Unconfirmed Reports of Planned 9/11-Style Attack in Britain; 2 Republicans Block Immigration and Security Legislations
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Why did the president have so many detractors on his recent trip to Latin America? We're going to delve into that topic.</s>BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We sure are. We've got a lot to tell you about today, so let's get it started. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY. Here's a look at what's in the news right now. Three U.N. workers held hostage in Afghanistan for nearly a month were freed today. The Afghan interior minister says the three are being kept in a secure location, and appear to be in good health. Afghan officials say no ransom was paid, and none of the kidnappers' demands were met. In northern Wisconsin, questions persist about the weekend shooting of a group of hunters. Six people are now dead and a man is in custody. Police say the suspect was told to leave a deer stand on private property before he started shooting. And here's a live look. Lynne Cheney will place an ornament atop the National Christmas Tree as you see there at the White House this hour. The vice president's wife will ride a hydraulic lift all the way up to reach the top of that 40-foot tree. Check it out. The tree lighting ceremony will take place a week from Thursday. What a pretty tree.</s>SANCHEZ: Hmm.</s>NGUYEN: And the Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest is speaking publicly for the first time since the melee that led to his yearlong suspension. Artest tells NBC he shouldn't have gone into the stands, but that Detroit fans shouldn't have thrown stuff, either. Artest says he will appeal his suspension through the Players' Union. Well, good morning, I'm Betty Nguyen in again today for Daryn Kagan.</s>SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. Our top story comes in the form of a question. Is it fear or the politics of fear? Media reports seem to indicate a thwarted terror attack in London. And it's on the same day that the British government is making security a major part of the new legislative agenda there. The reports say that 9/11-style attacks were planned on Heathrow Airport, and in one of the city's financial districts, as well. CNN's senior international correspondent Walt Rogers has been following the story in London. He's joining us now to bring us the very latest. Good morning, Walt.</s>WALTER ROGERS, CNN SR. INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Rick. The British government is downplaying the story that there was a 9/11 attack planned on London, at least as it's been portrayed in the newspapers here. The difficulty is in establishing just how credible these reports were. The initial report broke on a respectable television network here, ITV, last night. And it was alleged that in point of fact, the British security authorities had tried to stop and succeeded in stopping 9/11 copycat type attacks, airliners hijacked flying into some very high rise buildings here. Now, this is what the tabloids picked up today: "Target Canary Wharf." Canary Wharf is that one of Britain's financial -- one of London's financial areas. It's those big, high rise towers. The problem, of course, is that there is very little to back up just that singular headline. We don't know when this plan was thwarted, for example. We don't know how close it was to being carried out. And one of the difficulties in a story like this is that while they charge that while it was al Qaeda, the Islamist militants who were planning this particular exercise, it doesn't fit their method of operation. Which is to say they rarely replicate the same kinds of terror attacks. And they were so successful in New York, it's doubtful, at least among terror experts, that they would try it again. It's a difficult story to confirm. We called the metropolitan police in London. We asked them to comment on the story, and they literally laughed at us. The problem, of course, in all of this is that this is an election year here in Britain. Prime Minister Tony Blair has indicated he is going to make security and public security one of the key issues in his election campaign. And there are people who are very skeptical about this particular report having been leaked at this time, particularly Britain's liberal Democrats. We should point out, however, that the Home Secretary David Blunkett recently said, and warned Britons within the last two weeks, that al Qaeda is on the British doorsteps. And again, David Blunkett the home secretary said that they are threatening the lives of British subjects. That's where we are -- Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: We all know in this business, Walter, people will from time to time, give us in the media, stories because they intend to make somebody to look good or look bad. If there has been this leak or this information that has gotten out to perhaps make the Blair administration look tough, if this thing is disproven couldn't it incredibly backfire?</s>ROGERS: Yes, but it's one of those -- it's one of those stories which is very, very difficult to prove or disprove. Look, we live in a world, which is extraordinarily dangerous. The Islamist militants have, according to most terrorist experts, declared war on the West. Britons are vulnerable because they have allied themselves with the United States, particularly in Iraq. But elsewhere in the so-called war on terrorism. Now, if the British are vulnerable, it is entirely plausible that an attack could be launched against them. Indeed high government officials in this country have said over and over again that there will be a terror attack in the U.K. The difficulty with this particular accounting is the timing, which just happens to be the day that Prime Minister Blair's legislative agenda on security was released. The other difficulty is that there's precious little by way of details. That doesn't mean there's not a terrorist threat out there. I think for both the United States and the British there's a very real terrorist threat. But the terrorists will pick their method of operation and their timing not according to any political agenda -- Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: Walt -- CNN's Walter Rodgers from our London bureau with a good explanation of a story that we're certainly going to be keeping tabs on throughout the day here at CNN. Betty, over to you.</s>NGUYEN: Absolutely. Terror concerns; they have forced the closure of the U.S. consular office in Mumbai, India. The city once known as Bombay. U.S. officials say the unspecified threat suggests that U.S. interests there or in New Delhi could be targeted. Despite that the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi remains open and Americans there are being warned that terrorists could be planning attacks on American targets in the near future. Well, the future of Iraq and the approach of January elections are under the microscope. Both world leaders and Arab neighbors are holding a two-day conference today in a resort along the Egyptian Red Sea. There has been more agreement than disagreement, but also few specific answers. For those details we turn now to CNN's Ben Wedeman. Hi, Ben.