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Russian School Under Siege; Democrat Miller to Speak at RNC; Unconventional Protests
Aired September 01, 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, the first day of school in Russia, another day of terror apparently by Chechen insurgents. The eyes of the world are on Middle School Number One in the town of Beslan, near the Chechen border, where the attackers who are said to be wired with explosives are holding dozens of people hostage.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Ryan Chilcote. He's in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was the first day of school in Russia. Students, their parents and teachers had gathered at this school to celebrate the beginning of the school year. That's when more than a dozen armed men and women, many of them wearing suicide belts, seized the school, taking everyone inside hostage. Russian authorities now believe that the hostage-takers may have as many as 300 to 400 people captured inside.
Now, the hostage-takers are warning Russian authorities not to try and storm the building. They say that if the Russians try to storm the building to free the hostages, that they will blow the building up with all the hostages inside. They are also saying, for every hostage-taker that is killed, if there's any fighting there, they will kill 50 children.
Now, these hostage-takers are telling Russian authorities that their demand is that Russia withdraw all of its troops from the Russia region of Chechnya. Chechnya, of course, where the Russian military has been battling Chechen rebels for nearly a decade now.
Lastly, Russia is linking this to international terrorism and has demanded that the U.N. Security Council convene as quickly as possible to discuss the situation under way in southern Russia.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, in just a few minutes, we're going to devil deeper into the long and bloody feud between Chechen separatists and the Russian government with analyst and scholar from Harvard, Jim Walsh. That's at a quarter past the hour right here on LIVE FROM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: I am a Democrat because we are the party opposed. For 12 dark years, the Republicans have dealt in cynicism and skepticism. They have mastered the art of division and diversion, and they have robbed us of our hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, 12 years later it's a very different story indeed. The Democratic firebrand who gave the keynote speech for Bill Clinton's nomination in 1992 is the nominal Democrat who will speak for George W. Bush tonight. Night Three of the RNC will also feature Dick Cheney in a secure yet fully disclosed location.
CNN's Bob Franken is there as we speak, and he has the full details.
Hello, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello. I think that we should point out that Zell Miller is obviously versatile. He is doing with the Rs what he did, as you pointed out, 12 years ago for the Ds.
What the explanation is, is that over a period of time, he became disenchanted with the Democrats. For one reason, he said they talk things to death as opposed to doing things.
He feels that George W. Bush is somebody who gets things done. He has also seemed to have just moved to the right philosophically, but he continues to be listed at least as a Democrat. But certainly tonight he's not helping the Democrat cause as he becomes a keynote speaker at the Republican convention.
Now, 12 years ago, Richard Cheney -- Dick Cheney was the defense secretary in the first Bush administration. Now, of course, he's the vice president, somebody who last time around, in the last election, was supposed to have given the ticket gravitas.
But now, he's become somebody who is the more controversial of the two on this ticket, and many people believe that he's a weight on this ticket. Nevertheless he's going to be a very popular figure in this hall of avid partisans as he gives his acceptance speech tonight of the nomination.
And the president, tomorrow night -- what's he going to do overnight, by the way -- is they're going to take out a big section of chairs, going to replace it with a theater in the round kind of stage. And that's where President George W. Bush is going to make his speech after a day today when he arrives in New York, where he goes to a firehouse in Queens to make sure that everybody remembers -- as if they could forget -- that the connection between New York City and the September 11 attacks was when he was president, and he has been praised for his reaction after the September 11 attacks.
Miles, as we know, those attacks are going to be a significant part of the campaign.
O'BRIEN: Of course, Bob. Let's ask a question here about all this complicated and expensive stagecraft. Why are they going to all this trouble to put the president in a separate, you know, in-the- round podium?
FRANKEN: Well, as an attention-getter. There is a feeling that George W. Bush has a particular strength, and that is that he connects well with people.
So, they are going to put him in a setting where he's down on the same level with the people in his speech, that he is seen doing that, that, in effect, it's an Oprah Winfrey kind of moment. Bill Clinton, as you'll recall, was very good at that. The Republicans are banking on their belief that George W. Bush is better at that kind of thing than John Kerry, and they can use that to an advantage.
