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CNN Live Saturday

A Tragic Plane Crash in Chicago Kills One; Richard Pryor Dies at 65; Many Still Fighting for Clemency for Stanley "Tookie" Williams; Hostage Tom Fox's Daughter Pleads for her Father's Life;

Aired December 10, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Legendary comedian and actor Richard Pryor is dead. He suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1986, but his wife tells CNN he had a heart attack and died to day. He was at a southern California hospital. Richard Pryor was 65.
Also word today that Eugene McCarthy has died. The former Minnesota senator and five time presidential candidate died in his sleep in Washington area nursing home. He was 89-yeas-old.

Our top story tonight, the loss of a groundbreaking comedian. Richard Pryor died at a California hospital today, after suffering a heart attack. Now, Richard Pryor changed the world of comedy with his controversial take on life. His personal life ravaged by drugs and illness was often just as controversial. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield spoke with his wife, Jennifer, earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER PRYOR, RICHARD PRYOR'S WIFE: That -- you know, it still comes as shock to us, even though, like, well you know, he was really sick and blah, blah, blah, because he was such a fighter. He was so amazing and he really enjoyed his life. He went out every week, went to the movies, he visited his children. He really had a quality of life and he's been -- for the past two weeks, he's been laughing a lot, which is wonderful that I know that he had -- last two weeks were happy for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Richard Pryor was 65.

Sibila Vargas has more on his life and times.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Late in his life, Richard Pryor found a wealth of new material from the main source of his comedy, his own life. The comedian was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986. At an appearance at the Los Angeles Comedy Store in late 1992, he turned his tragedy into comedy.

RICHARD PRYOR, COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: Because I found out I had it. On a movies set I found out something was wrong. I didn't know what it was beucase the director said, "Come this way, over here," and my body was going...

(LAUGHTER)

"Cut! What -- Richard, stop kidding." I'm not kidding!

VARGAS: He was rarely kidding. Pryor became a legend of comedy by tapping his rage and agonies for laughs. He was the biggest name in stand up comedy in the '70s, won grammys for comedy albums, and part of the team that created the script for "Blazing Saddles." He appeared in nearly 40 films and was nominated for an Academy Award for his dramatic acting in "Lady Sings the Blues."

PRYOR: We'll team up. We'll be great together. I'll like Valentino, you be like -- be like Valentino and what's her name -- you know, me and you, baby. It's going to be all right.

VARGAS: Yet Pryor was remembered more for an incident in which he was horribly burned while freebasing cocaine. And incident he later described as a suicide attempt, an incident that also found its way into his comedy. Pryor directed himself in a semi-autobiographical film, "Jo Jo Dancer Your Life is Calling" in the mid-'80s. A film that he says refused to be written as a comedy. Pryor had long been in fragile health. He suffered and massive heart attack, and underwent triple bypass surgery in 1990. His colleagues in comedy didn't wait to honor Pryor after his passing. At a Friars Club roast and a special television tribute to Pryor in 1991, Hollywood told Pryor how they felt about him.

ROBIN WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: To use Chuck Yeager's line, he broke the envelope. He pushed it, beyond anything anyone could dream of. And it's deep stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very savage kind of humor. It comes out of a great deal of pain and that's something I think that's remarkably inspiring.

VARGAS: Also remarkable was Pryor's determination to keep working as his disease progressed. He continued to make appearances doing stand- up comedy, sitting down. In late 1995 he performed on an episode of "Chicago Hope." He received an Emmy nomination playing a multiple sclerosis victim fighting off the frustrations of his illness.

PRYOR: Sometimes I lay in bed think about, "get up and go" and -- but I can't. My energy won't allow me to. Because I try to get up, and my legs say, "what are you doing?" You know, and look like I'm crazy. Say, "Come on, buddy you know we can't do that. Just freeze. Smell the roses."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: and so he did. Tonight on CNN's "Larry King Live: Richard Pryor, A Look Back," that's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

Now there's also word that former senator and presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy has died. The Minnesota democrat is best known for galvanizing anti-war voters back in 1968. His success in the democratic primaries forced President Lyndon Johnson to call off his campaign for a second term. Eugene McCarthy, dead at the age of 89.

