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Eight Killed in Moscow Subway Bombing; Activists in NYC; Report About USAF Sexual Assaults, Rapes
Aired August 31, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly explosion outside a Moscow subway station. It's a developing story -- we're following it for you this hour.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Republican stars get ready to shine: A movie star turned governor and the First Lady get set to convince America to reelect President Bush.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Deborah Feyerick in New York. A day of free speech, opposing opinion, even some civil disobedience.
O'BRIEN: And boldly go where no man has gone before: NASA announces a voyage of discovery where no one has to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
Basically, they found some planets. That's another way of putting it.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips on this planet. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts this hour.
O'BRIEN: We begin this hour with a deadly explosion in Moscow, one week to the day after near simultaneous crashes of two Russian airliners. Police say eight were killed when at least one car blew up outside a downtown subway station.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote, standing by at our Moscow bureau. He has details for us -- Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, an official from the Russian interior Ministry is now saying that there is a high -- quote, "high probability that this was a terrorist act." He's saying that they're looking at two scenarios right now that this terrorist act was carried out -- as they put it, the likely terrorist act -- was carried out by a female suicide bomber, or that it was a bomb placed underneath a car nearby.
But very interesting that so early into -- less than two hours after this either one or two blasts went off near a subway station here in Moscow, we have a Russian official from the Interior Ministry telling journalists that they think that there is a high probability that this was a terrorist act -- Miles? O'BRIEN: Ryan, that's a little bit different than a week ago in the wake of those simultaneous plane crashes. The Russian government very slow to utter the T word -- terrorism. How come a different story this time?
CHILCOTE: Well, this might be a lot easier -- in all fairness -- to the Russian officials, a lot easier to figure out, particularly if they are looking and already talking about the likelihood that there could -- of a female suicide bomber in the attack. Maybe they have some kind of evidence that's very convincing right there on the ground.
But this is a lot simpler, I think -- will be a simpler case for them to crack than the planes, because there was a lot of evidence that I think the Russians wanted to look at and go through before they made public comments.
Perhaps that's why it took them so long the first time -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow, thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, you heard that one about the Texas librarian and the Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician? Laura Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger tag team tonight to pump up Republican conventioneers on a theme dubbed People of Compassion.
CNN's kinder, gentler Bob Franken joins up with a preview. Bob, I knew it! Two days in a row, I got to smile.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kinder and gentler than what?
PHILLIPS: To your usual days.
FRANKEN: I see, I see. Well, of course, this is compassion night, touchy-feely night at the Republican National Convention. We should point out that there is going to be some departure from the script. That's almost become a certainty. Certainly was last night.
But the script calls for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man who, a year ago, was laughed at almost as he began his quest to replace the sitting governor. And he is now the governor and a star in the Republican party, even though many of the conservatives say that he's really off their message and the message of the party. He is making a speech tonight.
He is the star performer, along with that former librarian, Laura Bush, the First Lady. She is going to be introduced by her daughters, and she was making the rounds of TV the last couple of days. She spoke this morning on AMERICAN MORNING to Bill Hemmer, who asked her about the husband, the president, refusal to completely repudiated those Swift Boat ads against John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, WIFE OF GEORGE W. BUSH: Those 527 ads that aren't from either campaign have been against both candidates -- a lot of them have been against my husband. And in fact, my husband and John McCain have both filed suit with the FEC to ask the FEC to rule on getting rid of 527s.
And I'm wondering if Senator Kerry will join them in that suit to make sure that 527s aren't there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And of course, the 527s referring to the section of the tax code, which governs these political organizations that claim independence from political parties, but obviously have such a point of view. They are part of the controversy that surrounds the Swift Boat campaign -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob Franken, thanks so much. One more smile, Bob -- just real quickly. There it is. Thank you, Bob, for a smile. All right, we'll check back with you, Bob.
Poor Bob, we always give him a hard time. He really is a nice guy.
Later on LIVE FROM, we are going to take a closer look at the Republican party's real-life action hero, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. CNN's Kelly Wallace will look at the novice politician's surprising success.
O'BRIEN: President Bush today revised his somewhat surprising remarks on the outcome of the war on terror.
Yesterday, as convention speakers praised him as a decisive commander in chief, Mr. Bush suggested in an interview that international terrorists cannot be defeated, but perhaps isolated. Now, today, he adopted a steelier stance in a speech in Nashville.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this different kind of war, we may never sit down at a peace table, but make no mistake about it, we are winning and we will win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Democrats have seized on the president's earlier statement, saying they can win the war on terror. That means the Democrats -- and today, a spokesman for John Kerry said, "Bush has gone from mission accomplished to mission miscalculated to mission impossible." That's a quote from the Democrats.
