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CNN Live Today

Officials Ask Americans to be on Alert; Security Questions Remain in Iraq; Boston Archdiocese to Close 65 Parishes; Despite Cannes Award, Moore Film Struggles for U.S. Distribution

Aired May 26, 2004 - 11:00   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.


DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: It is 11 a.m. in Washington, 10 a.m. in Des Plaines, Illinois, 7 p.m. in Baghdad. We're at CNN Center in Atlanta. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Up first on CNN, America on alert, yet again. Officials are warning about the possibility of a major attack in the U.S. from terrorists already inside the country. Sources say that intelligence indicates an attack could come as early as this summer.

Jeanne Meserve is in Washington with more.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

In a news conference this afternoon, knowledgeable sources say the attorney general and FBI director plan to release photographs of seven individuals authorities want to talk to in connection with counterterrorism investigations.

We are told that all of these "be on the lookouts," of BOLOs, will be for people the U.S. has sought before. Perhaps among them, Aaafia Siddiqi, a 32-year-old Pakistani woman, and Adnan El Shukri, a Saudi in his late 20s.

Both of their names have come up in interviews with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.

The FBI is also expected to issue guidance today with state and local law enforcement partners in its regular FBI bulletin. This, as intelligence continues to come in about the possibility of strikes this summer, intelligence which some officials describe as highly credible, but not specific, as to time, place, or method.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: There's continued reporting. Some reporting says that there are multiple attacks that may occur in the next couple months. Some -- most of them are very, very unspecific in terms of when.

Just, again, general threat reporting against the United States is not really news for those of us who look at the threat reports every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Secretary Ridge says there is no plan to increase the threat level.

And officials say this morning there are no plans to ramp up the already unprecedented security around the dedication of the World War II memorial this weekend.

That is the first in a series of events this summer that had already revved up security. Coupled with concerns that terrorists might want to disrupt the U.S. political process, as they did in Spain.

More details expected in that 2 p.m. news conference with Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: So Jeanne, no time, no date, no target, no raising the threat level. What is the public supposed to do with this, besides just get scared?

MESERVE: Well, what they want people to do is keep their eyes open. At times like this they are always saying the best defense is to have everybody on the lookout for things that look suspicious and to report anything they do see that looks out of the ordinary to local law enforcement. That will be the message again today from federal officials.

KAGAN: And we'll have that news conference live here on CNN. Jeanne Meserve in Washington, thank you.

More information on that now. A report today says that al Qaeda may have as many as 18,000 operatives in 60 countries, many right here in the U.S. That is according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Earlier on CNN, the head of the group's U.S. division talked about the warnings of a possible attack inside this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERENCE TAYLOR, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: What has been happening over the past two years or so is that the terrorist groups, which is a network of networks, if you like, some groups acting on their own initiative, have been carrying out attacks against opportunity targets.

With the exception of Madrid and Spain, they've been against targets in Turkey, for example, in Morocco, in Bali, and Indonesia where targets of opportunity show up.

But of course, the overall strategic objective is an attack on major western powers and their interests, of course, in the Islamic world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The report says the war in Iraq may have helped al Qaeda attract more recruits.

Stay with CNN. As I was mentioning, we'll see the news conference with John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller -- Mueller, there you go -- live today, 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific.

And later this hour, join us for more insight on terror and the potential threat. I will talk with the senior analyst for defense and national security, Jack Spencer.

It is 35 days until the handover in Iraq. Today's developments now.

Masked gunmen opened fire on a bus full of Russian civilian contractors who were traveling to work. Officials say two are dead, five are wounded. They were ambushed south of Baghdad.

The Russian company employing the contractors says it will evacuate all of its staff from Iraq.

Laboratory tests confirm an artillery shell found recently in a roadside incident contained the nerve agent sarin. The shell was discovered 11 days ago near Baghdad.

The State Department could raise the bounty for Abu Musab al- Zarqawi from $10 million to $25 million. The Jordanian allegedly has links to al Qaeda and is suspected of a string of anti-U.S. attacks, including the beheading of American Nicholas Berg.

And U.S. forces are questioning a top aide to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Soldiers arrested the man during an overnight raid in Najaf.

The violence in Iraq raises some questions to be addressed before June 30. A central issue over the Iraqi handover, who will be in control.

More on that and military matters. Let's bring in our Barbara Starr, who is at the Pentagon.

Barbara, good morning, once again.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, indeed, with just a few weeks to go before that turnover of sovereignty, it is becoming crunch time. A lot of questions. Who will be in charge, the coalition military forces or Iraqi military forces after June 30? And what if there is a disagreement about how to proceed out on the battlefield?

