Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Prisoner Abuse Scandal; Crisscrossing Battleground States; Curse Reversed?
Aired October 21, 2004 - 10:58 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 ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's making news overseas in this morning's "World Wrap."
Dozens of people are dead and dozens more missing in Japan after a powerful typhoon struck the main island. The storm triggered flash floods that washed away entire hillsides and forced rooftop evacuations. More than 13,000 people are staying at emergency shelters, and tens of thousands of air travelers have been stranded.
Britain's Prince Harry was hit in the face with a camera in what Buckingham Palace is calling a scuffle. Is that a good English accent?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a scuffle, yes.
KAGAN: A scuffle. A scuffle. OK. A scuffle.
The incident happened outside a London nightclub early this morning. The Royal Press Office says the 20-year-old was bumped as photographers tried to get his picture. A photographer's lip was cut in the process.
SANCHEZ: Yes. He was coming out of a club, right?
KAGAN: Yes, out of a club. But this is -- look at this.
Cuban President Fidel Castro, yes, he's tripping there. He fell after giving a speech last night. And doctors have confirmed that the 78-year-old leader suffered a broken left knee and a hairline fracture in his left arm. Less than a minute after his fall, Castro appeared on national television saying he'd recover as fast as...
SANCHEZ: You know, I was watching that again. I don't know if we could roll that back. Notice, there's nobody there to help break his fall. And the reason is, because of the security detail around him, they had no one sitting in the front two or three rows. There's no one there.
So the first person who comes to him is like from the fourth row, who has to climb over those chairs to get to him. It's kind of -- can we get it?
Here it is. Here it is. See, there's nobody there. See, everybody comes running from the fourth row. But someone could have helped break the fall if it hadn't been for the tight security, but they had nobody there. So... KAGAN: There you go.
SANCHEZ: ... I don't know.
KAGAN: So he has some nasty broken bones to recover from.
SANCHEZ: He just didn't even know that stuff was there.
KAGAN: We have the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
And we begin by taking a look at what is happening "Now in the News."
American gymnast Paul Hamm gets to keep his Olympic gold medal. Within the last half-hour, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected an appeal that was challenging Hamm's medal. A South Korea gymnast claimed that a scoring mistake cost him the gold. South Korea won the bronze. Hamm says he is glad the ordeal is over.
A military judge today sentenced an Army reservist to eight years in prison for his role in the Iraqi detainee abuse scandal. Staff Sergeant Ivan 'Chip' Frederick was often given a reduction in rank to private, a forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorable discharge. He is the highest ranking soldier implicated in the scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
In Iraq today, one person was killed and 12 others wounded in ambush near Baghdad International Airport. Iraqi officials say gunmen attacked a bus carrying airport employees. The attack follows a State Department warning that travel in the area is particularly dangerous.
A fierce storm that pounded southern California has left at least three people dead. The storm triggered flooding and mudslides and dumped heavy snow in the mountains. Two of the dead were Japanese climbers found in Yosemite National Park. Rescuers are also searching for 10 hikers who are missing in the central Sierra.
It is 11:00 a.m., or just a minute past on the East Coast. And just past 8:00 a.m. for our friends just waking up on the West Coast.
Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: Those who watched the ball game, right? And I'm Rick Sanchez.
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: A soldier facing military justice this morning. Up first on CNN, the highest ranking soldier in the Iraqi detainee abuse scanned has now been sentenced. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has been tracking the story, and she joins us now with the very latest details.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick.
Well, Staff Sergeant Ivan 'Chip' Frederick, as you say, the highest ranking soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, now sentenced today in Baghdad in a military court proceeding to eight years in prison. He could have faced 10 years, but two years shaved off his sentence under a plea bargain agreement in which he will testify in other cases.
Sergeant Frederick had pled guilty to assault, indecent acts, conspiracy, maltreatment of detainees and dereliction of duty. Sergeant Frederick was one of the soldiers in charge on the night shift at Abu Ghraib prison when the abuse occurred.
He was involved, he admitted, in this picture which was seen around the world of the human pyramid, some of the worst abuse that appeared in this entire scandal. He said he knew what he had done was wrong but that he had failed to stop it.
His defense attorney today in court saying that it was the military that set conditions for the abuse to occur and that the soldiers were not trained properly. The judge clearly not buying that argument, sentencing him to eight years in prison, saying that Sergeant Frederick was an adult capable of making decisions and rejecting the argument that any of this had anything to do with interrogations of prisoners in Iraq. So now eight years in prison for one of the most senior soldiers involved in this notorious prison abuse scandal -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: CNN's Barbara Starr reporting to us from the Pentagon. Thanks so much, Barbara.
KAGAN: Meanwhile, other military news today. Britain is agreeing to a request from the U.S. to redeploy some troops in Iraq. Defense Secretary Jeff Hoon says about 850 British troops will be repositioned in central Iraq.
