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Chaos in Gaza; Ex-KGB Man Predicts Demise of United States

Aired January 01, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Israel cannot and will not allow this week's events to be sitting ducks for terrorist attacks. Israel will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens and stop terrorism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The aggression must stop. The crossings must open and then, we can talk about all other issues.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: For residents in Gaza, right now, the only issue, how many more must die?

How do you say schadenfreude in Russia. An ex-KGB man predicts America's demise and his countrymen react with glee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I realized that the sheet of paper was actually a check made out to the Ron Clark Academy for $365,000.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic news to start the New Year. An Atlanta school gets a huge contribution from the big "O."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Straight to our top story. The streets of Gaza littered with rubble and strewn with bodies for six straight days now. Here now is a fraction of the chaos.

The aftermath of an Israeli air strike, one of hundreds targeting alleged Hamas militant sites since Saturday. Today, Palestinian sources say a missile struck the home of a top Hamas military commander, killing him and nine other people. And Israel now says it has bombed the home of a second senior Hamas militant, but it's not known if he was there. At least 400 people have been killed in Gaza since Saturday and another 2,000 wounded. Israeli sources say at least four Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rocket fire and another 56 wounded.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israeli troops remain massed on the Gaza border, poised for a possible ground war. Neither side is backing down, and there is no let-up in sight. Our Paula Hancocks is monitoring it from Jerusalem. Paula? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, the weather has improved for the Israelis and as you say, there are more troops arriving on the border with Gaza. And military experts believe that if an Israeli ground operation is going to happen, it should happen within the next 48 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Air strikes on Gaza, Israel's stage one.

TZIPI LIVNI, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: We want to weaken Hamas in Gaza Strip, and at the end of the day, Hamas is a problem not only to Israel but to the entire Palestinian peoples.

HANCOCKS: A cease fire now has been sharply ruled out. So what is stage two? Is this the next logical move? Boots on the ground in Gaza. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has threatened it and judging by the scene along the border over the past few days, the military is ready for it. Israel's cabinet has already approved the call off of 9,000 reservists.

Israel claims several times a day it is destroying more rocket warehouses, more rocket launchers. This video released by the video seems to show secondary explosions, consistent with weapons being hit.

But then Hamas replies with longer-range missiles, They have threatened it, and judging by the scene over the border in the past few days the military is ready for it. Israel's cabinet has approved the call up of 9,000 reservists. Israel claims several times a day it is destroying more rocket warehouses, more rocket launchers.

This video released by the military seems to show secondary explosions consistent with weapons being hit. But then Hamas replies with longer range missiles reaching Israeli cities and civilians who thought they were safe. The ground option is not an easy one for Israel even if the military deems it necessary to root out the rockets not seen or accessible by air.

The action Israel has taken so far has strong domestic support. According to one source say that would fall to just 19 percent of the ground operation.

GERALD STEINBERG, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: We know that ground forces going in are going to be casualties. Some of those tanks are going to be blown up. There are going to be Israelis that are going to be killed in the ground operations. So there's a preference not to do it, but there's also a realization there's probably no other choice.

HANCOCKS: And Hamas has already laid down its own welcome mat for any ground troops. One day before being killed by an Israeli air strike on Thursday, Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan said we are the ones who know Gaza's every corner and know how with the commission of god we will kill and imprison their men.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HANCOCKS: But it is not a question of going in, it's how do they get back out again. Very few Israelis want to reoccupy Gaza and no matter how the operation goes on the ground, any withdrawal is going to be seen and billed as a victory by Hamas. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Hancocks, thank you so much.

No missiles in Baghdad, just a marching band. It is a musical backdrop to a highly symbolic, but highly significant move by the U.S. Our Jill Dougherty is in the Green Zone.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much of the debate in the United States over Iraq has been on the issue of when can U.S. forces hand over responsibility to Iraqi forces? And today, January 1st in Iraq, a big first step in that direction. Part of it was symbolic, a ceremony in the Green Zone handing over official responsibility from U.S. forces to Iraqi forces for security in the Green Zone.

