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Weapons Handover in Sadr City; Bush, Kerry Campaigns; Revenge for Russia School Standoff?

Aired October 11, 2004 - 14:00   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: A tight race with a tight deadline. Both candidates take jabs at each other with days left until you decide. We're live from the campaign trail.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We all know him as "Superman" and as an advocate for spinal cord research. Christopher Reeve dies. This hour, we'll have reaction from Hollywood.

PHILLIPS: Remembrance and possible revenge, fears that grieving parents of children killed in that Beslan school will retaliate.

O'BRIEN: And complicated and costly. Are automakers purposely driving of the price of repairing your car? From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

O'BRIEN: And we begin today in Iraq. Another hostage is brutally murdered on tape. The Arab network Al Jazeera reporting a Turkish contractor and his Iraqi translator have been beheaded. The kidnappers posted video of the beheadings on a Web site.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military suffers another casualty. An American soldier killed in a suicide bombing in southwest Mosul today. Nine soldiers were hurt.

Militant weapons are being taken off the streets of a volatile area of Baghdad. Soldiers of the Mehdi militia are surrendering their weapons as part of the peace plan for Sadr City, a neighborhood of Baghdad. CNN's Brent Sadler is in the Iraqi capital with more on the weapons handover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A tentative start to the surrender of weapons by Muslim Shia militants in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad. Militiamen loyal to the Mehdi Army led by radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have started laying down medium and heavy weapon, including machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades, landmines and stockpiles of explosives.

But, so far, it's been slow progress, with small stacks of weapons on show at Iraqi police stations. The first day of a five-day transfer of armaments. In return, Mehdi Army fighters are being promised cash compensation for weapons. A tentative payout given Sadr City's bloodshed of recent weeks, with casualties both among Iraqi and U.S. troops.

This is not the first time the authorities here have tried to make peace with al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, a deal broke down after heavy fighting in the holy city of Najaf south of Baghdad in August, allowing militiamen to walk away with weapons and continue fighting in Sadr City. If this phase of a new peace accord succeeds, though, it paves the way for an end to fighting for control of the Shia slum, home to around two million impoverished Iraqis.

There's a financial incentive, too. The central government pledged to spend half a billion dollars on reconstruction projects if all goes well. It's still early days to assess progress, but interim government officials here are hopeful that by the end of this week Iraq's security forces should be able to enter the violent district, backed up by the U.S. military, to regain control.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Two debates down, one to go. Twenty-two days before Americans go to the polls. And where do the candidates stand? Not far apart geographically.

Bush is in Colorado this hour, or will be very soon after a rally in New Mexico, where Kerry is boiling mad at Bush's energy policies. We're going to hear from the Democrat in just a moment.

But first, CNN's Dana Bash awaiting a Bush event moments now -- moments away, I guess, in Denver -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, you know, really right after John Kerry became clear that he would be the president's Democratic opponent, one of the things that the Bush campaign started to seize on was the fact that they said John Kerry, if elected president, would treat terrorism as a law enforcement issue, not a true war on terror, the way the president sees the whole fight against terrorism. So the fact that they woke up and saw a quote from Senator Kerry in "The New York Times" magazine yesterday suggesting that terrorism is something that is -- should be and could be reduced to the level of a nuisance, suggesting or putting it in the same context as fighting prostitution, fighting gambling, that is something that the Bush campaign seized on.

They came out over the weekend with an instant ad on it. The president came out this morning in New Mexico and said that John Kerry simply doesn't get it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, just this weekend, Senator Kerry talked of reducing terrorism to "nuisance," and compared it to prostitution and illegal gambling. See, I couldn't disagree more. Our goal is not to reduce terror to some acceptable level of nuisance. Our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive, destroying terrorist networks, and spreading freedom and liberty around the world!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, as I mentioned, this is after the Bush campaign launched an advertisement hitting Senator Kerry for these comments. Also, the vice president is on the campaign trail today. He is in the state of New Jersey, a state that lost some 700 residents on 9/11.

He said that this statement by Senator Kerry is "naive and dangerous." He said it's all part of a pre-9/11 mindset that he said the U.S. cannot go back to.

Now, of course, the Kerry campaign is fighting back. They say that the senator's words are twisted, taken out of context. That the Bush campaign is playing the politics of fear, and that even the president over the summer suggested that the war on terrorism perhaps is un-winnable.

