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New War Plan in Afghanistan; Climate Change E-Mail Controversy; Climate Change Summit; Credit Card Clarity Commitment

Aired December 07, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, Kiran, good morning, Joe, and good morning to you everybody. Here is what we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM this morning.

Blizzard warnings. The season's first major snowstorm rocks western states today and then rolls east.

Also Wall Street investors watching Washington. The Fed chairman could send a signal today about interest rates.

And leaving home for the holidays. Tennessee National Guard troops head out to a mission in Iraq.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Monday, December 7th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This morning, war strategy, global warming and winter's first big blast. We are talking about it all today. In fact, our Suzanne Malveaux is out in front of the White House this morning talking a little bit more about how the president is meeting with his top commander in Afghanistan. We will get to that for you.

Also, our Phil Black this morning covering climate change and the conference that's taking place in Copenhagen. We'll give you all the details there.

And also you see Reynolds Wolf standing by in our Severe Weather Center, because boy oh boy, he is tracking a snowstorm and some bitterly cold temperatures. We will get to all of it.

Let's begin, though, with the U.S. war plan in Afghanistan. The buildup of U.S. troops is already ramping up, but much of the debate now centers on the future. From Capitol Hill to Kabul, concerns are growing about President Obama's pledge to begin pulling troops out in about 18 months.

Now Afghan president Hamid Karzai says the U.S. and its allies must be patient if his country is to assume control by then.

Over the weekend, Mr. Karzai spoke to CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Karzai, do you think that the U.S. surge will finish the job in your country? PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: Well, the Muslim portion element and the newest U.S. strategy on Afghanistan is concentration on protecting the population and doubling economic assistance to Afghanistan, and also concentrating on the regional aspect of the problem.

So as far as Afghanistan is concerned, Afghanistan welcomes this new strategy, and Afghanistan will do all it can to be a good partner in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now this afternoon, President Obama is scheduled to meet with his top commander in Afghanistan. Here with a preview of that, CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, good morning to you. What exactly are they likely to discuss this morning. There have been so many discussions so far. What will the focus be today?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly this is a chance to actually sit down with them personally in the oval office. This is going to be the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, as well as his top general in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, both of them who are supposed to testify before Congress tomorrow.

So clearly there are. Two things are happening here. One is that the president is trying to sell his Afghan strategy to the American people, but he's also trying to implement it at the same time.

We saw this over the weekend when he had his top members of his war council, Secretaries Clinton, Gates, the national security adviser, Jim Jones -- Admiral Jim Jones. All of them hitting the talk shows essentially trying to clarify what the president said, that they will begin withdrawing U.S. troops in Afghanistan, July of 2011, but that there is no kind of mission accomplished deadline when it comes to pulling out all of the troops, that that depends on the conditions on the ground.

They are trying to give the president the wiggle room, the negotiations that he needs, so that there is not this idea or expectation of mission accomplished prematurely.

I want you to take a listen, Heidi, to how they exchange this and the different language they use to try to send a unified message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JAMES JONES (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The end of the ramp will be predicated on how much progress they are using.

BOB SCHIEFFER, CBS NEWS: Is there a deadline or not?

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There is not a deadline -- what we have is a specific date on which we will begin transferring responsibility for security, district by district, province by province in Afghanistan to the Afghans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Heidi, while they are using different words, using different language...

COLLINS: Yes.

MALVEAUX: ... they're all trying to essentially say give the president some wiggle room here. Don't set -- it is not a date or a deadline certain here when it comes to pulling out most of those troops, but they certainly expect that there will be some sort of pullout, July 2011.

COLLINS: What about the prime minister of Turkey. He's in town today as well, yes?

MALVEAUX: Now that's a really important meeting when you think about it, because they just took over the rotating command, if you will, of the peace keeping operation of the NATO forces in Afghanistan. So the prime minister, a very important player here.

This is someone who has doubled the troop commitment from Turkey, 1,700 or so, obviously looking in Kabul to command the peace keeping effort there. The president wants potentially more an active role from Turkey.

