Return to Flight for Space Shuttle; Rove, CIA Leak; Iraq Suicide Attack
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is now T minus 9 hours and about 20 minutes for the space shuttle Discovery. The crew has been up for almost an hour now as they prepare to pilot the shuttle program back into space. Or could a delay be on the horizon? CNN's Sean Callebs has more from the Kennedy Space Center.</s>SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): NASA is calling it a minor repair. Still, eyebrows were raised when technicians were forced to replace two protective tiles on the shuttle after a plastic window cover fell, damaging the tiles. The space agency says the mishap is not embarrassing.</s>STEPHANIE STILSON, DISCOVERY VEHICLE MANAGER: I just think it's just one of those things that happened, and I'm actually very proud that we saw it and we caught it, and we were able to act so quickly.</s>CALLEBS: After focusing the past two-and-a-half years on the shuttle and its operating systems, anxious NASA managers are spending the last several hours leading up to the launch looking at the sky. With only a brief 10-minute launch window, bad weather could keep Discovery on the pad.</s>KATHY WINTERS, SHUTTLE WEATHER OFFICER: We're looking very closely at imaging, making sure that the vehicle can be seen by the ground cameras. And so, the mission management team will be paying close attention to the cloud cover in the area.</s>CALLEBS: Not just rain, wind and lightening, even cloud cover could be enough to scrap the launch. That's because NASA has more than 100 cameras poised to photograph the liftoff. The space agency needs near perfect weather to capture all of the necessary images and make sure debris doesn't harm the orbiter and flight STS-114.</s>EILEEN COLLINS, DISCOVERY COMMANDER: We're not going to stop working after STS-114 flies. We've got, you know, maybe another 28 flights left. So, we need to keep working on this. Are we ready to fly STS-114? Yes, I believe we are.</s>WHITFIELD: And don't forget to tune in to CNN for Discovery's launch later this afternoon. Miles O'Brien hosts our special coverage beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. The White House is maintaining its silence about President Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove, and his alleged role in the leak of a CIA agent's identity. This case is two years in the making and still no concrete answers. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has details.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush was asked directly whether he would carry out his pledge to fire anyone caught leaking, including his top political adviser, Karl Rove.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to fire him?</s>BUSH: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to fire him?</s>MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush did not respond. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was pummeled for a second day over whether he misled the public for the numerous statements he made over the last two years, insisting Rove wasn't involved in the leaking of the covert CIA agent Valerie Plame.</s>HELEN THOMAS, JOURNALIST: Has he apologized to you for telling you he is not involved?</s>SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Helen, I'm not going to get into any private discussions.</s>THOMAS: I mean, he put you on the spot. He put your credibility on the line.</s>MCCLELLAN: You all in this room know me very well. And you know the type of person that I am.</s>MALVEAUX: Rove's critics have seized on the issue.</s>SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The White House's credibility is at issue here. And I believe very clearly Karl Rove ought to be fired.</s>MALVEAUX: Questions about the Bush administration's credibility about intelligence on Iraq is how this controversy started. In his 2003 State of the Union address, the president uttered a 16-word sentence that had to be taken back.</s>BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.</s>MALVEAUX: Former Ambassador Joe Wilson wrote that he was sent by the CIA to investigate whether it was true that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa. Wilson concluded that the administration had twisted the intelligence to exaggerate the Iraq threat. According to Rove's lawyer, rove then spoke to "TIME" magazine's Matt Cooper to downplay Wilson's accusations, making the point Wilson's wife worked at the CIA, and she authorized the trip.</s>MALVEAUX (on camera): The big concern at the White House now, how long this will remain a distraction and President Bush pushing forward his domestic agenda. Case and point, the president met at the White House with Republican and Democratic leadership over Supreme Court nominations and also energy legislation. Neither got very much attention. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.</s>WHITFIELD: Another problem plaguing the Bush administration: alleged prisoner abuse and who is responsible. The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing today on Guantanamo abuses. FBI investigators reportedly have recommended the former commander at Gitmo be reprimanded for failing to oversee the interrogation of a high-value detainee who was allegedly abused. That's according to the Associated Press. It reports Army Major Jeffrey Miller is currently stationed at the Pentagon in a position unrelated to prisoners. The head of U.S. Southern Command conclude that Miller did not violate any U.S. laws or policies. So, he was not reprimanded. As we told you minutes ago, in Iraq a suicide car bombing. Among the dead: a U.S. soldier and several children. Our Aneesh Raman joins us now from Baghdad with more on this -- Aneesh.</s>ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, good morning. As you say, a suicide car bomb detonating in eastern Baghdad. At least 24 people were killed, some 25 others wounded. According to the Iraqi police, the majority of the dead are, in fact, Iraqi children. It happened around 11:00 a.m. when a U.S. military convoy had stopped to interact with the kids, handing out candy and treats. At that point, a GMC truck was driving by and exploded, killing, as we say, a majority of children; also killing at least one U.S. soldier. Now, we haven't seen a situation like this since September of last year when 34 children were killed after a suicide bomber detonated at the opening of a sewage plant. The U.S. military is saying the children were explicitly part of the target for the bomber, and it just goes to underscore how brutal these attacks are and how serious the violence is here on the ground -- Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Aneesh Raman, thanks so much for that update from Baghdad. News across America now. A British teenager is in critical condition them after riding on the Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. The 16-year-old's heart stopped beating shortly after she got off the ride. The ride simulates a haunted elevator. A 4-year- old died one month ago today after riding Mission to Space at Disney's Epcot Center. A 4-year-old from Brockton, Massachusetts, was hospitalized due to a medication mix-up. The girl is recovering at home after she was given someone else's prescription. A local CVS pharmacy admitted it mistakenly gave the girl's mother medication to treat an irregular heartbeat. One of Mexico's most dangerous criminals is back in a Mexican prison after 19 years on the run. Police arrested Alfredo Rios Gelena (ph) in Los Angeles. He was sent back to Mexico at the border near San Diego. Mexican authorities met him there to hold him for trial on murder and kidnapping charges. Still to come on DAYBREAK, do you travel for business? You and your company could be paying too much for your hotel accommodations. Plus, they prey on your fears and your wallet. Home repair scammers. We'll show you how to beat them to the punch. Here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.