But part of it also was legal. This after all is the beginning of a new relationship between the United States and Iraq, that new security agreement that was worked out in November goes into effect right now.

Now, part of it will be immediately concerning the Green Zone and for information about that, how it will work on the ground, we spoke with Major General David Perkins. Here's how he explained how it will work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PERKINS, MAJOR GENERAL: We will continue to partner with them, but the Iraqis will be in the lead. When you come up to a checkpoint, the Iraqis will check your identification. They will make the decision if you come in or go out. We will continue to be there to provide some technical capability, to provide some mentoring, but you will see less and less American forces and more and more Iraqi forces and they have the majority of the responsibility for making those key decisions which determines the security of their capital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: And there were other significant events as well. In the Green Zone, the handover officially of a former palace of Saddam Hussein where the U.S. Embassy used to be located, now the diplomats and the security personnel who were there are moving over to the new U.S. embassy located not far away in the Green Zone.

In addition to landing zones, handed over in the Green Zone to the Iraqis and finally in the south of Iraq in Basra where British forces are, they handed over the airport to the Iraqis. Jill Dougherty, CNN, Baghdad.

WHITFIELD: In our nation's capital, a tragic start for 2009. A house fire in Northeast Washington has claimed at least five lives. Three adults, two children, killed. Authorities could not remember another fire in the district that has had so many victims. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RUBIN, DC FIRE AND EMS DEPT: The fire and EMS department's condolences go out to the families that had such tragic loss today. It is hard to imagine, but in just one day, we have almost had the same number of fatalities that we had in 2008.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: An 11-year-old boy pulled from the home is in extremely critical condition, and a teenager and an adult also hospitalized, their injuries not believed to be life threatening. No word yet on the cause of that blaze.

A New Year's Eve bomb plot in Aspen, Colorado, comes to a safe but very strange ending. After evacuating a big chunk of town and detonating several devices, police found their suspect, James Blanning, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot. Today they revealed some details about the plot and the items left at some Aspen banks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASST. CHIEF BILL LINN, ASPEN POLICE: Those packages contained notes threatening detonation of devices contained in those tubs, and, "mass death" if his demands were not met. He claimed that the devices each contained what he called a big firecracker made of unique chemicals and electronics. The notes, which are exactly the same at both banks, seemed to indicate that four banks in Aspen were targeted, though he did not name the banks in the notes. The notes also indicated the author had a problem with the Bush administration and wars in the Middle East, and he declared this to be "a suicide mission."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, turns out James Blanning was very well known to authorities. Let's bring in our Josh Levs, who has been doing some digging on all of this and on this person.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, all of the sudden, he's this national figure, right? People are finding out today. It's an incredible story. And keep in mind, this is at one of those major times in a major tourist city. We're talking about often thousands of people that will crowd into Aspen for this time. And obviously, this had a huge impact on what has been going on.

This is the story here off of CNN.com that traces you through some of the basics. Pretty much all of the details that we know so far. I want to show you some images and get you to some basics on the story. Let's go straight to here.

Here is what happened. The authorities did receive at two different banks some packages along with a note that was threatening. So what they did was they looked at the video surveillance and they managed to grab a still shot out of it and that is where they say they found the suspect, 72-year-old James Blanning. They took that, they released it, and then they ended up finding him. As Fred was just saying, later on, he had killed himself they say.

Now let's go to the next pictures, because I want you to see what these bombs -- authorities say were bombs, but what they looked like. They were wrapped up as Christmas gifts. And I'll tell you what the authorities are saying.

They say that he went into each of two banks with a large number of what looked like gifts that were actually bombs. Put them down and along with them handed a note to someone in the bank and the note, itself, they say, was threatening.

So these here are more of these alleged gifts that they say were actually bomb components on the inside. And we also have to show you a little bit of that note.

Now, we're not going to go away on it, there's some really offensive language in there, but we are going to show you a couple of quotes from these notes that these banks received.