Hoon says the deployment will last for a period of weeks, not months. The move is expected to free up U.S. forces for stepped-up assaults against insurgents.
SANCHEZ: It is just 12 days before the election. There's a political pop quiz out there. Do you know where your candidates are? Chris-crossing battleground states, of course.
President Bush is going to stump in three cities across Pennsylvania. CNN's White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is joining us more -- joining us now with more on this.
Boy, they do seem to go back to a lot of the same states, don't they, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Rick. And really, the top three battleground states, you're talking Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania's where the president will be late they are afternoon. But yesterday, it was the Midwest that he was focusing on. And what we are told is that he is going to talk about his domestic issues.
He is going to talk about his health care plan, as well as medical liability reform. We're told that he is going to set up a contrast between his own health care plan, where he says it's going to be employer-controlled, private, as opposed to government-controlled, that he argues Kerry is actually offering that.
Now, as you know, of course, Pennsylvania is going to be a tough sell, but they are confident they're going to make some inroads in this. And as Gore won this state, 51 percent to 46 percent, it carries 21 electoral votes.
This is the president's 39th visit as president, his 16th visit this year. As you know, Rick, of course, this is going to be a very important trip for the president. He is also going to be meeting with the archbishop of Philadelphia to try to court that all-important Catholic vote -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: It took a very, very serious issue to bring Senator Ted Kennedy and President George Bush together, didn't it?
MALVEAUX: Well, yes. Earlier today, President Bush assigned the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, and that is to give funding to help in youth prevention -- youth suicide prevention programs. It is named after Garrett Lee Smith, who is the son of Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon.
He had committed suicide last year. It was his father, the family that came forward today, with the president and with others, Senator Ted Kennedy, all of them for a very important and meaningful cause. And many of them said that they appreciated that moment of bipartisanship.
SANCHEZ: A rare moment indeed. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much for bringing us that report.
Daryn, over to you.
KAGAN: Senator Kerry is also staying busy. Kerry will cruise between rallies in Minnesota and Ohio today. That's where we find our Kelly Wallace. She is live in Columbus.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Well, as you know, in these final days everything these candidates do has something to do with politics. And that includes Senator John Kerry's decision to go out hunting.
Earlier this morning, in northeastern Ohio -- I believe we have some pictures we can show you of this trip -- we are told 28 round readies were fired, four Canada geese were killed. What Senator Kerry is trying to do here, aides do concede, is try to correct some mistakes that some believe Al Gore might have made back in 2000. Political observers saying if Al Gore did a better job connecting with hunters, with gun owners, there might have been a different outcome four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can I get me a hunting license here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
WALLACE (voice-over): Whether it's buying a hunting license, like he did last weekend, or posing for the cameras, the intended message is the same, that he's a regular guy, a gun owner himself.
KERRY: I'm a hunter. I'm a gun owner. I've been a hunter since I was a kid, 12, 13 years old. And I respect the second amendment.
WALLACE: Senator Kerry is trying to win over those voters who might have concerns about Democrats when it comes to guns, but who are also worried about jobs and the economy. The National Rifle Association is trying to prevent that from happening, with new television ads like this one running today in key battleground states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry wants you to think he supports the second amendment. But the cold, hard facts don't lie.
WALLACE: According to the latest Gallup survey, President Bush holds a nearly 20-point lead over John Kerry with gun owners. Still, the senator appears to be doing better than Al Gore did in 2000, when George W. Bush won with gun owners by nearly 30 points according to exit polls.
KERRY: Are you ready for new leadership?
WALLACE: Meantime, Senator Kerry is continuing to deliver what aides call a series of closing arguments. Today, the focus stem cell research, with Dana Reeve introducing the senator in Ohio, making her first public appearance after the sudden death of her husband Christopher.
Tomorrow, Kerry's focus equal pay for women. Sunday, faith and values. The goal, aides say, trying to appeal to those undecided voters, especially women, who probably won't vote for President Bush but still have not gotten behind John Kerry.
KERRY: I want to be able to tell you, I've got your back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And aides do acknowledge this, that there just is not a lot of time left to win over these undecided voters who, despite all they have seen and heard about Senator Kerry and President Bush, they still have not made up their minds -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And I realize in the big scheme of things, maybe not the most important question, but any word on what they plan to do with the geese?
WALLACE: I don't have an answer for you about that.
KAGAN: I would check on what is being served.
WALLACE: You know, Daryn, there's sort of behind the scenes here which is just too funny. Reporters who have been just sort of e- mailing around all kinds of questions, just that you are raising there as well. We'll leave it there.
KAGAN: OK. I'm sure you'll get back to us on that.
WALLACE: I will try.
SANCHEZ: You know, it's funny, because on Thanksgiving they always pardon the turkey.
KAGAN: A turkey. Well...
SANCHEZ: But it's too late for these geese, I think.
KAGAN: Too late for the geese. A moment of silence for the four geese.
