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Gingrich, Romney Sharpen Attacks; Grand Funeral for Kim Jong- Il; Observers in Syria for Second Day; Mubarak Murder Trial Resumes in Egypt; Gingrich Ads to Hit Airwaves; Navy Won't Tolerate Iran "Disruption"; 2011: The Year in Tech; NASA Teleconference to Preview Lunar Probe

Aired December 28, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: OK, thanks, Alina and Ali. Good morning, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani in Washington, Kyra Phillips is off today. And we begin with the presidential caucuses in Iowa.

The countdown clock is now at six days. Six. Time is getting short. Tempers, in some cases, are getting shorter.

CNN political director Mark Preston is in Des Moines with more on what's going on today. So, we had Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Both on the offensive over the last 24 hours. They know that six days is a short time and that's when the caucuses are.

What have we been hearing from both of those candidates, Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Hala, you're absolutely right. There's so much on the line, so much at stake here. Six days until January 3rd when Iowa Republicans will caucus and will really kick off what has been already a very long presidential season.

Well, Newt Gingrich had pledged not to go negative in this campaign. He would -- said that he would only go positive and talk about his plan to try to turn the American economy around. Well, the gloves have come off and, in fact, he is going negative. Yesterday on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, he went right after Mitt Romney. In fact, let's listen to what Newt Gingrich had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I'd say, Mitt, is if you want to run a negative campaign and you want to attack people, at least be man enough to own it. That's your staff and that's your organization. Those are your millionaire friends paying for it and let's be clear. I am willing to fight for real job creation with a real Reagan camp-style job creation program.

You are a moderate Massachusetts Republican who, in fact, is very timid about job creation. Let's get it on together and let's compare our two plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PRESTON: You know, Hala, it wasn't just Mitt Romney that Newt Gingrich was critical of. He was critical of Ron Paul. In fact, Wolf asked him directly, would you support Ron Paul if he won the Republican presidential nomination, and Newt Gingrich flatly said no.

Now to be fair to Newt Gingrich, he is taking criticism from all sides right now. He's getting hit by Ron Paul, he's getting hit by these independent expenditure groups, these so-called super PACs that are supporting Mitt Romney for the nomination. Newt Gingrich right now trying to fight back, although he still says he's staying positive -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, so he's taking it from all sides, right, Mark? Is this hurting them and is going negative also hurting them if he vowed not to go negative?

PRESTON: Well, it's -- you know, there's a saying here in Iowa that Iowa voters do not like to see negative ads, but in fact negative ads do work. And what we're seeing is that these independent groups are the ones who are really doing a lot of the damage to Newt Gingrich, or that's what it appears to be in recent polling that we've seen.

Newt Gingrich who came out of no where. We thought his campaign was all done back in the summer. However he came out of no where at the beginning of December when Herman Cain fell and left the race. That was the rise of Newt Gingrich. However, these negative ads do seem to be working -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, let's talk about Gingrich. The Virginia ballot. He's not the only one not to have made that Virginia ballot. What is going to happen there with all these candidates who haven't made -- who haven't gotten their name on the Virginia ballot in time?

PRESTON: Yes. And let's just continue on the whole theme of being negative. We saw Mitt Romney being critical of Newt Gingrich for failing to collect the 10,000 signatures that you need to get on the Virginia ballot. This is a big blow to Newt Gingrich, as it was to Rick Santorum, as it was, as well, to Rick Perry. None of those three are going to be on the Virginia ballot.

Mitt Romney will be on the ballot, as will Ron Paul. Well, Mitt Romney had some words about why Newt Gingrich wasn't on the ballot. Let's hear what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think you compare that to, what is it, the Pearl Harbor? I think it's more like Lucille Ball at the Chocolate Factory. So, I mean, you got to get it organized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: So, a dig by Mitt Romney at Newt Gingrich because Newt Gingrich does not have the organization that Mitt Romney has in place. And Hala, just in a few hours, our own Wolf Blitzer will be sitting down with Mitt Romney to be talking about his run here in Iowa and his run for the Republican presidential nomination -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Well, there we heard from Mitt Romney. We heard from Newt Gingrich and, as you mentioned there, Mitt Romney will sit down with Wolf Blitzer and you can see that interview at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Mark Preston, we'll catch up with you a little bit later.