It's very important symbolically, Heidi. It really can't be understated here that this is a predominantly Muslim country. It's the only predominantly Muslim country that's a part of that NATO force, the peace keeping force, that is on the ground there, sending a strong signal that it's want to go move forward with peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as the whole Middle East region.

COLLINS: Yes, no question Turkey's importance there. All right, Suzanne Malveaux, our White House correspondent -- thanks, Suzanne.

Meanwhile, the work on health care reform begins again this morning in the Senate. But it never really stopped. Over a weekend sessions President Obama visited Democrats on the Hill yesterday urging them to rally behind the current bill. Now Majority Leader Harry Reid said the visit was inspiring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: In words that only Barack Obama could utter, 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now people are going to look back at what this Congress did. And each time they see a child being able to go to the doctor when they are sick or hurt, seeing someone that just because they lose their job they don't lose insurance. Someone who gets -- diabetes doesn't mean a lifetime of not being able to get insurance, that's what this legislation is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The public option is still a sticking point with some moderate Democrats and most Republicans, including a man who may challenge President Obama in 2012.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What is primarily wrong with he president's plan is he wants to get the federal government into the insurance business. It's going to require massive subsidies, a trillion dollars of cost down the road. That is not the right way to go. Instead, let states solve this problem and let them find their own plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now today the Senate is voting on another divisive issue. An amendment limiting federal funding for abortions.

Leaders from around the world are gathering in Denmark for a key summit on the issue of climate change. But for some those recently leaked e-mails from top scientists in the field are casting doubt on the event.

Our John Roberts has more from Norwich, England.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the Copenhagen Climate Summit now under way, one of the big questions is, what effect will the so-called Climate-Gate have on the proceedings there?

Phil Jones, the director of the Climactic Research Unit has stepped down pending a review of the e-mails that he sent to some of his colleagues. So today in an exclusive interview I talked with the acting director of the CRU about what the potential impact on Copenhagen might be.

PETER LISS, ACTING DIRECTOR, CLIMATE RESEARCH: So I don't think it should influence things at all. Of course, I mean, I'm not a politician, but I can sort of see it might have some impact, and I hope it's small or insignificant. But I mean you've already seen people saying this knocks the bottom out of the climate argument. I mean I don't think that's true at all, but people will say that because it suits them to say that. They have particular commercial or other interests.

ROBERTS: Scientists who support global warming believe that in the end the science will stand up to scrutiny. That there is just too much other evidence out there besides the data collected by the Climatic Research Unit to prove that global warming is, in fact, real.

No question, though, that this has really been a credibility hit for both the CRU and the University of East Anglia, which counts itself as one of the premier institutions the world over when it comes to environmental sciences. LISS: So in far as CRU's concerned, clearly, it's pretty upsetting to get that publicity, most of which is negative. I think wrongly negative. But that's how it is. And so, of course, it's difficult, it's upsetting for some people, particularly those whose data -- whose work up of the data is being questioned.

ROBERTS: Officials at the University of East Anglia believe when their official independent review is completed, Professor Phil Jones will be cleared of any wrongdoing or attempt to manipulate date concerning global warming. But that won't be until the spring. Long after the Copenhagen summit has been completed.

John Roberts, CNN, Norwich, England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Let's see how this controversy is affecting the summit. Live now to Copenhagen and our Phil Black.

Phil, good morning to you. Just wondering what the mood is where you are regarding this e-mail matter? Is there a possibility it could derail the entire summit?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, it is certainly being talked about. Could it derail the summit? Probably not. The people here at this conference are very much climate change true believers. They believe in the science, they believe in the need to act upon it, but that scandal has shook the walls of this conference center to some degree to the point where it was actually acknowledged by the world's leading climate change scientist, really.

