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CNN Sunday Morning

Battle Rages in Fallujah; Million Worker March to Get Under Way Today

Aired October 17, 2004 - 09:30   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.


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The growing debate over illegal immigration. Our Maria Hinojosa follows it to an unlikely place, rural Georgia. And good morning everyone I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll have that story coming up. But first, here's what's happening right now in the news.

From the air and on the ground, a battle is raging this morning in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. U.S. forces are pressing ahead with the campaign against insurgents linked to militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Warplanes have been bombing the city. Meantime, U.S. tanks have been fighting militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

Funerals in Iraq today for nine Iraqi police officers; they were killed Saturday night in a town south of Baghdad. Insurgents fired on their vehicle with grenades and machine guns. Two other officers were hurt in that attack.

An end to the conflict in Iraq, that's one of the issues that thousands of workers plan to rally for in Washington today. Organizers are calling it the Million Worker March. But they expect about 100,000 people to actually show up. The workers are also calling for more jobs and universal health care.

HARRIS: More now on the immigration debate in the U.S. as the nation becomes more diverse, it's also becoming more divided. Our Maria Hinojosa visited one Georgia community where the ethnic lines are being drawn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): July 4th in northern Georgia, in the cradle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The people of Clayton, Georgia, are taking in the good life and feeling patriotic. But the ones who make this party possible are people like Gabe.

"GABE": No plate? OK.

HINOJOSA: Who asked us not to use his last name.

"GABE": It's hard work today. It's no Independents Day for us, it's for the American peoples. HINOJOSA: Gabe got here four years ago.

"GABE": Only I know Georgia for Atlanta, the Olympics games. Maybe this city's meant more rich. This people is rich.

HINOJOSA: Gabe, his wife and son came here with illegal visa to visit Disneyland. They just never left. They were just getting by in Mexico, but they risked losing everything for a chance at something better.

"GABE" (through translator): In Mexico, we had less time to be together as a family. Here we have more time to share together. Our economic situation is much better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of people have balloons today.

HINOJOSA: Just one hour south in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Jimmy Hercheck (ph), another proud southerner, is also feeling patriotic, passing down his traditions to his daughters, Alice and Beatrice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

HINOJOSA: Some Latinos watch the celebrations from a distance. Jimmy Hercheck thinks they're still too close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see what's happening here in our county reminds me of what they called "the Barrios," you know, the poor neighborhoods in southern California.

HINOJOSA: What's happening now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's come to pick up workers.

HINOJOSA: Hercheck is living in a Georgia transformed. Some 100,000 Latinos have settled in his county, more than in any other county in Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several dozen men out here looking for jobs, and there's just two or three jobs that they can get at one time.

HINOJOSA: About half of those Latinos are illegal. Hercheck says they're destroying his neighborhood. A year ago, he sold his house and moved.

Brings back a lot of memories. It was pretty much your middle- class family neighborhood and now you look around, it's maybe half small families and the other half have become pretty much boarding houses. I'm afraid that America could become a third-world country. We're importing poverty by millions every year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Maria Hinojosa joins us now, live from New York to talk more about this issue. Maria good to see you this morning.

HINOJOSA: Good to see you Tony, and welcome to CNN. HARRIS: Ah, thank you. You're very kind. Thank you very much.

I've got to tell you, we've heard both sides of this issue for so many years in this country. Is there anything different with the backdrop of this election, either on the margins or right at the center of it?

HINOJOSA: I think that the difference in this election is that the candidates aren't talking about the issue of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. It seems they don't want to give straight answers. You have a lot of frustration on the ground level in a place like Georgia that has really changed over the past ten years. And you have a division between the people who are saying, "what's going on with these people coming here who don't have papers" and the people who are coming into this country, living undocumented, are saying, "we don't understand, we're being welcomed with jobs." So, it's a mixed message.

HARRIS: What would the immigrants, in your mind, like to hear if they were writing the policy?

