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CNN Live At Daybreak

Voting Problems; Falluja Ultimatum; O'Reilly Lawsuits; Debate PS

Aired October 14, 2004 - 05:30   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Who do you think won the third and final presidential debate? We'll get the opinions of pundits and voters.
It's Thursday, October 14. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

"Now in the News."

Mixed results in an attempt by security forces in Pakistan to rescue two Chinese hostages. One hostage was freed, the other killed. Five kidnappers were also killed in this operation.

More carnage in Gaza today, Israeli airstrikes killed five Palestinians in Rafah in southern Gaza. Three of them were believed to be members of the militant group Hamas.

Once accused by the Bush administration of being an enemy combatant, Yasser Hamdi says he is innocent. Hamdi spent three years in U.S. jails before being released this week in Saudi Arabia.

To the Forecast Center now and Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at the weather, I'm laughing at the e-mails we're getting this morning, which we're going to read a little later.

MYERS: Good.

COSTELLO: They are funny, funny. We've got the best viewers. Thank you. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

We're heading into the home stretch now, just 19 more days to go until national elections. We've got early numbers from last night's final presidential debate just for you. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup snap poll taken immediately after the final presidential face-off asks who did a better job in the debate? Fifty-two percent say Kerry, 39 percent say Bush. According to those in the polls, Kerry goes three for three in the debates.

Presidential debates traded jabs -- or the presidential candidates, rather, traded jabs over a wide range of issues. Here's a look at some of their positions, beginning with the question that led the debate, will our children and grandchildren ever live in a world as safe and secure as the world in which we grew up?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we can be safe and secure, if we stay on the offense against the terrorists and if we spread freedom and liberty around the world. I have got a comprehensive strategy to not only chase down the al Qaeda, wherever it exists, and we're making progress.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the president had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, he took his focus off of them, outsourced the job to Afghan warlords, and Osama bin Laden escaped.

BUSH: So in order to take pressure off the border, in order to make the borders more secure, I believe there ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, so long as there's not an American willing to do the job.

KERRY: No. 1: The borders are more leaking today than they were before 9/11. The fact is, we haven't done what we need to do to toughen up our borders, and I will.

Secondly, we need a guest-worker program, but if it's all we have, it's not going to solve the problem.

The second thing we need is to crack down on illegal hiring. It's against the law in the United States to hire people illegally, and we ought to be enforcing that law properly.

BUSH: I believe law-abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun. I believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure that guns don't get in the hands of people that shouldn't have them. But the best way to protect our citizens from guns is to prosecute those who commit crimes with guns.

KERRY: I believe it was a failure of presidential leadership not to reauthorize the assault weapons ban. I am a hunter. I'm a gun owner. I've been a hunter since I was a kid, 12, 13 years old. And I respect the Second Amendment and I will not tamper with the Second Amendment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And there was more health care, taxes, also one of the hotly debated issues. Both candidates are campaigning again. They are in Las Vegas today. George Bush has a rally shortly after 1:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN will bring that to you live. And John Kerry will address the AARP at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. And CNN will bring you that live as well. Tonight, Paula Zahn will host a town hall meeting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They'll be discussing the issues you care about. That comes your way at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

So what do you think, will your vote count in this election or will the election be plagued with problems? Those are the big concerns as we move closer to November 2.

Our Dan Lothian has more on that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): As the clock winds down in the race for the White House, there is growing concern over what the accuracy will be of the final count.

ERIC RUSSELL (ph), VOTER'S OUTREACH OF AMERICA: David thinks he's registered to vote.

LOTHIAN: In Nevada, Eric Russell, a former part-time worker for the Republican-backed group Voter's Outreach of America, alleges supervisors destroyed forms filled out by Democrats, threw out registration receipts and put pressure on workers to only sign up Republicans.

RUSSELL: If you had brought in Republicans or Democrats, you weren't getting paid. I mean, our -- bottom line.

LOTHIAN: He says he kept discarded paperwork as evidence. A Republican consultant with ties to the group says Russell is a disgruntled ex-employee trying to get even. In a statement, the Republican National Committee said, "Anyone who engages in fraudulent voter registration activities should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

In Colorado, CNN affiliate KUSA found signs of fraud on registration forms, bogus names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, and forged signatures.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 100 percent that this is not her signature.

LOTHIAN: They spoke with this woman who claims she not only registered to vote 25 times, but also signed up three of her friends 40 times, all to help her boyfriend who was making $2 for every application, working for Acorn, a group aligned with the Democratic Party.