The man's who's the international face of climate science. He acknowledged this. Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri in his speech this morning during the opening ceremony. Let's hear some of his remarks now talking about this Climate Gate scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJENDRA KUMAR PACHAURI, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Giving the wide-ranging nature of the change that is likely to be taken, and some naturally find it inconvenient to accept its inevitability.

The recent incident of stealing the e-mails of scientists at the University of East Anglia insures that some would go to the extent of carrying out illegal acts perhaps in an attempt to discredit the IPCC. But the panel has a record of transparent and objective assessment stretching over 21 years performed by tens of thousands of dedicated scientists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: Dr. Pachauri then went on to give a very strong defense that the whole concept of climate science, the work that he does, that his body does, and many tons of thousands of scientists around the work -- around the world do. And that is being seen here as a direct side affect of the Climate-Gate scandal. If not for that scandal, he would not have felt the need to defend his work so strongly -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Phil, so is there a feeling that this conference could be a success, then, even in light of everything that's going on?

BLACK: There is optimism. There is hope here. But there is a lot of work that needs to be done as well. The goal of this conference was to come up with an internationally binding treaty on how all countries would address climate change.

That's not going to happen. It's essentially been accepted. What they're now trying to come up with are just very strong agreements, commitments from all countries that could, at some point, down the track, lead to a climate change treaty.

Will that happen? There is a lot that needs to be decided, how much countries are prepared to cut their emissions by, and how much developed countries are prepared to give developing countries many billions of dollars, they say, are needed to help developing come to terms with climate changes.

A lot needs to be talked about over the next coming weeks. It's all going to come to a crunch in about two weeks' time when President Obama gets here. They say his presence will be decisive, very, very key to what chance, if anything, close to success this conference has -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And just an overall definition of climate change as a whole, I'm sure, it's going to talked about well.

Phil Black, we sure do appreciate that. Thank you.

Want to look back for just a moment and give you a look at how all of this unfolded. The e-mail scandal that Phil was mentioning there. On November 17th, more than 1,000 e-mails were illegally downloaded from the Climate Research Unit's database and posted on the Internet.

Now the e-mails appear to show a key scientists suggesting information contradicting global warming theories be suppressed. Skeptics say these e-mails prove that scientists are manipulating data to strengthen the argument for man-made global warming.

University of the East Anglia and United Nations are investigating the leak and the head of the Climate Research Unit stepped down.

So that brings us to you. Right now we are blogging about all of this. What are your thoughts now on global warming? How do you think it should be investigated? Make sure you give us your thoughts. E- mail us, and we'll read some of those responses in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. That address CNN.com/heidi.

Over the next two weeks, CNN has the Copenhagen Climate summit covered, why it matters, and what it means to you. Make sure you stay with us to find out, and be sure to watch tonight when Campbell Brown takes an in depth a look at the e-mail controversy that threatens to overshadow the summit. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Well, it's the first major storm of the season. And Reynolds Wolf is tracking it all from the Severe Weather Center.

Wow, what's happening and where are talking, obviously, the west, correct?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wow, it's right. Yes, we are looking at actually two places, though. The western great lakes is going to be get pummeled by one storm system, then an even bigger storm steam looming over the Carol, California coast, that's going to be moving into the Rockies later on today and it's going to affect travel for millions of American.

We're going to give you the full scoop coming out in just a few moments.

COLLINS: OK, very good. Reynolds, thank you.

Outrageous fees, jacked up rates and credit card companies have lost a lot of good faith with their customers. But one major company is making a bid to win your trust back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF: Blizzard warnings, winter storm warnings, it is cold out there. Meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf, is tracking the early winter weather from the Severe Weather Center.

Wow, yes, I have been reading about this now, all morning long.

WOLF: Yes.

COLLINS: And I love it but I'm not in it, so...

WOLF: Yes, I know. Exactly.

COLLINS: ... we got to be careful.

WOLF: Yes, you got to change the Carpenter song, you know, "Rainy Days and Mondays," sort of the snowy days and Mondays always get me down.

COLLINS: I actually know that song.

WOLF: Yes.

