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Seizure of Two French Journalists by Islamic Militants in Iraq Rallying Support From All Parts of France; Nick of Time

Aired September 01, 2004 - 13:30   ET

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

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a Bengal tiger playing hide-and-seek at an Army base in Louisiana. And so far, the tiger's winning. For two days, 40 soldiers have been trying to find that tiger, believed to have been a pet, and then it escaped.
Demanding better security for more than a million Sudanese refugees in Darfur. A U.N. report now says the government has failed to halt attacks on civilians. But there's no mention of sanctions against Sudan.

Violence by insurgents in Iraq targeted the new National Council Meeting in Baghdad, and of its members, Ahmed Chalabi, who was not hurt, but four others were wounded. Meantime, a Kuwaiti company says seven of its truck drivers have been set free in Iraq. They were kidnapped more than a month ago.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The seizure of two French journalist by Islamic militants in Iraq is rallying support from all parts of the French republic, including the Muslim minority. That may be just the opposite of what the militants want, as CNN's Jim Bittermann explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the weekend, French government ministers have been called to one crisis meeting after another, have canceled their news conferences and their plans, and in the case of Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, rushed off to the Middle East to mobilize every friend and diplomatic resource Paris has.

The result? Scores of individuals and groups, from Yasser Arafat and the Hamas, to international organizations and religious councils, have stepped forward to try to win freedom for the two French journalists whose lives were at stake.

Their captors want France to rescind what has been a controversial law here, a law which this fall will stop young Muslim girls from wearing head scarves in public high schools.

But if the intent of the kidnappers was to divide religious Muslims from French society or aggravate the situation, it appears it may be having just the opposite effect.

(on camera): One surprising consequence of the hostage taking is that French Muslims, even the most extremist groups, have been forced to take a position, have supported the government and supported the ban on head scarves in high schools.

(voice-over): At the central mosque of Paris, spiritual leaders representing most every strand of the country's five million Muslims gathered to pray for the two journalists' freedom.

"Those sons of France," said the president of the Islamic Council, "are our brothers, because the children of France are our children."

The French interior minister praised the image of France assembled in unity around its values.

Afterward, even one of the toughest critics of the head scarf law told CNN now that the law is passed, it's the law of the land and must be obeyed and that his group will not defend young girls who try to defy the head scarf ban. "We are citizens," he added, "and that's the way we act."

And so, as supporters of the two journalist hostages gathered in several cities across France, there were clear signs their abductors had unified the country more than dividing it. Said one headline Muslim here, "They have taken us all hostage."

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Tonight, the theme at Madison Square Garden will be land of opportunity, and with that in mind, the GOP will take the opportunity to take a bit a right turn. Tonight, we'll hear from vice president Dick Cheney. Is he all about gravitas, or does he just weigh down the ticket? And how about the Bush twins, did they help last night? And is it possible John Kerry may be his own worst enemy, as he tries to jump start a somnolent campaign.

Joining us from New York for more on this and more radio talk show host Steve Malzberg, who's been up all night, still looks like a million bucks, and former Al Gore aide, Morris Reid, who as far as we know, he got a good night's sleep.

MORRIS REID, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Excellent night's sleep. Don't I look like he had a good night's sleep?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Well, you know you're kind of in enemy country there.

All right, let's -- I got to ask you, Morris, John Kerry's campaign is listless, at best. Why?

REID: Well, I think that they were unprepared to withstand this assault by the swift boat guys. It's disconcerting for a number of Democrats, because we...

O'BRIEN: But didn't they learn that -- don't you think they should have learned the lesson of Michael Dukakis?

REID: Well, this is not a Michael Dukakis situation, because John Kerry does have a solid record to run on as far as his military service. However, they were not prepared to deal with the swift boat issue. And it's troubling, it's troubling, at best. At worse, it puts the campaign in danger.

O'BRIEN: Steve Malzberg, did you see anything in the speech today from Senator Kerry that, you know, kind of lit a new fire for that campaign?