Anti-Republican activists have dubbed this a day of civil disobedience, though New York Police are bracing for un-civil disturbances. Here's an example: Last night's melee left a plain- clothes New York detective unconscious in the shadow of Madison Square Garden. It happened at the end of an otherwise uneventful march. One police authorized -- even without a permit because, quote one official, "We were trying to be nice." CNN's Deborah Feyerick is watching to see whether those days are over, whether civil really means civil. And Deborah, are they going to wear some riot gear, for gosh sakes?
FEYERICK: Well, absolutely. As a matter of fact, they should be wearing riot gear, especially when they are confronted with such large crowds.
But here at the Garden, police still outnumber protesters by a lot -- as a matter of fact, about two dozen U.S. postal workers have gathered in the free-speech zone set up by the NYPD to voice their opposition to President Bush. This morning, 17 protesters were arrested for blocking traffic in and around the Wall Street area. They were told to move by police -- instead, they sat down. They have been charged with disorderly conduct.
After that, another group outside of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they were there protesting the U.S. Military abuse at Abu Ghraib, as well as the detentions at Guantanamo Bay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTREYA GRAFSTEED, NOT IN OUR NAME: The Bush administration and the Republicans are holding their convention in New York. They are doing it specifically in New York at the end of August coming into September, coming close to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, to exploit the grief of 9/11, to pursue this agenda of war in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And though the video that you showed earlier isn't that dramatic, the number of serious incidents against police have been very few. That being one of the more serious. Another man -- another police officer did burn his hand during a demonstration on Saturday.
Now, this particular one turned ugly -- the video that you earlier showed when the detective was pulled from the scooter. But nobody knows exactly who the assailant was or where he is now. They are trying to find him.
The majority of the protests have, in fact, been very, very peaceful. On Sunday, the largest march of all, which organizers say collected some 400,000 people from across the country -- very few incidents there. Today, we're also expecting the War Resisters League, as well as People for the American Way, and an interfaith rally. Police, 10,000 of them assigned to cover this convention, certainly have their hands full -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Deborah Feyerick in New York. Thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, crowd control is definitely a risky business for any big city PD -- just ask the Chicago cops at the DNC in 1968, or ask Mike Brooks. Not from 1968, but he's also a former police officer -- 26 years with the Washington Police Department.
I guess, first we should talk about -- well, do we want to go back to 1968?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was in seventh grade.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's just talk about the condition of that detective now. Not good?
BROOKS: Not good. He's still in serious condition at St. Vincent's Hospital with facial trauma. I mean, they just beat him and kicked him. We saw the video earlier. And it's just uncalled for.
These people are there to give their First Amendment activity, to go ahead and voice their opinion. But this is not First Amendment activity; this is civil disobedience.
This was a detective in plain clothes -- much likely had the color of the day on, like most detectives do. And we see one of the protesters there come in, kick him, and then he comes back out and one of the cops there -- in soft hats, let me point out -- pushes him back.
Now they're looking for this guy. The NYPD is asking for anyone that has video or pictures of this melee to call their tips line. But Kyra, let me point out, as again: Some of the cops here have on soft helmets -- soft hats; some of them have on helmets. So far, 33 officers have been injured since Friday during the demonstrations, a lot of them from bottles being thrown at them and being hit in the head.
Anytime you're near a demonstration like this, the cops ought to have on helmets. Now, it's not the cops' fault; it's the bosses. The bosses ought to be making everyone there, anywhere in the demonstration, wear the helmets. Because these things, even though they might be not -- a history of violence with a certain group, we can see with the crowd mentality it can go to hell in a handbasket in a minute.
PHILLIPS: And at the very beginning, I mean, you saw the one guy kick at the cop that was already down.
BROOKS: Right.
PHILLIPS: And then, the police officer was trying to negotiate with him and get him just to back off. I mean, why don't you just arrest these people that you see involved in the action, or is the whole object to just try to calm everybody down for the sake of the safety -- for the safety of the man who is on the ground already?
BROOKS: I was just talking to a recently retired high-ranking New York City police official, who saw this, and he said from his perspective, what he sees...
PHILLIPS: This guy right here. We're talking about the guy in the white T-shirt.
BROOKS: The guy in the white hat and the T-shirt, and that cop right there with the glasses pushes him back. Now, we don't know what the perspective of that policeman was. But this official who I spoke to said, that if that cop had seen what happened and he just pushed that guy back, that there ought to be an investigation and he possibly brought up on charges.
But again, we don't know what angle he was at, whether he saw that officer being kicked by that perp or not. But again, they're looking for that guy in the white T-shirt and hat.
PHILLIPS: All right, real quickly, you got some pictures last night, via your buddies at the New York City Police Department, and some tactics that some of the protesters were using. These were sort of interesting. Why don't you explain what we saw, and how big of a problem this is, or is this a small minority?
BROOKS: Right. Now, we got some pictures from law enforcement sources in New York that were taken Sunday. Now what we see here, these -- this is a cardboard stanchion that holds a sign. Inside, after some of the protesters were arrested, inside these cardboard stanchions were smoke grenades, some other grenades, and these bee bees, these large bee-bees.