HINOJOSA: I think they'd like to hear that they could come to this country, if there are jobs for them, and that they would not have to leave -- live in an illegal status. Everyone who I spoke to said we do not want to live without papers. We want to be up front, we want to pay our taxes, we want to have a voice, we want to be recognized. But, at this point, many of them don't see that happening anytime soon. So there's a lot of frustration.

HARRIS: Why don't you think that's being addressed in any kind of meaningful way in this campaign?

HINOJOSA: It's a very difficult topic Tony, because it's as if the politicians don't quite want to be straight. And you talk to a lot of economists who are divided on this issue. Many say that the undocumented immigrants hurt the economy, but many say they also help the economy. So how is the United States going to deal with the fact that they need this labor, they want this labor, and get it here in a legal situation without, in their point of view, perhaps alienating certain communities. So, it's very tough. But with this documentary tonight, we hope to spark a national conversation.

HARRIS: And one more quick question, if I might. Within the immigrant community itself, is there a debate between those who are not documented and those who are here legally?

HINOJOSA: You're going to hear that, absolutely. You're going to hear legal immigrants saying, "hey, we came the right way." But you'll hear many coming from Mexico and other places south, saying, "if we could have come here legally, we would have done that. We tried. The doors were closed. We were hungry, we were starving, we decided to risk our lives to cross the country." But, all of them that I spoke to said "if we could have done it by the book, we would have."

HARRIS: Why were they so willing to talk to you? HINOJOSA: Because they feel like they're being categorized as "illegal alien criminals" and they have said to me, to a tee, "we do not see ourselves as 'illegal alien criminals.' We broke the law to get here, we didn't want to do this, but we do not want to be voiceless, we want to be seen, we want to be visible." And they did, in fact, give me extraordinary, extraordinary access.

HARRIS: Maria, good to talk to you. Thanks for being here. We appreciate it.

HINOJOSA: Good to talk to you.

HARRIS: And Maria's journey into the immigration debate is the topic of an all new "CNN PRESENTS: Immigration Nation Divided Country" that's tonight at 8:00 Eastern time 5:00 Pacific.

NGUYEN: That's going to be a fascinating program.

Well, time now to fast forward and take a look at what you can expect to see in the news this week. Tomorrow the trial begins in the shareholder lawsuit against former Disney president, Michael Ovitz. The suit claims it was a waste to company assets to give Ovitz a $140 million severance package.

The hearing for Army Specialist Charles Graner that's set to begin on Thursday in Baghdad. Graner faces charges stemming from the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal.

And, batter up. Baseball fans, the major league World Series, that starts on Saturday. Make sure you're there.

HARRIS: Ah, Betty, need a pumpkin?

NGUYEN: Nope. No, I'm OK, thanks.

HARRIS: In a week or so, maybe?

NGUYEN: Maybe.

HARRIS: Ooh boy, do we have one to show you. The tale of the great pumpkin and all the TLC that went into growing it when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More intense fighting reported today in Fallujah, Iraq. U.S. jet fighters in the air and heavy armor on the ground have been hitting suspected insurgents in the city, including an illegal roadblock.

Former ABC newsman, Pierre Salinger, has died at 79. Salinger lived in the south of France and died yesterday of a heart attack. Besides journalism, Salinger was a fixture in Democratic politics for many years, most notably as John Kennedy's press secretary.

And in Arizona, one police officer calls it the worst multiple fatality accident he has ever seen. A truck packed with suspected illegal immigrants flipped over at high speed, causing an 11-vehicle wreck. At least six people were killed, and 15 were seriously hurt. The truck had been reported stolen in Phoenix.

NGUYEN: Well, have the presidential debates helped you decide who to vote for? We are reading your e-mails to this e-mail question of the day. That's still to come right here on CNN.

In the meantime, news from "Across America": In Southern California, derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, smashed into four homes. Two dozen other houses were evacuated. Nearly 50 railroad cars jumped the tracks. One boxcar went through the roof of a house. No serious injuries were reported.