STEVE MALZBERG, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Absolutely not. I was looking, and waiting, and wondering whether or not he would bite the bullet and apologize to the veterans, all over this country, especially the Vietnam veterans, who had to sit and listen to him in '71 call them all war criminal.

O'BRIEN: But he can't do that? Can he, Steve? Can he apologize?

MALZBERG: Well, look, has no alternative. Look, he invoked Vietnam. He decided to run as a war hero. He should have known his Cambodia stories weren't straight. He should have know that documents on his Web site are now being called into question. John Lehman, the former secretary of the Navy says, I didn't sign that citation on his Web site. I don't know where it came from. He had to know this stuff.

O'BRIEN: All right, this is a pretty sticky wicket on all of this. The point is, do you think if he says I'm sorry, if you misconstrued it, the bottom line is, of course there were atrocities in Vietnam, it was a terrible time, awful time for our country, let's heal and move on? Do you think that would really do it?

MALZBERG: I think that's the only hope he has, that's the only hope he has. In 1971, I couldn't wait until somebody -- I thought it would be the Bush campaign, eventually, picked up on his '71 testimony, not his war record, but what he said in '71. I mean, he called this country a criminal country. He said that we were in a criminal war.

O'BRIEN: Remember the time. Let's -- you know, we are judging it in the context of a different time. Morris, take a shot at that, because you know, I think people forget the context of 1971 and the bitter divisions over this war.

REID: You know, John Kerry had every right to go and serve his country honorably. He had every right to come back and complain about the situation.

It is troubling, I got to tell you. There's no way you can spin this, that they were not prepared to deal with this. And they need to really get this fixed. They need to right this ship. They need to get some fresh blood -- I think they need to get some fresh blood in the campaign. I believe he's going to have a shake-up. I think it's important to get past this story. The more this is on the front page of the news when George Bush steps to that microphone on Thursday, it's really troubling. But I applaud John Kerry for his service, but he should have known that this was going to be an issue, and his people should have been prepared for it.

O'BRIEN: All right. And Morris, so they're in big trouble, you think?

REID: I don't think they're in big trouble; I think they're in trouble.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about Dick Cheney, Steve. The most unpopular person to address this convention gets on the podium tonight. Is this a problem for the campaign, do you think?

MALZBERG: Absolutely not. He's going to energize this space. And when push comes to shove, it's going to be the security of this country and who's most able to...

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry -- I'm sorry, Steve, you said he's going to energize that space? Dick Cheney?

MALZBERG: He's going to energize this convention.

O'BRIEN: Dick Cheney?

MALZBERG: You think he's unpopular with the people who are going to be at the convention?

O'BRIEN: No, no, I just don't think him as a speaker who would energize a room like that, but...

MALZBERG: With all due respect, Miles, they love Dick Cheney in this room -- because of the people and the mainstream media who vilify him, by shouting Halliburton this, Halliburton that. There's nothing -- secret meetings this, secret meetings that. The courts have backed him up.. There's nothing secretive. There's nothing illegal. There's nothing unethical about Dick Cheney. He's a man of character and substance, and the people in this room tonight will understand that.

O'BRIEN: Morris, what do you think?

REID: Finally -- finally a real Republican steps to the podium. These guys have had a scripted campaign and a scripted convention. They've had every moderate Republican that did not reflect the values of those people in the convention hall.

They're going to be excited because they have a true, red-blooded Republican right-winger who's going to scare American people. So, I'm glad that Dick Cheney's stepping to the microphone.

O'BRIEN: So, tonight it's go for the base -- up to this moment, we've been seeing an appeal to the middle. Let's talk about an appeal to younger folks. We saw the Bush twins last night. I think we have a little clip. Can we play it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA BUSH, PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER: When we tell them we're going to see OutKast, they know it's a band and not a bunch of misfits. And if we really beg them, they'll even "shake it like a Polaroid picture."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Pretty cool stuff. All right, what do you think, guys? Did that fall flat? Was that a success? Morris, you first.

REID: Step away from the microphone. Never let them at the podium again. These guys were terrible. And we live in a society where everyone thinks that they can become a reality star. These girls need to get behind their mom and dad and applaud politely.