Now, there's only one thing you're going to have inside that, and that's to hurt officers. And again, that's why I say if you are going to be down around a demonstration, you got to have the proper equipment.
PHILLIPS: A small percentage though, or was this -- a lot of people found with this stuff?
BROOKS: This was a small percentage, but they're down there to engage in First Amendment activity. First Amendment activity does not include this. But let me point out, there are over 800 different groups that are going to be demonstrating during the Republican National Convention. It's a small majority of those that are down there that are hell-bent on hurting someone, on hurting police officers. Most of them are there for peaceful demonstrations.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thanks so much -- Miles.
BROOKS: Thank you, Kyra.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's take a look at live pictures now of Madison Square Garden. A little bit of -- I wouldn't call it a dress rehearsal, but a little check of the scene there at the podium. That's a $2 million podium, by the way.
There's the First Lady, Laura Bush, checking out the microphone, making sure it's just right, seeing where the teleprompter is. She, along with her two daughters -- with their backs to you right now as they confer there -- will be talking tonight, singing the praises of their husband and father, respectively. We, of course, will bring that to you as it happens.
CNN's prime time coverage of the convention kicks off tonight at 7:00 Eastern. Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Larry King and the Bush ladies at one point or another, and then at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will take the podium. Of course that will be live, followed by "NEWSNIGHT," and a special midnight edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."
Almost a foot of rain swamps the state of Virginia. As one tropical storm clears out, a hurricane looms in the Atlantic. Live report on that storm just ahead.
And making your phone fake you out: New technology making it easier for you to be fooled by your Caller ID. Boo, hiss.
And later on LIVE FROM, will Governor Schwarzenegger upstage the president? We'll get you set for his primetime speech, ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Condemnations ringing out for Europe and the U.S. today in the wake of two deadly bus bombings in Israel. The twin suicide attacks killed 16 in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva. More than 93 others wounded in the blast. The militant group Hamas says it is behind the bloodshed.
Our Stan Grant is live In Jerusalem with the latest on this -- Stan.
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles. As you can probably see behind me here, traffic is now starting to move down the main street here in Beer Sheva. The road here was closed for several hours after that double suicide bombing here at 3:00 in the afternoon. When we first arrived on the scene, several hours ago now. They were still ferrying the dead out of the buses, the targets of this suicide attack.
Now, as I said, it happened at 3:00 in the afternoon, two suicide bombers boarded these buses. They detonated the explosives within moments of each other.
But Miles, as always, in situations like this, there are also stories of heroism. It's believed that one of the bus drivers, the bus driver in front, when he heard the explosion go off behind him, immediately opened his doors and allowed people inside the bus, as many people as possible to get out, fearing that another explosion was about to happen. It said that he indeed did save lives here today.
Now, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been meeting his security advisers, and he has said that he will continue to meet terror whenever and wherever he finds it. The Israeli Defense Forces launched an operation. It has circled the town of Hebron, and is particularly targeting the homes of one of the suspected suicide bombers.
Now, the Israeli Defense Forces have a policy of taking out the homes of any suicide bombers. Hamas, as you say, have claimed responsibility. They broadcast that claim over loudspeakers in Hebron and also in Gaza. They were saying that they've carried out this attack in retaliation for the killing of two of their leaders earlier this year.
The Palestinian Authority is condemning the attacks. It says it condemns any attack against Israelis or Palestinians -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Stan Grant in Jerusalem, thanks very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Gruesome news out of Iraq: Insurgents killed 12 Nepalese taken hostage just over a week ago. A Nepalese diplomats confirms that they've all been killed, one slowly beheaded, the other 11 shot while lying face down.
This is one scene posted on the Web site of an Islamic militant group that kidnapped the men. It's the largest mass killing of hostages since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, and it brings the confirmed number of hostages killed in Iraq to 23.
More efforts to free two French journalists held hostage in Iraq. France's prime minister and its cabinet met in emergency session today. In Baghdad, the Association for Muslim Scholars called for the release of the hostages. The captors are threatening to kill the journalists unless France revokes its law banning Muslim head scarves in public school. The French government says it will not repeal the ban.
Air Force rapes too often are kept secret, so says a new report from the U.S. Air Force. The four-month probe says sexual assaults at U.S. Air Force bases are more widespread than first believed.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is live with the details of the disturbing findings.
Barbara, kind give us a little feedback on how this came about and why an investigation was launched in the first place.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this has been an issue that the entire U.S. Military -- the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, all of the military -- has been dealing with for some years.
Now, the Air Force had been facing a number of high-profile cases, some of them at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. So, over the last several months, they have tried to address it.
The Air Force now today releasing a new study, assessing its sexual assault and prevention policies: taking a look at how the Air Force system is dealing with this problem; whether they are taking these allegations seriously enough; whether Air Force women are too fearful to report attacks.