And Mark is part of our team in Des Moines, Iowa.

Now this week President Obama plans to ask Congress to raise the debt limit by $1.2 trillion to fund the government through most of next year. Now it's part of that deal struck over the summer so approval is expected. But the increase is likely to give Republican candidates some of those fresh talking points on the campaign trail. And we'll see how many of those make it into the discourse in Iowa over the next day or two.

Let's turn our attention now internationally to North Korea and the carefully choreographed North Korean-style staged events. The pageantry of a public funeral today for Kim Jong-Il. It was a three- hour event dominating state-run television and featuring a tearful Kim Jong-Un. Now there he is. He is the youngest son who is now known as the great successor.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea, with more.

All right, so, I imagine South Koreans and really much of the region had a bit of worry when Kim Jong-Il died thinking what's going to happen in terms of the succession. Are those worries still out there or do they feel that the succession to Kim Jong-Un is going smoothly, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, I think the concerns are still out there but certainly what we saw today in this funeral, in this pomp and ceremony that North Koreans do best is that at least North Korea was trying to give the impression that everything is running smoothly.

What we saw was Kim Jong-Un walking alongside his father's hearse. We had his uncle behind him who we understand is going to be helping him in the first few years of his reign. We had the military on the other side of the hearse, which was meant to show that he has the backing of the military. So it was all very choreographed by the North Koreans. They wanted to show that this succession is going to script, as far as they're concerned.

But of course, this is just the public face. We have no idea what's really happening behind the scenes. We don't know if there are going to be political battles and power struggles amongst the elite. And we don't know in the future if Kim Jong-Un wants his work to get his power base will actually feel like he needs to carry out an attack or in a provocative act in some way to try and show his strength or whether or not he will actually negotiate even more than his father did.

So I think these concerns around the region and around the world are still definitely there. But what we saw today, Hala, was really what we were expecting. The pomp, the ceremony, the tens of thousands of North Koreans out on the streets braving the cold in a very snowy Pyongyang watching the funeral procession.

GORANI: All right. And of course, the questions still out there regarding the nuclear talks, the development of nuclear power in North Korea.

Thanks very much, Paula Hancocks is in Seoul in South Korea.

The world is keeping a close eye on what's next for North Korea. Zain Verjee is in London with a look at what the headlines are saying about Kim Jong-Il's funeral on the state of the country that he is leaving behind.

Hi there, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi there, Hala.

Let's go straight to the newspaper headlines and give you a flavor of what the analysis is. Take a look at "The Daily Telegraph." This is their headline. It says, "A typical North Korean state funeral." It's an opinion piece that says, "The North Korean regime displayed hundreds of thousands of mourners in a similar state of overwhelmed grief during the funeral of his father, whose coffin was also draped in a red flag."

And the other British newspaper here, Hala, "The Guardian" and "the UK,." thousands mourn North Korean leader. It says the three- hour procession "may have helped answer key questions about the communist regime's immediate future amid fears that the rapid rise of the inexperienced Kim Jong-Un could spark a power struggle and potentially threaten regional security."

The "Korea Herald" in South Korea, Hala, has this headline. "Will Kim grow out from his father's shadow," it asks. It's an analysis piece that says, "While having to grow out of the shadow of his father, the untested heir is now saddled with daunting undertakings such as shoring up the economy, ensuring firm support from his people and establishing a charismatic leadership."

Analysts we spoke to today, Hala, said the really important message North Korea is sending today both to its own people as well as to the rest of the world is one of continuity that Kim Jong-Un will follow the policies that his father had and maintain the same kind of backing from his uncle, the region, the (INAUDIBLE), the head of the military, all that trotted out behind -- behind him when they were going through the funeral procession.

GORANI: Well, we'll know soon enough how smooth the transition is. Of course as far as many countries in the international community are concerned, we'll know what happens with these six-party nuclear talks. Whether or not they get back on track and what happens on that level.

Zain, thanks very much. I'll see you a bit later. Zain is live in London.