Well, earlier today in Baghdad, an acknowledgement that an awful lot still remains to be worked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: It has not been firmly established in the post-30 June environment what the relationship will be.

Broadly, it will be a partnership. Just like we have the coalition partners. Right now, we have a multinational force with a multinational force commander. Every country that contributes to the coalition is part of that force.

In this case it could well be that Iraq is considered another coalition partner. But just because you are part of that coalition does not bind you to every decision made by the coalition commander.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But a lot of questions, obviously. There is a general acknowledgement that, if the Iraqis were to ask the coalition to leave their country, the coalition would do that, although officials here in Washington say they don't believe that's going to happen.

Also that new proposed U.S.-British U.N. resolution may now be amended, we are told, so that the Iraqis can request a review at anytime of the military presence in their country.

And while President Bush has not detailed an exit date for U.S. and coalition forces from Iraq, as recently as yesterday, the interim Iraqi defense minister said he believed that coalition forces would be out of his country within a matter of months, not years.

So Daryn, you can see an awful lot of opinions from every side -- Daryn.

KAGAN: A lot is happening very quickly with that June 30 handover date looming oh so quickly. Thank you so much, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Talk now about that recent discovery of sarin in an artillery shell. It's not quite a smoking gun for experts seeking and searching for weapons of destruction in Iraq, but it's still a cause for concern.

In an interview with our David Ensor, the CIA's chief weapons inspector says that people who use that explosive device may not have actually known what they had. But they know now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES DUELFER, CIA CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: It may well be that those who made this improvised explosive device did not know what they had. My guess is they probably did not.

As you say, they are not marked. They are not distinguished. They are old. But where there was one, there may be more.

Those -- because of the publicity, it was well known now that at least there is one. And those who got this one may go back and find more, if there are more and then use them in the future in a more -- in a more devious way. The components, which make up sarin, conceivably could be mixed in a much more dangerous way if they knew that they had them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Duelfer added that in terms of actual stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, none has been found so far.

We are at eight minutes past the hour.

Church doors are closing for good, and it's happening all over the Boston archdiocese. You'll find out why and where they're closing. We're taking a look next.

Also, he was hired by the circus to entertain children. But police say this clown was doing to them -- and what he was doing to children was no laughing matter.

And later, it's Hollywood's hot potato. But is Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" genius or is it hype? We'll talk to someone who has seen it, who was at Cannes for all of that hype.

CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here in Georgia, a noxious cloud laced with chlorine continues to bedevil some suburbs east of Atlanta. Fire officials say they're making progress against a fire. This is at a company that makes swimming pool chemicals.

The blaze broke out more than 24 hours ago. Four hundred people were evacuated. They have since been allowed back into their homes.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials say they may never know what caused the fire, because it has just been burning that intensely.

And now to Massachusetts. That is where Catholics at dozens of churches are coping with disappointment, sadness and anger. The archdiocese of Boston has announced plans to close 65 parishes.

Detail now from CNN's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fate of Catholic parishes in Boston's archdiocese came sealed in a FedEx envelope. For parishioners in 65 of the 357 churches...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, God, give us back our church. LOTHIAN: ... the message was painful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Says this parish must close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The St. Albert the Great (ph) parish must close.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did everything for the church, and now I have nothing.

LOTHIAN: This is all part of what the archdiocese calls a massive restructuring, prompted in part by a shortage of priests, declining attendance and donations.

ARCHBISHOP SEAN O'MALLEY, ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON: I wish there were some way that all of these wonderful houses of life and prayer could remain open and alive and full, but there is not.

LOTHIAN: Archbishop Sean O'Malley called the closures necessary for the future health of the church.

But many who gathered at their churches to hear the news were angry, lost in the memory of baptism, first communions, and marriages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I personally feel betrayed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not give one dime any more to the archdiocese.

LOTHIAN: Some vowed to appeal. Others at this parish in the Boston suburb of Deadam (ph) talked about going it alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I say give here. Let's be independent.

LOTHIAN: The archdiocese, already bruised by the clergy sex abuse scandal, says the closures are not connected.

But Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented many of the abused victims and continues to file lawsuits, says the church is paying a price for the past.

MITCHELL GARABEDIAN, ATTORNEY FOR CLERGY SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: It's the result of so much evil happening over so many years.

LOTHIAN: In fact, some blame the scandal for the decrease in donations and shortage of priests, now resulting in closures.

On a day filled with tears of sadness, there were also tears of joy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't it great? It's great.

LOTHIAN: The letter that arrived here had a much more positive message. This church, like nearly 300 others, will not be closing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank God for little favors and prayers. I believe in prayers.