They should never step to the microphone again. They don't reflect the values that -- I believe, that the people -- that young Americans -- they don't resonate with them. Step away from the microphone, is what I say.

O'BRIEN: All right, Steve? What do you think?

MALZBERG: Well, I was kind of shocked at the "Sex and the City" reference that we didn't hear. I later learned that "shake it like a Polaroid" is one of those songs that that group she referenced sings. I didn't know that.

But you know what? They're trying to appeal -- someone...

O'BRIEN: Steve, get with the program! Come on, this is OutKast.

REID: He's a Republican. He...

MALZBERG: "Shake it like a Polaroid," baby. Come on, you got to get with it, man.

REID: They're from Atlanta, Steve. You got to know these guys.

MALZBERG: Somebody in the campaign approved that whole give-and- take comedy act. I don't know who could have done that.

O'BRIEN: OK. So, you think it was a mistake. It was probably a mistake, then.

REID: Clearly, clearly.

MALZBERG: I don't think everybody -- I don't think it was as bad as everybody is making it out to be. They tried to appeal to the youngsters -- 20-years-old, 25-years-old. I don't think they offended Republicans that are going to say, "Oh, I'm not voting for him now." I think they might have got a couple votes out of it.

O'BRIEN: All right...

REID: Oh, Steve, come on.

O'BRIEN: Gents, gents, we've got to break this thing down in a few seconds, as Andre might say. Appreciate it very much, Steve Malzberg...

MALZBERG: Thank you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: ... and Morris Reid. Good work, we appreciate the give and take.

REID: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, word coming in now -- a story that's been developing. We had received some news about some sort of chemical that had been released in Washington -- in a downtown Washington office. We now are getting word -- Washington authorities are saying that a group of kids apparently released some pepper spray into a shopping area inside the building at 19th and I Streets northwest, and then that caused an evacuation.

About 20 to 30 people now being treated for eye irritations. Police saw that the chemical had kind of spread through the ventilation and open areas. They are now checking canisters outside the building -- for other canisters, rather, and clearing out that building. And no one was taken away from ambulance, and it looks like everything has been cleared. Those juveniles now under arrest for the alleged involvement of releasing that pepper spray into this shopping area.

Well, they called it huge, and now they're calling it off.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At one time, the Bush administration calling the conviction of an alleged terror cell in Detroit a huge win in the war on terror. We'll tell you what they're saying coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it was the nation's first post-9/11 terror trial. John Ashcroft and the Bush administration hailed the case as a badge of success in the war on terror. But now, sources say the Justice Department wants a judge to toss out the convictions of the suspected terror cell in Detroit because of alleged misconduct on the part of the prosecutors.

CNN's Sean Callebs is in our Washington Bureau with more on this emerging controversy. What do you known, Sean?

CALLEBS: Well, Kyra, at one time, it was a conviction hailed by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft as a major victory in the war on terror. Now, in a dramatic reversal, the U.S. Justice Department is calling for a dismissal of the convictions against a suspected terror cell in Detroit.

Justice officials say the prosecutor's work was filled with a pattern of mistakes and oversights. Two defendants -- Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi and Karim Koubriti -- were convicted of terrorism charges. A third, Ahmed Hannan, was found guilty of document fraud. They were charged September 17 of 2001, less than a week after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

However, earlier this year, John Ashcroft took the unusual step of appointing a special attorney to look into those convictions. The case became controversial after it became clear the prosecution had withheld some evidence from the defense legal team. A harsh, 60-page memo from the Justice Department criticizes prosecutors and says the government will not pursue another trial on terrorism charges.

The memo says, quoting here -- "In its best light, the record would show the prosecution committed a pattern of mistakes and oversights and that there were enough problems that the government had no reasonable prospect of winning."

A lawyer for one defendant is calling the decision a major victory. Also, Kyra, the Justice Department is, in large part, blaming the chief prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino. But Convertino, for his part, has also said that the Justice Department thwarted his repeated efforts to try and introduce evidence during the trial -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sean Callebs, live from Washington, thanks so much.