COLLINS: I'll probably sing it to you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, Reynolds. I know that we have a couple of iReports to share with everybody, too. Some of these pictures that have been sent it.

IReporter Carol Pleake, look at this, photo of snow yesterday morning from the deck of her home in downtown Harrisburg, Virginia. Looks beautiful. Kind of benign, first snow season, of course, right, for Virginia? And then one from iReporter Tammy Lynn Roudybush. Tammy Lyn took this photo of snow in her home in Hollidaysburg -- yes, Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Very fitting name there. Beautiful shots.

Want to get to this story as well today. We're talking about the war in Afghanistan and also the road ahead. Today the nation's highest ranking military officer talks to some of the troops who could be on their way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's get a look at our stop stories now.

An ugly demonstration in Athens, Greece. Crowds of young people clashed yesterday with police on the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager. The teen's death led to two weeks of clashes last year. More than 6,000 police broke up yesterday's demonstrations. Nearly 200 people were detained in Athens, and more than 100 in another city.

At least 20 people are dead in a suicide blast in Peshawar, Pakistan. Another 36 were hurt. There was another blast in the city of Ketta, and five people were hurt there. Peshawar, west of the capital of Islamabad, is the capital of the northwest frontier province. The Pakistani military recently waged a military offensive against the Taliban in that province.

More U.S. troops headed for Iraq. More than 3300 U.S. soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard boarded buses yesterday for the ride to Camp Shelby in Mississippi. They will train until February and then ship out to Iraq. One soldier says the guard members face the same as regular troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

2ND LT. ALEX CAMPBELL, U.S. ARMY 278TH ARMORED CAVALRY: People say that the National Guard is part time soldiers, but you know, we're going over there and we're doing a full time mission. And this right here, this is real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: This is the second Iraq deployment for the 278th Armored Cavalry regiment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Bank of America customers can expect something soon in the mail, and for once it's not a bill. It's a promise from the company to play it straighter with your account.

Stephanie Elam joins us now live from New York.

Good morning to you, Stephanie. So how are they clearing things up with customers?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi. The idea of being a bit of clarity here for their 40 million credit card users. And Bank of America, a lot of people bank with them, and even if they don't have an account there, they may have a credit card for Bank of America.

So they're sending out this. This is a one-page summary here and it'll just be this one page, in plain English to make it really clear exactly what is going on with your credit card. And of course they do still say that this is a summary and it does not take the place of your credit card agreement so you're still expected to read the fine print.

But overall here, here's basically what we're looking at, Heidi. We're looking at rates for purchases, also for account transfers, balance transfers, and cash advances to make that very clear. Also payment information, what you need to do to keep your account in good standing. Making those payments on time, how much you need to pay. And also a summary of your general fees.

And we'll also make it very clear that if you're late paying your bill, that you could see a change in your interest rate going up. Obviously, this is really clear English. A lot of people have been pushing for this. Government has been pushing, saying this needs to happen.

Bank of America is the first major bank to go ahead and do this before we get to that February deadline, when it will be required of all credit card issuers to make it very clear what they are doing, and so that their customers understand -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, I like that whole idea of playing it straight, as straight as it can be, I guess.

ELAM: Yes.

COLLINS: So, has Bank of America really met all of the goals for this February deadline?

ELAM: Yes. Well, while they're one of the first ones out there, the first one to do this phase, still have one major one. And that's basically letting customers know how much -- how long it would take if they were to pay their minimum balance due every month for the total balance that they have.

And just to give you an idea of what this would be. We cracked out a little math here. The Federal Reserve says that the median credit card balance is $3,000 for U.S. consumers. Well, if you take that with the APR -- or your average interest rate at 14.9 percent, they are saying that it would take more than seven years to payoff that $3,000 balance.

So a lot of people don't realize that it takes a long time if you just pay the minimum balance a month.

COLLINS: Yes.

ELAM: So they want people to have clarity and really know that if you hit it harder on those fees you'll pay less of those fees and you'll pay less interest and therefore pay less money over time.