One thing said do not expletive with us, or there will be mass death. Let's take a look at a couple more of the quotes from this. We have them saying this is as much a suicide mission as a bank robbery. And Fred, one more, this is what he was demanding, we are told. Put $60,000 in used $100 bills into a white box. In 20 minutes, have someone take the white box outside the front of the bank and wait until someone comes up and points directly to the box without saying anything.

And I'm going to emphasize, this is what authorities are saying to us at this point. Once they floated his name, CNN reached out to a representative for him and tried to see if there is anyone who can speak on his behalf, who could give a different story. We haven't heard anything else. But Fred, that's what we've been told so far.

WHITFIELD: OK, Aspen, not that incredibly huge.

LEVS: It's not, no.

WHITFIELD: What's the proximity of these banks? How close were they?

LEVS: Well you know what, let's go back to the board because I want to show you that, too. We'll show you how close these banks are. In fact, thanks to Google, we can zoom way in. These are the two banks right here. You can see they're right around the corner from each other. One is a Wells Fargo and another is a Vector bank.

You've got this one here. This one just around the corner right here. And in addition to these two, Fred, here is what they also say. They believe that he had bombs that he was going to bring to two other banks in this area. But that once the authorities got involved, he ended up abandoning that plan, so they found it in an alleyway in this area two more bombs that were placed there that were also wrapped as gifts.

So if you look here, this is a broader section of this, this is a 16-block area ended up being blocked off. No one could get around. They had to go door-to-door, take people out of homes, out of businesses, all on New Year's Eve.

WHITFIELD: Wow, very bizarre stuff. All right Josh Levs, thanks so much, appreciate it.

LEVS: Thanks a lot, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right well, a Canadian family has a lot to celebrate this New Year's. A missing snowboarder lost for three days in a remote mountain in British Columbia has actually been found, rescued. Twenty-one-year-old Jamie Martin was frostbitten and hypothermic, but he was doing well enough to talk to a reporter from his hospital bed. Authorities say if Martin had been found even a few hours later, he would not have made it.

Mountain cold and snow means possible avalanches just below where that rescue actually took place. And we know that some avalanches and other rescues have been taking place in the last few days. Chad Myers in the weather center. Boy, it is a very frightening situation being on the mountain. A lot of risks to take and you have to be really careful and respect that Mother Nature.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, a slumpy economy awaits the president-elect. Can he deliver on his campaign promises? We'll tell you how his team is already preparing to sell his stimulus plan to Congress.

And take a look, could this be the U.S. map in the next year or so? Blue states, red states with a healthy dose of orange and green? What is that all about? We will tell you who is saying this is what the future looks like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An Atlanta school is singing Oprah's tune. She is so impressed with the Ron Clark Academy, that she just cut them a huge check.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President-elect Obama has a lot on his plate as he returns from his Hawaii vacation, starting of course with the economy. Congressional sources tell CNN that he plans to meet with top Capitol Hill leaders on Monday to discuss his economic stimulus plan. Our Ed Henry reports the Obama team is already preparing to sell the new president's plan to Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While keeping one eye on the crisis in Gaza, President-elect Barack Obama is now returning to the mainland to focus on the issue that propelled him to office, the economy.

Which is why the transition team is kicking off the New Year by sending Congress a recovery plan in the neighborhood of $775 billion.

JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Economists rarely agree but on this score, there is overwhelming agreement that we need a robust and sustained economic recovery package. The greater threat to our economy lies in doing too little rather than not doing enough.

HENRY: Transition aides say the goal is to get the bill signed into law as quickly after the inaugural as possible to get the new president a quick victory while also giving the economy a shot in the arm.

The emerging plan includes billions for backlogs, transportation projects, to beef up constructions job and improve the nation's infrastructure, as well as modernizing crumbling public schools, to create jobs while also investing in education.

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: If we don't do this, it will cost us even more. This economy is now in the worst shape since the Great Depression and if we do not respond in a very firm way, it gets worse and worse and feeds on itself.

HENRY: But Republicans are making noise about slowing the stimulus plan down, because they're wary about the price tag, especially on top of a series of government bailouts.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R) VIRGINIA: I think most American taxpayers now are sort of scratching their head wondering when all this bailout stuff is going to end and probably thinking, you know, when is my bailout coming.

