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Pakistan in Peril?; Giuliani Down in Iowa, New Hampshire; Fatal Tiger Attack

Aired December 31, 2007 - 10:59   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN.
Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on December 31, 2007, New Year's Eve.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Assassination video. New tapes show the attack on Benazir Bhutto.

Iowans caucus in three days. Polls suggest the presidential contests are a tossup for both parties.

And the calendar rolls over for Australia and East Asia. 2008 arrives. We'll count down to Times Square and CNN's live coverage tonight, right here in the NEWSROOM.

Pakistan looking beyond last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The stakes are huge -- nuclear weapons and a potential power base for al Qaeda. Today, new questions about the killing and elections.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance is in Islamabad this morning.

Matthew, what can you tell us about the new, clearer pictures now of Benazir Bhutto's last moments?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these latest images, Heidi, are shedding some more light on the exact circumstances of how Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister, was killed in that assassination attack last Thursday. Previously, there has been some controversy this country about the exact cause of her killing -- was it by shrapnel, was it by bullet wounds, or was it, as the government claims, her attempting to duck out of the way of the attacker and violently banging her own head on the sunroof of the car through which she was driving?

These video images appear to give us some clarity on that. You can see in them a gunman, or what appears to be a gunman, pointing a pistol at Benazir Bhutto, firing three shots. They're clearly audible. And then you can see Benazir Bhutto slumping over and falling back into the car. It's still a matter of some dispute though in this country exactly what happened. Meanwhile, the country, as it approaches the new year here in Pakistan, is bracing itself for the possibility of more political uncertainty in the future as officials are still to decide whether or not elections to be held in just over a week will actually go ahead. They were cast into doubt after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice over): Life has returned to the streets of Pakistan, but the country's political future still hangs in the balance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no election. No election.

CHANCE: In the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, officials are delaying a decision on whether elections on January 8th should go ahead, even though Pakistan's main political parties, including Bhutto's own, say they must.

ASIF ZARDARI, PAKISTAN PEOPLES PARTY: We are not asking for a postponement. Our demand is elections on time -- free, fair, as promised. Free, fair elections. We demand that all precautions to be taken and elections to be held.

CHANCE: But in the anger that followed last week's killing, election observers say mobs destroyed at least 10 voting centers. Buildings, ballot boxes, and voting papers have been destroyed.

Pakistan's increasingly unpopular government now faced with a decision and the consequences.

AHMED BILAL MEHBOOB, POLITICAL ANALYST: The decision is taken unilaterally. If the election commission doesn't take these parties on board, doesn't consult them, then I think there is going to be a backlash, because people already have a very low level of trust in the institutions like election commissions. They think the elections are not going to be fair.

CHANCE: A lack of trust now holds this country on the brink.

(on camera): With doubts about whether these elections can even be held on schedule, Pakistan is at risk of plunging into yet more political turmoil. After years of military rule, widespread poverty and increasing violence, the fact is many in this country are desperate for change.

(voice over): "This government has totally collapsed," says Zarhed (ph). "Unless democracy comes, our problems will never be solved."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democracy is an essential part in the development and growth of the country and the people.

CHANCE: And seen by many as essential to avoiding more of the violence and uncertainty that has ravaged it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Heidi, there's obviously a great deal of international concern about what will happen with the political situation here in Pakistan. CNN has spoken to officials at the U.S. Embassy here in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and they say that they are concerned about this.

They do not want -- they do want to see these elections in Pakistan going ahead, but they say if Pakistan agrees to postpone these elections, they won't object to it. What they are saying though, officials here, American officials here in the embassy in Islamabad, is that if there is some kind of postponing of the elections, they want a specific date set for them to be redone, and they don't want to see an indefinite postponing.

COLLINS: Yes, understandable. Matthew, I wonder, what about the Pakistani people's confidence in Benazir Bhutto's son? We have heard a lot of talk about him taking over the Pakistan Peoples Party at some point.