LOTHIAN (on camera): While some doors might be closing, they're not locked yet. It will be a rolling process over the next two to six months.

And there are still some options. Priests will be able to appeal to the archbishop, and if denied there, can take it all the way to the Vatican. But they must hard issues, not just a desire to stay open.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: This is the part of the program where we like to show you what the top click was, the top pick of many readers on CNN.com. Check this out, police officials are saying beware of this clown, Spanky.

He worked for Ringling Brothers Circus. He was arrested on child porn charges. Police say they have linked Spanky, whose real name is Thomas Riccio, to a European company suspected of dealing in child porn on the Internet.

That and a search of Riccio's computer turned up thousands images of young children engaged in sexual acts.

And that was the top pick of readers on CNN.com.

No rest for the wet in the Midwest, even if they are weary. Trying to mop up the mess from Mother Nature. That is next, the latest on the weather forecast.

And from water to fire, a firestorm of controversy. Just how far does Michael Moore's new documentary go? We will talk to someone who has seen it and tell us more about how you might or might not see it here in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Officials in Haiti say at least 200 people were killed by flooding near the border with the Dominican Republic. More than 150 others are missing after floodwaters swept away entire neighborhoods. That happened early Monday.

Dozens of unclaimed bodies were placed in a mass grave. International peacekeepers are expected in the region today to help coordinate emergency aid.

In the U.S., parts of the Midwest are also bailing out. The Des Plaines River crested in the town of Gurnee, Illinois at 11 and a half feet. That is just shy of the record. It will probably be several days before the area can begin to dry out.

Waters are still rising downstream in the town of Des Plaines.

(WEATHER REPORT) KAGAN: Storm clouds still surround the controversial new film from Michael Moore, despite receiving the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

It's called "Fahrenheit 911." Moore indicts the policies of the Bush administration in scenes like these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER (voice-over): In his first eight months in office before September 11, George W. Bush was on vacation, according to "The Washington Post," 42 percent of the time.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATS: If I hit every shot that good, people will say I wasn't working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Peter Herbst is editor-in-chief of "Premiere" magazine. He was in Cannes. He saw the film. Now he's in New York with thoughts on Moore's movie and where it goes from here.

Peter, good morning.

PETER HERBST, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "PREMIERE": Hi, nice to be here.

KAGAN: The reports from Cannes was this thing was huge. Standing ovations. People couldn't even get in to enough screenings to see it. Was it really that big of a deal?

HERBST: It was a big deal. It was the biggest deal at Cannes. I was at one of the press screenings. They had to hold two separate press screenings for the overflow crowd.

And then the black tie official screening, he received a 20- minute standing ovation, which is the longest ovation, I believe, in the history of Cannes.

KAGAN: Moore has his supporters. He has his detractors. Roger Ebert gave this movie a good review, but called him usually a "muckraking wise ass."

How good is this movie, as a movie?

HERBST: Well, I think it's a very entertaining, and a very moving movie. I'm not the biggest Michael Moore fan. I had problems with "Bowling for Columbine." I think that he can be manipulative.

But this movie puts it all together. It's an argument. He's a great cinematic rhetorician, and it's an argument about the origins, the prosecution and the consequences of the war in Iraq, very well done.

KAGAN: I can see a lot of conservatives and Republicans just rolling their eyes rolling, just going, you know, "This is just liberal Hollywood, making hooray for somebody that's pushing their agenda."

HERBST: Well, Michael Moore is not of Hollywood. He's from Flint, Michigan. And he's a populist who has a real following. So I think it's a little more dangerous than people may think.

But it's going to have -- people who don't like the policies in Iraq are going to flock to this film. And I think people who are on the fence about it may be influenced, and it could have an effect on the election.

KAGAN: OK. Well, it could, if the movie is seen. And the whole story behind the distribution or lack of distribution here in the U.S. is an entirely separate story. Where does that stand right now?

HERBST: Well, I'm confident that the film will find distribution. There are a number of studios. When I was in Cannes, and I was walking through the old city, there were studio executives on the phone bidding for distribution of this film. People really want to distribute it.

Disney and Miramax have to work out their difference, then Miramax has to give the distribution to one of these companies. And I know Michael Moore wants it to be seen by July 2 and to have the DVD come out before the election.

I think that where there's money to be made -- "Bowling for Columbine" was the biggest grossing documentary of all time. This will be much bigger. This will be sort of "The Passion of the Christ" for the left, liberal crowd. I think that, where there's money to be made, somebody will distribute it.

KAGAN: You can't -- Is that number, is that date, July 2, is that realistic?

