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Your World Today
Christmas Pilgrimage to Birth Place of Jesus; Presidential Hopefuls Shop for Votes; Queen Elizabeth II Hits YouTube; FARC Rebels To Release Hostages; North Pole to South Pole; Youssif's Story; DeKalb County Shooting; Card For Santa
Aired December 24, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: A sense of security returns and so do the tourists. Thousands join a Christmas pilgrimage to the birth place of Jesus.
HALA GORANI, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: A last-minute rush. U.S. presidential hopefuls shop for votes ten days before a crucial ballot.
CLANCY: A time-honored tradition hits YouTube. Queen Elizabeth II brings Christmas into the future.
GORANI: And one reporter's plea to St. Nick. Greeting card experts in America help Richard Quest get off Santa's naughty list.
CLANCY: It's 11:00 in the morning in Kansas City, Missouri, 7:00 in the evening in Bethlehem.
Hello and welcome to our globe. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. From Vatican City or wherever you are watching, this is "YOUR WORLD TODAY."
It may be the birth place of Jesus, but ongoing violence has kept much of the Christian faithful away from Bethlehem for the past several years. Now, though, it seems to be changing. Progress toward peace in the region is bringing scores of tourists into the West Bank to celebrate the holy day.
Our Ben Wedeman joins us now from Manger Square with more.
What's the atmosphere like this year, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, this year the atmosphere is relatively good. We've seen more tourists coming to Bethlehem than we've seen in many years. According to the mayor of the city, 65,000 people, tourists and pilgrims, are expected to come to Bethlehem today to celebrate the Christmas Eve and the Christmas mass. That's twice as many as came last year. Also, many of the people in the crowd behind me are neither tourists nor pilgrims, but Palestinians, Muslims and Christians who of come to mark this holiday.
So, by and large, it's a much better atmosphere but that doesn't mean there is really the atmosphere in this region has changed dramatically. Many people still say that with the security barrier, the wall around Bethlehem, slowly the economy of this city is dying. Today may be simply an exception to a fairly depressing rule -- Hala?
GORANI: But let me ask you, if there are more tourists, if there is a sense outside of Israel and the Palestinian territory that there is a more peaceful environment, why is this not necessarily having a positive impact on the salespeople and the locals in Bethlehem?
WEDEMAN: Well, we've been speaking to a lot of shop keepers here who say basically what happens is buses will come from Jerusalem full of tourists, they'll come to here, Manger Square behind me to go to the Church of the Nativity, the place where Christians believe Jesus was born, they will go in nor a quick visit, maybe stop at one shop and leave.
In the old days, before the Palestinian uprising, which began in September 2000, people would come here, spend a day, they would go to restaurants, they would go to different shops, but now simply because there is a feeling that even though it's calm, that real peace has not come to this region. People very much sort of hit and run tourism. They come and visit the sites and leave. They don't spend much time and they don't spend much money -- Hala?
GORANI: What about, Ben, I'm curious about the Christian contingent of all these territories. There are many Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, elsewhere in the West Bank. How are they living through this festive holiday period and this very important Christian holiday?
WEDEMAN: Well, they are certainly celebrating, and, for instance, this afternoon we saw one Palestinian marching band after another. These are Christian marching bands, coming to mark the holidays. And they make a lot of noise with their music and their drums and it's their way of saying we are here, we are staying.
But the unfortunate fact is that because of the Israeli occupation, because of tensions between Muslims and Christians, because of the -- sort of the declining economy, we've seen gradually over the decades the Palestinian Christian population has declined to the point, for instance, that there are more Bethlehem Palestinians Christians living in Chile than live in the West Bank -- Hala?
GORANI: That is a fascinating fact. Thank you, Ben Wedeman, live in Bethlehem, reporting for us today on this day, Christmas Eve.
The Vatican celebrates Christmas later today. Pope Benedict XVII will hold the midnight Christmas mass at St. Peters Basilica at 2300 GMT, that's 6:00 p.m. eastern for our viewers in the United States -- Jim?