HARRIS: In Boston, gloom and doom could bring out the brooms. The New York Yankees are one game away from sweeping the Red Sox after a 19-8 win last night. The Yankees will try to sock it -- sorry -- to the Sox tonight. Meanwhile, Houston, do we have a problem? The Astros beat Saint Louis last night, 5-2, at least not last night. The cards are still up in the series, however, two games to one.

NGUYEN: And they are doing it in public. No, not what you think. Thousands of sale-crazed shoppers are snapping up items in New York's giant tag sale in Central Park this morning. An outfit worn by Sarah Jessica Parker on "Sex and the City" is just one fashion find among over 300,000 offerings. Can you imagine? The charity event is raising money for New York City public schools.

HARRIS: If you grow it, they will come. It is a giant mutant pumpkin that has become the talk of the town in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, a small farming community north of Philadelphia. They is affiliate WPHL, which just had to come see it for themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Rod's house. Rod is a little on the crazy side.

MARK THOMAS, ROD'S FUTURE SON-IN-LAW: We all did this together. Pretty much.

At one point this thing was growing, like, 17 pounds a day. There's no way we could weigh this, so we would take measurements, and then there's a chart in a giant pumpkin-growing book. You know, there's books about it. And this is actually volume two.

On our final guesstimate, we were at 507 pounds. We took it down to the hardware store down here, and we weighed it in at 520 pounds. It was like, wow! You know, it was bigger than we thought it would get.

My fiancee, Amy McNulty, she's the pumpkin mother.

AMY'S DAUGHTER: Think I it's funny, really funny.

THOMAS: Well, she's the one who took care of it, you know, so call her the "Pumpkin Mother."

AMY'S DAUGHTER: She didn't really like it, though.

THOMAS: This is just this year's plant, that's it. All this is just one plant. She's a big hit at school. They're always asking, you know, how big's the pumpkin now?

AMY'S DAUGHTER: It's a good thing because I'm getting a lot of attention at school and get to sit with the popular kids and stuff like that, all because of the pumpkin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Look at that thing. It is huge! What do you feed it?

Well, not to take anything away from the Pennsburg pumpkin, but 500 pounds is about one-third the world record set in 2003 for a pumpkin in New Hampshire.

NGUYEN: That's a third. OK. Let's do the math, there -- 500 pounds. How many pumpkin pies can you make out of that?

HARRIS: A gazillion.

NGUYEN: Two million.

HARRIS: Is that a real word -- gazillion?

NGUYEN: Well, it is today.

HARRIS: OK, all right.

NGUYEN: But, she said it makes her popular at school. I should have had a big pumpkin like that going through school, maybe I would have done better.

HARRIS: You can have one too. We'll search the web. We'll find out the ingredients for the big...

NGUYEN: Yeah, volume two of the great pumpkin book.

HARRIS: We'll get started. Exactly.

NGUYEN: All right. Where the candidates stand on education and how it can affect your children. We have a look at the issues, that is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, each week at this time we bring you an in-depth look at some of the major issues facing voters this election year. And today we turn our focus to education and social security, two issues that have taken a back seat to terrorism and the economy. Here's CNN's Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One would think that the president's No Child Left Behind education reform would make a few waves in this time of no voter left behind, but one would be wrong. It's just an occasional ripple. After all, John Kerry backed the legislation. However...

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two months after the law was signed, this administration started to break its promise by short-changing the law by $27 billion. Millions of children have been left behind.

FRANKEN: Local officials complain they get little financial help with this major accountability exercise as they scramble to avoid the dunce list of schools whose students don't pass their proficiency tests.

Kerry says he would provide $200 billion federal over 10 years for education, with $30 billion earmarked for teacher training and incentives.

The Bush education secretary contends that No Child Left Behind has put students and teachers ahead.

ROD PAIGE, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: We can either build on these achievements or we can return to the days of excuses and indifference. Our opponent's voted for No Child Left Behind. Now they try to attack it.

FRANKEN: Other differences -- Kerry would expand after-school programs and expand tuition tax credits for college for most households.

The president has proposed cuts for after-school programs, while offering a slight increase in grants for low-income college students.

Still in all, educating the youngsters has not really been a burning issue.

