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Explosions Rock Madrid; Ukraine Supreme Court Throws Out Election Results; Attacks Kill 40 Iraqis; Bush Taps Former NYPD Commissioner as Homeland Security Secretary; Orange County Diocese Settles Abuse Case, Apologizes to Victims; Jobs Report Falls Short
Aired December 03, 2004 - 13:00 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.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: It's a story that's been breaking for a few minutes now. Live pictures here out of Madrid, Spain. We're being told right now, four explosions rocking the city here. A call coming through, saying it was due to Basque separatists, the terrorist group ETA.
Al Goodman working the story, joins us now live on the phone.
What more do you know? There's a number of reports, Al, saying even up to five explosions.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Yes. You're -- you're live, Al. We finally got connected with you.
GOODMAN: Thank you. Right. I'm on a cell phone and there's spotty coverage, which may be an indication that there are a lot of phone calls being made right at this hour.
Now, we're getting reports here in the last few minutes of a series of explosions being blamed on the Basque separatist group, ETA, on the western and northern flanks of the capital, just as millions of Spaniards across the nation and, certainly, hundreds of thousands in Madrid are heading out for a long holiday weekend.
Some of these bombs have exploded at gas stations on the western side of the capital.
Now, our initial reports do not speak of injuries. And they do speak of low potency bombs, but we are checking to get details on this.
We've heard at least three, possibly four, and there are some reports there may be more than that.
Now earlier this -- there was a warning issued in a newspaper, in the Basque region in northern Spain that typically speaks to -- communiques and statements by the Basque separatist group, ETA, warning that there would be some explosions, and then we have had some explosions -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Now, let's just give -- add a little context. Two questions for you, Al: first of all, the explosions, you're saying they went off in different parts of the city, or is it all pretty much in -- in one condensed area?
GOODMAN: No. These are widely dispersed areas, and they're all -- the initial reports, these are on the outskirts of the city. We have one, it's about six kilometers or -- miles, roughly, on the western side, on a major highway leading between Madrid and Portugal.
We have another in a northwestern suburb. We have another out in the big park called the Cusp Conto (ph), which is on the north -- on the western side of the city. Those three apparently at gas stations.
And we have another one possibly out near the racetrack -- racetrack. So not in the city center, but certainly outside.
Now, the ETA group is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Authorities have led the public to believe that ETA really was on its back recently, because its top leadership was arrested in France. And police recently have seized huge weapons caches, bomb making equipment, guns, thousands and thousands of rounds of ammunition. So this is coming, perhaps, as a surprise to Spaniards this night -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And Al, you talk about ETA and just the Basque terrorism in Spain. It can be traced all the way back to 1968. But most recently, what connections do we know about between ETA and Al Qaeda?
GOODMAN: Well, that has been very much debated. The police believe that the Madrid train bombings, March 11 that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500, all the evidence at this point in the courts and according to the police, points to Islamic terrorists.
But the Conservative Popular Party, which was in power when the bombs hit and has now in the opposition, has been really hammering away, saying there's got to be some link between Basque ETA and the Islamic terrorists, even though the police and the courts haven't found that evidence.
And that has really been hot political debate in Spain, just earlier this week, for instance, when the former prime minister said so in Parliament -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Al Goodman, reporting to us live out of Madrid, Spain, there. Al, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow this story.
If you're just tuning in, once again, our Al Goodman confirming four, possibly five explosions rocking the area of Madrid. He's saying they happened in areas kind of outside of the city, near a main highway, a suburb, a park, some gas stations, and also one possibly near a racetrack. ETA, the terrorist separatist group connected there in Spain, claiming responsibility, possibly for these explosions. It's a story we'll follow from now and throughout the newscast.
Other stories we're following: the high court has spoken and the masses are cheering in Kiev. After five days of hearing, 11 days of nonstop demonstrations in the streets, the Supreme Court of Ukraine says that hugely controversial runoff election ran afoul of the law.
The justices threw out the nominal victory of the sitting prime minister and called for a revote December 26. We get the very latest from CNN's Jill Dougherty now -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I can tell you there is a big party on the streets of Kiev tonight with these opposition demonstrators. They are really ecstatic and some even in tears over this decision by the court.
