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Execution Fallout; Giuliani Political Plan; Power Shift; President Bush's Domestic Agenda

Aired January 03, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll hear from President Bush live this hour.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A security guard facing questions about these cell phone images. Saddam Hussein taunted on the gallows. Anger and disgust in Iraq.

A pet becomes a predator. A dog attack leaving Britons filled with revulsion. A little girl lost this Wednesday, January 3rd. You are in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Live pictures from the White House. We are expecting to hear from President Bush this hour. The president meeting this morning with his cabinet on his 2007 domestic agenda. And a Congress under the control of Democrats for the first time during the Bush presidency. Sources say he is also driving toward a conclusion on his new Iraq strategy. They say he's expected to make that announcement early next week. CNN is the place to hear the president's statements this hour. We will have them in the NEWSROOM at 10:25 Eastern.

HARRIS: Chilling images playing to a worldwide audience. Now the Iraqi government is questing a guard who was at Saddam Hussein's execution. He's suspected of using his cell phone to show the entire affair on the Internet. More now from Arwa Damon, who is in Baghdad.

And, Arwa, tell us more about this investigation and what you know about this suspect.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, according to an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Sadiq al-Rikabi, told CNN that the Iraqi government has, in fact, detain the person whom they believe is responsible for filming that controversial cell phone footage. He is the same person they are saying who was also responsible for distributing it on the Internet and to TV stations. Saying that they are now questioning him as to specifically what his motives were for putting out those images that have really marred the entire execution of Saddam Hussein, at least from the Iraqi government's eyes.

If you'll remember, the footage that the Iraqi government put out ends with the noose being placed around Saddam Hussein's neck and has no audio. In that uncensored video, we really saw the last, final, chilling moments before Saddam Hussein's death where we hear clear taunts, Shia chants, in those final moments of Iraq's former dictator.

Now this footage has caused massive controversy here on the ground. It has angered many Iraqis, especially Iraq's Sunni population and it has really driven a wedge between the Shia-led government and most of the Sunni Arabs that are on the streets here in Iraq. Now the Iraqi government is saying that it is launching a further investigation. We are still hearing allegations, for example, from the prosecutor that was present there. He is claiming that two other Iraqi officials also had cell phones.

Tony.

HARRIS: Arwa, any explanation from the government as to how this could actually happen? And what does it say about the government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that this could, in fact, happen?

DAMON: Well, Tony, to be completely honest, this really underscores a lot of the weaknesses that have racked Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's governance of this country. How were these cell phones allowed to be snuck into what was meant to be a high security execution. That is what everyone wants to know. We are hearing from some of the officials who were present there. That they went through at least two security checks and that all cell phones were removed from their possession.

Obviously, given the footage that has been released, that was not the case. And also if you look at those images, it does appear that they were filmed in plain view of the authorities that were present. And that is one of the main questions that the Iraqi government has to answer.

This was meant to be an opportunity for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to really make good on at least one of the many promises that he has made the Iraqi people. If you remember, back in early November, after the verdict and the sentence came out, the Iraqi prime minister promised that Saddam Hussein would be put to death before the end of the year. And, in fact, we did see him push, despite some U.S. objections, advice that he wait a little bit longer. We did see him push for a rapid execution of Saddam Hussein.

What we are seeing from the outcome, though, is that rather than signal an end of an era, rather than this being as the Iraqi government was hoping an opportunity to unite the Iraqi people, it is actually dividing them. This execution is now being stamped as an act of Shia revenge.

HARRIS: And, Arwa, if you would, talk us through the comments. Why the report at the -- the piece in "The Wall Street Journal" where Nuri al-Maliki is quoted as saying, I didn't want this job. Politically tone deaf? What is the reaction to the comments in Baghdad?

