Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Update on Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat's Health; Sox Win First World Series in 86 Years

Aired October 28, 2004 - 09:31   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. We're going to take you back to Ramallah in just a few moments, some serious discussions coming in the next few hours about Yasser Arafat. His health reportedly seriously deteriorating. We're going to take a look at where he might go for treatment, and what the mood is now in the Palestinian territories.
Also in the next 30 minutes, actress Alyssa Milano is our guest here, leaving Hollywood for Angola this year. She's a UNICEF spokeswoman. We'll talk about the work they're doing. So we'll check in with her.

In the meantime, though, there is tough news out of Iraq we just learned a few moments ago, and that consists of our headlines with Heidi Collins on that.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, tough news is right, Bill.

Good morning, everyone.

Now in the news this morning, developments out of Iraq. According to a posting on a Web site, an Iraqi militant group has apparently killed eleven national guardsmen. The troops were abducted last week on a highway outside of Baghdad. We'll be watching that story for you, bring you more details as they happen.

And a major announcement that could affect next Tuesday's voting. The Justice Department planning to send 1,000 federal election observers and monitors throughout the country on Election Day. They'll report any signs of voter fraud or criminal activity. Details, including which cities are considered trouble spots, are expected a little bit later today. We're going to have much more on the elections, of course, coming up in just a bit.

Meanwhile the Red Sox making up for 86 years of bad luck and lost time. The players arrived home to a hero's welcome after a clean sweep against the Cardinals.

This video just in to CNN now, coming up. I think we've seen this a little bit before.

But anyway, a parade honoring the Beantown heroes is expected on Saturday. So of course we will have a little bit more on the game in just a moment. I don't know if you guys saw in one of the papers this morning they were quoting the principal owner, a guy by the name of John Henry right. He said some people have told me that this will be as big as the Revolutionary War.

HEMMER: Oh, yes?

COLLINS: I thought, my goodness.

HEMMER: Up there with Paul Revere and Bunker Hill.

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat clearly not healthy, but not much else is known about what is wrong with him at this point. There's a team of doctors making the decision about how and where to treat him.

John Vause, outside the compound there where Yasser Arafat has been holed up for about 2 1/2 years now.

John, good afternoon. The latest now is what?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

We're hearing from Palestinian sources that Yasser Arafat is dozing, waking occasionally, but waking apparently with temporary memory loss. Now just moments ago, the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei arrived at Arafat's compound. This is his third meeting, or third time he's been to this compound today. What this means, we're not too sure.

Arafat's condition is still described as serious but stable. A close adviser to Arafat told me that the Palestinian leader is weak. He is exhausted. He has lost weight, but this adviser has flatly denied that Arafat at any time lost consciousness.

The Egyptian doctors who we told you about are expected to arrive here shortly. They'll meet with doctors from Jordan, Tunisia, as well as Palestinian doctors. They intend to sit down to try and work out just what is making the Palestinian leader so sick.

Over the last few days, they've run a battery of tests, but everything has come up clean -- tests for colon cancer, for blood disorders, nothing; they can't pinpoint just what is making Arafat so ill at this stage.

Now, a decision to move him, we're told, will come later on today. Palestinian sources, once again, telling us it is likely that Arafat will be moved to a hospital abroad. But the problem we are told, as far as getting into that hospital, they just don't know what's wrong with him. So they've got to decide which medical facility to actually move him to.

Israel, for its parts, has said because it's a medical emergency, they will allow Arafat to leave his compound and they will allow him to return. That's a big step for Israel, who is over the last 2 1/2 years, they've said that if Arafat ever leaves his compound, he'll not be allowed back. So saying now, because this is a humanitarian mission, a medical emergency, Arafat will be allowed to return -- Bill.

HEMMER: John, there have been questions in the past about his health. Was this sudden?

All right I think we lost contact with John Vause. My apologies.

John, if I have you back, I'm going to try one more time.

Was this sudden, this latest bout, because there have been questions for years about the strength of Yasser Arafat's health and his condition.

VAUSE: Well, he's 75 years old. He turned 75 last August. He is not a well man. And when old men get the flu, they get sick, it is often quite a serious case. He's been kept in his compound under virtual house arrest for the last 2 1/2 years. He very rarely sees daylight. He exercises by walking around a boardroom table, and yes, his health is not good.

