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John Kerry Launching Tough New Attack on Bush Presidency; Women and Terrorism; Bracing for Hurricane Ivan
Aired September 15, 2004 - 13:32 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: In the news now, no rest for the Big Easy. Nearly two million people in the four Gulf Coast states have been ordered evacuated, to evacuate rather, as Hurricane Ivan spins towards land.
Meteorologist Chad Myers says the category-four storm is moving away from New Orleans towards Mobile Bay. But he warns, New Orleans can't rest easy just yet.
Three Americans have been found guilty of torture prisoners and running a private jail in Afghanistan. The group includes a former green beret and journalist. They received jail terms of eight to 10 years. The men say they were convicted unfairly.
Martha Stewart says she wants to start serving her prison sentence as soon as possible. Stewart says she wants to put what she calls her nightmare behind her. The style diva was convicted of lying about a stock deal, but she told reporters today that she'll be back next year.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now for the latest campaign updates. John Kerry is launching a tough new attack on the Bush presidency, saying the Bush tragedy is based on excuses and passing the buck. We'll get details from Detroit and CNN's Frank Buckley, who is covering the Kerry campaign -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka.
Senator Kerry issuing a blistering critique of Bush's economic policies during the past four years. Kerry saying that Bush was blaming everyone but himself, and the administration for economic problems. He said Bush was the first president in 72 years to experience a net job loss during his time in office, 1.6 million private sector jobs. He also cited among other things the 4.3 million people who have fallen below the poverty line during his term. He blamed the president for not accepting responsibility for some of these issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has created more excuses than jobs. His is the excuse presidency -- never wrong, never responsible, never to blame. President Bush's desk isn't where the buck stops. It's where the blame begins. He's blamed just about everybody, but himself and his administration for America's economic problems. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Kerry said his plan calls for rolling back tax cuts on people earning more than $200,000 a year, to pay for some of his programs. He would also cut the corporate tax rate by 5 percent and issue a number of tax credits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: To the small businesses and the manufacturers who decide to add more employees to the payroll, we're going to provide a new jobs tax credit for every person you hire. And to those small business owners, who want to hire more employees but they can't afford them, we're going to give you up to a 50 percent tax cut on your health care contributions when you cover your workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now, Bush campaign officials say that Kerry cites only the most pessimistic of statistics. They say that he also ignores what they call a remarkable recovery taking place in the U.S. economy today. Still, a Kerry strategist believes this is an issue that resonates especially here in some of the Midwestern battleground states that have experienced some tough job losses -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Frank, lately, some high-profile Democrats have been urging Kerry to stay away from commenting any further on Bush's National Guard duty. Did he do that today? Did he stay away from that topic?
BUCKLEY: He did. And he also stays away from questions by not having any press conferences. This is a candidate who has said as president he would have a news conference once every 30 days, once a month. He hasn't had one in well over 40 days at this point. So he's not taking any questions on that. He isn't making any statements on that.
Tomorrow, he will be speaking to the National Guard Association, and we don't expect any comments on that particular issue there. He's going to speak more specifically, to the issues, that affect the National Guardsmen.
WHITFIELD: And the focus, according to his camp, is that he is to stick with the issues as of late.
All right, Frank Buckley, thanks so much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: President Bush is back in Washington, spending some time with the constituency important to his re-election. He plans to attend a White House concert reception to honor Hispanic Heritage Month.
Yesterday, Mr. Bush spoke the same group as Mr. Kerry will face tomorrow, the National Guard Conference in Las Vegas. Bush did not mention his Vietnam-era Guard service.
Well, Democrats are dogging President Bush on his service in the National guard, along with the situation in Iraq.
Besides the president and Senator Kerry, one of those attending the Guard conference is our own General Don Shepperd. He's with us now from Las Vegas.
General, I'm curious -- I guess you're probably not surprised that President Bush didn't mention the Vietnam era in front of these men and women.
GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY RESPONSE: No, I'm not surprised at all, Kyra. He want to put this behind him. He did say that he was proud to be the commander in chief and proud to serve the National Guard, and of course that got an overwhelming response from the audience. He was very popular yesterday, and Senator Kerry bill will get a very warm response on Thursday also.
PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of this back and forth, from the reports coming out, and these documents, that you know, did he serve honorably or not? Did he have his physicals? All this stuff that's been so explosive, you were the head of the Air National Guard. The Guard's getting a lot of criticism for sort of being this haven for individuals like President Bush during the Vietnam War, where they didn't have to go serve; they just went into the Guard.
SHEPPERD: Yes, they are. And I must tell you, the delegates at this conference are really somewhat angry about this. They feel that their Guard is being besmirched, and also their service, which of course a lot of them are just back from Afghanistan, back from Iraq, being mobilized, some of them getting ready to go. They're a little bit angry about this. The Guard was different back then. It was one of the ways to get out of going to Vietnam, if your unit was not called up for Vietnam. And President Johnson made a decision not to call the Guard and Reserve for political purposes. So it wasn't the Guard and Reserves fault.
There were many other ways to get out of serving in Vietnam, to get deferments, and so, again, these delegates are a little angry, but quite frankly, they're taking this for what it is, election-year rhetoric. They want to move on, they want to know what they're doing in the future. They're not really interested in something that happened 30 years ago.
PHILLIPS: Do you think they're going to welcome John Kerry tomorrow like they welcomed the president?
SHEPPERD: Yes, they'll be a very respectful audience out there. These are very sophisticated people. These are people that are serious. They've been to war, and they're sending their people to war. This war is affecting them and their families, and whichever of these men end up as their commander in chief, they will support them, and Senator Kerry will get a warm welcome.
PHILLIPS: Well, the National Guard has taken on quite a different role, if you go back 30 years and you look now. I mean, there's a lot of men and women who have pretty much gone full time since operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. SHEPPERD: Kyra, I'll tell you, things have changed dramatically for the Guard and Reserves in the last 10 years since the Soviet Union went away. They used to be the strategic reserve. They were called up for the big war that almost never happened, and then when the war was over, they went home.
Now they're quasi-full-time soldiers, called up regularly sometimes, repeatedly the same people, because their skills are needed. And this is going to be a long war, and we're plowing new ground in the Guard and Reserve, their families and their employers, all of America is affected by this, and we don't know quite sure where it's going yet.
PHILLIPS: All right. I've got to get a question about Iraq -- all the things happening from the bombings at the police station, to the pipelines being hit in Iraq, to the beheaded bodies that are being found.
It's getting close to election time. What's your take on where things stand? Does the prime minister have a credible government?
SHEPPERD: The prime minister is a tough guy. He has a credible government with a very tough job, which is to maintain the support of the people until the real election, which comes in January, which is for the transitional government.
The problem is all the insurgents have to do is to continue to kill Iraqi civilians -- lob bombs, lob rockets, lob mortars -- and kill indiscriminate civilians and the United States will be blamed.
We are really being tested in Iraq now, to see if we have staying power. And it's going to be a race to see whether the Iraqi interim government asks us to leave, or the transitional government asks us to leave, or the American people ask us to leave, or there's a general uprising of the Iraqi population to ask us to leave.
This is really tough territory, Kyra, and it's going to be a race to see how it comes out.
PHILLIPS: Major General Don Shepperd, thanks for breaking away from the activities there in Vegas and talking with us today.
SHEPPERD: You bet.
PHILLIPS: All right -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Well, Kyra, across America this hour now, the nation's most famous governor has gotten one of those letters that are rigged to catch fire when opened. The California Highway Patrol says Arnold Schwarzenegger's letter was found and intercepted on Monday. No one hurt.
So far, 20 governors from Alaska to West Virginia have been on the mailing list of someone at Eli State Prison in Nevada. Authorities say they're investigating a person of interest. Voters in D.C. haven't lost interest in Marion Barry. The notorious former D.C. mayor won the Democratic nomination for a seat on the city council. That's tantamount to a win in the general election. Barry beat the incumbent and five other challengers in yesterday's primary.
And this year's hockey season seems all but guaranteed to end before it begins. NHL owners have just agreed unanimously to lock the players out when their collective bargaining agreement runs out at midnight. The owners want so-called cost certainty in a new agreement. The players fear anything that resembles a cap on salary -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: New details this afternoon on the female bombers who brought down the planes that crashed in Russia last month. We'll tell you how they got on board and take a look at the increasing role of women in the terrorist movement.