DAMON: Well, Tony, if we remember back to the circumstances under which Nuri al-Maliki came to power, when the united Iraqi alliance was meant to put forward its candidate for the prime ministership, they originally chose Ibrahim Jaafari, who was the previous prime minister. That was met with much objection. At that point they put forward two names, Ibrahim Jaafari and current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Al-Maliki ended up getting the prime ministership with just one vote. But he can be viewed as perhaps the reluctant prime minister and, in fact, his prime ministership has really been racked with only an increase in sectarian divides, an increase in violence and finally has culminated in this flawed execution of Saddam Hussein. I mean, he arguably has one of the hardest jobs out there really trying to bring order and control to this nation.

HARRIS: All right. Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad.

Arwa, thank you.

COLLINS: Slammed by a monster snowstorm on new year's weekend. Several states in the nation's heartland are still trying to dig their way out. Clearing roads, a big priority in Kansas. Parts of the state got socked with up to three feet of snow. And thousands of homes and businesses still in the dark. In some areas, national guard troops and police are going door to door to check on people without power. In Nebraska, much of the same. Homes and businesses still waiting for the lights to come back on. Portable generators helping keep water running and shelters open. Nebraska's governor says damage is worse than he imagined.

Double blizzards putting a major U.S. industry in a race against time. Snow and ice threaten to wipe out thousands of beef cattle until the west. Right now a big hay lift underway in Colorado. National Guard helicopters are dropping hundreds of bails in the southeastern corner of the state. Some snow drifts there are 10 feet high. A similar storm in 1997 killed 30,000 cattle in Colorado.

Parts of New Mexico also snowbound. Ranchers there frantically trying to save their herds. They, too, getting help from the National Guard.

Boy, what a situation. Chad Myers at the Weather Center now for an update.

Any relief in sight? Any meltdown, if you will?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: A farewell befitting a favorite son. The people of Grand Rapids out in force. Live pictures now saying final good-byes to hometown hero Gerald Ford. The nation's 38th president lies in repose at his Grand Rapids museum a day after a state funeral.

What an occasion it was at the National Cathedral in Washington. He is being remembered as an unpretentious man who helped heal the nation after Watergate.

A private funeral is planned this afternoon in Grand Rapids. The burial on the grounds of the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. Stay with CNN for continuing coverage of the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford.

COLLINS: Is it the case of the Pillford (ph) political playbook? Say that 10 times fast. Secret strategy for a potential presidential run is now front page news. CNN's Mary Snow has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It is a Rudy Giuliani for president campaign strategy meant to stay behind the scenes. But the 140-page document outlining everything from budgets to political baggage made it into the hands of "New York Daily News" reporter Ben Smith.

BEN SMITH, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": The most striking thing was that there was the sort of explicit worries about some of these issues with his campaign. His mentioning his ex-wife, Donna Hanover, his current wife, his business. Social issues was last among the worries.

SNOW: Republican strategists say it's not surprising these concerns would be listed. Giuliani supports abortion and gay rights, which clash with Republican Party ideals. While he was mayor, his divorce from his second wife, Donna Hanover, turned ugly, with an alleged affair, making tabloid headlines.

And his former aid and police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, has become a source of embarrassment. Kerik, for one, withdrew his name as a choice to head the Department of Homeland Security over the hiring of a nanny with questionable immigration and tax status. Kerik also plead guilty to misdemeanor charges for receiving gifts from a construction firm. Regulators have long contended that firm has mafia ties, though Kerik was not accused of having mafia ties himself.

Some strategists say riding out political baggage does come as a surprise.

JONATHAN GRELLA, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It would seem that these are not the kind of things that you would want to put down on paper. That's an old political maxim, not to ever put pen to paper on situations like this.

SNOW: Giuliani's camp calls it dirty tricks, claiming the document was taken in the fall while Giuliani was on the 2006 campaign trail stumping for Republicans. A spokeswoman claims the document was in a staffer's luggage, which was not returned during a plane transfer. She claims the document was removed and photocopied.

Giuliani's communications director said, as for the document itself, "this is simply someone's ideas which were committed to paper over three months ago."