But he is also considered the great survivor. He survived a helicopter crash, for example, back in 1992. So he's a tough man. He's also a workaholic, and he does take care of himself. He doesn't drink. He doesn't smoke. He tries to eat well, that kind of thing. But yes, his health has not been good. It's been deteriorating for quite some time.

There's even been speculation over the years that he may have some kind of Parkinson's Disease, because he tends to shake when he speaks in public. But his health has been deteriorating, and Palestinians will tell you it has not been helped by being kept inside this compound for so many years -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, John, thanks. John Vause there in Ramallah with the latest on that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, the Red Sox are back in Boston. The team arrived in Beantown to celebrate their world series victory with their fans. The Sox, of course, beating the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series in 86 years or so.

Here's CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It was a celebration 86 years in the making, with champagne that's been on ice for generations. It started with the words millions of baseball fans never thought they'd hear -- the Boston Red Sox are World Series champions. CURT SCHILLING, RED SOX PITCHER: Twenty-five guys in the locker room can say something no other living player can say -- they're a member of the Boston Red Sox world champions.

BRONSON ARROYO, RED SOX PITCHER: This one's for them, man. Eighty-six years they've been coming out seeing the Red Sox come up short.

JOHNNY DAMON: We happened to win the championship, but this is for a lot of, you know, guys that have played in this organization for a long time.

SMITH: For Boston, breaking the famed curse of the Bambino is the unlikeliest of events, accomplished nearly unimaginably by this perpetually doomed franchise. Eleven days ago, the Red Sox were three outs from being swept by their archrivals, the New York Yankees. Yet a record eight straight wins later, they finished with tears of a different kind.

TERRY FRANCONA, RED SOX MANAGER: We had some really special players never once quit, oh, we go home. I mean we had a big deep hole to dig out of against some really good teams.

THEO EPSTEIN, RED SOX GENERAL MANAGER: We did do it in style. We did it in style. We went right through New York. We made a little history along the way.

KEVIN MILLAR, RED SOX FIRST BASEMAN: No curse, man. They can rip up those signs. It means this is the Sox, the new generation of the Sox, and we're ready to roll.

SMITH: So thorough was the Red Sox domination, they never once trailed in the Series, providing a virtual stress-free ride to redemption for fans who have only known seasons ending in disappointment or disaster.

TIM WAKEFIELD, RED SOX PITCHER: It's tremendous for them, you know? We finally got it done for them and it's been so many years of heartache and, you know, disappointment. And we can finally hold that trophy up right there and say we're world champions.

MILLAR: They deserve that. They deserve that from all the misery they've been through over those years. They deserve this kind of a championship and we're proud to bring it to them.

FRANCONA: I think we were just worried about everyone's ticker after that Yankee series. We wanted to take it a little easy on them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have 100 percent confidence in our team, but you're always thinking, you know, the old what if.

SMITH (on camera): The Red Sox came into this series as self- proclaimed "idiots." The Boston fans will remember this motley crew by another name, world champions.

Larry Smith, CNN, St. Louis. (END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: City and team officials say a victory parade will likely be held on Saturday. The logistics are still being worked out. They're going to be celebrating for weeks, come on; they can hold that victory parade any day. People will be dancing in the streets.

HEMMER: Could be a very different team next year. About 18 guys up for free agency. I wonder how many will end up at Yankee Stadium next year. That's possible.

In a moment here, you have more reason than ever to make sure your checkbook is balanced today, and Andy explains that in a moment here. We're back with that.

O'BRIEN: Also a TV star's new role takes her to Africa. Alyssa Milano became becomes an ambassador and a spokeswoman for a famous (INAUDIBLE). A look at her new role ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: It is the final week of our "Crowded House" series, and we've been charting the extraordinary circumstances some families with multiples face, something this woman knows a whole lot about now.

O'BRIEN: My family calls it the overcrowded house. In fact, Sanjay this week introduces you to a family that's been through pretty exceptional challenges, both financial and emotional, and they're making it. I mean, my family, it's complete chaos, but this woman, she's got triplets. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Six weeks after having twins, Soledad was back at the office showing them off.

HEMMER: This is Bill and that's Jack.

GUPTA: With two older children at home, she's had years to master the balance between kids and a career. But some multiple moms, like 43-year-old Marybeth Arellano, find it difficult returning to the work world.