Out at the other end of life, there have been a few political sparks over how to provide for senior citizens or how not to.

KERRY: Let me make it clear. I will never privatize Social Security, ever.

FRANKEN: The president does support allowing workers to use some of their Social Security payments for private investment. Kerry cites a study which charges that would mean hundreds of millions in new profits for the financial services industry, which happens to be one of the major Bush/Cheney campaign contributors. But the president argues, nowadays Americans need to have some control over their retirement.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe younger workers ought to be able to take some of their own money and set up a personal savings account that earns better interest than the Social Security trust. FRANKEN: The polls indicate that voter confidence in Bush and Kerry is just about evenly divided on most domestic issues, with Bush ahead on education. But it's often difficult to discern their differences.

(on camera): Education, all the candidates are for it. Protecting retirement benefits, ditto. And now, it's back to the wars.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Now to Kelly Wallace in Washington for a preview of "Inside Politics Sunday."

Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY": Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, with just 16 days until the election, President Bush and Senator Kerry are in overdrive, making their case to voters all across the country. We will speak to two campaign insiders.

Plus, our very own Candy Crowley has an exclusive sit-down interview with the senator. Find out what he had to say.

And we'll take a look at the military vote, a crucial block this election year with many troops fighting overseas. That is all ahead at the top of the hour on "Inside Politics Sunday." And Tony, back to you, and welcome to CNN.

HARRIS: I love this! Thank you, Kelly. Thank you very much. We'll see you in a few minutes.

WALLACE: OK. Thanks so much.

NGUYEN: Still in the honeymoon period.

HARRIS: Woo!

NGUYEN: We'll try to continue it for a little while.

HARRIS: Please, please.

NGUYEN: All morning long, we've been asking you for your thoughts on our e-mail question of the day. And that question is: Have the debates helped you decide who to vote for? We've gotten lots of responses.

Jim from Erie, Pennsylvania, writes: " I watched all three debates and to be very honest, they didn't come close to changing my mind on who I'm voting for. In fact, I thought they were nothing more than a distasteful joke...especially when both camps get together and hashed out a contract on what question to ask??? What is that about? When politicians want my vote then sow me that they want my vote!!!"

HARRIS: And this next e-mail is from Margaret and she Orleans, Michigan: "I didn't hear what I wanted to hear in the debates. Why isn't someone asking about the jobs that President Bush created? We sent over one million servicemen and women to the Middle East. Of course he created jobs. What would happen to our unemployment figures if they returned overnight?"

NGUYEN: And here's an answer I don't think I've ever heard before. Marlene writes in saying, "Absolutely the debates confirmed who I shall vote for: Neither of the men gave me anything but empty promises. Therefore, it's a fact, that I am voting for my dog, "Tramp"..."

HARRIS: Come on.

NGUYEN: "...for president and my sister's dog, "Abby" as his running mate." She's not lying, this is what she said. In fact that's what she's going to do and all they as of people, meaning these two dogs, is that the be fed, and watered, and walked several times a day, they promise only to be faithful to us and they are also man's best friend.

HARRIS: On the ballot right now.

NGUYEN: Yeah, write it in -- "Tramp" and "Abby" for prez and vice prez.

HARRIS: All right. There's the e-mail address, wam@cnn.com. If you'd like to send us some more e-mails. They've been great this morning. Thank you. Keep them coming.

NGUYEN: Ooh la la, you are looking at a live shot of Orlando. There it is, sunny Orlando, Florida, soon to be home of Club Paris, yes. Hotel heiress and socialite, Paris Hilton, will open her own nightclub in downtown Orlando on New Year's Eve, of all days.

But in the meantime, Rob Marciano is straight ahead with your weekend forecast when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, you know we've talked a lot about weather in these baseball cities for the championship series today, but, you know, this is football Sunday.

NGUYEN: It's Sunday. We've got to talk about football. How's my Cowboys doing? They're playing in Dallas? Right Rob? The weather?

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you Rob.

HARRIS: And thank you for being with us this weekend and that's all our time. Thank you. NGUYEN: That's right. Does it for us "Inside Politics Sunday" is next.

