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CNN Live At Daybreak

Soldiers Investigated for Refusing Mission; 'Hot Topics'; Red Sox Stunner

Aired October 18, 2004 - 06:29   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. military has released the top negotiator in Fallujah's peace talks. He had been detained for three days following the breakdown of negotiations with the Iraqi government. The city has been the scene of several strikes by U.S. troops. The city's negotiator says the rebel-held city wants an end to the fighting.
Britain now says it's considering a request from the U.S. to redeploy its troops in Iraq. The move could put British troops at greater risk. The British defense secretary will discuss it with Parliament today. Critics view it as a pre-election stunt for Prime Minister Tony Blair to assist President Bush.

In the meantime, some U.S. soldiers say those hot spots are getting too hot for them. The military is investigating a group of soldiers who refused to take part in a mission.

We have new information for you this morning. It's from CNN's Sara Dorsey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Brigadier General James Chambers says it's too early to tell if the 18 members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company will be punished for refusing to go on a convoy mission along a dangerous supply route last Wednesday.

BRIG. GEN. JAMES CHAMBERS, U.S. ARMY: The commander of the 300th ASG directed an investigation to determine if the Uniform Code of Military Justice was violated.

DORSEY: Members of the unit frantically called relatives back home, saying they were ordered to go on what they felt was a suicide mission.

Specialist Amber McClenny called her mom.

SPC. AMBER MCCLENNY, U.S. ARMY: Hi, mom, this is Amber. This is a real, real big emergency. I need you to contact someone. I mean, raise pure hell. Yesterday we refused to go on a convoy to Taji, which is above Baghdad.

DORSEY: The convoy was ordered to carry fuel from Tallil to Taji, just north of Baghdad. A member of the unit told his family the fuel had already been refused at one location because it was contaminated with water, and he couldn't understand why they were being ordered to take it somewhere else.

Sergeant Larry McCook told his wife the unit was ill-equipped for the dangerous mission.

PATRICIA ANN MCCOOK, WIFE OF U.S. SOLDIER: They don't have bullet-proof protection on the vehicles. They just don't go fast at all. It's just not safe to be in a hostile territory.

DORSEY: General Chambers says a full maintenance stand-down has been ordered, adding that driving a convoy is very dangerous and not a question of if but when they will be attacked. He says the Army is doing everything to protect the convoys.

CHAMBERS: Every convoy moving up and down the roads are escorted. Every soldier is armed. Every soldier has more than enough ammo.

DORSEY (on camera): The 18 soldiers will remain on duty until the investigation is finished. They will not go on missions during the maintenance stand-down, but will use the time to repair equipment and train.

Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And in a related matter, "The Washington Post" is reporting the former top commander in Iraq complained to the Pentagon last winter about critical gear and vital parts, as in shortage. The "Post" says Lieutenant Ricardo Sanchez considered his supply situation so poor that it threatened the troops' ability to fight. Senior Army officials say most of Sanchez's concerns have now been addressed.

Hot topic? Oh, yes. Live to Washington, D.C. and political editor of "The Journal's" "The Hotline" online, Vaughn Ververs is with us this morning.

Good morning, Vaughn.

VAUGHN VERVERS, EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about this convoy controversy. Some of those troops are coming home, and they will be talking. Will this be damaging to George Bush?

VERVERS: Well, it certainly does give a talking point to John Kerry's campaign and to Democrats, who are critical of the war and the way it's being handled. They've complained for a long time that soldiers weren't sent with enough armor and things that they needed when they went there in the first place. But as "The Washington Post" pointed out this morning, a lot of those problems have been fixed to this point.

And if you look at the -- there was an Annenberg poll that came out last week among the military members themselves, overwhelming support for President Bush, that's a good point for them to come back and talk about.

I don't think this is going to hurt the president too much. But I'll tell you, it does sort of point out and highlight the unstable situation in Iraq and the overall mess it appears to be over there. And I think that more than anything it's not helpful for the president.

COSTELLO: Gotcha. We want to move on to newspaper endorsements, because that's what viewers were seeing on our screen just a short time ago. A number of newspapers across the country have come out with their endorsements of which man they think should win the presidency. Let me just run down them quickly.

These are the Bush endorsements: The "Chicago Tribune," "Rocky Mountain News," the "Omaha World-Herald," the "Carlsbad Current Argus." And the "Canton Repository" has endorsed President Bush, which is important because that's in Stark County. And, of course, it's a very important county in Ohio. Ohio is a swing state.

Any of these others surprise you?

VERVERS: No, those are all -- a lot of these papers, we run the lists of these every four years when they endorse, and most of them endorse Democrats or they endorse Republicans. I mean, they're made up, the editorial pages of these papers have a voice to them, and those voices are either sometimes conservative or sometimes liberal, depending on the paper. So, you know, there's not a lot of surprises.

One of the biggest surprises, I think, we've seen so far in the endorsement battles has been the paper in Crawford, Texas, the hometown of President Bush where his ranch is, had endorsed John Kerry. And that's made a little bit of a flap. But, you know, these are not usually very surprising.