Now a human rights group is claiming Syrian authorities have moved hundreds of detainees to secret military sites to hide them from outside observers. There were Arab League monitors in the country now. They're there for a second day to see if the government is ending its bloody crackdown.

This video allegedly shows Syrian forces spraying water canyons at protesters in Hama on Tuesday. CNN can't independently confirm if it's authentic. Protests and violence have erupted ahead of the Arab League's visit.

Mohammed Jamjoom is following developments from Cairo with the latest.

We're also hearing from these Arab League monitors, Mohammed, saying they're not seeing anything frightening in the streets of Homs or in other parts of Syria. Of course, this is raising some eyebrows out there saying well, there's only 10 of you in each hot spot and you are being accompanied by the Syrian government.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Hala. And also today we were told earlier by the Arab League that observers would fan out to other cities besides Homs, that they we would go to Daraa, Idlib and Hama. When we'd heard that in Hama that there were protesting clashes earlier in the day.

Now, we're being told that in fact those visits have been postponed for logistical reasons and really just causing more concerns amongst the activists and opposition groups that we speak with in Syria because many of them are really convinced that what the Syrian government is showing these observers is just a charade.

It's not the real picture of what's going on there in Syria right now. We heard yesterday that while observers were in the city of Homs, activists and residents there said that crackdowns were still going on, that thousands of protesters that were in places like Clock Square in the Khalidiyah neighborhood there faced -- being fired upon with live ammunition and also tear gas by security forces there trying to disperse the crowd.

Now when we spoke to Arab League monitors earlier today and asked them, they said, that you know, there are reports being written up, being delivered to the Arab League, that as far as they knew these reports were confidential and that they weren't willing to talk about exactly what they had seen or hadn't seen on the ground yet there in Syria -- Hala?

GORANI: Well, what about these reports that detainees are essentially being hidden from the observers and also we're hearing reports that residents in Homs refuse to meet with some of these observers because they had the military with them? So of course, they're afraid for their own safety if they go up to observers and they have members of the military and officers there standing by and listening in on conversations.

JAMJOOM: Well, that's right. First to your point about, are they afraid to go up to the observers? The Arab League monitors we spoke with yesterday said that anybody would -- could come up to them, could talk to them. The Arab League monitors continue to insist that they had the free access that they needed.

But the activists that we spoke with, they were concerned about this. Now we did see videos emerging posted online by activist groups purporting to show members of this Arab League delegation in the streets, purporting to show residents coming up to them. One video, in particular, purported to show residents pleading to with somebody who appeared to be a government minder to take these members to more embattled parts of the cities to see what was really going on.

So it's a big question mark as to what exactly they'll be able to see. The activists still very much concerned that they're not getting a full and accurate picture of what's going on there -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, you know, what we would love, Mohammed Jamjoom, is we would love to be able to go to Syria and report on all this for ourselves, but so far we haven't been given permission to go inside of Syria since that brief visit last July.

Thanks very much. Mohammed Jamjoom in Cairo.

Well, speaking of Cairo and Egypt, 2011 started with Hosni Mubarak in power. An important American ally in the region. It ends with him on a gurney in court. Up next, we're talking about what's changed and what has stayed very much the same for the Egyptian people after the Arab spring.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak wheeled into court on a gurney today wearing a white defendant jump suit. His murder trial has adjourned until Monday, picking up after a three- month delay.

He is accused of ordering the killing of hundreds of protesters to clamp down on the revolt that eventually ended his 30 years in power. He is pleading not guilty. And you see him there sort of obscured by several men in dark suits.

Mubarak stepped down in February. That makes 10 months since the military took over in Egypt. So much is different, but, so much is the same. Protesters are still in Tahrir Square, but this time they're standing against military rule, when initially they had stood with it.

The protests have turned dangerous at times. Take this video from earlier this month showing soldiers attacking a woman stomping on her and dragging her away. You see it there on the left-hand side of your screen.

And just this week, a prominent blogger was let out of jail and headed straight to Tahrir Square to join demonstrators. He said the general in charge of military police should be put on trial for killing protesters, the same crime Mubarak is accused of.

Steven Cook is the senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and he's the author of a book, "The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square."

Steven Cook, thanks for joining us.