What the court said was the election that was held back on November 21 -- that was a runoff election -- was filled with massive and systematic violations. So it threw that out, nullified it and said there has to be new elections.
Those new elections, by the way, will be held by December 26, and the same candidates, Viktor Yushchenko, who is the opposition candidate, the western-leaning candidate, and the prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych.
The polls right now, Kyra, looking very, very good for the opposition candidate. So this is a big win for them as they move on to new elections.
PHILLIPS: Jill, one quick question. And that is, as we see these videotapes, actually, right now of Yushchenko. And there's been this talk of the fact that he might have been poisoned by the other party running up against him, a lot of controversy about that, whether he's sick, whether he was poisoned.
Have you heard anything more? Have you been able to work that side of the story?
DOUGHERTY: You know, we actually did an interview with him, and we asked him directly, Kyra, what's the latest on this?
Because remember, Mr. Yushchenko said that he believed that there was an attempt to poison him, that they used some very, very powerful chemical, his political enemies, to try to kill him.
And if you see this man, he was a very attractive man, just a few months ago. And the switch was overnight. His face is all kind of scarred, pockmarked, and he's a very changed man.
So the latest, he said, is that they were analyzing about 200 different poisons, and they found two that might be used. I have to point out, though, that they did an investigation in the Parliament and found no evidence that he had been poisoned. So this is a very controversial thing.
But there's no question that Viktor Yushchenko looks completely different from what he looked like just a few months ago.
PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, reporting live from Kiev, Ukraine. Thanks.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: Desperate times -- desperate times, deadly measures. From Baghdad to Mosul to Falluja, more than 40 people, all of them thought to be Iraqis, are dead in a series attacks and firefights that the government attributes to growing desperation among the enemies of democracy.
CNN's Karl Penhaul fills us in from his post in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just after dawn, the first prayers of the day at the Shiite mosque in north Baghdad. Police say four suicide bombers rammed a minibus laden with explosives into the building.
Prayer goers blood in a pool on the street, charred remains of the bomb and its target.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): the car bomb exploded at 6 or 5:45 a.m., burning this car and the house. When the people gathered to put out the fire, the car exploded again, and the bodies of the victims covered the street.
PENHAUL: The bombers and at least 14 worshipers died, some 20 others wounded. A district police chief accused Sunni insurgents of trying to stoke sectarian strife.
A few hundred yards away, gunmen unleashed a volley of rockets at a police station. No casualties were reported.
At almost exactly the same time, insurgents traveling in 11 cars overran another police station in southwest Baghdad alongside the strategic airport road. Police chiefs say the insurgents killed at least 11 police and wounded others. Twenty prisoners were freed from police cells and are now on the run.
MAHMOUD SHAKIR, EYEWITNESS (through translator): At 6 a.m. the police station was attacked. I couldn't see what happened due to the chaos and turmoil.
PENHAUL: On an Islamic web site, affiliates of the Al Qaeda- linked Abu Musab Al Zarqawi network claimed responsibility for the strikes. There was no independent confirmation.
(on camera) Interior ministry officials say they believe that growing numbers of insurgents from different factions are filtering into Baghdad from outlying areas to fight a joint campaign.
SABAH KADHIM, IRAQI INTERIOR MINISTER: It is the people who feel like part of the Saddam groups, the criminal elements, together with the Islamic desperadoes, who want chaos. And therefore, I think this unholy alliance is coordinating its activities.
PENHAUL (voice-over): At still almost two months to go before the elects, it seems clear there's still plenty of fighting to be done if the ballot is to be held in peace.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now to Mosul, where at least a dozen insurgents are dead in the wake of the bloodiest violence in weeks.
CNN's Nic Robertson tells us of a carefully planned attack on a U.S. patrol and a blunt response by U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements. No word on deaths or serious injuries among the soldiers.
And in Falluja, two insurgents are presumed dead after an explosion in the house they were hiding in during a firefight. The blast was apparently from an ammo stash, and the resulting fire spread to the house next door, which had been occupied by innocent civilians. They were brought out before the insurgent's house was attacked.
