Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

School Children Held Hostage in Russia; Essay Contest Winner Address Convention; Candidates Court Single Women Voters

Aired September 01, 2004 - 10:30   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: Let's take a look at the stories now in the news.
It has been some 9 1/2 hours since at least 15 armed attackers stormed a Russian school and took at least 100 hostage. Russian authorities put the number much higher. At least half of those hostages are school children. The school is in the town of Beslan near the border with the rebellious republic of Chechnya. The hostage takers are reportedly threatening to blow up the school unless Chechen prisoners are released.

In the Middle East, Israeli troops overnight demolished a Hebron home of a man they call the suicide bomber. That's in keeping with Israeli defense policy. The suicide bomber is linked to one of yesterday's simultaneous bus attacks in Beer Sheva. The explosions killed 16 people and wounded 94 others.

Here in the U.S., in the Scott Peterson murder trial, testimony will focus today on use of police dogs in the search for his missing wife, Laci. Prosecutors are trying to prove that Peterson dumped her body into San Francisco Bay. They'll question the dog handler, who says her dog picked up Laci's scent at the marina where Peterson says he launched his boat for a fishing trip.

Democrat John Kerry is in Nashville, Tennessee, this hour. He is there to address the national convention of the American Legion. The senator has focused much of his campaign on his Vietnam combat experience, has vowed that the U.S. can win the war on terror. President Bush addressed the same veterans' group yesterday. CNN will have live coverage of the Kerry speech, right now scheduled to get under way about an hour from right now.

Let's bring you up to date now about the recent reign of terror in Russia. As we have been reporting today, attackers seized a school in southern Russia. They're holding hostage at least 100 people; many of them are children. This comes a day after a suicide bomber killed nine in a bombing outside of a Moscow subway station.

Joining us now is Oksana Antonenko of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. She is in London today.

Oksana, thank you for being here with us.

OKSANA ANTONENKO, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES: Yes, thank you. KAGAN: When we look at what has taken place over the last week in Russia, the suspicious downing of two airliners, the subway bombing and now what is taking place so close to Chechnya with these school children today. How would you describe the sense of fear in that country?

ANTONENKO: Well, when President Putin came to power in 2000 he promised to crush the Chechen resistance. He used very hard line tactics in Chechnya. And he promised to make Russian people safer.

But in fact with what we're seeing now is that, although there is a semblance of stability in Chechnya, and elections just took place last weekend, but in fact Russian people feel incredibly unsafe.

Just in the last week alone we saw more than 100 people dead and dozens wounded. And Russian people really feel unsafe everywhere. They feel unsafe in the theaters. They feel unsafe in the train stations and the planes, everywhere. And the questions that are being raised, to what extent, of course, the policy of crushing down on rebels in Chechnya is working.

At the same time, of course, what is happening today in North Ossetia is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Because there's innocent children who went to school this morning, hoping for their first day of school. And now, under the threat of never coming home to their parents. So this is a really terrible tragedy which concerns everyone in Russia.

KAGAN: And when you see something like this happen, how in the world could this help the rebels and the Chechen cause win support?

ANTONENKO: Well, that is, of course, the big question. But the problem with Chechnya at the moment is that, while we had, maybe in the year 2000 or '97, we had more or less unified Chechen groups which had clear political demands, now the Chechen rebels are so splintered that there are so many radicalized elements within the Chechen resistance that they do not have any political demands. They just perpetrate terrorist acts just to declare that they exist.

And that is the problem. That's why we see now no claims of responsibility for those terrorist attacks from rebels.

We also see that, you know, there is an increasing number of innocent civilians that are being targeted, which clearly, as you indicated, cannot win them support among the Russian people or international community or even among the Chechen people, who unfortunately, have been themselves victims of terror for a very long time.

And that is a challenge that Russia is now facing. It is facing the challenge where even if President Putin decides to start some sort of political process, he clearly cannot negotiate with people who take children hostage. But these people are capable of perpetrating a whole wave of terror for Russia.