COSTELLO: No. In fact, our e-mail question of the morning, we asked viewers if they think that these endorsements matter, or will they change your opinion? By and large, people said absolutely not. We really don't care.

Let's go down the endorsements for John Kerry, though. "The New York Times," "The Boston Globe," the "Minneapolis Star Tribune," and the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" all have endorsed John Kerry. Really no surprise there.

VERVERS: No. And what these do -- and I agree that these newspaper endorsements don't really -- they're not going to sway votes one way or the other. People make up their own minds.

But what they do is they sort of give campaigns a little stamp of approval in some of these key states, whether it be Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, where this campaign is really being fought out. It just sort of gives them a stamp of approval to take to the voters, one more thing to talk about.

COSTELLO: You don't sound very excited about this issue, Vaughn. VERVERS: Well, you know, we read an awful lot of these. And, you know, frankly, most of them are very well-written, and they're thoughtful reason to arguments for supporting one candidate or another. But they're also a lot of times the same arguments and reasons that we hear from the campaign themselves. So, it sort of just stamps their approval on their platforms.

COSTELLO: Vaughn Ververs joining us on DAYBREAK this morning, thank you.

VERVERS: You betcha.

COSTELLO: President Bush has climbed to an 8-point lead over John Kerry in the latest "USA Today"/CNN/Gallup poll.

Editor-in-chief Frank Newport live in Princeton, New Jersey, at Gallup headquarters.

Good morning, Frank.

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

Indeed, the race is now exactly where it was prior to the debate period.

Now, we know that during the debate sequence, Kerry won. In fact, our polls conducted after each of the three presidential debates shows that Kerry was perceived by voters as doing better, but that seems to have been short-lived; that is, the impact on the race.

Here it was, September 24-26, 52 to 44. Then in two consecutive CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup polls conducted in the middle of the debates, the race was at a dead heat. Now, this past weekend after the final debate, the race has been recalibrated again, and it's back where it was among likely voters.

Among all registered voters, the race is 3 points, 49 percent for George W. Bush, 46 percent for John Kerry.

Let me hone in a little on what's going on in the minds of voters. What's the most important of four reasons we gave them for your vote? I left health care off, because it was lower among both Bush and Kerry voters.

But look at the difference here, right in the middle, terrorism, 54 percent. Of those Americans who say they're voting for Bush say terrorism is their No. 1 criteria. On Kerry voters, only 8 percent, so they totally discount terrorism as the No. 1 issue. It may be important, but not the No. 1 issue.

Kerry voters instead, economy 40 percent and Iraq 31 percent. Kerry does do a little better than Bush on the economy, but Bush still is perceived by a 6-point margin, Carol, as having a better ability to handle Iraq than Kerry. So he just hasn't been able to create enough emphasis on Iraq and his own plan for it, it looks like to us at this point, to counter George W. Bush's strength from terrorism. COSTELLO: Wow! I know you have some numbers about voter interest. Are people still really excited about casting a vote November 2?

NEWPORT: Oh, even more so. It was amazing yesterday as we sat here studying these numbers how significant a difference it is. I can't emphasize this enough.

This is a question we've asked in October before each of the last three elections: Do you think that this election matters more to you than most? And, look, back in '96, Clinton versus Dole, just 41 percent said yes; 2000, where it was Bush versus Gore, 47. And look now: 72 percent of Americans, a huge jump, say this election matters to them more than most elections.

Right now, we're also finding high levels of enthusiasm, Carol, a little higher among Republicans, 77 percent extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this year, 65 among Democrats. That difference is one of the reasons that Bush is doing better among likely voters, at least at the moment. Republicans seem to be a little more motivated as of the weekend poll -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Frank Newport with some fascinating numbers this morning, thank you.

Somewhere in Boston there's a Red Sox fan who works an early shift, who's just kicking himself for not seeing the end of that game. We'll recap it for you on the DAYBREAK "Scorecard." Plus, we'll have a live report from Fenway, where the fans just left a few hours ago.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Red Sox live to play another day. Boston kept its playoff hopes alive last night, stunning the New York Yankees in a 12- inning marathon.

Let's go live to Beantown now and Gail Huff from our affiliate WCBV.

Did you stay awake until the end of the game?

GAIL HUFF, CNN AFFILIATE WCBV REPORTER: Well, I'll tell you something, I was up going to work by the time this game was over. It was 1:30 in the morning before they wrapped this game up. Now it's Yankees 3, Red Sox 1.

The hope is still alive. As legend has it, those who know the Boston Red Sox know that it's been 86 years since we won a World Series. And, of course, many people claim that there is a curse on the Red Sox ever since Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. So, now they desperately want to reverse the curse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was such a good game and worth the wait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love our team!

HUFF (voice over): Excitement filled the air around Fenway Park this morning. The five-hour, 12-inning game left fans fatigued, but refueled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still alive!