And now, Kyra, this is all, of course, in the day leading up to the last debate that will be in Arizona. And the president's campaign insists, even though he really focused on terrorism today, he is also focusing on domestic issues, honing in on the senator's record. That is something he will continue to do in the days leading up to the debate and, of course, in the last three weeks of this campaign.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dana Bash live from Denver, Colorado. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: The Kerry campaign calls all the nattering over that nuisance comment absolutely ridiculous, not to mention out of context. Today, the candidate not mentioning it. He's touting energy independence in his only scheduled visit before Wednesday's tempest in Tempe, Arizona. Moments ago, in Santa Fe, Kerry called sky-high gas prices a Bush administration tax increase that the middle class cannot afford.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Instead of standing up for you, George Bush has chosen secret meetings with the energy industry, behind closed doors in the White House. Think of that.

Why does a president have to have a secret meeting with any industry in America in the making of policy for our nation? They did that, they went behind the door. There was plenty of people there to make the case for the oil industry, but there was nobody there to make the case for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Lest you wonder why the focus on New Mexico, we'll remind you the state went to Al Gore in 2000 by all of 366 votes. Once again, up for grabs this go-around.

The nation's largest television broadcast group reportedly planning to air an anti-Kerry documentary just two weeks before the election. And according to those reports, the group's conservative ownership is ordering all of its 52 stations to preempt scheduled programming to run it.

Now, the documentary is called "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal," and it is very critical of Kerry's vocal opposition to the war in Vietnam. The decision to run it was made by Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose ownership is known to be a backer of conservative causes. No surprise, some are calling foul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BROCK, MEDIA MATTERS: And most problematic is the fact that they apparently want to classify this as news, which could be an effort to evade federal regulations that require the broadcasters to offer equal time. So this could be illegal, and I think the plans should be canceled. I think it's outrageous abuse of the public airwaves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM GRAHAM, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: All the other networks have done 80 or 90 stories on President Bush's military record this year, and those weren't exactly balanced stories either. They've all promoted Michael Moore's film and a bunch of other liberal or radical documentary films. This is just one small thing to balance it out a little bit, and of course the left is crying foul that somebody would hear an opposing point of view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. The DNC says airing the documentary would amount to an illegal campaign contribution to President Bush. Sinclair Broadcasting couldn't be reach for comment.

PHILLIPS: In Russia, remembrance and fears of retaliation after the Beslan massacre. It was just last month when we saw the pictures of nearly naked children fleeing the school seized by rebels. More than 330 people were killed; more than half of them children. Now a 40-day mourning period nears an end, and some people are warning of revenge attacks.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has been covering the story from the very beginning. He joins us now live by videophone.

Ryan, let's put it first in perspective, the context of the religious beliefs once the 40 days of mourning is over.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, Kyra, those families have been mourning now, as you said, for nearly 40 days, the families and friends of the more than 300 children, teachers and parents that were killed in the Beslan school hostage crisis. And most of the dead and the people in the area are Orthodox Christians.

And in accordance with the Orthodox faith, on the 40th day they believe that the souls of the dead rise to heaven. Now, it is also on that day, according to their belief, that the mourners, the families and friends are allowed to -- allowed by the church to go on with their lives. They do not have to go to the cemetery as much, and they are encouraged to go on and try to pick up the pieces in their lives. That, however, is something that in Beslan, if you ask people, they will tell you is going to be nearly impossible to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): "We'll never forget this, not after 40 days, not after years. You can't forget things like this." "According to our customs," she tells me, "I'm supposed to put my arms around the grave of my loved one. But there are four of them here, and I can't put my arms around all of them."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And Ryan, this is the first time we're seeing the videotape of the cemetery dedicated just to the victims of the school massacre. Tell us about the empty gravesites, and how do you even go forward mourning those that haven't even been identified or recovered?

CHILCOTE: Yes, very difficult. Well, we were out there today, and there -- I counted 41 unmarked empty graves. Those graves are awaiting the remains of the hostages that have yet to be identified.

Many of the hostages that were killed in the crisis were so -- their remains were so badly charred that they have to be identified by DNA. As those results become available, their families immediately bury them. But today I was out there and I counted 41 unmarked empty graves.