HERBST: I have no idea. I know it's what Michael Moore wants. I don't see why -- The film's finished, so once a deal is struck there's no reason why it can't find -- this is not going to be in big theaters. It will be in art house distribution, some regular channels.

Although it could get big and bigger. It could be "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It's hard to tell.

KAGAN: That would be one way to look at it. And there's no price tag that Michael Moore can put on all the publicity that's gone around with the lack of distribution.

HERBST: Right.

KAGAN: So it's kind of worked out in his favor. Peter Herbst, thank you so much for stopping by.

HERBST: Been my pleasure.

KAGAN: Voting is serious business. That is why more and more businesses are serious about having their employees vote. We'll take a look at that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines at this hour.

In Pakistan, a police officer is dead and almost two dozen are hurt following three explosions that shook Karachi. The blasts are believed to be car bombs that came about 25 minutes apart. Both were near the residence of the American consul general.

The U.S. and its reporters in the war on terror are sacrificing human rights in the pursuit of their agenda. That rebuke from an Amnesty International report that is being released this morning. The group says the war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place.

Convicted D.C. area sniper John Allen Mohammad is already on Death Row, but he will soon face a second death penalty trial. The chief prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia, says that he will try Muhammad for the fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside of the Home Depot.

Muhammad's teenage accomplice is serving a life sentence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FANTASIA BARRINO, "AMERICAN IDOL" FINALIST: Nice to be here in front of all these people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The nation and perhaps the world, in some way, is waiting to greet its new "American Idol." The winner will be announced during tonight's two-hour special. Finalists Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia Barrino, they came, they sang, and they charmed the audiences with big performances last night.

The U.S. government believes the risk of a terror attack in the U.S. is growing stronger. Pictures of people who might be planning such attacks might be made public just a few hours from right now, about two and a half hours.

Jack Spencer is with the Heritage Foundation, where he is a senior policy analyst on defense and national security issues. And he has some insights into the latest warnings.

Jack, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

JACK SPENCER, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Great to be here.

KAGAN: So we're expecting this news conference about two and a half hours from now, John Ashcroft, Robert Mueller.

We are told there will be no announcement of a time, date or target, and yet they're telling people to be aware. What are people supposed to do with that?

SPENCER: Well, it's a sign in the times in which we live. We need to understand it. We are going to have these warnings every now and again. The reality is, if they had a specific time, and a place and a target, then more than likely, they wouldn't be telling us about it; they'd go out and prevent it. But instead, what they have an increase in what's called chatter. Where they're getting more information fed into them that leads them to believe that there is going to be another attack, but they don't have the specifics.

So what these warnings are meant to do is to put not necessarily every public citizen on alert, but those police officers and our public officials on alert so they can keep their eyes up, hopefully pick up that information, that one sign, perhaps, or that one clue, that they can then feed back to the authorities so that something can be prevented, and perhaps dissuade a terrorist from carrying out an attack to begin with. If they feel that the authorities are on to them, they could just not carry out the attack.

KAGAN: They're also not going to raise the terror alert. That's going to remain at yellow for now. But they are going to release these photos of these people, BOLO -- be on the outlook -- be on the lookout for. These are people who have been around before, photos perhaps that have already been distributed, or names that have already been on suspicious lists?

SPENCER: Yes. Apparently, they have been on lists before, but apparently, some of the detainees, the al Qaeda detainees, have mentioned these people independently, and that's one of the reasons why the alert is going out, so they can find them, and whether or not those people specifically are believed to be undertaking some sort of attack or plan. Perhaps they have knowledge of those who will. Perhaps they can be the key to preventing the next attack.

KAGAN: There are two thoughts going out there. There are a lot of big events over the summer -- the two big political convention, the G-8 summit, the Sea Isle (ph) in Georgia. So something might happen over the summer, but also the thought that perhaps something might happen before the presidential election in November. The thought that al Qaeda could believe it could affect this election like it believes it affected the one in Spain.

But this is a different situation. This -- you have two candidates that are both committed to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. It's not like if one wins, that's going to change the direction of what America does there.

SPENCER: Well, you do have one president who has a number of years of history of prosecuting the war on terrorism, then you have a candidate who has been very critical of that prosecution. So in the eyes of terrorists, I think that there could be some substantial differences.

But even though there are a lot of high-level events scheduled for this summer, even though we have the election, the reality is a terror strike could happen at anytime. The reality is that the world in which we live, until the war on terrorism has been won, we could get these increases in chatter, these increases in information at anytime. And we need to be prepared for an attack at anytime, be there a presidential election, or convention or Olympics coming up, or perhaps it's just another day.

KAGAN: Jack Spencer, thanks for your insight this morning.

SPENCER: Thank you.