HUFF: Boston police were out in huge numbers, enforcing the city's zero tolerance policy for public drinking and rowdiness. Police in riot gear forced the crowds to disperse. People were not allowed to hang around in the streets and cause trouble.

The city, meantime, was lit up with excitement. The crowds were spirited, but ruly.

The next generation of Red Sox fans is keeping the dream alive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that was so much fun. That was so nerve-wracking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yea!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUFF: A lot of bleary eyes this morning at school and at work. Those may remember that last year they went seven games, the Sox and Yankees, before the Sox ended up losing. So, they're hoping not to have to repeat something like that.

COSTELLO: Oh!

HUFF: Reporting live from Fenway, I'm Gail Huff -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Gail. We appreciate it.

We'll have much more with Chris Cotter later on, on DAYBREAK, on the game itself.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

U.S. forces have freed the chief negotiator for Fallujah, a city held by insurgents. The negotiator says the city still wants peace, despite a breakdown in talks with Iraq's interim government, to end recent fighting there.

The National Transportation Safety Board releases a series of reports today about last year's Staten Island ferry accident. Ten passengers were killed, more than 30 others injured in the accident.

In money news, the week has barely begun, and oil prices are already surging. The price of crude is now topping $55 a barrel. Lingering worries over supplies are fueling the costs. In culture, guess who's the sexiest woman alive? Oh, yes, it's Angelina Jolie, at least that's what the readers of "Esquire" magazine think. Halle Berry came in a close second.

In sports, the Houston Astros tied the National League championship series at two games apiece, with a 6-5 win over the Saint Louis Cardinals. That was a thrilling game as well. Game five tonight in Houston.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, do you know what time of year it is?

COSTELLO: Oh, cold and flu season.

MYERS: Cold and flu season. Yes, here we go. Sporadic reports of cold and flu reports now all the way from Texas through Utah and California. Michigan, New York State and Pennsylvania and Florida are the only other states reporting any sporadic flu reports so far. That, unfortunately, will change.

It's time to start washing your hands for this year, because obviously with all of the flu shot issues, maybe you need to take care of yourself rather than having that shot take care of you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Chad, guess who is back?

MYERS: Chris Cotter.

COSTELLO: Yes, he's here, too. But so is -- sorry, Chris. Soledad.

MYERS: Soledad!

COSTELLO: Soledad is back!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yoo-hoo!

COSTELLO: And she's thin again.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: How are you dancing in this weather?

O'BRIEN: It's not so bad. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. As you well know, we are kicking off a week in Chicago. And, of course, we were warned how cold it would be here.

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, maybe it's because I have 75 layers on, but I'm fine and warm.

HEMMER: We kind of feel like we're ready for a football game. We're all dressed up. O'BRIEN: Yes. Well, today we are along the Chicago River. We're going to take a look at the Windy City's take on this year's election. That's ahead this morning. We're going to talk to the governor of Illinois. We'll also talk to the first winner of "The Apprentice." Bill Rancic is going to join us.

HEMMER: And see how he's making out these days, huh?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: I think he did OK for himself, did he not?

O'BRIEN: He sure did. His project is actually right over our shoulder.

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That's the building that he's going to be overseeing the construction of.

HEMMER: Is he building a building, or is he...

O'BRIEN: Knocking it down, putting up a new one, yes.

HEMMER: Oh, good luck.

O'BRIEN: A big project for a first job.

HEMMER: A first job. Also, the former president, Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, we'll talk to him today. He just turned 80. We'll talk to him about his legacy and a book he has out, also certainly this election, John Kerry, the issue of religion. So, we'll get to all of that a bit later with Jimmy Carter.

O'BRIEN: And we continue to talk about the flu crisis. There's a new report that says there were warning signs for decades, and those signs actually may have been ignored. We're going to talk this morning with the head of the CDC.

All that and much more.

HEMMER: We've got a huge day ahead of us, don't we?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely from the Windy City this morning. It's nice to be back.

COSTELLO: And, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Yes?

COSTELLO: Soledad, it's nice to have you back, and we do have a gift for you. We know that your babies are too young for the DAYBREAK coffee mug. So we've fashioned these beautiful baby bottles for your little babies.

O'BRIEN: I'll take the coffee mug for me, because I don't have one.

COSTELLO: OK, we'll mail you one.

O'BRIEN: And you're so sweet. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: And we thought you could also use these, not only for your babies, but Jack Cafferty as well.

HEMMER: I think he heard us.

COSTELLO: We'll see you guys in a bit.

O'BRIEN: It's so nice to be right next to Jack!

COSTELLO: See, we've...

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Are you coming to New York pretty soon, Carol?

COSTELLO: Yes, I am, Jack, as a matter of fact.

CAFFERTY: Well, we'll have to get together.

COSTELLO: We must for lunch. We'll do lunch, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Oh!

CAFFERTY: We'll do lunch.

COSTELLO: We'll see you guys in 10 minutes.