PHILLIPS: The top cop at Ground Zero on 9/11 is President Bush's choice to head up homeland security. He's former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve tells us more about him -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the switch from Tom Ridge to Bernard Kerik is, as one person says, sort of like going from Mister Rogers to Mr. T. Ridge always calm and measured, Kerik with a reputation for being hard-nosed and blunt.
President Bush announced Kerik's nomination this morning at the White House, noting that Kerik's experience as New York police commissioner on 9/11 would guide him on the job.
Kerik echoed the sentiment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNARD KERIK, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: The memory of those courageous souls and the horrors I saw inflicted upon our proud nation will serve as permanent reminders of the awesome responsibility you place in my charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Kerik is well known to President Bush from 9/11 and from work on the Bush campaign. After the invasion of Iraq, he had a part in training the police force there.
But he is best known for his very close association with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who administration officials say, lobbied on his behalf for the homeland post.
New York's two senators, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, though Democrats, are expressing support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Bernie's a straight shooter. He's a vintage New Yorker. And I think that's refreshing in a cabinet. He won't be terribly political, but he'll try to do the right thing. And I believe he'll fight hard to make homeland security a higher priority, and the nation needs it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: But questions are being raised by some people in the homeland security community about whether Kerik has the skill set for the homeland job.
They ask if managing the 40,000-member police department in New York is adequate preparation for managing had the 180,000 employees of the very diverse Department of Homeland Security.
They also wonder how his straight-shooting style is going to go over in Washington's halls of power. One source familiar with Kerik's style said he is either going to energize the bureaucracy, or he is going to atomize it.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much.
And whoever carries the homeland security portfolio had better have a strong back. Cobbled together post-September 11, the executive branch's newest department comprises 180,000 workers, as Jeanne said, from 22 separate agencies.
Those include the Border and Transportation Security Office, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service.
Now, in just a few minutes we're going to hear more about Kerik from an old friend and colleague, who's also named Bernard. Former L.A. police chief, current L.A. city councilman, Bernard Parks joins me momentarily right here on LIVE FROM.
HARRIS: And meanwhile, the resignations keep coming. The latest from health and human services secretary, former Wisconsin governor, Tommy Thompson. He'll make his intentions public in a news conference scheduled for the top of the hour, and you will see it here on CNN.
And he's scarcely unpacked, but U.N. ambassador, John Danforth, is going home, too. The former Missouri senator and ordained Episcopal priest took the U.N. job when John Negroponte left to run the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in July. Danforth tells the Oval Office he wants to spend more time with his ailing wife. PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, as his friends and family members talk about what a great guy he is, but will it be enough to save Scott Peterson's life? We're live from the California courthouse where his emotional defense is underway.
And steroid scandal, revelations about record-breaking slugger Barry Bonds.
HARRIS: And just ahead, Los Angeles former police chief talks about the challenges ahead for Bernard Kerik at the Department of Homeland Defense (sic).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: From southern California comes what sources are calling the richest settlement to date in the sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church.
CNN's Drew Griffin reports the Diocese of Orange County is giving out more than money, and both sides are already reaping dividends.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a late night settlement, an agreement to end a two-and-a-half-year court battle. Several of the 87 sexual abuse victims who waited outside the courtroom were told late last night the church that stole their innocence is sorry.
BISHOP TOD BROWN, DIOCESE OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: I intend to write a letter to each victim personally, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation.
Let me also take this opportunity to once again extend on behalf of the Diocese of Orange and myself, a sincere apology, a request for forgive forgiveness, a heartfelt hope for reconciliation and healing.
GRIFFIN: What followed that statement from Orange County Bishop Tod Brown was unexpected. The victims, people who were molested by 43 Catholic priests, nuns, teachers, even a choir director, hugged and thanked the bishop for acknowledging their pain.
DAVID GUERRERO, ABUSE VICTIM: For once them coming in tonight and settling these cases and apologizing, and for Bishop Brown saying that he's going to handwrite a letter of apology to each and every victim, I mean, I couldn't stop crying.
GRIFFIN (on camera): The survivors themselves hugging the bishop, congratulating him, for what, John? Why?
