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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Insurgency Strength Increasing in Iraq; Tearful Hostage Pleads for Life; Kerry Woos Women Voters; Rosa Parks in Middle of Legal Battle

Aired October 22, 2004 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, a stunning new U.S. intelligence assessment of the strength of the insurgency in Iraq. U.S. forces there now face a foe that may have doubled in strength. Are they being funded from Saddam Hussein's secret stash of cash in Syria.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Terror in Iraq as a tearful hostage pleads for her life, new intelligence on the insurgents. Who are they? Who is funding them?

Homefront, Kerry woos women voters.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Women who are squeeze between sinking wages, women who tell me that health care is so expensive, some of them have had to drop it. They just can't afford it.

BLITZER: Bush says he'll keep families safer.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in a real war and the only strategy must lead to victory.

BLITZER: Rosa Parks. Once, she would not be moved. Now, old and infirmed, the civil rights heroine is in the middle of a legal tug of war.

Triumph and tragedy. What went wrong in Boston?

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, October 22, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Iraq's insurgents, their numbers are growing and the money is pouring in. The latest picture being drawn by U.S. intelligence is not a pretty one. Let's go right to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Pentagon has updated its assessment of the insurgency in Iraq and concluded that it is bigger and better funded than in the past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): A new internal Pentagon analysis offers a sobering assessment of what the U.S. is up against in Iraq, an insurgency that is growing, fueled by an almost unlimited pool of money funneled through Syria.

A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN the insurgency thought to number between 5,000 and 7,000 months ago is now estimated to include 12,000 fighters from 50 different cells. The result has been a sharp increase in attacks, as many as 90 attacks a day at times. And more high-profile kidnappings, such as the director of CARE International's Iraq office.

The Pentagon continues to insist the increase in violence is to be expected as Iraqi elections draw near and rejects any suggestion Iraq is becoming a quagmire.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: And there are some very bad people who want to take that country back to a dark place. And I don't call that a quagmire.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon has said the insurgents were getting money from both Syria and Iran, but the new DIA report estimates that roughly half of the $1 billion Saddam Hussein stashed in Syrian banks before the war, some $500 million is a prime funding source for the militants and it believes millions more coming from wealthy Saudis and Islamic charities who also funnel money through Syria, a charge the Saudi government called irresponsible and factually incorrect, insisting it has tightened financial controls to ensure no money goes to terrorism.

There's also evidence that insurgents have had some success infiltrating the new Iraqi security forces. For example Tuesday's mortar attack on an Iraqi national guard base north of Baghdad seemed to be based on inside information about when the troops would be gathering for a ceremony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Wolf, as little as six months ago, Pentagon officials were downplaying some of their own intelligence, suggesting the insurgency had wider support than the Pentagon acknowledged. They're not downplaying some of that intelligence anymore.

BLITZER: Jamie, what are you hearing about what's happening right now in Falluja?

MCINTYRE: Well, Marines there have been engaged in a six-hour battle with insurgents as part of this campaign to lay the groundwork for a bigger invasion later on. A Marine press release says that they battled insurgents and took no losses as they continued to engage forces around the city of Falluja.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie very much.

There's also word that the growing insurgency in Iraq comes as kidnappers are releasing a disturbing new videotape showing international aid worker Margaret Hassan pleading for help in what she says may be her last hours. We get the story now from CNN's Karl Penhaul. He is joining us live in Baghdad -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf. This was in fact the first video of Margaret Hassan where we have actually heard her speaking, where we've actually heard the demands made by the kidnappers, strangely though we don't at present still know who those kidnappers are.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Margaret Hassan peers into the lens of her kidnapper's camera. Hassan, a British-Iraqi citizen conveys the demands of her captors, calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to reverse his decision to redeploy British soldiers to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) region south of Baghdad.

Blair appeared before parliament to discuss the troop movement Wednesday, a day after Hassan's kidnapping.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There has been a request from the American military to the British military to fill in a gap as American troops are redeployed.

PENHAUL: The British government confirmed the troop move Thursday. The redeployment will free up U.S. marines for possible assault on the rebel-held city of Falluja. By the time Hassan's kidnappers released her video plea, British troops, members of the famed Black Watch were already on the move. Hassan warned the hostage takers were threatening to behead her, like British engineer Kenneth Bigley, two weeks ago, but the army's marching orders were unchanged.

MAJ. CHARLIE MAYO, BRITISH ARMY: I'm a soldier. We're all soldiers here. We do as we have been ordered and yesterday we were ordered to move north to carry out a task and that's what we're going to do.

PENHAUL: In Baghdad, a mobilization of a different kind. Iraqi patients at a hospital that Hassan helped rebuild rallied earlier this week, demanding her release.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): After half her life helping Iraq's underprivileged, Margaret Hassan is now facing death in a war that she staunchly opposed and in retaliation for the actions of a nation she left long ago -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Thank you very much.

Here in the United States as the election draws near, the president is once again working his way through those swing states. He is carrying the same message, but today he unveiled a new, supposedly user friendly version. Our White House correspondent, Dana Bash, is on the campaign trail and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eleven days to go, the president retooled his stump speech with a direct appeal to voters.

BUSH: You have had a chance to see both of us in action to measure our consistency, our resolve, our values and our ability to lead.

BASH: No new ideas here, just new, easier to digest, personalized themes, five of them, the fight against terrorism now your security. Tax cuts, now your family budget.

BUSH: When it comes to your budget, you have a clear choice. He'll raise your taxes to fund bigger government. I'm going to keep your taxes low.

BASH: Health care and education become quality of life. Retirement covers Social Security. And he says he is for your values. Kerry is too liberal. Along with the new speech, a new ominous ad.

AD ANNOUNCER: Cuts so deep they would have weakened American's defenses.

BASH: Using a pack of wolves to represent (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Americans' face, the ad hits Kerry for proposing intelligence cuts ten years ago that never went into effect. A senior Bush aide said the ad was cut five months ago, but held for a final punch because focus groups called it so effective.

The Kerry camp shot back Mr. Bush is trying to scare voters.

Meanwhile, the president returned to Ohio after a nearly three- week absence, which concerned Ohio Republicans, who have been calling the campaign asking where he has been, especially since Senator Kerry has visited five times since Mr. Bush's last visit and polls in the Buckeye State are neck and neck, some even give the senator a slight lead.

Bush senior adviser Karl Rove says the president will make seven more stops here before election day, where the biggest danger he faces still is job loss. New numbers show Ohio did gain 5,500 jobs last month, but Kerry aides note that it could take ten years at the current rate to regain the 200,000 plus jobs lost on the president's watch. Dana Bash, CNN, Canton, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Senator Kerry is Nevada bound but before heading west, he was in Wisconsin where his focus was women. Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace reports he had some help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Milwaukee, trying to win over women voters with a little Kennedy star power. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of president John F. Kennedy.

CAROLINE KENNEDY SCHLOSSBERG, DAUGHTER OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: As my mother always told me that if it were not for Wisconsin, president Kennedy never would have made it to the White House.

KERRY: I'm so honored to be here.

WALLACE: Senator Kerry focusing on issues affecting working women, promising to fight for equal pay and a hike in the minimum wage, accusing the Bush White House of being out of touch.

KERRY: No matter how tough it gets, no one in the White House seems to be listening.

WALLACE: It is no accident Caroline Kennedy today, yesterday alongside Dana Reeve, wife of the late actor Christopher Reeve, a day earlier with one of the most vocal of the September 11 widows who now appears in one of his television ads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to look in my daughter's eyes and know she's safe.

WALLACE: According to an average of polls released in the last 48 hours, Senator Kerry has a lead of just seven points over President Bush with women voters, a danger side for the senator, since Democrats traditionally do better with women. In 2000, Al Gore had an 11-point advantage with women voters according to exit polls. George W. Bush had the exact same advantage with men. Team Kerry-Edwards trying now to make inroads, especially with married, suburban women concerned with security.

KERRY: Our nation has a greater chance of success and we are stronger when we lead strong alliances, not when we go it alone.