MARYBETH ARELLANO, MOTHER OF MULTIPLES: I had mixed feelings. I did want to come back to work, but I wanted to be with my kids, too.

GUPTA: But it was no longer a choice. Just months after her triplets were born, Marybeth and her husband got a divorce. Medical issues prevent him from helping financially.

ARELLANO: It's like just a nightmare, for a little while, and then, you know, you start making sense of it and you start getting it together. And then you start planning. Who needs a spoon? GUPTA: She does all the planning and the raising on her own. The onus is on her to transport, feed and clothe not just the triplets, but their 5-year-old brother as welling.

The cost of raising one child to the age of 18, almost $200,000. All four? Over three quarters of a million dollars.

Arellano navigates the cost in part by using governmental programs, low-cost childcare and clubs for moms of multiples, where they share things like hand-me-down clothes and information.

JANET BLEYL, PRESIDENT, THE TRIPLET CONNECTION: Information from people that have gone through similar experiences often can be life- saving. someone who has been there and can say, honey, you're going to make it.

GUPTA: Arellano knows she will make it, at least financially. What she and other mothers of multiples struggle with as the years go by, the emotional toll of caring for so many children.

DR. THOMAS PINCKERT, GREATER WASHINGTON MATERNAL FETAL: Sometimes these moms have a real sense of isolation, because what they are doing is different than what most people do, and most people don't have triplets.

GUPTA: That isolation obviously more pronounced for those going it alone.

ARELLANO: I think the hardest part is when they reach a milestone, and you are so excited about it, but there's no one to share it with. I just turn around and go, oh, my god! Look what he just did. It's lonely in that way.

GUPTA: Lonely sometimes, but Arellano speaks for so many moms out there when she says it's more than worth it.

ARELLANO: Have a great day!

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: You know she really, I think, says it all. It is more than worth it. As much as it can be really hard for everybody, and really, really, really hard for lots of people.

HEMMER: How are you doing, by the way?

O'BRIEN: Good, great. I'm so tired all the time, I cannot even tell you.

HEMMER: What did you call it, your overcrowded house?

O'BRIEN: A totally overcrowded house.

HEMMER: It's just beginning. O'BRIEN: Yes, no kidding. That concludes the series. Really nice series. And of course we'll keep updating on the twins.

HEMMER: That we will.

O'BRIEN: Maybe you can baby sit. No, I'm kidding.

Once again now, here is Heidi.

COLLINS: Trick or treat for UNICEF. Those words are music to the ears of actress and UNICEF ambassador Alyssa Milano. She is the spokeswoman for this year's Halloween fund-raising campaign. In the spring, Milano traveled to Angola for a firsthand look at the work UNICEF does for children around the world.

Alyssa Milano is joining me now. Hello to you.

ALYSSA MILANO, ACTRESS: Hi.

O'BRIEN: So what made you decide that you were going to take on a role like this? It's a pretty big role.

MILANO: It was a pretty big decision. I lived in South Africa for three months when I was 27 years old, and took on a more humanitarian part of my life. I volunteered in a children's hospital in a township, and I came back to the United States and had a really hard time assimilating what I had learned about myself there into the person that I sort of had to be here as far as like an actress and dealing with this stuff. So I took on this humanitarian role, and contacted UNICEF and said, please, let me work for you, because I have nowhere to direct this energy of wanting to help people.

O'BRIEN: What impacted you most or surprised you most when you were in Angola?

MILANO: I think the thing that surprises me most, especially in a place like Angola, which has suffered 40 years of civil war, is that there is so much hope that these children have for a better tomorrow, that it sort of made me feel like, OK, I wake up in the morning, and we're in a tough place right now as far as I think socially in this country. And it's hard for me to have hope. And I have an amazing life. And to see these kids that don't even have clean water to drink or an education, their eyes are so filled with hope.

O'BRIEN: What will UNICEF do? Where will the money go this year?

MILANO: I mean really every country where children need help. The money will go to everything from sanitation to education, to malnutrition. Everything that children need, UNICEF is there to support and help them.

O'BRIEN: They've been doing this since 1950, and you've brought in a whole lot of money through trick-or-treating. What can you tell kids to get them motivated to go ahead and carry these boxes around? MILANO: You know, it started with just kids getting the idea of wanting to raise money and they were able to raise $17 in 1950. And 54 years later, we've raised over $123 million with the campaign. And I just think it's such an important thing for kids to learn about what other children are going through in the world, and to be able to realize that they have the power to affect change and to help.