CLANCY: Let's go to Egypt, still in the Middle East, but a very different story, a story of tragedy. Reports say at least five people have been killed after a 12-story apartment building collapsed in Alexandria. One woman was pulled from the debris alive. Officials say the building is in an upscale neighborhood in the eastern part of that city along the Mediterranean. Authorities say they fear many more people are dead or injured underneath the rubble. GORANI: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Those are the words to the old holiday song, of course, but don't sing it in the Midwestern United States where heavy storms have made Christmas travel a nightmare. Travelers faced power outages, canceled flights and blocked roads, including an 80-car pileup further south in Texas. It shut the interstate off for hours. One person was killed, five others injured.
CLANCY: Well, take a look at the situation in London where heavy fog is blamed for a weekend -- a weekend of canceled flights. Hundreds of travelers had to spend the night right here at Heathrow Airport. Service is said to be returning to normal now, but the weekend's problems still creating more delays -- Hala?
GORANI: Let's get the latest on how weather is affecting travel and really this is relevant for all of you around the world also who are planning on visiting the United States.
CLANCY: Really high traffic and really serious problems. Hillary Andrews joins us now from the International Weather Center.
Hi, Hillary.
HILLARY ANDREWS, INTERNATIONAL WEATHER CENTER METEOROLOGIST: Hi there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Hala, things looking a little bit better.
GORANI: All right. Thankfully. Hillary, thank you so much.
Santa is getting ready to suit up and brave the bad weather in some parts of the world. Most U.S. presidential hopefuls aren't making any tracks on the campaign trail this Christmas season. The exception is the Democrat Christopher Dodd who's in Iowa, the state that has the first round of voting, of course.
Opinion polls in another key state, New Hampshire, show a virtual dead heat for the top spot among Democrats. Look at this graphic. The Boston Globe University of New Hampshire poll shows Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton 30 percent to her 28 percent. John Edwards is in third with 14 percent.
CLANCY: You know, you take a look at it, Hala, it's also a neck and neck race statistically speaking a Monday the Republicans up there in New Hampshire. The same group that polled the likely Democratic voters also talked to likely Republican ones. They found Senator John McCain gaining ground on the front-runner Mitt Romney. This is really Romney territory so that has to be worrisome. They are now only three 3 percentage points across, less than the margin of error, just like we see between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Rudy Giuliani among Republicans running third. He's got 14 percent.
Our own John King is there with more on Romney's struggle to stay on top.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sign of the times. For Mitt Romney, the glow of summer is a distant memory.
MITT ROMNEY, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How you doing? Good to see you.
KING: Gone are once strong leads in both Iowa and New Hampshire, the candidate's wife hoping aloud the current tide will change.
ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: I know he is the best candidate, and in all the confidence in the world the other voters will wake up and see that, too. So, thank you.
ROMNEY: Thank you, sweetheart.
KING: Romney is hardly the first to learn Iowa is a four-letter word for surprise.
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much for being here. God bless you.
KING: Here in New Hampshire, the growing threat is the candidate who personifies stubborn persistence.
ROMNEY: Right now, Senator McCain and I are battling for your support.
KING: Romney has only himself to blame for some of his recent struggles. Providing fresh information of late for critics who call him loose with the facts and forgetful of his own record.
This is Iowa last week.
ROMNEY: In my state, when I was governor, we made it tougher for people with meth labs.
KING: Hours later he conceded they proposed tougher penalties but they never became law.
ROMNEY: I'm making sure that's correct as quickly as I possibly can.
KING: Normally enough said, but it came within days of claiming an endorsement he never received. As he also backtracked from saying he saw his father march with Martin Luther King.
ROMNEY: It's a figure of speech. I saw my father as a champion of civil rights.
KING: He is clearly chastened. This is Sunday of a talk of improving schools as governor.