WALLACE: This evening, Senator Kerry, heading to Nevada and Colorado. Soon he gets help head getting out the vote. On Sunday, Al Gore will be in Florida. Next week, former President Clinton in Pennsylvania, Florida and New Mexico. Kelly Wallace, CNN, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: John Kerry also got a boost today, maybe. The former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura was at an event billed as independents for Kerry. He wasn't speaking, but the former Maine governor Angus King, spoke for him. Asked if Kerry's presence meant an endorsement of King -- of Kerry that is -- Ventura's endorsement of Kerry that is, King answered yes.

Questioned by reporters, though, Ventura just motioned toward King. We'll have to watch the former Minnesota governor. It looks like he's endorsed John Kerry. We'll know for sure in the coming days.

A night of celebration turns oh, so tragic for 1 young Red Sox fan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She loved the Red Sox. She went in to celebrate with friends. She was bystander. She was out of the way, but she still got shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A heart breaking tragedy. We'll show you why Boston police are taking full responsibility.

Also, the battle over Rosa Parks, why her life and legacy are now the subject of court battles.

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who is that dashing number 21?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D-NC) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was me playing football in high school. I looked better standing still than when I actually moved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Candid candidate John Edwards, on whether he makes a better politician or football player. We'll tell you what he said. Pat O'Brien standing by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Well, the Red Sox won the American League pennant this week, there was jubilation in Boston. But after a college student died during the raucous celebration, the city is now doing some serious soul searching. CNN law enforcement analyst, Mike Brooks standing by at the CNN center in Atlanta with more -- Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Hello to you, Wolf. An evening that should have been one of celebration turned into one of tragedy for the family of a 21-year-old journalism student fatally injured by Boston police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet my daughter. And she wanted to be a broadcast journalist. And she was in her junior year at Emerson. What happened to her should not happen to an American citizen going to any type of game, no matter what. She loved the Red Sox. She went in to celebrate with friends. She was a bystander. She was out of the way, but she still got shot. BROOKS (voice-over): It all started when police attempted to disperse what they say was an estimated crowd of 60,000 to 80,000 people that took over the streets around in the neighborhood around Fenway Park, using what was to be a less lethal system, pepper spray.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While our investigation is less than a day old, it appears from evidence we have reviewed thus far, that Torey was killed when she was hit in the eye by a projectile. (AUDIO GAP) officers tried to control the mobs outside the ballpark.

BROOKS: Video from the scene where Snelgrove was struck showed the crowd giving each other high fives and chanting slogans in support of the Red Sox.

The Boston police are accepting full responsibility for the death of Victoria Snelgrove and vow that they will conduct a thorough and swift investigation of their actions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awful things happen to good people, and my daughter was an exceptional person.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKS: Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has backed off his earlier threats to ban liquor sales during the World Series. Instead, police will increase their presence in bars near Fenway Park. Restaurant owners have pledged to exercise better crowd control and to not allow television crews to shoot inside bars during the games -- Wolf.

BLITZER: This weapon that was used to send out this projectile of pepper spray, how does that compare with other law enforcement agencies, local, state, federal around the country?

BROOKS: Wolf, the Boston police decided to use this kind of system. I, being a former metropolitan police officer myself in the civil disturbance unit, know that D.C. Police will not shoot any projectiles into a crowd. They use large pressurized canisters of OC spray.

And I talked with a former commander of New York City Police Department, they too, do not use this kind of weapon, they also use the pressurized OC spray, which they feel is safer instead of shooting into crowds.

I'm sure lots more will come out of the investigation as it continues -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A full-scale investigation under way in Boston. Thanks very much, Mike Brooks, for that heart breaking report.

During his baseball career, Jim Bunning was a superstar, but now that Bunning is seeking reelection to the United States Senate, he appears to be making a few errors. CNN's Brian Todd joining us now for a closer look of the surprisingly tight, I think we could say, Kentucky Senate race -- Brian. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is, Wolf. And few errors comment was appropriate. Errors that now have gotten a lot of national attention, and turned what was supposed to be a run away into a closer race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The incumbent, a Hall of Fame pitcher with a huge money advantage. The challenger, an Italian-American doctor who has had trouble gaining name recognition and raising cash. This was supposed to be a blow out, but if you need evidence that a campaign can turn on its ear as fast as, say, a baseball series, look no further than the race for Senate in Kentucky. Democrat Dan Mungiardo has closed the gap, thanks in part to a series of controversial event involving Republican Senator Jim Bunning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ranged from the Senator asking for local security on the campaign trail to using a teleprompter to make his opening and closing remarks during a debate.

TODD: In that debate, the only one to which Bunning agreed, his campaign admits he did read his opening and closing statements on a teleprompter. Mungiardo's campaign said that violated debate rules against using props. Bunning's side said the senator was using so- called notes that were allowed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He called me Saddam Hussein's son.

Bunning's campaign admits that it won a bet. The senator said Mongiardo looked like one of Saddam Hussein's sons. No one is saying if he meant Uday or Qusay.

DR. DAN MONGIARDO (D), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: This is obvious misbehavior. The type of person that this man is and what he's been doing, the way he conducts himself is misbehavior.

TODD: Bunning's campaign says the remark was a bad joke and he has apologized.

AD ANNOUNCER: Who is Dan Mongiardo? Mongiardo attacks big drug companies.

TODD: In ads Bunning's campaign called Mongiardo a Medicaid millionaire and showed pictures of a mansion and plane that Bunning's aides admit do not belong to Mongiardo. But the doctor is not without blemishes. Mongiardo has run a lackluster campaign. He is on at least his second campaign manager and third finance team. Bunning has accused Mongiardo campaign staffers of roughing up Bunning's wife during a political event, a chard flatly denied by Mongiardo's side.

And Bunning's campaign accuses Mongiardo of spreading rumors that have shown up in print questioning Bunning's mental health, rumors that have never been proven. A Mongiardo campaign official tells us for lack of a better word the charge they spread the rumors is insane. Even Bunning's staffers concede off camera, the eight-time Major League all star, a topside armer (ph), is also an ornery, unpredictable character who shows open contempt for reporters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have unbelievably turned poor reporter, if you don't believe, two reputable physicians and their statements about my health care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Today, we have an item from the "Louisville Courier Journal" newspaper. At an event Jim Bunning said he was not aware of the story of a group of army reservists refusing a mission in Iraq, even though one of those soldiers are from Kentucky. When told that this is a national new story, Bunning said, "quote, "let me explain something. I don't watch the national news and I don't read the paper. I haven't done that for the last six weeks." I watch Fox News to get my information. These kinds of exchanges lead one Democratic official to call Jim Bunning the gift that keeps on giving. And they've (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Democrat party in recent days to pump hundreds of thousands of dollars into Dan Mongiardo's campaign, but despite it all most indications are that in a very conservative state voters will (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the combative 73-old-year old Jim Bunning right back to the sun.

BLITZER: We'll find out on November 2. Thanks very much. Brian Todd, good report.

Inside John Edwards with the "Insider." Pat O'Brien talks to us about his candid interview with the candidate. That's coming up.

Also why the matriarch of the civil rights movement is now the subject of multiple legal battles.

Plus, they're on the front lines of homeland security. Now new concern over the safety of this military workhorse. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Coast Guard helicopters play an important role in the homeland security effort, but now the men and women serving aboard those helicopters find themselves at risk because of increasingly frequent mechanical failures. CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Coast Guard HH-65 suffers a power loss in one engine. The pilot dumps fuel, even a life raft, to make a risky emergency landing on a cutter deck one- third the size of a basketball court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's set this pig down.

MESERVE: Jeff Makowski was piloting an HH-65 during the Gulf War when it had the same problem. Given the choice of landing in unfriendly Syria or ditching he was forced to make a cutter landing at night and he hasn't forgotten it.

CMDR. JEFF MAKOWSKI, U.S. COAST GUARD: When I take off, I'm always thinking where can I land if I lose an engine? Every time I come in for a landing, where would I go, what would I do in this situation?

MESERVE: Engine power losses in the Coast Guard's HH-65s have been spiraling upward at an alarming rate. They used to average about 10 a year, but climbed to 171 in the last 12 months.

REAR ADM. GARY BLORE, U.S. COAST GUARD: It's capable of flying on one engine, but it can't stay in a hover or do a maneuver on one engine.

MESERVE: Crippling to a helicopter, critical to search and rescue and described as the backbone of the Coast Guard aviation fleet. Because of the engine problems, the choppers are no longer allowed to land in tight quarters, like hospital helipads and the distance and duration of their flights has been limited.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has affected us going out and either saving lives or helping those in great distress.

