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CNN Live Sunday

Who Will Be Next Head of Homeland Security?; A Look at the Two Marys

Aired December 12, 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.


ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's 11:00 a.m. in Washington, 8:00 a.m. on the west coast. I'm Erica Hill in today for Fredricka Whitfield at CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, more questions than answers as the search for a homeland security chief continues. We are live at the White House.
Also for many service families, operation baby boom is now under way. We'll explain.

And a bit later, the saint and the sinner. Two different women, one holy bond. CNN PRESENTS takes a closer look at the two women named Mary. But first a check of the top stories at this hour.

At least 14 people are dead after a bombing at a public market in the southern Philippines. Dozens more were wounded. Islamic terror groups have been blamed for previous bombings in the area. A live report from the Philippines is just ahead.

The Bush administration has been listening in on phone calls to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency according to a report in today's "Washington Post." The paper says the calls between Mohamed ElBaradei and Iranian officials are being checked to see if the U.S. can force the head of the atomic watchdog agency out of his job.

High winds and cold temperatures are slowing down the cleanup of an oil spill off Alaska. Wildlife experts are trying to reach the scene in the Aleutian Islands where a 738-foot tanker broke apart when it ran aground on Wednesday. A search for six missing crew members was suspended Friday night.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

A stupid mistake. That's what Bernard Kerik, the former nominee for director of homeland security says after learning about the questionable immigration status of a nanny who worked for him. Now the White House has to find someone else to take over the sprawling agency. Dana Bash picks up the story for us now from the White House. Good morning Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Erica. The president this morning went for a bike ride after attending church around the corner from the White House and of course until Friday the only remaining post in his cabinet he thought he had to fill was for secretary of Health and Human Services and White house officials tell us that that announcement is likely to be tomorrow morning.

But of course now, Mr. Bush has got to go back to the drawing board on trying to find another homeland security secretary. At this point there are still a lot of - there is still a lot of discussion about what exactly went wrong with Bernard Kerik and his nomination, a lot of discussion this morning on the Sunday morning talk shows from Democrats and Republicans. Senators who are saying that they don't understand why Kerik wasn't better vetted at the White House.

Now the White House insists that they don't have a flawed or rushed process, that a team of lawyers did look over Kerik's records and interviewed him, even asked him questions and were assured that nothing like the fact that he had somebody working for him with questionable legal status actually existed. Now, Senator Susan Collins, who is the chairman of the committee in the Senate which will oversee the confirmation process of homeland security, said that she thought that Bernard Kerik would have been a good pick for this position but that in terms of what happened, she blames him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R) MAINE: It is disturbing that apparently there was information in his background that was not shared with the White House. I know that the White House vetting process is a thorough one. I know for certainty that there are questions asked about domestic employees, financial matters and legal disputes. And it appears that Mr. Kerik did not fully answer those questions perhaps because he was not aware in the case of the nanny that he actually had a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the problem for this particular nominee was immigration and it was a bigger problem considering the fact that the homeland security secretary oversees immigration. So, that was a deal breaker across the board White House officials and senators all said. Now at the White House they say that it is unfortunate that this came out after Kerik's nomination was public but that they think that at least the process worked and at least they avoided some bloody and perhaps embarrassing confirmation hearings.

The president, we are told, is moving on. He is already starting to consider who he might put into place. This morning a lot of talk again from Republicans and Democrats about the idea of a Democrat being in this position. Joe Lieberman is somebody who is being talked about. He, of course, is the ranking Democrat on the same committee that Susan Collins is on, the one that confirms this position. He is also an original author of the whole concept of the Homeland Security Department. The White House is being mum at this point on whether or not they are considering him very seriously or anybody else. Erica.

HILL: Well, if any of that changes, Dana, we know you will be bringing us the latest. Thanks so much. And of course, we'll continue to bring you more on the story. Today at noon Eastern, two leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Joseph Biden will join Wolf Blitzer on LATE EDITION, the last word in Sunday talk.