HENRY: To overcome the opposition, aides say Mr. Obama is considering plans to travel the country, to sell the economic plan quickly after being sworn into office.

(On camera): Mr. Obama needs to move quickly to sell his plant because there is no time to waste. This is the first real test of the new president's clout.

Ed Henry, CNN, Honolulu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The president-elect leads off the CNN Political Ticker. The Obama family will make the move to Washington actually this weekend where their are home for the next couple of weeks will be in this building right here, the luxurious Hay Adams Hotel, just steps away from the White House. The Obamas are wrapping up their holiday vacation. They're scheduled to leave Hawaii later on, returning to Chicago before making the move to D.C. this weekend.

The Obama inauguration committee is attracting some big name donors with pretty deep deep pockets. A check of the official Web site finds plenty of Hollywood star power including name like Steven Spielberg, Halle Berry, Sharon Stone and Jamie Foxx. Those four reportedly have donated the maximum $50,000 to the inaugural committee.

And Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says her family is over the moon by the birth of her new grandson. Palin is also using her first public statements about the baby to clarify her future son-in-law's educational status. She says Levi Johnston, the baby's father, is taking high school correspondence courses. Palin says media reports that Johnston is a high school dropout are simply incorrect. The baby's mother is Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol.

To check out our political ticker for all the latest political and transition news, just log on to CNNPolitics.com, your source for all things political.

A New Year's nightmare in Bangkok, what started as a party ends in deadly flames.

And a family faces financial ruin, even the loss of their home, until total strangers come to their rescue. A heartwarming story on the spirit of giving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This holiday season, CNN photo journalists have brought us stories focusing on people who are helping others in their time of need. Well, today, photojournalist Oliver Janney introduces us to the Sampson, a Maryland family who was headed for big financial trouble until a friend had an idea that brought kindness from total strangers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SAMPSON, FACING FORECLOSURE: There was an outbreak of salmonella. I ate a tomato that happened to be contaminated and then I got sick. I was sick for so long, I ended up losing my job because of it.

EBONY SAMPSON, FACING FORECLOSURE: A few weeks after that, I found out that I was eight weeks pregnant, that was a shocker.

D. SAMPSON: I called the police. I said, I believe someone stole my car because it is not in front of my house. They told me that the car was repossessed.

E. SAMPSON: So I come to the door and there's this guy and he's like, yes, I want to put in my bid for the auction on December 8th, I want to buy your house.

JAKI GRIER, FAMILY FRIEND: She was like, you don't have $10,000, do you?

D. SAMPSON: That was like November 20 or 19th.

GRIER: She doesn't really do Internet stuff like I do.

D. SAMPSON: The sale date was for December 8th.

E. SAMPSON: There was really no hope for us.

GRIER: She was like, blog, what are you talking about? Who cares?

E. SAMPSON: It's not going to work.

GRIER: So I started out with the blog.

E. SAMPSON: If we get $5, then that is more than that we had.

GRIER: I just sent links to people and I said if you can't donate, just share the link with somebody. If you think it is a hoax, I'm sorry, I can't prove it to you in the few days I have. If you think it is a hoax or willing to take a complete random bet on a stranger, help me out. You are losing a dollar.

E. SAMPSON: By Thursday, we had $3,400.

GRIER: Another girl was like my house is being foreclosed next week, there's no way I can get the money, but the least thing I can do is give you guys a dollar. I woke up at 12:00 that Saturday and the PayPal account said $10,900. And at this point, I'm freaking out. And by the time I got to my computer to take it down, it was $11,000.

E. SAMPSON: Out of nowhere, just the kindness of strangers and just people that came and provided for us.

D. SAMPSON: We want to let everybody know that we are definitely grateful.

E. SAMPSON: That is going to be our personal Christmas story that will be told every year for generations and generations to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. That is a community of a town coming together. All right, well, the governor has warned not to appoint a senator, but he did it anyway. Well, we will have the latest on the man that he has named to the post who is determined to take his seat to Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. It is 29 minutes after the hour, here are some over the stories we are working on in the NEWSROOM.