KAGAN: Oksana, it's being reported that a number of the hostage takers there today are women. There is suspicion that it possibly was two women who brought down those jetliners earlier this week.

What can you tell us about these so-called black widows, women who are participating in this terror movement?

ANTONENKO: Yes, this is unfortunate. This is another thing that happened just a few years ago, that the Chechen resistance and rebel groups started increasingly to use women as, you know, their vehicles for terror and the suicide bombers.

And that is, again, just an indication, first of all, of how desperate the situation is. But also it is incredibly, deeply immoral to use women to take hostage -- children hostage. I think it's deeply, deeply immoral and a terrible strategy.

Of course, you know the name of black widows is somewhat misleading, because it assumes that all of them are widows. And indeed among those women who blew themselves up in the past there were a number of widows.

But some are not widows, and some of them are simply recruiters for the purposes of committing terrorist attacks. They are being paid. And that is, of course, first of all very difficult to deal with but for the Russian security services. Because, you know, it's very hard to suspect every woman in she's from Chechnya to be a potential terrorist attacker.

But it's also, you know, terribly distressing for the Chechen people overall who, of course, condemn use of women for this kind of purposes.

KAGAN: Well, as you said, there definitely is a moral line that has been crossed. And when you get to the place where you're taking school children, you're so far past the line, even beyond discussion.

Oksana Antonenko, thank you for your insight today from London. Appreciate that.

ANTONENKO: Thank you.

KAGAN: Back here in the U.S., President Bush today makes the final stop in his nine-state journey to the convention and tomorrow's acceptance speech. In fact, Mr. Bush is expected to give a preview of that speech before some 20,000 supporters at a rally in downtown Columbus.

The GOP has dubbed Ohio Ground Zero of the election because of the pivotal role that state could play.

The president has also enlisted family to play an active roll in his re-election efforts. First lady Laura Bush was a crowd favorite at last night's GOP convention. She held him as a leader, girded with courage and guided by compassion.

Laura Bush was introduced by their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. They, too, portrayed the president as a loving family man who also is the right choice for the nation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT BUSH: We spent the last four years trying to stay out of the spotlight. Sometimes we did a little better job than others. We kept trying to explain to my dad that when we were young and irresponsible, well, we were young and irresponsible.

BARBARA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT BUSH: Jenna and I are really not very political, but we love our dad too much to stand back and watch from the sidelines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Actually, to get that order correct, the twins introduced their father, and the president introduced Mrs. Bush.

Well, you might say -- now that I've got that order corrected -- that the Bush daughters want their MTV. They recently appeared on the network to urge young voters to go to the polls in November.

One person who has heard the call is Princella Smith. She spoke at the Republican convention last night after winning an MTV essay contest called "Stand Up and Holla." The contest asked young voters what President Bush's call to service means in their lives.

In her essay Smith writes, "We have the privilege of uniting under a leader, President George W. Bush, who calls us to a higher purpose. Instead of Generation X, he inspires us to what I call Generation Example. Our generation of 18-year-old soldiers can take a stand against the horrors of terrorism in order to bring peace and democracy to those who have no hope."

Smith -- Princella Smith joins me now to talk about her essay, her convention appearance and her appearance on the national scene.

Good morning. Congratulations.

PRINCELLA SMITH, MTV ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: Good morning. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm going great. I imagine not quite as well as you're doing this morning, though.

SMITH: I'm on cloud nine.

KAGAN: I bet you are.

SMITH: This is great.

KAGAN: How does a nice young lady from Wynne, Arkansas, end up addressing the Republican National Convention?

SMITH: Well, I've got to tell you, MTV is great. RNC is great. I told them this is a great opportunity to allow students my age, you know, 18 to 24, to be able to enter a contest like this. And that grand prize, that was amazing, you know, speaking in front of the convention. That's incredible.

KAGAN: Any -- Any butterflies?

SMITH: I really -- I had no butterflies. I was just ready to get up there and do it and -- and represent the nation.

KAGAN: So you're up there -- you wrote an excellent essay. Congratulations on that, by the way.