HEMMER: Bye-bye.

COSTELLO: We're talking baseball playoffs. We're talking with CNN sports contributor Chris Cotter, who is in the house. And we're glad to have you, Chris.

CHRIS COTTER, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Did you make it all the way through the Boston-Yankees game?

MYERS: Yes, right.

COTTER: I did. How do I look?

COSTELLO: You're looking a little tired this morning, Chris.

COTTER: Oh, that's better than usual, so I guess I'll take that, right?

COSTELLO: But it's good that Boston managed to pull it out in the 12th inning.

COTTER: It's great, because I think it's just perfect. It's perfect that the Boston fans were booing during the game at their own players.

COSTELLO: Oh!

COTTER: They had signs that said, why did you make us believe again and you're doing it to us again. And then they come back and they tie it in the ninth inning. They win in it in extra innings. David Ortiz with the game-winning homerun. There's the tying run right there you see in the ninth inning.

MYERS: Yes.

COTTER: Look at the fans, so concerned. And then you get to the 12th inning, and here's David Ortiz, boom! That is gone into the Boston night over the right field fence, 6-4 in the 12th.

So Boston wins. They'll turn around today. This game ended at almost 2:00 a.m. this morning. And they'll turn around and play at 5:00 today...

MYERS: This afternoon.

COTTER: ... with Pedro Martinez, a quick turnaround. Both of these teams, their pitching staffs are really worn out. They need a long start. Boston needs a long start from Pedro Martinez and New York needs one from Mike Mussina. If they get into the bullpen early, either team will be in trouble if they do.

COSTELLO: Yes, Pedro Martinez is going to be tired perhaps since the game ended so late last night, and he already has psychological trauma when it comes to the Yankees.

COTTER: He does.

MYERS: Who's your daddy?

COTTER: I just call him my daddy.

MYERS: Who is your daddy?

COTTER: But the best thing that could have happened to him and all of Boston was to have that rainout on Friday, because it gives Pedro an extra day of rest coming into this game. So, he'll be fine. He'll be fresh. Mussina will be, too.

I just love it because the Boston fans, they were booing, they were upset, this is it, it's all over. Now we have hope! Now we're going to be the one team in over 120 years of professional baseball to come back from 0-3 deficit.

MYERS: Did you see them during the football game? Well, it turned into 19-8 football game. They were sitting there just like, the most disinterested fans. Like, I just paid $4,000 to watch this game...

COTTER: Right.

MYERS: ... and this is what I have to deal with.

COTTER: Once again, they're killing them.

COSTELLO: You mean during the baseball game?

COTTER: Yes.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, when the Yankees beat them 19 to whatever.

COTTER: Oh, yes, it was miserable.

COSTELLO: Oh, that was awful.

MYERS: The Yankees actually outscored seven NFL teams.

COSTELLO: That's really pathetic. You know, I know that there is renewed hope that because Boston won, but it's hard to believe that the Yankees are going to lose three straight.

COTTER: Right. I think if the shoe was on the other foot and the Yankees were down 0-3, I would be much more inclined to believe that the Yankees could come back from an 0-3 deficit against Boston and vice versa, just simply because it is the Yankees and it's Boston. And if it goes, you know, even six games, they've got to go back to New York and play those other two games in New York.

MYERS: Back to New York.

COTTER: And without Curt Schilling quite possibly.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, who could have hurt his ankle forever, we hear now.

COTTER: Yes.

COSTELLO: So that's going to be tough, right?

COTTER: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Shouldn't we talk a little bit about the National League and the Astros, the Cardinals?

COTTER: We should talk about Carlos Beltran, who is having one of the most unbelievable post-seasons in all of baseball history. He hit his eight post-season homerun yesterday, the winning difference the margin in the Astros' win. And...

MYERS: That's the most ever in a post-season.

COTTER: That's right. That's exactly right, eight homeruns in a post-season. And we haven't even gotten to the World Series yet...

MYERS: Right.

COTTER: ... and he's already hit eight homeruns. Pujols with the homerun there for Saint Louis, giving them the lead. But here it is, Carlos Beltran, his eighth homerun of the year.

COSTELLO: Wow!

COTTER: Actually this is Berkman earlier on in the game. But Carlos Beltran has had one of those breakout series. Talk about the "Killer B's" in Houston, you know, Biggio, Bagwell, Berkman, and now Beltran that they got in midseason from the Royals has been the most effective here in the post-season.

COSTELLO: Well, Saint Louis is pretty darn tough, though.

COTTER: Two and two though. It's all tied, and the thing about it is I like Saint Louis' pitchers from here on out. You know, you had really Clemens and Oswalt going for Houston in games three and four. They were able to win those games, but now their pitching staff gets a little thin.

COSTELLO: Yes, but Jim Edwards, he's a great hitter and a great fielder to boot.

COTTER: I think he's the best center field in all of baseball.

COSTELLO: Oh, you got that right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

MYERS: They're in Chicago. Enjoy it. It's going to be cold up there in the Windy City, though, for a couple of days. See you.