STEVEN COOK, AUTHOR, "THE STRUGGLE FOR EGYPT": Good morning, Hala.

GORANI: When you see these images of protesters in Tahrir Square, of soldiers stomping on a woman's bare chest, of Alaa Abdel- Fattah, a prominent blogger, jailed for several weeks before being released -- has anything changed in Egypt?

COOK: Well, it certainly seems from those images and from everything that has been going on over the course of the last couple of months, but certainly in the last few weeks that as much as things have changed in Egypt, they certainly have not. Young activists are continuing to stay in Tahrir Square and the streets as a permanent revolution against military rule, which they suspect for trying to salvage as much as they can of the Mubarak regime.

And I think that there is a lot of evidence that that is, in fact, what the military strategy has been.

GORANI: OK. And when U.S. viewers watch these images and they think, wait a minute, in February, we had this revolution and Mubarak stepped down and democracy was supposed to flourish in that country and we did have a few rounds of legislative elections in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood scored very well.

So, what is the future then for that country after having gone through such a difficult and historic year?

COOK: Well, for anyone who is paying attention to what's going on in Egypt, the idea that Egypt would relatively smoothly transition from 60 years of autocracy to a democracy was not necessarily dealing with the facts of the situation.

I think that Egypt is in for a long-term struggle for -- as Egyptians debate what kind of society that they want. And you can see that the military has a very different vision of the future of Egypt, as the activists in Tahrir Square, which is very different from what the Muslim Brotherhood, which you just mentioned, has done quite well in the most recent round of elections.

So, this is going to be a long-term process in which Egyptians work out their future and it's going to be marked by periodic spasms of violence, continuing protest, uncertainty and instability.

GORANI: Well, when you look at the parties that do well when there are free elections. For instance, in Tunisia, the country that sparked this whole Arab spring movement. You have the relatively moderate Islamic parties that score well. Is that what a democratic Arab world will look like when elections are held?

COOK: Well, we're not sure. In the early going, it seems that these Islamist groups which are well-organized and well-resourced and have been so for quite some time certainly have an upper hand over new political parties that have emerged as a result of these uprisings. What will really be the telltale sign of Egypt's move towards a more political system is how Egyptians go about writing the Constitution and the content of that Constitution.

Now, this is not going to be an easy process, by any stretch of the imagination. But the real focus now is going to be on the content of this Constitution and that will, the development of Egyptian institutions after the fall of Mubarak will tell us what kind of society Egypt will be.

GORANI: Not just Egypt, though, Steven, as you know. What happens in the most populous Arab country has an influence on the rest of the Arab world. So, it's going to be so important what happened in 2012. We always appreciate your analysis.

Steven Cook, thanks for joining us.

COOK: Thank you, Hala.

GORANI: The U.S. is still considering a request from -- speaking of the Arab world -- Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh to come for medical treatment in New York. That's according to a State Department statement late yesterday.

But earlier in the day, a senior Obama administration official told CNN this man you se there would be, in fact, let in. The State Department says it's still trying to determine if he is eligible. He was badly injured in an attack on his palace in June.

Well, we've got another best of 2011 list ahead for you. We'll tell you which companies were the best performers on Wall Street this year and which ones were the worst.

And a Russian fishing boat trapped for nearly two weeks in Antarctic ice. It's finally free. Hear who came to the rescue, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, a Russian fishing boat is finally free from the Antarctic ice nearly two weeks after it got stuck and it started taking in frigid water, which was a huge concern because there were concerns it could sink altogether. Underwater ice tore a hole in the Sparta in mid-December. But then a South Korean ice breaker came to the rescue.

Zain Verjee is live in London.

Lots of Korea news today, whether it's the funeral of the "Dear Leader" in North Korea or South Korean ice breakers coming to the rescue. Tell us more about this, because the Russian ship is certainly thankful, I imagine.

VERJEE: They are. They were rescued on Christmas Day, that's when the South Korean vessel called the Araon tore through the ice and they made it to the Sparta, the Russian vessel.

And it was a lot of good news there. The South Koreans there did a great job.

Essentially, there was about a one-foot hole, Hala, in the Russian vessel. They banged into an iceberg, oops, and got stuck for two weeks. The crew was a little panicked and they were already, in fact, on some of the rescue vessels, the life boats waiting and they were there.