SMITH: Thank you. Thank you.

KAGAN: Here you have this incredible opportunity of addressing the Republican delegates. What was the main point? If they could just remember one thing about Princella Smith that you hope that they'll take away with them.

SMITH: I hope that they take away with them the values that were instilled in me in Arkansas that I mentioned, and that's just to serve your fellow man and you will win every time.

KAGAN: And what about politics being cool? Why aren't more young people voting out there, Princella?

SMITH: You know, actually to address that, we've actually increased that percentage. The percentage -- we took a poll and we asked young people, you know what's the likelihood that you'll vote this time? And it's actually up to near 60 percent. And so we're -- we're really excited.

To answer your question, though, in the past, I think it's just been sort of just a lack of interest. Maybe they thought that the issues didn't apply to them or they thought the candidates were apathetic towards them. But with 9/11, with the 2000 elections, what happened with those elections, I can just see just a greater interest that has developed.

KAGAN: This, of course, is a huge opportunity for you. Did you care if you were addressing the Republican convention or the Democrat convention?

SMITH: Honestly, I am -- I am a moderate Republican. I support President Bush, but if I was asked to address the Democrats, I would have gone up there and delivered the same message.

KAGAN: And I'm telling you, this is not the last we've heard of Princella Smith. Tell us what's in the near future and far future for you?

SMITH: The near future, I'm a junior in college.

KAGAN: What school? Give your plug.

SMITH: Ouachita Baptist University, southern Arkansas.

KAGAN: All right. SMITH: Our governor is a graduate from there, but I need to finish school. I'm a basketball player. I've missed a week of practice. So I've got to get back in shape.

KAGAN: All right. Well, maybe we'll see you on a future dream team. Get a little gold...

SMITH: Maybe so.

KAGAN: Get a gold medal around that neck. But...

SMITH: Maybe so.

KAGAN: Plenty of accolades. Princella, congratulations. It's been a pleasure.

SMITH: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you so much for stopping by.

Well, swing votes or sling backs? The push to get single women interested in politics. Princella Smith is interested. We'll talk more about that when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Markets have been open an hour and 15 minutes. We're humming along rather nicely. Fred Katayama is here with a look at Wall Street.

(STOCK REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Fred. Thank you for that.

We are checking up on what is left -- or what Tropical Storm Gaston left behind, causing devastating flooding in Virginia. More dramatic video ahead.

Also, this is what we're working on for next hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: CNN's prime time coverage of the Republican National Convention...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... George W. Bush for his second term.

ANNOUNCER: ... your ringside seat to all the action.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Don't be economic girlie-men!

ANNOUNCER: With live reports, and expert analysis.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We looked at what happened. ANNOUNCER: Exclusive access, and much more. For more unconventional coverage of the RNC, tune in tonight beginning at 7 and log on to CNN.com/AmericaVotes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Political pundits credit soccer moms with helping to elect Bill Clinton as president. But the major parties are now courting a new voter: single, available and largely uninterested.

CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it the "Sex in the City" vote. Single women now form a voting block bigger than Jewish, African-American and Latino votes combined.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe you're dating a politician. You're not even registered to vote.

BASH: And a jaw-dropping 22 million single women did not vote in 2000. For some, it's apathy. Take 26-year-old Diana, one of five women we sat down with in Manhattan.

DIANA FUSCO, SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR: Right now I don't plan on voting. I feel like it takes a lot of energy and a lot of time to really get down to find out about each candidate and then to weigh the decision. And that's not what I want to spend my time doing right now.

BASH: Victoria, a 33-year-old lawyer, is disenfranchised. She tries but can't get answers to issues she cares about. She's not voting and blames the candidates.

VICTORIA MICHEL, LAWYER: They need to provide educated responses to the answers of the issues on their platform. And by -- I mean taking out all of the propaganda in their answers. Answering real questions about women's issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, which district do you vote in?

SARA JESSICA PARKER, ACTRESS: Whichever one is near Barney's.