KIM CASON, GIRLFRIEND: You know, I was just helping the people out downtown. You know, everybody needs an extra dollar here and now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did have incidents where there were people who were attempting to defraud us.

LOTHIAN: And across the country in key battleground states, like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, some worry new voting technology may result in mistakes and fraud, and where there is no paper trail, an impossible task to recount.

Already in Florida, a problem, power failure during Hurricane Jeanne may have damaged computer equipment causing a server to crash. A test of Palm Beach County's electronic voting system had to be postponed.

(on camera): All of these concerns have led to lawsuits and investigations. Various groups and officials working hard to lower the odds of irregularities with less than three weeks to go.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Give up al-Zarqawi or face attack. That's the Iraqi government's ultimatum to the people of Falluja believed to be a stronghold of the top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

More on this story from CNN's Brent Sadler. He's live in Baghdad this morning.

Hello -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

So far this day, and I just heard an explosion then, it sounded like a car bomb somewhere in the capital, just shook our light position here. In other violence -- in fact, another blast there. You hear that one coming in. It'll be some minutes before we find out what's going on behind us.

In other violence, it comes in various forms. Bomb attacks in Mosul. Also heavy clashes between U.S. troops and insurgents in Ramadi and north of the Iraqi capital, as well as drive-by shootings against the police in Bacuba (ph), another restive area. And also more drive-by shootings this morning, killing a judge in Baghdad and killing a female journalist working for Kurdish television.

Now the Iraqi interim authorities here have, as you say, laid down an ultimatum to the people of Falluja, that key rebel stronghold west of the capital, hand over Iraq's most wanted terror suspect or face a new military offensive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): The Falluja-based terror group, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claims more victims: two Iraqi men said to be intelligence officers, both decapitated, their murders posted on an Islamic Web site, claimed by the same brand of killers who beheaded British hostage Kenneth Bigley last week, the same group that says its followers have carried out many of the deadliest car bomb attacks in Baghdad, including a recent blast that killed 34 children.

For weeks, Zarqawi's terror network in Falluja has been targeted by U.S. airstrikes. He's America's No. 1 enemy in Iraq, with a $25 million reward for anyone who turns him in. Now, it seems, there's a new incentive, a blunt ultimatum from the interim government poised to strike with U.S.-backed ground troops.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through interpreter): If they don't hand us Zarqawi and his people in Falluja, we will also conduct operations in Falluja. We will spare no effort to protect the Iraqi people.

SADLER: Some local leaders in Falluja are trying to negotiate the city out of a much-feared ground attack, one that could turn out to be even more intense and deadlier than a three-week U.S. Marines' offensive in April that left hundreds of Iraqis dead.

(on camera): U.S. and Iraqi authorities are aiming to drive a wedge between Zarqawi's extremists and home-grown nationalist insurgents, using air power to hit terror targets and dialogue to win over some insurgent leaders.

(voice-over): But the airstrikes and turmoil have scattered large numbers of Falluja's terrified population. Tens of thousands of people have reportedly fled to safer areas outside the rebel's stronghold, a fear factor that may weaken the hand of Falluja's negotiators, like Sheikh Khalid Hamad (ph).

"They chase Zarqawi al Qaeda in Falluja, he explains, but we haven't seen them. We have seen torn bodies of children and the elderly, and that's a fact.

The fate of Falluja and other rebellious areas, like Sadr City, a Shi'a Muslim slum close to the capital, hang in the balance. As part of one peace accord, Mehdi Army militiamen surrender more weapons, including a car bomb wired and ready to go. But it's still not enough. And with elections scheduled in three months, time is running out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: And for Sadr City, a deadline for that handover of weapons comes up Friday, the start for Muslims of the holy fasting month of Ramadan -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And you're safe there, Brent, because I know there were explosions going on behind you a little earlier. So we're just going to let you go to find out what those were.

Brent Sadler live from Baghdad this morning.

A news anchor in the news. You will want to hear about the phone sex and blackmail accusations, so don't go away. That's four minutes away.

And 10 minutes from now, we'll take a look at how we did in predicting the final war of words.

And our e-mail "Question of the Day," what is your favorite campaign slogan from this year? Or we wanted you to come up with your own campaign slogans. And boy, have you done that. They're good ones. We're going to read some of your e-mails a little later. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly finds himself in the news today. He's being sued for sexual harassment.