Now, in the years 2002/2003, together, the latest data available, shows there were about 400 reported cases, 35 percent of those resulting in action by the Military Justice System of the Air Force. So, this report's trying to take a look at some of the key findings.
What the key findings including are -- sexual assault problems are more complex than initially thought. They often involve Air Force personnel that do seem to know each other. These are not random, anonymous attacks, in most cases. But they also find it is more complex, it's more widespread, and there are no quick solutions. Institutional change, they say, is required, cultural and societal issues that commanders must address.
Again, getting to the point, they say, that many of these attacks involve young, enlisted personnel that do appear to know each other. There are many documented cases by the Air Force where issues like alcohol seem to be involved. But nonetheless, the Air Force says the bottom line, commanders must take it seriously, they must deal with it, and that criminal activity must be prosecuted -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Barbara, I got to ask you, I mean, I don't want to be cynical, but at the same time, here we go: It's another report. I'm glad the issue is out, it's being talked about, but when will we see the policy change? When will we see people held accountable?
STARR: Well, this is a matter most of the time for the Military Justice System, for the commanders throughout the U.S. Military. What they are really talking about here is saying, OK, enough is enough -- climate, cultural, societal issues. That is part of it. That they can no longer deal with these on just a case-by-case basis.
Women must be encouraged to report attacks. They must be taken seriously by the judicial process. Activity must be prosecuted, but there must also be a cultural change by commanders. It must be a climate where none of this activity is tolerated -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thanks -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Will the president get the bounce? The guys at Gallup asking voters about the Republican convention and their attitudes about the president. Live report on that is ahead.
Plus, I guess you could call it a safari in space -- discovering planets never seen before. Still not actually seen, but we know they're there. We'll talk with a man who is making that his mission, a little later on LIVE FROM.
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: I'm Fred Katayama at the New York Stock Exchange. Do you know any jokesters who would like to mess with your Caller ID? I'll have details on a sneaky new technology, when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: After spending weeks cleaning up after Hurricane Charley, the southeast may now have to deal with more dangerous weather, believe it or not. Hurricane Frances is heading west toward the Bahamas. And Jacqui Jeras is tracking this new storm for us up in the Weather Center -- Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Miles, Frances has been intensifying over the last couple of hours. We have a brand new advisory showing the current wind speed. The maximum sustained winds at 140 miles per hour. So, that's a very strong Category Four hurricane, moving on the same track of westerly around 16 miles per hour. It's getting close to Puerto Rico, as you can see, but it's turning just to the north.
There's the eye, as you can see on the radar picture. And some of these outer bands are moving across the area, including San Juan getting hit right now. They can expect to see about one to three inches of rainfall here as Frances moves to the north.
There is a tropical storm warning in effect, because just tropical storm force winds are expected there. But hurricane warnings in effect for the southern Bahamas and a watch for the central Bahamas. And preparations need to be done now in these areas.
The forecast track does have it turning a little bit more on up to the north, heading somewhere along the southeastern U.S. -- not just Florida needs to pay attention here. If you live along the Georgia coast extending up toward the Carolinas -- Saturday, maybe Sunday is going to be our best bet -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Jacqui Jeras, appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: Well, bad news for call screeners: Your Caller ID may no longer be telling the truth.
O'BRIEN: This is a bad development, I think. Fred Katayama, please tell us it ain't so.
KATAYAMA: Oh, gosh, I wish I could, Miles.
Well, you may no longer be able to trust that Caller ID feature on your phone. This week, new technology will make it possible for someone to choose what happens on phones that have Caller ID. The ID could be a different phone number or even a few words, according to the company launching the service *38.
The good news is that sales will be limited to licensed private investigators and collection agencies. This technique was first discovered by -- a few years ago by hackers, and privacy advocates are worried that it might be abused by the likes of telemarketers or jokesters -- Kyra, Miles?
O'BRIEN: So, bill collectors and private collectors will be able to use this. So, that's good. We want to hear from them, right?
KATAYAMA: Oh, yes, we certainly do.
O'BRIEN: And they're just going to keep that secret to themselves. All right, well, we'll stay tuned for that one. Come up with something else -- the call block...
PHILLIPS: Why don't we talk about something positive, like maybe consumer confidence.
KATAYAMA: Oh, yes. Oh, that's a good transition there, Kyra. Two points to you.
Well, the latest numbers show consumers may be getting more cautious. Consumer confidence fell sharply in August, breaking four months of gains. The Conference Board's reading was much weaker than Wall Street had expected.
Analysts say the drop off was due to slower job creation and higher oil prices. That report is taking a toll on stocks today. The Dow Industrials are losing 33 points, and the Nasdaq is down more than three quarters of a percent.
And that's the latest from Wall Street. Coming up later this hour: Restaurants get nervous about dishing out the truth.