MESERVE: The problem with the engines and their control system has not been pinpointed, but among the contributing factors, age, modifications that have increased the chopper's weight and increased flight hours resulting from the Coast Guard's expanded homeland security mission. The Coast Guard has begun replacing the engines, though some believe it would be more economical in the long term just to buy new helicopters.

REP. BOB FILNER (D), CALIFORNIA: We're wondering why they have made a decision which just doesn't meet a common sense test.

MESERVE: Replacing the engines on the fleet of 96 HH-65s will cost about $290 million and take two years, two years when there will be risk to the chopper crews and those who need their help. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: On the campaign trail with vice presidential hopeful, John Edwards, as he opens up about his past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you one of those coaches that got into the ref's face or not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The "Insider's" Pat O'Brien standing by. He joins us. And wooing women voters, how both presidential campaigns are pulling out all the stops to court voters.

And the woman who would not be moved. Rosa Parks, how her legacy is being battled out in the courts right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With just 11 days before the election, both presidential candidates are going out of their way to reach out to women voters, and the campaigns are fueling that effort with a lot of star power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINE KENNEDY SCHLOSSBERG, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: This is the election of our lifetime and it is especially important for women.

BLITZER (voice-over): The daughter of the last JFK campaigning for the current JFK. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg joined John Forbes Kerry at a campaign rally in Milwaukee today, the latest high-profile woman to stump with the Democratic candidate.

She follows Dana Reeve, widow of actor Christopher Reeve, who died just last week. She made a moving appearance with Kerry yesterday, tying her support to Kerry's pledge to increase embryonic stem cell research, a cause Christopher Reeve fought for.

DANA REEVE, WIFE OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE: So I'm here today to honor my husband, And I proudly introduce our friend and declare my vote for the next president of the United States, John Kerry.

BLITZER: Kerry will add even more female star power tonight and tomorrow in Florida with Cher and Rosie O'Donnell speaking out for him. It's all part of a concerted effort to reach out to women, who, according to a poll by the Pew Center, make up 62 percent of still undecided voters, a group that could sway the election either way.

The Bush camp isn't taking women for granted either, putting out their own celebrity backers, including Reba McEntire, Mary Lou Retton, and Angie Harmon, who appeared with the first lady yesterday.

ANGIE HARMON, ACTRESS: I'm so thrilled and honored to stand here with America's first lady, Laura Bush.

BLITZER: At the same time, first daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush are increasingly joining their father on the campaign trail.

BARBARA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm so proud to be here today to introduce the man who taught me a lot about what matters in life.

BLITZER: They're helping to play up the president's role as family man and possibly increasing his appeal to women voters. On top of that, both campaigns have made full use of daytime TV, with the candidates and their wives making the rounds of shows skewed toward women, like "The View" and "Live With Regis and Kelly."

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: The person who is the president is under tremendous pressure, tremendous scrutiny, sometimes a lot of stress.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: There are not very many arguments. There really aren't. When you have an opponent in a political race, it doesn't need to be your spouse.

BLITZER: The result of all that courting, John Kerry is ahead of President Bush six points in the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll of female voters, a lead, yes, but far from decisive.

So, among women, like just about every other demographic this election year, the race still is simply too close to call.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Will women voters be a deciding factor in the presidential election? You can vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results a little bit later in this broadcast.

In the battleground state of Florida today, John Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, accused President Bush -- and I'm quoting now -- of incompetence for linking September 11 and Saddam Hussein. Edwards is also speaking out to Pat O'Brien, the host of the television news magazine "The Insider."

Pat joining us now live once again from Los Angeles.

Pat, thanks very much for joining us.

Let's run a little excerpt of your report on your interview with John Edwards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAT O'BRIEN, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Now, where was this?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was our wedding day. We got married in a little church, beautiful little church outside of Chapel Hill. We had lots of friends there. It was a wonderful day.

O'BRIEN: And then who is that dashing No. 21?

EDWARDS: That was me playing football in high school. I looked better standing still than when I had to actually move.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: What position did you play?

EDWARDS: I was a wide receiver and a defensive back.

O'BRIEN: Good hands there.

EDWARDS: That's my soccer team. I coached youth sports for many years. In fact, I coached soccer for 12 years or so.

O'BRIEN: Were you one of those coaches that got into the ref's face or no?

EDWARDS: No, no.

O'BRIEN: Yes, you were.

EDWARDS: Well, maybe occasionally.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yes, he's a doting dad. You could see it in the snapshots and in the way 6-year-old Emma Claire and 4-year-old Jack energize him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to get one Snicker bar and one for daddy.

EDWARDS: Oh, thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: And when mom and dads are busy courting votes.

EDWARDS: You guys are great.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

O'BRIEN: Their nanny, since the campaign began, watches the kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I love it. We have lots of fun, right? We just went and found red leaves and green leaves.

O'BRIEN (on camera): What kind of personality does she have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very sweet, right? Lots of hugs.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): The Edwards also get a hand in the kitchen from this campaign worker.

(on camera): What does he eat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He eats pretty healthy, salads, soup.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And for the kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Macaroni and cheese, cereals.

O'BRIEN: We checked on that. And it's true. Inside the official campaign bus fridge, no junk food to be found.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: He does drink I think a lot of Diet Coke, though, or some diet cola beverage.

Pat, take us behind the scenes. At this late stage in the campaign, was he upbeat? Was he downbeat? Was he hopeful? What's going on?

O'BRIEN: Well, he was very upbeat. And we also talked about some issues in the campaign, stem cell research and the economy, the effect on farmers and those sort of thing. Those are the lighter moment of that interview on "The Insider."

But he was very upbeat. And you talked about the importance of women. That's why these candidates are reaching out to women. Obviously, women this year more empowered than other. I don't know about your household, but a lot of women run households now. They're in charge of the checkbooks. They see the taxes. They have more than one job. They see the kids off to schools. They see their kids, sons and daughters, off to war.

So women are very, very important in this campaign. And I think in the next few days left in the campaign, you're going to see a lot of things directed to those undecided women voters, but they were very upbeat. We were in Muscatine, Iowa, Muscatine High School, a big powerhouse football team down there, big game tonight, by the way, Friday night.

But we had a great time on the bus, on the campaign bus.

BLITZER: What's -- I don't know if you have met John Edwards before, but what surprised you most about him?

O'BRIEN: Well, he's remarkably honest in front of the camera and off the camera.

Sometimes you'll find -- you know this better than I do, probably. But some candidates will give you the running line on camera and afterwards, they will say, you know, what the heck. But he was the same both ways and very upbeat, even though, as you know and as the American people know, that this campaign is very razor-thin close.

He is staying focused. He is staying out there, not a down moment. And he loves having those kids with him. Of course, you know, I went for the shot there and brought him Halloween candy. And I apologized to Elizabeth for firing up their kids on sugar at 9:00 in the morning.

BLITZER: Let's switch gears for a minute. The World Series, everybody remembers, at least our viewers remember, Pat, you were a world-class sportscaster before you went into this line of work. What's your sense of this World Series that's about to begin?

O'BRIEN: Well, I did four years of Major League Baseball. And I have this to say about the Red Sox. I'm wondering if they won the World Series, having not won it since 1918, what Red Sox fans will have to complain about. Nothing. I think they'll be even more miserable if they win, because they'll have nothing to talk about or worry about.

No, it's going to be a great series, even with the tragedy up there in Boston. I'm thrilled for the Boston Red Sox fans. And the Cardinals, a great baseball team, don't overlook them, with all the hype over the Boston Red Sox. But the fall classic is here. It's official. Summer is over. I can't wait to watch it.

BLITZER: I can't wait either. Pat O'Brien from "The Insider" joining us once again, good work. Thanks very much.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And what do Shaquille O'Neal, Heidi Klum and Barack Obama have in common? They all go "OFF TOPIC" this weekend with CNN's Carlos Watson. We'll have a preview.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How many of you would like to visit your aunt and great aunt on a regular basis? And how many of you are able to? Why aren't you able to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Access is denied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Why the family of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is having trouble seeing her.

Plus, pundit pie, it's our picture of the day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With just two weekends left before the presidential election, the latest polls from three important battleground states all show very, very, very close races.