And now to Austin, Texas, and a rescue that truly came in just the nick of time for a tiny baby girl.

O'BRIEN: Asia McCoy is too young to remember the details of her ordeal, but her rescuers will never forget. James Keith with CNN affiliate News 8 in Austin, Texas, has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES KEITH, REPORTER, NEWS 8 (voice-over): Austin Police received a welfare call Sunday night. A neighbor was worried about six-month-old Asia McCoy and her father, Willard. No one had seen them for days.

ANGELA SALES, NEIGHBOR: We were getting worried and calling cell phone, paging him, going to the door, and he wouldn't answer, you know, until like maybe Saturday or Sunday, we noticed a smell and like flies and stuff like that.

KEITH: Neighbors called police. Inside, officers found the decomposing body of Willard McCoy. Baby Asia was on the floor, covered in her father's body fluids.

OFFICER BLAIN EIBEN, AUSTIN POLICE: I've been a police officer for nine years. I've seen a lot of death. She definitely appeared dead.

KEITH: Officers Blain Eiben and Doug Drake rushed to revive the baby.

CLAYTON BAGGERLY, NEIGHBOR: I rushed her up out of the -- off the floor, and I was able to clean out her nose and her mouth.

EIBEN: We poured water on her, rubbed her back, talked to her, and she started making noise.

SALES: You know, I just remember the eyes being glazed over, like, dying pretty much, and I just saw her leg move a little bit.

EIBEN: It was unbelievable. It was surreal.

KEITH: Doctors say one more hour alone and Asia would have likely died.

EIBEN: The thing I play over in my mind -- is the fact that as we lived our lives, for those five days, you know we went to bed, we got up, we went to work, there was a little girl laying on the ground in those conditions.

KEITH: Asia's health is improving. Neighbors say they're grateful for those who saved her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police, the paramedics, they're heroes. I mean, they went in there and they pulled that baby out. They got the baby to the hospital.

EIBEN: The true hero in this is the baby. She was alone, cold, in the dark, hadn't eaten for five days. She fought for her life for five days. We arrived on the scene and fought for 20, 30 minutes. She's absolutely the true hero here.

KEITH: James Keith, News 8, Austin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, this next item is not for the squeamish. We've all heard the expression, it's no use crying over spilled milk. But it must have lost something in the translation. Oh, man. Or else this guy has never outgrown his boyhood lunchroom pranks.

I think that went through his eye, didn't it? Yes, OK.

PHILLIPS: It's a new thing to, you know, help with dry eye.

Well, the Turkish milkman aiming for the Guinness world book immortality by sucking up milk through his nose, and then spraying it out of his eyeball. He was apparently successful, hitting a distance of .2 feet. We'd show it to you, again, but you know, we feel we've already milked it for all it's worth.

O'BRIEN: Oh, we just did.

PHILLIPS: Oh! O'BRIEN: That is utterly awful.

And I just want to know, who is he competing against for that distance category? Who's the other one?

All, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, we're saving the best...

PHILLIPS: This is what we really want to talk about.

O'BRIEN: We've been talking about this for about six months now. She might have been lost in space, but we found her. She fits right here on LIVE FROM, on the set.

June Lockhart, good to have you with us.

JUNE LOCKHART, ACTRESS: I'm following that item?

O'BRIEN: You know, you've been in show business a long time. This could be a first for you...

PHILLIPS: You can segue.

O'BRIEN: Following the guy with milk out of the eye.

LOCKHART: Oh, my God.

O'BRIEN: It's one for the memoir, June.

Anyway, June Lockhart is in the house to talk about space.

LOCKHART: Oh, I'm so thrilled to be (INAUDIBLE).

O'BRIEN: We'll talk about her career.

PHILLIPS: She's going to throw to the next hour.

LOCKHART: I am? Tell me how I do that.

O'BRIEN: LIVE FROM...

PHILLIPS: Camera one.

LOCKHART: Oh, oh, yes. All right.

PHILLIPS: Whatever you want to say.

LOCKHART: June Lockhart is in the house. LIVE FROM hour of power?

PHILLIPS: That's it!