ROMNEY: These principals made a difference. The Massachusetts kids and these kind of principles were in place before I got there as governor.
KING: Yet critics still see hypocrisy here.
ROMNEY: Reagan 101 said if you lower taxes, that helps the economy.
Look, I was an Independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.
KING: Romney still voices confidence and aids say in private meetings he shows a sense of urgency but not panic.
The strategy is twofold. Keep watch on all his rivals, but attack the main threats.
ROMNEY: He voted against the Bush tax cuts. He voted against eliminating the death tax forever.
KING: And look to his strengths -- resources.
ROMNEY: I apologize if you see me too much on TV.
KING: What even rivals concede are deep organizations in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
John King, CNN, Milford, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Have we finally reached another tipping point, the virtual monarchy?
CLANCY: We will take a look. Coming up, Britain's Queen Elizabeth opens her own YouTube account. Technically speaking, a royal We-Tube account.
GORANI: Amid hopes that hostages may be released in Colombia, families use a long-established avenue to reach out to loved ones.
CLANCY: Our own intrepid reporter travels to the American heartland of sentiment a letter to deliver his own message to Santa. It could be none other than the Richard Quest, and he's coming up straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to "CNN International" and "YOUR WORLD TODAY."
GORANI: A special welcome this hour to our viewers in the United States.
She may be over 80 but Queen Elizabeth II is staying current with the times.
CLANCY: Her majesty has launched her own YouTube channel, you see. It's one of the hottest spots on the video-sharing website now.
GORANI: Well, this year she's using it to broadcast, of course, her traditional holiday message as well as other things on that channel.
Emily Chang reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Happy Christmas.
EMILY CHANGE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1957, Queen Elizabeth II embraced technology, broadcasting her first Christmas message on television.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II: I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct.
CHANG: Fifty years later, the queen looks to another tube, YouTube, to send her Christmas message around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The queen gives a state banquet in honor of each overseas head of state.
CHANG: Her majesty has launched the Royal Channel, the official channel of the British monarchy on the hugely popular site.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tony Blair distinctly calls his first ever audience.
CHANG: So far, Buckingham Palace as posted almost 20 videos, including old and new footage of the queen, her prime ministers and other members of the royal family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Prince of Wales begins most days working through his papers and talking to his advisors.
CHANG: There's even rarely-seen film of her parents' wedding in 1923. New clips will be added regularly, sharing a glimpse of life at Buckingham Palace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Approximately 10,000 guests from all walks of life are invited to each garden party.
CHANG (on camera): The palace released a statement saying the queen always keeps abreast of the new ways of communicating with people. Last year, her Christmas message was pod cast. This year, she wants to reach an even bigger audience.
DICKIE ARBITER, ROYALS COMMENTATOR: One of the things about the queen is that she's been ruler for over 55 years now. She doesn't change but she adapts. This is adapting to the 21st century.
CHANG (voice-over): Just as she adapted half a century ago.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II: So I wish you all, young and old, wherever you may be, all the fun and enjoyment and the peace of a very happy Christmas.
CHANG: Emily Chang, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Interesting as you look off to the side for approval from someone with. Anyway, a fascinating development.
Now on to this story. Fifteen months after the military seized power in Thailand, the voters have handed the generals a stinging rebuke. The party allied with the ousted prime minister is on the verge of winning back office. Thailand's People Party says it has recruited enough other parties to form a coalition government. The PPP and its leaders, Taxin (ph), narrowly missed winning an absolute majority. The party is made up supporters of former Prime Minister Shinawatra. Political observers speculate that the PPP win could clear the way for Taxin's (ph) return from exile and some uncertain times for the country.
CLANCY: A check of U.S. headlines is coming up for our viewers in the United States.
GORANI: For the rest of you, 2007 wasn't the best of times for many home buyers. We'll look back on the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that affected markets right around the world.