CHANCE: That's right, Bilawal, Benazir Bhutto's 19-year-old son, is, indeed, the young man who's been given the job of the chairmanship of the Pakistan Peoples Party, formerly the party run very single- handedly almost by Benazir Bhutto. He's obviously very young, indeed.

He's still at the University at Oxford in Britain, where he's studying political science. The members of the political party that appointed him, as well as his father, have made it clear they don't believe he is truly ready to take over the helm of this political party, which is very active in the country. In the meantime, his father, Asif Ali Zardari, will be running things on the ground until he reaches what they call his political maturity.

COLLINS: Well, it's going to be a big week, next week, either way.

CNN's Matthew Chance.

We appreciate that, live from Islamabad, Pakistan, this morning. Thanks, Matthew.

Meanwhile, widespread violence in one of Africa's most developed nations. Thousands of opposition supporters have been rioting in Kenya. They say the president rigged his re-election bid.

State television reports at least 124 people have been killed. The death toll expected to go higher. Several police officers have told The Associated Press they have been ordered to shoot to kill. Kenya's government denies that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: NASA talking today about a major airline safety survey. According to The Associated Press, the report is expected to show near collisions both in the air and on the ground are more frequent than the public may have known. NASA's numbers come from a survey of some 24,000 pilots. NASA hasn't said if it's going to release all of the details in the report. The agency has refused so far to make the information publicly available. The Associated Press got the survey data through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Well, she is the only survivor of a deadly plane crash in Panama, and today she is out of the hospital. Twelve-year-old Francesca Lewis plans to stay in Panama for a few days with her parents before going home to California.

Her dad says she still has a lot of aches and pains. Francesca was found on Christmas Day, two days after the crash. The brothers who helped rescue her say they don't want the $25,000 reward offered. Instead, they want visas so they can work in the U.S.

The crash killed Francesca's friend and her friend's dad, along with the pilot.

Polls show Rudy Giuliani struggling in Iowa and New Hampshire, but will early failures hurt his later goals? CNN's Jim Acosta has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man once described as America's mayor is finding it a lot harder to run for president. At stops across New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani brushed off questions about the state of his campaign.

(on camera): Mr. Mayor, are you concerned about how your campaign is going in New Hampshire?

RUDY GIULIANI, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's going well. This is a great turnout.

ACOSTA (voice over): But a new American Research Group poll shows the former mayor is lagging behind John McCain and Mitt Romney, who are tied with 30 percent each. Giuliani finishes a distant fourth, behind Mike Huckabee.

His campaign has long shrugged off individual state poll numbers, pointing instead to the former mayor's impressive showing in many national surveys. But New Hampshire pollster Andy Smith says Giuliani's support in the Granite State is eroding, surprisingly fast.

ANDY SMITH, NEW HAMPSHIRE POLLSTER: If he loses to Ron Paul in New Hampshire, he's got real trouble.

GIULIANI: I've been tested by crisis and problems. I've shown very good results in dealing with crisis and dealing with problems, including those in the area of safety and security.

ACOSTA: Defined by his handling of 9/11, Giuliani is consistently on message, vowing time and again to stay on offense, as he puts it, in the war on terrorism. He briefly noted the increasingly negative tone of the race, saying Ronald Reagan's commandment of not speaking ill of other Republicans only goes so far.

GIULIANI: I have an 11th commandment that says don't criticize other Republicans, unless they criticize me.

ACOSTA: That message seemed to connect with undecided Republicans Sabrina (ph) and Gary Madison (ph), who said they appreciated what they saw as hesitancy to throw mud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate negative campaigning and I think he was very valiant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much warmer than I expected. I mean, he's a New Yorker.

ACOSTA (on camera): Other polls show Giuliani in third place in New Hampshire, but either way, his campaign is counting on winning in later primaries such as Florida, where some polls show he is out in front. And considering how well he's doing in New Hampshire, it may be more than just the weather that's better down South.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Tomorrow, when many sports fans will be glued to the TV checking out their favorite football bowl game, catch the game that really matters, the battle of the presidential candidates. The contenders talking about the most important issues of this campaign -- the economy, the war, immigration -- in their own words.

