Al Qaeda Prison Break; Domestic Spying
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Miles O'Brien.</s>ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zain Verjee in for Soledad.</s>O'BRIEN: This morning, a global security alert for this man and a dozen other members of al Qaeda. They are on the loose after digging their way out of prison in Yemen. Violence over those controversial cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed now turning deadly. More on this.</s>VERJEE: Is the White House breaking the law? That's what senators are trying to figure out today as they take on the administration's domestic spying program. Facing the world, the woman with the first-ever face transplant goes before the cameras for the first time. We're live on that story.</s>O'BRIEN: And a return to glory for the team from Pittsburgh, a new generation of Steelers winning it all with a little razzle dazzle and a hometown hero. We begin with a global search for terrorists in our CNN "Security Watch." A global alert is out for escapees from a Yemeni prison. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is in Washington with details.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Interpol issued an "urgent global security alert" for the 23 prisoners who escaped from a Yemeni jail, including 13 convicted al Qaeda terrorists, amidst reports the men tunneled their way out of a highly- secure prison in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. A U.S. government official with direct knowledge of the situation tells CNN a national manhunt is under way. Counterterrorism units are now on the streets of Sanaa trying to find the escapees. The official says the prisoners may have had inside help. The escape is a major embarrassment for the Yemeni government, which had been trying to convince the Bush administration it had broken the back of the al Qaeda network in the country. The official call to the escape, a major setback for Yemen, but says the government there is sharing information with the U.S. about the situation. One of the escapees is the convicted mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000. The U.S. Navy had been planning to bring another warship into Yemen for a port call, the first time since the bombing of the Cole, but now that plan may be on hold. Interpol says the men pose a -- quote -- "clear and present danger." All nations are being warned to take precautions. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is also taking security measures. There is great concern the prisoners might head into northern Yemen, an area where the government has little control over tribal chiefs, an area where officials say these men could easily disappear. Barbara Starr, CNN, Washington.</s>O'BRIEN: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Defending domestic spying. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be in the Senate hot seat this morning supporting the Bush administration's use of warrantless eavesdropping. CNN's Kelli Arena is on Capitol Hill with more. She'll be joining us in just a little bit. A woman in France is facing the world today with a new face. We're talking about the patient who had a groundbreaking partial face transplant about two-and-a-half months ago. Here's a look at a press conference under way at a hospital north of Paris, maybe. There it is. Coming up very shortly, we have an update on the woman's difficult journey back to normal from Jim Bittermann in Paris. All right, I'm very sorry. We're having a tough morning here. I believe our server is not working. We can't give you any video.</s>VERJEE: The face transplant will be the first time she's going to be meeting journalists.</s>O'BRIEN: Exactly.</s>VERJEE: Isabelle Dinoire. She's having a hard time chewing and eating and speaking properly. But we will try and get back to Jim Bittermann for that. She's also been smoking a little bit. And doctors have said that...</s>O'BRIEN: Yes.</s>VERJEE: ... you know doesn't exactly help the situation there.</s>O'BRIEN: Exactly.</s>VERJEE: We'll see.</s>O'BRIEN: All right. Tell you what, let's take a break. We'll be back with more in a moment.