COLLINS: Yes, no question. When you say that number out loud, though, ouch, 14.9.

ELAM: I know.

COLLINS: All right.

ELAM: 14.9 is scary. I know.

COLLINS: Yes, very scary. Stephanie, thank you. We'll check back later on.

ELAM: Sure.

COLLINS: Well, you might think Iran's student day has something to do with the country's large youth population but that's exactly who's driving the protest on what supposed to be a day of national pride for the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Friday has been an unexpected jobs report ultimately sent stocks higher after a choppy session, but it looks like there's more rough goings to start the new week.

Felicia Taylor is at the New York Stock Exchange now as we get ready for the opening bell just seconds away there.

Hey, Felicia, good morning.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Yes. We're looking at a slightly lower open this morning according to the futures market and is a carryover from Friday when that optimism over the better-than-expected jobs report pretty much bated in the worry that the Federal Reserve and interest rates and whether or not they're going to go higher.

The Fed's key lending rates remain at a historically low target range near zero. All indications have been that rates will remain there for the near term, but that upbeat jobs report has now fueled the speculation that a stronger job market may cause Fed to raise rates sooner than expected. The Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, is going to speak today at noon and investors are certainly going to be looking for any hints about the future direction of rates.

For now, though, speculation is giving the dollar a boost against the euro and gold prices are backing off of their record levels. Gold is off again, down about $25 an ounce. And don't forget it hit an all-time high just last week. The recent trend on Wall Street has been when the dollar goes up, commodities like oil and gold, and so do stocks.

Let's take a look at the Big Board. The Dow Industrials down just fractionally. They're off six points right now. The Nasdaq is also off, just fractionally down about three points. So not too bad, actually. I think expectations were for a little bit worse.

Investors, though, they're going to be eyeing shares of Citigroup today. Kuwait's Sovereign Wealth Fund -- get this -- sold it's it stake in Citi for over $4 billion. They made a profit of a whopping $1 billion, and Citi hopes that sale will help it convince the U.S. government that it's very healthy, and can now pay back the $20 billion that it owes in TARP money.

I think they're OK.

COLLINS: Yes, looking -- sounding good anyway.

TAYLOR: Starting out OK.

COLLINS: Yes, exactly. We'll check back later on as we watch the numbers all day long here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

TAYLOR: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: Thank you.

And now to the mission in Afghanistan. Today the nation's highest ranking military officer faces some of the troops who could be headed there. Admiral Mike Mullen, of course, he is testifying last week on Capitol Hill. This morning, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He is hosting a town hall meeting on the new war strategy there and then he will head to Camp Lejeune, South Carolina for a similar gathering.

In fact, a thousand Marines from Camp Lejeune will make up the first wave of the troop surge to Afghanistan. They're going to begin deploying at the end of the month. And CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is at the Marine Corps base in Camp Lejeune for us this morning.

Chris, good morning to you. What exactly do we expect to hear today? Or should I say, what do troops expect to hear today?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we just learned the official deployment orders to Afghanistan for the first new units will be released at about 10:00 this morning, just about 30 minutes from now. But I can tell you, Camp Lejeune is already buzzing. They just had several units return from Afghanistan, they know that they will have some of the first Marines out the door going directly from here to Helmand Province, where some of the heaviest fighting is going on.

You know, last week President Obama talked about "the big picture," the larger number of troops going, but today really starts the announcements that directly affect the soldier and Marines. You know, what units are going, what is their mission, where will they be going in Afghanistan? And that's what we will hear today somewhat from official announcements, and from a strategic point from Admiral Mike Mullen. As you said, he's speaking at Fort Campbell to some of the first soldiers going, then he'll be here in just a few hours from now -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, and Chris, as far as the families go, there's a lot that goes into preparing for a deployment. A lot of meetings, a lot of briefings, and even for family members as their loved ones get ready to go over. I imagine they are aware of the deployments?