And a major airline crash in Nigeria. Investigators there still don't know what caused a commercial DC-9 to hit the runway and burst into fames. More than 100 people were onboard and most of them were children. The news is grim for most of the passengers, but remarkably, a handful of people made it out of this horrific crash alive. On telephone from Lagos, Nigeria, right now, David Clarke from the French news agency, AFP.

David, tell us more about what happened. What do you think caused the crash?

DAVID CLARKE, REPORTER, AFP: Well, we don't know exactly what caused the crash, but we do know that there (UNINTELLIGIBLE) an electrical storm. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that witnesses said that there was a lightning strike on the plane, before it burst into flames and hit the ground. Obviously, that's not being confirmed by air crash investigators, but we can confirm that there was a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) storm at the time that the plane came down. That is one of the things told the investigators.

LIN: David, tell us more about the crash itself. What happened? Why did so many people die?

CLARKE: Well, the plane hit the ground and exploded into flames and anywhere in the world that would be difficult for anyone to emerge from such a crash alive. We hear from the rescuers that seven people have been taken to hospital. We don't know exactly what situation they're in, but apparently they are responding to treatment. So, we are hopeful that seven of the 110 onboard, will survive. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at least 65 and maybe more school children who were coming home from (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

LIN: So, it is true many of those onboard were children. Do you know how many died in this crash?

CLARKE: Well we know that 103 people died, and also 110 onboard and we know that at least 65 of them, according to local officials, were school children. So, we can say that most of the dead were school children.

LIN: David, we're looking at some fresh video that has come in to the CNN Center from the scene. We see people gathering on what appears to be the tarmac and obviously really distraught family members.

CLARKE: Yes. Well, a lot of people were waiting for their children to come back from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) boarding school where they had been for the last two or three months and this was the time when families were gathering at the airport for these scores of children to come back from national capitol where they'd been studying at school. So, this had been happy times for families and unfortunately, there has been a disaster.

LIN: They've devastated. David -- David Clarke, thank you very much, with the AFP in Lagos, Nigeria as we cover this horrific plane crash. Now, officials say it could take up to a year to determine the cause of the deadly plane accident at Chicago's Midway Airport. Earlier to day, the Southwest Airlines jet was moved from the crash site to a hangar at the airport. It slid off the runway Thursday night and crashed into two cars, killing a 6-year-old boy. Joshua Woods died while riding with his parents and two younger brothers, they were all injured. CNN's Ceci Rodgers joins me now live from Chicago with an update.

Ceci, any more on what happened to this plane?

CECI RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll hear more in a couple of hours, Carol. It's almost 48 hours since this plane crashed through the barriers at the end of the runway on Thursday night. In fact, Flight 1248 was coming in for a landing in a snowstorm, not unlike this, and when they had landed, their speed on the ground was -- at touchdown was 143-miles-per-hour. They then speeded up to 152-miles- per-hour, perhaps because of a strong tail wind and went skidding through a steel barrier and out into the intersection behind me here, 55th Street and Central Avenue, crushing two cars. And as you said, killing one little boy, who was six years old.

Now the scene today was of investigators getting that aircraft out of the intersection. In order to do so, they had to use two tow trucks, one looks like a very large flatbed kind of tow truck. They used a sling on the nose of the aircraft to lift it up. They had to reinflate the tires of the aircraft. And so they have gotten that out of the way and now I'll get out of the way here and you can see behind me that there still are emergency vehicles out there. Police tell us that they're still cleaning up jet fuel that's on the road. They're trying to get that all squared away and cleaned up and salted so they were reopen this whole road.

This is a major area, a major intersection right by Midway Airport, but we don't know yet whether they'll be opening this back up on Monday or maybe as early as tomorrow.

Meanwhile, today investigators were interviewing pilots, flight attendants, crew members and witnesses to find out more about just what happened on Thursday night, and we will be getting that briefing, as I said, from them, in another couple of hours. And we'll have more to tell you, hopefully after that -- Carol.

LIN: Ceci Rodgers, we'll be looking forward to your report in our primetime program at 10:00 Eastern, tonight. Thank you.