JOHN MANLY, VICTIMS' ATTORNEY: I think -- I think it reflects the point that all these people ever wanted was to be believed. And tonight, what you have is a concrete demonstration by him that it did happen and he's sorry.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Sources say it will be at least seven days before the exact dollar amounts are released.
BROWN: No question. We can't answer any questions.
GRIFFIN: But abuse survivor Joelle Casteix says the money is only secondary. What she says will be most important in this settlement are the documents yet to come and the truth yet to be told.
JOELLE CASTEIX, ABUSE VICTIM: People tend to think that perhaps things aren't as bad as it's portrayed in the press, but the truth is, it's a hundred times worse than anyone ever imagined. And when those documents get out, it will be a very great day for survivors and a very interesting day for the Catholic Church.
GRIFFIN (on camera): That interesting day could come within the week, when details of the settlement, along with the possible release of documents, comes out. As for who pays, the Roman Catholic Church of Orange, along with its eight insurance carriers.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Live pictures now in Kiev, Ukraine. You're seeing this as it happens. Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in front of what has continued to be -- it's the 11th day, actually, now of these demonstrations.
As the high court has finally spoken in Kiev, saying that five days later, during these hearings, the Supreme Court of Ukraine now has decided that there will be a runoff election -- or another election, rather, since the runoff election ran afoul, not too long ago, almost two weeks.
Justices have thrown out the nominal victory of the sitting prime minister and now called for a revote, a revote that will happen December 26.
As can you see, still, thousands of opposition supporters still fill Independence Square there in Kiev as the opposition leader right now, Viktor Yushchenko, speaks to them and thanks them for their encouragement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, jobs in America: employers not hiring as many workers as expected. What does it mean for the economy?
Later on LIVE FROM, selling your secrets. Find out what others can find out about you with a mouse click and a credit card.
Monday on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like this and it's like that. It was power through what now they call the rap (ph).
PHILLIPS: ... get ready for the war of words with the cast of Def Poetry Jam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got no funk in James Brown (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: U.S. job growth hit the brakes last month and a new Labor Department report is also backpedaling on some earlier statistics, cutting the numbers reported for September and October.
One contributing factor behind the November numbers is the loss of 16,000 jobs in the retail sector.
CNN's Louise Schiavone in Washington with news that is not likely to spread much holiday cheer.
Hi, Louise.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
The unemployment rate dipped slightly in November, but jobs creation fell short of expectations. November unemployment fell to 5.4 percent, down a tenth of a percent, with 112,000 jobs created. That's at least 70,000 less than analysts had anticipated.
The Bush administration is touting the numbers as signs of slow but steady growth, but acknowledges that, to a certain degree, energy prices, the cost of health care and a skills gap are holding back employment growth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAINE CHAO, LABOR SECRETARY: There's a concern about finding workers with the right skills. And that's why we at the Department of Labor and this administration are so focused on helping incumbent workers and dislocated workers gain the training that they need to get good paying jobs in high growth sectors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: Among the strongest sectors, leisure and hospitality, with 34,000 new jobs. Health care and social assistance, up 28,000. Also posting new jobs, computer and architectural design, mortgage and commercial banking and construction.
But manufacturing lost 5,000 jobs and, reflecting poor November sales, the retail sector lost roughly 16,000 jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CHALLENGER, CHALLENGER, GRAY AND CHRISTMAS: Areas like retail didn't do so well. That was a very surprising number, at a time when many had hoped the consumer would be strong, driving more people into the stores, causing retailers to hire. They didn't do that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: So Tony, it looks like President Bush hit a lucky streak going into the elections, missing November's anemic performance and having the wind of October's robust job creation at his back.
But even October's number has been revised downward from 337,000 to 303,000. The average workweek was down slightly last month, the hourly wage up a penny to $15.83. And average weekly pay actually fell by $1.25 to $533.47 -- Tony.
HARRIS: A lot of number there, Louise. Thank you. We appreciate it.
SCHIAVONE: Thank you.
HARRIS: Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, those employment numbers aren't exactly cause for celebration on Wall Street. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange for the market reaction -- Rhonda.