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 17, 2004 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The growing debate over illegal immigration. Our Maria Hinojosa follows it to an unlikely place, rural Georgia. And good morning everyone I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll have that story coming up. But first, here's what's happening right now in the news.

From the air and on the ground, a battle is raging this morning in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. U.S. forces are pressing ahead with the campaign against insurgents linked to militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Warplanes have been bombing the city. Meantime, U.S. tanks have been fighting militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

Funerals in Iraq today for nine Iraqi police officers; they were killed Saturday night in a town south of Baghdad. Insurgents fired on their vehicle with grenades and machine guns. Two other officers were hurt in that attack.

An end to the conflict in Iraq, that's one of the issues that thousands of workers plan to rally for in Washington today. Organizers are calling it the Million Worker March. But they expect about 100,000 people to actually show up. The workers are also calling for more jobs and universal health care.

HARRIS: More now on the immigration debate in the U.S. as the nation becomes more diverse, it's also becoming more divided. Our Maria Hinojosa visited one Georgia community where the ethnic lines are being drawn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): July 4th in northern Georgia, in the cradle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The people of Clayton, Georgia, are taking in the good life and feeling patriotic. But the ones who make this party possible are people like Gabe.

"GABE": No plate? OK.

HINOJOSA: Who asked us not to use his last name.

"GABE": It's hard work today. It's no Independents Day for us, it's for the American peoples. HINOJOSA: Gabe got here four years ago.

"GABE": Only I know Georgia for Atlanta, the Olympics games. Maybe this city's meant more rich. This people is rich.

HINOJOSA: Gabe, his wife and son came here with illegal visa to visit Disneyland. They just never left. They were just getting by in Mexico, but they risked losing everything for a chance at something better.

"GABE" (through translator): In Mexico, we had less time to be together as a family. Here we have more time to share together. Our economic situation is much better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of people have balloons today.

HINOJOSA: Just one hour south in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Jimmy Hercheck (ph), another proud southerner, is also feeling patriotic, passing down his traditions to his daughters, Alice and Beatrice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

HINOJOSA: Some Latinos watch the celebrations from a distance. Jimmy Hercheck thinks they're still too close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see what's happening here in our county reminds me of what they called "the Barrios," you know, the poor neighborhoods in southern California.

HINOJOSA: What's happening now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's come to pick up workers.

HINOJOSA: Hercheck is living in a Georgia transformed. Some 100,000 Latinos have settled in his county, more than in any other county in Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several dozen men out here looking for jobs, and there's just two or three jobs that they can get at one time.

HINOJOSA: About half of those Latinos are illegal. Hercheck says they're destroying his neighborhood. A year ago, he sold his house and moved.

Brings back a lot of memories. It was pretty much your middle- class family neighborhood and now you look around, it's maybe half small families and the other half have become pretty much boarding houses. I'm afraid that America could become a third-world country. We're importing poverty by millions every year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Maria Hinojosa joins us now, live from New York to talk more about this issue. Maria good to see you this morning.

HINOJOSA: Good to see you Tony, and welcome to CNN. HARRIS: Ah, thank you. You're very kind. Thank you very much.

I've got to tell you, we've heard both sides of this issue for so many years in this country. Is there anything different with the backdrop of this election, either on the margins or right at the center of it?

HINOJOSA: I think that the difference in this election is that the candidates aren't talking about the issue of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. It seems they don't want to give straight answers. You have a lot of frustration on the ground level in a place like Georgia that has really changed over the past ten years. And you have a division between the people who are saying, "what's going on with these people coming here who don't have papers" and the people who are coming into this country, living undocumented, are saying, "we don't understand, we're being welcomed with jobs." So, it's a mixed message.

HARRIS: What would the immigrants, in your mind, like to hear if they were writing the policy?

HINOJOSA: I think they'd like to hear that they could come to this country, if there are jobs for them, and that they would not have to leave -- live in an illegal status. Everyone who I spoke to said we do not want to live without papers. We want to be up front, we want to pay our taxes, we want to have a voice, we want to be recognized. But, at this point, many of them don't see that happening anytime soon. So there's a lot of frustration.