RODGERS: Thank you.

LIN: Now, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is weighing a clemency request for Stanley "Tookie" Williams. He's the death row inmate and gang founder scheduled to be executed Tuesday. For an update, let's rejoin, CNN's Kareen Wynter in Los Angeles.

Kareen, what's the word from the governor's office?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, bottom line today, will not be the day Stanley "Tookie" Williams' leans his fate, whether or not he will live or die, that's because the governor has not made a decision on whether or not to grant a reprieve hear, but I can tell you there was a lot of high drama leading up to the last hour -- 3:00 local time today, that's when members of the media were told they could dial in to a special news line. There would be a recorded message, in which there would either be a statement saying that the governor has reached a decision to standby or has not. So, that's where things stand right now. It's also, as you can imagine a disappointment for Williams' countless supporters who just within the last several days and weeks have been -- held so many rallies, so many protests and attempts, here, to really sway the governor's mind to give this condemned murder a second chance.

In fact, earlier today there was even a rally outside the governor's Brentwood home. So the pressure continues, and it will, according to sources, right up to the final hours. Now, if this reprieve is granted Williams' death sentence would be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Williams says that would give him a chance to continue his legacy to reach out to children, as he's been doing over the last several years through his writings.

Now, the governor's press office said a decision would be likely before Monday. Again, it's not today, so we'll continue waiting, Carol. Maybe Sunday, perhaps even Monday, the governor has until that 11th hour, two minutes until midnight, when "Tookie" Williams is executed, December 13.

LIN: And maybe even more consideration given the change in "Tookie" Williams' lawyer strategy. They're not asking he be declared innocent or that he wasn't guilty of these crimes, but that his life is worth more to society if he lives than if he is executed. So, it'll be interesting to hear from the governor's office, hopefully soon. Kareen, thank you.

WYNTER: Absolutely.

LIN: All right, in New York City, a police officer returning home from an overnight shift died after a shoot-out with two men who were breaking into a vacant home. The officer confronted the men just after 5:00 a.m. when he heard the sound of broken glass. Now, he was out of uniform, but went to investigate after calling 911. The officer has been identified at 28-year-old Daniel Enchautegui. Police say he managed to shoot and wound both suspects even though he had been shot in the chest. He died a short time later. One of suspects is identified as Lillo Brancato, Jr. an actor who appeared on the "Sopranos." Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will mourn the officer's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: He did everything he could, just as he was trained to do. This is a devastating example of the bravery and dedication of this police officer who had just finished his shift a few hours earlier. Sadly, this is the second police officer to be murdered in the last two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, both suspects are, in the case, are hospitalized with gunshot wounds. One is in serious condition, the other listed in critical condition.

In the fight for Iraq, there's no word yet on the fate of those four Western hostages being held by Iraqi insurgents. Today marks the deadline when the captors who call themselves the "Swords of Justice Brigade" claimed they would execute the four peace activists. Fifty- four-year-old American Tom Fox among those being held, along with two men from Canada and a man from Britain. They are all members of the group Christian Peacemaker Teams. Now, we want to tell you that the family of Tom Fox, the American harks contacted CNN. They want to make a plea, an open plea, to the captors. We're go going to hear that plea live -- excuse me, not live, but on tape right here on CNN, so stay with us.

In the meantime, prepare for the worst. That is what they are doing today at the White House. The president and his top advisers want to be ready for the worst case scenario of an outbreak of bird flu, right here at home. Plus, turning to science after Mother Nature's fury, the difficult task of identifying Katrina victims when only bones remain.

And later, pack up your pencils and paper -- and laptop? Wait until you hear what one California school district's requires students to have.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Federal officials have conducted a four-hour bird flu drill at the White House. Today's exercise was meant to gauge the government's response to a possible epidemic. Kathleen Koch with Katherine Fox statement, requesting aped this statement Tom Fox joins us now from the White House with the results of today's test.