We're inviting you to watch CNN's "Ballot Bowl," tomorrow, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

And we are watching the clock as it strikes midnight around the world. These new pictures in now from Hong Kong, China, saying good- bye to 2007. Nicely done.

In South Korea, they ring in the new year with a bang as well. They hit the gong 33 times. We won't watch all 33 times.

But Sydney, Australia, celebrating with a fantastic light explosion over the harbor. Beautiful there as well.

And New Zealand threw the first major party of the year. Those pictures for you out of New Zealand.

And of course don't forget the big party, right here in the U.S., in New York City. More than a million people expected to crowd Times Square -- it looks like they're kind of starting to file in there -- for the 100th anniversary of the ball drop.

In fact, CNN, on New Year's Eve, we're going to bring the party to you. Plus, we will have a look back at the year's top stories and big events.

You can join Anderson Cooper and comedienne Kathy Griffin live from Times Square. It all starts at 11:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

Mounting foreclosures trigger another disturbing trend -- pets left to starve at empty houses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Death or life without parole? Prosecutors today are trying to decide which punishment to pursue in a horrific Christmas Eve slaughter.

Six family members killed outside Seattle. Another member of the family and her boyfriend charged in the murders. Arraignment is set for January 9th.

Newly released court documents show the couple fled the scene on their way to Canada but decided to come back pretending to find the bodies. You can see them here talking to police before their arrests. Police are trying to determine why officers stopped at a locked gate in front of the house after a 911 call from inside.

The San Francisco Zoo set to reopen on Thursday. Police still looking into last week's fatal tiger attack.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police radio transmissions from the night of the tiger attack set a chaotic scene. An 18-page log lists the first report coming in at 5:00 p.m., with a very agitated male claiming he was bitten by an animal and bleeding from the head.

The logs say zoo personnel initially told police the two men reporting an escaped tiger might be mentally disturbed and making something up. By 5:10, zoo employees themselves were reporting a tiger on the loose.

At 5:13, the zoo was on lockdown as fire department responders arrived. By 5:20, medics had found one victim with a large puncture hole to his neck. The log warns the scene is "not safe."

Then an officer spots the tiger sitting down, and at 5:27 it attacks another victim. Officers begin shooting. And less than 20 minutes after the first reports, they kill the 300-pound Siberian tiger. But not before the tiger killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr. Saturday, about 100 people gathered for a candlelight vigil in his honor, the same day the two brothers, who were with Sousa Jr. and seriously hurt during the attack were released from the hospital.

(on camera): It may ultimately be the stories of those two survivors we have yet to hear from to give us the best idea of what happened that evening at the zoo.

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 2007 is now the deadliest year for U.S. troops fighting in Iraq. Eight hundred ninety-nine Americans were killed, most of them in the first six months.

Since then, troop deaths have plummeted and U.S. military officials say violence is down a dramatic 60 percent. The military credits increased troop strength and support from Sunni tribal leaders.

The year also ends on a brutal note in Afghanistan. It is the deadliest since the 2001 invasion ousted the Taliban. The Taliban regrouped. The Associated Press counts more than 6,300 people killed by insurgents.

How safe are the skies? New information on the airlines out today. Are flyers getting the whole story?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Lose a house, lose a pet. That seems to be the attitude of desperate pet owners in California.

Andrea Menniti now with affiliate KOVR reports on a disturbing trend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA MENNITI, REPORTER, KOVR (voice over): People aren't just leaving their homes under foreclosure. Some are leaving their pets behind as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But now that the trend is foreclosures, there are animals that are just left out there abandoned.

MENNITI: Sacramento animal control officers say they receive calls from neighbors and realtors concerned about neglected animals living in deserted homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to believe that the owners will have the heart to come back and pick them up.

MENNITI: But often they never do. It can be days before someone discovers pets living without food or water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The property owners will be there to repossess the property, and they walk into the backyard and they see this poor abandoned animal left behind.