O'BRIEN: Just to be clear, the president won't be working the crowd?
FRANKEN: He's going to be working the crowd. But that, after all, is one of the important things...
O'BRIEN: With a microphone, really? You mean that kind of thing?
FRANKEN: Well, I don't know that he's going to do that.
O'BRIEN: Yes. All right.
FRANKEN: I think that he's going to be speaking in a theater in the round.
O'BRIEN: All right. We'll watch it. All right. Thank you very much, Bob Franken. Appreciate it.
Now, on his way to New York, as Bob mentioned, President Bush is scheduled to speak this afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. The speech he delivers is expected to touch on some of the themes he will include tomorrow night in his acceptance speech at the convention.
Now, after the convention, he's running -- he's planning a rapid return to hotly-contested Ohio. He is to speak in Cleveland on Saturday.
PHILLIPS: Well, the free speech zone outside Madison Square Garden is seeing a lot of action during the convention. Inside the Garden, more disruptions today.
A handful of demonstrators were wrestled to the ground when they tried to remove their shirts in the hall. Tuesday alone, more than 1,100 protesters were arrested across the city. Our Deborah Feyerick is in New York, keeping track of who is protesting what.
And there's quite a number of groups -- Deb. DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of groups. And that is what is really so remarkable about the protests is that it's not just one organization, but it is dozens of organizations. One figure has it as 800 different groups who are coming here to New York who have been taking part in this really since last Thursday.
Now, this particular breech of security is now under investigation. A small group of protesters made it on to the floor of the convention and tried disrupting a speech by the White House chief of staff, Andy Card.
Security quickly handcuffed the five people. All of them were charged with trespassing. They were holding up signs. They were shouting slogans. At one point, they tried taking off their shirts. But they were arrested and dragged away.
Now, earlier this morning, a much more peaceful protest. People formed a single line up Broadway from Wall Street, all the way up to the area of the Empire State Building, five miles. Organizers called it the world's longest unemployment line. The goal was to call attention to the more than eight million Americans who are out of work.
As for the beating that we saw so dramatically yesterday played on air, an arrest was made in the attack on a police detective. A 19- year-old man from Manhattan, he was taking part in another demonstration when police officers noticed him and picked him out of the crowd.
So far, close to 1,700 arrests. The majority of them have been for disorderly conduct. The city's police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, says that many of the people who are doing the worst acts are not even from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMM. RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: Many of those arrested are from out of town, and veterans of other demonstrations in cities with much smaller police departments. In the past, a few get arrested, and most get away after breaking the law.
Here, they are being surprised by the fact that the opposite holds true. Most of the lawbreakers will be apprehended. And only the law abiding, "that get away."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now while the arrest numbers are high, police really showing a zero tolerance attitude for anybody who steps out of line. Some of those who were arrested were told to stay on the sidewalk. When they stepped into the street, they were handcuffed.
Now, a large demonstration is going to be going on behind me beginning at 4:00 until about 8:00 this evening, a coalition of labor unions. They are going to be out here protesting administration policies and the convention -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Deb, I'm just curious, do you know the condition of the NYPD undercover detective that was beaten up? The video that we just saw a few moments ago? We've talked a lot about it.
FEYERICK: Yes, he is in stable condition. And the man who was arrested was charged with assault of a police officer. And that carries obviously a higher penalty.
PHILLIPS: All right. Deb Feyerick, thank you so much.
Well, CNN will bring you more in-depth primetime coverage at the RNC tonight, 7:00 Eastern, a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
At 8:00, join Wolf Blitzer for an RNC American vote special. And later, at 9:00 Eastern, Larry King and his guests will be live at the convention site at Madison Square Garden.
O'BRIEN: The hostage situation in a Russian school one in a series of terror attacks there. Just ahead who is behind the attacks? Could they affect America's relationship with Russia? We'll go in- depth after a break.
And keeping an eye on Frances, the massive hurricane that is threatening the East Coast of Florida right now.