What was this all about, Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, again what they were doing was putting federal resources up against what could be a deadly bird flu. Obviously, nothing like that has happened, there hasn't been any human-to-human transmission of the bird flu, but again, the federal government wanted to really put its resources up against -- see how they stack up against this potentially lethal threat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): A deadly bird flu pandemic infecting one-third of Americans killing two million. The federal government has said that's what Americans and its own department should be ready for. So Saturday, 20 top federal officials, many cabinet secretaries, met at the White House for a four-hour tabletop exercise in fighting the bird flu.

FRAN TOWNSEND, HOMELAND SEC. ADVISOR: To identify options and then what you want to do is go back and make sure that are -- do each of the federal agencies have plans to fill those gaps, and quite frankly I think question quite well.

KOCH: Gaps identified: A lack of vaccines, and anti-viral treatments and a need for a reliable way to track the development and spread of the bird flu, even abroad.

MIKE LEAVITT, HHS SECURITY: The sooner we know, the more quickly and more adequately we can respond. We need to have a domestic surveillance system knowing when it happens in the United States, having the capacity to know what's occurring in the health care system is of vital importance.

KOCH: The White House would not release the precise scenario only saying it followed professional modeling based and past pandemics, like the one in 1918 that killed more than 500,000 Americans. Also coming in to play, lessons learned during Hurricane Katrina. How state and local governments play critical role during major crises.

After hosting a Washington conference this week with public and state health officials, health and human services secretary Mike Leavitt will now travel to all 50 states to examine their pandemic preparedness.

President Bush has made such preparedness an administration priority, introducing his bird flu response plan last month.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Then White House is now pushing Congress to pass the president's $7.1 billion request to ramp up vaccine production and take other action be to prepare for a possible pandemic. One may or may not be around the corner, but participants say that another lesson learned in this drill was, days matter -- Carol.

LIN: Kathleen, thank you very much.

KOCH: You bet.

LIN: Now, CNN traveled to southeast Asia to explore the origins of bird flu. Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines its potential threat in a primetime special. See it tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern right here only on CNN.

President Bush's recent decision to go on the offensive about Iraq and the economy appears to be paying off. The president recently kicked off a series of speeches defending the war effort, and outlining the economy's improved performance. A new "Associated Press" poll finds the Bush approval rating has climbed to 42 percent. Last month his approval rating was just 37 percent. Still, 57 percent say they disapprove of the job the president is doing.

Now, the president is praising House and Senate leaders for cutting a deal this week to extend the Patriot Act. The law expires at the end of the month. In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush called for a final vote on the extension. In his words, "In the war on terror, we cannot afford to do without that vital law for a single moment." Now, that law was sweepingly passed shortly after 9/11. It's been criticized by conservatives and liberals who say it threatens individual liberties.

Still to come tonight, you know who the justices are and usually know the cases they're arguing. But will Americans ever be able to see what's happening inside the Supreme Court? That debate heats up.

And later, thought it was just for wrinkles? Well, wait until you hear what Botox can treat now. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcomes back. As we told you earlier, there is no word yet from Iraq today on fate of four Western hostages. Today marks the deadline set by the captors who vowed to kill the four peace activists. American Tom Fox of Virginia is one of the four men who was kidnapped two weeks ago. CNN has been approached by the family of Tom Fox. They asked to broadcast a message to their family member who is being held hostage. CNN is complying with the family's wishes. Now a short time ago his daughter, Katherine Fox, just taped this statement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHERINE FOX, DAUGHTER OF HOSTAGE IN IRAQ: On November 26, 2005, my father, Tom Fox, was taken hostage in Iraq. He is there as a representative of Christian Peacemaker Teams who is a long-standing guest of your country. Both my father and I believe that the Iraqi people have legitimate concerns regarding the U.S. government's occupation and presence in Iraq. We believe that these grievances however, will not be resolved by taking my father's life.

As he and our family have previously stated, my father is not willing to sacrifice his dedication to the Iraqi people for any armed assistance from the U.S. government. Our entire family is making a personal appeal to those who have taken him. Your recent extension of the timeline verifies my father's belief that the Iraqi people are honorable and just. This extension indicates a willingness to discuss the safe release of my father. In order to secure his release, for which you are responsible, my family as well as Christian Peacemaker Teams are willing to discuss this matter at any time. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right, the daughter of American hostage, Tom Fox, who made that statement, requesting the time on CNN knowing that we broadcast internationally, hoping that these kidnappers will be listening and hearing that the Fox family respects their concerns an the concerns of the Iraqi people. We are going to be exploring the impact of a statement like this directly to the kidnappers.