That story just ahead when LIVE FROM continues.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, news around the world now.
Terror arrests in Spain: Ten people were taken into custody during overnight raids in Barcelona. Most are Pakistani nationals. Police say the 10 helped finance terrorism outside of Spain and are not believed linked to the March 11th Madrid train bombings.
Spain's former prime minister, who was ousted just after those bombings, however, will testify at a government inquiry. Initially, Jose Maria Aznar insisted Baath separatists were behind the attacks. Later investigations pointed to Islamic terrorists.
And 10 Palestinians were killed with clashes with Israeli troops today. The violence broke out in the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin. Palestinian and Israeli sources say most of the victims were members of militant groups. More than 30 people were wounded.
PHILLIPS: How did two suspected suicide bombers get aboard two planes that crashed in Russia last month? Well, Russian prosecutors say they bought their tickets illegally, and one of them bribed a Siberian Airlines official. Also disturbing, the women were apparently stopped when they arrived in Moscow from Chechnya. The airport police official responsible for checking for terrorists let them go.
Women have played a visible role in the recent wave of attacks in Russia. CNN's Brian Todd on the changing face of terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A veiled shadow in a doorway that, even in these times, looks out of place. Delicate, slumped bodies in theater seats. In video, a soft, youthful face, belying the destruction she's already caused.
BRUCE HOFFMAN, TERRORISM ANALYST: We still have difficulty imagining women as killers, rather than as mothers.
TODD: Start imagining it, the experts tell us, because it's happening more and more: in the hostage standoff this month at a school in southern Russia, where large numbers of children were among the more than 300 dead; a suicide bomb attack at a Moscow subway days earlier; the near simultaneous bombings of two planes in Russia last month; and the standoff in a Moscow theater in October 2002 that left 170 people dead.
Authorities believe women played central roles in all those incidents. In Russia, the profile seems more consistent. These women, all believed to be Chechen; some of them, experts say, are so- called Black Widows.
SVANTE CORNELL, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: They are widows of men who fought in the war and were killed, but most of them have had their whole families exterminated by the Russian army in this conflict.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They're driven to the brink of desperation, otherwise a person wouldn't do that sort of thing.
TODD: The desperation that drives a woman to martyrdom did not begin in Russia, nor is it confined there.
In 2002, women were the attackers in a devastating string of suicide bombings in the West Bank and Gaza. 1991: a female bomber from Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels gets close enough to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi.
Close enough is a key phrase. For terrorist groups, women possess important tactical advantages.
OLGA OLIKER, TERRORISM ANALYST: One, it's effective because it's surprising. It gets to people's sense of this is abnormal, women don't do things like this.
It's also effective because it's difficult to protect against. Security forces aren't used to looking at women -- especially young women and girls, who are often used -- as potentially the danger.
TODD: Accounts from survivors and security officials show that in some terrorist incidents, women have been noticeably more ruthless than their male comrades.
(on camera): With recruiting tools like this online magazine, calling for women to participate in Jihad, experts say we can expect to see more of the feminine face of terror. And each one we spoke to added a chilling footnote: Children have been used on occasion and could well be used again.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC -- GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE - "THE MESSAGE")
WHITFIELD: Everybody say hey! Kyra, where's my -- OK, there's my backup.
Hey, the nominations are out today for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And there's a diverse group of artists up for consideration, including U2, Conway Twitty, and our hands-down LIVE FROM favorite -- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
PHILLIPS: Well, apparently the real message, we're all getting older out there, to qualify for the R&R Hall of Fame. You have to have been around for at least 25 years. Musicians, industry pros, and journalists do the voting, and the results are to be announced in December.
Well, the economy may be in recovery mode, but a new report says the high-tech industry is still lagging behind a bit. Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange -- Rhonda?
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Probably not as surprised for some job hunters out there. There is a report that says if it comes to technology workers, the outlook on the job market remains bleak, and this, of course, is even years after the U.S. recession officially ended in late 2001.
According to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the IT industry lost more than 400,000 jobs between March 2001 and April of this year. And over half of those jobs were lost after the experts declared the recession over.