MENNITI: This couple just purchased a home on a block notorious for foreclosures.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While I was driving up and down the street, I saw some dogs up in the levee over here. I guess they belong in this neighborhood, but then, you know, the owner just kind of abandoned them. MENNITI: One possible explanation? Families already struggling financially make pets a low priority.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had to leave, you know. So they probably just let their pet by itself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see the reason why. A lot of times they can't even afford them, so they just kind of leave them.

MENNITI: But animal control warns if you leave your four-legged friends behind, you're breaking the law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is animal cruelty. And like I said, it is a penal code violation which we will pursue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: If caught, those who abandon their pets could face heavy fines.

Want to get you now to some more New Year's Eve celebrations -- I should say New Year's celebrations. We are looking now at Taipei, Taiwan. New video in to you. This is the Taipei tower, beautiful fireworks there. As you well know, a New Year's Eve tradition in the United States, the ball drops in Times Square. But there is something different this year.

Want to tell you all about it with CNN's Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Here it is, sitting high above Times Square, the brand new high-tech ball covered with 672 Waterford crystal triangles, built at a cost of more than $1 million. Now waiting for its debut on New Year's Eve.

JEFFREY STRAUS, PRESIDENT, COUNTDOWN ENTERTAINMENT: We took the entire year this year developing this new LED crystal ball.

CHERNOFF (on camera): And that ball has been a year in the works?

STRAUS: One year in the works. We actually started the planning last year before last New Year's Eve.

CHERNOFF (voice over): It's controlled by a computer in the elevator room on top of the former headquarters of "The New York Times."

STRAUS: That is the clock. We're actually tied into the atomic clock. And so we have it down to the second her in mission control.

CHERNOFF: Just in case of a power outage, the six members of the ball drop team are prepared to pull it down. It will be the 100th anniversary of the Times Square ball drop. TIM TOMPKINS, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: It's a great message that the city sends to the entire world, that New York City is the center, it's the place to have a great time, it's a crossroads to the world.

CHERNOFF: More than half a million, perhaps as many as a million people, will jam Times Square and surrounding blocks.

(on camera): How early do you need to get here to be able to be in Times Square?

CHRISTOPHER HEYWOOD, NYC & COMPANY: I would recommend you get here as early as possible. Get her in the late morning, probably about 10:00, 11:00 a.m. at the very latest.

CHERNOFF: Twelve hours standing here in Times Square.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CHERNOFF: No problem?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem. We stand up on the job all day, so we'll be fine.

CHERNOFF (voice over): Some visitors say Times Square is the last place they'd want to be on New Year's Eve.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Too many people.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Are you planning to be here New Year's Eve?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we're not. It's too crowded.

CHERNOFF (voice over): For those willing to join the crowd, as well as the estimated billion people watching on television, it is a moment for celebration and hope that the new year brings happiness and a more peaceful world.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 2008 arrives down under.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year! Here we go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Happy New Year, Australia. Sydney celebrates. And New Yorkers, as you saw, are getting ready. More on the new year right here in the NEWSROOM in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: CNN's "Countdown to 2008," live from Times Square, tonight. This year is doubly special, the New Year's Eve ball turns 100, and to celebrate it's going green. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is in Manhattan now for the big party.

Hi there, Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Heidi. What we can tell you is that Times Square is definitely ready. The stages are set, the restaurants are packed with balloons and champagne, and all the stores are selling great things like this, and you can get them for just a simple song. Now, a lot of tourists are already packing into the area. The Brogan family came all the way from Texas just to be here today.

And you are so ready, I'm incredibly amazed. First of all you have your list. Tell me about the list you made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just tells us the best play to stand and the sound is going to be at Broadway and 7th and the stage.

FEYERICK: So, when you came here, there was no kidding around. You knew you were going to do this right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We wanted to be prepared.

FEYERICK: And you are also dressed properly. You've got all your layers, right. Tell me some of the things you are wearing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I have on three shirts and then I have on a hoodie and a scarf and a down jacket and two pairs of pants and so I'm ready.