SANCHEZ: Just a guess.
KAGAN: Please.
SANCHEZ: Tonight on CNN -- please, go ahead, tell them what's going on tonight on CNN.
KAGAN: Well, our colleague, Paula Zahn, is taking to the road for a town hall meeting in Springfield, Ohio. Hear what voters think in one of the crucial states this election, 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
SANCHEZ: That was a very good question, by the way.
KAGAN: People know I'm an animal lover. I see the geese, and I just -- that's where my heart goes.
SANCHEZ: Probably a lot of people are thinking about the same thing.
KAGAN: They are now.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: If they weren't before.
In New York City this morning, can you hear a Babe cry. No, not a baby, literally like a Babe. KAGAN: The Babe.
SANCHEZ: That's because the Red Sox have done the seemingly impossible and made sports history in the process.
KAGAN: Go BoSox.
SANCHEZ: The latest on that and all the reaction -- and there's a bunch of it -- is next.
KAGAN: Then we're going to get back to politics here. Pennsylvania, home to some famous battlefields. Now the entire state is a battlefield. We are looking at the fight for the state's 21 electoral votes.
That is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Rick Sanchez.
You could say they are the young and the restless, firing up the days of our lives. Yes, the players and the plot twists from this year's playoffs. They're starting to look really like a soap opera.
What incredible drama. Fans of the Boston Red Sox watched this drama unfold as Boston flipped the usual script. Last night they beat the Yankees 10- 3. Of course, that's nothing. The fact is, they were down in this series, 3-0 in the series and now are going to the World Series for the first time since -- wait a minute -- 1986?
KAGAN: They haven't won since 1986.
SANCHEZ: That was the Buckner game.
KAGAN: That's what you're looking for. Yes.
SANCHEZ: That was the Buckner game.
Mark McKay with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As they celebrated on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium, Red Sox players had to be pinching themselves. Could this have actually happened?
After a nightmarish start to the American League Championship Series, Boston enjoyed a dream finish and are World Series bound for the first time in 18 years at the expense of their greatest rival.
CURT SCHILLING, RED SOX PITCHER: We just beat the best -- the best organization in sports history to get to the World Series in unprecedented fashion. So, what an appropriate group of guys to do it.
KEVIN MILLAR, RED SOX FIRST BASEMAN: And you've got to win four games, not three. It's just like when you're hitting, you get three strikes, not two. And I'll tell you right now, they didn't win the fourth.
THEO EPSTEIN, RED SOX GENERAL MANAGER: This one's for all the great Red Sox teams that couldn't quite beat the Yankees, you know, '49, '78. Our team last year fell just short against these guys.
MCKAY: History has never been kind to Boston. If the Red Sox exorcised demons against the Yankees, they did so in grand fashion. After being victimized by past playoff home runs from such unlikely heroes as Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone, this Red Sox team turned the tables by simply bombing the Bronx bombers.
DEREK JETER, YANKEES SHORTSTOP: We didn't deserve to win. You know, we didn't play well enough. We had our opportunities. We let some slip away, and you know, they played better than us.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, YANKEE THIRD BASEMAN: That's something that's going to hurt all winter, and I think it's going to make us stronger, make us hungrier for next year. And we'll be better.
EPSTEIN: Take a trip to the World Series no matter the road, but coming through Yankee Stadium, falling down 3-0 to these guys, being down in the ninth inning in game four and coming back to beat them in Yankee Stadium makes it beyond imagination.
MCKAY (on camera): With history in their back pocket, the Red Sox will now go about the business of trying to reverse the curse. Eighty-six years after winning their last World Series title, the Red Sox play host to game one of the 2004 fall classic Saturday at Fenway Park.
Mark McKay, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, of course the Red Sox win is front page news in Boston this morning. The cover of "The Boston Herald" explains, "They Did It! Sox crush Yanks, head to the World Series."
(INAUDIBLE) headline a little different, you might say.
SANCHEZ: "What A Choke."
KAGAN: Sadness, not celebration on the cover of "The New York Post," "Damn Yankees." And in the sports section, "What A Choke." (INAUDIBLE).
That is one of the -- well, Philly's a tough sports town. But New York.
SANCHEZ: Do you know how many times the Yankees have been in the World Series?
KAGAN: I know, but they demand...
SANCHEZ: I think they should take some solace in that.
KAGAN: ... New York sports fans demand perfection every single time.
SANCHEZ: Perfection. Yes, they do.
KAGAN: Heads are going to roll.
SANCHEZ: Some of those cutaway shots of the fans last night were just incredible.
KAGAN: They were never in the game, the fans.
SANCHEZ: Well, up next, we're talking baseball again, this time on the Internet. Regina Lewis has all the Web talk, which includes just that.
KAGAN: Also, an ominous scene caught on camera as a twister descends on Florida.
