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Executive Order; Sabotage in the Sky?; Peace Deal Ends Fighting in Najaf; Terror in Treat
Aired August 27, 2004 - 13:59 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, turf wars, budget battles, power struggles, all the anticipated obstacles to reforming the U.S. intelligence system sidestepped today, at least temporarily, by some ink on paper a the White House.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has the intel. on the interim overhaul -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, President Bush just left moments ago the White House, heading to Miami, Florida. A reporter shouted the question, did he sign these executive orders. The president nodding his head yes, and then making a little gesture with his hand as if he had signed them.
This is what we've been expecting all day. Essentially, these are for some of the those 9/11 Commission recommendations. This is something that the White House continues to negotiate with Congress over how to create a new powerful position, a national intelligence director who would report directly to the president. But what we are looking at today are presidential directives that would immediately put in motion steps that the president endorsed back on August 2.
They include establishing a national counterterrorism center. That would be essentially a warehouse for intelligence analysis. Also, to give the CIA director greater interim power to perform many of the duties the national director would assume at a later date. This also includes new duties require determining the budget of intelligence agencies under the Pentagon, as well as coordinating some of those budget priorities for joint military and intelligence priorities. Finally, of course, the last one would be establishing guidelines for actually trying to share information among those 15 spy agencies.
All of this developing. And as you know, Kyra, the president taking his message on the road, the central message of his campaign, that he is a stronger candidate for protecting the American people. This, of course, the White House feels bolsters his case -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House. Thanks -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this talk of sabotage in Russia, intelligence agents say they have found evidence that at least one of the two plane crashes Tuesday night was anything but an accident. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russian security services confirming what many Russians already believe to be true this Friday. The FSB, in charge of the investigation, says that they found traces of explosives at one of the crash sites of the two planes that crashed on Tuesday night.
The wreckage is from the plane that was on its way to the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where President Vladimir Putin was holidaying at the time. They say they found traces of explosives which they believe to be hexogen.
Now, hexogen was used back in 1999 in the apartment block bombings here in Moscow which killed about 300 people. And officials blamed Chechen separatists at the time for those attacks.
The FSB also saying that they have one body of a woman believed to be of Chechen descent that has not been collected from that crash site. Relatives have gone to identify the dead and collect the bodies in all the other cases.
Now, Interfax news agency is also saying, on the other plan, the plane that was on its way to Volgograd, which disappeared from the radar screens just minutes before the second plane, there was also a Chechen woman who had bought a ticket from that plane one hour before it took off. Investigators are interested to find out whether her relatives were involved in any way. They're trying to find out here descent. It is thought by Interfax that she was of Chechen descent as well.
And in addition, one source in the aviation world has said that the second plane did give two alarm signals, one SOS alarm and then one hijacking alarm. But when air controllers responded, they had no response back.
So, the investigation changing somewhat. Officials in the past couple of days had been veering away from terrorism towards pilot fault or technical fault. But now it's very much on a terror link.
And also, there has been some criticism of security at airports, Domodedovo Airport, which was the airport that both these planes flew from, was one of the most modern and considered to have the best security.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The day after. Residents of Najaf got a decent night's sleep last night for the first time in three weeks. That's after the dramatic peace deal that ended fierce fighting between militants and U.S. and Iraqi forces. CNN's Diana Muriel has the latest now from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Locked out. The shrine of Imam Ali, the center of so much bloody conflict in the past three weeks between the Mehdi Army loyal to renegade Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, at peace Friday. Now, the cleanup operation in the shrine compound can begin.
Earlier, the Mehdi Militia had responded to a call to lay down their weapons, although many still brandished their guns openly as the mid-morning deadline passed for handing them in. One of those responsible for collecting the arms, top al-Sadr aide Sheikh Ahmed Shaibani.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): What this has accomplished is to demonstrate to the United States and the Iraqi governments that the supreme authority in Iraq is the Grand Ayatollah and the Marjaeya (ph), the spiritual leaders, and no one else.
MURIEL: It was the arrival of the frail 73-year-old cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf Thursday, together with tens of thousands of his followers, that broke the stalemate with supporters of al-Sadr over the peaceful surrender of the holy shrine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The situation is calm. The call from al-Sistani was effective and positive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The city has become stable. And we hope that peace and reconstruction can return to this province.
MURIEL: After three weeks of intense fighting, the destruction of the old city of Najaf has been extensive. But in a gesture of goodwill, U.S. forces, together with their Iraqi counterparts, handed out bottles of worshippers headed to the shrine early Friday morning. They then withdrew to the sidelines as Iraqi police took over responsibility for security in the city.
