Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts Returns to Capitol Hill This Morning; U.S., North Korea Hold Face-to-Face Talks on North's Nuclear Weapons Program
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We are coming up on the half hour. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Daryn Kagan today. Here is what's happening right now in the news. Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali, is in court today as a tribunal prepares for Hussein's war crimes trial. A judge is taking statements from al-Majid and others. He's charged with a chemical weapons attack on Kurds. A member of the U.S. armed services has been killed in heavy fighting today at a small village in south central Afghanistan. Eleven enemy combatants are also reported dead. The U.S. military has ousted members of the Taliban, and their supporters remain in that area. London police have identified two suspects in Thursday's attempted bombings. Police had released closed circuit TV pictures of the four suspects last week. Now, the named suspects are identified as 27-year-old Muktar Said Ibraihim and 24-year-old Yasin Hassan Omar. In a move related to the investigation, police today raided an apartment in north London. No arrests were made in that. Egyptian authorities have been searching for several Pakistanis since before the weekend attacks at a resort town. Eighty-four people were killed and more than 200 wounded in the Sharm el-Sheik bombings over the weekend. Police are monitoring the roads leading from the area to the mountains, believing suspects may try to hide there. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts returned to Capitol Hill this morning for a fourth day of meetings with senators who will determine his fate. Some of those senators may be involved in a tug-of-war with the White House over documents written by Roberts. And CNN's Elaine Quijano reports from the White House on this tug-of-war. What do you know so far, Elaine?</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With just days before Congress leaves Washington for the August recess, the Democrats' tone remains civil but cautious on the topic of President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Judge John Roberts.</s>U.S. SENATOR DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: We all know that he's legally skilled, a man of high integrity, good temperament, but the American people and I think Congress and the Senate need to know more.</s>QUIJANO: Some Democrats may want access to documents Roberts wrote as deputy solicitor general in the first Bush White House. That's what happened in the case of Miguel Estrada. In 2003, he withdrew his name from consideration to a federal appeals court after Democrats filibustered, demanding files from Estrada's tenure in the solicitor general's office. Now, the White House has signaled once again it will not accommodate any such request in Judge Roberts' case.</s>FORMER SENATOR FRED THOMPSON (R), TENNESSEE: The administration has been pretty consistent on that, and in fact, I think very consistent, in that those things will not be forthcoming.</s>QUIJANO: Republicans argue Roberts' working papers are protected under attorney/client privilege.</s>U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It's obvious that the president was Judge Roberts' client. And if we're going to set a precedent that those communications between someone who works for the president and the president of United States are some day going to be made public, I think it could have a real chilling effect.</s>QUIJANO: Democrats dispute that and say a precedent exists, that other nominees have given up confidential documents they wrote while at the Justice Department.</s>U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: Those working in the solicitor general's office are not working for the president. They're working for you and me and all the American people.</s>QUIJANO: Now, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says that the administration will consider requests for documents on a case-by-case basis. But the White House has certainly indicated and made clear that it was not happy to see Miguel Estrada's nomination blocked and does not want to see the same thing happen again -- Betty?</s>NGUYEN: Hey, Elaine, on a different note, bring us up to date to the president's trip to the Egyptian embassy today to send his condolences?</s>QUIJANO: Well, that's right. We just learned about this a short time ago. The president later this morning will be heading to the Egyptian embassy to sign that book of condolences. Now, of course, it was over the weekend in the aftermath of the Egyptian bombings that the White House issued a statement strongly condemning the attacks, calling them barbaric. And President Bush himself spoke with the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, over the weekend offering his personal condolences and also the support of the American people -- Betty?</s>NGUYEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you. The U.S. and North Korea held face-to-face talks today on the north's nuclear weapons program. The session came the night before six-party talks resume in Beijing. Now, other nations involved in those negotiations are South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. CNN's Stan Grant is covering the talks and joins us now live from Beijing with the new information. What do you know, Stan?</s>STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty. You mentioned the other parties, of course, involved in these six-way talks -- of course, the most important parties involved, the United States and North Korea themselves. And they actually had a one-on-one meeting today, a 75-minute meeting described by a senior U.S. official as quite business-like. But the U.S. putting down a marker, telling North Korea it must give up its nuclear weapons program and it must make that open to international verification. North Korea also saying it is keen to make progress at these talks. And for North Korea, these talks come at a very desperate time.