And we want to bring you now some breaking news. Our John Vause is standing by in Jerusalem. We are receiving reports at this hour of an explosion in southern Gaza. John, what can you tell us?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, there is nothing official from the Israelis. However Palestinian sources tell CNN a short time ago, two suicide bombers exploded themselves in a tunnel which had been dug underneath an Israeli military checkpoint, an Israeli military base in Raffa, which is in the southern part of Gaza. That's the border between Egypt and Gaza. This is near a frequent area of attack.

We are hearing from Palestinian sources that this was a joint operation between the Islamic militant group Hamas and a new group which we haven't heard from before, called Fattah Hawk (ph). Now Fattah is the political party which Yasser Arafat used to be the head of, so this is a new group which we haven't heard of. We are getting reports of casualties. We do not know who is dead and who has been injured, but unofficially we are hearing from the Israelis that at least seven people have either been hurt or been killed in this explosion Erica.

HILL: It seems there has been a bit of a resurgence in violence specifically in Gaza lately, is that correct?

VAUSE: Gaza has been relatively quiet since the death of Yasser Arafat but what we have seen over the last week at least was an increase in Israeli activity. There was two targeted assassinations as the Israelis call them, extra judicial assassinations are calling (ph) through the Palestinians. That was on Thursday when Israeli air strikes attempted to kill a number of Palestinian militants. Both those air strikes are unsuccessful.

Israel has a policy of targeting people who they call ticking bombs, militants involved in planning attacks on Israelis. That was on Thursday. It's been relatively quiet up until now. But around the Raffa area there has always been this threat to the Israeli military bases which are spread out along that border. It's about a 70 kilometer long border there, that part of Gaza separating Egypt and Gaza. It's called the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) route and quite often you have these tunnels which are dug from Egypt into Gaza.

Often they are used for smuggling weapons and drugs, that kind of thing. But also in the past they have been used for this kind of explosive activity. They pack these tunnels full of explosives and then detonate them. This time it seems that they used two suicide bombers in the attack. Erica.

HILL: All right John Vause, live for us in Jerusalem. We will continue to check in with you throughout the day.

In other news around the world now, Palestinian sources say eight school children were wounded when an Israeli tank shell exploded in a Gaza schoolyard this morning. Medical and security sources say the children suffered moderate to light injuries. The Israeli military said they responded to what they thought were mortar shells but only used light weapons not tank shells.

Mahmoud Abbas, the first high-ranking Palestinian leader to visit Kuwait since the Gulf war, apologized to the Kuwaitis for the Palestinian position to Iraq in the 1990 invasion. At the time, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat supported former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Kuwait. Abbas is trying to repair Palestinian relations among Arab nations.

And as we mentioned at the top of the show, more than a dozen people were killed at a market in the southern Philippines. The bomb blast that killed them also injured nearly 60 others. Aneesh Raman has the latest now in the situation in General Santos city. Good afternoon to you there.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good afternoon to you. The latest number we have are that at least 14 people died including a 7-year-old child and nearly 60 wounded, of which 15 are critical after a bomb went off in the southern Philippine port city of General Santos. The bomb took place at a crowded outdoor market. The city has about 500,000 residents. It's predominantly Christian so as you can imagine, there was a lot of holiday shopping going on.

Police officials tell us three people died at the scene. The rest died at the hospital. Given the number of critically injured, it is likely that death toll will rise. There has been no claim of responsibility yet for this attack, but it is important to note that the city is located on Mindanao Island. It is a region that is familiar with both separatists and terrorist violence in the past.

There are many rebel groups operating there, but two of the most notable include MILF, a separatist organization with whom the government has a tenuous cease fire agreement at the moment, and Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist organization labeled so by both the U.S. and Philippine government among others. Both groups have years long links to Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda's regional arm in southeast Asia.

Now officials that we have just spoken to are being extremely cautious at laying blame anywhere. They are investigating this scene, trying to decipher what exactly has taken place. In terms of past experience though, MILF, given the cease fire, is unlikely to come out with any claim of responsibility. They don't do that and they haven't done that in the past.