SANCHEZ: And then later, the British are coming, the British are coming. And they want to influence the race for the White House. Can letters from pen pals do it? Is it fair? Is it right? We'll ask you.
We're coming back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's get to that Florida video. Cleanup continuing after a tornado lashed parts of Brevard County Wednesday evening. The violent windstorm damaged some power lines, ripped an office trailer and flipped several vehicles. Good news, though, believe it or not, no reported injuries.
SANCHEZ: It just makes for great pictures. Let's go over to Jill Brown and find out what's going on with the weather.
Jill, you there?
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Rick. Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: All right. We'll take it from you. Thanks so much, Jill.
Long-suffering Red Sox fans are celebrating this morning as their team heads for the World Series. Shall I say it again? The Red Sox are going to the World Series.
A comeback win over the Yankees is generating a lot of buzz on the Web, as you might imagine. AOL's Regina Lewis, she's in Dulles, Virginia, with a look at that and other hot topics.
Let's go ahead and begin with that. What are people saying, what's going on the Web? I can imagine from coast to coast, Red Sox fans are just going nuts.
REGINA LEWIS, AOL ONLINE ADVISER: You got it. Words cannot express the visceral reaction to this game last night. Remembering that usually online you have about four to five readers for everything posted. Apparently, if you're a Red Sox fan, right about now you can't stop typing.
We saw big numbers overnight. And this morning, a lot of people are sending condolence notes to Yankee fans saying, you know, "So sorry for your loss," rubbing it in, if you will.
You guys showed "The Boston Herald" cover, "They Did It." Right now, that's going for about $6 on eBay, should you want to get yourself one of those. And the Red Sox Web site reporting that sales for the World Series tickets will go at about 3:00 today. So watch for that eBay phenomenon to kick in at about 3:01, and season ticket holders already have a leg up on that.
SANCHEZ: You know what we've noticed on the Internet as well -- switching subjects if we can for just a little bit -- studies seem to show that whenever people need medical information or they're worried about loved one who might have a disease that they don't understand, then they immediately flock to the Web sites. So I can imagine that now with this flu shot controversy that we've been talking about on the news, people must be running to their computers.
LEWIS: Absolutely. You said it, it's the number one thing people do when it's an issue for them or a loved one.
Right now, they're looking for flu shots. Let me save you some time.
You can search to the moon and back, you're not going to find them in this country, with a few exceptions. Locally, some people are offering auctions for high-risk patients and an attempt to avoid those long lines that we've been seeing and covering -- cdc.gov, great resource to try to point you in the right direction. And be careful about alternatives.
One of the things that we see happening is that when people search for flu shots now, some Web sites are trying to tee up alternatives. Can't find one? Here's a multivitamin that might help your immune system.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
LEWIS: Now, click on the "About Us" feature on those sites. If the site is underwritten by a major vitamin manufacturer, it doesn't make the vitamins bad, but put it in that context before you spend $60 on something that might have nothing to do with inoculating you from the flu.
SANCHEZ: And with Halloween just around the corner, I imagine a lot of people are talking about that. People love to get dressed up.
And I guess some of the most popular masks this year are going to be one resembling Senator John Kerry, another one resembling President George Bush. Martha Stewart, right?
LEWIS: Yes. Good guess.
And what's really interesting is a lot of people are buying both the Bush and the John Kerry masks. Perhaps they're undecided.
Also, an important deadline. About midnight tonight you're going to run into rush shipping charges. So if you want to order a costume online -- a lot of people do because the selection is great -- get that done today.
The Martha mask is also clever. And then there's one by a celebrity interviewer who looks an awful lot like Larry King. That one happens to be sold out.
And if you're -- the number one costume, I should mention, is Spider-Man. So if you're after the superhero costume, go high. Get the one that's more pricey because it's got padding. And there's something about trying to be Spider-Man without that. It just doesn't work as well.
Here you see it. This is the top, top seller.
KAGAN: What do you do with that picture of you on the Internet?
SANCHEZ: No, I got the Larry King mask. That's how I got this -- that's how I got this gig.
LEWIS: There's Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes, Catwoman.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Regina, thanks a lot.
LEWIS: OK. Suit up, guys. You'd look good in those.
KAGAN: Yes, we show up to work one day...
SANCHEZ: She will.
KAGAN: Yes, I would, too. Your kids have some costumes picked out?
SANCHEZ: Yes. As a matter of fact, I think we're looking at a little Barbie outfit this year.
KAGAN: OK.
SANCHEZ: And I think Remmy (ph) is going to be something resembling a Power Ranger, but I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it involves a sword. I know that part.
KAGAN: OK. Very good. Got that down.
OK. The other holiday out there, the election holiday. Only 12 days remaining to that. Our look at the battleground states still in play in the White House race. It turns to a big prize, Pennsylvania.
SANCHEZ: And up next, we're going to be talking with one of the men who knows about that state and the politics of it and what may be needed to win.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Coming up on half-past the hour. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. And here's what's happening in the news right now.