CLANCY: And then, we all love to read them, but who actually writes those heartwarming, tender holiday messages in the greeting cards? We are going to go to Hallmark headquarters and find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We'll have more of "YOUR WORLD TODAY" in just a few minutes. First, a check of the stories making headlines right here in the United States.
Over the river, through the woods and straight into harm's way. A weekend snowstorm has created havoc from the Texas Panhandle to Wisconsin. At least 14 deaths are blamed on the weather. The storm has loosened its stronghold, though, but driving remains dangerous in many states. And for many, staying home isn't exactly a great option either. Thousands of homes and businesses are without power from the plains to the Great Lakes. Hundreds of canceled flights are also creating long waits today for holiday travelers.
The weekend storm made for treacherous driving in much of the nation's mid-section. In Missouri, this was the scene of Interstate 29. Whiteout conditions triggered a pileup of dozens of cars in at least three semis. Several people were injured. A similar nightmare on the roads in Kansas. That shut down a 40-mile stretch for hours. And a massive chain reaction wreck.
Look at this, the Texas Panhandle. There, one person was killed, more than a dozen injured, and that pileup shut down interstate 40 for quite a while there. Let's check in with Mr. Chad Myers, standing by with a look at the nation's forecast.
CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: The good news is there's not much going on out there today, unless you are in the mountains in Idaho and Montana.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: I'm afraid if you don't have snow on the ground right now you probably won't have a white Christmas, but Santa Claus has the roller blades on the bottom of his sleigh. No problem.
LEMON: Santa Claus is coming to town.
MYERS: He is.
LEMON: Chad, did you get all your shopping done?
MYERS: I got my shopping done ten days ago.
It was ridiculous.
LEMON: You're not one of the late ones. Good for you.
Are you one of the late ones? Time is running out. Sales so far appear mediocre. Analysts are blaming the mortgage meltdown. But retailers are hoping shoppers have just been procrastinating. Many big stores have launched one big final push, slashing prices and staying open around the clock.
Paying your credit card bills? Looks like it's getting harder to keep up. An Associate Press analysis finds credit card accounts at least 30 days late jumped 26 percent in October compared to a year ago. Big lenders report accounts 90 days late are up 50 percent. Experts say it's partly due to the financial pinch from the subprime mortgage crisis.
Crash on live TV. That was the scene in Chicago. It happened last night. A minivan hit a local TV studio while the anchorman was on the air. This is what it looked like on TV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED TV ANCHORMAN: Michelle Diarda (ph) joining us live from the scene of one fire tonight where two people are injured.
Michelle, the weather made the rescue work that much more -- oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Police are trying to determine -- can you imagine -- what caused that crash. I don't know if I would have been that calm. Witnesses say the driver may have had a plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TYLER CLOUTIER, WITNESS: I saw a minivan do about four or five u-turns and he pulled to the side of the road, told us to move, and we didn't think much of it. All of a sudden, we were watching the news and we heard a big crash and he was in the window.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wow. No one was injured in that crash. That was fortunate.
Remarkable recovery for the Buffalo Bills' Kevin Everett back at his home field for Sunday's football game against the New York Giants. He was there to see his teammates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRENT EDWARDS, BILLS QUARTERBACK: We're looking at him, making sure that's the same Kevin Everett we heard all about, and him being in the hospital and all those stories and all those updates. But it's pretty inspirational to see a guy work so hard and work through so much emotionally, physically and mentally that he's providing a lot for this team.
ROBERT ROYAL, BILL'S TIGHT END: It meant a lot. Some things are more important than football and obviously to see him be able to get up and walk around, have fun in the locker room, still have the enthusiasm about life is wonderful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, you remember Everett was temporarily paralyzed on a play in the first game of the season in early September. Now he's walking on his own. That is fortunate. It's been an amazing comeback for that NFL player who suffered a paralyzing spinal injury. He surprised his fans and teammates and walked back onto the field.