Abu Sayyaf's most recent violent attack was earlier this year when 100 people were killed as they left on a ferry from Manila. Their claim of responsibility at that time was almost instantaneous, so as we go forward, it will be important to see how quickly any claim comes, if it comes at all. Government officials are cautioning any sort of jump to conclusion that this is in fact a terrorist attack, saying it could even potentially be some sort of local feud but it's something they have done before to try and minimize the violence there. Erica.

HILL: All right, Aneesh Raman live for us in Manila. Thanks.

Up next, some school kids on a bus trip get a lesson on driving with the vehicle on fire. We're going to bring you that story coming up.

Plus, an FBI investigation at a Columbus high school has a few students especially concerned. We'll tell you why straight ahead. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Prints and pornography, new details emerge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. That story tops our look now at news across America. A source says the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser have been found on pornographic magazines. The source, who is familiar with the case, tells CNN those magazines were seized during last year's raid on the singer's Neverland ranch.

A charter bus filled with dozens of school children catches fire on the New Jersey turnpike. The good news here, no one was hurt. The students from Virginia Beach were heading home after a trip to Manhattan.

And college football's highest honor goes to USC's quarterback Matt Leinart. He won the Heisman trophy last night in New York beating out Oklahoma State's White, who was trying to win his second Heisman. Leinart and White will meet again when the Trojans face off against the Sooners in the Orange Bowl for the national title on January 4th.

Racist hate mail aimed at celebrities, athletes and other public figures is now targeting high school students. The FBI fears the letters might be from the same person and that violence could result. The story now from CNN's Keith Oppenheim in Cleveland, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The boys at St. Ignatius High School change classes like it's a typical day. But the sense of security here has been threatened because of what arrived in the mail. Eight letters came in November, letters filled with racist language and hate for black men who date white women. School officials say the target of these letters was two African-American student athletes. Investigators believe because those students were seen in the newspaper posing in prom photos with white females, the letter writer threatened castration and death and urged white students to stop associating with the two black students.

PETER CORRIGAN, ST. IGNATIUS PRINCIPAL: It shakes the individual kids who think they're a potential victim.

OPPENHEIM: Another school, St. Edwards got two threat letters the FBI believes is from the same author.

SPEC. AGENT ROBERT HAWK, FBI: What we are concerned with is maybe this behavior may become more aggressive and someone may get hurt.

OPPENHEIM: The FBI's Robert Hawk says agents believe these most recent letters are connected to at least 60 other similar letters sent to prominent black men in the last two years, to players in the NFL...

HAWK: ... actors, members of Hollywood, members of the judiciary, those kinds of people have received letters here in the U.S.

OPPENHEIM: Investigators say this is the first time they know that high school students have been the target of this writer's hate mail. At St. Ignatius, the letters triggered deep fears.

CORRIGAN: There was a larger scale level of alarm by parents of many minority students and athletes as well.

OPPENHEIM: Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: U.S. troops home from war are starting a new mission -- one you may call operation baby boom. Some folks are saying it's even more intense than anything they have seen on the battlefield.

And later, the Bible's two Marys and their continued relevance and influence nearly 2,000 years after their death. A CNN PRESENTS preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: More violence mars the weekend in Iraq. Authorities are trying to identify five bodies found in two towns, four in Hasaw, one in Balad. All five were beheaded. In the city of Mosul, a suicide bomber drove into a military vehicle while insurgents opened fire on U.S. soldiers. At least seven troops were wounded. And insurgents also tried to take over a police station in the city, but they were held off.

It can be sometimes tough to find good news in war time. But a visit to the home of the 101st Airborne finds sort of a boom of blessings taking place. Elizabeth Cohen shows us the family spirit on base at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When he's not swaddling his new baby girl, 33-year-old Jeff Lamprecht flies an Apache helicopter for the Army's 101st airborne division. Jeff came home from Iraq last winter along with thousands of other soldiers from Ft. Campbell. And a little more than nine months later a full fledged baby boom is under way. Usually in one month they deliver about 130 babies here, but this month they're expecting to deliver 220 babies. Jeff says being in the delivery room for the birth of baby Victoria was more intense than being on the battlefield.