Jason Carroll has details for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the night of the last presidential debate, for Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly, politics would not be the first story in his show.

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": But there comes a time when enough is enough. And so this morning, I had to file a lawsuit against some people who are demanding $60 million or they will -- quote -- "punish me and Fox News."

CARROLL: Faced with sexual harassment allegations against him, O'Reilly said he had no choice but to file a complaint claiming extortion. This in response to allegations made by Andrea Mackris, an associate producer for "The O'Reilly Factor." Mackris' suit, filed after her boss and Fox News filed theirs, alleges, on several occasions, O'Reilly made sexually explicit comments to her.

BENEDICT MORELLI, MACKRIS' ATTORNEY: And suddenly, without provocation or warning, Mr. O'Reilly said to the plaintiff, Andrea Mackris, and just use your vibrator to blow off steam. What? You've got a vibrator, don't you? Every girl does.

CARROLL: Mackris spoke through her attorney to allege O'Reilly's inappropriate comments were made in person, over dinners and over the phone. Mackris' complaint contains detailed quotes allegedly from O'Reilly. O'Reilly's attorney says he'll ask the court to turn over copies of any recorded conversations, certain there is nothing incriminating. Her attorney would not say if there were any tapes.

O'Reilly's accuser worked at Fox News from April 2000 until January 2004. During which time, according to her complaint, O'Reilly allegedly made several sexually inappropriate comments. Mackris left Fox News and took a higher paying producer position at CNN. But in July 2004, she returned to "The O'Reilly Factor," working again for O'Reilly.

On condition, her complaint says, -- quote -- "he no longer engaged in inappropriate conduct." But Mackris alleges that conduct resumed. O'Reilly's attorney says none of the actions rise to the level of unlawful activity. O'Reilly says the suit is motivated by greed and politics.

MORELLI: Let me tell you, if it was politically motivated, I would have brought the lawsuit originally and not engaged in negotiations and discussions with their lawyers for the last two plus weeks.

O'REILLY: Sixty million dollars. I really can't say anything else. I don't want to waste your time with this. The justice system has the case. We'll see what happens.

CARROLL (on camera): Mackris' attorney would not comment on Fox's claim. He demanded $60 million hush money to prevent the filing of the sexual harassment lawsuit. He did say O'Reilly's extortion claim is without merit and that O'Reilly's behavior will be proven in court.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Turn our attention back to the debate last night. Senator Kerry did manage to raise the hackles of the opposition with one of his comments, but not the hackles of President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: We're all God's children, Bob. And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNNE CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT'S WIFE: I did have a chance to assess John Kerry once more, and you know the only thing I could conclude is this is not a good man. This is not a good man. And of course I am speaking as a mom and a pretty indignant mom, this is not a good man. What a cheap and tawdry political trick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now let's see how we did as debate prognosticators. Far and away in the wilds of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Waking Crew WOKQ is on the air.

Good morning -- Mark and Danielle.

MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well aren't we just useless.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: That's why we usually leave it to the experts.

DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: For those of you who weren't with us yesterday, we were trying to guess how many times each candidate would use key phrases like, Mark, should we start with your predictions? ERICSON: Sure.

COSTELLO: You said homeland security would be...

ERICSON: About 15 times.

COSTELLO: Fifteen times.

ERICSON: You know.

COSTELLO: Well, we have a total of three, and that's by use of both candidates.

CARRIER: They did it on purpose.

COSTELLO: I think they did, too, just to mess Mark up.

CARRIER: Totally.

ERICSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: For liberal use of the word liberal,...

ERICSON: Well,...

COSTELLO: ... I think both of you said that George Bush would use the term liberal 32 times.

ERICSON: He started using terms like left of mainstream and out of the mainstream. He was working around the term liberal as much as possible I think.

CARRIER: It was there in spirit.

COSTELLO: You know what, he did mention Ted Kennedy, and I think that's the use of the liberal to the third power. So maybe that is worth 32 times.

ERICSON: That's right. That qualifies, because if you look in the dictionary, well, never mind.

COSTELLO: I understand. OK, let's go on to Danielle's predictions.

CARRIER: Oh goodness.

COSTELLO: She said there would be two unnecessary Red Sox references by John Kerry. And guess what?

CARRIER: None, I'm totally depressed.

ERICSON: However, there was one unnecessary reference to Tony Soprano.

CARRIER: Yes. ERICSON: And what concerned me about that was the look on President Bush's face. I'm not sure he understood that reference. And I'm starting to think that maybe the White House only has basic cable.

