Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Green Zone Blasts in Baquba Kills 2 Americans; Female Journalist Killed in Baghdad; Pakistani Forces Rescue Chinese Hostages

Aired October 14, 2004 - 10:00   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, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Well, to explain to our viewers, explain to America, I've had to do the heavy lifting on this show for the last year.
(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: I don't know where you've been. Leon Harris left a year ago, I've been looking for a partner. And finally, we have found my new partner Rick Sanchez.

Welcome.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: It's great to be here. It's especially great to be working with you. I've yet to meet a person who has said anything unkind about you.

KAGAN: Really?

SANCHEZ: I want you to know that.

KAGAN: Oh, thank you.

SANCHEZ: And you know what she did for me this morning? I want you guys to know that at 6:30 in the morning, I was eating cake and chips. Crisco cake.

KAGAN: Yes. Well, you'll learn we eat a lot of cake on this show. It's the best shift in all of CNN. And we're thrilled with that.

SANCHEZ: I'm so excited about that.

KAGAN: How about a little bit of news?

SANCHEZ: Let's do it.

KAGAN: OK.

Taking a look at the headlines now in the news. On the eve of Ramadan, two Iraqi National Guardsmen were killed in a drive-by shooting in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad. And in the capital, two powerful explosions inside the Green Zone killed at least seven people today, including two Americans. The U.S. military says the bombs apparently were handed -- hand carried into the Green Zone. There have been numerous other acts of violence across the country, including another drive-by shooting in northern Baghdad. A female journalist with a Kurdish-owned TV station was killed in that incident.

In western Pakistan a hostage situation ended today, when Pakistani forces stormed the building. Three of the four hostages were rescued and five kidnappers were killed. The hostages included two Chinese workers with a dam project in that region.

And in the U.S., flu vaccine is such a rare commodity that it's become tempting to thieves. Police in Aurora, Colorado say that more than 600 children's doses of the vaccine were stolen from a pediatric office.

And good morning. We are at CNN international world headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan with my new partner.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez, that new partner.

Some are saying it's now three for three. This morning, John Kerry's campaign officials are saying that their guy has swept the debates. And a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup seems to reflect that. It's important to note, this is a snap poll. A small sampling, in other words of people that was taken immediately after the debate.

And here are the numbers, 52 percent of them say that John Kerry did a better job than President Bush last night. And the numbers are similar to the numbers after the first debate. According to the polls, the president's best showing came during the second debate. That was the town hall forum.

Last night, Tempe, Arizona, the candidates focused mainly on taxes and social issues. But early on, they took questions about the war on terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I pledge this to you, America, I will do it in a way that Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan, and John Kennedy and others did, where we build the strongest alliances, where the world joins together, where we have the best intelligence. And where we are able ultimately to be more safe and secure.

GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've got policies to continue to grow our economy. And create the jobs of the 21-century. And here's some help for you to go get an education. Here's some help for you to go to a community college. We've expanded trade adjustment assistance. We want to help pay for you to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21-century.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

SANCHEZ: A lot to talk about here. We're going to go more into detail on the debate at the bottom of the hour. That's when our senior political analyst Bill Schneider will join us.

KAGAN: Well, if you're looking at numbers 19 days to go. The presidential campaign is now in a sprint toward November.

Our Suzanne Malveaux is in Scottsdale, Arizona covering President Bush.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Daryn. It was late last night, President Bush before 35,000 supporters said that he enjoyed this debate. It was really an opportunity for him to lay out his vision the next four years. And while Bush aides say that they believe he had a strong performance last night, they are eager to get the president back on the road in familiar and friendly territory.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: In order to make sure we're secure there must be a comprehensive plan.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's choosing time, Bush aides say. The president will be traveling to key battleground states nearly every day until the election.

(CHEERING)

BUSH: Thank you all!

MALVEAUX: This week: Nevada, Oregon, Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida. Mr. Bush's strategy, to promote his vision of protecting the country and growing the economy.

KARL ROVE, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: He gave us the wind at our backs. The president was the clear, commanding victor tonight. And it's going to give us a great momentum going out on the trail here for the last 19 days.