JEFF LAMPRECHT, APACHE PILOT, 101ST AIRBORNE: People shooting at me, that's all right, but seeing my wife helpless on that table. That brought a tear to my eye.

COHEN: It's a tender moment for the new family, all the more sentimental knowing Jeff will be shipping out again sometime soon. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's going to do what he has to get done, and Tory will be back here just rooting him right along.

COHEN: Victoria was delivered by an obstetrician called in from another state to help handle the overload.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few weeks ago, I got a call saying can you be here by November 1st? So I packed everything up and here I am.

COHEN: Several babies were born the day we visited. In each case the father was on hand. But in today's military, it's not just fathers who serve.

TRACEY BAILEY, BLACKHAWK PILOT, U.S. ARMY: I am a spouse but I'm also a soldier.

COHEN: Tracy Bailey pilots a Blackhawk helicopter. So does her husband. They both served in Iraq and when they returned, they didn't waste any time.

BAILEY: We've been married for three years, and the Army just hasn't allowed us to stop and have babies. So this has been planned.

COHEN: The twins make theirs a family of six, a family looking forward to an extra special holiday season.

BAILEY: This is the first Christmas we are together in the United States with our daughters and our sons and everybody is together. And looking at the future, we don't know if there will be one where we're all going to be together. This is going to be the one to remember.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: We'll have more on the situation in Iraq and one reporter's role in questioning Donald Rumsfeld coming up in just about 10 minutes on "RELIABLE SOURCES." Howard Kurtz has a preview.

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Coming up, asking Donald Rumsfeld, the question that caused a ruckus. Did a reporter cross the line by planting that question with a soldier? We will also ask "Times" Matt Cooper about facing possible jail time in connection with a Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.

And have the media been way too late in discovering that baseball has a steroids problem? That and the premature obituaries for Treasury Secretary John Snow all ahead on "RELIABLE SOURCES."

HILL: Two of Christianity's most studied women, Mary, the mother of Christ and the repentant prostitute Mary Magdalene. Exploring the two Mary's, beliefs about them then and now. Your preview of tonight's "CNN PRESENTS" hosted by Sigourney Weaver is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HILL: This time of year is one of spiritual reflection for millions of people around the world. Tonight "CNN PRESENTS" offers a new look at the two women closest to Jesus and their role in the birth of Christianity. The two Mary's, the Madonna and the Magdalene, the documentary is narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIGOURNEY WEAVER, ACTRESS: They are two of the most popular women on the planet. Billions pray to them. Great temples honor them and both are bona fide media stars in blockbuster movies and in best- selling books and this, despite the fact that they have both been dead for nearly 2,000 years. One is venerated as the mother of Jesus. The good virgin Mary who said yes to God's request and who reigns from heaven crowned with stars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could say that Christianity began the moment Mary gave birth. In fact you could say that our whole modern world begins the moment Mary gave birth, the way we date our checks. It's the way we make dates. It's the way we count our age, count our anniversaries and so on from the moment Mary gave birth.

WEAVER: The other Mary, called Magdalene and is the bad girl who is seized by demons. In ancient times scholars say, her flaming red hair was a sign that she was touched by Satan until she found Jesus and her conversion at his hands made her Christianity's original hooker with a heart of gold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I learned what most people did, which was that Mary Magdalene was a repentant prostitute. She was a follower of Jesus, but she was the woman caught in adultery. She appeared at the resurrection but the prominent part imagery of her was the repentant bad girl.

WEAVER: Scholars have called these two Marys the two faces of eve. One, the first perfect woman, the other, the first fallen woman. When Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, Christian doctrine says she stained humanity with original sin and women have been struggling ever since to overcome that burden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: CNN PRESENTS: "The Two Marys: The Madonna and the Magdalene," the documentary narrated by Sigourney Weaver premieres tonight at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

And there is more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. Up next, "RELIABLE SOURCES" takes a closer look at the controversy behind an embedded reporter's role in some tough questions to Donald Rumsfeld.