(on camera): So, peace is restored to Najaf after so many weeks of fighting. But questions remain. Who is really in control of this battle-scarred city, the government of Iraq or the leading clerics of Shia Islam? The answer to that may determine just how long this peace will last.
Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Also in Iraq, an Italian journalist held hostage was killed. The Italian government confirmed the killing of Enzo Baldoni. His captors say that Baldoni was killed because the Italian government did not meet their demands to withdraw from Iraq. Italy's foreign minister described that demand as terrorist blackmail.
O'BRIEN: A treat for a child turned out to be more like terror. A toy inside a bag of candy depicts a plane flying into twin towers on 9/11. A grandmother in central Florida first discovered the toy. Reporter Steve Barrett, with our affiliate, WFTV, in Orlando, has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE BARRETT, WFTV: What do you think when you look at that thing?
ANNA RODRIGUEZ, OFFENDED BY TOY: It makes me angry. I'm angry because -- I was offended because I couldn't believe that somebody would give something like that to a kid.
BARRETT (voice-over): When Anna Rodriguez let her grandson pick out a bag of toys and candy, she never realized what was inside until her own son noticed the disturbing toy.
RODRIGUEZ: "Look at the toy!" I said, "Come, let me look at it." And when I looked at it, I was outraged. I was like, "What? No way!"
BARRETT: She purchased the bag at this local grocery store. We found more still hanging on the candy rack. The store owners were appalled when they saw what the distributor for Lisy Corporation in Miami brought to their store. They pulled the bags from their shelves.
RODRIGUEZ: I was outraged. And my kids, they were -- they were stunned. They were like, "No way."
BARRETT: Anna has pictures of the twin towers in her living room to remember the victims of 9/11. She says there is no mistakes what the toy represents, especially when you look at the product number on every single toy.
RODRIGUEZ: Everybody knows it's about the twin towers, and this is nothing to be joking around with.
BARRETT: We called the company that distributes the candy bag, Lisy Corp. They say the products slipped through the cracks from another import company in Miami. They say they were also offended by the product, but didn't notice it until about 17,000 of them made it out the door. Anna believes someone out there did this on purpose.
RODRIGUEZ: Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They definitely knew.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was from reporter Steve Barrett with our affiliate, WFTV, in Orlando. Now, the Lisy Corporation that wholesales the candy says it didn't notice what the toys submit depicted. Submitted for your approval. It's recalling about 14,000 bags of the candy.
We are now T minus three days from the RNC. And if you got a look at the security surrounding the Democratic convention in Boston, you know what Republicans will face Monday in Manhattan. Homeland security officials say the city that never sleeps, well prepared for the grand old party, and the U.S. Open tennis tournament, and home games for both the Yankees and the Mets. Only in New York can they handle all that. Virtually all of New York's 36,000 men and women in blue will be on duty, clocking overtime, as will unknown numbers of Feds, huge amounts of technology that we just can't tell you about, even if we did know about it.
Now, we know the nominee. We're pretty clear on the platform. We know about all those security measures. But what do Republicans hope, plan or need to accomplish next week? CNN contributor, former Republican Congressman Bob Barr, joining us from new York with his impressions.
Bob, good to see you.
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Always a pleasure. Thank you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. This election that's going to be won on razor-thin margins. We -- I think you will probably agree with, that undecided block of voters there. I presume that this entire week of stagecraft is geared toward them. What's the goal then, to not make a mistake, or win them over?
BARR: Well, there's a couple of goals here. First of all, it's to keep a common theme out there for the campaign, and that theme has been made pretty clear all along, and that is that Mr. Bush is the commander in chief. We ought not to change horses in mid-war, so to speak, and to constantly remind people of the success that the administration has had in avoiding or preventing any terrorist attack since 9/11.
O'BRIEN: You know, it's interesting, though, Bob. When you mention that, a lot of the poll numbers that I read seem to indicate people have a sense of discontent with the current occupant of the White House, and yet they have not embraced John Kerry. Why do you suppose that is?
BARR: Well, I think it's because you basically have three groups of people out there. You have all of those folks that support John Kerry, you have all of those folks that support George W. Bush, and then you have this -- this middle ground. But that middle ground, even though there's a lot of undecided voters in there, they're not going to make up their mind based on what either the Republicans or the Democrats say at their convention.
So, those are going to be folks that will be the real battleground people late in the campaign. Basically, the theme here, or the strategy here in New York, is to not make any mistakes.
O'BRIEN: All right. So, you go in, you don't make mistakes. You entertain the faithful, if you will. What's the goal of these conventions anymore then?
BARR: Well, it's very different from where it used to be, with the smoke-filled rooms and, you know, the incessant ballots to try and get a majority. Both parties know long before the conventions who's going to be there.
