida, something they really needed but sometimes when you get too much too soon it's a bad thing.
SCHNEIDER: Right, you know, in this case it really did help the firefighters, though Betty, because what it did was kind of put out the areas that were smoldering still with the smoke, so the 1,500 firefighters that have been working on these more than 600,000 acres that have been burning through Georgia and Florida, it kind of allowed them to see what's on fire and what's just smoking. So, it did help to some degree.
The heaviest rain didn't fall over the fire region, though, I actually fell West Palm Beach area, you mentioned about seven inches, that's right, from the tropical storm, and these are starred because these cities actually saw daily records yesterday for about three inches plus of rainfall in just one day.
So, the rain coming down did help things, and it looks like we are going to still see more rain from this system.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Betty, T.J.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Bonnie.
Right now it's time to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
Hi there, Howard. HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi Betty, thanks very much. Coming up CNN hosts the Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire and a Republican face-off Tuesday. We'll give you the pregame scorecard and whether these events matter more to the media than the voters.
Rosie is gone from The View" but has her high-decibel, it's all about me-style spread across the cable airwaves and is that dawning viewers or alienate them?
Plus, don't believe everything you hear about celebrities in trouble. The editor of "Us Weekly" tells us why her rivals are in the fiction business. It's all ahead of RELIABLE SOURCES.
NGUYEN: We'll be watching. Thank you, Howard.
HOLMES: All that stuff not true?
NGUYEN: Well, we'll see.
HOLMES: OK, thanks Howard.
All right, I need everybody to listen up here for a sec. If you know this song we're about to play, well there is a good chance you're over 40.
(MUSIC)
I'm going to hold on to my youth for a little longer, Betty. Well, I got a birthday for a classic, that's next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
NGUYEN: And check this out: No, it's not a dinner at my co- anchor's house, although T.J. does throw down like that.
HOLMES: Oh, you've never had dinner over there.
NGUYEN: You're looking at a new record being set, food for thought. That is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Actually, it's been 40 years now, the legendary Beatles album changed music with song like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and T.J.'s favorite, "With a Little help from my Friends." "Sergeant Pepper's" was actually the first top album to win a Grammy and now for the 40th anniversary, a tribute album is coming out with other artist takes on those classic tunes.
HOLMES: We will go from the Beatles to some hotdogs. If you can do that. Joey Chestnut, now the No. 1 hotdog eater on the planet. He broke the world record in a contest in Phoenix. He ate 59-1/2 hotdogs and he has to eat the buns as well, that's part of it. That breaks the old record by about six hot dogs. He now holds eight eating records, among them he has a record in chicken wings, waffles, I think asparagus in there somewhere, as well. NGUYEN: How do you scout out these competitions? Oh, there's an asparagus competition down in, you know, Little Rock. I mean, how do you know about this?
HOLMES: They are in the circuit and they are in a community of championships...
NGUYEN: This is a professional organization?
HOLMES: Seriously. I'm serious, this is serious stuff and you can make a lot of money, Betty, if this TV thing doesn't work out.
NGUYEN: Oh, really?
HOLMES: They make some big money, have endorsements, but it's a lot of cash prizes.
NGUYEN: I have to invest in eating a little bit more?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: But there's a technique to it, too, right?
HOLMES: There is a technique.
NGUYEN: You got to dip the bun and make sure it goes down quickly.
HOLMES: The whole thing, see.
NGUYEN: A little much for me.
HOLMES: Well, politics is the name of the game for us this morning, not just eating contests, it's going to be on RELIABLE SOURCES, as we get closer to tonight's debate.
Then on LATE EDITION with Wolf Blitzer, live from New Hampshire, the wife of Democratic contender, John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, joins Wolf live in Manchester.
NGUYEN: But first, a check of the morning's top developments.
HOLMES: One of four men charged with planning to bomb New York's Kennedy Airport has been arraigned in New York, two others are in custody in Trinidad where a fourth man still being sought. Authorities describe the men as al Qaeda wannabes who wanted to blow up fuel supply tanks, pipelines, and buildings at the airport.
About a dozen people were hurt when a car going 70 miles-an-hour plowed into a crowd at a street festival in Washington, D.C. The driver has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault. Police say seven people suffered minor, also major injuries in that.
Also, just hours to go until tonight's Democratic presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire. Eight presidential contenders will participate in the face-off sponsored by CNN, New Hampshire's WMUR-TV and the "Manchester Union Leader." CNN's coverage begins at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. The debate starts at 7:00, followed by post-debate analysis.
More top stories for you coming up in about 30 minutes, but "RELIABLE SOURCES" begins right now.
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