</s>GRANT (voice-over): This is Pyongyang's public face to the world. A land of smiling children, spectacular scenery, a glistening capital, Pyongyang. But those who spend any time there paint a very different picture. A society under pressure, under siege, secretive and suspicious. South Korean government sources tell CNN of power being wielded in Pyongyang by hard-line Cold War-era generals, faceless figures controlling North Korea's army. Sources say they don't even know exactly who they are. It adds urgency to the six-party nuclear talks to try to resolve what one official speaking confidentially termed "the runaway North Korean nuclear problem." Sources say North Korea can appear irrational and unpredictable, operating out of fear and insecurity. Foreign businessmen trading in North Korea say Pyongyang is worried about its survival.</s>ROGER BARRETT, KOREA BUSINESS CONSULTANTS: Two years ago they saw what happened in Iraq and at the same time, I believe some people were saying that America could fight two wars on two continents simultaneously.</s>GRANT: Added to the fear, poverty and isolation -- a country unable to feed its own people.</s>RICHARD RAGAN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: They're working day and night to try to feed themselves, and families from some of these urban areas are also traveling very long distances to barter in rural areas for food.</s>GRANT: Blocked off to most outsiders, those who travel to North Korea talk of signs of social breakdown. A diplomatic source tells CNN he hears more reports of theft and has noticed bars being placed on windows. He also reports an increase in prostitution. Government officials, diplomats and aid workers all say their movements are restricted in North Korea, Kim Jong Il keeping a tight grip or security. Their travel monitored and contact with ordinary people limited.</s>RAGAN: We don't have access to all parts of the country. We're not able to stop randomly and visit houses where our beneficiaries are.</s>GRANT: For all that, the World Food Program says there are signs of reform. Officials, they say, are more accessible, and the government is keen to further open up its economy. Some with close ties to Pyongyang say North Korea should be encouraged, not punished.</s>BARRETT: What I see is a will and a real desire for development, and I think development beats demonization every time.</s>GRANT: Now, North Korea is back at the negotiating table, despite having walked away from similar talks more than a year ago. During that time, analysts say it has continued to stockpile nuclear weapons, perhaps having as many as eight or nine. The U.S. is saying that this time they cannot have a repeat of that. They can't allow this process to simply dip -- bog down once again. They are prepared to let these talks run for as long as is needed to get some progress -- Betty?</s>NGUYEN: Stan Grant at the six-party talks in Beijing, thank you. Let's take a look now at some other stories making news coast to coast. The dry California desert gets a soaking. Hundreds of people were forced from their homes near Joshua Tree after damaging winds and thunderstorms dumped more than two inches of rain across San Bernardino County. The usually bone-dry area is prone to dangerous flash floods. Authorities in Pennsylvania are investigating a deadly incident at a charity motorcycle ride. Police say an SUV crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a line of motorcycles yesterday. The driver of the first bike was killed. Several others were taken to hospitals for treatment. The driver of the SUV was not hurt. And in Kuna (ph), Hawaii, a hiker lost for five days on a desolate field of lava is saved by an eagle-eyed teenager on a helicopter tour. Now, the teen spotted the reflection of a lens the hiker had been using to signal passing aircraft. The hiker says he survived by squeezing water out of moss he found on plants and licking the moisture off leaves -- some vacation. Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, a one of a kind cyclist is ending his career on a high note. What's next for Lance Armstrong and the cycling profession? Plus, a big challenge for organized labor. What are some calling a civil war -- it's what some are calling a civil war brewing among labor unions.</s>VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The countdown is on. America is looking to return to a manned space flight with the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. Get cleared for takeoff at CNN.com. Discovery and its crew of seven astronauts are ready for liftoff at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The mission will be the first for the shuttle program since the 2003 Columbia disaster in which seven astronauts died. You can countdown the remaining time with CNN.com's countdown clock, follow online at CNN.com/shuttle, and sync your clock with ours. Five Americans, one Australian and one Japanese astronaut will guide Discovery to the International Space Station. Two of the Americans are women. During the mission, astronauts will conduct three spacewalks to install equipment and test repair techniques. You can click through this gallery to meet the crew members starting with Commander Eileen Murray Collins, who has already logged more than 537 hours in space. And find out what's ahead for the Discovery crew. You can check out some of the highlights on the 13- day mission, starting with day one. The crew sets up onboard equipment and replay launch video, sending it to NASA overnight for review. The clock is ticking. Countdown to liftoff at CNN.com/shuttle. From the dot-com desk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.