LOCKHART: Oh, great! LIVE FROM's hour of power begins right after this.

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


Aired September 1, 2004 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a Bengal tiger playing hide-and-seek at an Army base in Louisiana. And so far, the tiger's winning. For two days, 40 soldiers have been trying to find that tiger, believed to have been a pet, and then it escaped.
Demanding better security for more than a million Sudanese refugees in Darfur. A U.N. report now says the government has failed to halt attacks on civilians. But there's no mention of sanctions against Sudan.

Violence by insurgents in Iraq targeted the new National Council Meeting in Baghdad, and of its members, Ahmed Chalabi, who was not hurt, but four others were wounded. Meantime, a Kuwaiti company says seven of its truck drivers have been set free in Iraq. They were kidnapped more than a month ago.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The seizure of two French journalist by Islamic militants in Iraq is rallying support from all parts of the French republic, including the Muslim minority. That may be just the opposite of what the militants want, as CNN's Jim Bittermann explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the weekend, French government ministers have been called to one crisis meeting after another, have canceled their news conferences and their plans, and in the case of Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, rushed off to the Middle East to mobilize every friend and diplomatic resource Paris has.

The result? Scores of individuals and groups, from Yasser Arafat and the Hamas, to international organizations and religious councils, have stepped forward to try to win freedom for the two French journalists whose lives were at stake.

Their captors want France to rescind what has been a controversial law here, a law which this fall will stop young Muslim girls from wearing head scarves in public high schools.

But if the intent of the kidnappers was to divide religious Muslims from French society or aggravate the situation, it appears it may be having just the opposite effect.

(on camera): One surprising consequence of the hostage taking is that French Muslims, even the most extremist groups, have been forced to take a position, have supported the government and supported the ban on head scarves in high schools.

(voice-over): At the central mosque of Paris, spiritual leaders representing most every strand of the country's five million Muslims gathered to pray for the two journalists' freedom.

"Those sons of France," said the president of the Islamic Council, "are our brothers, because the children of France are our children."

The French interior minister praised the image of France assembled in unity around its values.

Afterward, even one of the toughest critics of the head scarf law told CNN now that the law is passed, it's the law of the land and must be obeyed and that his group will not defend young girls who try to defy the head scarf ban. "We are citizens," he added, "and that's the way we act."

And so, as supporters of the two journalist hostages gathered in several cities across France, there were clear signs their abductors had unified the country more than dividing it. Said one headline Muslim here, "They have taken us all hostage."

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Tonight, the theme at Madison Square Garden will be land of opportunity, and with that in mind, the GOP will take the opportunity to take a bit a right turn. Tonight, we'll hear from vice president Dick Cheney. Is he all about gravitas, or does he just weigh down the ticket? And how about the Bush twins, did they help last night? And is it possible John Kerry may be his own worst enemy, as he tries to jump start a somnolent campaign.

Joining us from New York for more on this and more radio talk show host Steve Malzberg, who's been up all night, still looks like a million bucks, and former Al Gore aide, Morris Reid, who as far as we know, he got a good night's sleep.

MORRIS REID, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Excellent night's sleep. Don't I look like he had a good night's sleep?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Well, you know you're kind of in enemy country there.

All right, let's -- I got to ask you, Morris, John Kerry's campaign is listless, at best. Why?

REID: Well, I think that they were unprepared to withstand this assault by the swift boat guys. It's disconcerting for a number of Democrats, because we...

O'BRIEN: But didn't they learn that -- don't you think they should have learned the lesson of Michael Dukakis?

REID: Well, this is not a Michael Dukakis situation, because John Kerry does have a solid record to run on as far as his military service. However, they were not prepared to deal with the swift boat issue. And it's troubling, it's troubling, at best. At worse, it puts the campaign in danger.

O'BRIEN: Steve Malzberg, did you see anything in the speech today from Senator Kerry that, you know, kind of lit a new fire for that campaign?

STEVE MALZBERG, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Absolutely not. I was looking, and waiting, and wondering whether or not he would bite the bullet and apologize to the veterans, all over this country, especially the Vietnam veterans, who had to sit and listen to him in '71 call them all war criminal.