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 December 12, 2004 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's 11:00 a.m. in Washington, 8:00 a.m. on the west coast. I'm Erica Hill in today for Fredricka Whitfield at CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, more questions than answers as the search for a homeland security chief continues. We are live at the White House.
Also for many service families, operation baby boom is now under way. We'll explain.

And a bit later, the saint and the sinner. Two different women, one holy bond. CNN PRESENTS takes a closer look at the two women named Mary. But first a check of the top stories at this hour.

At least 14 people are dead after a bombing at a public market in the southern Philippines. Dozens more were wounded. Islamic terror groups have been blamed for previous bombings in the area. A live report from the Philippines is just ahead.

The Bush administration has been listening in on phone calls to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency according to a report in today's "Washington Post." The paper says the calls between Mohamed ElBaradei and Iranian officials are being checked to see if the U.S. can force the head of the atomic watchdog agency out of his job.

High winds and cold temperatures are slowing down the cleanup of an oil spill off Alaska. Wildlife experts are trying to reach the scene in the Aleutian Islands where a 738-foot tanker broke apart when it ran aground on Wednesday. A search for six missing crew members was suspended Friday night.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

A stupid mistake. That's what Bernard Kerik, the former nominee for director of homeland security says after learning about the questionable immigration status of a nanny who worked for him. Now the White House has to find someone else to take over the sprawling agency. Dana Bash picks up the story for us now from the White House. Good morning Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Erica. The president this morning went for a bike ride after attending church around the corner from the White House and of course until Friday the only remaining post in his cabinet he thought he had to fill was for secretary of Health and Human Services and White house officials tell us that that announcement is likely to be tomorrow morning.

But of course now, Mr. Bush has got to go back to the drawing board on trying to find another homeland security secretary. At this point there are still a lot of - there is still a lot of discussion about what exactly went wrong with Bernard Kerik and his nomination, a lot of discussion this morning on the Sunday morning talk shows from Democrats and Republicans. Senators who are saying that they don't understand why Kerik wasn't better vetted at the White House.

Now the White House insists that they don't have a flawed or rushed process, that a team of lawyers did look over Kerik's records and interviewed him, even asked him questions and were assured that nothing like the fact that he had somebody working for him with questionable legal status actually existed. Now, Senator Susan Collins, who is the chairman of the committee in the Senate which will oversee the confirmation process of homeland security, said that she thought that Bernard Kerik would have been a good pick for this position but that in terms of what happened, she blames him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R) MAINE: It is disturbing that apparently there was information in his background that was not shared with the White House. I know that the White House vetting process is a thorough one. I know for certainty that there are questions asked about domestic employees, financial matters and legal disputes. And it appears that Mr. Kerik did not fully answer those questions perhaps because he was not aware in the case of the nanny that he actually had a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the problem for this particular nominee was immigration and it was a bigger problem considering the fact that the homeland security secretary oversees immigration. So, that was a deal breaker across the board White House officials and senators all said. Now at the White House they say that it is unfortunate that this came out after Kerik's nomination was public but that they think that at least the process worked and at least they avoided some bloody and perhaps embarrassing confirmation hearings.

The president, we are told, is moving on. He is already starting to consider who he might put into place. This morning a lot of talk again from Republicans and Democrats about the idea of a Democrat being in this position. Joe Lieberman is somebody who is being talked about. He, of course, is the ranking Democrat on the same committee that Susan Collins is on, the one that confirms this position. He is also an original author of the whole concept of the Homeland Security Department. The White House is being mum at this point on whether or not they are considering him very seriously or anybody else. Erica.

HILL: Well, if any of that changes, Dana, we know you will be bringing us the latest. Thanks so much. And of course, we'll continue to bring you more on the story. Today at noon Eastern, two leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Joseph Biden will join Wolf Blitzer on LATE EDITION, the last word in Sunday talk.