But the South Koreans got there and they basically fixed the hole. They put a metal plate, they welded that in there and then they managed to transfer fuel from ship to ship so that the Russian vessel could get out of the ice. And so, the South Koreans escorted it very nicely out of the ice and they should be in open waters -- well, any time now, actually.

So, the 32-member crew is very grateful that they are out of that Antarctic ice.

And the South Korean vessel, by the way, some vessel that was doing polar research and they just happened to be in the area. And it was just difficult to air rescue these guys because of all the ice.

GORANI: But -- so, there's a Russian ship out there, the Sparta, with the patched hole hoping that it's going to last until they make it to a port somewhere.

VERJEE: Exactly. It's not really clear what their destination is, but they're all keeping their fingers, toes and eyes crossed, hopefully staying warm with a little bit of vodka that are left over there. Who knows? But they are happy, Hala, that they're out of the Antarctic ice.

GORANI: OK. Nice Christmas present for the Sparta. Thanks, Zain. I'll see you a bit later.

VERJEE: All right.

GORANI: If you believe the latest poll, the Iowa caucuses could be just the beginning of the political drama. Iowa isn't the only place where the race is too close to call. Same goes for the whole country. We'll tell you about that, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Checking top stories now. New and grisly details are emerging about the murder of a 9-year-old girl in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Aliahna Lemmon was beaten to death with a brick, dismembered and then stuffed in a freezer.

Police will formally charge a neighbor and family friend with murder. They still don't have a motive.

An American-born man and former Marine says he was on a mission to deliver information to Iranian intelligence. Iran says Amir Hekmati is a spy working for the CIA, trying to get details about Iran's involvement with terrorist activities. His family says Iran forced the confession and that he's innocent. Hekmati was arrested while visiting his grandmother in Iran in August.

Well, a hot seller this Christmas season, guns. Americans bought a record number of them, according to the FBI. It recorded more than 1.5 million background checks in December. That's a new one-month record. The actual number of guns sold could be higher because people often buy more than one at a time.

Less than a week until the Iowa caucuses, everyone. The Newt Gingrich campaign has released a new ad, claiming he's the opposite of Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nothing will turn America around more than election night than when Barack Obama loses decisively.

I'm Newt Gingrich and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, the Gingrich ad attacking Obama -- Joe Johns joining us live from Des Moines -- says nothing more about the GOP candidates. Well, that's the strategy.

What's the strategy? Yes?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: You know, the strategy Gingrich has articulated is not to attack other Republicans in the field. And as far as ads go, that's pretty true. He hasn't put out any bomb-throwing ads, if you will.

But that's only part of the strategy. Gingrich has also reserved the right to respond to attacks. So, essentially, what that means is that he's going to lash out at other Republicans in the field who will lash out at him and he's done that on several occasions, particularly in interviews like the interview he did just yesterday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM," going after both Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in the very same interviews.

So, it's not completely true that Newt Gingrich is not going to attack Republicans. He reserves the right to go after them, if they go after him, Hala.

GORANI: Well, some Gingrich supporters took a very different approach, as far as their ads are concerned. Tell us more about that.

JOHNS: Right. This is an ad by the Gingrich Super Political Action Committee. This is a group that's not supposed to be formally connected with Newt Gingrich, but, for example, they put out ads that can benefit him.

Let's listen to this ad and I'll talk about it in a second.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: The Republican establishment wants to pick our candidate. When a principled conservative took the lead, they outspent Newt Gingrich 20 to one, attacking him with falsehoods.

Conservatives need someone who has fought for us. Newt balanced the federal budget, reformed welfare, cut taxes and created 11 million new jobs. Newt will take on radical judges and fight against abortion.

Don't let the liberal Republican establishment pick our candidate -- Newt Gingrich.

Winning Our Future is responsible for the content of this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So, is that an attack or not an attack? If you read between the lines, certainly a swipe at Mitt Romney. That first line you heard in the very last line you heard about not allowing the liberal establishment to pick the Republican nominee.

So, this ad coming out from the Gingrich Super Political Action Committee certainly goes one step in the direction of taking a swipe at Mitt Romney in this field.