Israel and Hamas locked in conflict for the sixth straight day. Today, Palestinian sources say a missile struck the home of a top Hamas military commander, killing him and nine other people. And Israel says it has bombed the home of a second senior Hamas militant, but it is not known if he was there. The so-called green zone in Baghdad is now officially under the authority of the Iraqis. This is where the Iraqi government offices are as well as the U.S. embassy and Saddam Hussein's former republic palace.

And a New Year's Eve bomb squad in Aspen, Colorado comes to a safe, but strange ending. After evacuating a big part of the town and detonating several devices, police found their suspect, James Blanning, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.

The saga surrounding the successor to Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate is headed to the Illinois Supreme Court. Roland Burris was appointed by Governor Rod Blagojevich to succeed Obama.

Well, now Burris is asking the state's high court to confirm his selection. The Illinois secretary of state is refusing to sign off on Burris because the governor was recently arrested accused of trying to sell the Senate seat. Burris tells CNN that the governor's problems should not affect his appointment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLAND BURRIS (D), FMR. ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: The governor has made a legal appointment, and that I am currently the junior senator for the state of Illinois. And we are hoping and praying that they will see the reason in -- this appointing me as a very qualified, capable, able, and ready to serve individual to carry on the business of the people of the 13 million people of our great state and of course the business of the people of the great United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Well, the question of who will succeed Barack Obama in the Senate has become a very tangled legal issue. Former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin is joining me now on the phone to sort through some of the questions.

OK. So, the governor, still governor, Sunny, was it legal for him to make this appointment?

VOICE OF SUNNY HOSTIN, FMR. FED. PROSECUTOR: I think it was perfectly, perfectly legal, Fredricka. The bottom line is that, as you mentioned, he is still the governor. He has not been impeached. The Democrats stripped the governor of his appointment power. Roland Burris accepted the appointment. Plans have been advanced to hold this special election for the U.S. Senate seat post about three weeks ago.

You look at everything legally, the appointment was legal under the 17th amendment of the Constitution. He had every right to do it, and he did it.

WHITFIELD: So are we also saying now the state legislature nor Democrats in caucus in Washington could possibly stand in the way of this appointment? HOSTIN: Well, you know, they are going to try. I mean, at the first level the Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White, also a Democrat has indicated that he won't certify Burris as state law requires, but the question is, does state law really require that?

When I look at state law, it appears to me that the governor's appointment is effective immediately and that White's required to sign and affix the seal of the state to the commission. He's required by law to do it, and by all means, it appears that Burris is completely qualified.

And I think when you look at the law, he is right now the junior senator of Illinois.

WHITFIELD: And so Burris, former Illinois attorney general, it would seem that he knows the law. He said he's also going to take it all of way to the state supreme court. On what grounds -- what would be the argument? What would be the action?

HOSTIN: Well, he's already filed documents asking the supreme court to require White, the Illinois secretary of state, to certify Governor Blagojevich's appointment, and he -- state law makes his appointment effective immediately, and he is asking them to do everything they need to do to require that certification.

I think that he will likely be successful in that. And if this goes all of the way, Fredricka, to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it very clear in the past that the House, and I think that would apply to the Senate, can't refuse to seat a new member who let's say meets all of the qualifications for office.

And in this case, the qualifications are age, citizenship, residency and we know he -- Burris used to be the state attorney general. he's completely qualified to do that, so if the supreme court -- U.S. Supreme Court gets involved I think he still remains the senator.

WHITFIELD: So Sunny, all of this is taking place while a prosecution is under way of the governor. Now, that is going to take some time as well, so given that takes weeks if not months, does that hold up this U.S. Senate appointment for the same amount of time?

HOSTIN: It really, it really shouldn't. The bottom line is while the governor has been indicted, he certainly hasn't been convicted.