BASH: Unlike Carrie, many single females are less worried about Manolo Blahniks, more about basics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tend to be more economically marginal. Fifty percent of them make under $30,000 a year. So they are diverse. They're racially diverse. They're ethnically diverse.

BASH: Yvette is a divorced mother of two. She doesn't vote because she feels powerless, ignored. YVETTE HERNANDEZ, LEGAL ASSISTANT: I want to hear what's going to happen now, you know? What are you going to do for us now? Not what happened 30 years ago.

BASH: a turnoff for all, what they call dirty politics. Thirty- year-old Miria actually wants to vote this year.

MIRIA SPOONER, FUNDRAISER: I feel like politics in a sense, a lot of it is -- I don't know if I should swear, but B.S. I mean, I feel like they -- all the candidates say things and who knows if they're really going to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think about the kind of impact that group would have on a very, very close election. Historically this group has been ignored and continues to be ignored.

BASH: The candidates say they're waking up. The Bush campaign launched "W is for Women" to lure hem to the polls.

Democrats have the Women's Vote Center, a grass roots effort, now emphasizing single females.

Nonpartisan groups are springing up, too.

TORREY STROHMEYER, SHE 19: My experience with single women is that they are, to say the least, opinionated.

BASH: She 19, named for the amendment granting women the right to vote, throws cocktail parties. One group puts nail files in salons, encouraging women to register and vote. And there are a growing number of ads in women's magazines.

Single women are looking for more attention, more promises filled from politicians. But for some, just hearing they are one in 22 million may be enough to push them to the polls.

SPOONER: I mean, I feel like -- My friends, certainly, when they heard that I didn't vote in the last election were like, "Are you insane? What's wrong with you?"

MELISSA MAUNDRELL, GRADUATE STUDENT: Maybe realizing more if half of the 22 million women vote, how much of a difference that can make.

BASH (on camera): When single women do go to the polls they're much more likely to vote for a Democrat, a gender gap the Bush campaign is trying to shrink with the help of the first lady and maybe even her daughters.

Dana Bash, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: For all the latest news inside politics, visit our continually updated web site. The address is CNN.com/Politics.

We are back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Finally, some astonishing amateur video. This is coming from Richmond, Virginia, dramatically showing the full destructive power of Tropical Storm Gaston after it dumped as much as 11 inches of rain around Richmond on Monday.

Today the property owners in the flood-ravaged historic section where President Lincoln once strolled will talk about the future now buried both in mud and uncertainty. City officials have closed off about 20 blocks -- that is a full half of the historic district -- until buildings can be inspected for safety.

Now Orelon, as we watch Hurricane Frances, any chance that that is going to take that course and dump more rain on Virginia? Or are we getting ahead of ourselves here?

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Orelon, we'll be checking back with you in the next hour.

Well, you might be able to kiss those contacts good-bye. A new medical procedure promises to implant the lens in your eye. Ooh. Find out if that is the right thing for you.

And changes could be in the cards for the Kerry campaign. We'll share the latest political buzz as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

Let's start with a look at what is happening now in the news.

A tense and volatile situation has been unfolding this morning at a school in southern Russia. More than a dozen armed people are believed to have taken hostage at least 100 children, parents and teachers. Some of the attackers are reportedly wearing explosives. A live report from Moscow is just ahead.

The East Coast of Florida could be the destination for Hurricane Frances. Right now it's a dangerous and powerful Category Four storm and due to strike the Bahamas by tomorrow. The Turks and Caicos Islands are also in harm's way as the storm draws closer to the mainland U.S. Stay with CNN for continuous coverage.

In Manhattan, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning visiting a public school with Education Secretary Rod Paige. You see the governor there on the right side of your screen, seated next to a bunch of kids. The governor was one of the featured speakers last night at the Republican National Convention.