And we want to bring you now some breaking news. Our John Vause is standing by in Jerusalem. We are receiving reports at this hour of an explosion in southern Gaza. John, what can you tell us?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, there is nothing official from the Israelis. However Palestinian sources tell CNN a short time ago, two suicide bombers exploded themselves in a tunnel which had been dug underneath an Israeli military checkpoint, an Israeli military base in Raffa, which is in the southern part of Gaza. That's the border between Egypt and Gaza. This is near a frequent area of attack.

We are hearing from Palestinian sources that this was a joint operation between the Islamic militant group Hamas and a new group which we haven't heard from before, called Fattah Hawk (ph). Now Fattah is the political party which Yasser Arafat used to be the head of, so this is a new group which we haven't heard of. We are getting reports of casualties. We do not know who is dead and who has been injured, but unofficially we are hearing from the Israelis that at least seven people have either been hurt or been killed in this explosion Erica.

HILL: It seems there has been a bit of a resurgence in violence specifically in Gaza lately, is that correct?

VAUSE: Gaza has been relatively quiet since the death of Yasser Arafat but what we have seen over the last week at least was an increase in Israeli activity. There was two targeted assassinations as the Israelis call them, extra judicial assassinations are calling (ph) through the Palestinians. That was on Thursday when Israeli air strikes attempted to kill a number of Palestinian militants. Both those air strikes are unsuccessful.

Israel has a policy of targeting people who they call ticking bombs, militants involved in planning attacks on Israelis. That was on Thursday. It's been relatively quiet up until now. But around the Raffa area there has always been this threat to the Israeli military bases which are spread out along that border. It's about a 70 kilometer long border there, that part of Gaza separating Egypt and Gaza. It's called the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) route and quite often you have these tunnels which are dug from Egypt into Gaza.

Often they are used for smuggling weapons and drugs, that kind of thing. But also in the past they have been used for this kind of explosive activity. They pack these tunnels full of explosives and then detonate them. This time it seems that they used two suicide bombers in the attack. Erica.

HILL: All right John Vause, live for us in Jerusalem. We will continue to check in with you throughout the day.

In other news around the world now, Palestinian sources say eight school children were wounded when an Israeli tank shell exploded in a Gaza schoolyard this morning. Medical and security sources say the children suffered moderate to light injuries. The Israeli military said they responded to what they thought were mortar shells but only used light weapons not tank shells.

Mahmoud Abbas, the first high-ranking Palestinian leader to visit Kuwait since the Gulf war, apologized to the Kuwaitis for the Palestinian position to Iraq in the 1990 invasion. At the time, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat supported former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Kuwait. Abbas is trying to repair Palestinian relations among Arab nations.

And as we mentioned at the top of the show, more than a dozen people were killed at a market in the southern Philippines. The bomb blast that killed them also injured nearly 60 others. Aneesh Raman has the latest now in the situation in General Santos city. Good afternoon to you there.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good afternoon to you. The latest number we have are that at least 14 people died including a 7-year-old child and nearly 60 wounded, of which 15 are critical after a bomb went off in the southern Philippine port city of General Santos. The bomb took place at a crowded outdoor market. The city has about 500,000 residents. It's predominantly Christian so as you can imagine, there was a lot of holiday shopping going on.

Police officials tell us three people died at the scene. The rest died at the hospital. Given the number of critically injured, it is likely that death toll will rise. There has been no claim of responsibility yet for this attack, but it is important to note that the city is located on Mindanao Island. It is a region that is familiar with both separatists and terrorist violence in the past.

There are many rebel groups operating there, but two of the most notable include MILF, a separatist organization with whom the government has a tenuous cease fire agreement at the moment, and Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist organization labeled so by both the U.S. and Philippine government among others. Both groups have years long links to Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda's regional arm in southeast Asia.

Now officials that we have just spoken to are being extremely cautious at laying blame anywhere. They are investigating this scene, trying to decipher what exactly has taken place. In terms of past experience though, MILF, given the cease fire, is unlikely to come out with any claim of responsibility. They don't do that and they haven't done that in the past.