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 18, 2004 - 06:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. military has released the top negotiator in Fallujah's peace talks. He had been detained for three days following the breakdown of negotiations with the Iraqi government. The city has been the scene of several strikes by U.S. troops. The city's negotiator says the rebel-held city wants an end to the fighting.
Britain now says it's considering a request from the U.S. to redeploy its troops in Iraq. The move could put British troops at greater risk. The British defense secretary will discuss it with Parliament today. Critics view it as a pre-election stunt for Prime Minister Tony Blair to assist President Bush.

In the meantime, some U.S. soldiers say those hot spots are getting too hot for them. The military is investigating a group of soldiers who refused to take part in a mission.

We have new information for you this morning. It's from CNN's Sara Dorsey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Brigadier General James Chambers says it's too early to tell if the 18 members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company will be punished for refusing to go on a convoy mission along a dangerous supply route last Wednesday.

BRIG. GEN. JAMES CHAMBERS, U.S. ARMY: The commander of the 300th ASG directed an investigation to determine if the Uniform Code of Military Justice was violated.

DORSEY: Members of the unit frantically called relatives back home, saying they were ordered to go on what they felt was a suicide mission.

Specialist Amber McClenny called her mom.

SPC. AMBER MCCLENNY, U.S. ARMY: Hi, mom, this is Amber. This is a real, real big emergency. I need you to contact someone. I mean, raise pure hell. Yesterday we refused to go on a convoy to Taji, which is above Baghdad.

DORSEY: The convoy was ordered to carry fuel from Tallil to Taji, just north of Baghdad. A member of the unit told his family the fuel had already been refused at one location because it was contaminated with water, and he couldn't understand why they were being ordered to take it somewhere else.

Sergeant Larry McCook told his wife the unit was ill-equipped for the dangerous mission.

PATRICIA ANN MCCOOK, WIFE OF U.S. SOLDIER: They don't have bullet-proof protection on the vehicles. They just don't go fast at all. It's just not safe to be in a hostile territory.

DORSEY: General Chambers says a full maintenance stand-down has been ordered, adding that driving a convoy is very dangerous and not a question of if but when they will be attacked. He says the Army is doing everything to protect the convoys.

CHAMBERS: Every convoy moving up and down the roads are escorted. Every soldier is armed. Every soldier has more than enough ammo.

DORSEY (on camera): The 18 soldiers will remain on duty until the investigation is finished. They will not go on missions during the maintenance stand-down, but will use the time to repair equipment and train.

Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And in a related matter, "The Washington Post" is reporting the former top commander in Iraq complained to the Pentagon last winter about critical gear and vital parts, as in shortage. The "Post" says Lieutenant Ricardo Sanchez considered his supply situation so poor that it threatened the troops' ability to fight. Senior Army officials say most of Sanchez's concerns have now been addressed.

Hot topic? Oh, yes. Live to Washington, D.C. and political editor of "The Journal's" "The Hotline" online, Vaughn Ververs is with us this morning.

Good morning, Vaughn.

VAUGHN VERVERS, EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about this convoy controversy. Some of those troops are coming home, and they will be talking. Will this be damaging to George Bush?

VERVERS: Well, it certainly does give a talking point to John Kerry's campaign and to Democrats, who are critical of the war and the way it's being handled. They've complained for a long time that soldiers weren't sent with enough armor and things that they needed when they went there in the first place. But as "The Washington Post" pointed out this morning, a lot of those problems have been fixed to this point.

And if you look at the -- there was an Annenberg poll that came out last week among the military members themselves, overwhelming support for President Bush, that's a good point for them to come back and talk about.

I don't think this is going to hurt the president too much. But I'll tell you, it does sort of point out and highlight the unstable situation in Iraq and the overall mess it appears to be over there. And I think that more than anything it's not helpful for the president.

COSTELLO: Gotcha. We want to move on to newspaper endorsements, because that's what viewers were seeing on our screen just a short time ago. A number of newspapers across the country have come out with their endorsements of which man they think should win the presidency. Let me just run down them quickly.

These are the Bush endorsements: The "Chicago Tribune," "Rocky Mountain News," the "Omaha World-Herald," the "Carlsbad Current Argus." And the "Canton Repository" has endorsed President Bush, which is important because that's in Stark County. And, of course, it's a very important county in Ohio. Ohio is a swing state.

Any of these others surprise you?

VERVERS: No, those are all -- a lot of these papers, we run the lists of these every four years when they endorse, and most of them endorse Democrats or they endorse Republicans. I mean, they're made up, the editorial pages of these papers have a voice to them, and those voices are either sometimes conservative or sometimes liberal, depending on the paper. So, you know, there's not a lot of surprises.

One of the biggest surprises, I think, we've seen so far in the endorsement battles has been the paper in Crawford, Texas, the hometown of President Bush where his ranch is, had endorsed John Kerry. And that's made a little bit of a flap. But, you know, these are not usually very surprising.

