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CNN Live Today

Kerry Unveils Terror Plan Amid New Alert; Kerry Sees No Bounce After Convention; Iraq Church Bombings

Aired August 02, 2004 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Presidential candidate John Kerry is due to take the stage any moment in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He'll unveil a book that outlines his campaign's plans for increasing national security and better fighting the war on terror. Kerry has made intelligence reform part of his campaign platform.
On to more political news now. Former presidential candidate Howard Dean is raising eyebrows and a few hackles with his public criticism of the raised terror alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism. His whole campaign is based on the notion that I can keep you safe; therefore, in times of difficulty for America, stick with me. And then out comes Tom Ridge.

It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics. And I suspect there's some of both in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Dean's comments triggered not only outrage from Republicans, but also from some Democrats. Senator Joseph Lieberman, himself a former presidential candidate, denounced Dean's suggestion as outrageous.

Well, the Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, was briefed on the latest terror concerns last night. It came while he was campaigning in Michigan. He's still in the battleground state this morning. And, in fact, terrorism will be the focus of a campaign event that is scheduled to begin any moment.

Our Dana Bash is traveling with the senator, and she is in Grand Rapids with a preview.

Good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

And Senator Kerry was briefed about the terror alert last night. He was briefed on his campaign bus in Taylor, Michigan. That was his last stop last night. He had about a 40-minute briefing from a senior intelligence official on a secure phone line from that bus. And today it seems that Senator Kerry, in terms of his strategy here, is using this threat as a way to essentially try to prove the point he started to make during the Democratic Convention, and has been doing so since he left and has been traveling on his bus. And that is that the president, he believes, is not doing enough to prevent the stop of the spread of terrorism.

And, in fact, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning, he took it a step further. He said that perhaps the administration, what they have done so far, is encouraging the spread of terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, they take any threat seriously. What's important, however, is not to sort of bounce along from threat to threat. It's to win the war. And I believe that I can fight a more effective war on terror than George Bush is. I know I can fight a more effective war.

Lee Hamilton, the co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, has said, this administration is not moving with the urgency necessary to respond to our needs. I believe this administration and its policies is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, after that interview, Senator Kerry's top foreign policy adviser, Jamie Rubin, tried to explain those remarks, essentially saying that the senator believes that the president and his administration have squandered the attempt and squandered the opportunity to build relationships with moderate Arab leaders, with other world leaders, that they say could have perhaps created better communication, better relationships, that could have stopped perhaps the spread of the recruitment of terrorism.

Also essentially made no apologies for what the senator is going to continue to be talking about, especially here today in Grand Rapids, which is that he believes that homeland security under his plan will be better. In fact, this is a book that they're putting out today. We'll hear a lot about this, Daryn. Here, he is talking to first responders at a fire house. He is going to be talking about step one in this 250-page book, which is how he will more effectively, he says, stop the war on terrorism.

And one last thing, Daryn. On those comments you mentioned from Howard Dean, one of his campaign surrogates, Senator Kerry simply says he does not agree with him that there are any politics at work here with the terror threat. He says that he doesn't think it's politics. He thinks it's real. But he does say he's going to keep Howard Dean as a surrogate on his campaign -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana, meanwhile, we're about to talk with Bill Schneider about these new poll numbers that are out just after the convention. They're not that encouraging for the Kerry campaign. As I said, we'll look at the specific numbers in just a moment.

But while I have you here, any spin from the campaign on how they're handling that information?

BASH: Well, as you can imagine, yes, of course, there is. What the Kerry campaign essentially is saying is that they don't put a lot of stock in this poll. They say that going into the convention, they had acknowledged that there was a very small, as we've been talking about, middle-swing voter margin. And that they didn't expect much of a bounce because of that; that a lot of people have already made up their minds.

But certainly we've heard from the Bush campaign that they have said that this is really unprecedented in modern history for a candidate, a challenger to get this small of a bounce coming out.

But again, they're dismissing it, and they say, look at what they call the fundamentals, how President Bush is viewed in terms of his approval rating and how the country views the way, the direction the country is going. They say that matters a lot more than the horse race -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash in Michigan. Dana, thank you for that.

So, let's take a look at perhaps why Kerry's numbers are so flat. We pose that question to our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

William -- good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's look first at the numbers of favorable ratings both for Senator Kerry and President Bush.