And I have to say that when we heard about this, I thought it was pretty brilliant on his part, because if he is going to be tried on attempting to sell this Senate seat not only did he not complete that action in selling it, he appointed someone that by all reports was not mentioned on these tapes, has not been discussed. It wasn't Candidate No. 5 or anyone else, and so it appears that this was sort of a stroke of genius by Blagojevich and his legal team.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunny Hostin. Thanks so much. Former federal prosecutor joining us today from Dunkirk, Maryland. Happy new year, too, by the way.

HOSTIN: Happy new year, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

All right. Six straight days of this, Israel not letting, and it's the only week-long air assault on Gaza.

Israeli and Palestinian sources say the homes of at least two senior Hamas militant were actually bombed today. One was killed. It is not clear if other was home at the time. The Israeli military says more than 40 militant rockets hit Israel today and that it carried out more than 50 air strikes in Gaza. At least, 400 people have been killed in Gaza and another 2,000 wounded. At least four Israelis are dead and 56 wounded.

Does Israel have a exit strategy and is there an exit in sight?

Here now is CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials and Arab diplomats tell CNN American leaders are strongly encouraging the Israelis to find a way out of this.

Their biggest worry according to the sources, the longer this goes on the more likely it'll become a mirror image of Israel's war against Hezbollah two years ago when the civilian casualties backfired on the Israelis.

HISHAM MELHEM, AL ARABIYA: Hamas could survive this Israeli onslaught. You will have more corpses and more bodies and more destruction and yet Hamas could survive politically even if in a weaker position. This will emboldened Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and the radicals.

TODD: It will embolden those elements some observers say while embarrassing Israel, the United States, and America's moderate Arab allies like Egypt and Jordan. Arab diplomats tell us they sense a shift in the U.S. position just in the few days since this conflict began.

GORDON JOHNDROE, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The United States holds Hamas responsible for breaking the cease-fire. Now the cease-fire should be restored immediately.

TODD: That was on Saturday and it meant Hamas should stop its rocket attacks. Now the talk is of a so-called durable cease-fire that both sides have to agree to and honor. And given the fierce resistance that the Israeli forces got from Hezbollah two years ago, there's a lot less confidence in Israel's ability to score a clear victory now.

PROF. REZA ASLAN, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE: It is hard to imagine how the Israeli military can utterly destroy Hamas as it has set out to do. Hamas besides being a militant organization, is a social organization. It has a political wing. It is an embedded force, not just in Gaza, but in the larger Palestinian territories.

TODD (on-camera): One sign of concern in Washington about Hamas's civilian support base being hit, when he spoke with Israel's prime minister recently, President Bush got an assurance that Israeli forces are only targeting Hamas's military positions.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In Thailand, a new year's celebration turns deadly when a Bangkok nightclub goes up in flames. Police say a fire and resulting stampede left at least 59 people dead in an upscale nightclub. Another 200 are hurt. The fire started near a stage where fireworks were being used as part of a band's performance and witnesses tell CNN that some people apparently thought the fire was actually part of the show. The majority of the dead were from Thailand and most of the deaths were from smoke inhalation or trampling.

Well, some people in Ukraine could be in for some very frigid days and nights. Russian energy giant Gazprom has cut off supplies of natural gas to Ukraine saying the Ukrainians owe some $2 million for past deliveries. Ukraine says it has paid the debt in full. Ukraine's state run energy company says it's now tapping into underground storage sites for extra gas.

And toned down celebrations in Cuba today as the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the communist revolution that swept Fidel Castro into power. The party's been dampened by a struggling economy, a series of recent hurricanes and Castro's prolonged illness. His brother Raoul who is now in charge must deal with rising prices for food imports and plunging prices for key Cuban exports.

And here today and gone tomorrow? One group has picked ten major companies that they think will not survive 2009.

And remember these kids, remember their sound. The kids of the Ron Clark Academy winning over a VIP, a Very Important Patron. There is a really happy new year ahead for the ground-breaking Atlanta school.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: She can do whatever she likes, and Ms. Oprah Winfrey would like to see even more kids benefit from schools like the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta.

The students were a big hit when they stopped by the CNN NEWSROOM to do their election rap. Well now fast forward two months to a new year's surprise that was a big hit with them.

