[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome back, everybody. Here are some live pictures from Boston. You see lots of hugging, lots of kissing. That's because they're still celebrating this morning. You are watching some of the members of the team on that bus, the Red Sox as they return to Fenway Park, surrounded by their fans. We have seen the owner of the team, John Henry, has gotten off that bus and also the general manager as well. And they're just starting to come off, surrounded obviously by police officers with a little bit of riot gear there, because you've got to imagine that they are celebrating and partying hard this morning.
[Bill Hemmer, Cnn Anchor:] And now the pressure is on Chicago. The Cubs haven't won it since 1908. The White Sox haven't won it since 1917. So a big day in Boston, winning last night, 3-0 the final in game four. They swept the Cardinals, and they did it in dominating fashion and a dominating fashion as well. So, we'll keep an eye on Boston throughout the morning here. Welcome back and good morning.
[O'brien:] We have got lots going on this morning. We're going to have more on the campaign as well. We've had a report of the president's day at the top of the hour. And now we're looking at John Kerry's schedule in this half-hour. The senator getting some help from Bruce Springsteen today. We're going to talk about that.
[Hemmer:] Also, the situation in the Middle East, Yasser Arafat and how his health will affect Mideast stability and the future for the Palestinian people. Former U.S. ambassador to Israel Edward Walker our guest in a few moments. We'll get his thoughts on this Thursday morning.
[O'brien:] Also we'll look for stories "Now in the News," Heidi Collins at the news desk. Good morning to you.
[Heidi Collins, Cnn Anchor:] And good morning once again. Is this Red Sox red?
[Hemmer:] Yes, it looks pretty red.
[Collins:] I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry.
[Hemmer:] I think I've got Cleveland Brown on today.
[Collins:] All right, we move into the news now this morning, though. A possible trial date now for Zacarias Moussaoui. He is the only person publicly charged in the U.S. in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks. Moussaoui's trial has been delayed for almost two years, but prosecutors asked late yesterday that opening statements be set for around Memorial Day for next year. The Pentagon reviewing an order that keeps soldiers from being forced to get anthrax vaccines. The Defense Department has required many troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to be vaccinated, and went so far as to court-martial those who refused. But a federal judge yesterday put the plan on hold and ruled the Food and Drug Administration needs to do more testing of the vaccine. And a major announcement that could affect next Tuesday's voting. The Justice Department is planning to send 1,000 federal election observers and monitors throughout the country on Election Day. They will report any signs of voter fraud or criminal activity. Details, including which cities are considered trouble spots, are expected later today. And we, of course, will have much more on the elections coming up a little later in the show. A driver who is accused of trying to run down Florida Congresswoman Katherine Harris told police it was quote "political expression." Barry Seltzer will appear in court later today. Harris, as Florida's secretary of state, certified the state's presidential election results four years ago. I'm sure you remember that. Political expression.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Hemmer:] That was a very close call, too, on the sidewalks of Sarasota.
[Collins:] Yes, no kidding.
[Hemmer:] Thank you, Heidi. Five days and counting until now we all go to the polls. And both candidates making multiple stops today again in those battleground states in the center part of the country, and both men engaging in a war of words over Iraq and those missing explosives. We heard from the Bush campaign 30 minutes ago. From the Kerry campaign now, Kelly Wallace in Toledo, Ohio, this morning. Good morning there.
[Kelly Wallace, Cnn National Correspondent:] Good morning, Bill. Well, Senator Kerry, here in Ohio, trying to steal Ohio from the Republicans and hold on to Wisconsin. All the while, he is revealing his final strategy in these final days, and that is trying to convince undecided voters that because of the war in Iraq, President Bush doesn't deserve to be rehired as commander-in-chief.
[Wallace:] From Iowa to Minnesota, the same message, day No. 3 of pounding the president over those missing explosives in Iraq.
[Sen. John Kerry , Presidential Candidate:] For the sake of those troops who are in danger, because of your wrong decisions, you owe America real answers about what happened, not just political attacks.
[Wallace:] Senator Kerry reacting to the president's feisty first words about the controversy during a stop in battleground Pennsylvania yesterday.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] The senator's denigrating the action of our troops and commanders in the field, without knowing the facts. Unfortunately, that's part of a pattern of saying almost anything to get elected.
[Wallace:] No sooner did the president say that did the Kerry campaign respond with a new ad.
[Unidentified Male:] Our soldiers fighting in Iraq are heroes.
[Wallace:] Which it says is running nationally starting today on cable television.
[Kerry:] I want to make you proud.
[Wallace:] Trying to make the election a referendum on the president's handling of Iraq is not risk-free for Senator Kerry. The senator's attacks could turn off undecided voters, while the debate could play to Mr. Bush's strengths. According to a event CNN"USA Today"Gallup poll, the president has a nearly 10-point advantage on who would better handle Iraq. Meantime, Senator Kerry deploying what he hopes will be heavy- duty ammunition today, Bruce Springsteen to Wisconsin and later to Ohio, a state that has lost more than 230,000 jobs since the president took office, giving Senator Kerry an opening.
[Kerry:] Every president since 70 years has created jobs except for George W. Bush.
[Wallace:] And we are told the senator will focus on pocketbook issues today. He's also likely to talk about his beloved Boston Red Sox. But at the same time, Bill, keeping the focus on Iraq. This campaign very much trying to in these final days narrow the president's advantage on national security issues.
[Hemmer:] Kelly Wallace, thanks, in Toledo this morning Soledad.