COSTELLO: No. In fact, our e-mail question of the morning, we asked viewers if they think that these endorsements matter, or will they change your opinion? By and large, people said absolutely not. We really don't care.

Let's go down the endorsements for John Kerry, though. "The New York Times," "The Boston Globe," the "Minneapolis Star Tribune," and the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" all have endorsed John Kerry. Really no surprise there.

VERVERS: No. And what these do -- and I agree that these newspaper endorsements don't really -- they're not going to sway votes one way or the other. People make up their own minds.

But what they do is they sort of give campaigns a little stamp of approval in some of these key states, whether it be Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, where this campaign is really being fought out. It just sort of gives them a stamp of approval to take to the voters, one more thing to talk about.

COSTELLO: You don't sound very excited about this issue, Vaughn. VERVERS: Well, you know, we read an awful lot of these. And, you know, frankly, most of them are very well-written, and they're thoughtful reason to arguments for supporting one candidate or another. But they're also a lot of times the same arguments and reasons that we hear from the campaign themselves. So, it sort of just stamps their approval on their platforms.

COSTELLO: Vaughn Ververs joining us on DAYBREAK this morning, thank you.

VERVERS: You betcha.

COSTELLO: President Bush has climbed to an 8-point lead over John Kerry in the latest "USA Today"/CNN/Gallup poll.

Editor-in-chief Frank Newport live in Princeton, New Jersey, at Gallup headquarters.

Good morning, Frank.

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

Indeed, the race is now exactly where it was prior to the debate period.

Now, we know that during the debate sequence, Kerry won. In fact, our polls conducted after each of the three presidential debates shows that Kerry was perceived by voters as doing better, but that seems to have been short-lived; that is, the impact on the race.

Here it was, September 24-26, 52 to 44. Then in two consecutive CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup polls conducted in the middle of the debates, the race was at a dead heat. Now, this past weekend after the final debate, the race has been recalibrated again, and it's back where it was among likely voters.

Among all registered voters, the race is 3 points, 49 percent for George W. Bush, 46 percent for John Kerry.

Let me hone in a little on what's going on in the minds of voters. What's the most important of four reasons we gave them for your vote? I left health care off, because it was lower among both Bush and Kerry voters.

But look at the difference here, right in the middle, terrorism, 54 percent. Of those Americans who say they're voting for Bush say terrorism is their No. 1 criteria. On Kerry voters, only 8 percent, so they totally discount terrorism as the No. 1 issue. It may be important, but not the No. 1 issue.

Kerry voters instead, economy 40 percent and Iraq 31 percent. Kerry does do a little better than Bush on the economy, but Bush still is perceived by a 6-point margin, Carol, as having a better ability to handle Iraq than Kerry. So he just hasn't been able to create enough emphasis on Iraq and his own plan for it, it looks like to us at this point, to counter George W. Bush's strength from terrorism. COSTELLO: Wow! I know you have some numbers about voter interest. Are people still really excited about casting a vote November 2?

NEWPORT: Oh, even more so. It was amazing yesterday as we sat here studying these numbers how significant a difference it is. I can't emphasize this enough.

This is a question we've asked in October before each of the last three elections: Do you think that this election matters more to you than most? And, look, back in '96, Clinton versus Dole, just 41 percent said yes; 2000, where it was Bush versus Gore, 47. And look now: 72 percent of Americans, a huge jump, say this election matters to them more than most elections.

Right now, we're also finding high levels of enthusiasm, Carol, a little higher among Republicans, 77 percent extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this year, 65 among Democrats. That difference is one of the reasons that Bush is doing better among likely voters, at least at the moment. Republicans seem to be a little more motivated as of the weekend poll -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Frank Newport with some fascinating numbers this morning, thank you.

Somewhere in Boston there's a Red Sox fan who works an early shift, who's just kicking himself for not seeing the end of that game. We'll recap it for you on the DAYBREAK "Scorecard." Plus, we'll have a live report from Fenway, where the fans just left a few hours ago.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Red Sox live to play another day. Boston kept its playoff hopes alive last night, stunning the New York Yankees in a 12- inning marathon.

Let's go live to Beantown now and Gail Huff from our affiliate WCBV.

Did you stay awake until the end of the game?

GAIL HUFF, CNN AFFILIATE WCBV REPORTER: Well, I'll tell you something, I was up going to work by the time this game was over. It was 1:30 in the morning before they wrapped this game up. Now it's Yankees 3, Red Sox 1.

The hope is still alive. As legend has it, those who know the Boston Red Sox know that it's been 86 years since we won a World Series. And, of course, many people claim that there is a curse on the Red Sox ever since Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. So, now they desperately want to reverse the curse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was such a good game and worth the wait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love our team!

HUFF (voice over): Excitement filled the air around Fenway Park this morning. The five-hour, 12-inning game left fans fatigued, but refueled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still alive!