O'BRIEN: Alyssa Milano, what a great ambassador you make.

MILANO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate your time here this morning.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Thanks.

HEMMER: Job well done, yes. Twelve minutes before the hour. A break here.

Andy tells us today why it's an especially good day today to give your checkbook a checkup.

Back in a moment here, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Say goodbye to the floated check. With that and a check of the markets, Andy Serwer is back with us "Minding Your Business." Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No more playing the float.

HEMMER: Oh, yeah?

SERWER: That's what this law is about.

Let's check the markets first of all. Down a little bit, pulling back after two huge days on Wall Street. You can see Delta's down -- actually, I'm sorry, Delta is up. Delta is up 63 cents to $5.60. You could have made a lot of money on that stock. And obviously, it averted bankruptcy. It was $3 on Friday, now $5.50. That's how money's made. DWA, no quote on them yet. That's DreamWorks. We did see Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Katzenberg down there.

Let's talk about Marsh & McLennan a little bit. Of course, they've been in a world of trouble, investigated by Eliot Spitzer. Some more news there. First of all, Marsh & McLennan being investigated. Its Putnam Mutual Fund business was investigated by Eliot Spitzer. Its Mercer Consulting business was rebuked by Eliot Spitzer in regard to Dick Grasso's pay package.

Now, a scandal in its Kroll investigative business in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where it's been raided. Five employees have been arrested down there an investigation (AUDIO GAP) phone company (AUDIO GAP) law goes into effect today called Check 21.

Now, this means that checks will automatically be exchanged between banks using imaging technology. You can forget about that float. In other words, you used to write a check to the store, you didn't have the money in your account, you'd have about one to five days to get the money into your account before the check cleared. No more. It's going to be rolling. It won't take effect for all banks right away, but basically you should not count on the float anymore.

And here's the sticky little wicket. Guess what? You know how they put a hold on your deposits? They're not going to speed that up. OK? So, the banks are not going to speed the hold on the deposits up, but they are going to speed up the check-clearing process.

O'BRIEN: That's so unfair.

SERWER: So, you're getting it both ways here. And checks, of course, you bounce a check today, $30, $50 in some cases. I mean, it's bad news, really bad news, I think.

HEMMER: Sticky wickets.

SERWER: Yes, well, that's a technical term.

O'BRIEN: How is the e-mail going?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Lots of e-mail -- 900 letters, something like that. Question is this: Are the missing explosives what the candidates ought to be talking about five days before the election?

Steve in Greensboro, North Carolina: "Considering the secretive behavior of this administration, I'm more afraid of what they'll be talking about after the election. The December surprise might not be a gift under the tree."

Shari in Oklahoma: "I grew up with a schoolyard bully who played the same blame game that Kerry plays simply because he didn't have what it took to stand on his own."

Rich in New York writes: "Missing explosives? When are we going to get back to the kind of real news stories the American public demands, like Donald Trump's hair? So, Jack, do you think it's real or what?"

SERWER: Yeah.

CAFFERTY: This weekend on "IN THE MONEY," are we better off today than we were four years ago? President Reagan asked that question in 1980. What is that music?

SERWER: That's the "IN THE MONEY" theme. That's our theme.

CAFFERTY: That's our theme.

SERWER: They're playing our song.

CAFFERTY: Fine piece of music it is, too.

SERWER: It is.

CAFFERTY: This weekend on "IN THE MONEY," we'll take a long, hard look at where we stand just before Tuesday's election. Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. We do take roll, so you're expected to be there and be on time. And please observe the dress code.

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: Hey, Red Sox nation's spreading. Toledo, Ohio, live pictures. Senator Kerry on stage today. His first event of the day. And wouldn't you know it, with a Red Sox hat on.

O'BRIEN: That's a shocker.

SERWER: That's not going to get him many votes in New York.

CAFFERTY: He looks like a standing floor lamp with that thing on his head.

O'BRIEN: Ow!

HEMMER: We'll track him again, both men throughout the day today.

O'BRIEN: Moving on and coming up on CNN, they aren't the candidates, but they play them on TV. "Saturday Night Live's" Seth Meyers and Will Forte will talk to Daryn and Rick about their respective roles as John Kerry and President Bush. That's coming up in the next hour on "CNN LIVE TODAY."