And later, lunch crowd crash. A truck plows into a restaurant. Details on the search for victim a little later on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Russia, it's a scene of chaos and confusion outside of school seized today by apparent Chechen rebels. Anywhere from a hundred to 400 people, many of them children, are being held hostage. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports the attack fits a long pattern of assaults by Chechen militants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dramatic scenes Wednesday as a lucky few escaped armed attackers at a school in southern Russia. Just the latest in a string of hostage situations in Russia many blamed on Chechen rebels.
M.J. GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Hostage taking does resonate very loudly and clearly in a psychological way that, say, a vehicle bombing doesn't, because we see individuals. We see -- we know their names, we know the family members. And the drama is then played out over several days. So, this is a favorite tactic by Chechen militants.
HANCOCKS: The first major hostage drama took place just six months after Russian forces entered Chechnya to try and regain control at the end of 1994. Rebels seized hundreds of hostages in a hospital in the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk. More than 100 died in a botched Russian commando raid; the terrorists allowed to escape in return for freeing some of the captives. The hostage leader, Shamil Basayev, was also allowed to escape. He remains, to this day, public enemy number one in Russia.
SIMON SOLE, EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS LTD.: The whole ethos in the Russian security force has been sort of very different. It's about the massive application of force. They've tended not to worry so much, of course, about the hostages. They have been less surgical and perhaps a bit less well trained in the sort of techniques which allow for good outcomes.
HANCOCKS: Several months later, in January 1996, Chechen rebels staged a similar attack, taking up to 3,000 people hostage in a hospital in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar. They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya before releasing most of the hostages, taking the remaining few back to Chechnya.
As they retreated, Russian forces launched an assault. Several hostages died.
During that assault, pro-Chechen gunmen hijacked a Black Sea passenger ferry. That standoff ended four days later without bloodshed. But the one incident that remains etched on Russian minds is the Moscow theater siege of October 2002, when rebels brought their decade-old fight against Russia to the capital.
More than 800 people were taken hostage while they watched a theater performance. After a three-day siege, Russian forces stormed the building, pumping incapacitating gas inside. One hundred and twenty-nine hostages and 41 Chechen fighters died, most from the still unidentified gas itself.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, the reports are still very conflicted, but the hostage-takers are reportedly demanding the release of more than 200 prisoners and the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Chechnya. Russian troops have been fighting a separatist Chechen movement since 1994.
Let's talk more about the conflict and the history. I'm joined by Jim Walsh from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Jim, I want to establish, too, when we start talking about these fighters, we're also talking about a female factor, the Black Widow, when thinking about the theater attack and also most recently women sort of in the center of the investigation for the two aircraft crashes that happened just last week.
JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: You are absolutely right, Kyra. That is something that's notable about the most recent attacks, really going back to the Moscow theater takeover. That included women as well. These women, called the Black Widows by local Russians, have had a real emotional impact on the way average Russians see these incidents. And it's important to realize that most terrorism does not include women.
Terrorism is traditionally the province of men. There are a few counterexamples -- a few exceptions, if you will. The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka have used women suicide bombers. Some Palestinian groups on occasion have used women, but in the main it is very, very rare.
And these women, it is alleged, have had family members, brothers or sons or fathers, who have been killed by Russian security forces and then have joined the Chechen cause.
PHILLIPS: And now looking at what's happening at this school, I mean, we're talking about children now in addition to adults. Why now? And why this method?
WALSH: Well, I think two things on that, Kyra. First, on why now, most analysts believe it is associated with that most recent presidential election they had in the Chechen region.
You will remember they had this election recently because the last president was assassinated. Now, those elections have been seen both by the Chechen rebels and by outside observers, including the European Council, as elections that are essentially rigged to produce a pro-Moscow head of the Chechen region.
And traditionally, we've had a burst of violence or run-up of violence as elections have come in the region. And this has been no different, except we have a lot more incidents and a lot of different types of targets that are being attacked.
PHILLIPS: Can it get worse? What could be next?
WALSH: Well, unfortunately, it can get worse. I know Russians -- in my discussions and my colleagues' discussions at Harvard with Russians -- are worried with what might be called a radiological attack, a use of a dirty bomb. That is to say, a conventional explosive that has radioactive material wrapped around it.