COSTELLO: Well, he has more important things to do than watch television.

ERICSON: OK.

COSTELLO: But I think John Kerry was trying to connect with viewers in a pop culture kind of way. You don't think that was effective?

ERICSON: I think it was certainly affective. I think going back to the original format or the format of the very first debate, I think the format last night didn't lend itself to as much getting to the ooey-gooey core of both of these guys. I think they were a little on the stilted side.

COSTELLO: You know what, talking about stilted, we're talking about campaign slogans and how weak they are from both candidates this year. So we asked our viewers to come up with their own campaign slogans for John Kerry...

ERICSON: OK.

COSTELLO: ... and for George Bush. So I want to read you a couple.

ERICSON: All right.

COSTELLO: This is from Ron (ph) from the voting capital of the world, West Palm Beach, Florida. He says I think a good slogan for Kerry would be shuck and jive in 2005.

ERICSON: At least it rhymes.

COSTELLO: Yes.

This is from Nicholas (ph) from Omaha, Nebraska, for George Bush, America will stand resolute. That's pretty good, don't you think?

CARRIER: All right.

ERICSON: Yes, that works for the Bush camp.

COSTELLO: This is from Susan (ph) in Grafton, Massachusetts. She says like father, like son, one term and done.

ERICSON: Wow!

COSTELLO: Ouch! Of course that would be for John Kerry.

This is from Sarah (ph) from Long Island, New York, you can sum up Bush and Cheney's message with this phrase, be afraid, be very afraid.

ERICSON: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the voting booth.

CARRIER: Yes, no kidding.

COSTELLO: Thanks for your comments, Mark and Danielle, and thanks to our viewers for coming up with such clever slogans at this early hour in the morning.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And we do have some breaking news to tell you about out of Baghdad, Iraq. As you heard Brent Sadler say a few moments ago, as he was doing a live shot for us about something completely different, he heard several explosions going off behind him.

Brent is on the phone right now. And we would assume, Brent, that this smoke is the result of those explosions that you heard.

SADLER: That's right, Carol, yes. What you're seeing now is a live picture from our live shot position in the direction of The Green Zone, that's the heavily fortified part of the capital which houses the U.S. and British embassies.

Now when I was on air, I heard two very powerful explosions. They were sounding like the kind of explosions normally associated with car bombs. Too early to say if this is a car bomb attack or a rocket attack or a mortar attack, but certainly, as you can see from this live shot here, significant amounts of smoke pouring out of a location. It could be in The Green Zone, at the outer edge of it, it could be just outside, we're not clear, so we're not going to report accurately exactly what this is.

But we can tell you it is the direction The Green Zone. It follows within 15 minutes two powerful explosions that we heard when I was on air. And we're waiting for information as to what is going on where that smoke is now emerging from -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brent, explain to our viewers The Green Zone. It's difficult to get cars through there. They are heavily inspected, aren't they?

SADLER: Yes, indeed they are. This is a very well protected area. Concrete blast walls round the entire perimeter of The Green Zone. And you have a series of checks, body searches, bag searches, to get anywhere near important parts of the central areas of The Green Zone.

But the periphery where people get dropped off, where people who work inside The Green Zone, Iraqis where they get dropped off by buses or by taxis or by family members in their cars, they are potentially exposed areas. And we have seen a series of car bomb attacks against various entrances to The Green Zone over the past many months. As I say, still too early to know what the blast site is here, but we can confirm two loud explosions resulting pretty soon afterwards in what you're seeing now in that live picture. And obviously, given the way that smoke is pulsating, has been doing for the last 10, 15 minutes, a significant, I would say, source of fire burning somewhere in or just outside The Green Zone -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Brent, we saw two American helicopters fly by a short time ago. Can you see any other activity in the air?

SADLER: No, not at the moment. Normally under these sort of conditions you get a tentative approach to the area on the ground and a build up in activity from the air. And the last couple of minutes while we've been showing you this live shot as certainly aerial antics (ph) have now come in to play.

But we still don't know, I must stress, whether or not this was a car bomb attack or if this was the use of some other form of attack device, i.e., a rocket or a mortar. But certainly a significant amount of smoke coming from a fire or fires from that location -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll let you go, Brent, so you can gather more information again. Two loud explosions heard near The Green Zone. Don't know if those explosions went off inside The Green Zone or outside The Green Zone. When we get more specific information, of course we'll pass it along to you.