MALVEAUX: Bush aides say there are still 14 battleground states left, but they will dwindle fast. The Bush campaign will shift its resources for TV ads and presidential trips accordingly. Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd says he's already seeing signs that the Kerry camp is giving up on hard-fought territory.

MATTHEW DOWD, STRATEGIST, BUSH-CHENEY: They've pull out of Missouri. They pulled out of Arizona. They pulled out of Arkansas. They pulled out of Virginia. They pulled out of North Carolina. All states that they've ceded to us, so that they're now having to defend more Gore states than compete in Bush states, which is a very good sign for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, have a good day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you. Have a great day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

MALVEAUX: At the same time, the Bush campaign is mobilizing its 1.2 million volunteers to get people to the polls. But strategy aside, political analysts warn that unforeseen events could dramatically impact the election. For instance, the capture of Osama bin Laden, more violence on the ground in Iraq, or another terrorist attack.

DAVID GERGEN, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": If there is violence from terrorists, much will hap -- depend on where it happens. If there's great violence against American troops overseas, that could very easily play toward the advantage of Senator Kerry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And Daryn, today President Bush hits two very important states. Nevada he makes two stops; that's a state that he narrowly won back in 2000. He goes on to Oregon. He's going to face more difficult challenges there. That is a state that has an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent, 900 jobs lost between the months of July and August. But the Bush campaign believes that it is still very much a state in play -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. And as we move the story forward, looking at Nevada. Not just President Bush but Mrs. Bush will be there today, as well. How hopeful is the Bush campaign about Nevada?

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly she'll have a significant role there. She'll be speaking before the AARP. Of course, the elderly vote very important to the Bush campaign. She is playing a very significant role they do feel. Although the polls show neck and neck, they feel that they can pull out Nevada. But President Bush, four years ago had a 3.5 lead in that state. Now a dead heat. They feel if they keep going back and making some progress they'll have an impact there.

But of course, Daryn, one of the key decisions this campaign is going to have to make in the next couple of weeks is which states they pull out. Where do they pull out their resources, their television ads, and where do they focus next in those final days?

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux in Scottsdale, Arizona. Thank you.

And you can check out the president's campaign rally during CNN's "LIVE FROM" that is about three hours from now.

SANCHEZ: And John Kerry also plans to try his luck in Las Vegas. Our Ed Henry is there. He's covering the Kerry campaign. He's joining us now on the phone.

Good morning, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick. That's right, the Kerry campaign is claiming victory. Senator Edward Kennedy put out a statement late last night saying it was a clean sweep, three for three. Senator Kennedy said the election can't come soon enough for John Kerry. John Kerry himself at a rally in Tempe after the debate, with the rock band Fu Fighters providing the music there, said he enjoyed the debate. but he's looking forward to talking even more about how he will fight for the middle class, while he believes the president is fighting for corporations. Senator Kerry said he laid out some of those differences in the debate, but not all of them. And the Kerry camp is now vowing they will do that over the next 10 days.

They're going to have a series of policy addresses on domestic issues, laying out what they say will be clear choices on: jobs, health care, education. They've been wanting to shift the focus a bit from Iraq for weeks now to the domestic front. News events have gotten in the way and they have not really been able to make that shift yet. They think they might finally have the opening. The momentum to do that, start talking about issues here on the home front.

That, in fact, will start today with a speech here in Las Vegas to AARP, the nation's largest senior citizens organization. And Senator Kerry will point out for example, that he agrees with AARP about importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, something that the president has not been on board for.

As you mentioned earlier in Nevada, still a battleground state. But an even bigger battleground perhaps is Iowa. and that's where John Kerry will finish the day after the speech on Medicare prescription drugs, and senior citizens issues. Health care in general. He's going to move on to a rally tonight in Des Moines -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Hey Ed, I saw something develop last night, which I thought was somewhat curious. I saw Senator Kerry going out of his way, sometimes turning questions into another direction, as a matter of fact, to appeal to: women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and gay Americans. Is he trending to target specific demographics? And will we see a continuation of this?