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 21, 2004 - 10:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's making news overseas in this morning's "World Wrap."
Dozens of people are dead and dozens more missing in Japan after a powerful typhoon struck the main island. The storm triggered flash floods that washed away entire hillsides and forced rooftop evacuations. More than 13,000 people are staying at emergency shelters, and tens of thousands of air travelers have been stranded.
Britain's Prince Harry was hit in the face with a camera in what Buckingham Palace is calling a scuffle. Is that a good English accent?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a scuffle, yes.
KAGAN: A scuffle. A scuffle. OK. A scuffle.
The incident happened outside a London nightclub early this morning. The Royal Press Office says the 20-year-old was bumped as photographers tried to get his picture. A photographer's lip was cut in the process.
SANCHEZ: Yes. He was coming out of a club, right?
KAGAN: Yes, out of a club. But this is -- look at this.
Cuban President Fidel Castro, yes, he's tripping there. He fell after giving a speech last night. And doctors have confirmed that the 78-year-old leader suffered a broken left knee and a hairline fracture in his left arm. Less than a minute after his fall, Castro appeared on national television saying he'd recover as fast as...
SANCHEZ: You know, I was watching that again. I don't know if we could roll that back. Notice, there's nobody there to help break his fall. And the reason is, because of the security detail around him, they had no one sitting in the front two or three rows. There's no one there.
So the first person who comes to him is like from the fourth row, who has to climb over those chairs to get to him. It's kind of -- can we get it?
Here it is. Here it is. See, there's nobody there. See, everybody comes running from the fourth row. But someone could have helped break the fall if it hadn't been for the tight security, but they had nobody there. So... KAGAN: There you go.
SANCHEZ: ... I don't know.
KAGAN: So he has some nasty broken bones to recover from.
SANCHEZ: He just didn't even know that stuff was there.
KAGAN: We have the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
And we begin by taking a look at what is happening "Now in the News."
American gymnast Paul Hamm gets to keep his Olympic gold medal. Within the last half-hour, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected an appeal that was challenging Hamm's medal. A South Korea gymnast claimed that a scoring mistake cost him the gold. South Korea won the bronze. Hamm says he is glad the ordeal is over.
A military judge today sentenced an Army reservist to eight years in prison for his role in the Iraqi detainee abuse scandal. Staff Sergeant Ivan 'Chip' Frederick was often given a reduction in rank to private, a forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorable discharge. He is the highest ranking soldier implicated in the scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
In Iraq today, one person was killed and 12 others wounded in ambush near Baghdad International Airport. Iraqi officials say gunmen attacked a bus carrying airport employees. The attack follows a State Department warning that travel in the area is particularly dangerous.
A fierce storm that pounded southern California has left at least three people dead. The storm triggered flooding and mudslides and dumped heavy snow in the mountains. Two of the dead were Japanese climbers found in Yosemite National Park. Rescuers are also searching for 10 hikers who are missing in the central Sierra.
It is 11:00 a.m., or just a minute past on the East Coast. And just past 8:00 a.m. for our friends just waking up on the West Coast.
Good morning once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: Those who watched the ball game, right? And I'm Rick Sanchez.
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: A soldier facing military justice this morning. Up first on CNN, the highest ranking soldier in the Iraqi detainee abuse scanned has now been sentenced. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has been tracking the story, and she joins us now with the very latest details.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick.
Well, Staff Sergeant Ivan 'Chip' Frederick, as you say, the highest ranking soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, now sentenced today in Baghdad in a military court proceeding to eight years in prison. He could have faced 10 years, but two years shaved off his sentence under a plea bargain agreement in which he will testify in other cases.
Sergeant Frederick had pled guilty to assault, indecent acts, conspiracy, maltreatment of detainees and dereliction of duty. Sergeant Frederick was one of the soldiers in charge on the night shift at Abu Ghraib prison when the abuse occurred.
He was involved, he admitted, in this picture which was seen around the world of the human pyramid, some of the worst abuse that appeared in this entire scandal. He said he knew what he had done was wrong but that he had failed to stop it.
His defense attorney today in court saying that it was the military that set conditions for the abuse to occur and that the soldiers were not trained properly. The judge clearly not buying that argument, sentencing him to eight years in prison, saying that Sergeant Frederick was an adult capable of making decisions and rejecting the argument that any of this had anything to do with interrogations of prisoners in Iraq. So now eight years in prison for one of the most senior soldiers involved in this notorious prison abuse scandal -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: CNN's Barbara Starr reporting to us from the Pentagon. Thanks so much, Barbara.
KAGAN: Meanwhile, other military news today. Britain is agreeing to a request from the U.S. to redeploy some troops in Iraq. Defense Secretary Jeff Hoon says about 850 British troops will be repositioned in central Iraq.