SMITH: I got it from a source who was sympathetic to one of Giuliani's opponents. And the source said it had been left behind during his kind of pre-election campaign swing.

SNOW: Smith declined to show us the entire document, saying he was keeping it in a safe place. The one page he provided shows the Giuliani camp aims to raise at least $100 million in 2007 alone. Smith says the strategy shows Giuliani is planning to run, but says there are also concerns expressed among staff that he may drop out.

Giuliani has not yet formally announced he's seeking the Republican nomination for president. But he has formed an exploratory committee to test the waters.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The new plan for Iraq. President Bush said to reveal it in just days. We will hear from the president after his cabinet meeting. That's live in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Also, here come the Dems. Congress prepares for a power shift. What can be expected? Democrats take control. NPR's political junky, Ken Rudin, joins us. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And a new benefit from Botox. Forget improving looks, it's improving lives. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has details. You are in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A power shift about to take place in Congress. Democrats take control tomorrow. So what can we expect from the new leadership? Joining us from Washington to talk about just that is Ken Rudin. He's a political editor for National Public Radio. And he writes the "Political Junky" column for npr.org.

Ken, thanks for being here.

KEN RUDIN, POLITICAL EDITOR, NPR: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: The new session, as you well know, of Congress begins tomorrow. Democrats in control now of both houses. What will be different exactly?

RUDIN: Well, first of all, they've been promising from the day they were elected that they would be asking the tough questions on issues like Social Security and Iraq. Questions that have not been asked in the 12 years of Republican rule in the House and Senate. Plus the fact that the way Newt Gingrich did in 1995, new speaker, Nancy Pelosi, really wants to get a fast start, so she has a lot of issues on her agenda, mostly about ethics, minimum wage, things like that that she wants to implement right away.

COLLINS: What about Iraq? What sort of changes will we see there?

RUDIN: I don't think you'll see anything right away because I don't think the Democrats are united on Iraq, let alone the White House or the Republicans. But clearly, if President Bush is going to make some kind of announcement about his policy in Iraq next week, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, the Democrat from Michigan, announced that one of the first people he'll call is Robert Gates, the new defense secretary, to talk about what is the course of our policy and how much money should the Congress allow.

COLLINS: Well, you've already said, Ken, Democrats aren't quite united yet on many things, including Iraq. How much bipartisanship then do you think we'll actually see. We kind of always see that in the beginning of a new Congress.

RUDIN: Yes, they always promise. And Newt Gingrich said, look, after 40 years of Democratic rule in 1995, we, the Republicans, will be different. But, of course, ultimately, they weren't. There's already grumblings about Nancy Pelosi. That she's trying to rush through issues like stem cell research, minimum wage, without even having committee, going straight to the House floor. And already John Boehner, the Republican leader, saying this is not the agreement we worked out. So much for bipartisanship.

But again, you know, the Democrats are very frustrated. They've been on the outs in the House for 12 years and the Senate for less. But they're very anxious to get started and bipartisanship may get thrown overboard.

COLLINS: And quickly, Ken, we just want to let everybody know, we are now getting the two-minute warning coming to us out of Washington as we await the president's remarks in the Rose Garden following his meeting with his cabinet that is taking place and probably wrapping up as we speak. So we're going to keep an eye on that.

Quickly, Ken, before we let you go, what kind of speaker will Nancy Pelosi be?

RUDIN: Well, she'll be different. She'll be a woman and, of course, that's the first time in history. But she's also a political in-fighter. She's been around a long time. Her father was mayor of Baltimore. Her brother was also a congressman, a mayor of Baltimore. She knows the inside ropes very well. She's a tough in-fighter and she really - she's going to be, I think, a pretty effective leader of the Congress.

COLLINS: All right. We thank you for your thoughts. Ken Rudin, once again, for your time here today. We will check back with you a little bit later on, I am sure, as the Congress goes ahead with their work, once again, beginning tomorrow. Ken Rudin, political editor for National Public Radio and the writer, author, of the "Political Junky" column for npr.org.