O'BRIEN: But he can't do that? Can he, Steve? Can he apologize?

MALZBERG: Well, look, has no alternative. Look, he invoked Vietnam. He decided to run as a war hero. He should have known his Cambodia stories weren't straight. He should have know that documents on his Web site are now being called into question. John Lehman, the former secretary of the Navy says, I didn't sign that citation on his Web site. I don't know where it came from. He had to know this stuff.

O'BRIEN: All right, this is a pretty sticky wicket on all of this. The point is, do you think if he says I'm sorry, if you misconstrued it, the bottom line is, of course there were atrocities in Vietnam, it was a terrible time, awful time for our country, let's heal and move on? Do you think that would really do it?

MALZBERG: I think that's the only hope he has, that's the only hope he has. In 1971, I couldn't wait until somebody -- I thought it would be the Bush campaign, eventually, picked up on his '71 testimony, not his war record, but what he said in '71. I mean, he called this country a criminal country. He said that we were in a criminal war.

O'BRIEN: Remember the time. Let's -- you know, we are judging it in the context of a different time. Morris, take a shot at that, because you know, I think people forget the context of 1971 and the bitter divisions over this war.

REID: You know, John Kerry had every right to go and serve his country honorably. He had every right to come back and complain about the situation.

It is troubling, I got to tell you. There's no way you can spin this, that they were not prepared to deal with this. And they need to really get this fixed. They need to right this ship. They need to get some fresh blood -- I think they need to get some fresh blood in the campaign. I believe he's going to have a shake-up. I think it's important to get past this story. The more this is on the front page of the news when George Bush steps to that microphone on Thursday, it's really troubling. But I applaud John Kerry for his service, but he should have known that this was going to be an issue, and his people should have been prepared for it.

O'BRIEN: All right. And Morris, so they're in big trouble, you think?

REID: I don't think they're in big trouble; I think they're in trouble.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about Dick Cheney, Steve. The most unpopular person to address this convention gets on the podium tonight. Is this a problem for the campaign, do you think?

MALZBERG: Absolutely not. He's going to energize this space. And when push comes to shove, it's going to be the security of this country and who's most able to...

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry -- I'm sorry, Steve, you said he's going to energize that space? Dick Cheney?

MALZBERG: He's going to energize this convention.

O'BRIEN: Dick Cheney?

MALZBERG: You think he's unpopular with the people who are going to be at the convention?

O'BRIEN: No, no, I just don't think him as a speaker who would energize a room like that, but...

MALZBERG: With all due respect, Miles, they love Dick Cheney in this room -- because of the people and the mainstream media who vilify him, by shouting Halliburton this, Halliburton that. There's nothing -- secret meetings this, secret meetings that. The courts have backed him up.. There's nothing secretive. There's nothing illegal. There's nothing unethical about Dick Cheney. He's a man of character and substance, and the people in this room tonight will understand that.

O'BRIEN: Morris, what do you think?

REID: Finally -- finally a real Republican steps to the podium. These guys have had a scripted campaign and a scripted convention. They've had every moderate Republican that did not reflect the values of those people in the convention hall.

They're going to be excited because they have a true, red-blooded Republican right-winger who's going to scare American people. So, I'm glad that Dick Cheney's stepping to the microphone.

O'BRIEN: So, tonight it's go for the base -- up to this moment, we've been seeing an appeal to the middle. Let's talk about an appeal to younger folks. We saw the Bush twins last night. I think we have a little clip. Can we play it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA BUSH, PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER: When we tell them we're going to see OutKast, they know it's a band and not a bunch of misfits. And if we really beg them, they'll even "shake it like a Polaroid picture."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Pretty cool stuff. All right, what do you think, guys? Did that fall flat? Was that a success? Morris, you first.

REID: Step away from the microphone. Never let them at the podium again. These guys were terrible. And we live in a society where everyone thinks that they can become a reality star. These girls need to get behind their mom and dad and applaud politely.