A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows Kerry with a one-point lead among likely voters in Ohio. A poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania shows Kerry with a five-point lead. And a poll of likely voters in Florida show Bush with a three-point lead, all of those slender leads within the sampling margin of error.

Let's check in with CNN political analyst Carlos Watson for "The Inside Edge."

Are you among those, Carlos, who believes it comes down to these three states, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and whoever wins two out of the three is the next president of the United States? CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Actually, no.

(LAUGHTER)

WATSON: Wolf, oddly enough, this year, both sides have alternative strategies.

For President Bush, if he does not win Florida this time around and doesn't win Pennsylvania, which he didn't win last time, he could still amass the electoral votes you need, 270.

How do you do that? You not only take Ohio, which Republicans often do, but you add to that three Midwestern state that in the past you've lost. So you add Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota and those 28 electoral votes replaces Florida's 27 electoral votes.

On the other side, remember that John Kerry, while he would also like to win two out of those three, when everyone says that, they assume that means Florida, plus Pennsylvania. But, remember, he may have an alternative strategy, which is Pennsylvania, plus Ohio. He is doing much better in Ohio than you would expect at this point in the campaign.

BLITZER: All right, let's switch gears briefly, Carlos.

You have got a show coming out Sunday night on CNN. It's a fascinating program that you're going to do. I want you to tell our viewers a little bit of what you have in store.

WATSON: The new program is called "OFF TOPIC." It's this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and again at 1:00 a.m. And it's a one-hour conversation show.

We sit down with three really intriguing people. And part of what we're trying to do is not talk to these people about the things you always here. So, for example, we talked to the NBA's best player, Shaquille O'Neal, talking about the fact that he's in graduate school, that he is thinking about running for office.

And, in fact, here is a little clip that we want to show you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Will you pull a guy aside and say you're not headed in the right direction, you're not it doing what we need you to do as a team?

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, NBA PLAYER: All the time. I do that all the time.

WATSON: Really?

O'NEAL: And sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So, that was just one of the three people. Now, that was from the world of sports.

Next, we turn to Barack Obama, the Senate candidate from Illinois, the keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention. Very interesting conversation about where he sees his future going. Will there be a presidential run if he's successful here? That was premature, but he did talk about his unusual background. And here is a clip that talks about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: You have kind of a very Huxtable, very Cleaver, great wife, two kids, and yet you yourself don't come from a very kind of conventional family.

BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: No. No.

And maybe that's why it's so important to me is because, I had that instability when I was young. We traveled a lot. My father wasn't in the house. I was raised by a single mom for a while. And I was born in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia. I'm sure that I'm the only Illinois politician ever who speaks Indonesian.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And, Wolf, last but not least, moving bye the world of sports and the world of politics, we turn to the world of entertainment. And Heidi Klum is well known from the cover of the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit edition. She also obviously is a star of "Victoria's Secrets" catalogue.

But we had a really interesting conversation with her in part about a multimillion dollar complex, global business that she runs. And here is a clip about some of the other things she talked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Do you think of yourself as a CEO? Like, when you get up in the morning, do you think I'm Heidi Klum the model?

HEIDI KLUM, MODEL: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

WATSON: You know what I mean. Do you think of yourself like...

KLUM: I do, yes, because nothing gets done before I sign it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Wolf, she was absolutely a pleasure to spend time with and defied really every stereotype at least I had of the international supermodel.

And so with this show, whether it's Heidi Klum on business or Shaquille O'Neal on politics, we're going "OFF TOPIC with really intriguing people this Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. BLITZER: "OFF TOPIC." Graduate school, Shaquille O'Neal. What is he studying?

WATSON: Well, you have got to tune in Sunday. And if you do, like I said, you'll also hear him talk about plans to run for office.

BLITZER: We'll tune in.

Carlos Watson, thanks very much. Good luck with the show Sunday night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

WATSON: Thank you.

BLITZER: A legal fight over a civil rights icon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELAINE STEELE, PARKS' LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE: Mrs. Parks and I, we're joined at the hip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And relatives say that's part of the problem -- the battle over Rosa Parks.

Plus, serving pie to a well-known pundit, it's our picture of the day. It's ugly. We'll show it to you, though.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): More than 20 North Koreans entered a South Korean school in Beijing and requested asylum. It's not clear what will happen to them, because schools for foreigners are not protected by diplomatic immunity. In the past several weeks, two groups of North Koreans entered foreign facilities in the Chinese capital seeking asylum.

War game. It was apparently played by German children in the 1930s before Adolf Hitler triggered World War II by invading Poland. The aim of the game was to destroy the British Royal Navy and invade the country. It was discovered in a German house and sold at auction in Britain for $545.

Hidden art. After spending three and a half years restoring a 500-year-old religious banner in Italy, historians made a surprising discovery. What they were working on was in fact a painting by the Renaissance artist Raphael. One expert says it dates to around 1498 or 1499, when Raphael would have been about 16 years old.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Rosa Parks is the matriarch of the civil rights movement in the United States. But her legacy and her remaining years are now the subject of legal battles, which she may not even be aware of.

Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): An ordinary family reminiscing about an extraordinary relative.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rosa Parks.

TUCHMAN: A poem written when Eurana (ph) McCauley was 8.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rosa Parks is my great aunt. Oh, was she brave. She was a woman who didn't want to give up her seat, a very wise choice, I say.

TUCHMAN: The 91-year-old civil rights icon was childless and her husband died many years ago. Rosa Parks' closest blood relatives are these nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, who live only a short drive from Mrs. Parks' downtown Detroit home, but...

(on camera): How many of you would like to visit your aunt and great aunt on a regular basis? And how many of you are able to? And why aren't you able to?

RHEA MCCAULEY, NIECE OF ROSA PARKS: Access is denied.

TUCHMAN: The children and grandchildren of Rosa Parks' brother say they are stopped or strongly discouraged from visiting their aunt by this woman.

STEELE: Mrs. Parks and I, we're joined at the hip.

TUCHMAN: Elaine Steele has been friends with Rosa Parks for four decades. They have traveled the world together, meeting Pope John II, accepting the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 1999. But now Rosa Parks can no longer take care of herself and Elaine Steele was granted legal authority to handle nearly all of her friend's affairs.

SHIRLEY KAIGLER, ATTORNEY FOR STEELE: Ms. Parks made that decision years ago and felt very comfortable.

TUCHMAN: Elaine Steele says she has not banned family from visiting Rosa Parks, but there are conditions.

STEELE: We try to make an appointment, because some days are not so good days. So you know that it may have to be changed.

MCCAULEY: That's a lie. That is a lie.

TUCHMAN: Rhea McCauley is a niece who has taken action to try to get legal custody of her aunt.

MCCAULEY: I'm not going to make an appointment or ask for permission to see my aunty.

STEELE: It's unfortunate that someone would want to, you know, dictate what is best for someone who has already decided for themselves.

TUCHMAN: Another one of Rosa Parks' decisions, says Elaine Steele, is to file suit against the record companies involved with this OutKast song entitled "Rosa Parks," which contains the lyrics "hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus." The record companies did not want to comment about the case to CNN.

The lead attorney who represents Rosa Parks did.

GREGORY REED, ATTORNEY FOR PARKS: Not to protect Mrs. Parks' name would be damaging her legacy.

TUCHMAN: But family members say her legacy is more damaged by a lawsuit asking for $5 billion.

SYLVESTER MCCAULEY, NEPHEW OF PARKS: Aunty Rosa would never do that. Never in her life would she pursue something like this.

TUCHMAN: A judge has appointed former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer to independently review the welfare of Rosa Parks, who, most poignantly, may not even be aware of what's taking place in her name.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: From that, we'll move on to other stories. That's coming up.

In your face. Find out what happened when Ann Coulter was on the stage, but forced to run off the stage. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here are the results of our Web question of the day. Take a look at this, though, remember, it's not a scientific poll.

Conservative communist Ann Coulter isn't known for ducking verbal fights with liberal opponents. But she was running for cover last night. And it's our picture of the day.

She was giving a speech at the University of Arizona when two men ran on stage and lobbed custard pies her way, hitting her in the shoulder. The pie throwers were arrested.