Thanks again, Ken.

COLLINS: And how about this, a live picture now of the Rose Garden. The White House.

A busy morning for the president. The president meeting with his cabinet. That meeting now concluded. Many of them right there, as you can see. And the president shortly inside of, oh, maybe 30 successes or so to make some comments this morning.

The president continuing to work on his new strategy for Iraq. Maybe, Heidi, we'll get a better idea, a better sense of when the president will make his thoughts known to all of us. The president looking forward to working with the new Democratically controlled Congress. The president making that point in an editorial this morning in "The Wall Street Journal."

COLLINS: As he approaches the podium now, let's go ahead and listen in to the president of the United States.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank my cabinet officers for joining me here. We discussed our priorities for the next two years and how we plan to achieve them. Congress has changed. Our obligations to the country haven't changed.

Tomorrow members of the 110th Congress will take their oath of office. And I congratulate them. I welcome their arrival into town. I'm looking forward to working with them. And so are members of my cabinet.

We've all been entrusted with public office at a momentous time in our nation's history. And together we have important things to do. It's time to set aside politics and focus on the future.

I've been encouraged by the productive meetings that I've had with many of the new leaders of Congress, of people from both parties. I want to thank them for coming down to the White House and talking to me about their ambitions and their goals for our country. I'm hopeful that Republicans and Democrats can find common ground to serve our folks, to do our jobs, to be constructive for our country.

One area where we must work together is that we've got to make sure we spend the people's money wisely. Over the past few years, pro-growth economic policies have generated higher revenues. Together with spending restraint, these policies allowed us to meet our goal of cutting the budget deficit in half three years ahead of schedule. We did so without taxing the working people. We kept taxes low.

It's now time to take the next step. Next month I will submit a five-year budget proposal that will balance the federal budget by 2012. This budget will restrain spending, while setting priorities.

It will address the most urgent needs of our nation. In particular, the need to protect ourselves from radicals and terrorists. The needs to win the war on terror. The need to maintain a strong, national defense. And the need to keep this economy growing by making tax relief permanent.

By balancing the budget through pro-growth economic policies and spending restraint, we are better positioned to tackle longer term fiscal challenges facing our country. Namely, the entitlement programs. These programs need to be reformed for the sake of younger Americans. We need to reform Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid so future generations of Americans can benefit from these vital programs without bankrupting our country.

Another area where we can work together is to reform the earmark process. One important message we all should take from the elections is that people want to end the secretive process by which Washington insiders are able to get billions of dollars directed to projects, many of them pork barrel projects that have never been reviewed or voted on by the Congress. Some of the earmarks are not even included in the legislation. They're stuffed into committee reports that have never been passed and are never signed into law. Earmarks often divert precious funds from vital priorities like national defense. And each year they cost the taxpayers billions of dollars.

I appreciate the fact that Senator Byrd and Congressman Obey, the Democrats who will lead the appropriations process in the new Congress, heard the same message. For this year's budget, they pledged to maintain current levels of spending without additional earmarks. They agreed to a temporary moratorium on all earmarks. And this is a good start. And I appreciate their position.

I also appreciate the fact that House Republicans last fall passed strong earmark reform idea -- put forth earmark reform ideas. And I appreciate their hard work. But we need to do more.

Here's my own view to end the debt of the night process. Congress needs to adopt real reform that requires full disclosure of the sponsors, the cost, the recipients and the justifications for every earmark. Congress needs to stop the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language and Congress needs to cut the number and cost of earmarks next year by at least half.

To help rein in wasteful spending and restore fiscal discipline in Washington, I call on Congress to give the president the tool that 43 governors have, a line item veto. These are just a few of the issues that we're going to need to work on in the year ahead. This new year brings new opportunities for progress and I'm looking forward to working with the new Congress.

Thank you for your time.

HARRIS: OK, there you have it. The president sort of laying out, setting his agenda for the 110th Congress. Let's bring in our chief national correspondent, John King.