HENRY: It's very interesting you noticed that. Because in the debate, he did seem to be trying to bring home some Democratic -- traditional Democratic voters. As you mentioned, African-Americans, women. There's been concern in the Kerry campaign in recent weeks that a lot of polls showing that female voters, who went very strongly for Al Gore in 2000, maybe were shifting a bit towards President Bush perhaps on the security issue. So he did want to bring those voters home.

But I think now what you will start to see is a little bit of a move to the middle after that debate. What the Kerry camp says is that there may be a little less, strident rhetoric on Iraq for example. They feel that they've already gotten a lot of the anti-Bush vote with lines earlier in this campaign, like "wrong war, wrong time."

They now want to move to the middle, appeal to swing voters and Independents. But you're right. He was reaching out to liberals a bit last night. But I think moving forward, they hope to reach out to the middle more in the weeks ahead.

SANCHEZ: And he figured lot of other people were probably watching baseball last night, so it was an opportunity. Ed Henry, we do thank you for that report my friend.

Now, we plan to bring you a portion of John Henry's address -- or John Kerry's address, pardon me, to the AARP convention. That's coming up around 2:30 p.m. Eastern -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, if you were keeping score last night during the debate, the candidates, both of them each strayed from the truth a bit last night.

Our Jeanne Meserve there was there on duty to catch them. Here now is her "Debate Fact Check."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For this one night, at least, Tempe, Arizona was the home of the whopper. Both candidates got facts wrong.

BUSH: I don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. That's kind of one of those exaggerations.

MESERVE: Well, he said something awfully close in March of 2000.

BUSH: I repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.

MESERVE: But Kerry got things wrong, too.

KERRY: Let me just share something, this president is the first president ever, I think, not to -- not to meet with the NAACP. This is a president who hasn't met with the Black Congressional Caucus.

MESERVE: It is true that Bush is the first president since Herbert Hoover not to meet with the NAACP, but he has met with the Congressional Black Caucus at least twice. Once last February.

BUSH: He voted to increase taxes 98 times.

MESERVE: But an independent analysis says that counts multiple votes on the same bill.

KERRY: Five hundred thousand kids lost after school programs because of your budget.

MESERVE: Wrong. Bush did propose cutting $400 million in after school funding in his 2004 budget. But Congress refused to go along. No children lost their program.

BUSH: He's proposed $2.2 trillion of new spending and yet...

MESERVE: Bush was using an old figure from the conservative American Enterprise Institute. An analysis by the nonpartisan Concord Coalition says Kerry's proposals will cost $1.3 trillion. That group put the very same price tag on the proposals of George W. Bush.

KERRY: Five million Americans have lost their health insurance in this country.

MESERVE: Well, the number of uninsured has gone up. But Kerry is incorrect to suggest that all those people lost their health care coverage.

In previous debates Kerry repeatedly got one fact wrong.

KERRY: And so today, we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost, $200 billion.

We could have saved $200 billion and an invasion of Iraq.

MESERVE: Wednesday night he put it differently.

KERRY: And America now is paying already $120 billion, up to $200 billion before we're finished.

MESERVE: He got it right. Finally.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Paula Zahn is on the road hearing what voters have to say. She'll host a town hall meeting tonight in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. CNN's Paula Zahn "NOW" airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

SANCHEZ: We've got some interesting pictures to show with you right now. This is coming in from Mount St. Helens. This is one of the first times we've been able to zoom in so close and actually see some of this well, it's called molten rock. I suppose some people would tend to call this lava, since they're seeing some of the actual melting of the surface there.

Not particularly alarming, given the fact that most scientists have been saying all along that they expected something like this would be happening throughout the day. They say it's a magma formation, and they also say that's the reason that we've seen some of this mist on top of the mountain as well.

We'll certainly be following throughout the day and if we get any other pictures like that that actually show us some of that red core, we'll continue to take you back there. But most importantly, we'll tell you when it is significant for the people living around it.

KAGAN: Here's the deal. The stuff is hot.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: No touch, as you would say to one of your four kids. Hot

SANCHEZ: Stay away. KAGAN: yes. Absolutely. Much more on the volcanoes been going off just about on schedule in our first hour in the last few days. So you know it's time...