We've learned that a sergeant of the U.S. Army Reserves is the first of possibly two-dozen military personnel to face disciplinary action in the Afghan prisoner abuse scandal. The Army criminal investigation command is winding up a lengthy probe into the death of two prisoners in Afghanistan in December of 2002. Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired September 1, 2004 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: Let's take a look at the stories now in the news.
It has been some 9 1/2 hours since at least 15 armed attackers stormed a Russian school and took at least 100 hostage. Russian authorities put the number much higher. At least half of those hostages are school children. The school is in the town of Beslan near the border with the rebellious republic of Chechnya. The hostage takers are reportedly threatening to blow up the school unless Chechen prisoners are released.

In the Middle East, Israeli troops overnight demolished a Hebron home of a man they call the suicide bomber. That's in keeping with Israeli defense policy. The suicide bomber is linked to one of yesterday's simultaneous bus attacks in Beer Sheva. The explosions killed 16 people and wounded 94 others.

Here in the U.S., in the Scott Peterson murder trial, testimony will focus today on use of police dogs in the search for his missing wife, Laci. Prosecutors are trying to prove that Peterson dumped her body into San Francisco Bay. They'll question the dog handler, who says her dog picked up Laci's scent at the marina where Peterson says he launched his boat for a fishing trip.

Democrat John Kerry is in Nashville, Tennessee, this hour. He is there to address the national convention of the American Legion. The senator has focused much of his campaign on his Vietnam combat experience, has vowed that the U.S. can win the war on terror. President Bush addressed the same veterans' group yesterday. CNN will have live coverage of the Kerry speech, right now scheduled to get under way about an hour from right now.

Let's bring you up to date now about the recent reign of terror in Russia. As we have been reporting today, attackers seized a school in southern Russia. They're holding hostage at least 100 people; many of them are children. This comes a day after a suicide bomber killed nine in a bombing outside of a Moscow subway station.

Joining us now is Oksana Antonenko of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. She is in London today.

Oksana, thank you for being here with us.

OKSANA ANTONENKO, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES: Yes, thank you. KAGAN: When we look at what has taken place over the last week in Russia, the suspicious downing of two airliners, the subway bombing and now what is taking place so close to Chechnya with these school children today. How would you describe the sense of fear in that country?

ANTONENKO: Well, when President Putin came to power in 2000 he promised to crush the Chechen resistance. He used very hard line tactics in Chechnya. And he promised to make Russian people safer.

But in fact with what we're seeing now is that, although there is a semblance of stability in Chechnya, and elections just took place last weekend, but in fact Russian people feel incredibly unsafe.

Just in the last week alone we saw more than 100 people dead and dozens wounded. And Russian people really feel unsafe everywhere. They feel unsafe in the theaters. They feel unsafe in the train stations and the planes, everywhere. And the questions that are being raised, to what extent, of course, the policy of crushing down on rebels in Chechnya is working.

At the same time, of course, what is happening today in North Ossetia is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Because there's innocent children who went to school this morning, hoping for their first day of school. And now, under the threat of never coming home to their parents. So this is a really terrible tragedy which concerns everyone in Russia.

KAGAN: And when you see something like this happen, how in the world could this help the rebels and the Chechen cause win support?

ANTONENKO: Well, that is, of course, the big question. But the problem with Chechnya at the moment is that, while we had, maybe in the year 2000 or '97, we had more or less unified Chechen groups which had clear political demands, now the Chechen rebels are so splintered that there are so many radicalized elements within the Chechen resistance that they do not have any political demands. They just perpetrate terrorist acts just to declare that they exist.

And that is the problem. That's why we see now no claims of responsibility for those terrorist attacks from rebels.

We also see that, you know, there is an increasing number of innocent civilians that are being targeted, which clearly, as you indicated, cannot win them support among the Russian people or international community or even among the Chechen people, who unfortunately, have been themselves victims of terror for a very long time.

And that is a challenge that Russia is now facing. It is facing the challenge where even if President Putin decides to start some sort of political process, he clearly cannot negotiate with people who take children hostage. But these people are capable of perpetrating a whole wave of terror for Russia.

KAGAN: Oksana, it's being reported that a number of the hostage takers there today are women. There is suspicion that it possibly was two women who brought down those jetliners earlier this week.