Ken Robinson, our CNN senior military intelligence analyst, will be joining me at 10:00 in our primetime hour to talk about this. He has always stated that the kidnappings are a form of theater for the kidnappers and whether this family statement will, in fact, help Tom Fox remains to be see, so stay tuned.

She literally recorded that statement with CNN a minute ago.

All right, well, it took the fury of Mother Nature to destroy lives and homes and entire cities, and now it's taking science to identify many of its victims. Up next, how DNA is helping to close a sad chapter for families in the Gulf after Hurricane Katrina.

And later, for one California school district class just got really expensive. We're going to tell you why when CNN SATURDAY comes back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back. I'm Carol Lin and here's what's happening right now in the news. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says it's a tough decision, and has decided not to make any announcement about whether he's going to offering clemency to Stanley "Tookie" Williams. He's the 52-year-old Crips gang founder who's scheduled to dye by lethal injection on Tuesday.

LIN: New York Police say burglars shot and killed an off-duty officer while trying to break in a vacant home in The Bronx. Both suspects are now in custody and wounded. Police say just before dying the 28-year-old officer Daniel Enchatigie (ph) shot both suspects, one of whom has been identified as a New York actor.

Comedian Richard Pryor has died in Los Angeles. He died of a heart attack after struggling for years with multiple sclerosis. Pryor served as an inspiration to a generation of comics including Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and Robin Williams. He was 65 years old.

Eugene McCarthy died in his sleep today in Washington. The one time senator from the state of Minnesota turned the political world upside down when he mounted a primary challenge to president Lyndon Johnson over the war in Vietnam. McCarthy was 89.

Welcome back. We want to bring you the latest on the hostage situation out of Iraq today. We don't have any word on the four western hostages, whether they are dead or alive, but we do know that the deadline set by the captors has passed.

So, just moments ago we heard from the daughter of the American hostage Tom Fox of Virginia, Katherine Fox, asked to come on to CNN to plead for her father's life. This is what she to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHERINE FOX, TOM FOX'S DAUGHTER: OK. On November 26, 2005, my father Tom Fox was taken hostage in Iraq. He is there as a representative of Christian Peacemaker team who is a longstanding guest of your country.

Both my father and I believe that the Iraqi people legitimate concerns regarding the U.S. government's occupation and presence in Iraq. We believe that these grievances however, will not be resolved by taking my father's life. As he and our family have previously stated, my father is not willing to sacrifice his dedication to the Iraqi people for any armed assistance from the U.S. government. Our entire family is making a personal appeal to those who have taken him.

Your recent extension of the timeline verifies my father's belief that the Iraqi people are honorable and just. This extension indicates a willingness to discuss a safe release of my father. In order to secure his release, for which you are responsible, my family as well as Christian Peacemaker teams are willing to discuss this matter at any time. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Katherine Fox. Tom Fox's family requested to be able to make this statement on CNN knowing our international reach, and hoping that the kidnappers can hear them.

All right. Checking other developments now in Iraq. Four U.S. soldiers have died in separate incidents near Baghdad. Three were killed by small arms fire. The other by an explosive device. All of the soldiers belonged to Task Force Baghdad which patrols the Iraqi capital.

Including today's deaths, 2, 141 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.

Now, as that country approaches Thursday's historic elections, get firsthand accounts of the ballots and the bloodshed and politics of the last 1,000 days. Be sure to watch "1,000 days in Iraq" tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.

Now, every week we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front line, not just the violence. Today the effort to solve the mysteries left after Hurricane Katrina.

More than 1,000 people died in the storm. Most of them drowning victims, but coroners still don't know what killed at least 21 others. Some had gunshot, or stabbing wounds or suffered fatal blows to the head.