KAGAN: And once again, that news conference will be at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific. John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller.

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 May 26, 2004 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: It is 11 a.m. in Washington, 10 a.m. in Des Plaines, Illinois, 7 p.m. in Baghdad. We're at CNN Center in Atlanta. Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Up first on CNN, America on alert, yet again. Officials are warning about the possibility of a major attack in the U.S. from terrorists already inside the country. Sources say that intelligence indicates an attack could come as early as this summer.

Jeanne Meserve is in Washington with more.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

In a news conference this afternoon, knowledgeable sources say the attorney general and FBI director plan to release photographs of seven individuals authorities want to talk to in connection with counterterrorism investigations.

We are told that all of these "be on the lookouts," of BOLOs, will be for people the U.S. has sought before. Perhaps among them, Aaafia Siddiqi, a 32-year-old Pakistani woman, and Adnan El Shukri, a Saudi in his late 20s.

Both of their names have come up in interviews with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.

The FBI is also expected to issue guidance today with state and local law enforcement partners in its regular FBI bulletin. This, as intelligence continues to come in about the possibility of strikes this summer, intelligence which some officials describe as highly credible, but not specific, as to time, place, or method.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: There's continued reporting. Some reporting says that there are multiple attacks that may occur in the next couple months. Some -- most of them are very, very unspecific in terms of when.

Just, again, general threat reporting against the United States is not really news for those of us who look at the threat reports every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Secretary Ridge says there is no plan to increase the threat level.

And officials say this morning there are no plans to ramp up the already unprecedented security around the dedication of the World War II memorial this weekend.

That is the first in a series of events this summer that had already revved up security. Coupled with concerns that terrorists might want to disrupt the U.S. political process, as they did in Spain.

More details expected in that 2 p.m. news conference with Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: So Jeanne, no time, no date, no target, no raising the threat level. What is the public supposed to do with this, besides just get scared?

MESERVE: Well, what they want people to do is keep their eyes open. At times like this they are always saying the best defense is to have everybody on the lookout for things that look suspicious and to report anything they do see that looks out of the ordinary to local law enforcement. That will be the message again today from federal officials.

KAGAN: And we'll have that news conference live here on CNN. Jeanne Meserve in Washington, thank you.

More information on that now. A report today says that al Qaeda may have as many as 18,000 operatives in 60 countries, many right here in the U.S. That is according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Earlier on CNN, the head of the group's U.S. division talked about the warnings of a possible attack inside this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERENCE TAYLOR, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: What has been happening over the past two years or so is that the terrorist groups, which is a network of networks, if you like, some groups acting on their own initiative, have been carrying out attacks against opportunity targets.

With the exception of Madrid and Spain, they've been against targets in Turkey, for example, in Morocco, in Bali, and Indonesia where targets of opportunity show up.

But of course, the overall strategic objective is an attack on major western powers and their interests, of course, in the Islamic world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The report says the war in Iraq may have helped al Qaeda attract more recruits.

Stay with CNN. As I was mentioning, we'll see the news conference with John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller -- Mueller, there you go -- live today, 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific.

And later this hour, join us for more insight on terror and the potential threat. I will talk with the senior analyst for defense and national security, Jack Spencer.

It is 35 days until the handover in Iraq. Today's developments now.

Masked gunmen opened fire on a bus full of Russian civilian contractors who were traveling to work. Officials say two are dead, five are wounded. They were ambushed south of Baghdad.

The Russian company employing the contractors says it will evacuate all of its staff from Iraq.

Laboratory tests confirm an artillery shell found recently in a roadside incident contained the nerve agent sarin. The shell was discovered 11 days ago near Baghdad.

The State Department could raise the bounty for Abu Musab al- Zarqawi from $10 million to $25 million. The Jordanian allegedly has links to al Qaeda and is suspected of a string of anti-U.S. attacks, including the beheading of American Nicholas Berg.

And U.S. forces are questioning a top aide to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Soldiers arrested the man during an overnight raid in Najaf.

The violence in Iraq raises some questions to be addressed before June 30. A central issue over the Iraqi handover, who will be in control.

More on that and military matters. Let's bring in our Barbara Starr, who is at the Pentagon.

Barbara, good morning, once again.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Well, indeed, with just a few weeks to go before that turnover of sovereignty, it is becoming crunch time. A lot of questions. Who will be in charge, the coalition military forces or Iraqi military forces after June 30? And what if there is a disagreement about how to proceed out on the battlefield?

Well, earlier today in Baghdad, an acknowledgement that an awful lot still remains to be worked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: It has not been firmly established in the post-30 June environment what the relationship will be.