The report said part of the problem is outsourcing, corporations sending jobs overseas where labor is cheaper. The job losses were especially pronounced in the San Francisco area, when the market shrank by some 49 percent -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about Coke.
SCHAFFLER: Not it today on Wall Street. Stock is losing ground, down about $2 right now. The soft drink maker said it won't meet Wall Street's profit expectations for the rest of the year. Coke blaming unseasonably cool weather in its profitable northern European markets and also cited lower sales volume in North America.
Because Coke is a member of the Dow 30, we're seeing the Dow Industrials being dragged lower because of that Coke loss and some other concerns. Dow is off some 65 points right now; Nasdaq's down one percent. That is the very latest news from Wall Street. Coming up in the next hour of LIVE FROM, do you think we Americans are overworked? Think again. The findings of a new government survey may surprise you. I'll have details on that.
In the meantime, Kyra, Fredricka, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rhonda, thanks so much.
Well, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, talk about drawing a crowd. A statue of the Virgin Mary stands tall after an explosion rips through a church. We're going to have all the details when LIVE FROM's holy hour of power begins right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rick Sanchez in Panama City Beach, where the winds and the rain have picked up and the people who live here, for the most part, have done picked up. We'll have a live report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very rapidly, within a 10-hour period, the metropolitan New Orleans area is totally devastated, gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The nightmare of knowing: What could happen if Ivan's full fury hits America's favorite party town that sits below sea level.
WHITFIELD: To take the heat off her empire, the domestic diva wants to head to the cooler early. We've got highlights from today's surprise announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... full-scale. I'm just trying to stabilize the camera -- we're being pushed into the police...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The video of the day: Thousands of protesters take on the bobbies outside Parliament. A few made it to the floor for a fracas with the MPs. What started it? Find out today on LIVE FROM.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is resting up for the hurricane coverage tonight.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
And we begin this hour with the gradual, miserable, ever- worsening arrival of Ivan. That deadly and dreaded major hurricane, is heading straight for Mobile Bay, lashing the northern Gulf coast with tropical-storm-force winds already, hours before the eye even hits land.
Let's go straight to the CNN Weather Center with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras for some of the latest facts -- Jacqui?
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 15, 2004 - 13:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the news now, no rest for the Big Easy. Nearly two million people in the four Gulf Coast states have been ordered evacuated, to evacuate rather, as Hurricane Ivan spins towards land.
Meteorologist Chad Myers says the category-four storm is moving away from New Orleans towards Mobile Bay. But he warns, New Orleans can't rest easy just yet.
Three Americans have been found guilty of torture prisoners and running a private jail in Afghanistan. The group includes a former green beret and journalist. They received jail terms of eight to 10 years. The men say they were convicted unfairly.
Martha Stewart says she wants to start serving her prison sentence as soon as possible. Stewart says she wants to put what she calls her nightmare behind her. The style diva was convicted of lying about a stock deal, but she told reporters today that she'll be back next year.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now for the latest campaign updates. John Kerry is launching a tough new attack on the Bush presidency, saying the Bush tragedy is based on excuses and passing the buck. We'll get details from Detroit and CNN's Frank Buckley, who is covering the Kerry campaign -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka.
Senator Kerry issuing a blistering critique of Bush's economic policies during the past four years. Kerry saying that Bush was blaming everyone but himself, and the administration for economic problems. He said Bush was the first president in 72 years to experience a net job loss during his time in office, 1.6 million private sector jobs. He also cited among other things the 4.3 million people who have fallen below the poverty line during his term. He blamed the president for not accepting responsibility for some of these issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has created more excuses than jobs. His is the excuse presidency -- never wrong, never responsible, never to blame. President Bush's desk isn't where the buck stops. It's where the blame begins. He's blamed just about everybody, but himself and his administration for America's economic problems. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Kerry said his plan calls for rolling back tax cuts on people earning more than $200,000 a year, to pay for some of his programs. He would also cut the corporate tax rate by 5 percent and issue a number of tax credits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: To the small businesses and the manufacturers who decide to add more employees to the payroll, we're going to provide a new jobs tax credit for every person you hire. And to those small business owners, who want to hire more employees but they can't afford them, we're going to give you up to a 50 percent tax cut on your health care contributions when you cover your workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now, Bush campaign officials say that Kerry cites only the most pessimistic of statistics. They say that he also ignores what they call a remarkable recovery taking place in the U.S. economy today. Still, a Kerry strategist believes this is an issue that resonates especially here in some of the Midwestern battleground states that have experienced some tough job losses -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Frank, lately, some high-profile Democrats have been urging Kerry to stay away from commenting any further on Bush's National Guard duty. Did he do that today? Did he stay away from that topic?