HARRIS: Why don't you think that's being addressed in any kind of meaningful way in this campaign?

HINOJOSA: It's a very difficult topic Tony, because it's as if the politicians don't quite want to be straight. And you talk to a lot of economists who are divided on this issue. Many say that the undocumented immigrants hurt the economy, but many say they also help the economy. So how is the United States going to deal with the fact that they need this labor, they want this labor, and get it here in a legal situation without, in their point of view, perhaps alienating certain communities. So, it's very tough. But with this documentary tonight, we hope to spark a national conversation.

HARRIS: And one more quick question, if I might. Within the immigrant community itself, is there a debate between those who are not documented and those who are here legally?

HINOJOSA: You're going to hear that, absolutely. You're going to hear legal immigrants saying, "hey, we came the right way." But you'll hear many coming from Mexico and other places south, saying, "if we could have come here legally, we would have done that. We tried. The doors were closed. We were hungry, we were starving, we decided to risk our lives to cross the country." But, all of them that I spoke to said "if we could have done it by the book, we would have."

HARRIS: Why were they so willing to talk to you? HINOJOSA: Because they feel like they're being categorized as "illegal alien criminals" and they have said to me, to a tee, "we do not see ourselves as 'illegal alien criminals.' We broke the law to get here, we didn't want to do this, but we do not want to be voiceless, we want to be seen, we want to be visible." And they did, in fact, give me extraordinary, extraordinary access.

HARRIS: Maria, good to talk to you. Thanks for being here. We appreciate it.

HINOJOSA: Good to talk to you.

HARRIS: And Maria's journey into the immigration debate is the topic of an all new "CNN PRESENTS: Immigration Nation Divided Country" that's tonight at 8:00 Eastern time 5:00 Pacific.

NGUYEN: That's going to be a fascinating program.

Well, time now to fast forward and take a look at what you can expect to see in the news this week. Tomorrow the trial begins in the shareholder lawsuit against former Disney president, Michael Ovitz. The suit claims it was a waste to company assets to give Ovitz a $140 million severance package.

The hearing for Army Specialist Charles Graner that's set to begin on Thursday in Baghdad. Graner faces charges stemming from the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal.

And, batter up. Baseball fans, the major league World Series, that starts on Saturday. Make sure you're there.

HARRIS: Ah, Betty, need a pumpkin?

NGUYEN: Nope. No, I'm OK, thanks.

HARRIS: In a week or so, maybe?

NGUYEN: Maybe.

HARRIS: Ooh boy, do we have one to show you. The tale of the great pumpkin and all the TLC that went into growing it when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More intense fighting reported today in Fallujah, Iraq. U.S. jet fighters in the air and heavy armor on the ground have been hitting suspected insurgents in the city, including an illegal roadblock.

Former ABC newsman, Pierre Salinger, has died at 79. Salinger lived in the south of France and died yesterday of a heart attack. Besides journalism, Salinger was a fixture in Democratic politics for many years, most notably as John Kennedy's press secretary.

And in Arizona, one police officer calls it the worst multiple fatality accident he has ever seen. A truck packed with suspected illegal immigrants flipped over at high speed, causing an 11-vehicle wreck. At least six people were killed, and 15 were seriously hurt. The truck had been reported stolen in Phoenix.

NGUYEN: Well, have the presidential debates helped you decide who to vote for? We are reading your e-mails to this e-mail question of the day. That's still to come right here on CNN.

In the meantime, news from "Across America": In Southern California, derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, smashed into four homes. Two dozen other houses were evacuated. Nearly 50 railroad cars jumped the tracks. One boxcar went through the roof of a house. No serious injuries were reported.

HARRIS: In Boston, gloom and doom could bring out the brooms. The New York Yankees are one game away from sweeping the Red Sox after a 19-8 win last night. The Yankees will try to sock it -- sorry -- to the Sox tonight. Meanwhile, Houston, do we have a problem? The Astros beat Saint Louis last night, 5-2, at least not last night. The cards are still up in the series, however, two games to one.