The Chechens did use a non-explosive radiological device in a 1995 Moscow park. But they didn't blow it up. But a lot of Russian security analysts fear that that might be the next step.
PHILLIPS: Well, when we see a lot of these actions, we see a lot of these attacks, of course we can't stop thinking about terrorism. So, should there be concern in the United States? Could the military start looking at Russia now?
I mean, we've been focused on Iraq and Iran and other countries, South Korea. Is this something that maybe officials might need to rethink their policy?
WALSH: Well, certainly there is some controversy about the way President Putin has handled this. Remember, this is essentially the second Chechen war.
There was an outbreak of Chechen violence beginning in 1991. And then after a struggle, after the Russian sent troops into Chechnya, there was a cease-fire and eventually a -- the Russian troops pulled out and there was a bit of calm. And then beginning with those Moscow apartment building bombings in 1999, we have had ever stepped-up violence.
As far as the U.S. government is concerned, I think the U.S. government needs to be concerned both because there are a lot of human rights violations going on on both sides, which will likely continue the conflict, and because that nuclear material in Russia is vulnerable. And if the Chechens get it, they may get it and pass it on to someone else. And that becomes a U.S. national security issue as well.
PHILLIPS: Would you worry about a link al Qaeda?
WALSH: Well, there have certainly been those allegations in the past. The Chechen rebels were trained in the training camps in Afghanistan.
We know that there are Saudi Arabian Muslim extremists who have fought with the Chechens that have been killed in battle. So, there is always that possibility.
And that's why we have to do everything we can to secure all that nuclear material in Russia and in other sites. Some of it is in southern Russia near the Chechen border. And if we don't secure it, we're going to be in big trouble.
PHILLIPS: Jim Walsh, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Thanks, Jim.
WALSH: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, storm-weary Florida residents bracing for Hurricane Frances.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Orelon Sidney from the CNN Weather Center. The latest track takes the storm to the southern U.S. coast. We'll show you where and how strong the storm is now in just a moment.
PHILLIPS: And do you remember this? Well, of course you do. The sci-fi classic "Lost in Space," especially if you are our generation.
It's star, actress June Lockhart, joins us to talk about her real life adventures with NASA and Miles O'Brien. The secret relationships later on LIVE FROM.
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Katayama at the New York Stock Exchange. "Do not call" means do not call. The FCC is going after a firm that ignored the list. Do not turn this channel. I'll have the details. ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I'm Robert Novak, live in New York. An elephant in donkey's clothing coming up at 3:00 on a special "INSIDE POLITICS." Why a Democrat is giving tonight's keynote address at the RNC.
Then, VP in the "CROSSFIRE." Join James Carville and me at 4:30 in the "CROSSFIRE," here from the diner. Is Dick Cheney hurting the president's chances for reelection?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, one step down from the most powerful of storms, Hurricane Frances is getting closer to the southeastern U.S. Residents in Miami, Florida, are already taking precautions, loading up plywood and storm supplies. Frances could hit anywhere from south Florida to South Carolina.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: News across America now begins with a deadly accident in Memphis, Tennessee. An 18-wheeler crashed into the front of a fast-food restaurant, killing one woman, injuring three others.
The driver was standing in line for his food at the time his dump truck began rolling. He told police the truck, which he left idling, jumped into gear by itself.
Scientists want to see if a massive junkyard fire in Delaware released any hazards into the environment. The fire destroyed or damaged 1,000 vehicles before firefighters brought it under control last night. Four firefighters injured battling that blaze.
A game of cat and mouse in Louisiana. About 40 soldiers from Fort Polk Army base have joined sheriff's deputies prowling the woods for a loose Bengal tiger. Officials at the Alexandria Zoo believe the tiger is an escaped pet.
Witnesses say it is wearing a collar. But no one has gotten close enough to see who it belongs to.
I don't know if they tried the "Here kitty, kitty" thing yet. It might work. I don't know. It's just a thought.
PHILLIPS: They are so tame.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Well, you put your name on the Do Not Call list, but you're still getting calls. What do you do?