Now, I talked to some of the grieving families, and they say, "For us, really the grieving period hasn't begun because we don't have a body over which we can mourn." Until they actually have identified the remains of their loved ones, you know, it's ironic, they say, that the 40 day process of grieving because their process of grieving hasn't even begun yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And for those that will begin tomorrow with the ceremonies, Ryan, and the 40 days of mourning, and believing the souls then go up to heaven, then comes this issue of the revenge. Can you explain that us to more in detail? What type of revenge you're talking about, and is it revenge against other terrorist organizations or those associated with the terrorists that were -- that died within that school?

CHILCOTE: Well, it is customary -- it is also customary, I should say, in this part of southern Russia to seek revenge for loved ones who have been murdered. It's a longstanding tradition in the Russian Caucasus mountain range, where we are right now. And many of the men in Beslan are saying that they will do just that, that they will hunt down the people that were responsible for this.

Now, a lot of those men are blaming members of a rival mainly Muslim ethnic group in the nearby Russian region of Ingushetia. That has raised very serious concerns about ethnic violence here.

There was very serious fighting between these two ethnic groups just 12 years ago when the Soviet Union fell apart. The Russian government is urging the citizens not to take revenge. They're saying that it is the job of the Russian military to hunt down these terrorists, and it would just be playing into the terrorist hands by going after individual members of the Ingush ethnic group -- of Muslim ethnic groups in this area -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ryan, my final question, the Chechen warlord, Shamil Basayev, the man that claimed responsibility for that attack in the school, what's the latest with him? And I would assume that would be the greatest revenge for these parents, and that would be to seek the life of this man.

CHILCOTE: Indeed. Well, Shamil Basayev is still the most wanted terrorist in Russia. He claimed responsibility reportedly on a Web site about a week after this attack on the school was carried out. He said that he did this to strike back at Russia; however, he said it was never in the hostage-takers' plans to kill any children.

You're exactly right. If the Russian government, the Russian military was able to capture or kill Shamil Basayev, that would do a lot in this part of Russia to satisfy a lot of the citizens's demands for revenge. But Shamil Basayev is still at large -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote live from Russia with us. Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: The Senate works the weekend and the holiday for a multi-billion-dollar tax break. But guess whose bottom line will get the boost? We'll have details ahead.

And a bizarre tragedy for the family of a Yankees pitcher. Will it keep him out of the rest of post-season play?

And just ahead, Hollywood remembers the legacy of actor Christopher Reeve.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Even super heroes don't live forever. The "Superman" of this generation, Christopher Reeve, is dead at 52.

Paralyzed in a fall from a horse nine years ago, Reeve fought relentlessly for ways to end his confinement to a wheelchair. He became a champion for research and better funding for spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. It was just part of his personality to those who knew him best.

O'BRIEN: His star there on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now to those who worked with Reeve in Tinsel Town. Sibila Vargas has that part of the story, joining us live now from Los Angeles -- Sibila.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Miles.

Christopher Reeve will be remembered as a fighter, an inspiration for anyone who has been stricken by unexpected tragedy or illness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christopher Reeve rose to fame as "Superman," the kind of invincible superhero who only exists in Hollywood fantasies. Over a span of nearly 10 years, he played the man of steel. But his acting credits extended well beyond "Superman."

He co-stared with Jane Seymour in the fantasy romance "Somewhere in Time" and won praise for his dramatic work in "The Remains of the Day." At the age of 42, Reeve's life changed forever when he was thrown from a horse during an equestrian tournament in Virginia. Two broken vertebrae in his neck left him paralyzed.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR: It's so tiny, the damage, but it's keeping me in a wheelchair.

VARGAS: Reeve credited his wife Dana with rallying his spirits, giving him the will to live. He worked tirelessly on rehabilitation, readying his body for the cure he was convinced would come.

REEVE: I'm going to get up out of this chair and throw it away and walk.

And cut it. Cut it. Cut it.

VARGAS: Despite his physical limitations, Reeve was determined to go back to work. He directed the HBO film "In the Gloaming."

REEVE: I'm very, very lucky I've been able to move and doing something that I truly love. And I haven't lost anything. I've gained a lot.

VARGAS: But his primary focus became a political and medical one, supporting research into spinal cord injuries. He took an active role in the debate over federal funding of stem-cell research.

REEVE: They call it the body's self-repair (ph). And here it is, and there's a big fight about using it. That is really hard to take.