SANCHEZ: Oh, good. So we're used to this.

KAGAN: Exactly. Time to be at work if Mount St. Helens is blowing some steam.

SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.

KAGAN: A lot of news ahead. Yaser Hamdi speaking to CNN after being held for three years as an enemy combatant. You'll want to hear what he has to say.

SANCHEZ: More deadly violence in Baghdad this morning and Americans are among the victims. We're going to take you there live.

KAGAN: And breast cancer and African-American women. Is it about genetics? We'll talk to an expert, all ahead when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: For nearly three years the U.S. government held Yaser Hamdi incommunicado. Now, he breaks his silence in an exclusive interview you'll see only here on CNN.

Hamdi, on the left, is the Louisiana-born Saudi captured in Afghanistan in December 2001. The U.S. says he was fighting with the Taliban, which Hamdi denies. He ended at the up at the U.S. Naval Brig in South Carolina as an enemy combatant, without charges and without an attorney. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdi's favor and the U.S. agreed to let him go. Hamdi, who had to renounce his U.S. citizenship, tells CNN that he understands why he was detained. But he believes his case should have been resolved much sooner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YASER HAMDI, FMR. DETAINEE: I believe that I'm not an enemy combatant. I am an innocent person. And they was proving that all the time for them, I answer all the questions that they ask me very seriously. And I answer it very -- I was cooperative and I give them all the details. And the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest justice level in the United States, they ruled my favor. Which give us the proof that I am an innocent man. And if I was not an innocent man, you will not -- I will not be speaking with you at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We should tell you the conditions of Hamdi's release prevent him from traveling outside Saudi Arabia without giving advance notice. And he's not allowed to go to: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Syria, or the West Bank and Gaza. KAGAN: Two American civilians are among the seven people killed today by a pair of large explosions inside Baghdad's Green Zone.

CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is in the Iraqi capital. He has the latest.

Brent, hello.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. Two powerful explosions hit the Green Zone several hours ago, killing seven people, including two U.S. citizens. Now, it does seem that one of those explosions, according to officials on the ground here, was caused by a suicide bomber who blew himself up or herself up, close to either a souvenir market inside the Green Zone or a cafe. Not quite clear at the stage.

And this area is used by very many Iraqis and various other nationalities. Two very powerful blasts we saw from our live shot position. Large columns of smoke rising from at least one fire. And there had been concerns about security within the Green Zone for the past week or more, when British Embassy officials inside there say that an explosive device was found hidden inside a sandbag packed with nails outside a cafe. One of the locations that was targeted this day.

So very serious concerns about the level of security inside the Green Zone, which is effectively the seat of power for Iraq. It's where the U.S. and British Embassies are located, as well as very many other Iraqi institutions, and the offices of interim government Iraqi officials.

In other developments, more U.S. air strikes. Two of them this day Thursday, against suspected terror targets in Fallujah. That key rebel stronghold west of Baghdad. These latest attacks coming 24 hours after Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi warned the people of Fallujah that unless they hand over the most wanted terror suspect in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, then Fallujah can expect a wide ranging military offensive in the not too distance future -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Brent Sadler with the latest from Baghdad. Brent, thank you.

SANCHEZ: And of course, we're going to be watching all the campaigns today preparing for Election Day. The candidates are ready. But will the voting booths be? A look at potential problems, yes, possibly once again at the polls. That's coming up.

KAGAN: That is. But first, no blues in St. Louis. Baseball playoff update just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: In case you chose to watch the debates and not this, here it is, highlights. In Major League Baseball the Astros fell to the Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Pennant Race. The 10 to 7 score was identical, interestingly enough, to the tally in Game 1 of the American League Series between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Now in last night's second game between the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Yanks pushed their lead in the series to 2 to nothing, beating Boston 3-1.

It's a war of words. A hard look at the issues and what the candidates said about them last night. Our Bill Schneider, who better, joins us with his reaction.

KAGAN: Plus, we continue our look at breast cancer awareness month. We're going to take a look at a new form of treatment that could reduce radiation from weeks to days.