More from Donna Lowrie of our affiliate WXIA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON CLARK, RON CLARK ACADEMY: And I realized that the sheet of paper was actually a check. Made out to the Ron Clark Academy for $365,000.

DONNA LOWRIE, WXIA REPORTER (voice-over): A shocker not just for the kids, but the parents, everyone. This is a dream for Ron Clark Academy. A school only in its second year and just getting started.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is such an amazing gift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never felt like this before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is just a powerful moment in history.

LOWRIE: Oprah met Clark after he transformed a classroom in Harlem. That was years ago. So the other surprise came after the check arrived when Oprah called him.

CLARK: I said how did you come about deciding to send a check for $365,000? She said well I was sitting on the couch and thinking about who I wanted to give Christmas gifts to, and I thought about you. She said, I want to send $1,000 for every day of the year.

LOWRIE: She sent the money without even knowing about the song the students wrote called "A Letter To Obama."

(SINGING)

LOWRIE: These fifth, sixth and seventh graders understand how to get validates at school where most of the kids come from at-risk backgrounds.

CLARK: And people see that she has faith in us and help others have faith in us as well because we get scholarships for all of our students. We're are a small school in a small factory trying to change the world. We are constantly fundraising. We depend on the community of Atlanta to have our backs.

GLORIA NESMITH, PARENT: I am just excited about the opportunity that the children have and the children that are yet to come because of the funds that are provided.

LOWRIE: In these tough economic times, the spirit of the season shines through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This feeling is like Christmas to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A huge Christmas gift. We will get the lowdown on Oprah's donation and what the school will actually do with it when Ron Clark actually joins us live on January 13th in the NEWSROOM. All right. So, you think things are tough headed into the new year? Well one man is BREAKING NEWS the breakup of the U.S. What? And a lot of people are actually listening to him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead with Rick Sanchez. There he is. What is going on, Rick?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I was just thinking, what was the one thing without which Barack Obama would not have been able to become the president of the United States?

It was one of event at one time, at one moment, it was make or break, and most would argue that it probably was more of a make than a break.

We are going to show it to you. We are going to analyze it, and we're going to let you see it in full, something sometime we in our business don't do enough of. That is just get out of your way and let you see it and try to understand how that moment worked. That is kind of -- I believe that is a special moment during this presidency, and there's two new polls out.

One of them asks, can Barack Obama unite the country? You know, the findings are surprising on this. The other one is, is he tough enough? I mean does this guy what it takes, you know, the intestinal fortitude as I like to say.

WHITFIELD: Wasn't he just elected? Didn't people ask that question as they went to the ballot box?

SANCHEZ: Well, but yes, but no. In a country where we are divided like 45-45 and everything's decided by that little 8 to 10 percent in the middle, you expect that sometimes when you do a poll, you going to find that it is split like that? Not in this case. Tease, not in case.

WHITFIELD: Tease. OK. We will be watching. Happy hour at 3:00 just 11 minutes away.

Thanks, Rick. We appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, today is January 1st, 2009. Just may be all downhill from here for 10 well known companies. That's according to the financial news publisher 24-7 Wall Street.

It put ten firms on death watch. Here they go: Chrysler, Sirius/XM, AIG, Fannie Mae, Rite Aid, "The New York Times," Nortal, Pier One, Charter Communications and the home building firm Hovnanian, and they are all predicted to be gone by this time next year. The Wall Street Web site says the brand names might still be around, but the companies behind them will actually be gone or radically different.

2008; a rough year for the U.S., and one Russian professor said it's going to get a lot worse. The former KGB analyst says the U.S. will break up next year. And it's a prediction that has made him the toast of the Russian media.

Details from CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An economy in free fall. Unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And growing hardships at home as recession bites. As if things weren't bad enough, now one Russian professor is predicting the eminent breakup of the United States.

PROF. IGOR PANARIN, POLITICAL THEORIST (through translator): I got the idea that the United States could disintegrate in the summer of 1998. I should admit that I was surprised to have come to this conclusion. Up until I started to analyzing, I had no idea that the United States had this disintegration tendency.