Medical examiners are trying to find out if some were suicide, whether there was foul play or if any were justifiable homicides. Even though DNA testing of Katrina victims is under way to determine exactly who all of those victims were, Keith Oppenheim finds that is little comfort to the family members of the people still missing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Baton Rouge, lab technicians are packing bones. The bone fragments in these boxes hold the DNA of Hurricane Katrina victims. And maybe the answer to the question that has been pressing since Katrina happened three months ago, who were these victims?

LOUIS CATALDIE, LOUISIANA MEDICAL EXAMINER: Now the samples are literally in the mail. And that's a relief. OPPENHEIM: But the relief comes after weeks of anguish, as relatives of victims were waiting for identification of the dead.

Susie Eaton lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her 79-year-old mother, Viola (ph), was a resident of New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Now this is all that's left of Viola's home.

SUSIE EATON, NOVEMBER 15, 2005: She had not been officially been dead nor has she been officially being alive. So I really don't know.

OPPENHEIM: Susie Eaton has been trying to find out if her mother is even in the state morgue. She had been hoping a sample of DNA from the family would make the difference.

EATON: I think there should be definitely be a better system. And I think they should get the DNA process -- they should get it on the ball.

OPPENHEIM: For weeks it seemed like no one was on the ball. State and federal officials fought over who would pay for testing. And three months after the hurricane struck it hadn't begun.

Meantime there were nearly 300 unidentified bodies at the state morgue. Finally a resolution, FEMA agreed to pay.

But with the good news, state medical examiner, Louis Cataldie, cautioned that DNA testing doesn't hold all of the answers. It's effective only when there is a sample of the victim or a relative and a match can be made.

He says at the state morgue there are more than 100 cases where officials have no idea who the dead could be.

CATALDIE: These are people who were found in the streets, floating in the streets or people who ultimately were found out in fields after the water had gone done. I have no location. I have just no identifiers.

And I've got 4,000 people saying they have, you know, missing loved ones. So, ultimately we can probably get some match there. There will be definitely be people that will never match.

OPPENHEIM: Still, DNA testing could quickly resolve 121 cases.

CATALDIE: I've got two situations in which I had entire families drowned in their homes, and if I've got one identified I can subsequently identify others and make those I.D.'s.

OPPENHEIM: For some devastated families waiting as of today, 100 days for answers, identifying more of Katrina's dead will give them closure and assurance that they can finally say goodbye.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: Wrapping news in the world tonight, Cindy Sheehan was one of hundreds of anti-war protesters gathered in London today. The International Peace Conference called for an end to the, quote, "illegal, immoral and, unwinnable war in Iraq."

Sheehan, two British lawmakers, and a spokesman for Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were featured speakers at the one-day event.

150 nations have agreed to open talks on extending Kyoto Protocol: climate pact beyond 2010. But the U.S. is not one of them. Today's agreement ended two weeks of deadlock at a U.N. conference in Montreal on global warming.

Former president Bill Clinton addressed the meeting Friday. He said the Bush administration is flat wrong to think following Kyoto could damage the U.S. economy.

Iran says it will enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel, that's despite international efforts to curb the country's atomic program. Today's announcement from Iran's top nuclear official drew sharp criticism from the U.S. Washington says Iran is trying to build atomic weapons.

Another first and another surprise in the history of arguably the most prestigious international award on the planet: The Nobel Peace Prize. Presidents, diplomat, civil rights leaders, all have claimed the prize.

But this year it's the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, and its director, General Mohammed El Baradei. The medals were handed out today in Oslo

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED EL BARADEI, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE: If we hope seriously to escape self-destruction, then I believe that nuclear weapons should have no place in our collective conscience, and no role in our security. To that end, we must ensure, absolutely, that no more countries acquire nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Mr. Elbaradei said that he envisions a world where nuclear armament is considered taboo, in the same category as slavery and genocide.

The Supreme Court took the unusual step of allowing audiotape of oral arguments in an abortion case on Wednesday. And that prompted the question -- what would it be like to have video cameras inside the high court?

Last month three justices spoke of their reluctance to allow them, but during confirmation hearings, Chief Justice Roberts said he is open to the possibility. Gary Nurenburg reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOHNNY COCHRAN: It doesn't fit, you must acquit.