BUCKLEY: He did. And he also stays away from questions by not having any press conferences. This is a candidate who has said as president he would have a news conference once every 30 days, once a month. He hasn't had one in well over 40 days at this point. So he's not taking any questions on that. He isn't making any statements on that.
Tomorrow, he will be speaking to the National Guard Association, and we don't expect any comments on that particular issue there. He's going to speak more specifically, to the issues, that affect the National Guardsmen.
WHITFIELD: And the focus, according to his camp, is that he is to stick with the issues as of late.
All right, Frank Buckley, thanks so much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: President Bush is back in Washington, spending some time with the constituency important to his re-election. He plans to attend a White House concert reception to honor Hispanic Heritage Month.
Yesterday, Mr. Bush spoke the same group as Mr. Kerry will face tomorrow, the National Guard Conference in Las Vegas. Bush did not mention his Vietnam-era Guard service.
Well, Democrats are dogging President Bush on his service in the National guard, along with the situation in Iraq.
Besides the president and Senator Kerry, one of those attending the Guard conference is our own General Don Shepperd. He's with us now from Las Vegas.
General, I'm curious -- I guess you're probably not surprised that President Bush didn't mention the Vietnam era in front of these men and women.
GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY RESPONSE: No, I'm not surprised at all, Kyra. He want to put this behind him. He did say that he was proud to be the commander in chief and proud to serve the National Guard, and of course that got an overwhelming response from the audience. He was very popular yesterday, and Senator Kerry bill will get a very warm response on Thursday also.
PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of this back and forth, from the reports coming out, and these documents, that you know, did he serve honorably or not? Did he have his physicals? All this stuff that's been so explosive, you were the head of the Air National Guard. The Guard's getting a lot of criticism for sort of being this haven for individuals like President Bush during the Vietnam War, where they didn't have to go serve; they just went into the Guard.
SHEPPERD: Yes, they are. And I must tell you, the delegates at this conference are really somewhat angry about this. They feel that their Guard is being besmirched, and also their service, which of course a lot of them are just back from Afghanistan, back from Iraq, being mobilized, some of them getting ready to go. They're a little bit angry about this. The Guard was different back then. It was one of the ways to get out of going to Vietnam, if your unit was not called up for Vietnam. And President Johnson made a decision not to call the Guard and Reserve for political purposes. So it wasn't the Guard and Reserves fault.
There were many other ways to get out of serving in Vietnam, to get deferments, and so, again, these delegates are a little angry, but quite frankly, they're taking this for what it is, election-year rhetoric. They want to move on, they want to know what they're doing in the future. They're not really interested in something that happened 30 years ago.
PHILLIPS: Do you think they're going to welcome John Kerry tomorrow like they welcomed the president?
SHEPPERD: Yes, they'll be a very respectful audience out there. These are very sophisticated people. These are people that are serious. They've been to war, and they're sending their people to war. This war is affecting them and their families, and whichever of these men end up as their commander in chief, they will support them, and Senator Kerry will get a warm welcome.
PHILLIPS: Well, the National Guard has taken on quite a different role, if you go back 30 years and you look now. I mean, there's a lot of men and women who have pretty much gone full time since operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. SHEPPERD: Kyra, I'll tell you, things have changed dramatically for the Guard and Reserves in the last 10 years since the Soviet Union went away. They used to be the strategic reserve. They were called up for the big war that almost never happened, and then when the war was over, they went home.
Now they're quasi-full-time soldiers, called up regularly sometimes, repeatedly the same people, because their skills are needed. And this is going to be a long war, and we're plowing new ground in the Guard and Reserve, their families and their employers, all of America is affected by this, and we don't know quite sure where it's going yet.