FEYERICK: What have you brought to eat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we have hand warmers and Pringles and beef jerky and just everything you can think of that won't perish in the...

FEYERICK: So, you should be able to stand here for at least the next 13 hours. What about you, now you brought those hats with you. You didn't want to take a chance that maybe Times Square was not going to be having any of these hats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct. We brought them from home.

FEYERICK: All right. And what do you think is the most exciting thing about being here tonight?

ANN BORGAN, VISITING FROM DALLAS, TEXAS: Probably just watching the singers perform and watching the ball drop for the first time, live.

FEYERICK: All right. And what do you want to tell your friends when you get back to Texas?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were here on the 100th anniversary and this is all for just 60 seconds.

FEYERICK: Well, you've got a good lead up. Well, Brogan's have a wonderful New Year, a great 2008. Thank you for joining us here on CNN.

And I want to tell you, the light is just sort of coming over the building and it's going to make it a little bit difficult to see, but just behind me there's a building there it says Toshiba, you may be able to make out a 2008 sign along with the pole, that's where the ball is going to drop. It is environmentally friendly, Heidi, as you mentioned, 95 percent more fuel efficient -- or more efficient I should say - energy efficient. And it's going to be a huge cascade of crystals and lights and mirrors and strobes.

And you know, even if you don't want to be here, even if this is not your idea of a good time, well, when it comes close to midnight, a lot of people sort of race to that television set just to see the ball drop. It's sort of the official entry of New Year's, here, certainly at least in New York, we like to think the world, but that's just us, we're sort of provincial that way.

Anyway, reporting live from Times Square, Heidi, back to you in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Hey Deborah, before we let you go, what's the temperature feel like, there? I mean, it looks like the sun is shining down pretty nicely.

FEYERICK: Well, given that the sun just came out, it's already warmed up about ten degrees. But, Times Square is a really tricky area because it's going to get really, really cold, and obviously the longer you're out here, the colder it gets, and then once the wind begins to blow, that's going to be an issue, too. So, luckily you will be tucked in with hundreds of people who will be your best friends, at least for the night, so that will at least help in the warmth.

COLLINS: So the gals from Texas definitely have it right, down jackets and beef jerky. You can't go wrong. Deborah, thanks so much and Happy New Year to you.

Well as you know, 2007 ends as a year of the i-Reporter, thanks to so many of you who made CNN's i-Report is extremely successful, from breaking news reports to the little slices of life. Our i- Reporters helped us make a difference. CNN's Rick Sanchez looks at some of the best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Richmond, Texas, a truck stops at a red light positioned across a railroad track.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't think anything of it.

SANCHEZ: Until -- from roadway perils to off-road driving in the annual Ontario Rock Crawling Competition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he was trying to climb the rock face, his cable snapped and all of a sudden he lost engine power and he just went backwards and did a perfect back-flip.

SANCHEZ: Now, check out this Amphicar swim in Michigan.

(on camera): The Amphicars are very unique because they drive right down the ramp and into the lake. Kooky, like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.

SANCHEZ (voice over): We heard of parents who tie one end of a string to their child's tooth and the other end to a doorknob, but how about substituting the doorknob with an archery bow. That's just what this father did to his little girl.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You know, what's great about these i-Reports is, I mean, it doesn't have to be a serious news event, it can be something silly, it can be something in that person's life. There's a communality and people understand, people make a connection one to another through these images.

Time for the shot of the day. (INAUDIBLE) an animal battle, a tortoise versus a cat. That's right, tortoise is defending its turf in (INAUDIBLE), South Africa, the cat much bigger, doesn't scare the tortoise, tortoise takes on the cat.

SANCHEZ: And sometimes imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I decided to make a video in which I pretended to be Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." I made the graphics all myself to look exactly like CNN.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Look at this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...during the war when their plane crashed. Why did no one find them sooner and now there's some boys that were confirmed dead. Find out how they were rescued and how they survived. I'm Mark (INAUDIBLE) and you are in THE SITUATION ROOM.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I think he's got you down, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he did a great job. He had me nailed down. He had the whole set down.