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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


Aired October 28, 2004 - 09:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. We're going to take you back to Ramallah in just a few moments, some serious discussions coming in the next few hours about Yasser Arafat. His health reportedly seriously deteriorating. We're going to take a look at where he might go for treatment, and what the mood is now in the Palestinian territories.
Also in the next 30 minutes, actress Alyssa Milano is our guest here, leaving Hollywood for Angola this year. She's a UNICEF spokeswoman. We'll talk about the work they're doing. So we'll check in with her.

In the meantime, though, there is tough news out of Iraq we just learned a few moments ago, and that consists of our headlines with Heidi Collins on that.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, tough news is right, Bill.

Good morning, everyone.

Now in the news this morning, developments out of Iraq. According to a posting on a Web site, an Iraqi militant group has apparently killed eleven national guardsmen. The troops were abducted last week on a highway outside of Baghdad. We'll be watching that story for you, bring you more details as they happen.

And a major announcement that could affect next Tuesday's voting. The Justice Department planning to send 1,000 federal election observers and monitors throughout the country on Election Day. They'll report any signs of voter fraud or criminal activity. Details, including which cities are considered trouble spots, are expected a little bit later today. We're going to have much more on the elections, of course, coming up in just a bit.

Meanwhile the Red Sox making up for 86 years of bad luck and lost time. The players arrived home to a hero's welcome after a clean sweep against the Cardinals.

This video just in to CNN now, coming up. I think we've seen this a little bit before.

But anyway, a parade honoring the Beantown heroes is expected on Saturday. So of course we will have a little bit more on the game in just a moment. I don't know if you guys saw in one of the papers this morning they were quoting the principal owner, a guy by the name of John Henry right. He said some people have told me that this will be as big as the Revolutionary War.

HEMMER: Oh, yes?

COLLINS: I thought, my goodness.

HEMMER: Up there with Paul Revere and Bunker Hill.

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat clearly not healthy, but not much else is known about what is wrong with him at this point. There's a team of doctors making the decision about how and where to treat him.

John Vause, outside the compound there where Yasser Arafat has been holed up for about 2 1/2 years now.

John, good afternoon. The latest now is what?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

We're hearing from Palestinian sources that Yasser Arafat is dozing, waking occasionally, but waking apparently with temporary memory loss. Now just moments ago, the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei arrived at Arafat's compound. This is his third meeting, or third time he's been to this compound today. What this means, we're not too sure.

Arafat's condition is still described as serious but stable. A close adviser to Arafat told me that the Palestinian leader is weak. He is exhausted. He has lost weight, but this adviser has flatly denied that Arafat at any time lost consciousness.

The Egyptian doctors who we told you about are expected to arrive here shortly. They'll meet with doctors from Jordan, Tunisia, as well as Palestinian doctors. They intend to sit down to try and work out just what is making the Palestinian leader so sick.

Over the last few days, they've run a battery of tests, but everything has come up clean -- tests for colon cancer, for blood disorders, nothing; they can't pinpoint just what is making Arafat so ill at this stage.

Now, a decision to move him, we're told, will come later on today. Palestinian sources, once again, telling us it is likely that Arafat will be moved to a hospital abroad. But the problem we are told, as far as getting into that hospital, they just don't know what's wrong with him. So they've got to decide which medical facility to actually move him to.

Israel, for its parts, has said because it's a medical emergency, they will allow Arafat to leave his compound and they will allow him to return. That's a big step for Israel, who is over the last 2 1/2 years, they've said that if Arafat ever leaves his compound, he'll not be allowed back. So saying now, because this is a humanitarian mission, a medical emergency, Arafat will be allowed to return -- Bill.

HEMMER: John, there have been questions in the past about his health. Was this sudden?

All right I think we lost contact with John Vause. My apologies.

John, if I have you back, I'm going to try one more time.

Was this sudden, this latest bout, because there have been questions for years about the strength of Yasser Arafat's health and his condition.

VAUSE: Well, he's 75 years old. He turned 75 last August. He is not a well man. And when old men get the flu, they get sick, it is often quite a serious case. He's been kept in his compound under virtual house arrest for the last 2 1/2 years. He very rarely sees daylight. He exercises by walking around a boardroom table, and yes, his health is not good.