SCHNEIDER: OK. I think we have those numbers up here. Before the convention, Kerry had a 56 percent favorable. And it went up, but just a tiny bit to 50 -- well, no, this is handle terrorism better.

KAGAN: OK, we're out of order.

SCHNEIDER: OK, let's look at these. Look at these. As you can see before the convention, Bush had a solid lead over Kerry on who would handle terrorism better. After the convention, Kerry picked up a couple of points, but so did Bush. This suggests very clearly that the issue of terrorism remains President Bush's issue.

And it's why Democrats are so worried about these latest terror threats, and why Howard Dean suggested that he suspects they could be political in motivation. The idea of putting this out for political reasons is, of course, monstrous. And the Kerry campaign has disavowed it. But that poll shows you exactly why it has the Kerry people worried.

KAGAN: OK. We were a little worried about the favorable numbers, but we have the graphic ready to go. So, let's take a look at that right now.

SCHNEIDER: OK. What you see here is that Kerry's favorables went up slightly, two points, from 56 to 58. But Bush's favorables did not drop.

What we could be seeing here is the consequence of the Democrats' decision not to go heavily negative on Bush personally, that they didn't beat up on Bush. It was a fairly happy convention, optimistic and buoyant. They decided that negative campaigning, at least against Bush personally, was not in order.

So, the result is President Bush didn't suffer any damage. Kerry didn't either. He may have gained a little bit, but President Bush also gained. And the result is, nothing much happened.

KAGAN: And one final question for you. There was a lot of talk of concern not just of what would happen with a terror event before the election, but how it could affect the outcome of the election. But even without an event taking place, aren't we already just seeing the existence of the terror threat affecting the political process?

SCHNEIDER: Sure. When the Americans are frightened, when they're angry or when they're worried about a terror threat, they look on President Bush as someone who's strong and a man of resolve who will protect the country. That is his strength. That is his one great advantage on the issues.

Now, if, God forbid, there were some kind of terror attack, something like happened in Madrid last year, would it help or hurt President Bush in the campaign? Well, initially I can assure you Americans always rally to the president at a time of crisis.

But after a few weeks, I think some difficult questions would be raised. Why wasn't the country better prepared? And also, the most difficult question of all: Did the war in Iraq make the United States safer or more vulnerable? Those would be tough questions.

KAGAN: Bill Schneider in Washington. Bill, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAGAN: New York facing a terror threat as the markets open a new week. The numbers from the New York Stock Exchange are straight ahead.

And there's suspense and success in "The Village." We'll take a look at that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're looking at a live picture right now of Senator John Kerry. He's making a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this morning. Just a few minutes ago, he made comments about the new terror threat.

Let's hear what the senator had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: The threats that have gone up yesterday indicate that the threat process goes on. The threat remains. But you have to really look at the things that make a real difference to the security of our country.

For months I have been calling for a national director of intelligence, so that we coordinate all of the intelligence-gathering of our nation, so that we bring our watch lists together, so that different agencies know who's on their watch list, what progress they're making. How do we make America safer? I know something about this, because I used to be in law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: About 40 minutes from right now, President bush is expected to make an announcement from the Rose Garden from the White House. He is expected to announce that he's going to create a position that would be a national director of intelligence, but one that is situated outside the White House, just one of many announcements we expect to hear from President Bush about 40 minutes from right now. You will see that live right here on CNN.

Meanwhile, a number of the targets of the suspected terrorism hits have been financial ones. Let's see if that is affecting the markets on this Monday morning.

(BUSINESS NEWS UPDATE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's inside safe somewhere. Please close the door!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'll come back to make sure we're safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Danger may lurk on screen, but comfort surrounded at the box office, the new thriller, "The Village," scared up the No. 1 spot in its debut this weekend, taking in almost $51 million. Its director, M. Knight Shyamalan's latest is about an isolated town beset with boogeymen.

The movie bumped "The Bourne Supremacy" down to No. 2 over the weekend. The remake of the "Manchurian Candidate" opened at No. 3 on the list. And the movies, "I, Robot" and "Spider-Man 2," took the No. 4 and the No. 5 spots.