CNN LIVE TODAY is back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 October 14, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Well, to explain to our viewers, explain to America, I've had to do the heavy lifting on this show for the last year.
(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: I don't know where you've been. Leon Harris left a year ago, I've been looking for a partner. And finally, we have found my new partner Rick Sanchez.

Welcome.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: It's great to be here. It's especially great to be working with you. I've yet to meet a person who has said anything unkind about you.

KAGAN: Really?

SANCHEZ: I want you to know that.

KAGAN: Oh, thank you.

SANCHEZ: And you know what she did for me this morning? I want you guys to know that at 6:30 in the morning, I was eating cake and chips. Crisco cake.

KAGAN: Yes. Well, you'll learn we eat a lot of cake on this show. It's the best shift in all of CNN. And we're thrilled with that.

SANCHEZ: I'm so excited about that.

KAGAN: How about a little bit of news?

SANCHEZ: Let's do it.

KAGAN: OK.

Taking a look at the headlines now in the news. On the eve of Ramadan, two Iraqi National Guardsmen were killed in a drive-by shooting in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad. And in the capital, two powerful explosions inside the Green Zone killed at least seven people today, including two Americans. The U.S. military says the bombs apparently were handed -- hand carried into the Green Zone. There have been numerous other acts of violence across the country, including another drive-by shooting in northern Baghdad. A female journalist with a Kurdish-owned TV station was killed in that incident.

In western Pakistan a hostage situation ended today, when Pakistani forces stormed the building. Three of the four hostages were rescued and five kidnappers were killed. The hostages included two Chinese workers with a dam project in that region.

And in the U.S., flu vaccine is such a rare commodity that it's become tempting to thieves. Police in Aurora, Colorado say that more than 600 children's doses of the vaccine were stolen from a pediatric office.

And good morning. We are at CNN international world headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan with my new partner.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez, that new partner.

Some are saying it's now three for three. This morning, John Kerry's campaign officials are saying that their guy has swept the debates. And a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup seems to reflect that. It's important to note, this is a snap poll. A small sampling, in other words of people that was taken immediately after the debate.

And here are the numbers, 52 percent of them say that John Kerry did a better job than President Bush last night. And the numbers are similar to the numbers after the first debate. According to the polls, the president's best showing came during the second debate. That was the town hall forum.

Last night, Tempe, Arizona, the candidates focused mainly on taxes and social issues. But early on, they took questions about the war on terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I pledge this to you, America, I will do it in a way that Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan, and John Kennedy and others did, where we build the strongest alliances, where the world joins together, where we have the best intelligence. And where we are able ultimately to be more safe and secure.

GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've got policies to continue to grow our economy. And create the jobs of the 21-century. And here's some help for you to go get an education. Here's some help for you to go to a community college. We've expanded trade adjustment assistance. We want to help pay for you to gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21-century.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

SANCHEZ: A lot to talk about here. We're going to go more into detail on the debate at the bottom of the hour. That's when our senior political analyst Bill Schneider will join us.

KAGAN: Well, if you're looking at numbers 19 days to go. The presidential campaign is now in a sprint toward November.

Our Suzanne Malveaux is in Scottsdale, Arizona covering President Bush.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Daryn. It was late last night, President Bush before 35,000 supporters said that he enjoyed this debate. It was really an opportunity for him to lay out his vision the next four years. And while Bush aides say that they believe he had a strong performance last night, they are eager to get the president back on the road in familiar and friendly territory.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: In order to make sure we're secure there must be a comprehensive plan.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's choosing time, Bush aides say. The president will be traveling to key battleground states nearly every day until the election.

(CHEERING)

BUSH: Thank you all!

MALVEAUX: This week: Nevada, Oregon, Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida. Mr. Bush's strategy, to promote his vision of protecting the country and growing the economy.

KARL ROVE, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: He gave us the wind at our backs. The president was the clear, commanding victor tonight. And it's going to give us a great momentum going out on the trail here for the last 19 days.