HUFF: Boston police were out in huge numbers, enforcing the city's zero tolerance policy for public drinking and rowdiness. Police in riot gear forced the crowds to disperse. People were not allowed to hang around in the streets and cause trouble.

The city, meantime, was lit up with excitement. The crowds were spirited, but ruly.

The next generation of Red Sox fans is keeping the dream alive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that was so much fun. That was so nerve-wracking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yea!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUFF: A lot of bleary eyes this morning at school and at work. Those may remember that last year they went seven games, the Sox and Yankees, before the Sox ended up losing. So, they're hoping not to have to repeat something like that.

COSTELLO: Oh!

HUFF: Reporting live from Fenway, I'm Gail Huff -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Gail. We appreciate it.

We'll have much more with Chris Cotter later on, on DAYBREAK, on the game itself.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

U.S. forces have freed the chief negotiator for Fallujah, a city held by insurgents. The negotiator says the city still wants peace, despite a breakdown in talks with Iraq's interim government, to end recent fighting there.

The National Transportation Safety Board releases a series of reports today about last year's Staten Island ferry accident. Ten passengers were killed, more than 30 others injured in the accident.

In money news, the week has barely begun, and oil prices are already surging. The price of crude is now topping $55 a barrel. Lingering worries over supplies are fueling the costs. In culture, guess who's the sexiest woman alive? Oh, yes, it's Angelina Jolie, at least that's what the readers of "Esquire" magazine think. Halle Berry came in a close second.

In sports, the Houston Astros tied the National League championship series at two games apiece, with a 6-5 win over the Saint Louis Cardinals. That was a thrilling game as well. Game five tonight in Houston.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, do you know what time of year it is?

COSTELLO: Oh, cold and flu season.

MYERS: Cold and flu season. Yes, here we go. Sporadic reports of cold and flu reports now all the way from Texas through Utah and California. Michigan, New York State and Pennsylvania and Florida are the only other states reporting any sporadic flu reports so far. That, unfortunately, will change.

It's time to start washing your hands for this year, because obviously with all of the flu shot issues, maybe you need to take care of yourself rather than having that shot take care of you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Chad, guess who is back?

MYERS: Chris Cotter.

COSTELLO: Yes, he's here, too. But so is -- sorry, Chris. Soledad.

MYERS: Soledad!

COSTELLO: Soledad is back!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yoo-hoo!

COSTELLO: And she's thin again.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: How are you dancing in this weather?

O'BRIEN: It's not so bad. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. As you well know, we are kicking off a week in Chicago. And, of course, we were warned how cold it would be here.

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, maybe it's because I have 75 layers on, but I'm fine and warm.

HEMMER: We kind of feel like we're ready for a football game. We're all dressed up. O'BRIEN: Yes. Well, today we are along the Chicago River. We're going to take a look at the Windy City's take on this year's election. That's ahead this morning. We're going to talk to the governor of Illinois. We'll also talk to the first winner of "The Apprentice." Bill Rancic is going to join us.

HEMMER: And see how he's making out these days, huh?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

HEMMER: I think he did OK for himself, did he not?

O'BRIEN: He sure did. His project is actually right over our shoulder.

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That's the building that he's going to be overseeing the construction of.

HEMMER: Is he building a building, or is he...

O'BRIEN: Knocking it down, putting up a new one, yes.

HEMMER: Oh, good luck.

O'BRIEN: A big project for a first job.

HEMMER: A first job. Also, the former president, Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, we'll talk to him today. He just turned 80. We'll talk to him about his legacy and a book he has out, also certainly this election, John Kerry, the issue of religion. So, we'll get to all of that a bit later with Jimmy Carter.

O'BRIEN: And we continue to talk about the flu crisis. There's a new report that says there were warning signs for decades, and those signs actually may have been ignored. We're going to talk this morning with the head of the CDC.

All that and much more.

HEMMER: We've got a huge day ahead of us, don't we?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely from the Windy City this morning. It's nice to be back.

COSTELLO: And, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Yes?

COSTELLO: Soledad, it's nice to have you back, and we do have a gift for you. We know that your babies are too young for the DAYBREAK coffee mug. So we've fashioned these beautiful baby bottles for your little babies.

O'BRIEN: I'll take the coffee mug for me, because I don't have one.

COSTELLO: OK, we'll mail you one.

O'BRIEN: And you're so sweet. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: And we thought you could also use these, not only for your babies, but Jack Cafferty as well.

HEMMER: I think he heard us.

COSTELLO: We'll see you guys in a bit.

O'BRIEN: It's so nice to be right next to Jack!

COSTELLO: See, we've...

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Are you coming to New York pretty soon, Carol?

COSTELLO: Yes, I am, Jack, as a matter of fact.

CAFFERTY: Well, we'll have to get together.

COSTELLO: We must for lunch. We'll do lunch, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Oh!

CAFFERTY: We'll do lunch.

COSTELLO: We'll see you guys in 10 minutes.

HEMMER: Bye-bye.