Well, one critic is calling "The Village" the director's best film yet. That is on CNN.com/entertainment. You'll also find a comparison between the old and the new versions of "The Manchurian Candidate." There is more on other films, TV shows and books. CNN.com/entertainment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

The U.S. Marine taken hostage and threatened with beheading in Iraq is back in the states with his family. Corporal Wasef Ali Hassoun, who is on leave, returned to his brother's home outside Salt Lake City on Saturday. He made a brief statement on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CPL. WASSEF ALI HASSOUN, U.S. MARINE: People who know me, and most of you are getting to know me, know that I'm proud to be a Muslim, Arab-American, serving with honor. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Hassoun says that he was held captive for 19 days. He later turned up at the home of relatives in Lebanon. It is unclear how he got there.

Iraqi officials blame bombing targeting Christian worshipers on insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Seven people were killed and more than 60 wounded in the weekend attacks.

Our Matthew Chance has more now from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sunday mass in Baghdad turned to carnage. The first car bomb detonated outside a crowded church in the central Karada district. Stained glass windows shattered in the streets. Sunday worshipers killed and injured, together with Iraqi Muslims outside.

COL. MIKE MURRAY, U.S. ARMY: I don't know if it's a surprise. I think it is another step down for the people that are doing this. I mean, the people that were injured and the people that were -- and I'm sure they will be killed before this is all said and done. But these people were doing nothing but just going about their daily lives. And they were in the church for prayer when the car bomb went off.

CHANCE: Minutes later another car bomb, another church in the same district. This time rescue workers, backed by U.S. forces, struggled through a nine-foot crater to reach the casualties.

Two more churches were also attacked in Baghdad in what appears to be an orchestrated assault. Christian areas of the city were in flames.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A car bomb crashed into the church and exploded there with many dead and injured. They are our Christian brothers and friends. This is a dangerous criminal act.

CHANCE: And there was more to come. In the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded at a church as worshipers were leaving. Christians in Iraq have long been discriminated against, even persecuted. But not like this.

(on camera): Iraq's Christian community is small, little more than 700,000 people. Many own shops selling alcohol and are seen as rich by others. And because of that, they've been targeted in the past by Islamic radicals and criminals. But the coordinated bombing of their churches, this is a new and disturbing tactic. Matthew Chance, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.

Road rage in Tacoma, Washington. One man was shot, the other stabbed. Both ended up in the hospital. Police say one driver apparently cut the other off, and that led to words, hand gestures, then the shooting and the stabbing.

Jury selection begins this morning in Port Allen, Louisiana, in the trial of suspected serial killer Derrick Todd Lee. Lee faces second-degree murder charges in the stabbing death of 21-year-old Geralyn DeSoto. Police say Lee is also linked to the deaths of six other women.

And in Los Angeles, presidential hopeful Ralph Nader lost to an imprisoned American Indian activist. The California Peace and Freedom Party chose Leonard Peltier as its presidential candidate. Peltier is serving a life term for killing two FBI agents. However, the Peace Party urged voters to sign Nader's petition to be placed on the November 2 ballot.

Well, you've heard of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland and the legendary elusive Bigfoot roaming free. Well, now there are some who are saying a monster is on the move in Maryland. Residents of Glyndon believe that this strange-looking creature is still roaming around. One man tracked the animal and caught something, but doctors believe he caught a small red fox, not the mysterious creature in question. A local vet says the red fox has a severe case of scabies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With regards to hair loss, the scabbing, the irritation, ulcerations, all of that comes about from them being very itchy, rolling around, scratching of themselves, et cetera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: All right. We will continue to track that one out of Maryland.

When something old is new again, if you still have not adjusted to using those tiny, little cell phones, there could be an alternative for you.

And, this is what we're working on for next hour.

ANNOUNCER: The story CNN is following today. At 11:00, the terror threat level raised in financial districts in the Northeast. A look at precautions being taken.

Plus, the Scott Peterson trial resumes. The latest on the case live from Redwood City. And Tropical Storm Alex looms off the Carolina coast. At noon, we're tracking the storm's path.

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We are standing by. President Bush about 25 minutes from right now will be speaking in the Rose Garden from the White House. He is expected to make a number of announcements in the wake of the latest terror threat and the latest 9/11 Commission report about changes that he plans to make in an attempt to keep the nation safer. You'll see those comments live right here on CNN.

Well, sometimes bigger is better. Get a load of this new cell phone. It is becoming all the rage in Europe. It is a standard headset connected to a concealed cell phone. OK. Shows you everything old is new again.

So first, Jacqui, they had to get as small as possible. Now they have to get as big as possible.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know! Is that for the look, do you think?

KAGAN: It must be. It absolutely must be.

JERAS: I don't know. I like the headsets, so you can never tell if you're talking to yourself in the car.