O'BRIEN: It just makes me so happy to know that they are circumventing all those rules, Fred Katayama. Perhaps there's a special place in hell for them. I don't know.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 1, 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, the first day of school in Russia, another day of terror apparently by Chechen insurgents. The eyes of the world are on Middle School Number One in the town of Beslan, near the Chechen border, where the attackers who are said to be wired with explosives are holding dozens of people hostage.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Ryan Chilcote. He's in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was the first day of school in Russia. Students, their parents and teachers had gathered at this school to celebrate the beginning of the school year. That's when more than a dozen armed men and women, many of them wearing suicide belts, seized the school, taking everyone inside hostage. Russian authorities now believe that the hostage-takers may have as many as 300 to 400 people captured inside.
Now, the hostage-takers are warning Russian authorities not to try and storm the building. They say that if the Russians try to storm the building to free the hostages, that they will blow the building up with all the hostages inside. They are also saying, for every hostage-taker that is killed, if there's any fighting there, they will kill 50 children.
Now, these hostage-takers are telling Russian authorities that their demand is that Russia withdraw all of its troops from the Russia region of Chechnya. Chechnya, of course, where the Russian military has been battling Chechen rebels for nearly a decade now.
Lastly, Russia is linking this to international terrorism and has demanded that the U.N. Security Council convene as quickly as possible to discuss the situation under way in southern Russia.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, in just a few minutes, we're going to devil deeper into the long and bloody feud between Chechen separatists and the Russian government with analyst and scholar from Harvard, Jim Walsh. That's at a quarter past the hour right here on LIVE FROM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. ZELL MILLER (D), GEORGIA: I am a Democrat because we are the party opposed. For 12 dark years, the Republicans have dealt in cynicism and skepticism. They have mastered the art of division and diversion, and they have robbed us of our hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, 12 years later it's a very different story indeed. The Democratic firebrand who gave the keynote speech for Bill Clinton's nomination in 1992 is the nominal Democrat who will speak for George W. Bush tonight. Night Three of the RNC will also feature Dick Cheney in a secure yet fully disclosed location.
CNN's Bob Franken is there as we speak, and he has the full details.
Hello, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello. I think that we should point out that Zell Miller is obviously versatile. He is doing with the Rs what he did, as you pointed out, 12 years ago for the Ds.
What the explanation is, is that over a period of time, he became disenchanted with the Democrats. For one reason, he said they talk things to death as opposed to doing things.
He feels that George W. Bush is somebody who gets things done. He has also seemed to have just moved to the right philosophically, but he continues to be listed at least as a Democrat. But certainly tonight he's not helping the Democrat cause as he becomes a keynote speaker at the Republican convention.
Now, 12 years ago, Richard Cheney -- Dick Cheney was the defense secretary in the first Bush administration. Now, of course, he's the vice president, somebody who last time around, in the last election, was supposed to have given the ticket gravitas.
But now, he's become somebody who is the more controversial of the two on this ticket, and many people believe that he's a weight on this ticket. Nevertheless he's going to be a very popular figure in this hall of avid partisans as he gives his acceptance speech tonight of the nomination.
And the president, tomorrow night -- what's he going to do overnight, by the way -- is they're going to take out a big section of chairs, going to replace it with a theater in the round kind of stage. And that's where President George W. Bush is going to make his speech after a day today when he arrives in New York, where he goes to a firehouse in Queens to make sure that everybody remembers -- as if they could forget -- that the connection between New York City and the September 11 attacks was when he was president, and he has been praised for his reaction after the September 11 attacks.
Miles, as we know, those attacks are going to be a significant part of the campaign.
O'BRIEN: Of course, Bob. Let's ask a question here about all this complicated and expensive stagecraft. Why are they going to all this trouble to put the president in a separate, you know, in-the- round podium?
FRANKEN: Well, as an attention-getter. There is a feeling that George W. Bush has a particular strength, and that is that he connects well with people.
So, they are going to put him in a setting where he's down on the same level with the people in his speech, that he is seen doing that, that, in effect, it's an Oprah Winfrey kind of moment. Bill Clinton, as you'll recall, was very good at that. The Republicans are banking on their belief that George W. Bush is better at that kind of thing than John Kerry, and they can use that to an advantage.
O'BRIEN: Just to be clear, the president won't be working the crowd?