PHILLIPS: All right. I've got to get a question about Iraq -- all the things happening from the bombings at the police station, to the pipelines being hit in Iraq, to the beheaded bodies that are being found.
It's getting close to election time. What's your take on where things stand? Does the prime minister have a credible government?
SHEPPERD: The prime minister is a tough guy. He has a credible government with a very tough job, which is to maintain the support of the people until the real election, which comes in January, which is for the transitional government.
The problem is all the insurgents have to do is to continue to kill Iraqi civilians -- lob bombs, lob rockets, lob mortars -- and kill indiscriminate civilians and the United States will be blamed.
We are really being tested in Iraq now, to see if we have staying power. And it's going to be a race to see whether the Iraqi interim government asks us to leave, or the transitional government asks us to leave, or the American people ask us to leave, or there's a general uprising of the Iraqi population to ask us to leave.
This is really tough territory, Kyra, and it's going to be a race to see how it comes out.
PHILLIPS: Major General Don Shepperd, thanks for breaking away from the activities there in Vegas and talking with us today.
SHEPPERD: You bet.
PHILLIPS: All right -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Well, Kyra, across America this hour now, the nation's most famous governor has gotten one of those letters that are rigged to catch fire when opened. The California Highway Patrol says Arnold Schwarzenegger's letter was found and intercepted on Monday. No one hurt.
So far, 20 governors from Alaska to West Virginia have been on the mailing list of someone at Eli State Prison in Nevada. Authorities say they're investigating a person of interest. Voters in D.C. haven't lost interest in Marion Barry. The notorious former D.C. mayor won the Democratic nomination for a seat on the city council. That's tantamount to a win in the general election. Barry beat the incumbent and five other challengers in yesterday's primary.
And this year's hockey season seems all but guaranteed to end before it begins. NHL owners have just agreed unanimously to lock the players out when their collective bargaining agreement runs out at midnight. The owners want so-called cost certainty in a new agreement. The players fear anything that resembles a cap on salary -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: New details this afternoon on the female bombers who brought down the planes that crashed in Russia last month. We'll tell you how they got on board and take a look at the increasing role of women in the terrorist movement.
That story just ahead when LIVE FROM continues.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, news around the world now.
Terror arrests in Spain: Ten people were taken into custody during overnight raids in Barcelona. Most are Pakistani nationals. Police say the 10 helped finance terrorism outside of Spain and are not believed linked to the March 11th Madrid train bombings.
Spain's former prime minister, who was ousted just after those bombings, however, will testify at a government inquiry. Initially, Jose Maria Aznar insisted Baath separatists were behind the attacks. Later investigations pointed to Islamic terrorists.
And 10 Palestinians were killed with clashes with Israeli troops today. The violence broke out in the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin. Palestinian and Israeli sources say most of the victims were members of militant groups. More than 30 people were wounded.
PHILLIPS: How did two suspected suicide bombers get aboard two planes that crashed in Russia last month? Well, Russian prosecutors say they bought their tickets illegally, and one of them bribed a Siberian Airlines official. Also disturbing, the women were apparently stopped when they arrived in Moscow from Chechnya. The airport police official responsible for checking for terrorists let them go.
Women have played a visible role in the recent wave of attacks in Russia. CNN's Brian Todd on the changing face of terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A veiled shadow in a doorway that, even in these times, looks out of place. Delicate, slumped bodies in theater seats. In video, a soft, youthful face, belying the destruction she's already caused.
BRUCE HOFFMAN, TERRORISM ANALYST: We still have difficulty imagining women as killers, rather than as mothers.
TODD: Start imagining it, the experts tell us, because it's happening more and more: in the hostage standoff this month at a school in southern Russia, where large numbers of children were among the more than 300 dead; a suicide bomb attack at a Moscow subway days earlier; the near simultaneous bombings of two planes in Russia last month; and the standoff in a Moscow theater in October 2002 that left 170 people dead.
Authorities believe women played central roles in all those incidents. In Russia, the profile seems more consistent. These women, all believed to be Chechen; some of them, experts say, are so- called Black Widows.
SVANTE CORNELL, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: They are widows of men who fought in the war and were killed, but most of them have had their whole families exterminated by the Russian army in this conflict.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They're driven to the brink of desperation, otherwise a person wouldn't do that sort of thing.