KAGAN: That's it.

(WEATHER BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired August 2, 2004 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Presidential candidate John Kerry is due to take the stage any moment in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He'll unveil a book that outlines his campaign's plans for increasing national security and better fighting the war on terror. Kerry has made intelligence reform part of his campaign platform.
On to more political news now. Former presidential candidate Howard Dean is raising eyebrows and a few hackles with his public criticism of the raised terror alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism. His whole campaign is based on the notion that I can keep you safe; therefore, in times of difficulty for America, stick with me. And then out comes Tom Ridge.

It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics. And I suspect there's some of both in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Dean's comments triggered not only outrage from Republicans, but also from some Democrats. Senator Joseph Lieberman, himself a former presidential candidate, denounced Dean's suggestion as outrageous.

Well, the Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, was briefed on the latest terror concerns last night. It came while he was campaigning in Michigan. He's still in the battleground state this morning. And, in fact, terrorism will be the focus of a campaign event that is scheduled to begin any moment.

Our Dana Bash is traveling with the senator, and she is in Grand Rapids with a preview.

Good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

And Senator Kerry was briefed about the terror alert last night. He was briefed on his campaign bus in Taylor, Michigan. That was his last stop last night. He had about a 40-minute briefing from a senior intelligence official on a secure phone line from that bus. And today it seems that Senator Kerry, in terms of his strategy here, is using this threat as a way to essentially try to prove the point he started to make during the Democratic Convention, and has been doing so since he left and has been traveling on his bus. And that is that the president, he believes, is not doing enough to prevent the stop of the spread of terrorism.

And, in fact, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning, he took it a step further. He said that perhaps the administration, what they have done so far, is encouraging the spread of terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, they take any threat seriously. What's important, however, is not to sort of bounce along from threat to threat. It's to win the war. And I believe that I can fight a more effective war on terror than George Bush is. I know I can fight a more effective war.

Lee Hamilton, the co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, has said, this administration is not moving with the urgency necessary to respond to our needs. I believe this administration and its policies is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, after that interview, Senator Kerry's top foreign policy adviser, Jamie Rubin, tried to explain those remarks, essentially saying that the senator believes that the president and his administration have squandered the attempt and squandered the opportunity to build relationships with moderate Arab leaders, with other world leaders, that they say could have perhaps created better communication, better relationships, that could have stopped perhaps the spread of the recruitment of terrorism.

Also essentially made no apologies for what the senator is going to continue to be talking about, especially here today in Grand Rapids, which is that he believes that homeland security under his plan will be better. In fact, this is a book that they're putting out today. We'll hear a lot about this, Daryn. Here, he is talking to first responders at a fire house. He is going to be talking about step one in this 250-page book, which is how he will more effectively, he says, stop the war on terrorism.

And one last thing, Daryn. On those comments you mentioned from Howard Dean, one of his campaign surrogates, Senator Kerry simply says he does not agree with him that there are any politics at work here with the terror threat. He says that he doesn't think it's politics. He thinks it's real. But he does say he's going to keep Howard Dean as a surrogate on his campaign -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana, meanwhile, we're about to talk with Bill Schneider about these new poll numbers that are out just after the convention. They're not that encouraging for the Kerry campaign. As I said, we'll look at the specific numbers in just a moment.

But while I have you here, any spin from the campaign on how they're handling that information?

BASH: Well, as you can imagine, yes, of course, there is. What the Kerry campaign essentially is saying is that they don't put a lot of stock in this poll. They say that going into the convention, they had acknowledged that there was a very small, as we've been talking about, middle-swing voter margin. And that they didn't expect much of a bounce because of that; that a lot of people have already made up their minds.

But certainly we've heard from the Bush campaign that they have said that this is really unprecedented in modern history for a candidate, a challenger to get this small of a bounce coming out.

But again, they're dismissing it, and they say, look at what they call the fundamentals, how President Bush is viewed in terms of his approval rating and how the country views the way, the direction the country is going. They say that matters a lot more than the horse race -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Dana Bash in Michigan. Dana, thank you for that.

So, let's take a look at perhaps why Kerry's numbers are so flat. We pose that question to our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

William -- good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's look first at the numbers of favorable ratings both for Senator Kerry and President Bush.

SCHNEIDER: OK. I think we have those numbers up here. Before the convention, Kerry had a 56 percent favorable. And it went up, but just a tiny bit to 50 -- well, no, this is handle terrorism better.