What can you tell us about these so-called black widows, women who are participating in this terror movement?

ANTONENKO: Yes, this is unfortunate. This is another thing that happened just a few years ago, that the Chechen resistance and rebel groups started increasingly to use women as, you know, their vehicles for terror and the suicide bombers.

And that is, again, just an indication, first of all, of how desperate the situation is. But also it is incredibly, deeply immoral to use women to take hostage -- children hostage. I think it's deeply, deeply immoral and a terrible strategy.

Of course, you know the name of black widows is somewhat misleading, because it assumes that all of them are widows. And indeed among those women who blew themselves up in the past there were a number of widows.

But some are not widows, and some of them are simply recruiters for the purposes of committing terrorist attacks. They are being paid. And that is, of course, first of all very difficult to deal with but for the Russian security services. Because, you know, it's very hard to suspect every woman in she's from Chechnya to be a potential terrorist attacker.

But it's also, you know, terribly distressing for the Chechen people overall who, of course, condemn use of women for this kind of purposes.

KAGAN: Well, as you said, there definitely is a moral line that has been crossed. And when you get to the place where you're taking school children, you're so far past the line, even beyond discussion.

Oksana Antonenko, thank you for your insight today from London. Appreciate that.

ANTONENKO: Thank you.

KAGAN: Back here in the U.S., President Bush today makes the final stop in his nine-state journey to the convention and tomorrow's acceptance speech. In fact, Mr. Bush is expected to give a preview of that speech before some 20,000 supporters at a rally in downtown Columbus.

The GOP has dubbed Ohio Ground Zero of the election because of the pivotal role that state could play.

The president has also enlisted family to play an active roll in his re-election efforts. First lady Laura Bush was a crowd favorite at last night's GOP convention. She held him as a leader, girded with courage and guided by compassion.

Laura Bush was introduced by their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. They, too, portrayed the president as a loving family man who also is the right choice for the nation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT BUSH: We spent the last four years trying to stay out of the spotlight. Sometimes we did a little better job than others. We kept trying to explain to my dad that when we were young and irresponsible, well, we were young and irresponsible.

BARBARA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT BUSH: Jenna and I are really not very political, but we love our dad too much to stand back and watch from the sidelines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Actually, to get that order correct, the twins introduced their father, and the president introduced Mrs. Bush.

Well, you might say -- now that I've got that order corrected -- that the Bush daughters want their MTV. They recently appeared on the network to urge young voters to go to the polls in November.

One person who has heard the call is Princella Smith. She spoke at the Republican convention last night after winning an MTV essay contest called "Stand Up and Holla." The contest asked young voters what President Bush's call to service means in their lives.

In her essay Smith writes, "We have the privilege of uniting under a leader, President George W. Bush, who calls us to a higher purpose. Instead of Generation X, he inspires us to what I call Generation Example. Our generation of 18-year-old soldiers can take a stand against the horrors of terrorism in order to bring peace and democracy to those who have no hope."

Smith -- Princella Smith joins me now to talk about her essay, her convention appearance and her appearance on the national scene.

Good morning. Congratulations.

PRINCELLA SMITH, MTV ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: Good morning. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm going great. I imagine not quite as well as you're doing this morning, though.

SMITH: I'm on cloud nine.

KAGAN: I bet you are.

SMITH: This is great.

KAGAN: How does a nice young lady from Wynne, Arkansas, end up addressing the Republican National Convention?

SMITH: Well, I've got to tell you, MTV is great. RNC is great. I told them this is a great opportunity to allow students my age, you know, 18 to 24, to be able to enter a contest like this. And that grand prize, that was amazing, you know, speaking in front of the convention. That's incredible.

KAGAN: Any -- Any butterflies?

SMITH: I really -- I had no butterflies. I was just ready to get up there and do it and -- and represent the nation.

KAGAN: So you're up there -- you wrote an excellent essay. Congratulations on that, by the way.

SMITH: Thank you. Thank you.