Abu Sayyaf's most recent violent attack was earlier this year when 100 people were killed as they left on a ferry from Manila. Their claim of responsibility at that time was almost instantaneous, so as we go forward, it will be important to see how quickly any claim comes, if it comes at all. Government officials are cautioning any sort of jump to conclusion that this is in fact a terrorist attack, saying it could even potentially be some sort of local feud but it's something they have done before to try and minimize the violence there. Erica.

HILL: All right, Aneesh Raman live for us in Manila. Thanks.

Up next, some school kids on a bus trip get a lesson on driving with the vehicle on fire. We're going to bring you that story coming up.

Plus, an FBI investigation at a Columbus high school has a few students especially concerned. We'll tell you why straight ahead. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Prints and pornography, new details emerge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. That story tops our look now at news across America. A source says the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser have been found on pornographic magazines. The source, who is familiar with the case, tells CNN those magazines were seized during last year's raid on the singer's Neverland ranch.

A charter bus filled with dozens of school children catches fire on the New Jersey turnpike. The good news here, no one was hurt. The students from Virginia Beach were heading home after a trip to Manhattan.

And college football's highest honor goes to USC's quarterback Matt Leinart. He won the Heisman trophy last night in New York beating out Oklahoma State's White, who was trying to win his second Heisman. Leinart and White will meet again when the Trojans face off against the Sooners in the Orange Bowl for the national title on January 4th.

Racist hate mail aimed at celebrities, athletes and other public figures is now targeting high school students. The FBI fears the letters might be from the same person and that violence could result. The story now from CNN's Keith Oppenheim in Cleveland, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The boys at St. Ignatius High School change classes like it's a typical day. But the sense of security here has been threatened because of what arrived in the mail. Eight letters came in November, letters filled with racist language and hate for black men who date white women. School officials say the target of these letters was two African-American student athletes. Investigators believe because those students were seen in the newspaper posing in prom photos with white females, the letter writer threatened castration and death and urged white students to stop associating with the two black students.

PETER CORRIGAN, ST. IGNATIUS PRINCIPAL: It shakes the individual kids who think they're a potential victim.

OPPENHEIM: Another school, St. Edwards got two threat letters the FBI believes is from the same author.

SPEC. AGENT ROBERT HAWK, FBI: What we are concerned with is maybe this behavior may become more aggressive and someone may get hurt.

OPPENHEIM: The FBI's Robert Hawk says agents believe these most recent letters are connected to at least 60 other similar letters sent to prominent black men in the last two years, to players in the NFL...

HAWK: ... actors, members of Hollywood, members of the judiciary, those kinds of people have received letters here in the U.S.

OPPENHEIM: Investigators say this is the first time they know that high school students have been the target of this writer's hate mail. At St. Ignatius, the letters triggered deep fears.

CORRIGAN: There was a larger scale level of alarm by parents of many minority students and athletes as well.

OPPENHEIM: Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: U.S. troops home from war are starting a new mission -- one you may call operation baby boom. Some folks are saying it's even more intense than anything they have seen on the battlefield.

And later, the Bible's two Marys and their continued relevance and influence nearly 2,000 years after their death. A CNN PRESENTS preview.

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HILL: More violence mars the weekend in Iraq. Authorities are trying to identify five bodies found in two towns, four in Hasaw, one in Balad. All five were beheaded. In the city of Mosul, a suicide bomber drove into a military vehicle while insurgents opened fire on U.S. soldiers. At least seven troops were wounded. And insurgents also tried to take over a police station in the city, but they were held off.

It can be sometimes tough to find good news in war time. But a visit to the home of the 101st Airborne finds sort of a boom of blessings taking place. Elizabeth Cohen shows us the family spirit on base at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When he's not swaddling his new baby girl, 33-year-old Jeff Lamprecht flies an Apache helicopter for the Army's 101st airborne division. Jeff came home from Iraq last winter along with thousands of other soldiers from Ft. Campbell. And a little more than nine months later a full fledged baby boom is under way. Usually in one month they deliver about 130 babies here, but this month they're expecting to deliver 220 babies. Jeff says being in the delivery room for the birth of baby Victoria was more intense than being on the battlefield.