Hoon says the deployment will last for a period of weeks, not months. The move is expected to free up U.S. forces for stepped-up assaults against insurgents.
SANCHEZ: It is just 12 days before the election. There's a political pop quiz out there. Do you know where your candidates are? Chris-crossing battleground states, of course.
President Bush is going to stump in three cities across Pennsylvania. CNN's White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is joining us more -- joining us now with more on this.
Boy, they do seem to go back to a lot of the same states, don't they, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Rick. And really, the top three battleground states, you're talking Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania's where the president will be late they are afternoon. But yesterday, it was the Midwest that he was focusing on. And what we are told is that he is going to talk about his domestic issues.
He is going to talk about his health care plan, as well as medical liability reform. We're told that he is going to set up a contrast between his own health care plan, where he says it's going to be employer-controlled, private, as opposed to government-controlled, that he argues Kerry is actually offering that.
Now, as you know, of course, Pennsylvania is going to be a tough sell, but they are confident they're going to make some inroads in this. And as Gore won this state, 51 percent to 46 percent, it carries 21 electoral votes.
This is the president's 39th visit as president, his 16th visit this year. As you know, Rick, of course, this is going to be a very important trip for the president. He is also going to be meeting with the archbishop of Philadelphia to try to court that all-important Catholic vote -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: It took a very, very serious issue to bring Senator Ted Kennedy and President George Bush together, didn't it?
MALVEAUX: Well, yes. Earlier today, President Bush assigned the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, and that is to give funding to help in youth prevention -- youth suicide prevention programs. It is named after Garrett Lee Smith, who is the son of Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon.
He had committed suicide last year. It was his father, the family that came forward today, with the president and with others, Senator Ted Kennedy, all of them for a very important and meaningful cause. And many of them said that they appreciated that moment of bipartisanship.
SANCHEZ: A rare moment indeed. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much for bringing us that report.
Daryn, over to you.
KAGAN: Senator Kerry is also staying busy. Kerry will cruise between rallies in Minnesota and Ohio today. That's where we find our Kelly Wallace. She is live in Columbus.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Well, as you know, in these final days everything these candidates do has something to do with politics. And that includes Senator John Kerry's decision to go out hunting.
Earlier this morning, in northeastern Ohio -- I believe we have some pictures we can show you of this trip -- we are told 28 round readies were fired, four Canada geese were killed. What Senator Kerry is trying to do here, aides do concede, is try to correct some mistakes that some believe Al Gore might have made back in 2000. Political observers saying if Al Gore did a better job connecting with hunters, with gun owners, there might have been a different outcome four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can I get me a hunting license here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
WALLACE (voice-over): Whether it's buying a hunting license, like he did last weekend, or posing for the cameras, the intended message is the same, that he's a regular guy, a gun owner himself.
KERRY: I'm a hunter. I'm a gun owner. I've been a hunter since I was a kid, 12, 13 years old. And I respect the second amendment.
WALLACE: Senator Kerry is trying to win over those voters who might have concerns about Democrats when it comes to guns, but who are also worried about jobs and the economy. The National Rifle Association is trying to prevent that from happening, with new television ads like this one running today in key battleground states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry wants you to think he supports the second amendment. But the cold, hard facts don't lie.
WALLACE: According to the latest Gallup survey, President Bush holds a nearly 20-point lead over John Kerry with gun owners. Still, the senator appears to be doing better than Al Gore did in 2000, when George W. Bush won with gun owners by nearly 30 points according to exit polls.
KERRY: Are you ready for new leadership?
WALLACE: Meantime, Senator Kerry is continuing to deliver what aides call a series of closing arguments. Today, the focus stem cell research, with Dana Reeve introducing the senator in Ohio, making her first public appearance after the sudden death of her husband Christopher.
Tomorrow, Kerry's focus equal pay for women. Sunday, faith and values. The goal, aides say, trying to appeal to those undecided voters, especially women, who probably won't vote for President Bush but still have not gotten behind John Kerry.
KERRY: I want to be able to tell you, I've got your back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And aides do acknowledge this, that there just is not a lot of time left to win over these undecided voters who, despite all they have seen and heard about Senator Kerry and President Bush, they still have not made up their minds -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And I realize in the big scheme of things, maybe not the most important question, but any word on what they plan to do with the geese?
WALLACE: I don't have an answer for you about that.
KAGAN: I would check on what is being served.
WALLACE: You know, Daryn, there's sort of behind the scenes here which is just too funny. Reporters who have been just sort of e- mailing around all kinds of questions, just that you are raising there as well. We'll leave it there.
KAGAN: OK. I'm sure you'll get back to us on that.
WALLACE: I will try.
SANCHEZ: You know, it's funny, because on Thanksgiving they always pardon the turkey.
KAGAN: A turkey. Well...
SANCHEZ: But it's too late for these geese, I think.
KAGAN: Too late for the geese. A moment of silence for the four geese.
SANCHEZ: Just a guess.