GORANI: Right. It's the "whatever works" strategy it seems in the last few days before the caucuses. Joe Johns is in Des Moines. We'll catch up with Joe a little bit later. Thanks very much.

And this reminder, of course, tune in Tuesday night for the country's first real votes. It's the big test, the first true test. America's Choice 2012. Live coverage of the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, January 3rd, 7:00 p.m.

Nothing appears to be off limits for comedian Denis Leary, even the Peanuts cartoon characters. And now, the actor has a few Islamic activist groups angry about what he's done with the classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Showbiz headlines, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Three more trading days for Wall Street in 2011. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with a preview of today's action.

Hi, there, Alison -- or preview, I should say. We're open. We've been open for seven minutes. How is it going?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, or lack of action. You know, they're off to the races here and stocks are barely moving. You know, not such a big surprise. Expect this to be sort of the trend all week, it's going to be very quiet.

You see stocks a little bit in the red right now. Obviously, stocks aren't taking their cue from Europe today where a successful sale of Italian debt have stocks there on the plus side. But there's a whole trading day ahead of us. You never know where stocks can go.

The S&P 500 does enter today, up 0.6 percent for the year. We're going to be watching to see if it can end this year on the plus side. But either way, this will go down as one of the years where it was kind of eh, so-so for the year for stocks -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Well, let's -- it's so-so for the year in stocks, but if you're smart about stocks. If you were smart about stocks in 2011, Alison, you can actually make quite a return on your investment.

Which one were the best performers and which stocks were the worst performers for 2011?

KOSIK: OK, on track to take the top spot this year. Drum roll, please.

Ready?

McDonald's. Yes, McDonald's shares up more than 30 percent. They actually recently crossed the $100 a share mark. You know what? Not such a big surprise there. McDonald's consistently reports monthly sales increases around the world. It's, of course, very popular in Europe and Asia.

Now, number two is IBM, which saw an encouraging increase in business spending their money this year.

Coming in third is Pfizer, that's despite the fact that it lost patent protection on its bestselling drug of all time, Lipitor. It's still up 20 percent for the year.

Now, at the other end of the spectrum, it's been a terrible year for Bank of America. It's been in the headlines for not so good things. And Alcoa is also at the bottom of the spectrum, as well -- Hala.

GORANI: OK. So, what's the thinking behind McDonald's? People sort of buy fast food, cheaper, convenient food if they have issues with income or there's a recession. What's the thinking behind McDonald's in particular?

KOSIK: Yes, what really helped McDonald's was Europe, because McDonald's is, as I said, very popular in Europe and it is a cheap eat.

Also not hurting its share price, of course, is that McDonalds has a dividend. It has a 70 cent dividend. So, that helps people when you're investing. People go to McDonald's looking for that dividend, as well, Hala.

GORANI: You have McDonald's in Paris. I'm always surprised when I see Americans eat McDonald's in Paris. But they do. And, you know, so do I, occasionally.

In France, you call it McDo. So, there you have it.

OK. Good if you're holding McDonald's shares. See you in a bit, Alison.

Comedian Denis Leary is known for its not so politically correct humor, but his parody of the classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has a few Islamic activist groups claiming he's gone too far.

Let's bring in entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner for that story.

What did Denis Leary say? How did he take that classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and use -- and offend some groups, Nischelle?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, he said a lot in a little bit of time and it's really not hard to see why Muslims are upset by this cartoon.

Now, Leary twist the Charlie Brown Christmas story into a three- minute parody where Charlie Brown converts to Islam and preaches to jihad against America.

Now, you remember the classic scene in the Charlie Brown Christmas special where the gang saves a little Christmas tree. In this film, though, Charlie Brown brings a detective bomb into the stage and the gang turns it into a bigger bomb that sends Charlie Brown and Linus to hell.

Yes. Leary does like to provoke. Now, he's taken shots at pretty much every taboo out there, from Christianity, to the disabled. And there are also some digs at commercialism of Christmas in this video.

But, you know, I'm really not sure what his point is here. I mean, he literally and actually tweeted out the links to this cartoon before Christmas, but it didn't go viral until multiple sites linked to it this week, Hala.