Broadly, it will be a partnership. Just like we have the coalition partners. Right now, we have a multinational force with a multinational force commander. Every country that contributes to the coalition is part of that force.

In this case it could well be that Iraq is considered another coalition partner. But just because you are part of that coalition does not bind you to every decision made by the coalition commander.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But a lot of questions, obviously. There is a general acknowledgement that, if the Iraqis were to ask the coalition to leave their country, the coalition would do that, although officials here in Washington say they don't believe that's going to happen.

Also that new proposed U.S.-British U.N. resolution may now be amended, we are told, so that the Iraqis can request a review at anytime of the military presence in their country.

And while President Bush has not detailed an exit date for U.S. and coalition forces from Iraq, as recently as yesterday, the interim Iraqi defense minister said he believed that coalition forces would be out of his country within a matter of months, not years.

So Daryn, you can see an awful lot of opinions from every side -- Daryn.

KAGAN: A lot is happening very quickly with that June 30 handover date looming oh so quickly. Thank you so much, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Talk now about that recent discovery of sarin in an artillery shell. It's not quite a smoking gun for experts seeking and searching for weapons of destruction in Iraq, but it's still a cause for concern.

In an interview with our David Ensor, the CIA's chief weapons inspector says that people who use that explosive device may not have actually known what they had. But they know now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES DUELFER, CIA CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: It may well be that those who made this improvised explosive device did not know what they had. My guess is they probably did not.

As you say, they are not marked. They are not distinguished. They are old. But where there was one, there may be more.

Those -- because of the publicity, it was well known now that at least there is one. And those who got this one may go back and find more, if there are more and then use them in the future in a more -- in a more devious way. The components, which make up sarin, conceivably could be mixed in a much more dangerous way if they knew that they had them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Duelfer added that in terms of actual stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, none has been found so far.

We are at eight minutes past the hour.

Church doors are closing for good, and it's happening all over the Boston archdiocese. You'll find out why and where they're closing. We're taking a look next.

Also, he was hired by the circus to entertain children. But police say this clown was doing to them -- and what he was doing to children was no laughing matter.

And later, it's Hollywood's hot potato. But is Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" genius or is it hype? We'll talk to someone who has seen it, who was at Cannes for all of that hype.

CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

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(STOCK REPORT)

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KAGAN: Here in Georgia, a noxious cloud laced with chlorine continues to bedevil some suburbs east of Atlanta. Fire officials say they're making progress against a fire. This is at a company that makes swimming pool chemicals.

The blaze broke out more than 24 hours ago. Four hundred people were evacuated. They have since been allowed back into their homes.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials say they may never know what caused the fire, because it has just been burning that intensely.

And now to Massachusetts. That is where Catholics at dozens of churches are coping with disappointment, sadness and anger. The archdiocese of Boston has announced plans to close 65 parishes.

Detail now from CNN's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fate of Catholic parishes in Boston's archdiocese came sealed in a FedEx envelope. For parishioners in 65 of the 357 churches...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, God, give us back our church. LOTHIAN: ... the message was painful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Says this parish must close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The St. Albert the Great (ph) parish must close.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did everything for the church, and now I have nothing.

LOTHIAN: This is all part of what the archdiocese calls a massive restructuring, prompted in part by a shortage of priests, declining attendance and donations.

ARCHBISHOP SEAN O'MALLEY, ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON: I wish there were some way that all of these wonderful houses of life and prayer could remain open and alive and full, but there is not.

LOTHIAN: Archbishop Sean O'Malley called the closures necessary for the future health of the church.

But many who gathered at their churches to hear the news were angry, lost in the memory of baptism, first communions, and marriages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I personally feel betrayed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not give one dime any more to the archdiocese.

LOTHIAN: Some vowed to appeal. Others at this parish in the Boston suburb of Deadam (ph) talked about going it alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I say give here. Let's be independent.

LOTHIAN: The archdiocese, already bruised by the clergy sex abuse scandal, says the closures are not connected.

But Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented many of the abused victims and continues to file lawsuits, says the church is paying a price for the past.

MITCHELL GARABEDIAN, ATTORNEY FOR CLERGY SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: It's the result of so much evil happening over so many years.

LOTHIAN: In fact, some blame the scandal for the decrease in donations and shortage of priests, now resulting in closures.

On a day filled with tears of sadness, there were also tears of joy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't it great? It's great.

LOTHIAN: The letter that arrived here had a much more positive message. This church, like nearly 300 others, will not be closing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank God for little favors and prayers. I believe in prayers.

LOTHIAN (on camera): While some doors might be closing, they're not locked yet. It will be a rolling process over the next two to six months.