CHANCE: In brief, Panarin predicts that by 2010, the U.S. will break into pieces. Including new republics centered on states like California and Texas. The eastern states will join the European Union, he say. Canada will grab a handful in the north, while Alaska will return to Russian rule.

It's all of the end result of a fractious civil war triggered, says Panarin, by moral and economic degradation, and immigrants.

(on camera): It may be a crackpot theory, with no real scientific research to back it up. But what's fascinating is how it's being received here in Russia. The Kremlin has long blamed the United States for everything, from instability in the Middle East, to the global financial crisis. And this apocalyptic version of America's future is suddenly being embraced.

(voice-over): Professor Panarin, a former KGB analyst who heads Russia's Diplomatic Academy, regularly appears as a U.S. commentator on Russian television and in national newspapers. Analysts say his high profile reflects anti-American sentiment here.

SERGEI KARAGANOV, POLITICAL ANALYST: Of course, a lot of people in the world, including in this country would like the United States to fall apart, because it has been too mighty and because it is -- it looks now that it is losing.

CHANCE: But Panarin says he's being proved right by events.

PANARIN: We're seeing indicators like the collapse of the Wall Street banks, a mortgage crisis in the USA, as well as a number of various domestic problems. Even five years ago many of those problems didn't exist and most people didn't believe my ideas. But today, when America has shown its vulnerability, people have started to take them more seriously.

CHANCE: And in a country like Russia, which has huge problems of its own, the demise of the United States, its old enemy, is proving a powerful distraction.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. You're looking at the Vatican's New Year's day mass. Pope Benedict the XVI prayed for peace in Gaza, and called the violence, hate and mistrust, terrible forms of poverty.

The plane arrived in the U.S. with one more passenger than it had when it left. How does that happen?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A surprise arrival at Boston's Logan Airport. A baby girl was born on the flight from Amsterdam. Two doctors on board helped with the delivery, thank goodness they were there. Both mother and baby are said to be doing just great. The baby was born in Canadian air space so, to get through customs, she was actually considered a Canadian citizen.

And if you were like me, you were asleep at the stroke of midnight when the rest of the country was ushering in 2009. So cue the fireworks.

Our Jeanne Moos takes us through a whirlwind tour of New Year's Eve festivities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's the one thing you can count on, on New Year's Eve -- countless countdowns. From Hong Kong to Thailand to Australia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven, six, five . . .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy new year. Happy new year.

MOOS: And if you don't speak the language, watch the sign language.

It seemed the festivities worldwide were presided over by overexcited hosts, worked up over the fireworks. Fireworks were first rate. Australia's Sydney Harbor Bridge, and in Taiwan -- style seemed more towering inferno.

In New Zealand, the fireworks were accompanied by horns. Some literally rang in the new year. And some chose not to leave home.

GORDON JOHNDROE, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The president will spend a quiet New Year's Eve on the ranch.

MOOS: While others were about as far away as you could get.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'd like to wish everyone on beautiful planet earth a happy new year. MOOS: Yes, it looks beautiful from out there. But in deference to the bloody situation in Gaza, countries like Egypt and Dubai canceled celebrations. Sounds and sights of fireworks don't seem to work as well when there's real smoke in the air somewhere.

Back on the streets of New York, we asked for one word description of the past year.

2008 . . .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turbulence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Catastrophic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dreadful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Expensive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Extremely difficult. I know that's two words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tons of fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was good for me.

MOOS: From the Kremlin, to the acropolis, to the Ukraine . . .

most frequently heard word in every language . . .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy new year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy new year.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, here's at least one place where everything is coming up roses: Pasadena, California. That's where the annual Tournament of Roses parade has wrapped up. And now all eyes turn to this afternoon's Rose Bowl.

Thousands of people turned out and there were plenty of floats going down Colorado Boulevard there. That's partly because of the companies that paid for them had to commit their money more than a year ago. Cloris Leachman was this year's Grand Marshall. And you may have seen her recently on "Dancing With the Stars," you recognize her. We know someone else who should be on "Dancing With the Stars" when not in the CNN NEWSROOM. That would be Rick Sanchez.