This is DAYBREAK for a Thursday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired October 14, 2004 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Who do you think won the third and final presidential debate? We'll get the opinions of pundits and voters.
It's Thursday, October 14. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

"Now in the News."

Mixed results in an attempt by security forces in Pakistan to rescue two Chinese hostages. One hostage was freed, the other killed. Five kidnappers were also killed in this operation.

More carnage in Gaza today, Israeli airstrikes killed five Palestinians in Rafah in southern Gaza. Three of them were believed to be members of the militant group Hamas.

Once accused by the Bush administration of being an enemy combatant, Yasser Hamdi says he is innocent. Hamdi spent three years in U.S. jails before being released this week in Saudi Arabia.

To the Forecast Center now and Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at the weather, I'm laughing at the e-mails we're getting this morning, which we're going to read a little later.

MYERS: Good.

COSTELLO: They are funny, funny. We've got the best viewers. Thank you. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

We're heading into the home stretch now, just 19 more days to go until national elections. We've got early numbers from last night's final presidential debate just for you. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup snap poll taken immediately after the final presidential face-off asks who did a better job in the debate? Fifty-two percent say Kerry, 39 percent say Bush. According to those in the polls, Kerry goes three for three in the debates.

Presidential debates traded jabs -- or the presidential candidates, rather, traded jabs over a wide range of issues. Here's a look at some of their positions, beginning with the question that led the debate, will our children and grandchildren ever live in a world as safe and secure as the world in which we grew up?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we can be safe and secure, if we stay on the offense against the terrorists and if we spread freedom and liberty around the world. I have got a comprehensive strategy to not only chase down the al Qaeda, wherever it exists, and we're making progress.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the president had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, he took his focus off of them, outsourced the job to Afghan warlords, and Osama bin Laden escaped.

BUSH: So in order to take pressure off the border, in order to make the borders more secure, I believe there ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, so long as there's not an American willing to do the job.

KERRY: No. 1: The borders are more leaking today than they were before 9/11. The fact is, we haven't done what we need to do to toughen up our borders, and I will.

Secondly, we need a guest-worker program, but if it's all we have, it's not going to solve the problem.

The second thing we need is to crack down on illegal hiring. It's against the law in the United States to hire people illegally, and we ought to be enforcing that law properly.

BUSH: I believe law-abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun. I believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure that guns don't get in the hands of people that shouldn't have them. But the best way to protect our citizens from guns is to prosecute those who commit crimes with guns.

KERRY: I believe it was a failure of presidential leadership not to reauthorize the assault weapons ban. I am a hunter. I'm a gun owner. I've been a hunter since I was a kid, 12, 13 years old. And I respect the Second Amendment and I will not tamper with the Second Amendment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And there was more health care, taxes, also one of the hotly debated issues. Both candidates are campaigning again. They are in Las Vegas today. George Bush has a rally shortly after 1:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN will bring that to you live. And John Kerry will address the AARP at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. And CNN will bring you that live as well. Tonight, Paula Zahn will host a town hall meeting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They'll be discussing the issues you care about. That comes your way at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

So what do you think, will your vote count in this election or will the election be plagued with problems? Those are the big concerns as we move closer to November 2.

Our Dan Lothian has more on that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): As the clock winds down in the race for the White House, there is growing concern over what the accuracy will be of the final count.

ERIC RUSSELL (ph), VOTER'S OUTREACH OF AMERICA: David thinks he's registered to vote.

LOTHIAN: In Nevada, Eric Russell, a former part-time worker for the Republican-backed group Voter's Outreach of America, alleges supervisors destroyed forms filled out by Democrats, threw out registration receipts and put pressure on workers to only sign up Republicans.

RUSSELL: If you had brought in Republicans or Democrats, you weren't getting paid. I mean, our -- bottom line.

LOTHIAN: He says he kept discarded paperwork as evidence. A Republican consultant with ties to the group says Russell is a disgruntled ex-employee trying to get even. In a statement, the Republican National Committee said, "Anyone who engages in fraudulent voter registration activities should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

In Colorado, CNN affiliate KUSA found signs of fraud on registration forms, bogus names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, and forged signatures.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 100 percent that this is not her signature.

LOTHIAN: They spoke with this woman who claims she not only registered to vote 25 times, but also signed up three of her friends 40 times, all to help her boyfriend who was making $2 for every application, working for Acorn, a group aligned with the Democratic Party.