A couple of items, John, jump out at us. Full disclosure of sponsors. He's talking about the earmark program there and trying to cut the number of earmarks by half. And as the president asking for what every president has asked for, the line item veto.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good luck to him on the line item veto, Tony. There are many in the Congress who support the line item veto, don't get me wrong, and the Democrats tried to give it to President Clinton, a Democrat, when he was in the White House. It would be interesting to see whether they are now prepared to give it to a Republican president who will be in office for two more years.

There are legal issues involved with that. The Supreme Court has said, as it was previously written, it was not constitutional. So that would be an interesting debate to watch.

Much of the country might be scratching its head saying, what is an earmark. It is one of the most arcane but also one of the most controversial things you can do in Congress. And, look, every member of Congress tries to do it. And the leading member of the Congress do it with quite millions and millions and millions involved. They sneak spending projects for courthouses, bridges, roads and everything else.

You remember last year the bridge to nowhere up in Alaska. They sneaked them into spending bills. There's no debate and it is a huge controversy now in Washington.

Conservatives in the president's party say it's one of the reasons we don't have a balanced budget. Many Democrats saying it's proof that the Republicans weren't the party of reform when they controlled Congress. That they were corrupt. But both parties do it, Tony.

And one of the key questions now facing the Democrats is, they used it as an election issue. Are they willing to do it now that they have authority in Congress?

From the president, nothing new. His agenda is as we knew it to be. The big question now is, can he work with Democrats and are they willing to give him some things to get some things. Because the Democrats don't have big majorities, Tony. They need the president. They may not like much of his agenda, but they need him. So there will have to be trade-offs.

And, of course, the unanswered question, what will happen in Iraq? Many are looking for those answers. The president's not ready to give them until next week.

HARRIS: Hey, John, real quick. Didn't we use to call earmarks pork?

KING: The president called them pork. Earmark is -- there's a lot of pork in the budget. Earmarks is one slice of the pork, if you will. And it's the hidden slice. You might say it's the -- well, never mind.

HARRIS: The hidden slice. Very good. Very good.

COLLINS: John, you know, quickly. The president first mentioned -- you talk about being bipartisan here -- setting aside politics and really focusing on the future. And then very immediately went into this budget proposal that he says he is going to release next month. A five-year budget proposal. Budget will be balanced by 2012. This is a president who, as far as fiscal concerns go, has been criticized vehemently for his spending.

KING: He certainly has been. And it's a difficult issue because, remember, this president inherited surpluses from a Democratic president. So for fiscal conservatives to see the record federal budget deficits, it's just an anthem (ph) to everything they believe in.

Now the president would say 9/11 happened, we're at war in Iraq. There have been some extraordinary circumstances that have justified deficit spending. But that is one of the places where actually the Democrats and this Republican president, once they can sort out spending priorities.

The president's priorities are different from the Democratic priorities. But once they can reach an accommodation on that, that is one area where you should look for progress. The president, thanks to the strong economy and thanks to some other fiscal restraints, as he would call them, some would say by nowhere near enough restraint. But the budget is on a path to be balanced a few years down the road.

The Democrats know that one of the questions for them is, are they liberal? Are they big spenders? Do they want to raise taxes? So they want to prove their commitment to balancing the budget too. So that is one area where this Republican president and the new Democratic Congress are likely, with some bumps in the road first, to try to cooperate.

COLLINS: All right. Senior correspondent out in Washington, John King, we appreciate your thoughts on that one. It was short and done.

HARRIS: Yes, that's it.

Hey, Heidi, take a look at this. We've got pictures just in. We wanted to get this on the air to you and try to tell this story as best we can. Pictures from our affiliate WHDH. That's in Georgetown . . .

COLLINS: Massachusetts.

HARRIS: Massachusetts.

COLLINS: Right outside of Boston, I believe.

HARRIS: OK. I always want to say Maine, but, no, Massachusetts. You're absolutely right about that.