GORANI: All right, interesting. Now, a new list of films to be preserved by the Library of Congress, Nischelle, is out this morning. And I understand there are some intriguing movies on that list. Tell us about it.

TURNER: You know, some of my favorites are on this list and who would have thought, really, that Hannibal Lecter would end up really in the Library of Congress. Well, he is. And right next to "Bambi" and "Forrest Gump."

And the Library of Congress announced on Wednesday the name of 25 new films that will be added to the National Film Registry. Some of the movies to be preserved include "Silence of the Lamb," "Bambi," "El Mariachi," "Forrest Gump," The Kid," "Norma Rae" and "Porgy and Bess," which is one of the favorites, just to name a few.

Now, some of these, of course, were huge Oscar winners. "Forrest Gump" took home six trophies, including best picture in '94. And "Silence of the Lambs" won four Academy Awards in 1992 with Hannibal Lecter himself, Anthony Hopkins, winning best actor.

Now, Hala, you know, we got a really exciting Hollywood award season coming up in the next few months. Who knows? We may see a few of this year's most honored films in the Library of Congress in the future.

GORANI: All right. We might. We might. Thanks very much, Nischelle.

And coming up, Nischelle is going t o tell us which marriage lasted fewer days than Kim Kardashian's. Sinead O'Connor's reasons for cutting it short after 16 days.

Also coming up, the U.S. Navy coming out with strong words for Iran. We'll bring you those details as well, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The U.S. is coming out with a tough warning for Iran. It's saying that any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz will quote, "not be tolerated." What does that mean, Barbara Starr is following the story here in Washington.

So how -- but -- how seriously is the United States taking any threat of a possible disruption in the Strait of Hormuz?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Hala, rhetoric and action is ramping up in the last few days. Right now out in that area we are seeing the Iranian Navy conduct several days of war games out in the north Arabian Sea just outside the strait. And we are also seeing from the Europeans discussion of an embargo against Iran to try and encourage them to stop their nuclear program.

All of this leading to this increased rhetoric. Iran making a number of statements that it would close down the Strait of Hormuz. So we went to the U.S. Navy and asked them about that. The U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet located in that region in Bahrain this morning coming out with that very tough language.

Let me read to you what the U.S. Navy is saying about this now. Quote, "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations. Any disruption will not be tolerated."

The U.S. Navy maintains, as you know, Hala, a number of warships in that region at all times and they are making it very clear that they will not tolerate Iran shutting down that strait, which is international waters and a vital economic lifeline, Hala.

GORANI: Well, let's put that map up of the location of the Strait of Hormuz, once again, because you're going to see one big country there and that is Saudi Arabia.

STARR: Saudi Arabia. As you know this --

GORANI: Saudi Arabia. Yes.

STARR: This is all about oil prices and the freedom of navigation of oil and other goods through this strait.

GORANI: Yes.

STARR: Oil over $100 a barrel. Right now, of course, crude oil. The Saudis are thought to be maybe unable to talk to the Iranians. When we were out in the region last week with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs we made a stop with him, of course, in Saudi Arabia.

He was making it very clear he hoped that the Saudis would be able to talk to the Iranians and talk to them about their nuclear program and talk to them about their rhetoric and calm things down a bit. General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

The Saudis now will be the linchpin if the Iranians were to make a move, would the Saudis raise their oil production levels to try and bring the market back into balance? This is as much economic warfare as it is anything else. But the U.S. Navy, the Obama Administration letting the U.S. Navy this morning take the lead in talking about this that a disruption will not be tolerated and that the U.S. won't allow the strait to be shut down.

And very clearly the allies in that region, the Persian Gulf oil producing nations and the other smaller Gulf nations in the region are making it clear, they don't want that to happen either. Goods and services flow through those oil waterways and people want to see that commerce continue -- Hala.

GORANI: Right well, these gulf nations, Saudi, they see Iran truly as one of the biggest existential threats to them and economically, as well, with this saber-rattling now. So, Barbara, we're going to get back to you with more on this story as more reaction comes out.

We saw a lot of technical advances in 2011. You know about iPads, the new iPhone, but what were some of the other things that changed our lives? A look at the year in tech, next.