(STOCK REPORT)
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up later this hour, what airline is telling its former chiefs there's no such thing as a free ride? We'll tell you which carrier is cracking down and why.
Stay tuned. Lots more LIVE FROM coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 3, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: It's a story that's been breaking for a few minutes now. Live pictures here out of Madrid, Spain. We're being told right now, four explosions rocking the city here. A call coming through, saying it was due to Basque separatists, the terrorist group ETA.
Al Goodman working the story, joins us now live on the phone.
What more do you know? There's a number of reports, Al, saying even up to five explosions.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Yes. You're -- you're live, Al. We finally got connected with you.
GOODMAN: Thank you. Right. I'm on a cell phone and there's spotty coverage, which may be an indication that there are a lot of phone calls being made right at this hour.
Now, we're getting reports here in the last few minutes of a series of explosions being blamed on the Basque separatist group, ETA, on the western and northern flanks of the capital, just as millions of Spaniards across the nation and, certainly, hundreds of thousands in Madrid are heading out for a long holiday weekend.
Some of these bombs have exploded at gas stations on the western side of the capital.
Now, our initial reports do not speak of injuries. And they do speak of low potency bombs, but we are checking to get details on this.
We've heard at least three, possibly four, and there are some reports there may be more than that.
Now earlier this -- there was a warning issued in a newspaper, in the Basque region in northern Spain that typically speaks to -- communiques and statements by the Basque separatist group, ETA, warning that there would be some explosions, and then we have had some explosions -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Now, let's just give -- add a little context. Two questions for you, Al: first of all, the explosions, you're saying they went off in different parts of the city, or is it all pretty much in -- in one condensed area?
GOODMAN: No. These are widely dispersed areas, and they're all -- the initial reports, these are on the outskirts of the city. We have one, it's about six kilometers or -- miles, roughly, on the western side, on a major highway leading between Madrid and Portugal.
We have another in a northwestern suburb. We have another out in the big park called the Cusp Conto (ph), which is on the north -- on the western side of the city. Those three apparently at gas stations.
And we have another one possibly out near the racetrack -- racetrack. So not in the city center, but certainly outside.
Now, the ETA group is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Authorities have led the public to believe that ETA really was on its back recently, because its top leadership was arrested in France. And police recently have seized huge weapons caches, bomb making equipment, guns, thousands and thousands of rounds of ammunition. So this is coming, perhaps, as a surprise to Spaniards this night -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And Al, you talk about ETA and just the Basque terrorism in Spain. It can be traced all the way back to 1968. But most recently, what connections do we know about between ETA and Al Qaeda?
GOODMAN: Well, that has been very much debated. The police believe that the Madrid train bombings, March 11 that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500, all the evidence at this point in the courts and according to the police, points to Islamic terrorists.
But the Conservative Popular Party, which was in power when the bombs hit and has now in the opposition, has been really hammering away, saying there's got to be some link between Basque ETA and the Islamic terrorists, even though the police and the courts haven't found that evidence.
And that has really been hot political debate in Spain, just earlier this week, for instance, when the former prime minister said so in Parliament -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Al Goodman, reporting to us live out of Madrid, Spain, there. Al, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow this story.
If you're just tuning in, once again, our Al Goodman confirming four, possibly five explosions rocking the area of Madrid. He's saying they happened in areas kind of outside of the city, near a main highway, a suburb, a park, some gas stations, and also one possibly near a racetrack. ETA, the terrorist separatist group connected there in Spain, claiming responsibility, possibly for these explosions. It's a story we'll follow from now and throughout the newscast.
Other stories we're following: the high court has spoken and the masses are cheering in Kiev. After five days of hearing, 11 days of nonstop demonstrations in the streets, the Supreme Court of Ukraine says that hugely controversial runoff election ran afoul of the law.
The justices threw out the nominal victory of the sitting prime minister and called for a revote December 26. We get the very latest from CNN's Jill Dougherty now -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I can tell you there is a big party on the streets of Kiev tonight with these opposition demonstrators. They are really ecstatic and some even in tears over this decision by the court.
What the court said was the election that was held back on November 21 -- that was a runoff election -- was filled with massive and systematic violations. So it threw that out, nullified it and said there has to be new elections.