I'll see you again Sunday at noon Eastern for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests this weekend, we'll speak with the Reverends Jerry Falwell and Jesse Jackson and Senators Bob Graham and Rick Santorum. See you then. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts 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 22, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, a stunning new U.S. intelligence assessment of the strength of the insurgency in Iraq. U.S. forces there now face a foe that may have doubled in strength. Are they being funded from Saddam Hussein's secret stash of cash in Syria.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Terror in Iraq as a tearful hostage pleads for her life, new intelligence on the insurgents. Who are they? Who is funding them?

Homefront, Kerry woos women voters.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Women who are squeeze between sinking wages, women who tell me that health care is so expensive, some of them have had to drop it. They just can't afford it.

BLITZER: Bush says he'll keep families safer.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in a real war and the only strategy must lead to victory.

BLITZER: Rosa Parks. Once, she would not be moved. Now, old and infirmed, the civil rights heroine is in the middle of a legal tug of war.

Triumph and tragedy. What went wrong in Boston?

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, October 22, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Iraq's insurgents, their numbers are growing and the money is pouring in. The latest picture being drawn by U.S. intelligence is not a pretty one. Let's go right to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Pentagon has updated its assessment of the insurgency in Iraq and concluded that it is bigger and better funded than in the past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): A new internal Pentagon analysis offers a sobering assessment of what the U.S. is up against in Iraq, an insurgency that is growing, fueled by an almost unlimited pool of money funneled through Syria.

A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN the insurgency thought to number between 5,000 and 7,000 months ago is now estimated to include 12,000 fighters from 50 different cells. The result has been a sharp increase in attacks, as many as 90 attacks a day at times. And more high-profile kidnappings, such as the director of CARE International's Iraq office.

The Pentagon continues to insist the increase in violence is to be expected as Iraqi elections draw near and rejects any suggestion Iraq is becoming a quagmire.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: And there are some very bad people who want to take that country back to a dark place. And I don't call that a quagmire.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon has said the insurgents were getting money from both Syria and Iran, but the new DIA report estimates that roughly half of the $1 billion Saddam Hussein stashed in Syrian banks before the war, some $500 million is a prime funding source for the militants and it believes millions more coming from wealthy Saudis and Islamic charities who also funnel money through Syria, a charge the Saudi government called irresponsible and factually incorrect, insisting it has tightened financial controls to ensure no money goes to terrorism.

There's also evidence that insurgents have had some success infiltrating the new Iraqi security forces. For example Tuesday's mortar attack on an Iraqi national guard base north of Baghdad seemed to be based on inside information about when the troops would be gathering for a ceremony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Wolf, as little as six months ago, Pentagon officials were downplaying some of their own intelligence, suggesting the insurgency had wider support than the Pentagon acknowledged. They're not downplaying some of that intelligence anymore.

BLITZER: Jamie, what are you hearing about what's happening right now in Falluja?

MCINTYRE: Well, Marines there have been engaged in a six-hour battle with insurgents as part of this campaign to lay the groundwork for a bigger invasion later on. A Marine press release says that they battled insurgents and took no losses as they continued to engage forces around the city of Falluja.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie very much.

There's also word that the growing insurgency in Iraq comes as kidnappers are releasing a disturbing new videotape showing international aid worker Margaret Hassan pleading for help in what she says may be her last hours. We get the story now from CNN's Karl Penhaul. He is joining us live in Baghdad -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf. This was in fact the first video of Margaret Hassan where we have actually heard her speaking, where we've actually heard the demands made by the kidnappers, strangely though we don't at present still know who those kidnappers are.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Margaret Hassan peers into the lens of her kidnapper's camera. Hassan, a British-Iraqi citizen conveys the demands of her captors, calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to reverse his decision to redeploy British soldiers to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) region south of Baghdad.

Blair appeared before parliament to discuss the troop movement Wednesday, a day after Hassan's kidnapping.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There has been a request from the American military to the British military to fill in a gap as American troops are redeployed.

PENHAUL: The British government confirmed the troop move Thursday. The redeployment will free up U.S. marines for possible assault on the rebel-held city of Falluja. By the time Hassan's kidnappers released her video plea, British troops, members of the famed Black Watch were already on the move. Hassan warned the hostage takers were threatening to behead her, like British engineer Kenneth Bigley, two weeks ago, but the army's marching orders were unchanged.

MAJ. CHARLIE MAYO, BRITISH ARMY: I'm a soldier. We're all soldiers here. We do as we have been ordered and yesterday we were ordered to move north to carry out a task and that's what we're going to do.

PENHAUL: In Baghdad, a mobilization of a different kind. Iraqi patients at a hospital that Hassan helped rebuild rallied earlier this week, demanding her release.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): After half her life helping Iraq's underprivileged, Margaret Hassan is now facing death in a war that she staunchly opposed and in retaliation for the actions of a nation she left long ago -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Thank you very much.

Here in the United States as the election draws near, the president is once again working his way through those swing states. He is carrying the same message, but today he unveiled a new, supposedly user friendly version. Our White House correspondent, Dana Bash, is on the campaign trail and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eleven days to go, the president retooled his stump speech with a direct appeal to voters.

BUSH: You have had a chance to see both of us in action to measure our consistency, our resolve, our values and our ability to lead.

BASH: No new ideas here, just new, easier to digest, personalized themes, five of them, the fight against terrorism now your security. Tax cuts, now your family budget.

BUSH: When it comes to your budget, you have a clear choice. He'll raise your taxes to fund bigger government. I'm going to keep your taxes low.

BASH: Health care and education become quality of life. Retirement covers Social Security. And he says he is for your values. Kerry is too liberal. Along with the new speech, a new ominous ad.

AD ANNOUNCER: Cuts so deep they would have weakened American's defenses.

BASH: Using a pack of wolves to represent (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Americans' face, the ad hits Kerry for proposing intelligence cuts ten years ago that never went into effect. A senior Bush aide said the ad was cut five months ago, but held for a final punch because focus groups called it so effective.

The Kerry camp shot back Mr. Bush is trying to scare voters.

Meanwhile, the president returned to Ohio after a nearly three- week absence, which concerned Ohio Republicans, who have been calling the campaign asking where he has been, especially since Senator Kerry has visited five times since Mr. Bush's last visit and polls in the Buckeye State are neck and neck, some even give the senator a slight lead.

Bush senior adviser Karl Rove says the president will make seven more stops here before election day, where the biggest danger he faces still is job loss. New numbers show Ohio did gain 5,500 jobs last month, but Kerry aides note that it could take ten years at the current rate to regain the 200,000 plus jobs lost on the president's watch. Dana Bash, CNN, Canton, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Senator Kerry is Nevada bound but before heading west, he was in Wisconsin where his focus was women. Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace reports he had some help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Milwaukee, trying to win over women voters with a little Kennedy star power. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of president John F. Kennedy.

CAROLINE KENNEDY SCHLOSSBERG, DAUGHTER OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: As my mother always told me that if it were not for Wisconsin, president Kennedy never would have made it to the White House.

KERRY: I'm so honored to be here.

WALLACE: Senator Kerry focusing on issues affecting working women, promising to fight for equal pay and a hike in the minimum wage, accusing the Bush White House of being out of touch.

KERRY: No matter how tough it gets, no one in the White House seems to be listening.

WALLACE: It is no accident Caroline Kennedy today, yesterday alongside Dana Reeve, wife of the late actor Christopher Reeve, a day earlier with one of the most vocal of the September 11 widows who now appears in one of his television ads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to look in my daughter's eyes and know she's safe.

WALLACE: According to an average of polls released in the last 48 hours, Senator Kerry has a lead of just seven points over President Bush with women voters, a danger side for the senator, since Democrats traditionally do better with women. In 2000, Al Gore had an 11-point advantage with women voters according to exit polls. George W. Bush had the exact same advantage with men. Team Kerry-Edwards trying now to make inroads, especially with married, suburban women concerned with security.

KERRY: Our nation has a greater chance of success and we are stronger when we lead strong alliances, not when we go it alone.

WALLACE: This evening, Senator Kerry, heading to Nevada and Colorado. Soon he gets help head getting out the vote. On Sunday, Al Gore will be in Florida. Next week, former President Clinton in Pennsylvania, Florida and New Mexico. Kelly Wallace, CNN, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: John Kerry also got a boost today, maybe. The former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura was at an event billed as independents for Kerry. He wasn't speaking, but the former Maine governor Angus King, spoke for him. Asked if Kerry's presence meant an endorsement of King -- of Kerry that is -- Ventura's endorsement of Kerry that is, King answered yes.