VARGAS: In 1997, he got a star on Hollywood Boulevard. At that ceremony, Reeve reflected on a life that took an unexpected turn.

REEVE: I would just like people to look back and to know that I kept at it, and through good times and bad times. That they'll look back on the body of work that I did, and know that I've tried my best all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And he certainly did. He continued to work until near his death. One of his last projects was directing a film called "The Brooke Ellison Story," a real-life drama about a young girl left paralyzed who overcomes her physical adversities. It airs on A&E later this month.

O'BRIEN: It's quite a legacy. What has the reaction been in Hollywood so far, Sibila?

VARGAS: Well, as you can imagine, he was such an inspiration and he had so many friends. Whoopi Goldberg, who he directed in the film "In the Gloaming," says that she was blessed to have known him and he was truly a super man.

Actress Susan Sarandon also made a statement. She said, "He's an inspiration not only to those with disabilities, but to all of us trying to make our lives count." That she will miss him dearly.

Gene Hackman, who starred with Reeve in "Superman," said that, "No one dedicated courage, strength and courage more than Chris."

And Jane Seymour, who also worked with him, said, "His legacy will be global. He taught us that nothing is impossible."

And as you can imagine, Miles, there's just going to be droves of people reacting to Christopher Reeve's death. He was definitely an inspiration.

O'BRIEN: Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles. Thank you very much.

Later this hour, a special guest. James Shepherd, like Christopher Reeve, suffered a paralyzing injury. And as in Reeve's case, Shepherd's injury led to a successful crusade to make life better for people who suffer spinal cord injuries.

We'll ask him about Reeve's vow to walk again. It was a controversial statement for many who use wheelchairs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the state of Louisiana is finally rid of Matthew. That tropical storm was downgraded yesterday to a tropical depression. Matthew's remnants have moved out of Louisiana now, but have left behind flooded streets and homes in the southeastern part of that state.

We're watching the tropical weather. So is CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. She's live from the weather center now.

Hi, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: The Senate has approved $136 billion corporate tax bill that's raising some eyebrows. Rhonda Schaffler joining us from New York at the Stock Exchange with details -- Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired October 11, 2004 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A tight race with a tight deadline. Both candidates take jabs at each other with days left until you decide. We're live from the campaign trail.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We all know him as "Superman" and as an advocate for spinal cord research. Christopher Reeve dies. This hour, we'll have reaction from Hollywood.

PHILLIPS: Remembrance and possible revenge, fears that grieving parents of children killed in that Beslan school will retaliate.

O'BRIEN: And complicated and costly. Are automakers purposely driving of the price of repairing your car? From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

O'BRIEN: And we begin today in Iraq. Another hostage is brutally murdered on tape. The Arab network Al Jazeera reporting a Turkish contractor and his Iraqi translator have been beheaded. The kidnappers posted video of the beheadings on a Web site.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military suffers another casualty. An American soldier killed in a suicide bombing in southwest Mosul today. Nine soldiers were hurt.

Militant weapons are being taken off the streets of a volatile area of Baghdad. Soldiers of the Mehdi militia are surrendering their weapons as part of the peace plan for Sadr City, a neighborhood of Baghdad. CNN's Brent Sadler is in the Iraqi capital with more on the weapons handover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A tentative start to the surrender of weapons by Muslim Shia militants in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad. Militiamen loyal to the Mehdi Army led by radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have started laying down medium and heavy weapon, including machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades, landmines and stockpiles of explosives.

But, so far, it's been slow progress, with small stacks of weapons on show at Iraqi police stations. The first day of a five-day transfer of armaments. In return, Mehdi Army fighters are being promised cash compensation for weapons. A tentative payout given Sadr City's bloodshed of recent weeks, with casualties both among Iraqi and U.S. troops.

This is not the first time the authorities here have tried to make peace with al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, a deal broke down after heavy fighting in the holy city of Najaf south of Baghdad in August, allowing militiamen to walk away with weapons and continue fighting in Sadr City. If this phase of a new peace accord succeeds, though, it paves the way for an end to fighting for control of the Shia slum, home to around two million impoverished Iraqis.