JEFF LAMPRECHT, APACHE PILOT, 101ST AIRBORNE: People shooting at me, that's all right, but seeing my wife helpless on that table. That brought a tear to my eye.

COHEN: It's a tender moment for the new family, all the more sentimental knowing Jeff will be shipping out again sometime soon. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's going to do what he has to get done, and Tory will be back here just rooting him right along.

COHEN: Victoria was delivered by an obstetrician called in from another state to help handle the overload.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few weeks ago, I got a call saying can you be here by November 1st? So I packed everything up and here I am.

COHEN: Several babies were born the day we visited. In each case the father was on hand. But in today's military, it's not just fathers who serve.

TRACEY BAILEY, BLACKHAWK PILOT, U.S. ARMY: I am a spouse but I'm also a soldier.

COHEN: Tracy Bailey pilots a Blackhawk helicopter. So does her husband. They both served in Iraq and when they returned, they didn't waste any time.

BAILEY: We've been married for three years, and the Army just hasn't allowed us to stop and have babies. So this has been planned.

COHEN: The twins make theirs a family of six, a family looking forward to an extra special holiday season.

BAILEY: This is the first Christmas we are together in the United States with our daughters and our sons and everybody is together. And looking at the future, we don't know if there will be one where we're all going to be together. This is going to be the one to remember.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: We'll have more on the situation in Iraq and one reporter's role in questioning Donald Rumsfeld coming up in just about 10 minutes on "RELIABLE SOURCES." Howard Kurtz has a preview.

HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Coming up, asking Donald Rumsfeld, the question that caused a ruckus. Did a reporter cross the line by planting that question with a soldier? We will also ask "Times" Matt Cooper about facing possible jail time in connection with a Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.

And have the media been way too late in discovering that baseball has a steroids problem? That and the premature obituaries for Treasury Secretary John Snow all ahead on "RELIABLE SOURCES."

HILL: Two of Christianity's most studied women, Mary, the mother of Christ and the repentant prostitute Mary Magdalene. Exploring the two Mary's, beliefs about them then and now. Your preview of tonight's "CNN PRESENTS" hosted by Sigourney Weaver is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HILL: This time of year is one of spiritual reflection for millions of people around the world. Tonight "CNN PRESENTS" offers a new look at the two women closest to Jesus and their role in the birth of Christianity. The two Mary's, the Madonna and the Magdalene, the documentary is narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

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SIGOURNEY WEAVER, ACTRESS: They are two of the most popular women on the planet. Billions pray to them. Great temples honor them and both are bona fide media stars in blockbuster movies and in best- selling books and this, despite the fact that they have both been dead for nearly 2,000 years. One is venerated as the mother of Jesus. The good virgin Mary who said yes to God's request and who reigns from heaven crowned with stars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could say that Christianity began the moment Mary gave birth. In fact you could say that our whole modern world begins the moment Mary gave birth, the way we date our checks. It's the way we make dates. It's the way we count our age, count our anniversaries and so on from the moment Mary gave birth.

WEAVER: The other Mary, called Magdalene and is the bad girl who is seized by demons. In ancient times scholars say, her flaming red hair was a sign that she was touched by Satan until she found Jesus and her conversion at his hands made her Christianity's original hooker with a heart of gold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I learned what most people did, which was that Mary Magdalene was a repentant prostitute. She was a follower of Jesus, but she was the woman caught in adultery. She appeared at the resurrection but the prominent part imagery of her was the repentant bad girl.

WEAVER: Scholars have called these two Marys the two faces of eve. One, the first perfect woman, the other, the first fallen woman. When Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, Christian doctrine says she stained humanity with original sin and women have been struggling ever since to overcome that burden.

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HILL: CNN PRESENTS: "The Two Marys: The Madonna and the Magdalene," the documentary narrated by Sigourney Weaver premieres tonight at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

And there is more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. Up next, "RELIABLE SOURCES" takes a closer look at the controversy behind an embedded reporter's role in some tough questions to Donald Rumsfeld.

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