Those new elections, by the way, will be held by December 26, and the same candidates, Viktor Yushchenko, who is the opposition candidate, the western-leaning candidate, and the prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych.
The polls right now, Kyra, looking very, very good for the opposition candidate. So this is a big win for them as they move on to new elections.
PHILLIPS: Jill, one quick question. And that is, as we see these videotapes, actually, right now of Yushchenko. And there's been this talk of the fact that he might have been poisoned by the other party running up against him, a lot of controversy about that, whether he's sick, whether he was poisoned.
Have you heard anything more? Have you been able to work that side of the story?
DOUGHERTY: You know, we actually did an interview with him, and we asked him directly, Kyra, what's the latest on this?
Because remember, Mr. Yushchenko said that he believed that there was an attempt to poison him, that they used some very, very powerful chemical, his political enemies, to try to kill him.
And if you see this man, he was a very attractive man, just a few months ago. And the switch was overnight. His face is all kind of scarred, pockmarked, and he's a very changed man.
So the latest, he said, is that they were analyzing about 200 different poisons, and they found two that might be used. I have to point out, though, that they did an investigation in the Parliament and found no evidence that he had been poisoned. So this is a very controversial thing.
But there's no question that Viktor Yushchenko looks completely different from what he looked like just a few months ago.
PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, reporting live from Kiev, Ukraine. Thanks.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: Desperate times -- desperate times, deadly measures. From Baghdad to Mosul to Falluja, more than 40 people, all of them thought to be Iraqis, are dead in a series attacks and firefights that the government attributes to growing desperation among the enemies of democracy.
CNN's Karl Penhaul fills us in from his post in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just after dawn, the first prayers of the day at the Shiite mosque in north Baghdad. Police say four suicide bombers rammed a minibus laden with explosives into the building.
Prayer goers blood in a pool on the street, charred remains of the bomb and its target.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): the car bomb exploded at 6 or 5:45 a.m., burning this car and the house. When the people gathered to put out the fire, the car exploded again, and the bodies of the victims covered the street.
PENHAUL: The bombers and at least 14 worshipers died, some 20 others wounded. A district police chief accused Sunni insurgents of trying to stoke sectarian strife.
A few hundred yards away, gunmen unleashed a volley of rockets at a police station. No casualties were reported.
At almost exactly the same time, insurgents traveling in 11 cars overran another police station in southwest Baghdad alongside the strategic airport road. Police chiefs say the insurgents killed at least 11 police and wounded others. Twenty prisoners were freed from police cells and are now on the run.
MAHMOUD SHAKIR, EYEWITNESS (through translator): At 6 a.m. the police station was attacked. I couldn't see what happened due to the chaos and turmoil.
PENHAUL: On an Islamic web site, affiliates of the Al Qaeda- linked Abu Musab Al Zarqawi network claimed responsibility for the strikes. There was no independent confirmation.
(on camera) Interior ministry officials say they believe that growing numbers of insurgents from different factions are filtering into Baghdad from outlying areas to fight a joint campaign.
SABAH KADHIM, IRAQI INTERIOR MINISTER: It is the people who feel like part of the Saddam groups, the criminal elements, together with the Islamic desperadoes, who want chaos. And therefore, I think this unholy alliance is coordinating its activities.
PENHAUL (voice-over): At still almost two months to go before the elects, it seems clear there's still plenty of fighting to be done if the ballot is to be held in peace.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now to Mosul, where at least a dozen insurgents are dead in the wake of the bloodiest violence in weeks.
CNN's Nic Robertson tells us of a carefully planned attack on a U.S. patrol and a blunt response by U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements. No word on deaths or serious injuries among the soldiers.
And in Falluja, two insurgents are presumed dead after an explosion in the house they were hiding in during a firefight. The blast was apparently from an ammo stash, and the resulting fire spread to the house next door, which had been occupied by innocent civilians. They were brought out before the insurgent's house was attacked.
PHILLIPS: The top cop at Ground Zero on 9/11 is President Bush's choice to head up homeland security. He's former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve tells us more about him -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the switch from Tom Ridge to Bernard Kerik is, as one person says, sort of like going from Mister Rogers to Mr. T. Ridge always calm and measured, Kerik with a reputation for being hard-nosed and blunt.