They should never step to the microphone again. They don't reflect the values that -- I believe, that the people -- that young Americans -- they don't resonate with them. Step away from the microphone, is what I say.

O'BRIEN: All right, Steve? What do you think?

MALZBERG: Well, I was kind of shocked at the "Sex and the City" reference that we didn't hear. I later learned that "shake it like a Polaroid" is one of those songs that that group she referenced sings. I didn't know that.

But you know what? They're trying to appeal -- someone...

O'BRIEN: Steve, get with the program! Come on, this is OutKast.

REID: He's a Republican. He...

MALZBERG: "Shake it like a Polaroid," baby. Come on, you got to get with it, man.

REID: They're from Atlanta, Steve. You got to know these guys.

MALZBERG: Somebody in the campaign approved that whole give-and- take comedy act. I don't know who could have done that.

O'BRIEN: OK. So, you think it was a mistake. It was probably a mistake, then.

REID: Clearly, clearly.

MALZBERG: I don't think everybody -- I don't think it was as bad as everybody is making it out to be. They tried to appeal to the youngsters -- 20-years-old, 25-years-old. I don't think they offended Republicans that are going to say, "Oh, I'm not voting for him now." I think they might have got a couple votes out of it.

O'BRIEN: All right...

REID: Oh, Steve, come on.

O'BRIEN: Gents, gents, we've got to break this thing down in a few seconds, as Andre might say. Appreciate it very much, Steve Malzberg...

MALZBERG: Thank you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: ... and Morris Reid. Good work, we appreciate the give and take.

REID: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, word coming in now -- a story that's been developing. We had received some news about some sort of chemical that had been released in Washington -- in a downtown Washington office. We now are getting word -- Washington authorities are saying that a group of kids apparently released some pepper spray into a shopping area inside the building at 19th and I Streets northwest, and then that caused an evacuation.

About 20 to 30 people now being treated for eye irritations. Police saw that the chemical had kind of spread through the ventilation and open areas. They are now checking canisters outside the building -- for other canisters, rather, and clearing out that building. And no one was taken away from ambulance, and it looks like everything has been cleared. Those juveniles now under arrest for the alleged involvement of releasing that pepper spray into this shopping area.

Well, they called it huge, and now they're calling it off.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At one time, the Bush administration calling the conviction of an alleged terror cell in Detroit a huge win in the war on terror. We'll tell you what they're saying coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it was the nation's first post-9/11 terror trial. John Ashcroft and the Bush administration hailed the case as a badge of success in the war on terror. But now, sources say the Justice Department wants a judge to toss out the convictions of the suspected terror cell in Detroit because of alleged misconduct on the part of the prosecutors.

CNN's Sean Callebs is in our Washington Bureau with more on this emerging controversy. What do you known, Sean?

CALLEBS: Well, Kyra, at one time, it was a conviction hailed by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft as a major victory in the war on terror. Now, in a dramatic reversal, the U.S. Justice Department is calling for a dismissal of the convictions against a suspected terror cell in Detroit.

Justice officials say the prosecutor's work was filled with a pattern of mistakes and oversights. Two defendants -- Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi and Karim Koubriti -- were convicted of terrorism charges. A third, Ahmed Hannan, was found guilty of document fraud. They were charged September 17 of 2001, less than a week after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

However, earlier this year, John Ashcroft took the unusual step of appointing a special attorney to look into those convictions. The case became controversial after it became clear the prosecution had withheld some evidence from the defense legal team. A harsh, 60-page memo from the Justice Department criticizes prosecutors and says the government will not pursue another trial on terrorism charges.

The memo says, quoting here -- "In its best light, the record would show the prosecution committed a pattern of mistakes and oversights and that there were enough problems that the government had no reasonable prospect of winning."

A lawyer for one defendant is calling the decision a major victory. Also, Kyra, the Justice Department is, in large part, blaming the chief prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino. But Convertino, for his part, has also said that the Justice Department thwarted his repeated efforts to try and introduce evidence during the trial -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sean Callebs, live from Washington, thanks so much.

And now to Austin, Texas, and a rescue that truly came in just the nick of time for a tiny baby girl.