LAWRENCE: Yes, that's right. I was talking with a family member last night, and even though the official announcement has not been made, she's already known that her husband will be deploying in the next month or so. They have already started to do -- you know, talking to the kids, letting them know that they're dad's not going to be around, setting up the financial things that you've got to get going.

I also spoke with a couple that's just been reunited within the last couple weeks; he was deployed to Afghanistan. And they talked about what some of the new units, their families, can expect during the deployment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. ERIC MEADOR, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It's very difficult, I think, for people outside the military communities to understand what they have to go through.

TERESA MEADOR, U.S. MARINE'S WIFE: I don't think when you have x-number of deployments under your belt, that it makes it any easier. You just know what to expect. You know what to expect next time as far as how you need to manage things on the state side of things.

They're situation is going to be different every time they deploy and sometimes you worry about them more, sometimes you worry about them less. Sometimes communication is good, sometimes not so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Teresa told us Afghanistan is in the "not so much" category. She said, compared to Iraq, where they could talk every other day, they had web cams, in Afghanistan, she said she would be lucky if she talked to him once a month -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it's definitely hard, obviously, for the families as well, especially when they deployed so many times. A lot of them, three, four, five times. We'll continue to watch all of that along side of you, Chris Lawrence, our Pentagon correspondent. Thank you.

I want to show you live pictures now from Chicago. Traffic -- look at that -- just a little bit slow with slick roads there. We're going to check in with Reynolds Wolf about the early winter and some of these blizzard-like conditions out west.

We're back in a moment, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The anniversary of a key event in the Iran's Islamic revolution. For many in the country, it's not a moment of pride. Protests in the streets as anti-riot police loom close by. Our Reza Sayah is now joining us live from Islamabad, Pakistan with more on this.

So Reza, what is Student's Day and why exactly the protests now?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was another day, Heidi, when we saw Iran's Opposition Movement and its supporters hit the streets again and protest. Witnesses on the ground telling us that these protests were not as wide scale, as large as we have seen in the past. But they did come out and witnesses say they were protestors and police.

Little before noon Iran time, according to witnesses, hundreds of police officers, security personnel, surrounded the Tehran University in downtown Tehran and stood guard at the gate in order to prevent these protests. But inside Tehran University, a large crowd gathered in neighborhoods outside the university.

According to witnesses, there were pockets of crowds, once again, chanting "Death to the dictator," "Death to Khamenei," who is, of course, Iran's supreme leader. Also, we heard a new fiery chant today, which really shows you how intense these demonstrations have become, and that was the chant of "Our leader is a murderer, his authority has expired." Now keep in mind, just a year ago there was no way you would have heard a chant like that, but today in Tehran's streets you did.

Witnesses say inside Tehran University, there were also pro- government demonstrators. Women dressed in chadors chanting pro- government slogans. Also, a number of clashes, according to witnesses, around Tehran University and in Revolution Square, police used tear-gas, firing shots in the air to disperse the crowds. Also, reports of demonstrations in other cities in Iran, Heidi. Among them, the city of Arak and also Mashat -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So where is the Opposition Movement right now then, Reza? Does it still have life or does seem to be losing steam?

SAYAH: Well, based on what we saw today, it does have life, despite a fierce government crackdown. Remember, Heidi, every since the disputed June 12th election, the government has done everything that it can, including often brutal and sometimes and deadly crackdowns to stop the demonstrations. It hasn't worked. The strategy of the Opposition Movement has done has very effectively moved in and disrupt and hijack them.

And today is a very significant anniversary in Iran's calendar. The anniversary of the death of three Iranian students at the hands of Iranian police back in 1953. They were demonstrating then against America, and now you have the Opposition Movement once again trying to disrupt this anniversary day. The demonstration today was not as large scale, as we mentioned before, as we have seen previously. The key is how long this Opposition Movement can sustain itself without a real strong dynamic leader. It's leaders very interestingly have been in the background. The key to this movement sustaining itself, is what type of guidance, what type of leadership will come along with this movement in the weekends and days to come -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, very good. Reza Sayah, thank you.