Stay tuned, more LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 31, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly explosion outside a Moscow subway station. It's a developing story -- we're following it for you this hour.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Republican stars get ready to shine: A movie star turned governor and the First Lady get set to convince America to reelect President Bush.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Deborah Feyerick in New York. A day of free speech, opposing opinion, even some civil disobedience.
O'BRIEN: And boldly go where no man has gone before: NASA announces a voyage of discovery where no one has to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
Basically, they found some planets. That's another way of putting it.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips on this planet. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts this hour.
O'BRIEN: We begin this hour with a deadly explosion in Moscow, one week to the day after near simultaneous crashes of two Russian airliners. Police say eight were killed when at least one car blew up outside a downtown subway station.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote, standing by at our Moscow bureau. He has details for us -- Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, an official from the Russian interior Ministry is now saying that there is a high -- quote, "high probability that this was a terrorist act." He's saying that they're looking at two scenarios right now that this terrorist act was carried out -- as they put it, the likely terrorist act -- was carried out by a female suicide bomber, or that it was a bomb placed underneath a car nearby.
But very interesting that so early into -- less than two hours after this either one or two blasts went off near a subway station here in Moscow, we have a Russian official from the Interior Ministry telling journalists that they think that there is a high probability that this was a terrorist act -- Miles? O'BRIEN: Ryan, that's a little bit different than a week ago in the wake of those simultaneous plane crashes. The Russian government very slow to utter the T word -- terrorism. How come a different story this time?
CHILCOTE: Well, this might be a lot easier -- in all fairness -- to the Russian officials, a lot easier to figure out, particularly if they are looking and already talking about the likelihood that there could -- of a female suicide bomber in the attack. Maybe they have some kind of evidence that's very convincing right there on the ground.
But this is a lot simpler, I think -- will be a simpler case for them to crack than the planes, because there was a lot of evidence that I think the Russians wanted to look at and go through before they made public comments.
Perhaps that's why it took them so long the first time -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow, thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, you heard that one about the Texas librarian and the Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-politician? Laura Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger tag team tonight to pump up Republican conventioneers on a theme dubbed People of Compassion.
CNN's kinder, gentler Bob Franken joins up with a preview. Bob, I knew it! Two days in a row, I got to smile.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kinder and gentler than what?
PHILLIPS: To your usual days.
FRANKEN: I see, I see. Well, of course, this is compassion night, touchy-feely night at the Republican National Convention. We should point out that there is going to be some departure from the script. That's almost become a certainty. Certainly was last night.
But the script calls for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man who, a year ago, was laughed at almost as he began his quest to replace the sitting governor. And he is now the governor and a star in the Republican party, even though many of the conservatives say that he's really off their message and the message of the party. He is making a speech tonight.
He is the star performer, along with that former librarian, Laura Bush, the First Lady. She is going to be introduced by her daughters, and she was making the rounds of TV the last couple of days. She spoke this morning on AMERICAN MORNING to Bill Hemmer, who asked her about the husband, the president, refusal to completely repudiated those Swift Boat ads against John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, WIFE OF GEORGE W. BUSH: Those 527 ads that aren't from either campaign have been against both candidates -- a lot of them have been against my husband. And in fact, my husband and John McCain have both filed suit with the FEC to ask the FEC to rule on getting rid of 527s.
And I'm wondering if Senator Kerry will join them in that suit to make sure that 527s aren't there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And of course, the 527s referring to the section of the tax code, which governs these political organizations that claim independence from political parties, but obviously have such a point of view. They are part of the controversy that surrounds the Swift Boat campaign -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob Franken, thanks so much. One more smile, Bob -- just real quickly. There it is. Thank you, Bob, for a smile. All right, we'll check back with you, Bob.
Poor Bob, we always give him a hard time. He really is a nice guy.
Later on LIVE FROM, we are going to take a closer look at the Republican party's real-life action hero, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. CNN's Kelly Wallace will look at the novice politician's surprising success.
O'BRIEN: President Bush today revised his somewhat surprising remarks on the outcome of the war on terror.
Yesterday, as convention speakers praised him as a decisive commander in chief, Mr. Bush suggested in an interview that international terrorists cannot be defeated, but perhaps isolated. Now, today, he adopted a steelier stance in a speech in Nashville.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this different kind of war, we may never sit down at a peace table, but make no mistake about it, we are winning and we will win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Democrats have seized on the president's earlier statement, saying they can win the war on terror. That means the Democrats -- and today, a spokesman for John Kerry said, "Bush has gone from mission accomplished to mission miscalculated to mission impossible." That's a quote from the Democrats.
Anti-Republican activists have dubbed this a day of civil disobedience, though New York Police are bracing for un-civil disturbances. Here's an example: Last night's melee left a plain- clothes New York detective unconscious in the shadow of Madison Square Garden. It happened at the end of an otherwise uneventful march. One police authorized -- even without a permit because, quote one official, "We were trying to be nice." CNN's Deborah Feyerick is watching to see whether those days are over, whether civil really means civil. And Deborah, are they going to wear some riot gear, for gosh sakes?