FRANKEN: He's going to be working the crowd. But that, after all, is one of the important things...
O'BRIEN: With a microphone, really? You mean that kind of thing?
FRANKEN: Well, I don't know that he's going to do that.
O'BRIEN: Yes. All right.
FRANKEN: I think that he's going to be speaking in a theater in the round.
O'BRIEN: All right. We'll watch it. All right. Thank you very much, Bob Franken. Appreciate it.
Now, on his way to New York, as Bob mentioned, President Bush is scheduled to speak this afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. The speech he delivers is expected to touch on some of the themes he will include tomorrow night in his acceptance speech at the convention.
Now, after the convention, he's running -- he's planning a rapid return to hotly-contested Ohio. He is to speak in Cleveland on Saturday.
PHILLIPS: Well, the free speech zone outside Madison Square Garden is seeing a lot of action during the convention. Inside the Garden, more disruptions today.
A handful of demonstrators were wrestled to the ground when they tried to remove their shirts in the hall. Tuesday alone, more than 1,100 protesters were arrested across the city. Our Deborah Feyerick is in New York, keeping track of who is protesting what.
And there's quite a number of groups -- Deb. DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of groups. And that is what is really so remarkable about the protests is that it's not just one organization, but it is dozens of organizations. One figure has it as 800 different groups who are coming here to New York who have been taking part in this really since last Thursday.
Now, this particular breech of security is now under investigation. A small group of protesters made it on to the floor of the convention and tried disrupting a speech by the White House chief of staff, Andy Card.
Security quickly handcuffed the five people. All of them were charged with trespassing. They were holding up signs. They were shouting slogans. At one point, they tried taking off their shirts. But they were arrested and dragged away.
Now, earlier this morning, a much more peaceful protest. People formed a single line up Broadway from Wall Street, all the way up to the area of the Empire State Building, five miles. Organizers called it the world's longest unemployment line. The goal was to call attention to the more than eight million Americans who are out of work.
As for the beating that we saw so dramatically yesterday played on air, an arrest was made in the attack on a police detective. A 19- year-old man from Manhattan, he was taking part in another demonstration when police officers noticed him and picked him out of the crowd.
So far, close to 1,700 arrests. The majority of them have been for disorderly conduct. The city's police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, says that many of the people who are doing the worst acts are not even from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMM. RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: Many of those arrested are from out of town, and veterans of other demonstrations in cities with much smaller police departments. In the past, a few get arrested, and most get away after breaking the law.
Here, they are being surprised by the fact that the opposite holds true. Most of the lawbreakers will be apprehended. And only the law abiding, "that get away."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now while the arrest numbers are high, police really showing a zero tolerance attitude for anybody who steps out of line. Some of those who were arrested were told to stay on the sidewalk. When they stepped into the street, they were handcuffed.
Now, a large demonstration is going to be going on behind me beginning at 4:00 until about 8:00 this evening, a coalition of labor unions. They are going to be out here protesting administration policies and the convention -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Deb, I'm just curious, do you know the condition of the NYPD undercover detective that was beaten up? The video that we just saw a few moments ago? We've talked a lot about it.
FEYERICK: Yes, he is in stable condition. And the man who was arrested was charged with assault of a police officer. And that carries obviously a higher penalty.
PHILLIPS: All right. Deb Feyerick, thank you so much.
Well, CNN will bring you more in-depth primetime coverage at the RNC tonight, 7:00 Eastern, a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
At 8:00, join Wolf Blitzer for an RNC American vote special. And later, at 9:00 Eastern, Larry King and his guests will be live at the convention site at Madison Square Garden.
O'BRIEN: The hostage situation in a Russian school one in a series of terror attacks there. Just ahead who is behind the attacks? Could they affect America's relationship with Russia? We'll go in- depth after a break.
And keeping an eye on Frances, the massive hurricane that is threatening the East Coast of Florida right now.
And later, lunch crowd crash. A truck plows into a restaurant. Details on the search for victim a little later on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Russia, it's a scene of chaos and confusion outside of school seized today by apparent Chechen rebels. Anywhere from a hundred to 400 people, many of them children, are being held hostage. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports the attack fits a long pattern of assaults by Chechen militants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dramatic scenes Wednesday as a lucky few escaped armed attackers at a school in southern Russia. Just the latest in a string of hostage situations in Russia many blamed on Chechen rebels.