KIM CASON, GIRLFRIEND: You know, I was just helping the people out downtown. You know, everybody needs an extra dollar here and now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did have incidents where there were people who were attempting to defraud us.

LOTHIAN: And across the country in key battleground states, like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, some worry new voting technology may result in mistakes and fraud, and where there is no paper trail, an impossible task to recount.

Already in Florida, a problem, power failure during Hurricane Jeanne may have damaged computer equipment causing a server to crash. A test of Palm Beach County's electronic voting system had to be postponed.

(on camera): All of these concerns have led to lawsuits and investigations. Various groups and officials working hard to lower the odds of irregularities with less than three weeks to go.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Give up al-Zarqawi or face attack. That's the Iraqi government's ultimatum to the people of Falluja believed to be a stronghold of the top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

More on this story from CNN's Brent Sadler. He's live in Baghdad this morning.

Hello -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

So far this day, and I just heard an explosion then, it sounded like a car bomb somewhere in the capital, just shook our light position here. In other violence -- in fact, another blast there. You hear that one coming in. It'll be some minutes before we find out what's going on behind us.

In other violence, it comes in various forms. Bomb attacks in Mosul. Also heavy clashes between U.S. troops and insurgents in Ramadi and north of the Iraqi capital, as well as drive-by shootings against the police in Bacuba (ph), another restive area. And also more drive-by shootings this morning, killing a judge in Baghdad and killing a female journalist working for Kurdish television.

Now the Iraqi interim authorities here have, as you say, laid down an ultimatum to the people of Falluja, that key rebel stronghold west of the capital, hand over Iraq's most wanted terror suspect or face a new military offensive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice-over): The Falluja-based terror group, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claims more victims: two Iraqi men said to be intelligence officers, both decapitated, their murders posted on an Islamic Web site, claimed by the same brand of killers who beheaded British hostage Kenneth Bigley last week, the same group that says its followers have carried out many of the deadliest car bomb attacks in Baghdad, including a recent blast that killed 34 children.

For weeks, Zarqawi's terror network in Falluja has been targeted by U.S. airstrikes. He's America's No. 1 enemy in Iraq, with a $25 million reward for anyone who turns him in. Now, it seems, there's a new incentive, a blunt ultimatum from the interim government poised to strike with U.S.-backed ground troops.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through interpreter): If they don't hand us Zarqawi and his people in Falluja, we will also conduct operations in Falluja. We will spare no effort to protect the Iraqi people.

SADLER: Some local leaders in Falluja are trying to negotiate the city out of a much-feared ground attack, one that could turn out to be even more intense and deadlier than a three-week U.S. Marines' offensive in April that left hundreds of Iraqis dead.

(on camera): U.S. and Iraqi authorities are aiming to drive a wedge between Zarqawi's extremists and home-grown nationalist insurgents, using air power to hit terror targets and dialogue to win over some insurgent leaders.

(voice-over): But the airstrikes and turmoil have scattered large numbers of Falluja's terrified population. Tens of thousands of people have reportedly fled to safer areas outside the rebel's stronghold, a fear factor that may weaken the hand of Falluja's negotiators, like Sheikh Khalid Hamad (ph).

"They chase Zarqawi al Qaeda in Falluja, he explains, but we haven't seen them. We have seen torn bodies of children and the elderly, and that's a fact.

The fate of Falluja and other rebellious areas, like Sadr City, a Shi'a Muslim slum close to the capital, hang in the balance. As part of one peace accord, Mehdi Army militiamen surrender more weapons, including a car bomb wired and ready to go. But it's still not enough. And with elections scheduled in three months, time is running out.

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SADLER: And for Sadr City, a deadline for that handover of weapons comes up Friday, the start for Muslims of the holy fasting month of Ramadan -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And you're safe there, Brent, because I know there were explosions going on behind you a little earlier. So we're just going to let you go to find out what those were.

Brent Sadler live from Baghdad this morning.

A news anchor in the news. You will want to hear about the phone sex and blackmail accusations, so don't go away. That's four minutes away.

And 10 minutes from now, we'll take a look at how we did in predicting the final war of words.

And our e-mail "Question of the Day," what is your favorite campaign slogan from this year? Or we wanted you to come up with your own campaign slogans. And boy, have you done that. They're good ones. We're going to read some of your e-mails a little later. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

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COSTELLO: Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly finds himself in the news today. He's being sued for sexual harassment.

Jason Carroll has details for you.

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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the night of the last presidential debate, for Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly, politics would not be the first story in his show.