KAGAN: OK, we're out of order.

SCHNEIDER: OK, let's look at these. Look at these. As you can see before the convention, Bush had a solid lead over Kerry on who would handle terrorism better. After the convention, Kerry picked up a couple of points, but so did Bush. This suggests very clearly that the issue of terrorism remains President Bush's issue.

And it's why Democrats are so worried about these latest terror threats, and why Howard Dean suggested that he suspects they could be political in motivation. The idea of putting this out for political reasons is, of course, monstrous. And the Kerry campaign has disavowed it. But that poll shows you exactly why it has the Kerry people worried.

KAGAN: OK. We were a little worried about the favorable numbers, but we have the graphic ready to go. So, let's take a look at that right now.

SCHNEIDER: OK. What you see here is that Kerry's favorables went up slightly, two points, from 56 to 58. But Bush's favorables did not drop.

What we could be seeing here is the consequence of the Democrats' decision not to go heavily negative on Bush personally, that they didn't beat up on Bush. It was a fairly happy convention, optimistic and buoyant. They decided that negative campaigning, at least against Bush personally, was not in order.

So, the result is President Bush didn't suffer any damage. Kerry didn't either. He may have gained a little bit, but President Bush also gained. And the result is, nothing much happened.

KAGAN: And one final question for you. There was a lot of talk of concern not just of what would happen with a terror event before the election, but how it could affect the outcome of the election. But even without an event taking place, aren't we already just seeing the existence of the terror threat affecting the political process?

SCHNEIDER: Sure. When the Americans are frightened, when they're angry or when they're worried about a terror threat, they look on President Bush as someone who's strong and a man of resolve who will protect the country. That is his strength. That is his one great advantage on the issues.

Now, if, God forbid, there were some kind of terror attack, something like happened in Madrid last year, would it help or hurt President Bush in the campaign? Well, initially I can assure you Americans always rally to the president at a time of crisis.

But after a few weeks, I think some difficult questions would be raised. Why wasn't the country better prepared? And also, the most difficult question of all: Did the war in Iraq make the United States safer or more vulnerable? Those would be tough questions.

KAGAN: Bill Schneider in Washington. Bill, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAGAN: New York facing a terror threat as the markets open a new week. The numbers from the New York Stock Exchange are straight ahead.

And there's suspense and success in "The Village." We'll take a look at that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're looking at a live picture right now of Senator John Kerry. He's making a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this morning. Just a few minutes ago, he made comments about the new terror threat.

Let's hear what the senator had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: The threats that have gone up yesterday indicate that the threat process goes on. The threat remains. But you have to really look at the things that make a real difference to the security of our country.

For months I have been calling for a national director of intelligence, so that we coordinate all of the intelligence-gathering of our nation, so that we bring our watch lists together, so that different agencies know who's on their watch list, what progress they're making. How do we make America safer? I know something about this, because I used to be in law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: About 40 minutes from right now, President bush is expected to make an announcement from the Rose Garden from the White House. He is expected to announce that he's going to create a position that would be a national director of intelligence, but one that is situated outside the White House, just one of many announcements we expect to hear from President Bush about 40 minutes from right now. You will see that live right here on CNN.

Meanwhile, a number of the targets of the suspected terrorism hits have been financial ones. Let's see if that is affecting the markets on this Monday morning.

(BUSINESS NEWS UPDATE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's inside safe somewhere. Please close the door!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'll come back to make sure we're safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Danger may lurk on screen, but comfort surrounded at the box office, the new thriller, "The Village," scared up the No. 1 spot in its debut this weekend, taking in almost $51 million. Its director, M. Knight Shyamalan's latest is about an isolated town beset with boogeymen.

The movie bumped "The Bourne Supremacy" down to No. 2 over the weekend. The remake of the "Manchurian Candidate" opened at No. 3 on the list. And the movies, "I, Robot" and "Spider-Man 2," took the No. 4 and the No. 5 spots.

Well, one critic is calling "The Village" the director's best film yet. That is on CNN.com/entertainment. You'll also find a comparison between the old and the new versions of "The Manchurian Candidate." There is more on other films, TV shows and books. CNN.com/entertainment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

The U.S. Marine taken hostage and threatened with beheading in Iraq is back in the states with his family. Corporal Wasef Ali Hassoun, who is on leave, returned to his brother's home outside Salt Lake City on Saturday. He made a brief statement on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CPL. WASSEF ALI HASSOUN, U.S. MARINE: People who know me, and most of you are getting to know me, know that I'm proud to be a Muslim, Arab-American, serving with honor. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Hassoun says that he was held captive for 19 days. He later turned up at the home of relatives in Lebanon. It is unclear how he got there.