Questioned by reporters, though, Ventura just motioned toward King. We'll have to watch the former Minnesota governor. It looks like he's endorsed John Kerry. We'll know for sure in the coming days.

A night of celebration turns oh, so tragic for 1 young Red Sox fan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She loved the Red Sox. She went in to celebrate with friends. She was bystander. She was out of the way, but she still got shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A heart breaking tragedy. We'll show you why Boston police are taking full responsibility.

Also, the battle over Rosa Parks, why her life and legacy are now the subject of court battles.

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who is that dashing number 21?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D-NC) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was me playing football in high school. I looked better standing still than when I actually moved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Candid candidate John Edwards, on whether he makes a better politician or football player. We'll tell you what he said. Pat O'Brien standing by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Well, the Red Sox won the American League pennant this week, there was jubilation in Boston. But after a college student died during the raucous celebration, the city is now doing some serious soul searching. CNN law enforcement analyst, Mike Brooks standing by at the CNN center in Atlanta with more -- Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Hello to you, Wolf. An evening that should have been one of celebration turned into one of tragedy for the family of a 21-year-old journalism student fatally injured by Boston police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet my daughter. And she wanted to be a broadcast journalist. And she was in her junior year at Emerson. What happened to her should not happen to an American citizen going to any type of game, no matter what. She loved the Red Sox. She went in to celebrate with friends. She was a bystander. She was out of the way, but she still got shot. BROOKS (voice-over): It all started when police attempted to disperse what they say was an estimated crowd of 60,000 to 80,000 people that took over the streets around in the neighborhood around Fenway Park, using what was to be a less lethal system, pepper spray.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While our investigation is less than a day old, it appears from evidence we have reviewed thus far, that Torey was killed when she was hit in the eye by a projectile. (AUDIO GAP) officers tried to control the mobs outside the ballpark.

BROOKS: Video from the scene where Snelgrove was struck showed the crowd giving each other high fives and chanting slogans in support of the Red Sox.

The Boston police are accepting full responsibility for the death of Victoria Snelgrove and vow that they will conduct a thorough and swift investigation of their actions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awful things happen to good people, and my daughter was an exceptional person.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKS: Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has backed off his earlier threats to ban liquor sales during the World Series. Instead, police will increase their presence in bars near Fenway Park. Restaurant owners have pledged to exercise better crowd control and to not allow television crews to shoot inside bars during the games -- Wolf.

BLITZER: This weapon that was used to send out this projectile of pepper spray, how does that compare with other law enforcement agencies, local, state, federal around the country?

BROOKS: Wolf, the Boston police decided to use this kind of system. I, being a former metropolitan police officer myself in the civil disturbance unit, know that D.C. Police will not shoot any projectiles into a crowd. They use large pressurized canisters of OC spray.

And I talked with a former commander of New York City Police Department, they too, do not use this kind of weapon, they also use the pressurized OC spray, which they feel is safer instead of shooting into crowds.

I'm sure lots more will come out of the investigation as it continues -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A full-scale investigation under way in Boston. Thanks very much, Mike Brooks, for that heart breaking report.

During his baseball career, Jim Bunning was a superstar, but now that Bunning is seeking reelection to the United States Senate, he appears to be making a few errors. CNN's Brian Todd joining us now for a closer look of the surprisingly tight, I think we could say, Kentucky Senate race -- Brian. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is, Wolf. And few errors comment was appropriate. Errors that now have gotten a lot of national attention, and turned what was supposed to be a run away into a closer race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The incumbent, a Hall of Fame pitcher with a huge money advantage. The challenger, an Italian-American doctor who has had trouble gaining name recognition and raising cash. This was supposed to be a blow out, but if you need evidence that a campaign can turn on its ear as fast as, say, a baseball series, look no further than the race for Senate in Kentucky. Democrat Dan Mungiardo has closed the gap, thanks in part to a series of controversial event involving Republican Senator Jim Bunning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ranged from the Senator asking for local security on the campaign trail to using a teleprompter to make his opening and closing remarks during a debate.

TODD: In that debate, the only one to which Bunning agreed, his campaign admits he did read his opening and closing statements on a teleprompter. Mungiardo's campaign said that violated debate rules against using props. Bunning's side said the senator was using so- called notes that were allowed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He called me Saddam Hussein's son.

Bunning's campaign admits that it won a bet. The senator said Mongiardo looked like one of Saddam Hussein's sons. No one is saying if he meant Uday or Qusay.

DR. DAN MONGIARDO (D), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: This is obvious misbehavior. The type of person that this man is and what he's been doing, the way he conducts himself is misbehavior.

TODD: Bunning's campaign says the remark was a bad joke and he has apologized.

AD ANNOUNCER: Who is Dan Mongiardo? Mongiardo attacks big drug companies.

TODD: In ads Bunning's campaign called Mongiardo a Medicaid millionaire and showed pictures of a mansion and plane that Bunning's aides admit do not belong to Mongiardo. But the doctor is not without blemishes. Mongiardo has run a lackluster campaign. He is on at least his second campaign manager and third finance team. Bunning has accused Mongiardo campaign staffers of roughing up Bunning's wife during a political event, a chard flatly denied by Mongiardo's side.

And Bunning's campaign accuses Mongiardo of spreading rumors that have shown up in print questioning Bunning's mental health, rumors that have never been proven. A Mongiardo campaign official tells us for lack of a better word the charge they spread the rumors is insane. Even Bunning's staffers concede off camera, the eight-time Major League all star, a topside armer (ph), is also an ornery, unpredictable character who shows open contempt for reporters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have unbelievably turned poor reporter, if you don't believe, two reputable physicians and their statements about my health care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Today, we have an item from the "Louisville Courier Journal" newspaper. At an event Jim Bunning said he was not aware of the story of a group of army reservists refusing a mission in Iraq, even though one of those soldiers are from Kentucky. When told that this is a national new story, Bunning said, "quote, "let me explain something. I don't watch the national news and I don't read the paper. I haven't done that for the last six weeks." I watch Fox News to get my information. These kinds of exchanges lead one Democratic official to call Jim Bunning the gift that keeps on giving. And they've (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Democrat party in recent days to pump hundreds of thousands of dollars into Dan Mongiardo's campaign, but despite it all most indications are that in a very conservative state voters will (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the combative 73-old-year old Jim Bunning right back to the sun.

BLITZER: We'll find out on November 2. Thanks very much. Brian Todd, good report.

Inside John Edwards with the "Insider." Pat O'Brien talks to us about his candid interview with the candidate. That's coming up.

Also why the matriarch of the civil rights movement is now the subject of multiple legal battles.

Plus, they're on the front lines of homeland security. Now new concern over the safety of this military workhorse. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Coast Guard helicopters play an important role in the homeland security effort, but now the men and women serving aboard those helicopters find themselves at risk because of increasingly frequent mechanical failures. CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Coast Guard HH-65 suffers a power loss in one engine. The pilot dumps fuel, even a life raft, to make a risky emergency landing on a cutter deck one- third the size of a basketball court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's set this pig down.

MESERVE: Jeff Makowski was piloting an HH-65 during the Gulf War when it had the same problem. Given the choice of landing in unfriendly Syria or ditching he was forced to make a cutter landing at night and he hasn't forgotten it.

CMDR. JEFF MAKOWSKI, U.S. COAST GUARD: When I take off, I'm always thinking where can I land if I lose an engine? Every time I come in for a landing, where would I go, what would I do in this situation?

MESERVE: Engine power losses in the Coast Guard's HH-65s have been spiraling upward at an alarming rate. They used to average about 10 a year, but climbed to 171 in the last 12 months.

REAR ADM. GARY BLORE, U.S. COAST GUARD: It's capable of flying on one engine, but it can't stay in a hover or do a maneuver on one engine.

MESERVE: Crippling to a helicopter, critical to search and rescue and described as the backbone of the Coast Guard aviation fleet. Because of the engine problems, the choppers are no longer allowed to land in tight quarters, like hospital helipads and the distance and duration of their flights has been limited.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has affected us going out and either saving lives or helping those in great distress.