CAFFERTY: He's just not old enough to grow your beard yet.

BLITZER: Not yet, but he looks like he's a future in this business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

In fact, we have a ton of great i-reports from the past year. You can see them all in our special "Caught on Camera," watch it tonight at 8:00 Eastern. And it's not too late to vote for your favorite i-Reports of 2007, just log on to our Web site, cnn.com/yearinreview.

Jacqui Jeras joining us once again from the Severe Weather Center with new word of snow causing some problems in the Rockies -- really?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, well, here is what happened. There are a lot of bummed skiers out there today, let's say that. You know, we have some nice, fresh powder over the weekend in Colorado, up in the higher elevations, about a foot of new snow up there at Copper Mountain, but here is what's going on.

The winds are very strong, right now, causing very poor visibility, and they're trying to do avalanche control today, but they can't get to it because the roads are so bad as a result of it. So, they've closed down I-70 from about Floyd Hill over towards Vail. The winds have been gusting to 62 miles-per-hour at the top of the hour at Berthoud Pass, That was just at the top of the hour. People are in shelters in Silverthorn, about a thousand people camped out there because they can't get to where they want to go.

I have a Google Earth animation to give you a better idea of where this is. Denver, here's the metro area, right there. There is Vail, Colorado, you can see I-70 and we'll zoom in and kind of show you that area a little better. This is what we're talking about right in here. So, this is going to be rough going. They think it will open back up hopefully by noon, today.

We do have some advisories which are in effect at this hour for this blowing snow and the poor visibility. That expires at noon. So, that will concur with them, hopefully, opening I-70 later today. Loveland pass and Berthoud Pass closed right now and the Colorado Department of Transportation just recommending that you don't travel there today if you don't have to.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Boy, that's for sure. All right, everybody prepare. Thanks, Jacqui.

And want to tell you this story about Atlanta. You've heard a lot about it on our show, here. Saved by rain. Yesterday marked the fourth straight day of rain in the Atlanta area, and that helped divert is drought record, but just barely. With Sunday's soaking the area received 31.85 inches of rain this year. Just slightly above the all-time low set 53 years ago, but the rain had only a small effect, unfortunately, on Lake Lanier, and that is the area's main source of drinking water.

It's being called Pakistan's Zapruder film. A leader assassinated, a new tape fueling anger and suspicion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: New images raise new questions about last week's assassination of former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. The government said she was not shot and died, instead, from hitting her head. This tape though appears to show the assassin shooting at Bhutto and her head snapping to the side. Bhutto's husband will help lead her party, now. Their 19-year-old son will be the leader in symbol only until he finishes college.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILAWAL ZARDARI, BENAZIR BHUTTO'S SON: Like all chairman of the PPP, I will stand as a symbol of the federation, the party's long and historic struggle for democracy will continue with renewed vigor, and I stand committed to the stability of the federation. My mother always said democracy is the best revenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: What's not clear is whether the elections will be held one week from tomorrow as originally scheduled. Opposition leaders are demanding they not be delayed. The government's election commission says they should be postponed. A decision is to be announced tomorrow.

On Wall Street 2007 was a year marked by volatility, and the volatility continues right into the final trading days of the year. Last week we were talking about a possible Santa Claus rally, but stocks have remained under pressure all day, today. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York stock exchange with the latest on the marketed action.

Hi there, Susan. How do things look?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're getting a bit little worse, but it's very thin volume today, as one would expect because a lot of people just took a long weekend, the whole week actually - couple of weeks, especially kids -- for parents who have kids because they're out of school.

Continuing concerns about the housing market are spoiling hopes for a year end rally. Shortly after the opening bell, we got a new report that shows little improvement in the ailing housing sector. Sales of previously owned homes edged slightly higher last month. That's good news. Over the past year, sales have plunged 20 percent, but home prices continue to sink. The median price of the home sold in November was just over $210,000, 3.3 percent lower than it was a year ago.