KAGAN: Please.
SANCHEZ: Tonight on CNN -- please, go ahead, tell them what's going on tonight on CNN.
KAGAN: Well, our colleague, Paula Zahn, is taking to the road for a town hall meeting in Springfield, Ohio. Hear what voters think in one of the crucial states this election, 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
SANCHEZ: That was a very good question, by the way.
KAGAN: People know I'm an animal lover. I see the geese, and I just -- that's where my heart goes.
SANCHEZ: Probably a lot of people are thinking about the same thing.
KAGAN: They are now.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: If they weren't before.
In New York City this morning, can you hear a Babe cry. No, not a baby, literally like a Babe. KAGAN: The Babe.
SANCHEZ: That's because the Red Sox have done the seemingly impossible and made sports history in the process.
KAGAN: Go BoSox.
SANCHEZ: The latest on that and all the reaction -- and there's a bunch of it -- is next.
KAGAN: Then we're going to get back to politics here. Pennsylvania, home to some famous battlefields. Now the entire state is a battlefield. We are looking at the fight for the state's 21 electoral votes.
That is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Rick Sanchez.
You could say they are the young and the restless, firing up the days of our lives. Yes, the players and the plot twists from this year's playoffs. They're starting to look really like a soap opera.
What incredible drama. Fans of the Boston Red Sox watched this drama unfold as Boston flipped the usual script. Last night they beat the Yankees 10- 3. Of course, that's nothing. The fact is, they were down in this series, 3-0 in the series and now are going to the World Series for the first time since -- wait a minute -- 1986?
KAGAN: They haven't won since 1986.
SANCHEZ: That was the Buckner game.
KAGAN: That's what you're looking for. Yes.
SANCHEZ: That was the Buckner game.
Mark McKay with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As they celebrated on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium, Red Sox players had to be pinching themselves. Could this have actually happened?
After a nightmarish start to the American League Championship Series, Boston enjoyed a dream finish and are World Series bound for the first time in 18 years at the expense of their greatest rival.
CURT SCHILLING, RED SOX PITCHER: We just beat the best -- the best organization in sports history to get to the World Series in unprecedented fashion. So, what an appropriate group of guys to do it.
KEVIN MILLAR, RED SOX FIRST BASEMAN: And you've got to win four games, not three. It's just like when you're hitting, you get three strikes, not two. And I'll tell you right now, they didn't win the fourth.
THEO EPSTEIN, RED SOX GENERAL MANAGER: This one's for all the great Red Sox teams that couldn't quite beat the Yankees, you know, '49, '78. Our team last year fell just short against these guys.
MCKAY: History has never been kind to Boston. If the Red Sox exorcised demons against the Yankees, they did so in grand fashion. After being victimized by past playoff home runs from such unlikely heroes as Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone, this Red Sox team turned the tables by simply bombing the Bronx bombers.
DEREK JETER, YANKEES SHORTSTOP: We didn't deserve to win. You know, we didn't play well enough. We had our opportunities. We let some slip away, and you know, they played better than us.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, YANKEE THIRD BASEMAN: That's something that's going to hurt all winter, and I think it's going to make us stronger, make us hungrier for next year. And we'll be better.
EPSTEIN: Take a trip to the World Series no matter the road, but coming through Yankee Stadium, falling down 3-0 to these guys, being down in the ninth inning in game four and coming back to beat them in Yankee Stadium makes it beyond imagination.
MCKAY (on camera): With history in their back pocket, the Red Sox will now go about the business of trying to reverse the curse. Eighty-six years after winning their last World Series title, the Red Sox play host to game one of the 2004 fall classic Saturday at Fenway Park.
Mark McKay, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, of course the Red Sox win is front page news in Boston this morning. The cover of "The Boston Herald" explains, "They Did It! Sox crush Yanks, head to the World Series."
(INAUDIBLE) headline a little different, you might say.
SANCHEZ: "What A Choke."
KAGAN: Sadness, not celebration on the cover of "The New York Post," "Damn Yankees." And in the sports section, "What A Choke." (INAUDIBLE).
That is one of the -- well, Philly's a tough sports town. But New York.
SANCHEZ: Do you know how many times the Yankees have been in the World Series?
KAGAN: I know, but they demand...
SANCHEZ: I think they should take some solace in that.
KAGAN: ... New York sports fans demand perfection every single time.
SANCHEZ: Perfection. Yes, they do.
KAGAN: Heads are going to roll.
SANCHEZ: Some of those cutaway shots of the fans last night were just incredible.
KAGAN: They were never in the game, the fans.
SANCHEZ: Well, up next, we're talking baseball again, this time on the Internet. Regina Lewis has all the Web talk, which includes just that.
KAGAN: Also, an ominous scene caught on camera as a twister descends on Florida.
SANCHEZ: And then later, the British are coming, the British are coming. And they want to influence the race for the White House. Can letters from pen pals do it? Is it fair? Is it right? We'll ask you.