It's an opportunity, of course, to invigorate the party faithful, people who've worked in the vineyards for many, many years and are rewarded, very properly so, with delegate or alternate slots. It's an opportunity for the major donors to hobnob with congressional leaders and gubernatorial leaders and administration officials. And it's also a way and time to hone the message for the final push.
That's also very important. And that's what the -- the platform committee is doing.
O'BRIEN: So, it's one big hospitality suite is what you're saying. Now, tell me, which -- which speaker are you going to be most interested in hearing from? Will it be somebody like Zell Miller, or is there another speaker you're most likely to be tuned in for, listening with (INAUDIBLE)?
BARR: I think we're going to be, and people will be looking to see a couple future leaders of the Republican Party. Arnold Schwarzenegger will capture a great deal of attention. People will be wondering what's next for him after California.
And Rudy Giuliani, there's a lot of folks not just here in the Big Apple but across the country that think that he indeed will be the standard-bearer in four years. So, there's going to be a lot of attention focused on him and his message.
O'BRIEN: Bob Barr, thanks much -- Kyra.
BARR: Always a pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Well, campaigning today in California, Senator Kerry is pledging help for American families burdened by debt. He's calling for curbs on credit card fees and proposing other measures designed to shield against unfair lending.
Kerry is expected to win California. It's not one of the hotly- targeted battleground states, but it's a money-making Mecca for Democrats. Kerry passed the hat in Santa Monica last night and will do so later today in San Francisco.
A statistical dead heat in the race for president right now. The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll completed on Wednesday gives President Bush a slight lead over Senator Kerry among likely voters. Fifty percent of those surveyed prefer Bush for president, 47 percent choose Kerry. But the difference is within the four percentage point sampling error.
And all next week during the convention, if you're away from your TV and you're on satellite radio, tune us in. CNN "DAYBREAK" anchor Carol Costello and I will be broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 Eastern. We're going to have complete coverage of everything going on in the Big Apple. That's on CNN Radio all next week from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Straight ahead, attention baby boomers. O'BRIEN: How about if I do it? Should I do it?
PHILLIPS: Actually, that's Miles. Miles, why don't you go ahead?
O'BRIEN: I can lip sync if you like.
PHILLIPS: You're not a baby boomer, but, you know...
O'BRIEN: Of course I'm a baby boomer.
Alan Greenspan has a word of warning to folks like me when it comes to planning your retirement. We may be in deep trouble. Details ahead.
And hundreds of potential jurors in the Kobe Bryant case answer questions in that Colorado courthouse. I can't believe that trial may finally be starting. We'll take you there later on LIVE FROM.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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PHILLIPS: Police in Florida say they will not press charges against Carlos Arredondo. Arredondo set himself and a Marine van on fire Wednesday after learning that his only son had been killed in action in Najaf. The Marine casualty officers who had arrived to tell him of his son's death pulled Arredondo from that burning vehicle.
He's in a Florida hospital today with second and third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body. Well, as you can imagine, for the Marines who pulled him from the van, it was a tragedy on top of hard duty.
Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez on the men and women in uniform who have to deliver that heart-wrenching message.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the Marine Corps, I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in action.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are words no military family wants to hear, delivered by an officer no family wants to see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody's walking up to the door in their dress uniforms, that something tragic has happened.
GUTIERREZ: But it is an officer's duty. Lt. Colonel Russell Ferris (ph) remembers the visit he made.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Real early a.m., morning, the family is sleeping, woke them up and then went ahead and notified them of what happened. You didn't get a chance to even breathe in a sense, because it was one right after another.
GUTIERREZ: Lieutenant John Kenny (ph) made seven visits in one month.
(on camera): Did you know any of these people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew every one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you do get assigned, it's probably going to be one of the most difficult things you have to do in your career.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): These are the casualty assistance calls officers, or CACOs, in training at the Marine Corps air station in Miramar, California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is for military members the absolute, most dramatic, worst information, because you're there to inform them of a death or very serious injury.
GUTIERREZ: It's the military's way of caring for their own. On this day, 75 Marines are taught what to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Ma'am/sir, I have some very important information to tell you."
GUTIERREZ: They're taught what not to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not say they have passed away. Do not say they're no longer with us. Those terms give them some false hope that they are not dead.
GUTIERREZ: And they're taught to expect the unexpected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to think on your feet and observe, and some instances duck, step back from the door so you don't get hit in the face with the door as they slam it in your face.
GUTIERREZ: The CACO not only delivers the news. They will help with the funeral information, and later the complicated life decisions that have to be made.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once there were telegrams, and now we have really concerned, compassionate care, because we extend that to our families. Because, you know, should something ever happen to me, I mean, I would want that extended to my wife and family as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't do this.