And this is a condominium complex that is on fire right now. And this is a building, as you can see, that is very near Boston. Don't know much more about that, whether folks have been able to get out of there OK.

A lot of fire personnel, as you can imagine, on the scene right now. The white smoke, a mix of the colored smoke. But here are better pictures of the effort that is underway right now.

As you can imagine, a number of people live in that condominium complex. Have no idea to what extent that building has been damaged. But as you can see, it looks pretty bad right now.

Hopefully everyone has been able to get out OK. No reports of injuries yet. But, once again, these are pictures just in to CNN live from our affiliate WHDH in Georgetown, Mass.

COLLINS: Looks like that water is doing just about nothing, isn't it?

HARRIS: Yes, it really does. COLLINS: Big winds. We'll keep our eye on that for you, everybody.

And floodwaters on the rise in the Pacific Northwest. That after heavy rain pounded the western part of Washington state, including the Seattle area. This scene in Kent, Washington. A number of rivers and streams in the region are now rising. And more rain in the forecast.

For more on this, we head back over to Chad Myers at the Weather Center.

So not good news for these folks in Washington.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Good morning once again. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome to the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Saddam Hussein unauthorized. The Iraqis questioning a guard about these cell phone images. Execution outrage across the Arab world coming in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Not censored? not a problem. New video-sharing Web sites seek to go where others won't. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's take you back now to Georgetown, Massachusetts, very near Boston. Take a look at these pictures now just in to CNN of this fire at a condominium building there near Boston. Man, these pictures are a little more disturbing than the pictures we saw just a few moments ago. You can just see the flames that are just sort of shooting through the roof of one of those condo buildings, and a couple of them, as you can see, fully engaged at this point. Firefighters doing the best they can to control the situation. No word of any injuries at this time. We will certainly keep an eye on the situation and try to get you information as soon as we can.

COLLINS: Witness to the execution. Now a guard who was there when Saddam Hussein was hanged is being questioned about self phone video that shows the whole thing. An adviser to the prime minister says the man is suspected of recording the execution and getting it on the Internet. The images are controversial because they show the former dictator actually hanging in death. And there is audio, including voices taunting Hussein just before he died. The official Iraqi government tape of the execution ends as the noose is placed around Hussein's neck, and has no audio.

A show of support for Saddam Hussein. Across Jordan, small demonstrations in support of the former leader have been playing out. Saddam's oldest daughter appearing at one of them on Monday, and she may show up at another rally today. She and her sister had been living under political asylum in Jordan since 2003.

In Iraq, sectarian tensions at a boiling point following Saddam Hussein's execution. Now the president of Iran has something to say.

CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the boiling aftermath of the death of his country's bitter enemy, Iran's president jumps right into the fray. Before crowds in southern Iran, a region near the Iraq border and populated heavily by Arabs, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also directs his words toward Arabs next door in Iraq with his take on America's role in Saddam Hussein's execution.

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): They even want to use Saddam's execution as a tool to create dissension. The world should know that sooner or later the occupiers under pressure from the Iraqi nation will leave that country.

TODD: CNN and other news organizations reported that U.S. officials actually tried to delay Saddam's execution and prevent dissension. But analysts say Ahmadinejad and Iran's religious leaders are using this event to send a broader message about America.

AFSHIN MOLAVI, AUTHOR, "THE SOUL OF IRAN": It's not just Ahmadinejad that is trying to portray the United States as a cut-and- run power. The Islamic political establishment, through its speeches, through its diplomacy is also trying to portray the United States as a cut and run power.

TODD: But one analyst believes that beyond telling Iraqis that Iran will be there for them when the divisive, scheming Americans leave, there's a more ominous message in Ahmadinejad's words.

TRITA PARSI, NAT'L IRANIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL: What he's telling to the Sunnis is if you take out the anger on the Shiites, remember, the Shiites are here permanently, the Americans are not. So when the Americans are not there to protect you, then obviously you'll be finding yourself in a much more difficult position.