KAGAN: Here you have this incredible opportunity of addressing the Republican delegates. What was the main point? If they could just remember one thing about Princella Smith that you hope that they'll take away with them.

SMITH: I hope that they take away with them the values that were instilled in me in Arkansas that I mentioned, and that's just to serve your fellow man and you will win every time.

KAGAN: And what about politics being cool? Why aren't more young people voting out there, Princella?

SMITH: You know, actually to address that, we've actually increased that percentage. The percentage -- we took a poll and we asked young people, you know what's the likelihood that you'll vote this time? And it's actually up to near 60 percent. And so we're -- we're really excited.

To answer your question, though, in the past, I think it's just been sort of just a lack of interest. Maybe they thought that the issues didn't apply to them or they thought the candidates were apathetic towards them. But with 9/11, with the 2000 elections, what happened with those elections, I can just see just a greater interest that has developed.

KAGAN: This, of course, is a huge opportunity for you. Did you care if you were addressing the Republican convention or the Democrat convention?

SMITH: Honestly, I am -- I am a moderate Republican. I support President Bush, but if I was asked to address the Democrats, I would have gone up there and delivered the same message.

KAGAN: And I'm telling you, this is not the last we've heard of Princella Smith. Tell us what's in the near future and far future for you?

SMITH: The near future, I'm a junior in college.

KAGAN: What school? Give your plug.

SMITH: Ouachita Baptist University, southern Arkansas.

KAGAN: All right. SMITH: Our governor is a graduate from there, but I need to finish school. I'm a basketball player. I've missed a week of practice. So I've got to get back in shape.

KAGAN: All right. Well, maybe we'll see you on a future dream team. Get a little gold...

SMITH: Maybe so.

KAGAN: Get a gold medal around that neck. But...

SMITH: Maybe so.

KAGAN: Plenty of accolades. Princella, congratulations. It's been a pleasure.

SMITH: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you so much for stopping by.

Well, swing votes or sling backs? The push to get single women interested in politics. Princella Smith is interested. We'll talk more about that when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Markets have been open an hour and 15 minutes. We're humming along rather nicely. Fred Katayama is here with a look at Wall Street.

(STOCK REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Fred. Thank you for that.

We are checking up on what is left -- or what Tropical Storm Gaston left behind, causing devastating flooding in Virginia. More dramatic video ahead.

Also, this is what we're working on for next hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: CNN's prime time coverage of the Republican National Convention...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... George W. Bush for his second term.

ANNOUNCER: ... your ringside seat to all the action.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Don't be economic girlie-men!

ANNOUNCER: With live reports, and expert analysis.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We looked at what happened. ANNOUNCER: Exclusive access, and much more. For more unconventional coverage of the RNC, tune in tonight beginning at 7 and log on to CNN.com/AmericaVotes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Political pundits credit soccer moms with helping to elect Bill Clinton as president. But the major parties are now courting a new voter: single, available and largely uninterested.

CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it the "Sex in the City" vote. Single women now form a voting block bigger than Jewish, African-American and Latino votes combined.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe you're dating a politician. You're not even registered to vote.

BASH: And a jaw-dropping 22 million single women did not vote in 2000. For some, it's apathy. Take 26-year-old Diana, one of five women we sat down with in Manhattan.

DIANA FUSCO, SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR: Right now I don't plan on voting. I feel like it takes a lot of energy and a lot of time to really get down to find out about each candidate and then to weigh the decision. And that's not what I want to spend my time doing right now.

BASH: Victoria, a 33-year-old lawyer, is disenfranchised. She tries but can't get answers to issues she cares about. She's not voting and blames the candidates.

VICTORIA MICHEL, LAWYER: They need to provide educated responses to the answers of the issues on their platform. And by -- I mean taking out all of the propaganda in their answers. Answering real questions about women's issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, which district do you vote in?

SARA JESSICA PARKER, ACTRESS: Whichever one is near Barney's.