President Bush announced Kerik's nomination this morning at the White House, noting that Kerik's experience as New York police commissioner on 9/11 would guide him on the job.
Kerik echoed the sentiment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNARD KERIK, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: The memory of those courageous souls and the horrors I saw inflicted upon our proud nation will serve as permanent reminders of the awesome responsibility you place in my charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Kerik is well known to President Bush from 9/11 and from work on the Bush campaign. After the invasion of Iraq, he had a part in training the police force there.
But he is best known for his very close association with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who administration officials say, lobbied on his behalf for the homeland post.
New York's two senators, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, though Democrats, are expressing support.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Bernie's a straight shooter. He's a vintage New Yorker. And I think that's refreshing in a cabinet. He won't be terribly political, but he'll try to do the right thing. And I believe he'll fight hard to make homeland security a higher priority, and the nation needs it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: But questions are being raised by some people in the homeland security community about whether Kerik has the skill set for the homeland job.
They ask if managing the 40,000-member police department in New York is adequate preparation for managing had the 180,000 employees of the very diverse Department of Homeland Security.
They also wonder how his straight-shooting style is going to go over in Washington's halls of power. One source familiar with Kerik's style said he is either going to energize the bureaucracy, or he is going to atomize it.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much.
And whoever carries the homeland security portfolio had better have a strong back. Cobbled together post-September 11, the executive branch's newest department comprises 180,000 workers, as Jeanne said, from 22 separate agencies.
Those include the Border and Transportation Security Office, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service.
Now, in just a few minutes we're going to hear more about Kerik from an old friend and colleague, who's also named Bernard. Former L.A. police chief, current L.A. city councilman, Bernard Parks joins me momentarily right here on LIVE FROM.
HARRIS: And meanwhile, the resignations keep coming. The latest from health and human services secretary, former Wisconsin governor, Tommy Thompson. He'll make his intentions public in a news conference scheduled for the top of the hour, and you will see it here on CNN.
And he's scarcely unpacked, but U.N. ambassador, John Danforth, is going home, too. The former Missouri senator and ordained Episcopal priest took the U.N. job when John Negroponte left to run the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in July. Danforth tells the Oval Office he wants to spend more time with his ailing wife. PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, as his friends and family members talk about what a great guy he is, but will it be enough to save Scott Peterson's life? We're live from the California courthouse where his emotional defense is underway.
And steroid scandal, revelations about record-breaking slugger Barry Bonds.
HARRIS: And just ahead, Los Angeles former police chief talks about the challenges ahead for Bernard Kerik at the Department of Homeland Defense (sic).
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HARRIS: From southern California comes what sources are calling the richest settlement to date in the sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church.
CNN's Drew Griffin reports the Diocese of Orange County is giving out more than money, and both sides are already reaping dividends.
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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a late night settlement, an agreement to end a two-and-a-half-year court battle. Several of the 87 sexual abuse victims who waited outside the courtroom were told late last night the church that stole their innocence is sorry.
BISHOP TOD BROWN, DIOCESE OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: I intend to write a letter to each victim personally, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation.
Let me also take this opportunity to once again extend on behalf of the Diocese of Orange and myself, a sincere apology, a request for forgive forgiveness, a heartfelt hope for reconciliation and healing.
GRIFFIN: What followed that statement from Orange County Bishop Tod Brown was unexpected. The victims, people who were molested by 43 Catholic priests, nuns, teachers, even a choir director, hugged and thanked the bishop for acknowledging their pain.
DAVID GUERRERO, ABUSE VICTIM: For once them coming in tonight and settling these cases and apologizing, and for Bishop Brown saying that he's going to handwrite a letter of apology to each and every victim, I mean, I couldn't stop crying.
GRIFFIN (on camera): The survivors themselves hugging the bishop, congratulating him, for what, John? Why?
JOHN MANLY, VICTIMS' ATTORNEY: I think -- I think it reflects the point that all these people ever wanted was to be believed. And tonight, what you have is a concrete demonstration by him that it did happen and he's sorry.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Sources say it will be at least seven days before the exact dollar amounts are released.