TODD: Another analyst said the Iranian president wouldn't dare incite the Sunnis any further with such a warning, but Ahmadinejad is trying to counter Saudi Arabia's growing influence on the Sunnis in Iraq at a time when the messy handling of Saddam's death puts tensions between Sunnis and Shias there at a boiling point.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: A family tragedy stuns a nation. A 5-year-old girl killed by her uncle's dog. The story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The debate over a potentially dangerous dog takes an emotional turn with the mauling death of a 5-year-old girl.

CNN's Justin O'Kelly reports.

JUSTIN O'KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a private tragedy that has quickly turned to public outrage as a pet becomes a predator and savagely killed 5-year-old Ellie Lawrence on a New Year's Eve sleepover at her grandmother's house.

She died within minutes of severe head and neck injuries. Mercilessly mauled by her uncle's pit bull terrier. All day the floral tributes poured in and revulsion poured out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just sick to be honest, sick. It is really, really upsetting.

O'KELLY: In a statement, Ellie's parents said she was a little angel, full of life and always running around. We are absolutely devastated and can't believe she is gone.

Police have launched a criminal investigation. While the animal was a family pet, there were two neighborhood complaints about the dog.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dog is being assessed as a pit bull terrier-type dog which is prohibited under the dangerous dogs act.

O'KELLY: There are many questions about why a dog whose sale is banned in Britain, can be legally kept as a pet. Police say the girl's grandmother was badly injured and remains in hospital after trying desperately to save Ellie's life. It's the kind of grief this grandmother knows all too well.

NORA KELLY, MAULING VICTIM'S GRANDMOTHER: Couldn't stop crying. It just all come back to me (INAUDIBLE).

O'KELLY: Nora Kelly's granddaughter Nikita was mauled by a pit bull last spring and very nearly died.

KELLY: They shouldn't even have them in the first place. It's a dangerous dog. People shouldn't be allowed to have them.

O'KELLY: While some breeds of potentially vicious dogs have been banned in Britain, there are exemptions covering more than 1,000 legal pit bull terrier pets in the country.

Horrific injuries have convinced many that some breeds are just too dangerous. But every time there is an incident, there are some dog owners that complain authorities are pointing fingers in the wrong places and the blame lies not with the dog's breed but with the dog's owners.

JEAN PIERRE FALLICO, DOG OWNER: It is not the dog breed. It's the owner we have to fear. We don't need to fear the dogs. The dogs are how we make them.

O'KELLY: Mistirel is a rottweiler. Even her owners admit, if she's not handled with care, she can turn violent. Policing dog and owner behavior is difficult. Bans haven't worked because of cross breeding and because some violence by dogs results from chronic neglect and has nothing to do with their breed. Humane societies are increasingly advocating a more complicated approach where dogs are labelled as delinquents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could put in place legislation which says if you have a dog that shows aggressive tendencies, you must do something about it.

O'KELLY: But as Ellie's death has proven, predicting a pet's behavior is too often impossible. Until it is already too late.

Justin O'Kelly, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To a different topic now. At Noon today, tune in for an Anderson Cooper special report, "Ambush at the River of Secrets." The story of four marines, four American heroes who died two years ago along the banks of the Euphrates River. It remains the deadliest single day of the war for American forces. That's noon Eastern only on CNN.

Saddam Hussein unauthorized. The Iraqis questioning a guard about these cell phone images. Execution outrage across the Arab world coming up in the NEWSROOM.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Forget 9:00 to 5:00. The nation's biggest employer is letting a computer tell its workers when to show up. I'll explain what that means coming right up. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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COLLINS: Want to take you back to these live pictures that we have been looking at for the last couple of hours now. Georgetown, Massachusetts about 25 miles north of Boston or so. It's an apartment complex there. And boy, it's just a big waft of smoke at this point. A little bit earlier, you could see the intense flames really, really fast moving.