FEYERICK: Well, absolutely. As a matter of fact, they should be wearing riot gear, especially when they are confronted with such large crowds.
But here at the Garden, police still outnumber protesters by a lot -- as a matter of fact, about two dozen U.S. postal workers have gathered in the free-speech zone set up by the NYPD to voice their opposition to President Bush. This morning, 17 protesters were arrested for blocking traffic in and around the Wall Street area. They were told to move by police -- instead, they sat down. They have been charged with disorderly conduct.
After that, another group outside of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they were there protesting the U.S. Military abuse at Abu Ghraib, as well as the detentions at Guantanamo Bay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTREYA GRAFSTEED, NOT IN OUR NAME: The Bush administration and the Republicans are holding their convention in New York. They are doing it specifically in New York at the end of August coming into September, coming close to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, to exploit the grief of 9/11, to pursue this agenda of war in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And though the video that you showed earlier isn't that dramatic, the number of serious incidents against police have been very few. That being one of the more serious. Another man -- another police officer did burn his hand during a demonstration on Saturday.
Now, this particular one turned ugly -- the video that you earlier showed when the detective was pulled from the scooter. But nobody knows exactly who the assailant was or where he is now. They are trying to find him.
The majority of the protests have, in fact, been very, very peaceful. On Sunday, the largest march of all, which organizers say collected some 400,000 people from across the country -- very few incidents there. Today, we're also expecting the War Resisters League, as well as People for the American Way, and an interfaith rally. Police, 10,000 of them assigned to cover this convention, certainly have their hands full -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Deborah Feyerick in New York. Thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, crowd control is definitely a risky business for any big city PD -- just ask the Chicago cops at the DNC in 1968, or ask Mike Brooks. Not from 1968, but he's also a former police officer -- 26 years with the Washington Police Department.
I guess, first we should talk about -- well, do we want to go back to 1968?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was in seventh grade.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's just talk about the condition of that detective now. Not good?
BROOKS: Not good. He's still in serious condition at St. Vincent's Hospital with facial trauma. I mean, they just beat him and kicked him. We saw the video earlier. And it's just uncalled for.
These people are there to give their First Amendment activity, to go ahead and voice their opinion. But this is not First Amendment activity; this is civil disobedience.
This was a detective in plain clothes -- much likely had the color of the day on, like most detectives do. And we see one of the protesters there come in, kick him, and then he comes back out and one of the cops there -- in soft hats, let me point out -- pushes him back.
Now they're looking for this guy. The NYPD is asking for anyone that has video or pictures of this melee to call their tips line. But Kyra, let me point out, as again: Some of the cops here have on soft helmets -- soft hats; some of them have on helmets. So far, 33 officers have been injured since Friday during the demonstrations, a lot of them from bottles being thrown at them and being hit in the head.
Anytime you're near a demonstration like this, the cops ought to have on helmets. Now, it's not the cops' fault; it's the bosses. The bosses ought to be making everyone there, anywhere in the demonstration, wear the helmets. Because these things, even though they might be not -- a history of violence with a certain group, we can see with the crowd mentality it can go to hell in a handbasket in a minute.
PHILLIPS: And at the very beginning, I mean, you saw the one guy kick at the cop that was already down.
BROOKS: Right.
PHILLIPS: And then, the police officer was trying to negotiate with him and get him just to back off. I mean, why don't you just arrest these people that you see involved in the action, or is the whole object to just try to calm everybody down for the sake of the safety -- for the safety of the man who is on the ground already?
BROOKS: I was just talking to a recently retired high-ranking New York City police official, who saw this, and he said from his perspective, what he sees...
PHILLIPS: This guy right here. We're talking about the guy in the white T-shirt.
BROOKS: The guy in the white hat and the T-shirt, and that cop right there with the glasses pushes him back. Now, we don't know what the perspective of that policeman was. But this official who I spoke to said, that if that cop had seen what happened and he just pushed that guy back, that there ought to be an investigation and he possibly brought up on charges.
But again, we don't know what angle he was at, whether he saw that officer being kicked by that perp or not. But again, they're looking for that guy in the white T-shirt and hat.
PHILLIPS: All right, real quickly, you got some pictures last night, via your buddies at the New York City Police Department, and some tactics that some of the protesters were using. These were sort of interesting. Why don't you explain what we saw, and how big of a problem this is, or is this a small minority?
BROOKS: Right. Now, we got some pictures from law enforcement sources in New York that were taken Sunday. Now what we see here, these -- this is a cardboard stanchion that holds a sign. Inside, after some of the protesters were arrested, inside these cardboard stanchions were smoke grenades, some other grenades, and these bee bees, these large bee-bees.