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": But there comes a time when enough is enough. And so this morning, I had to file a lawsuit against some people who are demanding $60 million or they will -- quote -- "punish me and Fox News."

CARROLL: Faced with sexual harassment allegations against him, O'Reilly said he had no choice but to file a complaint claiming extortion. This in response to allegations made by Andrea Mackris, an associate producer for "The O'Reilly Factor." Mackris' suit, filed after her boss and Fox News filed theirs, alleges, on several occasions, O'Reilly made sexually explicit comments to her.

BENEDICT MORELLI, MACKRIS' ATTORNEY: And suddenly, without provocation or warning, Mr. O'Reilly said to the plaintiff, Andrea Mackris, and just use your vibrator to blow off steam. What? You've got a vibrator, don't you? Every girl does.

CARROLL: Mackris spoke through her attorney to allege O'Reilly's inappropriate comments were made in person, over dinners and over the phone. Mackris' complaint contains detailed quotes allegedly from O'Reilly. O'Reilly's attorney says he'll ask the court to turn over copies of any recorded conversations, certain there is nothing incriminating. Her attorney would not say if there were any tapes.

O'Reilly's accuser worked at Fox News from April 2000 until January 2004. During which time, according to her complaint, O'Reilly allegedly made several sexually inappropriate comments. Mackris left Fox News and took a higher paying producer position at CNN. But in July 2004, she returned to "The O'Reilly Factor," working again for O'Reilly.

On condition, her complaint says, -- quote -- "he no longer engaged in inappropriate conduct." But Mackris alleges that conduct resumed. O'Reilly's attorney says none of the actions rise to the level of unlawful activity. O'Reilly says the suit is motivated by greed and politics.

MORELLI: Let me tell you, if it was politically motivated, I would have brought the lawsuit originally and not engaged in negotiations and discussions with their lawyers for the last two plus weeks.

O'REILLY: Sixty million dollars. I really can't say anything else. I don't want to waste your time with this. The justice system has the case. We'll see what happens.

CARROLL (on camera): Mackris' attorney would not comment on Fox's claim. He demanded $60 million hush money to prevent the filing of the sexual harassment lawsuit. He did say O'Reilly's extortion claim is without merit and that O'Reilly's behavior will be proven in court.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Turn our attention back to the debate last night. Senator Kerry did manage to raise the hackles of the opposition with one of his comments, but not the hackles of President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: We're all God's children, Bob. And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNNE CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT'S WIFE: I did have a chance to assess John Kerry once more, and you know the only thing I could conclude is this is not a good man. This is not a good man. And of course I am speaking as a mom and a pretty indignant mom, this is not a good man. What a cheap and tawdry political trick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now let's see how we did as debate prognosticators. Far and away in the wilds of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Waking Crew WOKQ is on the air.

Good morning -- Mark and Danielle.

MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well aren't we just useless.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: That's why we usually leave it to the experts.

DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: For those of you who weren't with us yesterday, we were trying to guess how many times each candidate would use key phrases like, Mark, should we start with your predictions? ERICSON: Sure.

COSTELLO: You said homeland security would be...

ERICSON: About 15 times.

COSTELLO: Fifteen times.

ERICSON: You know.

COSTELLO: Well, we have a total of three, and that's by use of both candidates.

CARRIER: They did it on purpose.

COSTELLO: I think they did, too, just to mess Mark up.

CARRIER: Totally.

ERICSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: For liberal use of the word liberal,...

ERICSON: Well,...

COSTELLO: ... I think both of you said that George Bush would use the term liberal 32 times.

ERICSON: He started using terms like left of mainstream and out of the mainstream. He was working around the term liberal as much as possible I think.

CARRIER: It was there in spirit.

COSTELLO: You know what, he did mention Ted Kennedy, and I think that's the use of the liberal to the third power. So maybe that is worth 32 times.

ERICSON: That's right. That qualifies, because if you look in the dictionary, well, never mind.

COSTELLO: I understand. OK, let's go on to Danielle's predictions.

CARRIER: Oh goodness.

COSTELLO: She said there would be two unnecessary Red Sox references by John Kerry. And guess what?

CARRIER: None, I'm totally depressed.

ERICSON: However, there was one unnecessary reference to Tony Soprano.

CARRIER: Yes. ERICSON: And what concerned me about that was the look on President Bush's face. I'm not sure he understood that reference. And I'm starting to think that maybe the White House only has basic cable.