COSTELLO: We're talking baseball playoffs. We're talking with CNN sports contributor Chris Cotter, who is in the house. And we're glad to have you, Chris.

CHRIS COTTER, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Did you make it all the way through the Boston-Yankees game?

MYERS: Yes, right.

COTTER: I did. How do I look?

COSTELLO: You're looking a little tired this morning, Chris.

COTTER: Oh, that's better than usual, so I guess I'll take that, right?

COSTELLO: But it's good that Boston managed to pull it out in the 12th inning.

COTTER: It's great, because I think it's just perfect. It's perfect that the Boston fans were booing during the game at their own players.

COSTELLO: Oh!

COTTER: They had signs that said, why did you make us believe again and you're doing it to us again. And then they come back and they tie it in the ninth inning. They win in it in extra innings. David Ortiz with the game-winning homerun. There's the tying run right there you see in the ninth inning.

MYERS: Yes.

COTTER: Look at the fans, so concerned. And then you get to the 12th inning, and here's David Ortiz, boom! That is gone into the Boston night over the right field fence, 6-4 in the 12th.

So Boston wins. They'll turn around today. This game ended at almost 2:00 a.m. this morning. And they'll turn around and play at 5:00 today...

MYERS: This afternoon.

COTTER: ... with Pedro Martinez, a quick turnaround. Both of these teams, their pitching staffs are really worn out. They need a long start. Boston needs a long start from Pedro Martinez and New York needs one from Mike Mussina. If they get into the bullpen early, either team will be in trouble if they do.

COSTELLO: Yes, Pedro Martinez is going to be tired perhaps since the game ended so late last night, and he already has psychological trauma when it comes to the Yankees.

COTTER: He does.

MYERS: Who's your daddy?

COTTER: I just call him my daddy.

MYERS: Who is your daddy?

COTTER: But the best thing that could have happened to him and all of Boston was to have that rainout on Friday, because it gives Pedro an extra day of rest coming into this game. So, he'll be fine. He'll be fresh. Mussina will be, too.

I just love it because the Boston fans, they were booing, they were upset, this is it, it's all over. Now we have hope! Now we're going to be the one team in over 120 years of professional baseball to come back from 0-3 deficit.

MYERS: Did you see them during the football game? Well, it turned into 19-8 football game. They were sitting there just like, the most disinterested fans. Like, I just paid $4,000 to watch this game...

COTTER: Right.

MYERS: ... and this is what I have to deal with.

COTTER: Once again, they're killing them.

COSTELLO: You mean during the baseball game?

COTTER: Yes.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, when the Yankees beat them 19 to whatever.

COTTER: Oh, yes, it was miserable.

COSTELLO: Oh, that was awful.

MYERS: The Yankees actually outscored seven NFL teams.

COSTELLO: That's really pathetic. You know, I know that there is renewed hope that because Boston won, but it's hard to believe that the Yankees are going to lose three straight.

COTTER: Right. I think if the shoe was on the other foot and the Yankees were down 0-3, I would be much more inclined to believe that the Yankees could come back from an 0-3 deficit against Boston and vice versa, just simply because it is the Yankees and it's Boston. And if it goes, you know, even six games, they've got to go back to New York and play those other two games in New York.

MYERS: Back to New York.

COTTER: And without Curt Schilling quite possibly.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, who could have hurt his ankle forever, we hear now.

COTTER: Yes.

COSTELLO: So that's going to be tough, right?

COTTER: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Shouldn't we talk a little bit about the National League and the Astros, the Cardinals?

COTTER: We should talk about Carlos Beltran, who is having one of the most unbelievable post-seasons in all of baseball history. He hit his eight post-season homerun yesterday, the winning difference the margin in the Astros' win. And...

MYERS: That's the most ever in a post-season.

COTTER: That's right. That's exactly right, eight homeruns in a post-season. And we haven't even gotten to the World Series yet...

MYERS: Right.

COTTER: ... and he's already hit eight homeruns. Pujols with the homerun there for Saint Louis, giving them the lead. But here it is, Carlos Beltran, his eighth homerun of the year.

COSTELLO: Wow!

COTTER: Actually this is Berkman earlier on in the game. But Carlos Beltran has had one of those breakout series. Talk about the "Killer B's" in Houston, you know, Biggio, Bagwell, Berkman, and now Beltran that they got in midseason from the Royals has been the most effective here in the post-season.

COSTELLO: Well, Saint Louis is pretty darn tough, though.

COTTER: Two and two though. It's all tied, and the thing about it is I like Saint Louis' pitchers from here on out. You know, you had really Clemens and Oswalt going for Houston in games three and four. They were able to win those games, but now their pitching staff gets a little thin.

COSTELLO: Yes, but Jim Edwards, he's a great hitter and a great fielder to boot.

COTTER: I think he's the best center field in all of baseball.

COSTELLO: Oh, you got that right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

MYERS: They're in Chicago. Enjoy it. It's going to be cold up there in the Windy City, though, for a couple of days. See you.

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