GUTIERREZ: The students role play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was killed in a mortar round attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How -- but where is he? When can I see him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care how many times you've done this. You go up there, your knees are shaking, you get a queasiness in the pit of the stomach because you're going to deliver some really tough news.
GUTIERREZ: The students know when this class is over, they may soon get the call to step in as a CACO.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of those things that, when you're trained, you just pray that you never have to do it.
GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Miramar, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: News around the world now.
Hijacking ends. Hijackers who forced a plane from Libya to land in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum have surrendered. The plane carrying about 70 Eritreans was on its way from Libya to Eritrea. A Sudanese official says one crew member was slightly hurt.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher apparently distressed over the arrest of her son in South Africa. Mark Thatcher accused of bankrolling a planned coupe in Equatorial Guinea. Mrs. Thatcher said she's confident her son will be found innocent.
And Pakistan has a new prime minister. The country's parliament elected a former finance minister and close ally of President Pervez Musharraf. The opposition boycotted the vote, calling it undemocratic.
Well, if you're spending $64 million on a party, it better be a good one, or at least have a lot of balloons. And hopefully they'll fall on command. We're counting up the costs of the Republican convention a little later.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. Fed Chief Alan Greenspan is taking on a politically explosive issue. I'll tell you what he's saying right after this break.
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PHILLIPS: The RNC in NYC. The Republican National Convention starts on Monday. The GOP is digging deep in its pockets to pull off a multi-million-dollar extravaganza to nominate the president. CNNfn's Allan Chernoff runs the tab for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The proposed budget for the Republican National Convention is $64 million, excluding security. But the final price tag may be even higher. The New York Host Committees' fund-raisers say they've collected about $70 million in private donations.
LEWIS EISENBERG, CO-CHAIR, NYC HOST CMTE.: This is New York City. Everything's better. And when you want the best, it usually costs a little more. This will be the best. It'll cost a little more.
CHERNOFF: It will cost plenty just to accommodate reporters: $4.5 million to renovate the city's main post office into a giant media workspace. Another three-quarters of a million to build a temporary bridge across Eighth Avenue so reporters can have easy access to the convention on the other side of the street.
And rental for Madison Square Garden? Five million dollars.
KEVIN SHEEKY, PRESIDENT, NYC HOST CMTE.: Sounds a lot, but we spent $15 million renovating the Garden. The entire lower section of the Garden has been taken out. It's been built up nine-and-a-half feet. A new floor has been put in. I mean, it's a really dynamic change that people are going to see in the Garden when the curtains pull back.
CHERNOFF: Madison Square Garden, home to basketball's New York Knicks and hockey's Rangers, is a contractor's delight this week: more than $2 million spent on electrical work; $2.5 million to construct the speakers' podium; $800,000 for decor and fabric covering.
The Republicans plan to put on a big show: $5.5 million allocated for program and production costs. Then, there are parties and entertainment around town.
SHEEKY: A welcome for delegates on Broadway. Renting out Broadway shows, sending delegates to something that you can't recreate anywhere else in the country. Another $1.5 million and, like someone once said, a million here, a million there, it starts to add up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (on camera): It's not that the Democrats were chintzy in Boston, but the Republicans clearly have more elaborate plans in New York. And the GOP is proving that throwing a grand old party can easily run up a tab approaching $70 million -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I can just imagine throwing a party like that. Well, let's talk about the cost difference between the Democrats and the Republicans and where the money comes from, Alan.
CHERNOFF: Well, first of all, the money here is coming from private donations. It is true the federal government provides $15 million to both the Republicans and the Democrats, but for the Republicans, most of that money is being spent on staff, offices, travel. The convention itself being covered by private donations, major contributors, corporations, and some individuals, including Mayor Bloomberg.
And in terms of the differences in cost, they are spending, the Republicans, for example, spending $6 million more just on parties across town. Lots of host events.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. All right. Alan Chernoff, thanks so much -- Miles. O'BRIEN: We've got some fresh pictures coming into CNN right now. Let's take a look at the live picture briefly.
This is Athens, Greece, and you're seeing the remnants of some protesters who passed by this camera position. Several hundred took to the streets as we speak, protesting the visit this weekend of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is -- and now, as we look at some tape as to what passed that particular position just a few minutes ago. He's there to meet with Premier Costas Karamanlis, and who -- he will also attend the Olympic closing ceremonies.
People were chanting in the street, "Colin Powell is persona non grata." A little bit of Latin there in the capital of Greece, as protesters express their displeasure with the U.S., and, in particular, U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Let's shift our gears and talk about business and retirement, and being a baby boomer -- boomer.