BASH: Unlike Carrie, many single females are less worried about Manolo Blahniks, more about basics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tend to be more economically marginal. Fifty percent of them make under $30,000 a year. So they are diverse. They're racially diverse. They're ethnically diverse.

BASH: Yvette is a divorced mother of two. She doesn't vote because she feels powerless, ignored. YVETTE HERNANDEZ, LEGAL ASSISTANT: I want to hear what's going to happen now, you know? What are you going to do for us now? Not what happened 30 years ago.

BASH: a turnoff for all, what they call dirty politics. Thirty- year-old Miria actually wants to vote this year.

MIRIA SPOONER, FUNDRAISER: I feel like politics in a sense, a lot of it is -- I don't know if I should swear, but B.S. I mean, I feel like they -- all the candidates say things and who knows if they're really going to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think about the kind of impact that group would have on a very, very close election. Historically this group has been ignored and continues to be ignored.

BASH: The candidates say they're waking up. The Bush campaign launched "W is for Women" to lure hem to the polls.

Democrats have the Women's Vote Center, a grass roots effort, now emphasizing single females.

Nonpartisan groups are springing up, too.

TORREY STROHMEYER, SHE 19: My experience with single women is that they are, to say the least, opinionated.

BASH: She 19, named for the amendment granting women the right to vote, throws cocktail parties. One group puts nail files in salons, encouraging women to register and vote. And there are a growing number of ads in women's magazines.

Single women are looking for more attention, more promises filled from politicians. But for some, just hearing they are one in 22 million may be enough to push them to the polls.

SPOONER: I mean, I feel like -- My friends, certainly, when they heard that I didn't vote in the last election were like, "Are you insane? What's wrong with you?"

MELISSA MAUNDRELL, GRADUATE STUDENT: Maybe realizing more if half of the 22 million women vote, how much of a difference that can make.

BASH (on camera): When single women do go to the polls they're much more likely to vote for a Democrat, a gender gap the Bush campaign is trying to shrink with the help of the first lady and maybe even her daughters.

Dana Bash, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: For all the latest news inside politics, visit our continually updated web site. The address is CNN.com/Politics.

We are back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Finally, some astonishing amateur video. This is coming from Richmond, Virginia, dramatically showing the full destructive power of Tropical Storm Gaston after it dumped as much as 11 inches of rain around Richmond on Monday.

Today the property owners in the flood-ravaged historic section where President Lincoln once strolled will talk about the future now buried both in mud and uncertainty. City officials have closed off about 20 blocks -- that is a full half of the historic district -- until buildings can be inspected for safety.

Now Orelon, as we watch Hurricane Frances, any chance that that is going to take that course and dump more rain on Virginia? Or are we getting ahead of ourselves here?

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Orelon, we'll be checking back with you in the next hour.

Well, you might be able to kiss those contacts good-bye. A new medical procedure promises to implant the lens in your eye. Ooh. Find out if that is the right thing for you.

And changes could be in the cards for the Kerry campaign. We'll share the latest political buzz as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

Let's start with a look at what is happening now in the news.

A tense and volatile situation has been unfolding this morning at a school in southern Russia. More than a dozen armed people are believed to have taken hostage at least 100 children, parents and teachers. Some of the attackers are reportedly wearing explosives. A live report from Moscow is just ahead.

The East Coast of Florida could be the destination for Hurricane Frances. Right now it's a dangerous and powerful Category Four storm and due to strike the Bahamas by tomorrow. The Turks and Caicos Islands are also in harm's way as the storm draws closer to the mainland U.S. Stay with CNN for continuous coverage.

In Manhattan, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning visiting a public school with Education Secretary Rod Paige. You see the governor there on the right side of your screen, seated next to a bunch of kids. The governor was one of the featured speakers last night at the Republican National Convention.

We've learned that a sergeant of the U.S. Army Reserves is the first of possibly two-dozen military personnel to face disciplinary action in the Afghan prisoner abuse scandal. The Army criminal investigation command is winding up a lengthy probe into the death of two prisoners in Afghanistan in December of 2002. Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com