Ahead in the "CNN NEWSROOM," we'll have details on his recovery and what it might mean for other patients in similar situations.
In the meantime, "YOUR WORLD TODAY" continues after a quick break. I'm Don Lemon. I will see you at the top of the hour. I hope you're having a Merry Christmas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. Our viewers joining us from around the globe, including, this hour, the United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Hala Gorani.
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jim Clancy. And here are some of the top stories in your world today.
Tens of thousands of tourists descending on the town of Bethlehem to mark the birth of Jesus. Quite a change from the past several years when fears of violence kept many people and much income away from the city. COLLINS: In another part of the Middle East, rescuers in Alexandria, Egypt, are searching for anyone who might still be trapped alive under the ruins of a collapsed building. Police and witnesses say at least five people were killed when the 12-story building came crashing down on Monday.
CLANCY: Heavy winter storms making for some difficult holiday travel in parts of the United States. Travelers facing everything from blocked roads, to power outages, to canceled flights. Across the Atlantic, well, the fog seems to have lifted at London's Heathrow Airport, but airlines still trying to struggle to catch up and restore full service.
GORANI: Well, anxiety and some hope in Colombia where FARC rebels are expected to release three hostages. The rebels say they will hand the captives over to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but no one is sure exactly when or where. In the meantime, as Karl Penhaul reports, families have been using a long-established avenue to reach out to their loved ones in captivity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This is talk radio with a tragic twist. It's called "Voices of Kidnap." The target audience, hundreds of hostages being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, for FARC. Every week, relatives line up to broadcast messages to loved ones. Some have been held for more than a decade.
Radio host, Ed Benious (ph), was himself once kidnapped by the guerrillas.
"What we're doing here is sending the hostages a dose of life so they keep resisting until they return to freedom." he says.
Patricia Perdomo (ph) has been sending weekly messages for the last six years to her mother, Consuelo Gonzalez, a Colombian congresswoman. But she's praying this will be her last.
The FARC have said they will release Gonzalez, seen in this video, in the next few days. Tonight, Perdomo has a message to all the FARC's prisoners.
"Don't lose hope. We're working for you and your release. You will come home and your families are waiting for you. We will hug you again," she says.
Another hostage, Clara Rojas, seen on the left in this rebel video, may also be released with her three-year-old son whose father is one of the guerrillas. Rojas was the running mate of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Both were snatched in 2002. Betancourt is still held and looked thin and downcast in a recent video.
During "Voices of Kidnap," an artist sings for the freedom of all the hostages. Relatives sent tearful messages. Usually a few words of family news. Anarel Bacastro's (ph) son, William, a soldier, was captured by FARC rebels a year ago.
"The guerrillas don't have the right to kidnap our children. Those children are our treasures," she tells me.
Others send a message of defiance.
"Free our boys. Kidnappers, you have no place in this country. You're damned undesirables," he says.
This show has been beamed out to the depths of the Columbian jungle every Sunday morning for the past 14 years. And in that time, there have been more than 25,000 kidnappings in the country.
FARC has been blamed for around a third of those abductions. The rebels are currently holding soldiers, police and three American CIA contractors whom they describe as prisoners of war. At the radio show, the relatives strike up a chant.
"You took them alive. Give them back alive," they chant.
But for Impetrista Gavada (ph), there will be no homecoming. Her son, Police Captain Hulian Gavada (ph), died last year in captivity. She's still waiting for the FARC to hand over his remains.
"I long to have a special place for him. A place where I can talk to him and visit him. That would help heal my broken heart," she tells me.
She watches silently as other families plead for their loved ones to come home alive.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, Santa Claus, kids, the real one, is in his sleigh right now. We're tracking him. We'll have an update for you a little bit later. But I want to get into some of the transnational trespassing concerns that we have in international legal circles today.