MESERVE: The problem with the engines and their control system has not been pinpointed, but among the contributing factors, age, modifications that have increased the chopper's weight and increased flight hours resulting from the Coast Guard's expanded homeland security mission. The Coast Guard has begun replacing the engines, though some believe it would be more economical in the long term just to buy new helicopters.

REP. BOB FILNER (D), CALIFORNIA: We're wondering why they have made a decision which just doesn't meet a common sense test.

MESERVE: Replacing the engines on the fleet of 96 HH-65s will cost about $290 million and take two years, two years when there will be risk to the chopper crews and those who need their help. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: On the campaign trail with vice presidential hopeful, John Edwards, as he opens up about his past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you one of those coaches that got into the ref's face or not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The "Insider's" Pat O'Brien standing by. He joins us. And wooing women voters, how both presidential campaigns are pulling out all the stops to court voters.

And the woman who would not be moved. Rosa Parks, how her legacy is being battled out in the courts right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With just 11 days before the election, both presidential candidates are going out of their way to reach out to women voters, and the campaigns are fueling that effort with a lot of star power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINE KENNEDY SCHLOSSBERG, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: This is the election of our lifetime and it is especially important for women.

BLITZER (voice-over): The daughter of the last JFK campaigning for the current JFK. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg joined John Forbes Kerry at a campaign rally in Milwaukee today, the latest high-profile woman to stump with the Democratic candidate.

She follows Dana Reeve, widow of actor Christopher Reeve, who died just last week. She made a moving appearance with Kerry yesterday, tying her support to Kerry's pledge to increase embryonic stem cell research, a cause Christopher Reeve fought for.

DANA REEVE, WIFE OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE: So I'm here today to honor my husband, And I proudly introduce our friend and declare my vote for the next president of the United States, John Kerry.

BLITZER: Kerry will add even more female star power tonight and tomorrow in Florida with Cher and Rosie O'Donnell speaking out for him. It's all part of a concerted effort to reach out to women, who, according to a poll by the Pew Center, make up 62 percent of still undecided voters, a group that could sway the election either way.

The Bush camp isn't taking women for granted either, putting out their own celebrity backers, including Reba McEntire, Mary Lou Retton, and Angie Harmon, who appeared with the first lady yesterday.

ANGIE HARMON, ACTRESS: I'm so thrilled and honored to stand here with America's first lady, Laura Bush.

BLITZER: At the same time, first daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush are increasingly joining their father on the campaign trail.

BARBARA BUSH, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm so proud to be here today to introduce the man who taught me a lot about what matters in life.

BLITZER: They're helping to play up the president's role as family man and possibly increasing his appeal to women voters. On top of that, both campaigns have made full use of daytime TV, with the candidates and their wives making the rounds of shows skewed toward women, like "The View" and "Live With Regis and Kelly."

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: The person who is the president is under tremendous pressure, tremendous scrutiny, sometimes a lot of stress.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: There are not very many arguments. There really aren't. When you have an opponent in a political race, it doesn't need to be your spouse.

BLITZER: The result of all that courting, John Kerry is ahead of President Bush six points in the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll of female voters, a lead, yes, but far from decisive.

So, among women, like just about every other demographic this election year, the race still is simply too close to call.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Will women voters be a deciding factor in the presidential election? You can vote. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results a little bit later in this broadcast.

In the battleground state of Florida today, John Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, accused President Bush -- and I'm quoting now -- of incompetence for linking September 11 and Saddam Hussein. Edwards is also speaking out to Pat O'Brien, the host of the television news magazine "The Insider."

Pat joining us now live once again from Los Angeles.

Pat, thanks very much for joining us.

Let's run a little excerpt of your report on your interview with John Edwards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAT O'BRIEN, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Now, where was this?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That was in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was our wedding day. We got married in a little church, beautiful little church outside of Chapel Hill. We had lots of friends there. It was a wonderful day.

O'BRIEN: And then who is that dashing No. 21?

EDWARDS: That was me playing football in high school. I looked better standing still than when I had to actually move.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: What position did you play?

EDWARDS: I was a wide receiver and a defensive back.

O'BRIEN: Good hands there.

EDWARDS: That's my soccer team. I coached youth sports for many years. In fact, I coached soccer for 12 years or so.

O'BRIEN: Were you one of those coaches that got into the ref's face or no?

EDWARDS: No, no.

O'BRIEN: Yes, you were.

EDWARDS: Well, maybe occasionally.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Yes, he's a doting dad. You could see it in the snapshots and in the way 6-year-old Emma Claire and 4-year-old Jack energize him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to get one Snicker bar and one for daddy.

EDWARDS: Oh, thank you, Jack.

O'BRIEN: And when mom and dads are busy courting votes.

EDWARDS: You guys are great.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

O'BRIEN: Their nanny, since the campaign began, watches the kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I love it. We have lots of fun, right? We just went and found red leaves and green leaves.

O'BRIEN (on camera): What kind of personality does she have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very sweet, right? Lots of hugs.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): The Edwards also get a hand in the kitchen from this campaign worker.

(on camera): What does he eat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He eats pretty healthy, salads, soup.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And for the kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Macaroni and cheese, cereals.

O'BRIEN: We checked on that. And it's true. Inside the official campaign bus fridge, no junk food to be found.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: He does drink I think a lot of Diet Coke, though, or some diet cola beverage.

Pat, take us behind the scenes. At this late stage in the campaign, was he upbeat? Was he downbeat? Was he hopeful? What's going on?

O'BRIEN: Well, he was very upbeat. And we also talked about some issues in the campaign, stem cell research and the economy, the effect on farmers and those sort of thing. Those are the lighter moment of that interview on "The Insider."

But he was very upbeat. And you talked about the importance of women. That's why these candidates are reaching out to women. Obviously, women this year more empowered than other. I don't know about your household, but a lot of women run households now. They're in charge of the checkbooks. They see the taxes. They have more than one job. They see the kids off to schools. They see their kids, sons and daughters, off to war.

So women are very, very important in this campaign. And I think in the next few days left in the campaign, you're going to see a lot of things directed to those undecided women voters, but they were very upbeat. We were in Muscatine, Iowa, Muscatine High School, a big powerhouse football team down there, big game tonight, by the way, Friday night.

But we had a great time on the bus, on the campaign bus.

BLITZER: What's -- I don't know if you have met John Edwards before, but what surprised you most about him?

O'BRIEN: Well, he's remarkably honest in front of the camera and off the camera.

Sometimes you'll find -- you know this better than I do, probably. But some candidates will give you the running line on camera and afterwards, they will say, you know, what the heck. But he was the same both ways and very upbeat, even though, as you know and as the American people know, that this campaign is very razor-thin close.

He is staying focused. He is staying out there, not a down moment. And he loves having those kids with him. Of course, you know, I went for the shot there and brought him Halloween candy. And I apologized to Elizabeth for firing up their kids on sugar at 9:00 in the morning.

BLITZER: Let's switch gears for a minute. The World Series, everybody remembers, at least our viewers remember, Pat, you were a world-class sportscaster before you went into this line of work. What's your sense of this World Series that's about to begin?

O'BRIEN: Well, I did four years of Major League Baseball. And I have this to say about the Red Sox. I'm wondering if they won the World Series, having not won it since 1918, what Red Sox fans will have to complain about. Nothing. I think they'll be even more miserable if they win, because they'll have nothing to talk about or worry about.

No, it's going to be a great series, even with the tragedy up there in Boston. I'm thrilled for the Boston Red Sox fans. And the Cardinals, a great baseball team, don't overlook them, with all the hype over the Boston Red Sox. But the fall classic is here. It's official. Summer is over. I can't wait to watch it.

BLITZER: I can't wait either. Pat O'Brien from "The Insider" joining us once again, good work. Thanks very much.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And what do Shaquille O'Neal, Heidi Klum and Barack Obama have in common? They all go "OFF TOPIC" this weekend with CNN's Carlos Watson. We'll have a preview.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How many of you would like to visit your aunt and great aunt on a regular basis? And how many of you are able to? Why aren't you able to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Access is denied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Why the family of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is having trouble seeing her.

Plus, pundit pie, it's our picture of the day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With just two weekends left before the presidential election, the latest polls from three important battleground states all show very, very, very close races.