But he is also considered the great survivor. He survived a helicopter crash, for example, back in 1992. So he's a tough man. He's also a workaholic, and he does take care of himself. He doesn't drink. He doesn't smoke. He tries to eat well, that kind of thing. But yes, his health has not been good. It's been deteriorating for quite some time.

There's even been speculation over the years that he may have some kind of Parkinson's Disease, because he tends to shake when he speaks in public. But his health has been deteriorating, and Palestinians will tell you it has not been helped by being kept inside this compound for so many years -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, John, thanks. John Vause there in Ramallah with the latest on that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, the Red Sox are back in Boston. The team arrived in Beantown to celebrate their world series victory with their fans. The Sox, of course, beating the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series in 86 years or so.

Here's CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It was a celebration 86 years in the making, with champagne that's been on ice for generations. It started with the words millions of baseball fans never thought they'd hear -- the Boston Red Sox are World Series champions. CURT SCHILLING, RED SOX PITCHER: Twenty-five guys in the locker room can say something no other living player can say -- they're a member of the Boston Red Sox world champions.

BRONSON ARROYO, RED SOX PITCHER: This one's for them, man. Eighty-six years they've been coming out seeing the Red Sox come up short.

JOHNNY DAMON: We happened to win the championship, but this is for a lot of, you know, guys that have played in this organization for a long time.

SMITH: For Boston, breaking the famed curse of the Bambino is the unlikeliest of events, accomplished nearly unimaginably by this perpetually doomed franchise. Eleven days ago, the Red Sox were three outs from being swept by their archrivals, the New York Yankees. Yet a record eight straight wins later, they finished with tears of a different kind.

TERRY FRANCONA, RED SOX MANAGER: We had some really special players never once quit, oh, we go home. I mean we had a big deep hole to dig out of against some really good teams.

THEO EPSTEIN, RED SOX GENERAL MANAGER: We did do it in style. We did it in style. We went right through New York. We made a little history along the way.

KEVIN MILLAR, RED SOX FIRST BASEMAN: No curse, man. They can rip up those signs. It means this is the Sox, the new generation of the Sox, and we're ready to roll.

SMITH: So thorough was the Red Sox domination, they never once trailed in the Series, providing a virtual stress-free ride to redemption for fans who have only known seasons ending in disappointment or disaster.

TIM WAKEFIELD, RED SOX PITCHER: It's tremendous for them, you know? We finally got it done for them and it's been so many years of heartache and, you know, disappointment. And we can finally hold that trophy up right there and say we're world champions.

MILLAR: They deserve that. They deserve that from all the misery they've been through over those years. They deserve this kind of a championship and we're proud to bring it to them.

FRANCONA: I think we were just worried about everyone's ticker after that Yankee series. We wanted to take it a little easy on them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have 100 percent confidence in our team, but you're always thinking, you know, the old what if.

SMITH (on camera): The Red Sox came into this series as self- proclaimed "idiots." The Boston fans will remember this motley crew by another name, world champions.

Larry Smith, CNN, St. Louis. (END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: City and team officials say a victory parade will likely be held on Saturday. The logistics are still being worked out. They're going to be celebrating for weeks, come on; they can hold that victory parade any day. People will be dancing in the streets.

HEMMER: Could be a very different team next year. About 18 guys up for free agency. I wonder how many will end up at Yankee Stadium next year. That's possible.

In a moment here, you have more reason than ever to make sure your checkbook is balanced today, and Andy explains that in a moment here. We're back with that.

O'BRIEN: Also a TV star's new role takes her to Africa. Alyssa Milano became becomes an ambassador and a spokeswoman for a famous (INAUDIBLE). A look at her new role ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: It is the final week of our "Crowded House" series, and we've been charting the extraordinary circumstances some families with multiples face, something this woman knows a whole lot about now.

O'BRIEN: My family calls it the overcrowded house. In fact, Sanjay this week introduces you to a family that's been through pretty exceptional challenges, both financial and emotional, and they're making it. I mean, my family, it's complete chaos, but this woman, she's got triplets. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Six weeks after having twins, Soledad was back at the office showing them off.

HEMMER: This is Bill and that's Jack.

GUPTA: With two older children at home, she's had years to master the balance between kids and a career. But some multiple moms, like 43-year-old Marybeth Arellano, find it difficult returning to the work world.

MARYBETH ARELLANO, MOTHER OF MULTIPLES: I had mixed feelings. I did want to come back to work, but I wanted to be with my kids, too.