Iraqi officials blame bombing targeting Christian worshipers on insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Seven people were killed and more than 60 wounded in the weekend attacks.

Our Matthew Chance has more now from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sunday mass in Baghdad turned to carnage. The first car bomb detonated outside a crowded church in the central Karada district. Stained glass windows shattered in the streets. Sunday worshipers killed and injured, together with Iraqi Muslims outside.

COL. MIKE MURRAY, U.S. ARMY: I don't know if it's a surprise. I think it is another step down for the people that are doing this. I mean, the people that were injured and the people that were -- and I'm sure they will be killed before this is all said and done. But these people were doing nothing but just going about their daily lives. And they were in the church for prayer when the car bomb went off.

CHANCE: Minutes later another car bomb, another church in the same district. This time rescue workers, backed by U.S. forces, struggled through a nine-foot crater to reach the casualties.

Two more churches were also attacked in Baghdad in what appears to be an orchestrated assault. Christian areas of the city were in flames.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A car bomb crashed into the church and exploded there with many dead and injured. They are our Christian brothers and friends. This is a dangerous criminal act.

CHANCE: And there was more to come. In the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded at a church as worshipers were leaving. Christians in Iraq have long been discriminated against, even persecuted. But not like this.

(on camera): Iraq's Christian community is small, little more than 700,000 people. Many own shops selling alcohol and are seen as rich by others. And because of that, they've been targeted in the past by Islamic radicals and criminals. But the coordinated bombing of their churches, this is a new and disturbing tactic. Matthew Chance, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.

Road rage in Tacoma, Washington. One man was shot, the other stabbed. Both ended up in the hospital. Police say one driver apparently cut the other off, and that led to words, hand gestures, then the shooting and the stabbing.

Jury selection begins this morning in Port Allen, Louisiana, in the trial of suspected serial killer Derrick Todd Lee. Lee faces second-degree murder charges in the stabbing death of 21-year-old Geralyn DeSoto. Police say Lee is also linked to the deaths of six other women.

And in Los Angeles, presidential hopeful Ralph Nader lost to an imprisoned American Indian activist. The California Peace and Freedom Party chose Leonard Peltier as its presidential candidate. Peltier is serving a life term for killing two FBI agents. However, the Peace Party urged voters to sign Nader's petition to be placed on the November 2 ballot.

Well, you've heard of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland and the legendary elusive Bigfoot roaming free. Well, now there are some who are saying a monster is on the move in Maryland. Residents of Glyndon believe that this strange-looking creature is still roaming around. One man tracked the animal and caught something, but doctors believe he caught a small red fox, not the mysterious creature in question. A local vet says the red fox has a severe case of scabies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With regards to hair loss, the scabbing, the irritation, ulcerations, all of that comes about from them being very itchy, rolling around, scratching of themselves, et cetera.

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KAGAN: All right. We will continue to track that one out of Maryland.

When something old is new again, if you still have not adjusted to using those tiny, little cell phones, there could be an alternative for you.

And, this is what we're working on for next hour.

ANNOUNCER: The story CNN is following today. At 11:00, the terror threat level raised in financial districts in the Northeast. A look at precautions being taken.

Plus, the Scott Peterson trial resumes. The latest on the case live from Redwood City. And Tropical Storm Alex looms off the Carolina coast. At noon, we're tracking the storm's path.

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: We are standing by. President Bush about 25 minutes from right now will be speaking in the Rose Garden from the White House. He is expected to make a number of announcements in the wake of the latest terror threat and the latest 9/11 Commission report about changes that he plans to make in an attempt to keep the nation safer. You'll see those comments live right here on CNN.

Well, sometimes bigger is better. Get a load of this new cell phone. It is becoming all the rage in Europe. It is a standard headset connected to a concealed cell phone. OK. Shows you everything old is new again.

So first, Jacqui, they had to get as small as possible. Now they have to get as big as possible.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know! Is that for the look, do you think?

KAGAN: It must be. It absolutely must be.

JERAS: I don't know. I like the headsets, so you can never tell if you're talking to yourself in the car.

KAGAN: That's it.

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