TODD: The desperation that drives a woman to martyrdom did not begin in Russia, nor is it confined there.
In 2002, women were the attackers in a devastating string of suicide bombings in the West Bank and Gaza. 1991: a female bomber from Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels gets close enough to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi.
Close enough is a key phrase. For terrorist groups, women possess important tactical advantages.
OLGA OLIKER, TERRORISM ANALYST: One, it's effective because it's surprising. It gets to people's sense of this is abnormal, women don't do things like this.
It's also effective because it's difficult to protect against. Security forces aren't used to looking at women -- especially young women and girls, who are often used -- as potentially the danger.
TODD: Accounts from survivors and security officials show that in some terrorist incidents, women have been noticeably more ruthless than their male comrades.
(on camera): With recruiting tools like this online magazine, calling for women to participate in Jihad, experts say we can expect to see more of the feminine face of terror. And each one we spoke to added a chilling footnote: Children have been used on occasion and could well be used again.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC -- GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE - "THE MESSAGE")
WHITFIELD: Everybody say hey! Kyra, where's my -- OK, there's my backup.
Hey, the nominations are out today for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And there's a diverse group of artists up for consideration, including U2, Conway Twitty, and our hands-down LIVE FROM favorite -- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
PHILLIPS: Well, apparently the real message, we're all getting older out there, to qualify for the R&R Hall of Fame. You have to have been around for at least 25 years. Musicians, industry pros, and journalists do the voting, and the results are to be announced in December.
Well, the economy may be in recovery mode, but a new report says the high-tech industry is still lagging behind a bit. Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange -- Rhonda?
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Probably not as surprised for some job hunters out there. There is a report that says if it comes to technology workers, the outlook on the job market remains bleak, and this, of course, is even years after the U.S. recession officially ended in late 2001.
According to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the IT industry lost more than 400,000 jobs between March 2001 and April of this year. And over half of those jobs were lost after the experts declared the recession over.
The report said part of the problem is outsourcing, corporations sending jobs overseas where labor is cheaper. The job losses were especially pronounced in the San Francisco area, when the market shrank by some 49 percent -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about Coke.
SCHAFFLER: Not it today on Wall Street. Stock is losing ground, down about $2 right now. The soft drink maker said it won't meet Wall Street's profit expectations for the rest of the year. Coke blaming unseasonably cool weather in its profitable northern European markets and also cited lower sales volume in North America.
Because Coke is a member of the Dow 30, we're seeing the Dow Industrials being dragged lower because of that Coke loss and some other concerns. Dow is off some 65 points right now; Nasdaq's down one percent. That is the very latest news from Wall Street. Coming up in the next hour of LIVE FROM, do you think we Americans are overworked? Think again. The findings of a new government survey may surprise you. I'll have details on that.
In the meantime, Kyra, Fredricka, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rhonda, thanks so much.
Well, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, talk about drawing a crowd. A statue of the Virgin Mary stands tall after an explosion rips through a church. We're going to have all the details when LIVE FROM's holy hour of power begins right after this.
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RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rick Sanchez in Panama City Beach, where the winds and the rain have picked up and the people who live here, for the most part, have done picked up. We'll have a live report.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very rapidly, within a 10-hour period, the metropolitan New Orleans area is totally devastated, gone.
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PHILLIPS: The nightmare of knowing: What could happen if Ivan's full fury hits America's favorite party town that sits below sea level.
WHITFIELD: To take the heat off her empire, the domestic diva wants to head to the cooler early. We've got highlights from today's surprise announcement.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... full-scale. I'm just trying to stabilize the camera -- we're being pushed into the police...
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PHILLIPS: The video of the day: Thousands of protesters take on the bobbies outside Parliament. A few made it to the floor for a fracas with the MPs. What started it? Find out today on LIVE FROM.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is resting up for the hurricane coverage tonight.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
And we begin this hour with the gradual, miserable, ever- worsening arrival of Ivan. That deadly and dreaded major hurricane, is heading straight for Mobile Bay, lashing the northern Gulf coast with tropical-storm-force winds already, hours before the eye even hits land.
Let's go straight to the CNN Weather Center with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras for some of the latest facts -- Jacqui?
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