M.J. GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Hostage taking does resonate very loudly and clearly in a psychological way that, say, a vehicle bombing doesn't, because we see individuals. We see -- we know their names, we know the family members. And the drama is then played out over several days. So, this is a favorite tactic by Chechen militants.
HANCOCKS: The first major hostage drama took place just six months after Russian forces entered Chechnya to try and regain control at the end of 1994. Rebels seized hundreds of hostages in a hospital in the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk. More than 100 died in a botched Russian commando raid; the terrorists allowed to escape in return for freeing some of the captives. The hostage leader, Shamil Basayev, was also allowed to escape. He remains, to this day, public enemy number one in Russia.
SIMON SOLE, EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS LTD.: The whole ethos in the Russian security force has been sort of very different. It's about the massive application of force. They've tended not to worry so much, of course, about the hostages. They have been less surgical and perhaps a bit less well trained in the sort of techniques which allow for good outcomes.
HANCOCKS: Several months later, in January 1996, Chechen rebels staged a similar attack, taking up to 3,000 people hostage in a hospital in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar. They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya before releasing most of the hostages, taking the remaining few back to Chechnya.
As they retreated, Russian forces launched an assault. Several hostages died.
During that assault, pro-Chechen gunmen hijacked a Black Sea passenger ferry. That standoff ended four days later without bloodshed. But the one incident that remains etched on Russian minds is the Moscow theater siege of October 2002, when rebels brought their decade-old fight against Russia to the capital.
More than 800 people were taken hostage while they watched a theater performance. After a three-day siege, Russian forces stormed the building, pumping incapacitating gas inside. One hundred and twenty-nine hostages and 41 Chechen fighters died, most from the still unidentified gas itself.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
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PHILLIPS: Now, the reports are still very conflicted, but the hostage-takers are reportedly demanding the release of more than 200 prisoners and the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Chechnya. Russian troops have been fighting a separatist Chechen movement since 1994.
Let's talk more about the conflict and the history. I'm joined by Jim Walsh from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Jim, I want to establish, too, when we start talking about these fighters, we're also talking about a female factor, the Black Widow, when thinking about the theater attack and also most recently women sort of in the center of the investigation for the two aircraft crashes that happened just last week.
JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: You are absolutely right, Kyra. That is something that's notable about the most recent attacks, really going back to the Moscow theater takeover. That included women as well. These women, called the Black Widows by local Russians, have had a real emotional impact on the way average Russians see these incidents. And it's important to realize that most terrorism does not include women.
Terrorism is traditionally the province of men. There are a few counterexamples -- a few exceptions, if you will. The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka have used women suicide bombers. Some Palestinian groups on occasion have used women, but in the main it is very, very rare.
And these women, it is alleged, have had family members, brothers or sons or fathers, who have been killed by Russian security forces and then have joined the Chechen cause.
PHILLIPS: And now looking at what's happening at this school, I mean, we're talking about children now in addition to adults. Why now? And why this method?
WALSH: Well, I think two things on that, Kyra. First, on why now, most analysts believe it is associated with that most recent presidential election they had in the Chechen region.
You will remember they had this election recently because the last president was assassinated. Now, those elections have been seen both by the Chechen rebels and by outside observers, including the European Council, as elections that are essentially rigged to produce a pro-Moscow head of the Chechen region.
And traditionally, we've had a burst of violence or run-up of violence as elections have come in the region. And this has been no different, except we have a lot more incidents and a lot of different types of targets that are being attacked.
PHILLIPS: Can it get worse? What could be next?
WALSH: Well, unfortunately, it can get worse. I know Russians -- in my discussions and my colleagues' discussions at Harvard with Russians -- are worried with what might be called a radiological attack, a use of a dirty bomb. That is to say, a conventional explosive that has radioactive material wrapped around it.
The Chechens did use a non-explosive radiological device in a 1995 Moscow park. But they didn't blow it up. But a lot of Russian security analysts fear that that might be the next step.