[O'brien:] We've got word just in this hour that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be moved to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment. As for what his health crisis could mean for Palestinian affairs, Edward Walker is a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. He's now the president of the Middle East Institute, and he joins us from Washington this morning. Nice to see you, Ambassador. Thank you very much for being with us. The first time in years that Yasser Arafat will be leaving the compound, if he does indeed go to the hospital. What does this signify to you in terms of just how serious this is?
[Amb. Edward Walker, Pres., Middle East Institute:] I think this is pretty serious. It may not be life threatening, but it has certainly puts the Palestinians on notice and everyone else on notice that Yasser Arafat's human. And he may not be around tomorrow. It's going to force the Palestinians into some very serious decisions now.
[O'brien:] Some of those decisions that have been discussed had been some reports about a three-member panel that some reports said Yasser Arafat had created to take care of his affairs while he's being treated or sort of out of commission to some degree. That has been denied, though. Do you think that that's a possibility?
[Walker:] Well, I think that some kind of collegial leadership is going to be necessary, at least in the short term, whether there was a formal designation by Arafat. I think we can expect a lot of rumors and a lot of people who are looking to position themselves to be making allegations that Arafat has anointed them. But I do think that all of the doom and gloom expectations may not take place. The Palestinians will be forced to make some serious decisions, and they'll probably come up with an answer, something like having Mahmoud Abbas, or Abu Mazen, the former prime minister, take over with the support of the other Palestinian leaders.
[O'brien:] What would be the line of succession then, exactly, if he does not go ahead and appoint Abbas as some people have said that he wants to do?
[Walker:] Well, the immediate effect is to make Rahti Fatuf the chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council acting president for 60 days, and then they're supposed to have an election. It doesn't strike me as very rational that they can get an election together in 60 days. A lot's going to depend on what we do, what the Europeans do and what the Israelis do. We can empower a new leadership, or at least help empower a new leadership, which may work to all of our advantages, particularly if it's a reformed leadership.
[O'brien:] Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator, has been appealing for calm. What could be the implications, if, indeed and this is obviously hugely hypothetical Arafat dies?
[Walker:] Well, I think that what people are afraid of, the Israelis are afraid of and the Palestinians are afraid of, is chaos. Egyptians would also be very concerned. Fighting in the streets between the various factions. The security organizations at each other's throats. But I think the consequences of that are so severe that people will band together in a crisis. And they will look to the sort of natural progression that takes place in the PLO. That's why I think that Mahmoud Abbas or Abu Mazen would be a natural leader. He is the secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee.
[O'brien:] Ambassador Edward Walking joining us this morning. Nice to see you, sir. And thanks for some of your insights this morning.
[Walker:] Good to see you.
[O'brien:] Thank you Bill.
[Hemmer:] It's about 22 minutes now before the hour. The curse today is broken officially. The Boston Red Sox, they've won the World Series title. Here is Pedro Martinez hanging out of that SUV a few moments ago outside of Fenway Park. A huge crowd is out there this morning. We can safely say there are several hundred people there, maybe that number is in the thousands. Final out recorded last night at 11:39 p.m. Eastern Time, four- game sweep of the Cardinals. That was after they took four straight from the Yankees, too. Their first World Series victory going back to 1918. That year they had Babe Ruth in Boston, later traded two years later to the New York Yankees. The curse was set there on Boston, so they say. But now it is different. Boston fans making up for 86 years of misery. They poured into the streets just seconds after the final out, a lot of them staying up throughout the night. Heavy police presence, no major incidents. We've got reports of several dozen arrests throughout the area. That's our favorite videotape of the day, that guy swinging on top of that tree. For the players, the celebration of their moment in history.
[Kevin Millar, Boston Red Sox:] This is a big-time team we're playing with, a big-time bunch of guys. And I'm so proud just to be a part of this organization.
[Manny Ramirez, 2004 World Series Mvp:] I don't believe in curse. I think you make your own destination. And we did it. You know, we believe in each other. We went out there, we played, relaxed, and we ran it out.
[Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox:] I 'm so proud. I'm so happy. I'm happy for the fans in Boston. I'm happy for Johnny Peski, for Bill Buckner, for Stanley and Shuraldi and all of the great Red Sox players who can now be remembered for the great players that they were. And I'm so proud to be on the greatest team that's ever played in Boston Red Sox history.
[Hemmer:] Yes, that guy right there Curt Schilling, too, has got a nice bonus, too, 15 million for that victory last night. This is Pedro Martinez last night. And we'll get more as we go throughout the morning here. The team joins five previous championship teams, including the winners of the first World Series in 1903. On that team, they were led by Cy Young. But last night kind of makes up for, what, 1967, 1975 and 1986. A lot has changed since 1918. Sixteen different presidents, 10 amendments to the Constitution, 2 states have joined the Union, we went to the moon, penicillin and polio vaccines were discovered. And now you have it from Boston today. We'll watch that story throughout the morning. It's fun. Soledad back to you.
[O'brien:] Yes, that kind of really underscores just how long it's been, doesn't it? All right, Bill, thanks. Storms in California have triggered flash flooding. Firefighters rescued a dog from a flood channel near Los Angeles yesterday. Two-year-old Bruno, a yellow lab, seemed to be suffering from hypothermia when he was pulled out of the water. He was just about eight miles from home, just an indication of just how strong those waters have been.
[Hemmer:] Wow! We get a break here. In a moment, Wall Street gets a chance to buy a piece of Steven Spielberg. Andy has that story in a moment here.
[O'brien:] Plus, everyone knows being a single mom is hard enough, but try to do it with toddler triplets and a 5-year-old as well. How does this woman do it? Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us when AMERICAN MORNING continues.