There's a financial incentive, too. The central government pledged to spend half a billion dollars on reconstruction projects if all goes well. It's still early days to assess progress, but interim government officials here are hopeful that by the end of this week Iraq's security forces should be able to enter the violent district, backed up by the U.S. military, to regain control.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Two debates down, one to go. Twenty-two days before Americans go to the polls. And where do the candidates stand? Not far apart geographically.

Bush is in Colorado this hour, or will be very soon after a rally in New Mexico, where Kerry is boiling mad at Bush's energy policies. We're going to hear from the Democrat in just a moment.

But first, CNN's Dana Bash awaiting a Bush event moments now -- moments away, I guess, in Denver -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, you know, really right after John Kerry became clear that he would be the president's Democratic opponent, one of the things that the Bush campaign started to seize on was the fact that they said John Kerry, if elected president, would treat terrorism as a law enforcement issue, not a true war on terror, the way the president sees the whole fight against terrorism. So the fact that they woke up and saw a quote from Senator Kerry in "The New York Times" magazine yesterday suggesting that terrorism is something that is -- should be and could be reduced to the level of a nuisance, suggesting or putting it in the same context as fighting prostitution, fighting gambling, that is something that the Bush campaign seized on.

They came out over the weekend with an instant ad on it. The president came out this morning in New Mexico and said that John Kerry simply doesn't get it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, just this weekend, Senator Kerry talked of reducing terrorism to "nuisance," and compared it to prostitution and illegal gambling. See, I couldn't disagree more. Our goal is not to reduce terror to some acceptable level of nuisance. Our goal is to defeat terror by staying on the offensive, destroying terrorist networks, and spreading freedom and liberty around the world!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, as I mentioned, this is after the Bush campaign launched an advertisement hitting Senator Kerry for these comments. Also, the vice president is on the campaign trail today. He is in the state of New Jersey, a state that lost some 700 residents on 9/11.

He said that this statement by Senator Kerry is "naive and dangerous." He said it's all part of a pre-9/11 mindset that he said the U.S. cannot go back to.

Now, of course, the Kerry campaign is fighting back. They say that the senator's words are twisted, taken out of context. That the Bush campaign is playing the politics of fear, and that even the president over the summer suggested that the war on terrorism perhaps is un-winnable.

And now, Kyra, this is all, of course, in the day leading up to the last debate that will be in Arizona. And the president's campaign insists, even though he really focused on terrorism today, he is also focusing on domestic issues, honing in on the senator's record. That is something he will continue to do in the days leading up to the debate and, of course, in the last three weeks of this campaign.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dana Bash live from Denver, Colorado. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: The Kerry campaign calls all the nattering over that nuisance comment absolutely ridiculous, not to mention out of context. Today, the candidate not mentioning it. He's touting energy independence in his only scheduled visit before Wednesday's tempest in Tempe, Arizona. Moments ago, in Santa Fe, Kerry called sky-high gas prices a Bush administration tax increase that the middle class cannot afford.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Instead of standing up for you, George Bush has chosen secret meetings with the energy industry, behind closed doors in the White House. Think of that.

Why does a president have to have a secret meeting with any industry in America in the making of policy for our nation? They did that, they went behind the door. There was plenty of people there to make the case for the oil industry, but there was nobody there to make the case for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Lest you wonder why the focus on New Mexico, we'll remind you the state went to Al Gore in 2000 by all of 366 votes. Once again, up for grabs this go-around.

The nation's largest television broadcast group reportedly planning to air an anti-Kerry documentary just two weeks before the election. And according to those reports, the group's conservative ownership is ordering all of its 52 stations to preempt scheduled programming to run it.

Now, the documentary is called "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal," and it is very critical of Kerry's vocal opposition to the war in Vietnam. The decision to run it was made by Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose ownership is known to be a backer of conservative causes. No surprise, some are calling foul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BROCK, MEDIA MATTERS: And most problematic is the fact that they apparently want to classify this as news, which could be an effort to evade federal regulations that require the broadcasters to offer equal time. So this could be illegal, and I think the plans should be canceled. I think it's outrageous abuse of the public airwaves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM GRAHAM, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: All the other networks have done 80 or 90 stories on President Bush's military record this year, and those weren't exactly balanced stories either. They've all promoted Michael Moore's film and a bunch of other liberal or radical documentary films. This is just one small thing to balance it out a little bit, and of course the left is crying foul that somebody would hear an opposing point of view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. The DNC says airing the documentary would amount to an illegal campaign contribution to President Bush. Sinclair Broadcasting couldn't be reach for comment.