PHILLIPS: Well, when we see a lot of these actions, we see a lot of these attacks, of course we can't stop thinking about terrorism. So, should there be concern in the United States? Could the military start looking at Russia now?
I mean, we've been focused on Iraq and Iran and other countries, South Korea. Is this something that maybe officials might need to rethink their policy?
WALSH: Well, certainly there is some controversy about the way President Putin has handled this. Remember, this is essentially the second Chechen war.
There was an outbreak of Chechen violence beginning in 1991. And then after a struggle, after the Russian sent troops into Chechnya, there was a cease-fire and eventually a -- the Russian troops pulled out and there was a bit of calm. And then beginning with those Moscow apartment building bombings in 1999, we have had ever stepped-up violence.
As far as the U.S. government is concerned, I think the U.S. government needs to be concerned both because there are a lot of human rights violations going on on both sides, which will likely continue the conflict, and because that nuclear material in Russia is vulnerable. And if the Chechens get it, they may get it and pass it on to someone else. And that becomes a U.S. national security issue as well.
PHILLIPS: Would you worry about a link al Qaeda?
WALSH: Well, there have certainly been those allegations in the past. The Chechen rebels were trained in the training camps in Afghanistan.
We know that there are Saudi Arabian Muslim extremists who have fought with the Chechens that have been killed in battle. So, there is always that possibility.
And that's why we have to do everything we can to secure all that nuclear material in Russia and in other sites. Some of it is in southern Russia near the Chechen border. And if we don't secure it, we're going to be in big trouble.
PHILLIPS: Jim Walsh, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Thanks, Jim.
WALSH: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, storm-weary Florida residents bracing for Hurricane Frances.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Orelon Sidney from the CNN Weather Center. The latest track takes the storm to the southern U.S. coast. We'll show you where and how strong the storm is now in just a moment.
PHILLIPS: And do you remember this? Well, of course you do. The sci-fi classic "Lost in Space," especially if you are our generation.
It's star, actress June Lockhart, joins us to talk about her real life adventures with NASA and Miles O'Brien. The secret relationships later on LIVE FROM.
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Katayama at the New York Stock Exchange. "Do not call" means do not call. The FCC is going after a firm that ignored the list. Do not turn this channel. I'll have the details. ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I'm Robert Novak, live in New York. An elephant in donkey's clothing coming up at 3:00 on a special "INSIDE POLITICS." Why a Democrat is giving tonight's keynote address at the RNC.
Then, VP in the "CROSSFIRE." Join James Carville and me at 4:30 in the "CROSSFIRE," here from the diner. Is Dick Cheney hurting the president's chances for reelection?
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PHILLIPS: Well, one step down from the most powerful of storms, Hurricane Frances is getting closer to the southeastern U.S. Residents in Miami, Florida, are already taking precautions, loading up plywood and storm supplies. Frances could hit anywhere from south Florida to South Carolina.
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O'BRIEN: News across America now begins with a deadly accident in Memphis, Tennessee. An 18-wheeler crashed into the front of a fast-food restaurant, killing one woman, injuring three others.
The driver was standing in line for his food at the time his dump truck began rolling. He told police the truck, which he left idling, jumped into gear by itself.
Scientists want to see if a massive junkyard fire in Delaware released any hazards into the environment. The fire destroyed or damaged 1,000 vehicles before firefighters brought it under control last night. Four firefighters injured battling that blaze.
A game of cat and mouse in Louisiana. About 40 soldiers from Fort Polk Army base have joined sheriff's deputies prowling the woods for a loose Bengal tiger. Officials at the Alexandria Zoo believe the tiger is an escaped pet.
Witnesses say it is wearing a collar. But no one has gotten close enough to see who it belongs to.
I don't know if they tried the "Here kitty, kitty" thing yet. It might work. I don't know. It's just a thought.
PHILLIPS: They are so tame.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Well, you put your name on the Do Not Call list, but you're still getting calls. What do you do?
O'BRIEN: It just makes me so happy to know that they are circumventing all those rules, Fred Katayama. Perhaps there's a special place in hell for them. I don't know.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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