New York City Boosts Security In Subways; Information Leads To Al Qaeda Raid; Rove To Testify Again
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You guys. Have a great weekend. And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Daryn Kagan has the day off. The morning rush has waned in New York, the heightened security attention has not. Wary New Yorkers snaked beneath the city this morning well aware of a terror alert that the subway system could be targeted for attack. Let's begin our coverage at the city hub of rail travel. CNN's Alina Cho is at Penn Station where a main entrance has just been closed. Alina, what can you tell us?</s>ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we can tell you that the entrance right behind me, one of the main entrances, the northwest entrance to Penn Station, is sealed off for now. Penn Station, for those of you not familiar with New York, is one of the largest subway stations here. What we can tell you is that the Amtrak portion of the station, it appears at this point, is sealed off. Though we are told that some Amtrak trains are now boarding. No new riders, however, are being allowed in and there is a heavy police and security presence, including at least two men in hazmat suits. Now after yesterday's highly publicized news conference, city officials are not taking any chances.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't feel 100 percent safe, to be honest.</s>ALINA CHO, (voice over): New York subway commuters are on high alert after city officials went public Thursday with what they called a specific threat against New York's subway system.</s>MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: This is the first time that we have had a threat with this level of specificity.</s>CHO: The plot, according to law enforcement, involves the use of explosives, perhaps hidden in babe carriages, and to be carried out in the coming days by a group of 15 to 20 people. But the Bush administration suggests the threat may be overblown. The Department of Homeland Security is saying it's of doubtful credibility. Four- and-a-half million New Yorkers ride the subways each weekday. While there's concern, some are taking the heightened security in stride.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You become a little apprehensive, but I think in time we're kind of conditioned to expect some sort of stress or threat level and you just move on with what you have to do.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's going to still take a train whether there's a bomb treat or not. It's like, what am I going do? Just hope it's not my train.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have police on the train.</s>CHO: Police will be stepping up their random commuter searches. More uniformed and undercover officers will be deployed in the subway system. New York's mayor wants riders to be alert and not afraid.</s>BLOOMBERG: We ask that the public remain vigilant. If you see something, say something.</s>CHO: Very good advice. Now most commuters we spoke to this morning say that they do believe that New York will eventually be the target of a terrorist attack. But, Tony, they say they won't let that change their routine. They are riding the subway today. Of course, this may change things moderately, but we are watching it very closely here at Penn Station and we will bring you more on this as more information comes in to us. Tony.</s>HARRIS: And, Alina, just to be sure about this and to be absolutely clear about this, this new situation that you're reporting on right now has not lead to anyone being asked to leave the station. No evacuations at this point, correct?</s>CHO: Not that we know of, Tony. What we are told from our producer inside is that the Amtrak portion of the station, in addition to this northwest entrance behind me, has been sealed off. Now some Amtrak train, we understand, are boarding right now, but they are not allowing any new riders in. And, of course, there's very heavy police and security personnel there.</s>HARRIS: Alina Cho on the story for us in New York City. Alina, thank you. While New York officials sound the alarm, Homeland Security officials are downplaying the credibility of the threat. Why the vastly different views of the same information? For that we turn to CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Washington. Jeanne, good morning.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Analysis of the intelligence continues, but one U.S. official describes it as being of doubtful credibility. Another says he is "not altogether sure how solid this is." More than one described the threat information as not viable. Federal officials seemed surprised at New York's decision to make it public. According to an official with the Department of Homeland Security, this specific intelligence about threats to New York City transit came to them in recent days and was shared promptly with officials in New York. But, according to an administration official, subsequent information collected overseas added doubt to the information's credibility and there was no corroboration. And so yesterday afternoon, as New York announced upgrades in transit security, the Department of Homeland Security said it had no intention of modifying the city's or the nation's terror threat level. Administration officials said they respected New York's actions but describe them as being taken "out of an abundance of caution." Tony.</s>HARRIS: OK, Jeanne, thank you. And we have yet another story stemming from that alleged terror plot. Sources tell CNN that the discovery of that intelligence also led to a raid that netted three al Qaeda suspects. Here with information on this developing story is CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, good morning to you.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony. Well, all of this may be tracing back to Iraq. U.S. military officials say on Wednesday night there was a raid south of Baghdad in a place called Musayyib. That they went there as a result of the original intelligence they gathered that had that New York City subway threat in it. They're not talking about the original intelligence, but that that led them to Musayyib. They went on a raid targeting three individuals by name. They believe what they found there was an al Qaeda cell in Iraq that was planning attacks outside of Iraq possibly, possibly, in the United States. Well placed military sources say this Musayyib raid was carried out by U.S. and Iraqi special forces, along with officials, if you will, from what is called another government agency. And, of course, here in Washington that's code word for the CIA. At the same time, Tony, there is yet another al Qaeda-related story unfolding. It is separate, but it does involve the very top levels of al Qaeda. U.S. officials say they have come into possession of a letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two man to Osama bin Baden, a letter he wrote to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a leader of al Qaeda inside Iraq. A letter about al Qaeda's strategy and concerns. And in this letter, U.S. officials say, Zawahiri lays out several of his concerns. He acknowledges first that many al Qaeda leaders have been lost, if you will. Of course, captured or killed. He talks about the fact that al Qaeda is resigned to defeat in Afghanistan. He also talks about they are stretched for money and their communications are in trouble. That they're really not plugged into what is going on. He also talks about he asks Zarqawi not behead his hostages and says that may be alienating the Muslim world. He offers other alternatives. U.S. officials say they are absolutely convinced this letter is genuine. They say that is based on the sources and methods by which they got it and they say that is very, very sensitive at this time. Tony.