The numbers aren't adding up very well, according to Alan Greenspan. Are they, Rhonda?
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
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Aired August 27, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, turf wars, budget battles, power struggles, all the anticipated obstacles to reforming the U.S. intelligence system sidestepped today, at least temporarily, by some ink on paper a the White House.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has the intel. on the interim overhaul -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, President Bush just left moments ago the White House, heading to Miami, Florida. A reporter shouted the question, did he sign these executive orders. The president nodding his head yes, and then making a little gesture with his hand as if he had signed them.
This is what we've been expecting all day. Essentially, these are for some of the those 9/11 Commission recommendations. This is something that the White House continues to negotiate with Congress over how to create a new powerful position, a national intelligence director who would report directly to the president. But what we are looking at today are presidential directives that would immediately put in motion steps that the president endorsed back on August 2.
They include establishing a national counterterrorism center. That would be essentially a warehouse for intelligence analysis. Also, to give the CIA director greater interim power to perform many of the duties the national director would assume at a later date. This also includes new duties require determining the budget of intelligence agencies under the Pentagon, as well as coordinating some of those budget priorities for joint military and intelligence priorities. Finally, of course, the last one would be establishing guidelines for actually trying to share information among those 15 spy agencies.
All of this developing. And as you know, Kyra, the president taking his message on the road, the central message of his campaign, that he is a stronger candidate for protecting the American people. This, of course, the White House feels bolsters his case -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House. Thanks -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this talk of sabotage in Russia, intelligence agents say they have found evidence that at least one of the two plane crashes Tuesday night was anything but an accident. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russian security services confirming what many Russians already believe to be true this Friday. The FSB, in charge of the investigation, says that they found traces of explosives at one of the crash sites of the two planes that crashed on Tuesday night.
The wreckage is from the plane that was on its way to the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where President Vladimir Putin was holidaying at the time. They say they found traces of explosives which they believe to be hexogen.
Now, hexogen was used back in 1999 in the apartment block bombings here in Moscow which killed about 300 people. And officials blamed Chechen separatists at the time for those attacks.
The FSB also saying that they have one body of a woman believed to be of Chechen descent that has not been collected from that crash site. Relatives have gone to identify the dead and collect the bodies in all the other cases.
Now, Interfax news agency is also saying, on the other plan, the plane that was on its way to Volgograd, which disappeared from the radar screens just minutes before the second plane, there was also a Chechen woman who had bought a ticket from that plane one hour before it took off. Investigators are interested to find out whether her relatives were involved in any way. They're trying to find out here descent. It is thought by Interfax that she was of Chechen descent as well.
And in addition, one source in the aviation world has said that the second plane did give two alarm signals, one SOS alarm and then one hijacking alarm. But when air controllers responded, they had no response back.
So, the investigation changing somewhat. Officials in the past couple of days had been veering away from terrorism towards pilot fault or technical fault. But now it's very much on a terror link.
And also, there has been some criticism of security at airports, Domodedovo Airport, which was the airport that both these planes flew from, was one of the most modern and considered to have the best security.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The day after. Residents of Najaf got a decent night's sleep last night for the first time in three weeks. That's after the dramatic peace deal that ended fierce fighting between militants and U.S. and Iraqi forces. CNN's Diana Muriel has the latest now from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Locked out. The shrine of Imam Ali, the center of so much bloody conflict in the past three weeks between the Mehdi Army loyal to renegade Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, at peace Friday. Now, the cleanup operation in the shrine compound can begin.
Earlier, the Mehdi Militia had responded to a call to lay down their weapons, although many still brandished their guns openly as the mid-morning deadline passed for handing them in. One of those responsible for collecting the arms, top al-Sadr aide Sheikh Ahmed Shaibani.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): What this has accomplished is to demonstrate to the United States and the Iraqi governments that the supreme authority in Iraq is the Grand Ayatollah and the Marjaeya (ph), the spiritual leaders, and no one else.
MURIEL: It was the arrival of the frail 73-year-old cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf Thursday, together with tens of thousands of his followers, that broke the stalemate with supporters of al-Sadr over the peaceful surrender of the holy shrine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The situation is calm. The call from al-Sistani was effective and positive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The city has become stable. And we hope that peace and reconstruction can return to this province.
MURIEL: After three weeks of intense fighting, the destruction of the old city of Najaf has been extensive. But in a gesture of goodwill, U.S. forces, together with their Iraqi counterparts, handed out bottles of worshippers headed to the shrine early Friday morning. They then withdrew to the sidelines as Iraqi police took over responsibility for security in the city.
(on camera): So, peace is restored to Najaf after so many weeks of fighting. But questions remain. Who is really in control of this battle-scarred city, the government of Iraq or the leading clerics of Shia Islam? The answer to that may determine just how long this peace will last.