A well-meaning effort that ran afoul of the law is just one of the stories we're tracking. A man dressed as jolly old St. Nick found himself in trouble with U.S. authorities. He was trying to cross over the Niagra River on Sunday. He was on a -- there he is right there -- on that wind surfer. And he got intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard after crossing those choppy, windy waters coming in from Canada. His real name is John Fulton (ph). He was just dressed up as St. Nick. He was chest-deep in the icy water waiting for the wind to change when a woman on the shore called the police. She thought he was in distress. Fulton has been making this crossing for 23 years to raise awareness about homelessness. Well, he'll have a place to stay tonight, maybe in a nice, warm cell.
GORANI: He didn't look in distress to me at all.
CLANCY: No, he doesn't look -- I don't think he's going to go to jail either.
GORANI: I think he was having quite a good time. No.
Well, if one of your new year's resolutions is to reduce your carbon footprint, we've got an inspiring story for you.
CLANCY: You're about to learn about two young men trying to make it from the North Pole to the South Pole under their own steam, without using any fossil fuels. Right now they're at the halfway point.
GORANI: Damon Green has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON GREEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): They made rapid progress by husky sled across the arctic ice. They cycled across the continents of North America. But with their epic journey almost half complete, our voyagers found themselves (INAUDIBLE) in tropical seas, their progress at a standstill.
JAMES HOOPER, ECO ADVENTURER: Pretty warm here. There's not much wind. Just sailing along on our way to Ecuador. And we just seen a whole lot of dolphins swim past, quite a few jumping fish. Unfortunately, haven't made a bite on our line. But we're working on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get a smaller hook. Oh!
GREEN: With no wind in their sails and determined not to use fossil fuels to get from pole to pole, nothing to do, it seems, but try to make the best of things. Then, in the middle of the night, a change in the weather and it's all hands on deck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up, get up, get up.
ROB GAUNTLETT, ECO ADVENTURER: We've been sitting around in very, very little wind at all. And to actually be moving and making some headway toward (INAUDIBLE) Ecuador is fantastic.
We're at about just over 3 degrees away from the equator now. It's going to be quite fun to get past the equator for the first time in my life.
It seems very strange, actually, because (INAUDIBLE) 108 degrees and we're really just about to pass the equator. It somehow feels though we've got 75 percent of the expedition already done.
GREEN: It may feel like that. Reality is, crossing the equator only means they have it all to do again.
Damon Green, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Boy, I bet that sailing part's a lot more fun than mushing those huskies through the snow in the arctic.
GORANI: Yes. I don't know. They both seem fun. And it's a very interesting initiative and probably will raise awareness, at least among some people.
Well, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY, everyone. Ahead this hour, dialing up some inspiration. We'll meet a woman who's bringing images of saints to cell phones.
CLANCY: And then a little bit later, Hala, the making of a greeting card quite different from the rest. It really isn't all that hard. Just ask our Richard Quest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
CLANCY: Seen live in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe. Glad to have you with us.
Well, a tech-savvy woman in Italy is helping cell phone users bring a little piety (ph) into their text messaging. As Alessio Vinci reports, it's interesting to see who objects to this new found practice and who approves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Many people in Italy don't leave home without it. Keeping them handy during church visits or hanging them in their businesses, they are the stantini (ph) or little saints.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mother Teresa (INAUDIBLE). Maria.
VINCI: Religious images reproduced on small cards devout Catholics turn to for a quick prayer, protection and inspiration.
BARBARA LABATE, ENTREPRENEUR: My mother used to put -- to hide, actually, holy cards in my luggage when I was about to leave from Sicily.
VINCI: Now thanks to this Sicilian entrepreneur, the faithful can download the holy images directly on their cell phones. It is as easy as sending a text message. For three euros or about $4.50, you can even subscribe to a service that will send you a saint of your choosing once a week.
Isn't there a risk of turning something holy into something commercial?
LABATE: Well, it's not that commercial if you consider that there are thousands of shops that actually sell holy objects and icons and so on. It's like any other shop. You buy what you want.