The consensus among most economists is that the weakness will continue through most of 2008 and right now we're seeing weakness with the three major averages. The Dow industrials are down 96 points or nearly three quarters of a percent. The NASDAQ is down nearly one percent. The broader S&P 500 is down three-quarters of a percent, but the good news, Heidi, is that all three major averages are up for the year. And up, pretty well, I mean, the NASDAQ is up nearly 11 percent year-to-date, so that's -- I'm going to ring the cowbell for you.

COLLINS: Oh, good. Oh, we have to end the year with the cowbell.

LISOVICZ: Yes, and then this.

COLLINS: Oh, nice. Oh, you got all the props.

LISOVICZ: There's a brisk business right outside the New York Stock Exchange and I like to check in and see how business was doing...

COLLINS: I love that. Well, you know, we also heard a lot about personal data facts, this year. Any year end numbers on that?

LISOVICZ: Yes, we got some big numbers on this, and that's a record that certainly is a record high we could live without, Heidi. The Identity Theft Resource Center says that through the middle of this month nearly 80 million records containing personal data were lost or stolen this year. That's nearly four times more than the number of records that were compromised last year. The agency warns that since this is so difficult to track, the number may be even higher, and it could be even worse next year, unfortunately. This is a crime that has been taking off in recent years, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, and in fact, probably the biggest case of that lost or stolen data came out of retailer TJX, right?

LISOVICZ: Yes, it's a retailer we know, Heidi, and a lot of folks know. The security breach at TJX counts for more than half of the 80 million records that were lost or stolen this year. In that case the problem was the hackers broke into the central database stealing millions of peoples' credit card numbers. Most of us know TJX because of the stores it owns: TJMaxx, Marshalls, AJWright, HomeGoods, Bob's, and it was certainly at the very least, it was a warning to other retailers to be careful because they have so much confidential information in their database.

COLLINS: Yeah, important to keep that safe obviously.

LISOVICZ: Good resolution, to tighten things up.

COLLINS: Yes, very good. Meanwhile, Susan, Lisovicz, appreciate that, and happy New Year to you.

LISOVICZ: Happy New Year to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, stick around for this story, Susan. A woman gives birth to her twin sister's baby, the bundle of joy plus a little unexpected surprise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Close calls. They may happen a lot more than flyers realize, and more than the government admits. In just over an hour from now, details from a major survey on airline near collisions. CNN's space correspondent, Miles O'Brien is here, now.

Miles, tell us a little more about this, because it's not just about collisions. There are several other things that they learned in this report.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, what's interesting about this, this is as much about the report as it is about how NASA handled the release, or the attempt to release this particular report. Let's just back up just a little bit. NASA over the course of four years interviewed 29,000 pilots, called them up on the phone and anonymously got their sort of anecdotal tales of woe in the air. Now, so in other words, they'd say to the pilot: in the past five years or whenever, has something bad happened to you?

Oh, yes, I remember four years ago a bird went into my engine, and that's a bad thing or it seems like I came close to a 747 when I was flying into JFK. That kind of information and that was compiled into a "study," and I put the term -- the quotations around study because a lot of people would say that is kind of a flawed way to learn about it.

COLLINS: It's not very scientific.

O'BRIEN: It's not very scientific, it's anecdotal. Now, this is -- just take a look at this animation. This is San Francisco International Airport this past year. When NASA releases - or excuse me, when the FAA releases reports on near misses, it's a lot more data filled. It has specific information, radar tracks, that kind of thing before they say, hey, we had a near miss at, say, San Francisco, there was a previous one in Fort Lauderdale they talked about.

And there's reason to believe that these near misses are on the upswing. The question is, this NASA report, which has been going on for four years, what does it really say? Is it more dangerous out there or not? In any case, when the "Associated Press," back in October, tried to get a hold of this report, NASA said we're not going to give it to you because we're afraid releasing it will scare the public and undermine the airlines, and that's what really started a tempest in a tea pot, here.