Diana Muriel, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Also in Iraq, an Italian journalist held hostage was killed. The Italian government confirmed the killing of Enzo Baldoni. His captors say that Baldoni was killed because the Italian government did not meet their demands to withdraw from Iraq. Italy's foreign minister described that demand as terrorist blackmail.
O'BRIEN: A treat for a child turned out to be more like terror. A toy inside a bag of candy depicts a plane flying into twin towers on 9/11. A grandmother in central Florida first discovered the toy. Reporter Steve Barrett, with our affiliate, WFTV, in Orlando, has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE BARRETT, WFTV: What do you think when you look at that thing?
ANNA RODRIGUEZ, OFFENDED BY TOY: It makes me angry. I'm angry because -- I was offended because I couldn't believe that somebody would give something like that to a kid.
BARRETT (voice-over): When Anna Rodriguez let her grandson pick out a bag of toys and candy, she never realized what was inside until her own son noticed the disturbing toy.
RODRIGUEZ: "Look at the toy!" I said, "Come, let me look at it." And when I looked at it, I was outraged. I was like, "What? No way!"
BARRETT: She purchased the bag at this local grocery store. We found more still hanging on the candy rack. The store owners were appalled when they saw what the distributor for Lisy Corporation in Miami brought to their store. They pulled the bags from their shelves.
RODRIGUEZ: I was outraged. And my kids, they were -- they were stunned. They were like, "No way."
BARRETT: Anna has pictures of the twin towers in her living room to remember the victims of 9/11. She says there is no mistakes what the toy represents, especially when you look at the product number on every single toy.
RODRIGUEZ: Everybody knows it's about the twin towers, and this is nothing to be joking around with.
BARRETT: We called the company that distributes the candy bag, Lisy Corp. They say the products slipped through the cracks from another import company in Miami. They say they were also offended by the product, but didn't notice it until about 17,000 of them made it out the door. Anna believes someone out there did this on purpose.
RODRIGUEZ: Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They definitely knew.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was from reporter Steve Barrett with our affiliate, WFTV, in Orlando. Now, the Lisy Corporation that wholesales the candy says it didn't notice what the toys submit depicted. Submitted for your approval. It's recalling about 14,000 bags of the candy.
We are now T minus three days from the RNC. And if you got a look at the security surrounding the Democratic convention in Boston, you know what Republicans will face Monday in Manhattan. Homeland security officials say the city that never sleeps, well prepared for the grand old party, and the U.S. Open tennis tournament, and home games for both the Yankees and the Mets. Only in New York can they handle all that. Virtually all of New York's 36,000 men and women in blue will be on duty, clocking overtime, as will unknown numbers of Feds, huge amounts of technology that we just can't tell you about, even if we did know about it.
Now, we know the nominee. We're pretty clear on the platform. We know about all those security measures. But what do Republicans hope, plan or need to accomplish next week? CNN contributor, former Republican Congressman Bob Barr, joining us from new York with his impressions.
Bob, good to see you.
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Always a pleasure. Thank you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. This election that's going to be won on razor-thin margins. We -- I think you will probably agree with, that undecided block of voters there. I presume that this entire week of stagecraft is geared toward them. What's the goal then, to not make a mistake, or win them over?
BARR: Well, there's a couple of goals here. First of all, it's to keep a common theme out there for the campaign, and that theme has been made pretty clear all along, and that is that Mr. Bush is the commander in chief. We ought not to change horses in mid-war, so to speak, and to constantly remind people of the success that the administration has had in avoiding or preventing any terrorist attack since 9/11.
O'BRIEN: You know, it's interesting, though, Bob. When you mention that, a lot of the poll numbers that I read seem to indicate people have a sense of discontent with the current occupant of the White House, and yet they have not embraced John Kerry. Why do you suppose that is?
BARR: Well, I think it's because you basically have three groups of people out there. You have all of those folks that support John Kerry, you have all of those folks that support George W. Bush, and then you have this -- this middle ground. But that middle ground, even though there's a lot of undecided voters in there, they're not going to make up their mind based on what either the Republicans or the Democrats say at their convention.
So, those are going to be folks that will be the real battleground people late in the campaign. Basically, the theme here, or the strategy here in New York, is to not make any mistakes.
O'BRIEN: All right. So, you go in, you don't make mistakes. You entertain the faithful, if you will. What's the goal of these conventions anymore then?
BARR: Well, it's very different from where it used to be, with the smoke-filled rooms and, you know, the incessant ballots to try and get a majority. Both parties know long before the conventions who's going to be there.