COSTELLO: Well, he has more important things to do than watch television.

ERICSON: OK.

COSTELLO: But I think John Kerry was trying to connect with viewers in a pop culture kind of way. You don't think that was effective?

ERICSON: I think it was certainly affective. I think going back to the original format or the format of the very first debate, I think the format last night didn't lend itself to as much getting to the ooey-gooey core of both of these guys. I think they were a little on the stilted side.

COSTELLO: You know what, talking about stilted, we're talking about campaign slogans and how weak they are from both candidates this year. So we asked our viewers to come up with their own campaign slogans for John Kerry...

ERICSON: OK.

COSTELLO: ... and for George Bush. So I want to read you a couple.

ERICSON: All right.

COSTELLO: This is from Ron (ph) from the voting capital of the world, West Palm Beach, Florida. He says I think a good slogan for Kerry would be shuck and jive in 2005.

ERICSON: At least it rhymes.

COSTELLO: Yes.

This is from Nicholas (ph) from Omaha, Nebraska, for George Bush, America will stand resolute. That's pretty good, don't you think?

CARRIER: All right.

ERICSON: Yes, that works for the Bush camp.

COSTELLO: This is from Susan (ph) in Grafton, Massachusetts. She says like father, like son, one term and done.

ERICSON: Wow!

COSTELLO: Ouch! Of course that would be for John Kerry.

This is from Sarah (ph) from Long Island, New York, you can sum up Bush and Cheney's message with this phrase, be afraid, be very afraid.

ERICSON: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the voting booth.

CARRIER: Yes, no kidding.

COSTELLO: Thanks for your comments, Mark and Danielle, and thanks to our viewers for coming up with such clever slogans at this early hour in the morning.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And we do have some breaking news to tell you about out of Baghdad, Iraq. As you heard Brent Sadler say a few moments ago, as he was doing a live shot for us about something completely different, he heard several explosions going off behind him.

Brent is on the phone right now. And we would assume, Brent, that this smoke is the result of those explosions that you heard.

SADLER: That's right, Carol, yes. What you're seeing now is a live picture from our live shot position in the direction of The Green Zone, that's the heavily fortified part of the capital which houses the U.S. and British embassies.

Now when I was on air, I heard two very powerful explosions. They were sounding like the kind of explosions normally associated with car bombs. Too early to say if this is a car bomb attack or a rocket attack or a mortar attack, but certainly, as you can see from this live shot here, significant amounts of smoke pouring out of a location. It could be in The Green Zone, at the outer edge of it, it could be just outside, we're not clear, so we're not going to report accurately exactly what this is.

But we can tell you it is the direction The Green Zone. It follows within 15 minutes two powerful explosions that we heard when I was on air. And we're waiting for information as to what is going on where that smoke is now emerging from -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brent, explain to our viewers The Green Zone. It's difficult to get cars through there. They are heavily inspected, aren't they?

SADLER: Yes, indeed they are. This is a very well protected area. Concrete blast walls round the entire perimeter of The Green Zone. And you have a series of checks, body searches, bag searches, to get anywhere near important parts of the central areas of The Green Zone.

But the periphery where people get dropped off, where people who work inside The Green Zone, Iraqis where they get dropped off by buses or by taxis or by family members in their cars, they are potentially exposed areas. And we have seen a series of car bomb attacks against various entrances to The Green Zone over the past many months. As I say, still too early to know what the blast site is here, but we can confirm two loud explosions resulting pretty soon afterwards in what you're seeing now in that live picture. And obviously, given the way that smoke is pulsating, has been doing for the last 10, 15 minutes, a significant, I would say, source of fire burning somewhere in or just outside The Green Zone -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Brent, we saw two American helicopters fly by a short time ago. Can you see any other activity in the air?

SADLER: No, not at the moment. Normally under these sort of conditions you get a tentative approach to the area on the ground and a build up in activity from the air. And the last couple of minutes while we've been showing you this live shot as certainly aerial antics (ph) have now come in to play.

But we still don't know, I must stress, whether or not this was a car bomb attack or if this was the use of some other form of attack device, i.e., a rocket or a mortar. But certainly a significant amount of smoke coming from a fire or fires from that location -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll let you go, Brent, so you can gather more information again. Two loud explosions heard near The Green Zone. Don't know if those explosions went off inside The Green Zone or outside The Green Zone. When we get more specific information, of course we'll pass it along to you.

This is DAYBREAK for a Thursday.

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