GARY NURENBURG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When the O.J. Simpson murder trial was televised ten years ago, the audience of millions included the justices on the United States Supreme Court who didn't like what they saw.

JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, SUPREME COURT: I thought it was pretty sad. I was very uncomfortable with it.

JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY, SUPREME COURT: Well, if the system is flawed the people ought to know it. If television shows a flawed system --

O'CONNOR: Well, we saw it there. [ applause ]

NURENBURG: But you can't see the Supreme Court in session. Cameras are not allowed.

BRIAN LAMB, CEO, C-SPAN: It is a little secret world that most people don's see. Maybe they don't want to give that up.

NURENBURG: Brian Lamb is the CEO of C-Span, who fought to open congressional debate to cameras.

LAMB: The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. The number one reason to open it up to television is for the education of people in our system as to how it works.

NURENBURG: The author of a recent book on the Supreme Court says TV would make the court look good.

EDDIE LAZARUS, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: The American people would be delighted to see how well that institution operates.

NURENBURG: But watching coverage of cases even where cameras have not been allowed, some justices have come to believe television would give a distorted impression of the Supreme Court.

JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, SUPREME COURT: It's, you know, news entertainment and whatever, and -- they -- they want man bite dogs stories. They don't want people to watch what the Supreme Court does over the course over a whole hour of arguments.

PROTESTERS: Hey, hey, ho, ho, Roe v. Wade has got to the go!

NURENBURG: In the last five years the justices have released same-day arguments in 11 high interest cases, two cases in the last two weeks.

JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll hear argument next in Ayott versus Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.

JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER, SUPREME COURT: There's been audio and I feel it worked well. NURENBURG: And the justices closely watch the two federal appellate courts that occasionally allow cameras.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even 30 seconds, if he has something he really needs to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, your honor.

NURENBURG: Congress frequently considers, but has never never passed legislation, that would open it to cameras and the new chief justice asked about it during confirmation hearings.

ROBERTS: I don't have a set view on that.

NUREMBURG (on camera): One justice, David Souter, told a congressional committee that a camera would have to be rolled in over his dead body. Expect a judicious approach.

BREYER: If you have some things for it and some things against it, how would I proceed?

O'CONNOR: Slowly.

BREYER: Right. Correct!

NURENBURG: Gary Nurenburg, CNN. Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: I didn't know they were so funny.

Still ahead tonight, the schools say the students need them, but some parents say they can't afford them. The controversy over one California public school district requiring laptops for all of their students.

Stay right there.

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LIN: Most people probably think a public school filled with laptops where every student would be a good thing. But what if parents were required to pick up the bill? Should they be forced to provide something they can't afford? CNN reporter Coreen Wynter talked to one southern California mom who is outraged.

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COREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just two weeks into the new school year, Sandra Dingess did something she never imagined: pulled three of our four daughters out of this upscale Southern California public school

SANDRA DINGESS, MOTHER OF STUDENT: I had to take my girls to school that morning and watch them say good-bye to their friends.

WYNTER: And according to Dingess, good-bye to the ridicule from teachers.

DINGESS: One of my daughters came home from school very teary eyed and told me she had a situation at school that embarrassed her.

WYNTER: This parent blames the school district in Orange County for placing a price tag on education. Requiring that students in some elementary and middle schools have $1,500 laptops, with parents footing the bill.

DINGESS: They were asking for family for $6,000.

WYNTER: Superintendent Cameron McCune says the year-old technology pilot program offered at four our 20 schools in the district has been a success. Parents and students like the laptops required for 80 percent of the schoolwork at the four schools, but the district says it can't afford to pick up the tab.

CAMERON MCCUNE, FULLERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT: Nobody has been left out of the program and nobody has been excluded. And certainly not because they could not afford it.

WYNTER: McCune says the first year of the program, the district offered Dingess financial aid with loaner laptops. She accepted. But the next year she refused and filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union citing a violation under state laws of her constitutional right to a public education.

HECTOR VILLAGRA, ACLU: It's a real dangerous precedent to establish, if you can charge fees for an educational activity like this, I don't see why you couldn't charge fees next year for a textbook, for a desk, for science equipment.