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GORANI: From "Angry Birds" to angry customers, 2011 was a big year for technology. CNN's Dan Simon reports from San Francisco. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 2011 was the year of the tablet, as device makers scrambled to catch up with Apple's iPad. But nearly all of them were flops, including the Playbook from Blackberry.

And speaking of Blackberry, the one-time king of smart phones saw its reputation damaged amid a highly embarrassing worldwide outage. Millions of its users couldn't send and receive e-mails for more than three days forcing the company's CEO to deliver an online mea culpa.

MIKE LAZARDIS, FOUNDER, RESEARCH IN MOTION: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You expect better from us and I expect better from us.

SIMON: The Netflix brand took a hit as well after users complained bitterly over a 60 percent price hike in their movie rental service.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on you, Netflix.

SIMON: And the PR only got worse.

REED HASTINGS, CEO, NETFLIX: We think that the DVD service needs its own brand so that we can advertise it so we've named our DVD service Quickster.

SIMON: Customers hated the idea and CEO Reed Hastings reversed himself. Netflix stock, meanwhile, plummeted.

But some brands saw their fortunes soar. "Angry Birds" went from being just a popular iPhone game to a merchandising bonanza.

Investors got excited this year with new tech IPOs like LinkedIn and Groupon. Silicon Valley had flashbacks to the dot.com bubble era. But the interest in stock prices have faded.

We saw social networking this year become front and center on the global stage as pro-democracy demonstrators in the Middle East used it to organize and spread their messages. At one point Egyptian leaders shut down Internet access during the height of the revolution.

2011 was also a big year for hackers. The term hacktivism became part of the vocabulary as groups like "Anonymous" lost politically motivated attacks.

It also became clear that smart phones would represent the next frontier for criminals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is your friend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still AT&T network.

SIMON: The cellular phone industry also made headlines with a proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, but the Justice Department said "no go" amid concerns it would harm competition in the U.S. wireless market.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With iCloud.

SIMON: this year cloud computing became in vogue.

STEVE JOBS, APPLE: And we're going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud.

SIMON: Of course the biggest tech story of the year was the loss of Steve Jobs.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": People around the world are mourning the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

SIMON: The Apple CEO lost his long-time battle with pancreatic cancer. Never before had a company chief executive had such a loving fan base.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we announce innovations.

SIMON: The company had a smooth transition with Tim Cook taking over CEO duties, and Apple once again had another major hit on its hands with its new iPhone, the 4S which took voice recognition to a whole new level with Siri.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Find me an Italian restaurant in North Beach.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok.

SIMON: So it was a big year in technology and with innovation continuing at a rapid pace, 2012 looks to be the same. Look for Facebook to go public. Look for Apple to come out with the iPad 3, the iPhone 5 and maybe if the rumors are true, a television.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

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GORANI: Well, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in with Joe Johns -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey Hala, Newt Gingrich said he wasn't going to go negative in this campaign, but it's crunch time here in Iowa and he's calling out Romney. We'll have that report coming up next.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Mohammed Jamjoom in Cairo. Arab League observers were supposed to fan out to other flash point cities in Syria today. We're told now those plans have been delayed due to logistical reasons. I'll have more details for you at the top of the hour.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. More than 12 states now recognize or have legalized gay marriage, but all of those happy couples are in for a big tax headache this year because the federal government and the IRS still don't recognize them. I'll explain in the next hour -- Hala.

GORANI: Thanks, Alison and to all of you. Also coming up next hour, retracing the path of the Titanic 100 years after it hit an iceberg and sank. It's not for research. It's for vacation. Would you shell out $5,000 to book a trip on the memorial cruise? We're talking to the managing cruise director next hour.

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GORANI: Quick look at what's ahead. Later today in just a few minutes NASA is holding a teleconference to preview twin space crafts' lunar orbit. Two probes were launched in September. They will begin orbiting the moon this Saturday in just a few days. And scientists are hoping to get a better understanding of how our solar system was formed.

Then at noon today, GOP presidential candidate, Gary Johnson isn't having much luck as a Republican so he's switching to the libertarian party.

Tonight at 10:00 the official mourning period for North Korea's Kim Jong-il begins.