Now, there's only one thing you're going to have inside that, and that's to hurt officers. And again, that's why I say if you are going to be down around a demonstration, you got to have the proper equipment.
PHILLIPS: A small percentage though, or was this -- a lot of people found with this stuff?
BROOKS: This was a small percentage, but they're down there to engage in First Amendment activity. First Amendment activity does not include this. But let me point out, there are over 800 different groups that are going to be demonstrating during the Republican National Convention. It's a small majority of those that are down there that are hell-bent on hurting someone, on hurting police officers. Most of them are there for peaceful demonstrations.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thanks so much -- Miles.
BROOKS: Thank you, Kyra.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's take a look at live pictures now of Madison Square Garden. A little bit of -- I wouldn't call it a dress rehearsal, but a little check of the scene there at the podium. That's a $2 million podium, by the way.
There's the First Lady, Laura Bush, checking out the microphone, making sure it's just right, seeing where the teleprompter is. She, along with her two daughters -- with their backs to you right now as they confer there -- will be talking tonight, singing the praises of their husband and father, respectively. We, of course, will bring that to you as it happens.
CNN's prime time coverage of the convention kicks off tonight at 7:00 Eastern. Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Larry King and the Bush ladies at one point or another, and then at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will take the podium. Of course that will be live, followed by "NEWSNIGHT," and a special midnight edition of "LARRY KING LIVE."
Almost a foot of rain swamps the state of Virginia. As one tropical storm clears out, a hurricane looms in the Atlantic. Live report on that storm just ahead.
And making your phone fake you out: New technology making it easier for you to be fooled by your Caller ID. Boo, hiss.
And later on LIVE FROM, will Governor Schwarzenegger upstage the president? We'll get you set for his primetime speech, ahead on LIVE FROM.
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O'BRIEN: Condemnations ringing out for Europe and the U.S. today in the wake of two deadly bus bombings in Israel. The twin suicide attacks killed 16 in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva. More than 93 others wounded in the blast. The militant group Hamas says it is behind the bloodshed.
Our Stan Grant is live In Jerusalem with the latest on this -- Stan.
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles. As you can probably see behind me here, traffic is now starting to move down the main street here in Beer Sheva. The road here was closed for several hours after that double suicide bombing here at 3:00 in the afternoon. When we first arrived on the scene, several hours ago now. They were still ferrying the dead out of the buses, the targets of this suicide attack.
Now, as I said, it happened at 3:00 in the afternoon, two suicide bombers boarded these buses. They detonated the explosives within moments of each other.
But Miles, as always, in situations like this, there are also stories of heroism. It's believed that one of the bus drivers, the bus driver in front, when he heard the explosion go off behind him, immediately opened his doors and allowed people inside the bus, as many people as possible to get out, fearing that another explosion was about to happen. It said that he indeed did save lives here today.
Now, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been meeting his security advisers, and he has said that he will continue to meet terror whenever and wherever he finds it. The Israeli Defense Forces launched an operation. It has circled the town of Hebron, and is particularly targeting the homes of one of the suspected suicide bombers.
Now, the Israeli Defense Forces have a policy of taking out the homes of any suicide bombers. Hamas, as you say, have claimed responsibility. They broadcast that claim over loudspeakers in Hebron and also in Gaza. They were saying that they've carried out this attack in retaliation for the killing of two of their leaders earlier this year.
The Palestinian Authority is condemning the attacks. It says it condemns any attack against Israelis or Palestinians -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Stan Grant in Jerusalem, thanks very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Gruesome news out of Iraq: Insurgents killed 12 Nepalese taken hostage just over a week ago. A Nepalese diplomats confirms that they've all been killed, one slowly beheaded, the other 11 shot while lying face down.
This is one scene posted on the Web site of an Islamic militant group that kidnapped the men. It's the largest mass killing of hostages since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, and it brings the confirmed number of hostages killed in Iraq to 23.
More efforts to free two French journalists held hostage in Iraq. France's prime minister and its cabinet met in emergency session today. In Baghdad, the Association for Muslim Scholars called for the release of the hostages. The captors are threatening to kill the journalists unless France revokes its law banning Muslim head scarves in public school. The French government says it will not repeal the ban.
Air Force rapes too often are kept secret, so says a new report from the U.S. Air Force. The four-month probe says sexual assaults at U.S. Air Force bases are more widespread than first believed.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is live with the details of the disturbing findings.
Barbara, kind give us a little feedback on how this came about and why an investigation was launched in the first place.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this has been an issue that the entire U.S. Military -- the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, all of the military -- has been dealing with for some years.
Now, the Air Force had been facing a number of high-profile cases, some of them at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. So, over the last several months, they have tried to address it.
The Air Force now today releasing a new study, assessing its sexual assault and prevention policies: taking a look at how the Air Force system is dealing with this problem; whether they are taking these allegations seriously enough; whether Air Force women are too fearful to report attacks.