GUPTA: But it was no longer a choice. Just months after her triplets were born, Marybeth and her husband got a divorce. Medical issues prevent him from helping financially.

ARELLANO: It's like just a nightmare, for a little while, and then, you know, you start making sense of it and you start getting it together. And then you start planning. Who needs a spoon? GUPTA: She does all the planning and the raising on her own. The onus is on her to transport, feed and clothe not just the triplets, but their 5-year-old brother as welling.

The cost of raising one child to the age of 18, almost $200,000. All four? Over three quarters of a million dollars.

Arellano navigates the cost in part by using governmental programs, low-cost childcare and clubs for moms of multiples, where they share things like hand-me-down clothes and information.

JANET BLEYL, PRESIDENT, THE TRIPLET CONNECTION: Information from people that have gone through similar experiences often can be life- saving. someone who has been there and can say, honey, you're going to make it.

GUPTA: Arellano knows she will make it, at least financially. What she and other mothers of multiples struggle with as the years go by, the emotional toll of caring for so many children.

DR. THOMAS PINCKERT, GREATER WASHINGTON MATERNAL FETAL: Sometimes these moms have a real sense of isolation, because what they are doing is different than what most people do, and most people don't have triplets.

GUPTA: That isolation obviously more pronounced for those going it alone.

ARELLANO: I think the hardest part is when they reach a milestone, and you are so excited about it, but there's no one to share it with. I just turn around and go, oh, my god! Look what he just did. It's lonely in that way.

GUPTA: Lonely sometimes, but Arellano speaks for so many moms out there when she says it's more than worth it.

ARELLANO: Have a great day!

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: You know she really, I think, says it all. It is more than worth it. As much as it can be really hard for everybody, and really, really, really hard for lots of people.

HEMMER: How are you doing, by the way?

O'BRIEN: Good, great. I'm so tired all the time, I cannot even tell you.

HEMMER: What did you call it, your overcrowded house?

O'BRIEN: A totally overcrowded house.

HEMMER: It's just beginning. O'BRIEN: Yes, no kidding. That concludes the series. Really nice series. And of course we'll keep updating on the twins.

HEMMER: That we will.

O'BRIEN: Maybe you can baby sit. No, I'm kidding.

Once again now, here is Heidi.

COLLINS: Trick or treat for UNICEF. Those words are music to the ears of actress and UNICEF ambassador Alyssa Milano. She is the spokeswoman for this year's Halloween fund-raising campaign. In the spring, Milano traveled to Angola for a firsthand look at the work UNICEF does for children around the world.

Alyssa Milano is joining me now. Hello to you.

ALYSSA MILANO, ACTRESS: Hi.

O'BRIEN: So what made you decide that you were going to take on a role like this? It's a pretty big role.

MILANO: It was a pretty big decision. I lived in South Africa for three months when I was 27 years old, and took on a more humanitarian part of my life. I volunteered in a children's hospital in a township, and I came back to the United States and had a really hard time assimilating what I had learned about myself there into the person that I sort of had to be here as far as like an actress and dealing with this stuff. So I took on this humanitarian role, and contacted UNICEF and said, please, let me work for you, because I have nowhere to direct this energy of wanting to help people.

O'BRIEN: What impacted you most or surprised you most when you were in Angola?

MILANO: I think the thing that surprises me most, especially in a place like Angola, which has suffered 40 years of civil war, is that there is so much hope that these children have for a better tomorrow, that it sort of made me feel like, OK, I wake up in the morning, and we're in a tough place right now as far as I think socially in this country. And it's hard for me to have hope. And I have an amazing life. And to see these kids that don't even have clean water to drink or an education, their eyes are so filled with hope.

O'BRIEN: What will UNICEF do? Where will the money go this year?

MILANO: I mean really every country where children need help. The money will go to everything from sanitation to education, to malnutrition. Everything that children need, UNICEF is there to support and help them.

O'BRIEN: They've been doing this since 1950, and you've brought in a whole lot of money through trick-or-treating. What can you tell kids to get them motivated to go ahead and carry these boxes around? MILANO: You know, it started with just kids getting the idea of wanting to raise money and they were able to raise $17 in 1950. And 54 years later, we've raised over $123 million with the campaign. And I just think it's such an important thing for kids to learn about what other children are going through in the world, and to be able to realize that they have the power to affect change and to help.