A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows Kerry with a one-point lead among likely voters in Ohio. A poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania shows Kerry with a five-point lead. And a poll of likely voters in Florida show Bush with a three-point lead, all of those slender leads within the sampling margin of error.

Let's check in with CNN political analyst Carlos Watson for "The Inside Edge."

Are you among those, Carlos, who believes it comes down to these three states, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and whoever wins two out of the three is the next president of the United States? CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Actually, no.

(LAUGHTER)

WATSON: Wolf, oddly enough, this year, both sides have alternative strategies.

For President Bush, if he does not win Florida this time around and doesn't win Pennsylvania, which he didn't win last time, he could still amass the electoral votes you need, 270.

How do you do that? You not only take Ohio, which Republicans often do, but you add to that three Midwestern state that in the past you've lost. So you add Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota and those 28 electoral votes replaces Florida's 27 electoral votes.

On the other side, remember that John Kerry, while he would also like to win two out of those three, when everyone says that, they assume that means Florida, plus Pennsylvania. But, remember, he may have an alternative strategy, which is Pennsylvania, plus Ohio. He is doing much better in Ohio than you would expect at this point in the campaign.

BLITZER: All right, let's switch gears briefly, Carlos.

You have got a show coming out Sunday night on CNN. It's a fascinating program that you're going to do. I want you to tell our viewers a little bit of what you have in store.

WATSON: The new program is called "OFF TOPIC." It's this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and again at 1:00 a.m. And it's a one-hour conversation show.

We sit down with three really intriguing people. And part of what we're trying to do is not talk to these people about the things you always here. So, for example, we talked to the NBA's best player, Shaquille O'Neal, talking about the fact that he's in graduate school, that he is thinking about running for office.

And, in fact, here is a little clip that we want to show you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Will you pull a guy aside and say you're not headed in the right direction, you're not it doing what we need you to do as a team?

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, NBA PLAYER: All the time. I do that all the time.

WATSON: Really?

O'NEAL: And sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So, that was just one of the three people. Now, that was from the world of sports.

Next, we turn to Barack Obama, the Senate candidate from Illinois, the keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention. Very interesting conversation about where he sees his future going. Will there be a presidential run if he's successful here? That was premature, but he did talk about his unusual background. And here is a clip that talks about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: You have kind of a very Huxtable, very Cleaver, great wife, two kids, and yet you yourself don't come from a very kind of conventional family.

BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: No. No.

And maybe that's why it's so important to me is because, I had that instability when I was young. We traveled a lot. My father wasn't in the house. I was raised by a single mom for a while. And I was born in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia. I'm sure that I'm the only Illinois politician ever who speaks Indonesian.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And, Wolf, last but not least, moving bye the world of sports and the world of politics, we turn to the world of entertainment. And Heidi Klum is well known from the cover of the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit edition. She also obviously is a star of "Victoria's Secrets" catalogue.

But we had a really interesting conversation with her in part about a multimillion dollar complex, global business that she runs. And here is a clip about some of the other things she talked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Do you think of yourself as a CEO? Like, when you get up in the morning, do you think I'm Heidi Klum the model?

HEIDI KLUM, MODEL: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

WATSON: You know what I mean. Do you think of yourself like...

KLUM: I do, yes, because nothing gets done before I sign it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Wolf, she was absolutely a pleasure to spend time with and defied really every stereotype at least I had of the international supermodel.

And so with this show, whether it's Heidi Klum on business or Shaquille O'Neal on politics, we're going "OFF TOPIC with really intriguing people this Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. BLITZER: "OFF TOPIC." Graduate school, Shaquille O'Neal. What is he studying?

WATSON: Well, you have got to tune in Sunday. And if you do, like I said, you'll also hear him talk about plans to run for office.

BLITZER: We'll tune in.

Carlos Watson, thanks very much. Good luck with the show Sunday night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

WATSON: Thank you.

BLITZER: A legal fight over a civil rights icon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELAINE STEELE, PARKS' LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE: Mrs. Parks and I, we're joined at the hip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And relatives say that's part of the problem -- the battle over Rosa Parks.

Plus, serving pie to a well-known pundit, it's our picture of the day. It's ugly. We'll show it to you, though.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): More than 20 North Koreans entered a South Korean school in Beijing and requested asylum. It's not clear what will happen to them, because schools for foreigners are not protected by diplomatic immunity. In the past several weeks, two groups of North Koreans entered foreign facilities in the Chinese capital seeking asylum.

War game. It was apparently played by German children in the 1930s before Adolf Hitler triggered World War II by invading Poland. The aim of the game was to destroy the British Royal Navy and invade the country. It was discovered in a German house and sold at auction in Britain for $545.

Hidden art. After spending three and a half years restoring a 500-year-old religious banner in Italy, historians made a surprising discovery. What they were working on was in fact a painting by the Renaissance artist Raphael. One expert says it dates to around 1498 or 1499, when Raphael would have been about 16 years old.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Rosa Parks is the matriarch of the civil rights movement in the United States. But her legacy and her remaining years are now the subject of legal battles, which she may not even be aware of.

Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): An ordinary family reminiscing about an extraordinary relative.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rosa Parks.

TUCHMAN: A poem written when Eurana (ph) McCauley was 8.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rosa Parks is my great aunt. Oh, was she brave. She was a woman who didn't want to give up her seat, a very wise choice, I say.

TUCHMAN: The 91-year-old civil rights icon was childless and her husband died many years ago. Rosa Parks' closest blood relatives are these nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, who live only a short drive from Mrs. Parks' downtown Detroit home, but...

(on camera): How many of you would like to visit your aunt and great aunt on a regular basis? And how many of you are able to? And why aren't you able to?

RHEA MCCAULEY, NIECE OF ROSA PARKS: Access is denied.

TUCHMAN: The children and grandchildren of Rosa Parks' brother say they are stopped or strongly discouraged from visiting their aunt by this woman.

STEELE: Mrs. Parks and I, we're joined at the hip.

TUCHMAN: Elaine Steele has been friends with Rosa Parks for four decades. They have traveled the world together, meeting Pope John II, accepting the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 1999. But now Rosa Parks can no longer take care of herself and Elaine Steele was granted legal authority to handle nearly all of her friend's affairs.

SHIRLEY KAIGLER, ATTORNEY FOR STEELE: Ms. Parks made that decision years ago and felt very comfortable.

TUCHMAN: Elaine Steele says she has not banned family from visiting Rosa Parks, but there are conditions.

STEELE: We try to make an appointment, because some days are not so good days. So you know that it may have to be changed.

MCCAULEY: That's a lie. That is a lie.

TUCHMAN: Rhea McCauley is a niece who has taken action to try to get legal custody of her aunt.

MCCAULEY: I'm not going to make an appointment or ask for permission to see my aunty.

STEELE: It's unfortunate that someone would want to, you know, dictate what is best for someone who has already decided for themselves.

TUCHMAN: Another one of Rosa Parks' decisions, says Elaine Steele, is to file suit against the record companies involved with this OutKast song entitled "Rosa Parks," which contains the lyrics "hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus." The record companies did not want to comment about the case to CNN.

The lead attorney who represents Rosa Parks did.

GREGORY REED, ATTORNEY FOR PARKS: Not to protect Mrs. Parks' name would be damaging her legacy.

TUCHMAN: But family members say her legacy is more damaged by a lawsuit asking for $5 billion.

SYLVESTER MCCAULEY, NEPHEW OF PARKS: Aunty Rosa would never do that. Never in her life would she pursue something like this.

TUCHMAN: A judge has appointed former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer to independently review the welfare of Rosa Parks, who, most poignantly, may not even be aware of what's taking place in her name.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: From that, we'll move on to other stories. That's coming up.

In your face. Find out what happened when Ann Coulter was on the stage, but forced to run off the stage. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here are the results of our Web question of the day. Take a look at this, though, remember, it's not a scientific poll.

Conservative communist Ann Coulter isn't known for ducking verbal fights with liberal opponents. But she was running for cover last night. And it's our picture of the day.

She was giving a speech at the University of Arizona when two men ran on stage and lobbed custard pies her way, hitting her in the shoulder. The pie throwers were arrested.

I'll see you again Sunday at noon Eastern for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests this weekend, we'll speak with the Reverends Jerry Falwell and Jesse Jackson and Senators Bob Graham and Rick Santorum. See you then. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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