NGUYEN: And they are doing it in public. No, not what you think. Thousands of sale-crazed shoppers are snapping up items in New York's giant tag sale in Central Park this morning. An outfit worn by Sarah Jessica Parker on "Sex and the City" is just one fashion find among over 300,000 offerings. Can you imagine? The charity event is raising money for New York City public schools.

HARRIS: If you grow it, they will come. It is a giant mutant pumpkin that has become the talk of the town in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, a small farming community north of Philadelphia. They is affiliate WPHL, which just had to come see it for themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Rod's house. Rod is a little on the crazy side.

MARK THOMAS, ROD'S FUTURE SON-IN-LAW: We all did this together. Pretty much.

At one point this thing was growing, like, 17 pounds a day. There's no way we could weigh this, so we would take measurements, and then there's a chart in a giant pumpkin-growing book. You know, there's books about it. And this is actually volume two.

On our final guesstimate, we were at 507 pounds. We took it down to the hardware store down here, and we weighed it in at 520 pounds. It was like, wow! You know, it was bigger than we thought it would get.

My fiancee, Amy McNulty, she's the pumpkin mother.

AMY'S DAUGHTER: Think I it's funny, really funny.

THOMAS: Well, she's the one who took care of it, you know, so call her the "Pumpkin Mother."

AMY'S DAUGHTER: She didn't really like it, though.

THOMAS: This is just this year's plant, that's it. All this is just one plant. She's a big hit at school. They're always asking, you know, how big's the pumpkin now?

AMY'S DAUGHTER: It's a good thing because I'm getting a lot of attention at school and get to sit with the popular kids and stuff like that, all because of the pumpkin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Look at that thing. It is huge! What do you feed it?

Well, not to take anything away from the Pennsburg pumpkin, but 500 pounds is about one-third the world record set in 2003 for a pumpkin in New Hampshire.

NGUYEN: That's a third. OK. Let's do the math, there -- 500 pounds. How many pumpkin pies can you make out of that?

HARRIS: A gazillion.

NGUYEN: Two million.

HARRIS: Is that a real word -- gazillion?

NGUYEN: Well, it is today.

HARRIS: OK, all right.

NGUYEN: But, she said it makes her popular at school. I should have had a big pumpkin like that going through school, maybe I would have done better.

HARRIS: You can have one too. We'll search the web. We'll find out the ingredients for the big...

NGUYEN: Yeah, volume two of the great pumpkin book.

HARRIS: We'll get started. Exactly.

NGUYEN: All right. Where the candidates stand on education and how it can affect your children. We have a look at the issues, that is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, each week at this time we bring you an in-depth look at some of the major issues facing voters this election year. And today we turn our focus to education and social security, two issues that have taken a back seat to terrorism and the economy. Here's CNN's Bob Franken.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One would think that the president's No Child Left Behind education reform would make a few waves in this time of no voter left behind, but one would be wrong. It's just an occasional ripple. After all, John Kerry backed the legislation. However...

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two months after the law was signed, this administration started to break its promise by short-changing the law by $27 billion. Millions of children have been left behind.

FRANKEN: Local officials complain they get little financial help with this major accountability exercise as they scramble to avoid the dunce list of schools whose students don't pass their proficiency tests.

Kerry says he would provide $200 billion federal over 10 years for education, with $30 billion earmarked for teacher training and incentives.

The Bush education secretary contends that No Child Left Behind has put students and teachers ahead.

ROD PAIGE, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: We can either build on these achievements or we can return to the days of excuses and indifference. Our opponent's voted for No Child Left Behind. Now they try to attack it.

FRANKEN: Other differences -- Kerry would expand after-school programs and expand tuition tax credits for college for most households.

The president has proposed cuts for after-school programs, while offering a slight increase in grants for low-income college students.

Still in all, educating the youngsters has not really been a burning issue.

Out at the other end of life, there have been a few political sparks over how to provide for senior citizens or how not to.