VINCI: Right now, the saintly cell phone images are only available in Italy and in the U.S.
LABATE: We are also offering St. Patrick for the Irish community in the states. We're offering the Virgin of Guadalupe for the Mexican community. We're going to offer St. George from England and (INAUDIBLE) Scotland. So we're like adding more and more saints.
VINCI: Not everyone, though, feels cell phones and saints are a match made in heaven.
"If we keep on going like this," he says, "the next thing you know, they will offer you the holy communion via text message."
But Father John Wauck sees nothing unholy about a saint, digital or otherwise.
FATHER JOHN WAUCK, HOLY CROSS UNIVERSITY: If I were to put a picture of a saint on the wall in my office, you know, and today my office happens to be a Blackberry, what's wrong with that?
VINCI: Alessio Vinci, CNN, at the Vatican.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Turning now to the story of Youssif, the Iraqi boy burned by masked men and left for dead in Baghdad. When CNN and cnn.com first reported the story, many of you responded, our viewers, with contributions and offers to help. In fact, Youssif's story drew one of the biggest responses in the history of cnn.com. Now his story of hope is part of an hour-long special. Impact Your World, "Rescuing Youssif," hosted by our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Offers came from a number of charities. And Youssif's parents chose the Children's Burn Foundation to help their son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the purpose of the Children's Burn Foundation, is to help children like Youssif, whether it's locally, nationally, or international, wherever they may live. So we immediately called CNN to let them know we wanted to help.
GUPTA: Cnn.com put a link to the charity on its Impact Your World web page and the donations for Youssif poured in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Impact Your World is a website on cnn.com that was created for stories like this. So that people who read a story and want to act and to help an individual or just a charity in general, they can go to cnn.com/impact and make a difference.
GUPTA: In no time, the charity received more than 13,000 donations. More than $300,000. All for Youssif.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gifts have come to the Children's Burn Foundation from around the block in Vanize (ph), to England, Monaco, Lebanon, everywhere. We've had a lot of contributions from soldiers in Iraq. An example is one who e-mailed and said, you know, I spent a year in Iraq and I thought I was tough. But when I saw the story about Youssif, I cried.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, Sanjay Gupta there with part of this amazing story of hope made possible by CNN viewers, just like you watching today. That's Impact Your World, "Rescuing Youssif." That's Christmas Day at 0500 GMT. And for viewers in the USA, that show premiers tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. "Rescuing Youssif," right here on CNN.
And if you would like to help children in need or if there's any other charity that is close to your heart, you can always go to cnn.com/impact, finding ways there in which you can make a difference in the lives of children and people around the world.
CLANCY: All right, Hala. It's that time of the year. And the question is, have you been naughty or nice?
GORANI: All right. I won't answer. I'm taking the fifth. The one man who decides has already received plenty of letters, including one from our very own Richard Quest. Find out more, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don Lemon at the CNN Center in Atlanta. We have some breaking news to tell you about.
A manhunt is underway in the suburbs near Atlanta. It's in DeKalb County at a mall where a shooting took place. Now here's what CNN sources are telling us. They're telling us that a suspect tried to rob someone in this parking lot that you're looking at. New video in to the CNN Center curiously of our affiliate WSB. This is live pictures now of the suspect's vehicle.
Now here's what we're being told. Someone tried to rob someone in this parking lot. When police showed up, the suspect shot at police and then a chase ensued. They chased the suspect into this neighborhood. Apparently the suspect, you can see, looks like the window is blown out the back of this SUV. The suspect went into this neighborhood and is now on the loose. Police are looking for him. But again, the suspect shot at police.
This mall is called the Gallery at South DeKalb. It is a very busy mall. You're looking at pictures now of that mall. And, of course, Christmas Eve, lots of folks out there today. But this is a robbery. So far no reports of any injuries, but information is still coming into the CNN Center. This is very new. Happening right now as we speak.