Now, in the years 2002/2003, together, the latest data available, shows there were about 400 reported cases, 35 percent of those resulting in action by the Military Justice System of the Air Force. So, this report's trying to take a look at some of the key findings.
What the key findings including are -- sexual assault problems are more complex than initially thought. They often involve Air Force personnel that do seem to know each other. These are not random, anonymous attacks, in most cases. But they also find it is more complex, it's more widespread, and there are no quick solutions. Institutional change, they say, is required, cultural and societal issues that commanders must address.
Again, getting to the point, they say, that many of these attacks involve young, enlisted personnel that do appear to know each other. There are many documented cases by the Air Force where issues like alcohol seem to be involved. But nonetheless, the Air Force says the bottom line, commanders must take it seriously, they must deal with it, and that criminal activity must be prosecuted -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Barbara, I got to ask you, I mean, I don't want to be cynical, but at the same time, here we go: It's another report. I'm glad the issue is out, it's being talked about, but when will we see the policy change? When will we see people held accountable?
STARR: Well, this is a matter most of the time for the Military Justice System, for the commanders throughout the U.S. Military. What they are really talking about here is saying, OK, enough is enough -- climate, cultural, societal issues. That is part of it. That they can no longer deal with these on just a case-by-case basis.
Women must be encouraged to report attacks. They must be taken seriously by the judicial process. Activity must be prosecuted, but there must also be a cultural change by commanders. It must be a climate where none of this activity is tolerated -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thanks -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Will the president get the bounce? The guys at Gallup asking voters about the Republican convention and their attitudes about the president. Live report on that is ahead.
Plus, I guess you could call it a safari in space -- discovering planets never seen before. Still not actually seen, but we know they're there. We'll talk with a man who is making that his mission, a little later on LIVE FROM.
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: I'm Fred Katayama at the New York Stock Exchange. Do you know any jokesters who would like to mess with your Caller ID? I'll have details on a sneaky new technology, when LIVE FROM continues.
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O'BRIEN: After spending weeks cleaning up after Hurricane Charley, the southeast may now have to deal with more dangerous weather, believe it or not. Hurricane Frances is heading west toward the Bahamas. And Jacqui Jeras is tracking this new storm for us up in the Weather Center -- Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Miles, Frances has been intensifying over the last couple of hours. We have a brand new advisory showing the current wind speed. The maximum sustained winds at 140 miles per hour. So, that's a very strong Category Four hurricane, moving on the same track of westerly around 16 miles per hour. It's getting close to Puerto Rico, as you can see, but it's turning just to the north.
There's the eye, as you can see on the radar picture. And some of these outer bands are moving across the area, including San Juan getting hit right now. They can expect to see about one to three inches of rainfall here as Frances moves to the north.
There is a tropical storm warning in effect, because just tropical storm force winds are expected there. But hurricane warnings in effect for the southern Bahamas and a watch for the central Bahamas. And preparations need to be done now in these areas.
The forecast track does have it turning a little bit more on up to the north, heading somewhere along the southeastern U.S. -- not just Florida needs to pay attention here. If you live along the Georgia coast extending up toward the Carolinas -- Saturday, maybe Sunday is going to be our best bet -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Jacqui Jeras, appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: Well, bad news for call screeners: Your Caller ID may no longer be telling the truth.
O'BRIEN: This is a bad development, I think. Fred Katayama, please tell us it ain't so.
KATAYAMA: Oh, gosh, I wish I could, Miles.
Well, you may no longer be able to trust that Caller ID feature on your phone. This week, new technology will make it possible for someone to choose what happens on phones that have Caller ID. The ID could be a different phone number or even a few words, according to the company launching the service *38.
The good news is that sales will be limited to licensed private investigators and collection agencies. This technique was first discovered by -- a few years ago by hackers, and privacy advocates are worried that it might be abused by the likes of telemarketers or jokesters -- Kyra, Miles?
O'BRIEN: So, bill collectors and private collectors will be able to use this. So, that's good. We want to hear from them, right?
KATAYAMA: Oh, yes, we certainly do.
O'BRIEN: And they're just going to keep that secret to themselves. All right, well, we'll stay tuned for that one. Come up with something else -- the call block...
PHILLIPS: Why don't we talk about something positive, like maybe consumer confidence.
KATAYAMA: Oh, yes. Oh, that's a good transition there, Kyra. Two points to you.
Well, the latest numbers show consumers may be getting more cautious. Consumer confidence fell sharply in August, breaking four months of gains. The Conference Board's reading was much weaker than Wall Street had expected.
Analysts say the drop off was due to slower job creation and higher oil prices. That report is taking a toll on stocks today. The Dow Industrials are losing 33 points, and the Nasdaq is down more than three quarters of a percent.
And that's the latest from Wall Street. Coming up later this hour: Restaurants get nervous about dishing out the truth.
Stay tuned, more LIVE FROM right after this.
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