</s>HARRIS: Barbara, when did U.S. officials get this letter?</s>STARR: We asked that question this morning. We got this following answer. That it was within days and weeks and possibly a few months, but it is fairly recent they tell us. And they are absolutely convinced it genuinely is from Osama bin Laden's number two man to the number one al Qaeda leader inside Iraq. Tony.</s>HARRIS: OK. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thank you. I want to show you some new video just into CNN. Let's take you back to New York City now and Penn Station. And you heard Alina Cho referring to this scene that you're seeing inside Penn Station right now. You're going to see, there they are, the men in the hazmat suits walking around the platform there. This is one of the main platforms for Amtrak, for boarding and unboarding the trains there at Amtrak. Once again, let's rewind that and show that again. This is the scene just a few moments ago and we can presume still ongoing inside Penn Station right now at the Amtrak platform. Men in hazmat suits checking out some kind of a situation there. We don't know more about what it is they're looking at, what they're looking for, but there is the activity right now. We will get back to Alina Cho in just a few moments and get an update on the situation. What we do understand is that a main entrance has been closed at Penn Station to the Amtrak platform, but that Amtrak trains are still boarding. We'll continue to follow the latest developments in this story. And be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. And back to the United States. A man so close to the president that he's sometimes called Bush's brain, is facing another grand jury appearance. Karl Rove has been called to testify for a fourth time in connection with a leak of a CIA officer's identity and the political damage could ripple all the way to the White House. CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken joins us with the legal and political implications. Bob, good morning.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, we had thought that this long, long investigation could be soon over, but now we're finding out that the reality is not quite yet.</s>FRANKEN, (voice over): Karl Rove, one of the central figures in this investigation, and a central figure in the political career of George W. Bush, will be testifying for at least the fourth time before this grand jury. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, according to sources, has not given Rove any assurance that he will not face indictment as this probe continues into a public disclosure of Valerie Plame's identity. Plame, who was an undercover operative for the CIA, is the wife of Joseph Wilson, who had become a harsh critic of the administration's claims about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. After an uproar following the disclosure of Plame's identity in July 2003, Fitzgerald began his investigation. Under pressure, including in one celebrated case jail time, several reporters testified. Some, including "Time" magazine's Matthew Cooper, said they had discussed the matter with Rove. Rove's lawyer has repeatedly insisted that his client did not identify Plame as a secret agent, did not know she was one. He also contends Rove is appearing voluntarily, that he's not received a so-called target letter which would identify him as a person the grand jury was likely to indict. Also named as a source for reporters is the vice president's chief of staff, Lewis "Scoter" Libby. As Fitzgerald's prolonged investigation seems to be entering the final phases, the president continues to dodge questions about whether he will remove anyone from his administration who might be indicted.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to talk about it until the investigation is complete and it's important that the investigation run its course.</s>FRANKEN: Rove's attorney says that he has been assured no decisions have been made by Fitzgerald on whether there will be any charges. Of course, Tony, no assurances that there won't be either.</s>HARRIS: That's true. CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken. Bob, thank you. Let's take you back to New York City now and to CNN's Alina Cho. We want to try to put as fine a point as we can on the information that we have so far on this developing situation at Penn Station. And, Alina, we just saw some video, the first video of the scene you were describing just a few moments ago.</s>CHO: That's right, Tony, and we'll get to that in a moment. But first, a little bit of background in case you missed it at the top of the hour. What we can tell you at this point is that the entrance right behind me at Penn Station, the northwest entrance, one of the main ones, has been sealed off. Now for people not familiar with New York City, this is one of the largest subway stations in New York. The main entrance has been sealed off, or at least one of them. And what we are told from our producer who was just on the scene inside is that the Amtrak portion of the station has also been sealed off, meaning that no new riders are being allowed in. What we are also being told is that some Amtrak trains are still boarding. But, of course, there is heavy police and security personnel. And what we are told now is at least four people in hazmat suits are on the scene there trying to figure out what is going on down there. Now, we want to be able to put this in perspective because, remember, yesterday, just yesterday, there was a highly publicized news conference between New York officials and the FBI announcing this terror threat against the subway system. And we want to be able to tell you as well that this kind of thing has happened before. There have been these types of scares before and later they turned out to be nothing. And so it is important to point out that it is entirely possible that they are acting out of an abundance of caution. We will just have to wait and see. Of course, we are watching it very, very closely. But, Tony, I can tell you that for the most part, commuters seem to be taking this in stride. Four-and-a-half million people ride the subways here in New York each and every work day and it appears they are riding it today.</s>HARRIS: Taking it in stride. You're talking about four men in hazmat suits and you're telling me that the folks there in New York, hearty souls, we understand that, are seemingly taking this in stride. Alina Cho, we appreciate it. Thank you. And we'll certainly come back to you for further updates on this story. Avian flu, bird flu, whatever you want to call it, it's a danger to the world's population. Ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, what the White House and other nations are doing today to try and prevent a pandemic. Also, hundreds of thousands of people victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, they have no homes and no jobs. The latest jobs report just ahead. And a Friday night ritual for one football player in an unfamiliar place thanks to Katrina. And he's finishing high school and playing the game he loves hundreds of miles from home and friends.