And there are still some options. Priests will be able to appeal to the archbishop, and if denied there, can take it all the way to the Vatican. But they must hard issues, not just a desire to stay open.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

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KAGAN: This is the part of the program where we like to show you what the top click was, the top pick of many readers on CNN.com. Check this out, police officials are saying beware of this clown, Spanky.

He worked for Ringling Brothers Circus. He was arrested on child porn charges. Police say they have linked Spanky, whose real name is Thomas Riccio, to a European company suspected of dealing in child porn on the Internet.

That and a search of Riccio's computer turned up thousands images of young children engaged in sexual acts.

And that was the top pick of readers on CNN.com.

No rest for the wet in the Midwest, even if they are weary. Trying to mop up the mess from Mother Nature. That is next, the latest on the weather forecast.

And from water to fire, a firestorm of controversy. Just how far does Michael Moore's new documentary go? We will talk to someone who has seen it and tell us more about how you might or might not see it here in the U.S.

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KAGAN: Officials in Haiti say at least 200 people were killed by flooding near the border with the Dominican Republic. More than 150 others are missing after floodwaters swept away entire neighborhoods. That happened early Monday.

Dozens of unclaimed bodies were placed in a mass grave. International peacekeepers are expected in the region today to help coordinate emergency aid.

In the U.S., parts of the Midwest are also bailing out. The Des Plaines River crested in the town of Gurnee, Illinois at 11 and a half feet. That is just shy of the record. It will probably be several days before the area can begin to dry out.

Waters are still rising downstream in the town of Des Plaines.

(WEATHER REPORT) KAGAN: Storm clouds still surround the controversial new film from Michael Moore, despite receiving the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

It's called "Fahrenheit 911." Moore indicts the policies of the Bush administration in scenes like these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER (voice-over): In his first eight months in office before September 11, George W. Bush was on vacation, according to "The Washington Post," 42 percent of the time.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATS: If I hit every shot that good, people will say I wasn't working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Peter Herbst is editor-in-chief of "Premiere" magazine. He was in Cannes. He saw the film. Now he's in New York with thoughts on Moore's movie and where it goes from here.

Peter, good morning.

PETER HERBST, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "PREMIERE": Hi, nice to be here.

KAGAN: The reports from Cannes was this thing was huge. Standing ovations. People couldn't even get in to enough screenings to see it. Was it really that big of a deal?

HERBST: It was a big deal. It was the biggest deal at Cannes. I was at one of the press screenings. They had to hold two separate press screenings for the overflow crowd.

And then the black tie official screening, he received a 20- minute standing ovation, which is the longest ovation, I believe, in the history of Cannes.

KAGAN: Moore has his supporters. He has his detractors. Roger Ebert gave this movie a good review, but called him usually a "muckraking wise ass."

How good is this movie, as a movie?

HERBST: Well, I think it's a very entertaining, and a very moving movie. I'm not the biggest Michael Moore fan. I had problems with "Bowling for Columbine." I think that he can be manipulative.

But this movie puts it all together. It's an argument. He's a great cinematic rhetorician, and it's an argument about the origins, the prosecution and the consequences of the war in Iraq, very well done.

KAGAN: I can see a lot of conservatives and Republicans just rolling their eyes rolling, just going, you know, "This is just liberal Hollywood, making hooray for somebody that's pushing their agenda."

HERBST: Well, Michael Moore is not of Hollywood. He's from Flint, Michigan. And he's a populist who has a real following. So I think it's a little more dangerous than people may think.

But it's going to have -- people who don't like the policies in Iraq are going to flock to this film. And I think people who are on the fence about it may be influenced, and it could have an effect on the election.

KAGAN: OK. Well, it could, if the movie is seen. And the whole story behind the distribution or lack of distribution here in the U.S. is an entirely separate story. Where does that stand right now?

HERBST: Well, I'm confident that the film will find distribution. There are a number of studios. When I was in Cannes, and I was walking through the old city, there were studio executives on the phone bidding for distribution of this film. People really want to distribute it.

Disney and Miramax have to work out their difference, then Miramax has to give the distribution to one of these companies. And I know Michael Moore wants it to be seen by July 2 and to have the DVD come out before the election.

I think that where there's money to be made -- "Bowling for Columbine" was the biggest grossing documentary of all time. This will be much bigger. This will be sort of "The Passion of the Christ" for the left, liberal crowd. I think that, where there's money to be made, somebody will distribute it.

KAGAN: You can't -- Is that number, is that date, July 2, is that realistic?

HERBST: I have no idea. I know it's what Michael Moore wants. I don't see why -- The film's finished, so once a deal is struck there's no reason why it can't find -- this is not going to be in big theaters. It will be in art house distribution, some regular channels.