MALVEAUX: Bush aides say there are still 14 battleground states left, but they will dwindle fast. The Bush campaign will shift its resources for TV ads and presidential trips accordingly. Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd says he's already seeing signs that the Kerry camp is giving up on hard-fought territory.

MATTHEW DOWD, STRATEGIST, BUSH-CHENEY: They've pull out of Missouri. They pulled out of Arizona. They pulled out of Arkansas. They pulled out of Virginia. They pulled out of North Carolina. All states that they've ceded to us, so that they're now having to defend more Gore states than compete in Bush states, which is a very good sign for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, have a good day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you. Have a great day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

MALVEAUX: At the same time, the Bush campaign is mobilizing its 1.2 million volunteers to get people to the polls. But strategy aside, political analysts warn that unforeseen events could dramatically impact the election. For instance, the capture of Osama bin Laden, more violence on the ground in Iraq, or another terrorist attack.

DAVID GERGEN, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": If there is violence from terrorists, much will hap -- depend on where it happens. If there's great violence against American troops overseas, that could very easily play toward the advantage of Senator Kerry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And Daryn, today President Bush hits two very important states. Nevada he makes two stops; that's a state that he narrowly won back in 2000. He goes on to Oregon. He's going to face more difficult challenges there. That is a state that has an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent, 900 jobs lost between the months of July and August. But the Bush campaign believes that it is still very much a state in play -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. And as we move the story forward, looking at Nevada. Not just President Bush but Mrs. Bush will be there today, as well. How hopeful is the Bush campaign about Nevada?

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly she'll have a significant role there. She'll be speaking before the AARP. Of course, the elderly vote very important to the Bush campaign. She is playing a very significant role they do feel. Although the polls show neck and neck, they feel that they can pull out Nevada. But President Bush, four years ago had a 3.5 lead in that state. Now a dead heat. They feel if they keep going back and making some progress they'll have an impact there.

But of course, Daryn, one of the key decisions this campaign is going to have to make in the next couple of weeks is which states they pull out. Where do they pull out their resources, their television ads, and where do they focus next in those final days?

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux in Scottsdale, Arizona. Thank you.

And you can check out the president's campaign rally during CNN's "LIVE FROM" that is about three hours from now.

SANCHEZ: And John Kerry also plans to try his luck in Las Vegas. Our Ed Henry is there. He's covering the Kerry campaign. He's joining us now on the phone.

Good morning, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick. That's right, the Kerry campaign is claiming victory. Senator Edward Kennedy put out a statement late last night saying it was a clean sweep, three for three. Senator Kennedy said the election can't come soon enough for John Kerry. John Kerry himself at a rally in Tempe after the debate, with the rock band Fu Fighters providing the music there, said he enjoyed the debate. but he's looking forward to talking even more about how he will fight for the middle class, while he believes the president is fighting for corporations. Senator Kerry said he laid out some of those differences in the debate, but not all of them. And the Kerry camp is now vowing they will do that over the next 10 days.

They're going to have a series of policy addresses on domestic issues, laying out what they say will be clear choices on: jobs, health care, education. They've been wanting to shift the focus a bit from Iraq for weeks now to the domestic front. News events have gotten in the way and they have not really been able to make that shift yet. They think they might finally have the opening. The momentum to do that, start talking about issues here on the home front.

That, in fact, will start today with a speech here in Las Vegas to AARP, the nation's largest senior citizens organization. And Senator Kerry will point out for example, that he agrees with AARP about importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, something that the president has not been on board for.

As you mentioned earlier in Nevada, still a battleground state. But an even bigger battleground perhaps is Iowa. and that's where John Kerry will finish the day after the speech on Medicare prescription drugs, and senior citizens issues. Health care in general. He's going to move on to a rally tonight in Des Moines -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Hey Ed, I saw something develop last night, which I thought was somewhat curious. I saw Senator Kerry going out of his way, sometimes turning questions into another direction, as a matter of fact, to appeal to: women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and gay Americans. Is he trending to target specific demographics? And will we see a continuation of this?