BROWN: No question. We can't answer any questions.
GRIFFIN: But abuse survivor Joelle Casteix says the money is only secondary. What she says will be most important in this settlement are the documents yet to come and the truth yet to be told.
JOELLE CASTEIX, ABUSE VICTIM: People tend to think that perhaps things aren't as bad as it's portrayed in the press, but the truth is, it's a hundred times worse than anyone ever imagined. And when those documents get out, it will be a very great day for survivors and a very interesting day for the Catholic Church.
GRIFFIN (on camera): That interesting day could come within the week, when details of the settlement, along with the possible release of documents, comes out. As for who pays, the Roman Catholic Church of Orange, along with its eight insurance carriers.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Live pictures now in Kiev, Ukraine. You're seeing this as it happens. Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in front of what has continued to be -- it's the 11th day, actually, now of these demonstrations.
As the high court has finally spoken in Kiev, saying that five days later, during these hearings, the Supreme Court of Ukraine now has decided that there will be a runoff election -- or another election, rather, since the runoff election ran afoul, not too long ago, almost two weeks.
Justices have thrown out the nominal victory of the sitting prime minister and now called for a revote, a revote that will happen December 26.
As can you see, still, thousands of opposition supporters still fill Independence Square there in Kiev as the opposition leader right now, Viktor Yushchenko, speaks to them and thanks them for their encouragement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, jobs in America: employers not hiring as many workers as expected. What does it mean for the economy?
Later on LIVE FROM, selling your secrets. Find out what others can find out about you with a mouse click and a credit card.
Monday on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like this and it's like that. It was power through what now they call the rap (ph).
PHILLIPS: ... get ready for the war of words with the cast of Def Poetry Jam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got no funk in James Brown (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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HARRIS: U.S. job growth hit the brakes last month and a new Labor Department report is also backpedaling on some earlier statistics, cutting the numbers reported for September and October.
One contributing factor behind the November numbers is the loss of 16,000 jobs in the retail sector.
CNN's Louise Schiavone in Washington with news that is not likely to spread much holiday cheer.
Hi, Louise.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
The unemployment rate dipped slightly in November, but jobs creation fell short of expectations. November unemployment fell to 5.4 percent, down a tenth of a percent, with 112,000 jobs created. That's at least 70,000 less than analysts had anticipated.
The Bush administration is touting the numbers as signs of slow but steady growth, but acknowledges that, to a certain degree, energy prices, the cost of health care and a skills gap are holding back employment growth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAINE CHAO, LABOR SECRETARY: There's a concern about finding workers with the right skills. And that's why we at the Department of Labor and this administration are so focused on helping incumbent workers and dislocated workers gain the training that they need to get good paying jobs in high growth sectors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: Among the strongest sectors, leisure and hospitality, with 34,000 new jobs. Health care and social assistance, up 28,000. Also posting new jobs, computer and architectural design, mortgage and commercial banking and construction.
But manufacturing lost 5,000 jobs and, reflecting poor November sales, the retail sector lost roughly 16,000 jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CHALLENGER, CHALLENGER, GRAY AND CHRISTMAS: Areas like retail didn't do so well. That was a very surprising number, at a time when many had hoped the consumer would be strong, driving more people into the stores, causing retailers to hire. They didn't do that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: So Tony, it looks like President Bush hit a lucky streak going into the elections, missing November's anemic performance and having the wind of October's robust job creation at his back.
But even October's number has been revised downward from 337,000 to 303,000. The average workweek was down slightly last month, the hourly wage up a penny to $15.83. And average weekly pay actually fell by $1.25 to $533.47 -- Tony.
HARRIS: A lot of number there, Louise. Thank you. We appreciate it.
SCHIAVONE: Thank you.
HARRIS: Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, those employment numbers aren't exactly cause for celebration on Wall Street. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange for the market reaction -- Rhonda.
(STOCK REPORT)
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up later this hour, what airline is telling its former chiefs there's no such thing as a free ride? We'll tell you which carrier is cracking down and why.
Stay tuned. Lots more LIVE FROM coming right up.
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