We're coming back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's get to that Florida video. Cleanup continuing after a tornado lashed parts of Brevard County Wednesday evening. The violent windstorm damaged some power lines, ripped an office trailer and flipped several vehicles. Good news, though, believe it or not, no reported injuries.
SANCHEZ: It just makes for great pictures. Let's go over to Jill Brown and find out what's going on with the weather.
Jill, you there?
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Rick. Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: All right. We'll take it from you. Thanks so much, Jill.
Long-suffering Red Sox fans are celebrating this morning as their team heads for the World Series. Shall I say it again? The Red Sox are going to the World Series.
A comeback win over the Yankees is generating a lot of buzz on the Web, as you might imagine. AOL's Regina Lewis, she's in Dulles, Virginia, with a look at that and other hot topics.
Let's go ahead and begin with that. What are people saying, what's going on the Web? I can imagine from coast to coast, Red Sox fans are just going nuts.
REGINA LEWIS, AOL ONLINE ADVISER: You got it. Words cannot express the visceral reaction to this game last night. Remembering that usually online you have about four to five readers for everything posted. Apparently, if you're a Red Sox fan, right about now you can't stop typing.
We saw big numbers overnight. And this morning, a lot of people are sending condolence notes to Yankee fans saying, you know, "So sorry for your loss," rubbing it in, if you will.
You guys showed "The Boston Herald" cover, "They Did It." Right now, that's going for about $6 on eBay, should you want to get yourself one of those. And the Red Sox Web site reporting that sales for the World Series tickets will go at about 3:00 today. So watch for that eBay phenomenon to kick in at about 3:01, and season ticket holders already have a leg up on that.
SANCHEZ: You know what we've noticed on the Internet as well -- switching subjects if we can for just a little bit -- studies seem to show that whenever people need medical information or they're worried about loved one who might have a disease that they don't understand, then they immediately flock to the Web sites. So I can imagine that now with this flu shot controversy that we've been talking about on the news, people must be running to their computers.
LEWIS: Absolutely. You said it, it's the number one thing people do when it's an issue for them or a loved one.
Right now, they're looking for flu shots. Let me save you some time.
You can search to the moon and back, you're not going to find them in this country, with a few exceptions. Locally, some people are offering auctions for high-risk patients and an attempt to avoid those long lines that we've been seeing and covering -- cdc.gov, great resource to try to point you in the right direction. And be careful about alternatives.
One of the things that we see happening is that when people search for flu shots now, some Web sites are trying to tee up alternatives. Can't find one? Here's a multivitamin that might help your immune system.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
LEWIS: Now, click on the "About Us" feature on those sites. If the site is underwritten by a major vitamin manufacturer, it doesn't make the vitamins bad, but put it in that context before you spend $60 on something that might have nothing to do with inoculating you from the flu.
SANCHEZ: And with Halloween just around the corner, I imagine a lot of people are talking about that. People love to get dressed up.
And I guess some of the most popular masks this year are going to be one resembling Senator John Kerry, another one resembling President George Bush. Martha Stewart, right?
LEWIS: Yes. Good guess.
And what's really interesting is a lot of people are buying both the Bush and the John Kerry masks. Perhaps they're undecided.
Also, an important deadline. About midnight tonight you're going to run into rush shipping charges. So if you want to order a costume online -- a lot of people do because the selection is great -- get that done today.
The Martha mask is also clever. And then there's one by a celebrity interviewer who looks an awful lot like Larry King. That one happens to be sold out.
And if you're -- the number one costume, I should mention, is Spider-Man. So if you're after the superhero costume, go high. Get the one that's more pricey because it's got padding. And there's something about trying to be Spider-Man without that. It just doesn't work as well.
Here you see it. This is the top, top seller.
KAGAN: What do you do with that picture of you on the Internet?
SANCHEZ: No, I got the Larry King mask. That's how I got this -- that's how I got this gig.
LEWIS: There's Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes, Catwoman.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Regina, thanks a lot.
LEWIS: OK. Suit up, guys. You'd look good in those.
KAGAN: Yes, we show up to work one day...
SANCHEZ: She will.
KAGAN: Yes, I would, too. Your kids have some costumes picked out?
SANCHEZ: Yes. As a matter of fact, I think we're looking at a little Barbie outfit this year.
KAGAN: OK.
SANCHEZ: And I think Remmy (ph) is going to be something resembling a Power Ranger, but I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it involves a sword. I know that part.
KAGAN: OK. Very good. Got that down.
OK. The other holiday out there, the election holiday. Only 12 days remaining to that. Our look at the battleground states still in play in the White House race. It turns to a big prize, Pennsylvania.
SANCHEZ: And up next, we're going to be talking with one of the men who knows about that state and the politics of it and what may be needed to win.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Coming up on half-past the hour. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. And here's what's happening in the news right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