HENRY: It's very interesting you noticed that. Because in the debate, he did seem to be trying to bring home some Democratic -- traditional Democratic voters. As you mentioned, African-Americans, women. There's been concern in the Kerry campaign in recent weeks that a lot of polls showing that female voters, who went very strongly for Al Gore in 2000, maybe were shifting a bit towards President Bush perhaps on the security issue. So he did want to bring those voters home.

But I think now what you will start to see is a little bit of a move to the middle after that debate. What the Kerry camp says is that there may be a little less, strident rhetoric on Iraq for example. They feel that they've already gotten a lot of the anti-Bush vote with lines earlier in this campaign, like "wrong war, wrong time."

They now want to move to the middle, appeal to swing voters and Independents. But you're right. He was reaching out to liberals a bit last night. But I think moving forward, they hope to reach out to the middle more in the weeks ahead.

SANCHEZ: And he figured lot of other people were probably watching baseball last night, so it was an opportunity. Ed Henry, we do thank you for that report my friend.

Now, we plan to bring you a portion of John Henry's address -- or John Kerry's address, pardon me, to the AARP convention. That's coming up around 2:30 p.m. Eastern -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, if you were keeping score last night during the debate, the candidates, both of them each strayed from the truth a bit last night.

Our Jeanne Meserve there was there on duty to catch them. Here now is her "Debate Fact Check."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For this one night, at least, Tempe, Arizona was the home of the whopper. Both candidates got facts wrong.

BUSH: I don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. That's kind of one of those exaggerations.

MESERVE: Well, he said something awfully close in March of 2000.

BUSH: I repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.

MESERVE: But Kerry got things wrong, too.

KERRY: Let me just share something, this president is the first president ever, I think, not to -- not to meet with the NAACP. This is a president who hasn't met with the Black Congressional Caucus.

MESERVE: It is true that Bush is the first president since Herbert Hoover not to meet with the NAACP, but he has met with the Congressional Black Caucus at least twice. Once last February.

BUSH: He voted to increase taxes 98 times.

MESERVE: But an independent analysis says that counts multiple votes on the same bill.

KERRY: Five hundred thousand kids lost after school programs because of your budget.

MESERVE: Wrong. Bush did propose cutting $400 million in after school funding in his 2004 budget. But Congress refused to go along. No children lost their program.

BUSH: He's proposed $2.2 trillion of new spending and yet...

MESERVE: Bush was using an old figure from the conservative American Enterprise Institute. An analysis by the nonpartisan Concord Coalition says Kerry's proposals will cost $1.3 trillion. That group put the very same price tag on the proposals of George W. Bush.

KERRY: Five million Americans have lost their health insurance in this country.

MESERVE: Well, the number of uninsured has gone up. But Kerry is incorrect to suggest that all those people lost their health care coverage.

In previous debates Kerry repeatedly got one fact wrong.

KERRY: And so today, we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost, $200 billion.

We could have saved $200 billion and an invasion of Iraq.

MESERVE: Wednesday night he put it differently.

KERRY: And America now is paying already $120 billion, up to $200 billion before we're finished.

MESERVE: He got it right. Finally.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Paula Zahn is on the road hearing what voters have to say. She'll host a town hall meeting tonight in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. CNN's Paula Zahn "NOW" airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

SANCHEZ: We've got some interesting pictures to show with you right now. This is coming in from Mount St. Helens. This is one of the first times we've been able to zoom in so close and actually see some of this well, it's called molten rock. I suppose some people would tend to call this lava, since they're seeing some of the actual melting of the surface there.

Not particularly alarming, given the fact that most scientists have been saying all along that they expected something like this would be happening throughout the day. They say it's a magma formation, and they also say that's the reason that we've seen some of this mist on top of the mountain as well.

We'll certainly be following throughout the day and if we get any other pictures like that that actually show us some of that red core, we'll continue to take you back there. But most importantly, we'll tell you when it is significant for the people living around it.

KAGAN: Here's the deal. The stuff is hot.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: No touch, as you would say to one of your four kids. Hot

SANCHEZ: Stay away. KAGAN: yes. Absolutely. Much more on the volcanoes been going off just about on schedule in our first hour in the last few days. So you know it's time...