Want to check our top stories now, too. Russia authorities say five suspects will face charges today in a nightclub fire. At least 112 people died in Friday night's fire in the city of Perm. The suspects include the club's co-owner and a businessman who supplied and organized fireworks. Though investigators think fireworks probably cause the fire, they are also looking at other possibilities. Russia is observing a national day of mourning.

Fighting back against drug lords. More than a thousand people marched through the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez Sunday. They were protesting the daily killings there blamed on an ongoing drug cartel war. The demonstrators also want more security. The city is considered the most dangerous in Mexico, with more than 2,200 killings this year.

A California company recalling nearly 23,000 pounds of beef because of a possible link to salmonella. Beef packers Incorporated in Fresno produced the meat on September 23rd. Now, most of the beef was sent to a distribution center in Arizona and sold under different labels. The beef was sold in Arizona and New Mexico. The company is encouraging people to check at their local stores to see if they may have bought any of the recalled beef.

How about an undergarment worth $3 million? What's it made of and more importantly, is it comfortable?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: So the calendar says winter is still two weeks away, but the weather says something else entirely. The snowy scene is from Grass Valley, California just northeast of Sacramento. In fact, people in Sacramento bracing for what could be their first accumulation in more than three decades.

A winter storm watch blankets much of eastern Nebraska and it could get ugly there, too. Accumulations of ten inches are expected in some areas by tomorrow night with winds gusting to 40 miles per hour. Sounds like a blizzard to me. I don't know the technicalities of that off the top of my head, Reynolds Wolf, but definitely some winter storm warnings out there, right?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, we'll be watching very closely.

But we're also watching something else. And now this is of particular interest to you and maybe some other guys out there...

WOLF: Ok.

COLLINS: So stick around. Because look at this, have you seen the new Victoria Secret?

WOLF: Oh mercy.

COLLINS: Harlequin fantasy diamond bra. Very -- that's all you got -- take a look because maybe something to slip under the Christmas tree for Christmas. I don't know there's 2,353 diamonds.

WOLF: Well, and I am really, really scared to ask this, but I will ask it anyway, just because we are among friends here...

COLLINS: Yes, careful now.

WOLF: How do you take it off?

COLLINS: I had no idea.

WOLF: Yes, I mean that because seriously, we're talking about some precious gems and that kind of stuff, you know with all of that, all the jewelry one night. You don't want those things to fall off and scratch that kind of thing.

COLLINS: Good, Lord, no.

WOLF: Yes, it's kind of weird.

COLLINS: I don't have any idea, and I think I am all about the comfort so I am looking at that saying you've got to be kidding me. But it is worth something like $3 million. And that's very exciting for some people who would like to wear that I don't know underneath a shirt. Well, the heart-shaped diamond centerpiece by the way, 16 carats. Yes.

WOLF: Wow.

COLLINS: Yes. You're holding your head over there.

WOLF: I don't think Mrs. Wolf is going to be seeing that under the...

COLLINS: She should though.

WOLF: Oh she deserves it. She deserves it.

COLLINS: Yes, she absolutely deserves it.

WOLF: She deserves it, no question about it. But yes, I don't think we're going to go that route.

COLLINS: Ok, all right. Hey, thanks for sticking around for that, because that's very important stuff.

WOLF: Oh, I think I'm glad too, yes.

COLLINS: All right, Reynolds, we'll check back later with the weather, the real important stuff.

WOLF: You bet.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Most everything on the agenda at the U.N. climate summit this week has roots in another summit in Kyoto about ten years ago. We'll take a look back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: One rock star's tribute to another. Sting performs Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" for "The Boss."

Let's just listen to that for a while, huh? Bruce Springsteen, one of five artists receiving the Kennedy Center Honors last night. The other honorees: director, producer Mel Brooks; actor Robert De Niro, opera singer Grace Bumbry; and pianist Dave Brubeck.