PHILLIPS: In Russia, remembrance and fears of retaliation after the Beslan massacre. It was just last month when we saw the pictures of nearly naked children fleeing the school seized by rebels. More than 330 people were killed; more than half of them children. Now a 40-day mourning period nears an end, and some people are warning of revenge attacks.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has been covering the story from the very beginning. He joins us now live by videophone.

Ryan, let's put it first in perspective, the context of the religious beliefs once the 40 days of mourning is over.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, Kyra, those families have been mourning now, as you said, for nearly 40 days, the families and friends of the more than 300 children, teachers and parents that were killed in the Beslan school hostage crisis. And most of the dead and the people in the area are Orthodox Christians.

And in accordance with the Orthodox faith, on the 40th day they believe that the souls of the dead rise to heaven. Now, it is also on that day, according to their belief, that the mourners, the families and friends are allowed to -- allowed by the church to go on with their lives. They do not have to go to the cemetery as much, and they are encouraged to go on and try to pick up the pieces in their lives. That, however, is something that in Beslan, if you ask people, they will tell you is going to be nearly impossible to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): "We'll never forget this, not after 40 days, not after years. You can't forget things like this." "According to our customs," she tells me, "I'm supposed to put my arms around the grave of my loved one. But there are four of them here, and I can't put my arms around all of them."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And Ryan, this is the first time we're seeing the videotape of the cemetery dedicated just to the victims of the school massacre. Tell us about the empty gravesites, and how do you even go forward mourning those that haven't even been identified or recovered?

CHILCOTE: Yes, very difficult. Well, we were out there today, and there -- I counted 41 unmarked empty graves. Those graves are awaiting the remains of the hostages that have yet to be identified.

Many of the hostages that were killed in the crisis were so -- their remains were so badly charred that they have to be identified by DNA. As those results become available, their families immediately bury them. But today I was out there and I counted 41 unmarked empty graves.

Now, I talked to some of the grieving families, and they say, "For us, really the grieving period hasn't begun because we don't have a body over which we can mourn." Until they actually have identified the remains of their loved ones, you know, it's ironic, they say, that the 40 day process of grieving because their process of grieving hasn't even begun yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And for those that will begin tomorrow with the ceremonies, Ryan, and the 40 days of mourning, and believing the souls then go up to heaven, then comes this issue of the revenge. Can you explain that us to more in detail? What type of revenge you're talking about, and is it revenge against other terrorist organizations or those associated with the terrorists that were -- that died within that school?

CHILCOTE: Well, it is customary -- it is also customary, I should say, in this part of southern Russia to seek revenge for loved ones who have been murdered. It's a longstanding tradition in the Russian Caucasus mountain range, where we are right now. And many of the men in Beslan are saying that they will do just that, that they will hunt down the people that were responsible for this.

Now, a lot of those men are blaming members of a rival mainly Muslim ethnic group in the nearby Russian region of Ingushetia. That has raised very serious concerns about ethnic violence here.

There was very serious fighting between these two ethnic groups just 12 years ago when the Soviet Union fell apart. The Russian government is urging the citizens not to take revenge. They're saying that it is the job of the Russian military to hunt down these terrorists, and it would just be playing into the terrorist hands by going after individual members of the Ingush ethnic group -- of Muslim ethnic groups in this area -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ryan, my final question, the Chechen warlord, Shamil Basayev, the man that claimed responsibility for that attack in the school, what's the latest with him? And I would assume that would be the greatest revenge for these parents, and that would be to seek the life of this man.

CHILCOTE: Indeed. Well, Shamil Basayev is still the most wanted terrorist in Russia. He claimed responsibility reportedly on a Web site about a week after this attack on the school was carried out. He said that he did this to strike back at Russia; however, he said it was never in the hostage-takers' plans to kill any children.

You're exactly right. If the Russian government, the Russian military was able to capture or kill Shamil Basayev, that would do a lot in this part of Russia to satisfy a lot of the citizens's demands for revenge. But Shamil Basayev is still at large -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote live from Russia with us. Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: The Senate works the weekend and the holiday for a multi-billion-dollar tax break. But guess whose bottom line will get the boost? We'll have details ahead.

And a bizarre tragedy for the family of a Yankees pitcher. Will it keep him out of the rest of post-season play?