SANCHEZ: Oh, good. So we're used to this.

KAGAN: Exactly. Time to be at work if Mount St. Helens is blowing some steam.

SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.

KAGAN: A lot of news ahead. Yaser Hamdi speaking to CNN after being held for three years as an enemy combatant. You'll want to hear what he has to say.

SANCHEZ: More deadly violence in Baghdad this morning and Americans are among the victims. We're going to take you there live.

KAGAN: And breast cancer and African-American women. Is it about genetics? We'll talk to an expert, all ahead when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: For nearly three years the U.S. government held Yaser Hamdi incommunicado. Now, he breaks his silence in an exclusive interview you'll see only here on CNN.

Hamdi, on the left, is the Louisiana-born Saudi captured in Afghanistan in December 2001. The U.S. says he was fighting with the Taliban, which Hamdi denies. He ended at the up at the U.S. Naval Brig in South Carolina as an enemy combatant, without charges and without an attorney. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdi's favor and the U.S. agreed to let him go. Hamdi, who had to renounce his U.S. citizenship, tells CNN that he understands why he was detained. But he believes his case should have been resolved much sooner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YASER HAMDI, FMR. DETAINEE: I believe that I'm not an enemy combatant. I am an innocent person. And they was proving that all the time for them, I answer all the questions that they ask me very seriously. And I answer it very -- I was cooperative and I give them all the details. And the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest justice level in the United States, they ruled my favor. Which give us the proof that I am an innocent man. And if I was not an innocent man, you will not -- I will not be speaking with you at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We should tell you the conditions of Hamdi's release prevent him from traveling outside Saudi Arabia without giving advance notice. And he's not allowed to go to: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Syria, or the West Bank and Gaza. KAGAN: Two American civilians are among the seven people killed today by a pair of large explosions inside Baghdad's Green Zone.

CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is in the Iraqi capital. He has the latest.

Brent, hello.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. Two powerful explosions hit the Green Zone several hours ago, killing seven people, including two U.S. citizens. Now, it does seem that one of those explosions, according to officials on the ground here, was caused by a suicide bomber who blew himself up or herself up, close to either a souvenir market inside the Green Zone or a cafe. Not quite clear at the stage.

And this area is used by very many Iraqis and various other nationalities. Two very powerful blasts we saw from our live shot position. Large columns of smoke rising from at least one fire. And there had been concerns about security within the Green Zone for the past week or more, when British Embassy officials inside there say that an explosive device was found hidden inside a sandbag packed with nails outside a cafe. One of the locations that was targeted this day.

So very serious concerns about the level of security inside the Green Zone, which is effectively the seat of power for Iraq. It's where the U.S. and British Embassies are located, as well as very many other Iraqi institutions, and the offices of interim government Iraqi officials.

In other developments, more U.S. air strikes. Two of them this day Thursday, against suspected terror targets in Fallujah. That key rebel stronghold west of Baghdad. These latest attacks coming 24 hours after Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi warned the people of Fallujah that unless they hand over the most wanted terror suspect in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, then Fallujah can expect a wide ranging military offensive in the not too distance future -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Brent Sadler with the latest from Baghdad. Brent, thank you.

SANCHEZ: And of course, we're going to be watching all the campaigns today preparing for Election Day. The candidates are ready. But will the voting booths be? A look at potential problems, yes, possibly once again at the polls. That's coming up.

KAGAN: That is. But first, no blues in St. Louis. Baseball playoff update just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: In case you chose to watch the debates and not this, here it is, highlights. In Major League Baseball the Astros fell to the Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Pennant Race. The 10 to 7 score was identical, interestingly enough, to the tally in Game 1 of the American League Series between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Now in last night's second game between the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Yanks pushed their lead in the series to 2 to nothing, beating Boston 3-1.

It's a war of words. A hard look at the issues and what the candidates said about them last night. Our Bill Schneider, who better, joins us with his reaction.

KAGAN: Plus, we continue our look at breast cancer awareness month. We're going to take a look at a new form of treatment that could reduce radiation from weeks to days.

CNN LIVE TODAY is back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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