I think, no expert here, but I think that would be because of the wind. You can tell how that smoke is blowing. Apparently these evacuations are going on right now. Looks like a fairly large complex, too.

But we are hearing there are no reports of injuries at this point. People moving out of there probably as fast as they possibly can. This is a multiple alarm fire as you can imagine. So we'll keep our eye on that.

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HARRIS: Let's stay in New York now. Gerri Willis. You know, I'm looking at all those gains on Wall Street to start the trading year. And I'm thinking, Gerri, will you help me save some of the money my little portfolio, modest that it is? Will you help me save this year?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You don't have a Nardelli portfolio? you didn't get that?

HARRIS: Not yet.

WILLIS: All right well, we've got New Year's resolutions you can stick to that will help your wallet. That's next on top tips.

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HARRIS: Still time to -- oh, sorry. Still time to make those New Year's resolutions. It's just catchy music. How about resolving this year to save some money.

Our Gerri Willis here to help. Gerri, help me, I think about it every year. I'd like to save more money. I'd like not to go and spend a lot of money on a fancy new membership to a fancy new -- and I don't go to the club and I don't work out. So help me save, Gerri.

WILLIS: I'll do what I can, OK Tony. It's small things. You have to make small steps. This is the time of year a lot of people think about getting a new credit card with a lower rate of interest. It's a smart move. But I've got to tell you, the devil is in the details here.

More and more credit cards are getting rid of caps on balance transfer fees or increasing these fees. So transferring a high balance to a credit card with lower rates is a good move when those fees were capped at 75 bucks.

But now that you are looking at no cap at all in some cases, it's going to cost you a whole lot more money. Maybe as much as $300 bucks if you have $10,000 worth of debt. So, before you go for that balance transfer, make sure you know the fees that you're going to be paying.

HARRIS: Good advice. And you are also telling us that now is a good time if you've got kids of college age, now might be a good time to start applying for some college financial aid.

WILLIS: You bet you. You can apply right now for college financial aid because the sooner you apply, the more money you are likely to get. And if you haven't gotten that W-2 yet this year, remember you can estimate your tax information and then correct it later.

You want the form fafsa.ed.gov. You go there, get the form. It will take you about two hours to feel out. And this year, good news, students will be able to take advantage of two new grants. That's the academic competitive grant and smart grant. And this is mostly for kids who are studying science, technology, or math. They put a ton of money into this. More new money available so go for it.

HARRIS: Hey, what do you think of this? Is it a good idea to sort of start the year with a clean slate? Maybe get your credit report, find out where the problems are and correct them early? WILLIS: Yes. Where the problems are and where they may have gotten your information wrong. You can get your credit report at annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228, and, look, you also want to make sure your income is getting reported accurately by the federal government for the purposes of Social Security. Go to ssa.gov. You know, following this stuff closely have big benefits down the road, Tony.

HARRIS: Help us, Gerri, kickstart, I mean, really get a good start to savings this year.

WILLIS: Well, look, this year you can split the direct deposit of your Federal tax refund into three accounts. So, if you are getting money back on your taxes, you can put that right into savings without even looking at it. That's a much better way to save than having to think about, well, how much money now that I have it in my hot little hands will I save? Go right into an IRA account, money market account, you name it.

For more information go to irs.gov. Get the form, fill it out. And of course, we always want to hear from your viewers. They have the best questions. Send us your questions to toptips@CNN.com. We answer them right here every single Friday.

HARRIS: Gerri, great to see you. Happy New Year to you.

WILLIS: Happy New Year. Good to see you. Both of you.

HARRIS: Absolutely. Heidi is here somewhere. In the NEWSROOM. All right Gerri, take care.

WILLIS: You, too.

HARRIS: Saddam Hussein unauthorized. The Iraqis questioning a guard about these cell phone images. Execution outrage across the Arab world coming soon in the NEWSROOM.

And from statehouse to White House. Outgoing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Looking ahead, his plans in the NEWSROOM.

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