KERRY: Let me make it clear. I will never privatize Social Security, ever.

FRANKEN: The president does support allowing workers to use some of their Social Security payments for private investment. Kerry cites a study which charges that would mean hundreds of millions in new profits for the financial services industry, which happens to be one of the major Bush/Cheney campaign contributors. But the president argues, nowadays Americans need to have some control over their retirement.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe younger workers ought to be able to take some of their own money and set up a personal savings account that earns better interest than the Social Security trust. FRANKEN: The polls indicate that voter confidence in Bush and Kerry is just about evenly divided on most domestic issues, with Bush ahead on education. But it's often difficult to discern their differences.

(on camera): Education, all the candidates are for it. Protecting retirement benefits, ditto. And now, it's back to the wars.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Now to Kelly Wallace in Washington for a preview of "Inside Politics Sunday."

Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY": Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, with just 16 days until the election, President Bush and Senator Kerry are in overdrive, making their case to voters all across the country. We will speak to two campaign insiders.

Plus, our very own Candy Crowley has an exclusive sit-down interview with the senator. Find out what he had to say.

And we'll take a look at the military vote, a crucial block this election year with many troops fighting overseas. That is all ahead at the top of the hour on "Inside Politics Sunday." And Tony, back to you, and welcome to CNN.

HARRIS: I love this! Thank you, Kelly. Thank you very much. We'll see you in a few minutes.

WALLACE: OK. Thanks so much.

NGUYEN: Still in the honeymoon period.

HARRIS: Woo!

NGUYEN: We'll try to continue it for a little while.

HARRIS: Please, please.

NGUYEN: All morning long, we've been asking you for your thoughts on our e-mail question of the day. And that question is: Have the debates helped you decide who to vote for? We've gotten lots of responses.

Jim from Erie, Pennsylvania, writes: " I watched all three debates and to be very honest, they didn't come close to changing my mind on who I'm voting for. In fact, I thought they were nothing more than a distasteful joke...especially when both camps get together and hashed out a contract on what question to ask??? What is that about? When politicians want my vote then sow me that they want my vote!!!"

HARRIS: And this next e-mail is from Margaret and she Orleans, Michigan: "I didn't hear what I wanted to hear in the debates. Why isn't someone asking about the jobs that President Bush created? We sent over one million servicemen and women to the Middle East. Of course he created jobs. What would happen to our unemployment figures if they returned overnight?"

NGUYEN: And here's an answer I don't think I've ever heard before. Marlene writes in saying, "Absolutely the debates confirmed who I shall vote for: Neither of the men gave me anything but empty promises. Therefore, it's a fact, that I am voting for my dog, "Tramp"..."

HARRIS: Come on.

NGUYEN: "...for president and my sister's dog, "Abby" as his running mate." She's not lying, this is what she said. In fact that's what she's going to do and all they as of people, meaning these two dogs, is that the be fed, and watered, and walked several times a day, they promise only to be faithful to us and they are also man's best friend.

HARRIS: On the ballot right now.

NGUYEN: Yeah, write it in -- "Tramp" and "Abby" for prez and vice prez.

HARRIS: All right. There's the e-mail address, wam@cnn.com. If you'd like to send us some more e-mails. They've been great this morning. Thank you. Keep them coming.

NGUYEN: Ooh la la, you are looking at a live shot of Orlando. There it is, sunny Orlando, Florida, soon to be home of Club Paris, yes. Hotel heiress and socialite, Paris Hilton, will open her own nightclub in downtown Orlando on New Year's Eve, of all days.

But in the meantime, Rob Marciano is straight ahead with your weekend forecast when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, you know we've talked a lot about weather in these baseball cities for the championship series today, but, you know, this is football Sunday.

NGUYEN: It's Sunday. We've got to talk about football. How's my Cowboys doing? They're playing in Dallas? Right Rob? The weather?

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you Rob.

HARRIS: And thank you for being with us this weekend and that's all our time. Thank you. NGUYEN: That's right. Does it for us "Inside Politics Sunday" is next.

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