O'BRIEN: Alyssa Milano, what a great ambassador you make.

MILANO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate your time here this morning.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Thanks.

HEMMER: Job well done, yes. Twelve minutes before the hour. A break here.

Andy tells us today why it's an especially good day today to give your checkbook a checkup.

Back in a moment here, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Say goodbye to the floated check. With that and a check of the markets, Andy Serwer is back with us "Minding Your Business." Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No more playing the float.

HEMMER: Oh, yeah?

SERWER: That's what this law is about.

Let's check the markets first of all. Down a little bit, pulling back after two huge days on Wall Street. You can see Delta's down -- actually, I'm sorry, Delta is up. Delta is up 63 cents to $5.60. You could have made a lot of money on that stock. And obviously, it averted bankruptcy. It was $3 on Friday, now $5.50. That's how money's made. DWA, no quote on them yet. That's DreamWorks. We did see Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Katzenberg down there.

Let's talk about Marsh & McLennan a little bit. Of course, they've been in a world of trouble, investigated by Eliot Spitzer. Some more news there. First of all, Marsh & McLennan being investigated. Its Putnam Mutual Fund business was investigated by Eliot Spitzer. Its Mercer Consulting business was rebuked by Eliot Spitzer in regard to Dick Grasso's pay package.

Now, a scandal in its Kroll investigative business in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where it's been raided. Five employees have been arrested down there an investigation (AUDIO GAP) phone company (AUDIO GAP) law goes into effect today called Check 21.

Now, this means that checks will automatically be exchanged between banks using imaging technology. You can forget about that float. In other words, you used to write a check to the store, you didn't have the money in your account, you'd have about one to five days to get the money into your account before the check cleared. No more. It's going to be rolling. It won't take effect for all banks right away, but basically you should not count on the float anymore.

And here's the sticky little wicket. Guess what? You know how they put a hold on your deposits? They're not going to speed that up. OK? So, the banks are not going to speed the hold on the deposits up, but they are going to speed up the check-clearing process.

O'BRIEN: That's so unfair.

SERWER: So, you're getting it both ways here. And checks, of course, you bounce a check today, $30, $50 in some cases. I mean, it's bad news, really bad news, I think.

HEMMER: Sticky wickets.

SERWER: Yes, well, that's a technical term.

O'BRIEN: How is the e-mail going?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Lots of e-mail -- 900 letters, something like that. Question is this: Are the missing explosives what the candidates ought to be talking about five days before the election?

Steve in Greensboro, North Carolina: "Considering the secretive behavior of this administration, I'm more afraid of what they'll be talking about after the election. The December surprise might not be a gift under the tree."

Shari in Oklahoma: "I grew up with a schoolyard bully who played the same blame game that Kerry plays simply because he didn't have what it took to stand on his own."

Rich in New York writes: "Missing explosives? When are we going to get back to the kind of real news stories the American public demands, like Donald Trump's hair? So, Jack, do you think it's real or what?"

SERWER: Yeah.

CAFFERTY: This weekend on "IN THE MONEY," are we better off today than we were four years ago? President Reagan asked that question in 1980. What is that music?

SERWER: That's the "IN THE MONEY" theme. That's our theme.

CAFFERTY: That's our theme.

SERWER: They're playing our song.

CAFFERTY: Fine piece of music it is, too.

SERWER: It is.

CAFFERTY: This weekend on "IN THE MONEY," we'll take a long, hard look at where we stand just before Tuesday's election. Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. We do take roll, so you're expected to be there and be on time. And please observe the dress code.

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: Hey, Red Sox nation's spreading. Toledo, Ohio, live pictures. Senator Kerry on stage today. His first event of the day. And wouldn't you know it, with a Red Sox hat on.

O'BRIEN: That's a shocker.

SERWER: That's not going to get him many votes in New York.

CAFFERTY: He looks like a standing floor lamp with that thing on his head.

O'BRIEN: Ow!

HEMMER: We'll track him again, both men throughout the day today.

O'BRIEN: Moving on and coming up on CNN, they aren't the candidates, but they play them on TV. "Saturday Night Live's" Seth Meyers and Will Forte will talk to Daryn and Rick about their respective roles as John Kerry and President Bush. That's coming up in the next hour on "CNN LIVE TODAY."

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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