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Betty. Well, that conference has ended, a two-day conference. And they ended with this communique, which included 14 points which covered things like calls for an end to terrorism in Iraq, for respect for Iraq's territorial integrity. Also for basically expressing support for the January 30 nationwide elections in Iraq, which will be supervised by the United Nations. Also in the communique was a call for Iraq's neighbors to do all they can to secure the country porous borders. We've heard U.S. and Iraqi officials saying that not enough is being done to prevent the infiltration of militants and weapons into the country. This is what Iraq's foreign minister said about this point.</s>HOYSAHR ZEBARI, FOREIGN MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): What we ask of our neighbors, your beloved, our neighbors to deal with us with good -- in good faith and with friendship, and with transparency and honesty. And to change their statements to statements and actions on the ground. Because, it's in the interest of everybody that Iraq is a strong and stable and unified.</s>WEDEMAN: Now, Betty, one of the concerns here is, of course, that despite these statements of support, that regarding the January 30 elections, that conditions may not be right on the ground to hold those. Now, U.S. and Iraqi officials say absolutely no question about it, they will go ahead with those elections. But we've heard from some Islamic and Sunni groups within the country that they're going to boycott the polls. And some Arab diplomats saying they just don't think conditions are right, given the full-blown insurgency that is raging in the country -- Betty.</s>NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Ben Wedeman. Thank you for that -- Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: Three weeks ago today, Americans exercised their Democratic right and re-elected President Bush. But they remain divided in their optimism, at least as far as Iraq is concerned. Here's how they responded to a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll that asked, do you think the United States will or will not be able to establish a stable democratic government in Iraq? The respondents, 46 percent saying yes. 49 percent though, saying no. That amounts to really a statistical tie when the sampling error is factored in. Now, let's get the latest news coming out of Iraq and here we go. Earlier today, U.S. and Iraqis detained 38 people in a raid. This was near Kirkuk. Coalition officials say that the sweep also netted stashes of weapons, munitions, night vision equipment and police IDs and radios, as well. We take you now to Baghdad. Security remains tight at the capital's airport after discovery of a bomb aboard a commercial flight. No details on the incident have been released thus far. Americans with travel plans to Iraq are being urged to reconsider. Also today, a second assassination of a Sunni cleric in as many days. This time it happened near Baquba. This is in the Sunni heartland. The cleric's brother said the gunmen opened fire from a car and shot the cleric in the back. It happened right near a mosque.</s>NGUYEN: Back here in the U.S., post-9/11 intelligence reforms are dead. Well, at least for now. Two Republican Party chairmen are blocking the legislation and batting away appeals from their leaders, including the president himself. So, what's the roadblock all about? And what are the chances of a compromise? For that we turn to CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.</s>ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bush administration stepped up its efforts to pass intelligence reform, with Vice President Cheney coming to the capitol to lobby Congressman James Sensenbrenner, one of two Republicans holding up the bill. But Sensenbrenner says he's more determined than ever to block what he considers meaningless reform.</s>REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: Well, I'm not going to cave.</s>HENRY: Sensenbrenner wants to ban states from giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. He says Senate negotiators are too scared to challenge powerful lobbyists who oppose the provision.</s>SENSENBRENNER: I don't like to vote for things on serious issues that might look good on a bumper sticker, but which I know have so many loop holes that they won't work.</s>HENRY: The other Republican who refuse to be rolled was Congressman Duncan Hunter. Despite a call from Vice President Cheney, Hunter insisted on protecting the Pentagon from losing power to a new director of National Intelligence.</s>REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: In my shop, having and maintaining the chain of command and serving our people in uniform is paramount.</s>HENRY: Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, a former Marine, insists the legislation will not harm troops in the field.</s>SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), CHMN., INTELLIGENCE CMTE.: There isn't anybody in the Congress that I know of that wants to do anything that would harm that actionable intelligence to the war fighter, especially during this difficult insurgency that we're fighting in Iraq.</s>HENRY (on camera): Republicans hope to salvage a deal after Thanksgiving. But senior lawmakers in both parties are growing increasingly pessimistic that a compromise can be reached by the end of the year. Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.</s>SANCHEZ: We have some new details to report on yesterday's crash of that private jet in Houston, Texas. The Gulfstream was on its way to pick up former President George H.W. Bush when it clipped a light pole and then lost part of a wing. Flight data recorders have been sent to Washington in a search for the cause. All three people aboard the plane were killed. Mr. Bush had this to say through a spokesperson, "I've flown with this group before and knew them well. I join in sending my heartfelt condolences to each and every member of their families."</s>NGUYEN: Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, planes, trains and automobiles. A look at your travel forecast and how some people are sticking to the railways this Thanksgiving holiday.</s>SANCHEZ: Also, you sometimes find cats out on a limb. But this woman found her own sanctuary in a tree.</s>NGUYEN: Goodness. And later, she had her life savings with her. But now where is her purse? We'll explain coming up.