But again, a suspect on the loose in a neighborhood just north of Atlanta. It's in DeKalb County. This mall, the Galleria at South DeKalb, the shooting happened there. And that is the suspect's vehicle. That SUV. And police are still looking for him. We are going to continue to follow this story in the CNN NEWSROOM coming up at the top of the hour. In the meantime -- that's about eight minutes away. In the meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues. We'll be back to normal programming. We'll see you at the top of the hour. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we want to do something funny.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): I'm on a mission to deliver my own festive greeting. The man who receives more cards than anyone else. I need a card to take to none other than Santa Claus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's start off. We'll look at who the consumer is, who the consumer will be spending the card to and then we'll kind of come up with some ideas, messages. So, the sender is Richard. What do we know about Richard? What does he think about Santa Claus? Does he believe in Santa Claus?
QUEST: Oh, yes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Believer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Believer. He's a believer.
QUEST: I'm a believer.
Good belly laugh humor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's perfect for Santa Claus.
QUEST: I mean you have something . . .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jolly. And why don't we look at the recipient.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jolly. You know, he knows if you've been naughty or nice.
QUEST: Busybody.
The card. The festive greeting cards. As an institution, is it still relevant?
KATHY COPPINGER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, HALLMARK: People lead such very busy lives, at work and at home, they're so busy and so stressed and it's just nice to be remembered and to realize that someone has taken the time to send you a card and remember you, Richard, for the holidays.
QUEST: Santa hasn't come off very well in all this, has he? There's no generosity, there's no giving, there's no kindness. So far we've got Santa is a morbidly obese busybody who likes cookies with aliases. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Write down any thoughts we have on a 3x5, throw them in the bucket, pass the bucket around, you know, we'll read the best.
QUEST: Inspiration comes in the form of a poem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear santa, you must be rather busy, what with a with Christmas on the way, from getting all those reindeer fed to tuning up the sleigh. Well, this won't take a moment. I just felt the need to pause and wish a merry Christmas to both you and Mrs. Claus. Oh, yeah, and if it's possible, perhaps could I suggest, please take me off the naughty list. Sincerely, Richard Quest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our work is done. I certainly gave it a thumb's up. So, at this point, we'd like to kind of brainstorm, what would it look like?
QUEST: It should have something on it that's television.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?
QUEST: I mean a camera or . . .
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. Well, that dye cut on the cover could look like a television screen with Richard talking.
QUEST: (INAUDIBLE) the lens. So somehow I'm talking to the lens. Open it up and it's watching, the reverse of it.
My Christmas card to Santa was coming alive in miniature form.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Santa's words balloon say, "fat chance, TV boy."
QUEST: I like it.
The blue print was done. It was time to let the experts work their magic all the way to the printer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Love that. Richard Quest, traveling the world to find out just how all of us celebrate Christmas, no matter how, even making a stop in Lapland where he had a visit with Santa Claus, Hala.
GORANI: Yes, fat chance, TV boy. That's all on Quest. And our international viewers can catch it on Tuesday at 01:00 GMT.
Well, if you've got little kids who were beside themselves with Santa Claus anticipation, you might want to call them into the room right now.
CLANCY: We've got a website we want to tell you about. It charts Santa's progress all around the globe and it does it right live on the Internet.
GORANI: All right. Go to www.noradsanta.org. You can watch Santa on a map that updates every five minutes.
CLANCY: Every five minutes. You need that, Hala.
GORANI: Yes.
CLANCY: The service provided by all the good folks at the U.S. military at the North American Aerospace Defense Command. That's Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.
GORANI: It's available in a number of languages as well. Plus, there are phone numbers to call if you want to speak with a Santa tracker in person.
CLANCY: That's right, call up NORAD. Let me talk to the Santa tracker.
GORANI: Hello, NORAD. Where's Santa?
That's it for this hour. There's a lot more ahead on CNN. I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Stay with CNN.
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