O'BRIEN: Asia McCoy is too young to remember the details of her ordeal, but her rescuers will never forget. James Keith with CNN affiliate News 8 in Austin, Texas, has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES KEITH, REPORTER, NEWS 8 (voice-over): Austin Police received a welfare call Sunday night. A neighbor was worried about six-month-old Asia McCoy and her father, Willard. No one had seen them for days.

ANGELA SALES, NEIGHBOR: We were getting worried and calling cell phone, paging him, going to the door, and he wouldn't answer, you know, until like maybe Saturday or Sunday, we noticed a smell and like flies and stuff like that.

KEITH: Neighbors called police. Inside, officers found the decomposing body of Willard McCoy. Baby Asia was on the floor, covered in her father's body fluids.

OFFICER BLAIN EIBEN, AUSTIN POLICE: I've been a police officer for nine years. I've seen a lot of death. She definitely appeared dead.

KEITH: Officers Blain Eiben and Doug Drake rushed to revive the baby.

CLAYTON BAGGERLY, NEIGHBOR: I rushed her up out of the -- off the floor, and I was able to clean out her nose and her mouth.

EIBEN: We poured water on her, rubbed her back, talked to her, and she started making noise.

SALES: You know, I just remember the eyes being glazed over, like, dying pretty much, and I just saw her leg move a little bit.

EIBEN: It was unbelievable. It was surreal.

KEITH: Doctors say one more hour alone and Asia would have likely died.

EIBEN: The thing I play over in my mind -- is the fact that as we lived our lives, for those five days, you know we went to bed, we got up, we went to work, there was a little girl laying on the ground in those conditions.

KEITH: Asia's health is improving. Neighbors say they're grateful for those who saved her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police, the paramedics, they're heroes. I mean, they went in there and they pulled that baby out. They got the baby to the hospital.

EIBEN: The true hero in this is the baby. She was alone, cold, in the dark, hadn't eaten for five days. She fought for her life for five days. We arrived on the scene and fought for 20, 30 minutes. She's absolutely the true hero here.

KEITH: James Keith, News 8, Austin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, this next item is not for the squeamish. We've all heard the expression, it's no use crying over spilled milk. But it must have lost something in the translation. Oh, man. Or else this guy has never outgrown his boyhood lunchroom pranks.

I think that went through his eye, didn't it? Yes, OK.

PHILLIPS: It's a new thing to, you know, help with dry eye.

Well, the Turkish milkman aiming for the Guinness world book immortality by sucking up milk through his nose, and then spraying it out of his eyeball. He was apparently successful, hitting a distance of .2 feet. We'd show it to you, again, but you know, we feel we've already milked it for all it's worth.

O'BRIEN: Oh, we just did.

PHILLIPS: Oh! O'BRIEN: That is utterly awful.

And I just want to know, who is he competing against for that distance category? Who's the other one?

All, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, we're saving the best...

PHILLIPS: This is what we really want to talk about.

O'BRIEN: We've been talking about this for about six months now. She might have been lost in space, but we found her. She fits right here on LIVE FROM, on the set.

June Lockhart, good to have you with us.

JUNE LOCKHART, ACTRESS: I'm following that item?

O'BRIEN: You know, you've been in show business a long time. This could be a first for you...

PHILLIPS: You can segue.

O'BRIEN: Following the guy with milk out of the eye.

LOCKHART: Oh, my God.

O'BRIEN: It's one for the memoir, June.

Anyway, June Lockhart is in the house to talk about space.

LOCKHART: Oh, I'm so thrilled to be (INAUDIBLE).

O'BRIEN: We'll talk about her career.

PHILLIPS: She's going to throw to the next hour.

LOCKHART: I am? Tell me how I do that.

O'BRIEN: LIVE FROM...

PHILLIPS: Camera one.

LOCKHART: Oh, oh, yes. All right.

PHILLIPS: Whatever you want to say.

LOCKHART: June Lockhart is in the house. LIVE FROM hour of power?

PHILLIPS: That's it!

LOCKHART: Oh, great! LIVE FROM's hour of power begins right after this.

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