COLLINS: Yes, people get suspicious.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Congress got upset, the media got upset. NASA administrator, Mike Griffin, said hey, we'll release it after we remove all the identifying information. We promised the pilots we would do it in an anonymous fashion. They've been doing that for several months. Today, they actually released this report. It's probably going to have quite a few scary tales. The question is what conclusion can we draw from it?

COLLINS: Yes, and how accurate is the information? I mean, anybody knows that having a conversation over the telephone, you know, you may remember -- it's like pointing out as a witness, pointing out a suspect of some kind. You know, you remember a few things, you forget a few other things. NASA said they didn't release this information because there wasn't enough analysis done and they were waiting for that?

O'BRIEN: Well, it's interesting, they're basically saying the report that we spent four on and near $12 million...

COLLINS: $8.5 million, yes.

All right, what ever it is -- was not worth its weight in paper. As a matter of fact, listen to the administrator as he appeared before Congress in October.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Now, I have already made it clear that I do not agree with the way this was written, and I regret any impression that NASA was or would in any way try to put commercial interests ahead of public safety. That was not and will never be the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: OK.

O'BRIEN: So, there you have it. You have the NASA administrator saying, who is a private pilot, said, you know, he doesn't think that this report is valid, it's his own agency, it's our tax paying money. At the very least the public is entitled, we think, to see it, and he does agree with that, and draw its own conclusions. The FAA on Friday said wait a minute, this report's coming out. That's all fine and dandy. We want you to know that don't think the study is a valid one, it's loaded with flaws.

COLLINS: Well, it's important to keep it in context, for sure, when it does come out. It mentions the bird strikes, the midair collisions, and the runway incursions, and those are things that, you know, anybody who flies would be, obviously, very concerned about.

O'BRIEN: Right, but with a grain of salt.

COLLINS: Yes, all right. Well, thanks for being here, Miles. Always nice to see you. Happy New Year.

O'BRIEN: Pleasure. Happy New Year to you.

COLLINS: Well, how did she die? That seems to be the question still today. Conflicting causes for Benazir Bhutto's death, new pressure for an international inquiry. YOUR WORLD TODAY just a few minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: There you go. Tokyo, about two hours ago, 10:00 Eastern Time, it was midnight in Tokyo, the start of the year 2008. Live pictures - well, not live pictures, sorry -- new video coming in from Tokyo there, beautiful scene.

And don't forget, CNN on New Year's Eve, it's a huge deal. We're going to bring, the party to you. Plus, we'll get a look back at the year's top stories, big events. Anderson Cooper and comedienne Kathy Griffin will be live from Times Square starting tonight at 11:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

In North Carolina a woman gives birth to her twin sister's baby, but there's a special surprise no one was quite counting on. Scott Mason, of affiliate WRAL, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MASON, WRAL REPORTER (voice over): Casey and Melissa are identical twins, and when Melissa and Michael couldn't have a baby, Casey said, "but I can."

MELISSA: Said, absolutely. Out of the two embryos that they put inside my sister, Casey, one took, and that was little Madeleine.

MASON: Little Maddie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was going to be Matt, or Matty, but, so we're good, it's...

MASON: Madeleine was born Christmas Day.

MELISSA: We couldn't ask for a better day or a better gift.

CASEY: It's awesome. I feel very blessed to have been able to do this for them.

MELISSA: But seeing her deliver this baby just made me even more happier to have her as a sister.

MASON: In a story about identical sisters, things naturally come in twos. In six months, on baby will become two babies. Because Melissa, who doctors said couldn't have a baby, is going to have a baby, and baby, what a surprise.

MELISSA: Oh yeah, oh yeah, it was a surprise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're do in June, so they'll be six months apart.

MELISSA: In six months, we'll have another one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, six months apart twins.

CASEY: I mean, that's all they wanted. You know, their kids, now they're going to be just bombarded with them.

(LAUGHTER)

MASON: What a bundle of joy.

MELISSA: The best gift.

MASON: Scott Mason, WRAL News, Carry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: That's the way to ring in the New Year, don't you think? CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next, with news happening across the globe and right here at home. Happy New Year, everybody, we'll see you next year.

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