And just ahead, Hollywood remembers the legacy of actor Christopher Reeve.

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PHILLIPS: Even super heroes don't live forever. The "Superman" of this generation, Christopher Reeve, is dead at 52.

Paralyzed in a fall from a horse nine years ago, Reeve fought relentlessly for ways to end his confinement to a wheelchair. He became a champion for research and better funding for spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. It was just part of his personality to those who knew him best.

O'BRIEN: His star there on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now to those who worked with Reeve in Tinsel Town. Sibila Vargas has that part of the story, joining us live now from Los Angeles -- Sibila.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Miles.

Christopher Reeve will be remembered as a fighter, an inspiration for anyone who has been stricken by unexpected tragedy or illness.

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SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christopher Reeve rose to fame as "Superman," the kind of invincible superhero who only exists in Hollywood fantasies. Over a span of nearly 10 years, he played the man of steel. But his acting credits extended well beyond "Superman."

He co-stared with Jane Seymour in the fantasy romance "Somewhere in Time" and won praise for his dramatic work in "The Remains of the Day." At the age of 42, Reeve's life changed forever when he was thrown from a horse during an equestrian tournament in Virginia. Two broken vertebrae in his neck left him paralyzed.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR: It's so tiny, the damage, but it's keeping me in a wheelchair.

VARGAS: Reeve credited his wife Dana with rallying his spirits, giving him the will to live. He worked tirelessly on rehabilitation, readying his body for the cure he was convinced would come.

REEVE: I'm going to get up out of this chair and throw it away and walk.

And cut it. Cut it. Cut it.

VARGAS: Despite his physical limitations, Reeve was determined to go back to work. He directed the HBO film "In the Gloaming."

REEVE: I'm very, very lucky I've been able to move and doing something that I truly love. And I haven't lost anything. I've gained a lot.

VARGAS: But his primary focus became a political and medical one, supporting research into spinal cord injuries. He took an active role in the debate over federal funding of stem-cell research.

REEVE: They call it the body's self-repair (ph). And here it is, and there's a big fight about using it. That is really hard to take.

VARGAS: In 1997, he got a star on Hollywood Boulevard. At that ceremony, Reeve reflected on a life that took an unexpected turn.

REEVE: I would just like people to look back and to know that I kept at it, and through good times and bad times. That they'll look back on the body of work that I did, and know that I've tried my best all the time.

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VARGAS: And he certainly did. He continued to work until near his death. One of his last projects was directing a film called "The Brooke Ellison Story," a real-life drama about a young girl left paralyzed who overcomes her physical adversities. It airs on A&E later this month.

O'BRIEN: It's quite a legacy. What has the reaction been in Hollywood so far, Sibila?

VARGAS: Well, as you can imagine, he was such an inspiration and he had so many friends. Whoopi Goldberg, who he directed in the film "In the Gloaming," says that she was blessed to have known him and he was truly a super man.

Actress Susan Sarandon also made a statement. She said, "He's an inspiration not only to those with disabilities, but to all of us trying to make our lives count." That she will miss him dearly.

Gene Hackman, who starred with Reeve in "Superman," said that, "No one dedicated courage, strength and courage more than Chris."

And Jane Seymour, who also worked with him, said, "His legacy will be global. He taught us that nothing is impossible."

And as you can imagine, Miles, there's just going to be droves of people reacting to Christopher Reeve's death. He was definitely an inspiration.

O'BRIEN: Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles. Thank you very much.

Later this hour, a special guest. James Shepherd, like Christopher Reeve, suffered a paralyzing injury. And as in Reeve's case, Shepherd's injury led to a successful crusade to make life better for people who suffer spinal cord injuries.

We'll ask him about Reeve's vow to walk again. It was a controversial statement for many who use wheelchairs.

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PHILLIPS: Well, the state of Louisiana is finally rid of Matthew. That tropical storm was downgraded yesterday to a tropical depression. Matthew's remnants have moved out of Louisiana now, but have left behind flooded streets and homes in the southeastern part of that state.

We're watching the tropical weather. So is CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. She's live from the weather center now.

Hi, Jacqui.

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PHILLIPS: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: The Senate has approved $136 billion corporate tax bill that's raising some eyebrows. Rhonda Schaffler joining us from New York at the Stock Exchange with details -- Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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