It's an opportunity, of course, to invigorate the party faithful, people who've worked in the vineyards for many, many years and are rewarded, very properly so, with delegate or alternate slots. It's an opportunity for the major donors to hobnob with congressional leaders and gubernatorial leaders and administration officials. And it's also a way and time to hone the message for the final push.
That's also very important. And that's what the -- the platform committee is doing.
O'BRIEN: So, it's one big hospitality suite is what you're saying. Now, tell me, which -- which speaker are you going to be most interested in hearing from? Will it be somebody like Zell Miller, or is there another speaker you're most likely to be tuned in for, listening with (INAUDIBLE)?
BARR: I think we're going to be, and people will be looking to see a couple future leaders of the Republican Party. Arnold Schwarzenegger will capture a great deal of attention. People will be wondering what's next for him after California.
And Rudy Giuliani, there's a lot of folks not just here in the Big Apple but across the country that think that he indeed will be the standard-bearer in four years. So, there's going to be a lot of attention focused on him and his message.
O'BRIEN: Bob Barr, thanks much -- Kyra.
BARR: Always a pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Well, campaigning today in California, Senator Kerry is pledging help for American families burdened by debt. He's calling for curbs on credit card fees and proposing other measures designed to shield against unfair lending.
Kerry is expected to win California. It's not one of the hotly- targeted battleground states, but it's a money-making Mecca for Democrats. Kerry passed the hat in Santa Monica last night and will do so later today in San Francisco.
A statistical dead heat in the race for president right now. The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll completed on Wednesday gives President Bush a slight lead over Senator Kerry among likely voters. Fifty percent of those surveyed prefer Bush for president, 47 percent choose Kerry. But the difference is within the four percentage point sampling error.
And all next week during the convention, if you're away from your TV and you're on satellite radio, tune us in. CNN "DAYBREAK" anchor Carol Costello and I will be broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 Eastern. We're going to have complete coverage of everything going on in the Big Apple. That's on CNN Radio all next week from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Straight ahead, attention baby boomers. O'BRIEN: How about if I do it? Should I do it?
PHILLIPS: Actually, that's Miles. Miles, why don't you go ahead?
O'BRIEN: I can lip sync if you like.
PHILLIPS: You're not a baby boomer, but, you know...
O'BRIEN: Of course I'm a baby boomer.
Alan Greenspan has a word of warning to folks like me when it comes to planning your retirement. We may be in deep trouble. Details ahead.
And hundreds of potential jurors in the Kobe Bryant case answer questions in that Colorado courthouse. I can't believe that trial may finally be starting. We'll take you there later on LIVE FROM.
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PHILLIPS: Police in Florida say they will not press charges against Carlos Arredondo. Arredondo set himself and a Marine van on fire Wednesday after learning that his only son had been killed in action in Najaf. The Marine casualty officers who had arrived to tell him of his son's death pulled Arredondo from that burning vehicle.
He's in a Florida hospital today with second and third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body. Well, as you can imagine, for the Marines who pulled him from the van, it was a tragedy on top of hard duty.
Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez on the men and women in uniform who have to deliver that heart-wrenching message.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the Marine Corps, I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in action.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are words no military family wants to hear, delivered by an officer no family wants to see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody's walking up to the door in their dress uniforms, that something tragic has happened.
GUTIERREZ: But it is an officer's duty. Lt. Colonel Russell Ferris (ph) remembers the visit he made.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Real early a.m., morning, the family is sleeping, woke them up and then went ahead and notified them of what happened. You didn't get a chance to even breathe in a sense, because it was one right after another.
GUTIERREZ: Lieutenant John Kenny (ph) made seven visits in one month.
(on camera): Did you know any of these people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew every one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you do get assigned, it's probably going to be one of the most difficult things you have to do in your career.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): These are the casualty assistance calls officers, or CACOs, in training at the Marine Corps air station in Miramar, California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is for military members the absolute, most dramatic, worst information, because you're there to inform them of a death or very serious injury.
GUTIERREZ: It's the military's way of caring for their own. On this day, 75 Marines are taught what to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Ma'am/sir, I have some very important information to tell you."
GUTIERREZ: They're taught what not to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not say they have passed away. Do not say they're no longer with us. Those terms give them some false hope that they are not dead.
GUTIERREZ: And they're taught to expect the unexpected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to think on your feet and observe, and some instances duck, step back from the door so you don't get hit in the face with the door as they slam it in your face.
GUTIERREZ: The CACO not only delivers the news. They will help with the funeral information, and later the complicated life decisions that have to be made.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once there were telegrams, and now we have really concerned, compassionate care, because we extend that to our families. Because, you know, should something ever happen to me, I mean, I would want that extended to my wife and family as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't do this.