Now, President Obama praised all five artists and also got some laughs for one remark about Springsteen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I watched him on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, when he rocked the National Mall before my inauguration I thought it captured as well as anything the spirit of what America should be about. On a day like that and today, I remember I'm the president, but he's the boss. So...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The Kennedy Center event will be shown on CBS December 29th.

We do have an awful lot going on this morning. Our CNN crews are in place to bring it all to you. I want to check in with some of them now beginning with Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange. Hi there, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Heidi, we've got some good news. It appears U.S. taxpayers are going to get most of their money back from the $700 billion bank bailout. The Treasury Department says the bailout will cost a lot less than previously thought. But we're going to tell you what the Obama administration wants to do with the extra money in the next hour.

WOLF: And Heidi, we're following two major storm systems. One that is rocking parts of the Great Lakes, the other out to the West Coast. And right in between you've got millions of Americans who are just trying to get from point A to point B. Coming up, we're going to let you know how rough the weather is going to be and how long this span is going to last. COLLINS: Thanks so much, guys.

Also ahead, when should you talk to your kids about sex? Parents, brace yourselves for some disturbing new research.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Negotiators hope to build on the foundation laid by the Kyoto Protocol. That treaty is more than a decade old. And for those of you needing a reminder of what's inside, here now is CNN's Anna Coren.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than a decade ago leaders from around the world gathered at this building behind me to form what would become the Kyoto Protocol. It was the first time the international community had come together to tackle the issue of climate change. After ten days of discussion and sometimes heated debate, the treaty was signed on the 11th of December, 1997.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Decided.

COREN: The agreement called on industrialized nations to cut emissions by an average of about 5 percent by 2012. There were disagreements, but it was viewed as an important move by the international community on climate change.

For some who were there at the original summit, there was a feeling that something momentous was taking place despite the negotiations being fraught with disagreements.

YURIKA AYUKAWI, WWF MEMBER AT KYOTO SUMMIT: It was a first step that was a first time that the developed countries ever made a commitment with our targets and timetables. So in a sense it was very good.

COREN: But the treaty failed to gain traction. The Kyoto Protocol depended heavily on the commitments of the so-called Annex One Countries who were seen at the time as the biggest polluters. The United States was responsible for one-third of the world's emissions in 1990. But Washington refused to sign and other key members like Australia and Russia delayed passing the treaty.

So the Kyoto Protocol sat idle for eight years. It needed industrialized countries to commit to a global cut of more than half the emissions from 1990 levels. It was only in 2005 when Russia signed on that the Kyoto Protocol officially came into force. Today, with only three years left on the treaty, the EU is the only major player expected to meet their targets.

Another shortcoming of Kyoto was that developing countries like China, India and Brazil weren't required to meet the same cuts. The upcoming Copenhagen summit was intended to pick up where Kyoto left off. The Copenhagen agreement would reflect a growing awareness about climate change and a new world dynamic. TIM FLANNERY, ENVIRONMENTALIST: We're seeing a big shift in the politics and in the economics and in the business sentiment around this. I'm quietly confident that we'll get to where we need to get to. And as I put it, we've got every reason to be confident, but not a second for complacency.

COREN: But at the recent APEC meeting in Singapore, leaders agree that finding a successor to Kyoto at Copenhagen would be highly unlikely. It's been a long journey from Kyoto to Copenhagen. But where we ultimately end on this climate change issue remains a mystery.

Anna Coren, CNN, Kyoto, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Right now on cnn.com/heidi we want to know, what are your thoughts now on global warms? Have they changed since the e-mail controversy involving scientists who allegedly cooked the books? Go to our blog and share your thoughts. And we're going to read some of those responses coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Over the next two weeks, CNN has the Copenhagen climate summit covered. Why it matters and what it means to you. Stay with us to find out more.

Make sure you watch tonight when Campbell Brown takes an in-depth look at the e-mail controversy that threatens to overshadow the summit coming your way at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.