Although it could get big and bigger. It could be "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It's hard to tell.

KAGAN: That would be one way to look at it. And there's no price tag that Michael Moore can put on all the publicity that's gone around with the lack of distribution.

HERBST: Right.

KAGAN: So it's kind of worked out in his favor. Peter Herbst, thank you so much for stopping by.

HERBST: Been my pleasure.

KAGAN: Voting is serious business. That is why more and more businesses are serious about having their employees vote. We'll take a look at that next.

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KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines at this hour.

In Pakistan, a police officer is dead and almost two dozen are hurt following three explosions that shook Karachi. The blasts are believed to be car bombs that came about 25 minutes apart. Both were near the residence of the American consul general.

The U.S. and its reporters in the war on terror are sacrificing human rights in the pursuit of their agenda. That rebuke from an Amnesty International report that is being released this morning. The group says the war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place.

Convicted D.C. area sniper John Allen Mohammad is already on Death Row, but he will soon face a second death penalty trial. The chief prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia, says that he will try Muhammad for the fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside of the Home Depot.

Muhammad's teenage accomplice is serving a life sentence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FANTASIA BARRINO, "AMERICAN IDOL" FINALIST: Nice to be here in front of all these people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The nation and perhaps the world, in some way, is waiting to greet its new "American Idol." The winner will be announced during tonight's two-hour special. Finalists Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia Barrino, they came, they sang, and they charmed the audiences with big performances last night.

The U.S. government believes the risk of a terror attack in the U.S. is growing stronger. Pictures of people who might be planning such attacks might be made public just a few hours from right now, about two and a half hours.

Jack Spencer is with the Heritage Foundation, where he is a senior policy analyst on defense and national security issues. And he has some insights into the latest warnings.

Jack, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

JACK SPENCER, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Great to be here.

KAGAN: So we're expecting this news conference about two and a half hours from now, John Ashcroft, Robert Mueller.

We are told there will be no announcement of a time, date or target, and yet they're telling people to be aware. What are people supposed to do with that?

SPENCER: Well, it's a sign in the times in which we live. We need to understand it. We are going to have these warnings every now and again. The reality is, if they had a specific time, and a place and a target, then more than likely, they wouldn't be telling us about it; they'd go out and prevent it. But instead, what they have an increase in what's called chatter. Where they're getting more information fed into them that leads them to believe that there is going to be another attack, but they don't have the specifics.

So what these warnings are meant to do is to put not necessarily every public citizen on alert, but those police officers and our public officials on alert so they can keep their eyes up, hopefully pick up that information, that one sign, perhaps, or that one clue, that they can then feed back to the authorities so that something can be prevented, and perhaps dissuade a terrorist from carrying out an attack to begin with. If they feel that the authorities are on to them, they could just not carry out the attack.

KAGAN: They're also not going to raise the terror alert. That's going to remain at yellow for now. But they are going to release these photos of these people, BOLO -- be on the outlook -- be on the lookout for. These are people who have been around before, photos perhaps that have already been distributed, or names that have already been on suspicious lists?

SPENCER: Yes. Apparently, they have been on lists before, but apparently, some of the detainees, the al Qaeda detainees, have mentioned these people independently, and that's one of the reasons why the alert is going out, so they can find them, and whether or not those people specifically are believed to be undertaking some sort of attack or plan. Perhaps they have knowledge of those who will. Perhaps they can be the key to preventing the next attack.

KAGAN: There are two thoughts going out there. There are a lot of big events over the summer -- the two big political convention, the G-8 summit, the Sea Isle (ph) in Georgia. So something might happen over the summer, but also the thought that perhaps something might happen before the presidential election in November. The thought that al Qaeda could believe it could affect this election like it believes it affected the one in Spain.

But this is a different situation. This -- you have two candidates that are both committed to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. It's not like if one wins, that's going to change the direction of what America does there.

SPENCER: Well, you do have one president who has a number of years of history of prosecuting the war on terrorism, then you have a candidate who has been very critical of that prosecution. So in the eyes of terrorists, I think that there could be some substantial differences.

But even though there are a lot of high-level events scheduled for this summer, even though we have the election, the reality is a terror strike could happen at anytime. The reality is that the world in which we live, until the war on terrorism has been won, we could get these increases in chatter, these increases in information at anytime. And we need to be prepared for an attack at anytime, be there a presidential election, or convention or Olympics coming up, or perhaps it's just another day.

KAGAN: Jack Spencer, thanks for your insight this morning.

SPENCER: Thank you.

KAGAN: And once again, that news conference will be at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific. John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller.

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