WYNTER: The ACLU says it's received other laptop complaints. Says while its meeting with the school district, it's also prepared to file a lawsuit if talks it fail.

McCune offered no hints of a compromise and says students always have the option of transferring to a school where laptop are not required.

MCCUNE: There are a number that have left the program, it's minuscule compared to those that want to be in the program.

DINGESS: I don't want what happened to me to happen to any other family in Fullerton.

WYNTER: Sandra Dingess says even if that means uprooting your kids from one school and enrolling them in another.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Orange County, California.

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LIN: We're going to shift gears now because you probably think something like botox, as something to help you smooth out your skin and make you look years younger. Here's a new wrinkle. Botox might have other uses as well, such as relieving tennis elbow pain now.

A new study out of Hong Kong reveals a botox-type drug does relieve some symptoms. Here to talk about the other uses for botox, Dr. Marcia Gordon, she's a dermatologist.

Dr. Gordon, good to have you. How does it work physiologically? What is botox and how does it actually affect the body that it could have all of these uses?

DR. MARSHA GORDON, DERMATOLOGIST: Botox is actually a brand name for a chemical called botchalineum neurotoxin. Botchalineum neurotoxin helps to prevent nerves from being able to make muscles contract by blocking a neurotransmitter that makes the muscle contract.

LIN: Wow. Okay.

GORDON: In this way we are able to release spastic muscles and also smooth out wrinkles caused by excessive muscular contraction.

LIN: Also, we're hearing uses for tennis elbow and migraine headaches, also stopping excessive sweating?

GORDON: As time goes on we're discovering there are many other uses for botox, although we don't absolutely know why it works in all of these cases.

In fact, it definitely does decrease excessive axilary, that is underarm, sweating. We're also hearing a lot of secondary gain in terms of migraine affects. We use it for wrinkles and people are reporting it helps reduce migraines.

I read this report about it helping several people who had tennis elbow. This is a fairly new report, and we'll have to see if it bares out over the long term.

LIN: Maybe the migraines went away because they looked better?

GORDON: They were very happy.

LIN: That could be it.

GORDON: Are there any side effects to using botox.

GORDON: As with any injectable material, there could be bruising, or swelling in the area where we inject it, and also, we are weakening the muscles, and so if we either weaken too little or weaken too much, we can have problems, but, remember, the botox has a temporary affect. So if one is not completely happy or satisfied with the effect that they have, it is temporary and will go away.

LIN: Is it expensive?

GORDON: It does tend to be costly. The material tends to be expensive. It doesn't last for very long time in the body so it does tend to be costly, that's true.

LIN: Alright, Dr. Gordon. Thanks very much.

No wrinkles. No migraines and no tennis elbow. Young forever.

Straight ahead on CNN SATURDAY, wild weather hammers the northeast and shovels are out all over the place. We're going to have your complete weather forecast for you when we come back.

First, here's Ali Velshi to tell us what's ahead on "ON THE STORY." Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: We are on the story at the George Washington University. Sanjay Gupta went to Southeast Asia to sort out of the facts and the fears about bird flu.

And Jamie McIntyre says Donald Rumsfeld may have a point in criticizing coverage of the war. Plus reporters from the White House, the Grammy nominations and the blogosphere all facing questions from our audience. All coming up, all "ON THE STORY."

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LIN: New Englanders are digging out after the first major snowfall of the season. Parts of New Hampshire are under a foot or more of snow. About 50,000 homes in Massachusetts lost power after a storm hit. And the red cross has opened five emergency shelters on Cape Cod.

Most affected areas should have power restored, though, by -- well, hopefully by tonight.

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LIN: That's all the time we have left for this hour. Coming up next, "ON THE STORY." Then at 8:00 eastern, "CNN 25, THEN AND NOW." A look at prom prominent people that denied the news in the past quarter century.

At 9:00. Larry King, tonight, a look back at the life of Richard Pryor.

I'll be back at 10:00 eastern. We, too, have a lot more on the life of Richard Pryor. Expect celebrity interviews and a lot more.

A check of the hour's headlines and then "ON THE STORY."

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