GUTIERREZ: The students role play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was killed in a mortar round attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How -- but where is he? When can I see him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care how many times you've done this. You go up there, your knees are shaking, you get a queasiness in the pit of the stomach because you're going to deliver some really tough news.
GUTIERREZ: The students know when this class is over, they may soon get the call to step in as a CACO.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of those things that, when you're trained, you just pray that you never have to do it.
GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Miramar, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: News around the world now.
Hijacking ends. Hijackers who forced a plane from Libya to land in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum have surrendered. The plane carrying about 70 Eritreans was on its way from Libya to Eritrea. A Sudanese official says one crew member was slightly hurt.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher apparently distressed over the arrest of her son in South Africa. Mark Thatcher accused of bankrolling a planned coupe in Equatorial Guinea. Mrs. Thatcher said she's confident her son will be found innocent.
And Pakistan has a new prime minister. The country's parliament elected a former finance minister and close ally of President Pervez Musharraf. The opposition boycotted the vote, calling it undemocratic.
Well, if you're spending $64 million on a party, it better be a good one, or at least have a lot of balloons. And hopefully they'll fall on command. We're counting up the costs of the Republican convention a little later.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. Fed Chief Alan Greenspan is taking on a politically explosive issue. I'll tell you what he's saying right after this break.
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PHILLIPS: The RNC in NYC. The Republican National Convention starts on Monday. The GOP is digging deep in its pockets to pull off a multi-million-dollar extravaganza to nominate the president. CNNfn's Allan Chernoff runs the tab for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The proposed budget for the Republican National Convention is $64 million, excluding security. But the final price tag may be even higher. The New York Host Committees' fund-raisers say they've collected about $70 million in private donations.
LEWIS EISENBERG, CO-CHAIR, NYC HOST CMTE.: This is New York City. Everything's better. And when you want the best, it usually costs a little more. This will be the best. It'll cost a little more.
CHERNOFF: It will cost plenty just to accommodate reporters: $4.5 million to renovate the city's main post office into a giant media workspace. Another three-quarters of a million to build a temporary bridge across Eighth Avenue so reporters can have easy access to the convention on the other side of the street.
And rental for Madison Square Garden? Five million dollars.
KEVIN SHEEKY, PRESIDENT, NYC HOST CMTE.: Sounds a lot, but we spent $15 million renovating the Garden. The entire lower section of the Garden has been taken out. It's been built up nine-and-a-half feet. A new floor has been put in. I mean, it's a really dynamic change that people are going to see in the Garden when the curtains pull back.
CHERNOFF: Madison Square Garden, home to basketball's New York Knicks and hockey's Rangers, is a contractor's delight this week: more than $2 million spent on electrical work; $2.5 million to construct the speakers' podium; $800,000 for decor and fabric covering.
The Republicans plan to put on a big show: $5.5 million allocated for program and production costs. Then, there are parties and entertainment around town.
SHEEKY: A welcome for delegates on Broadway. Renting out Broadway shows, sending delegates to something that you can't recreate anywhere else in the country. Another $1.5 million and, like someone once said, a million here, a million there, it starts to add up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (on camera): It's not that the Democrats were chintzy in Boston, but the Republicans clearly have more elaborate plans in New York. And the GOP is proving that throwing a grand old party can easily run up a tab approaching $70 million -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: I can just imagine throwing a party like that. Well, let's talk about the cost difference between the Democrats and the Republicans and where the money comes from, Alan.
CHERNOFF: Well, first of all, the money here is coming from private donations. It is true the federal government provides $15 million to both the Republicans and the Democrats, but for the Republicans, most of that money is being spent on staff, offices, travel. The convention itself being covered by private donations, major contributors, corporations, and some individuals, including Mayor Bloomberg.
And in terms of the differences in cost, they are spending, the Republicans, for example, spending $6 million more just on parties across town. Lots of host events.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. All right. Alan Chernoff, thanks so much -- Miles. O'BRIEN: We've got some fresh pictures coming into CNN right now. Let's take a look at the live picture briefly.
This is Athens, Greece, and you're seeing the remnants of some protesters who passed by this camera position. Several hundred took to the streets as we speak, protesting the visit this weekend of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is -- and now, as we look at some tape as to what passed that particular position just a few minutes ago. He's there to meet with Premier Costas Karamanlis, and who -- he will also attend the Olympic closing ceremonies.
People were chanting in the street, "Colin Powell is persona non grata." A little bit of Latin there in the capital of Greece, as protesters express their displeasure with the U.S., and, in particular, U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Let's shift our gears and talk about business and retirement, and being a baby boomer -- boomer.
The numbers aren't adding up very well, according to Alan Greenspan. Are they, Rhonda?
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