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Live From...
Soggy Travel Day; Ukraine Election Controversy
Aired November 24, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A revolution in reverse. In Ukraine, a presidential candidate backed by the Kremlin was named the winner today, amid charges of widespread fraud. Supporters of the candidate friendly toward the West remain in the streets of that capital amid calls for a nationwide protest.
The election announcement in Ukraine condemned today also in Washington by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell is calling the official results unacceptable. He is warning of consequences now coming from the U.S. side.
Have gun, won't travel. A 79-year-old Florida woman ended up in jail, instead of the Bahamas, after airport security found this unloaded gun packed in her carry-on bag. She says she put it in there when she moved recently and just forgot about it. Check out the title of that book, FYI.
Also today, a knife attack at a school near Gary, Indiana. Police say that a student at Valparaiso High School attacked another student or a number of students in a classroom, sending eight of them to the hospital with cuts. The alleged attacker is in custody. And the wounded are expected to be released.
Well, up first this hour, a soggy and stormy getaway day. For lots of the nation, travel conditions are about as appealing as a half-baked Thanksgiving turkey, in other words, bleh, all of this as millions of Americans as take to the roads and not-so-friendly skies.
Let's check in with Orelon Sidney. She has the very latest from the CNN Weather Center. Hi, Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.
Indeed, this is one of the worst holiday travel days I remember in the weather. This is what it looks like now across the Southeast, new instability, new tornadoes possible and new tornado watches in effect. We continue now with tornado watches for South Carolina and Georgia, Georgia down into Florida. And we do have numerous warnings. One of those warnings expires at about 3:15. That is for Orangeburg County, South Carolina. We have a warning expiring at 3:30 for Barnwell County in South Carolina as well. That's that squall line there that's working its way eastward.
You can see some gusty winds in Columbia. So be ready for that. And if you're planning to get out on Interstate 95, you might want to wait until this clears. Three counties now under a tornado warning, two counties there across the Florida Panhandle with tornado warnings. We also have the potential for strong thunderstorms to the north. This western tornado watch box expires at 5:00 p.m. The eastern one expires at 7:00 p.m. Both of these areas have the potential for very strong thunderstorms, even if we don't get tornadoes.
And of course we have had very heavy rain. Something else we're watching is that rain/snow changeover now in Chicago, Peoria with snow, Springfield, Moline, Saint Louis all currently with snowfall. And some of this could be pretty heavy, in excess of four inches, certainly. Some locations could see as much as nine inches. That's going to be very isolated, though, mostly, I think, four to six inches along this corridor from southern Lake Michigan all the way back to Kansas City.
Travel on those interstates is going to be going downhill as we head through the rest of the day. So do remember that as well. You have got some snowfall in the mountain passes to the north. Most of the passes are open without restriction, except for Sherman Pass. There, you have to use your traction tires.
Here's the way it looks for tomorrow. Cold front pushes off the coast. There will be some snow left over in the Great Lakes, but probably only an inch or two, not really looking at much there. Rainfall, though, will be heavy across the Eastern Seaboard. And our storm system in the West rolls in with snowfall in the Northern Rockies -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thank you very much, Orelon.
Well, the weather is causing some big-time delays at the airports.
Rally Caparas with Travelocity Business has been monitoring air travel all day.
How is it looking?
RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Well, Kyra, two weeks leading up to today, we saw virtually no delays. The country was delay-free.
Now, the busiest travel day of the year, Orelon showed you all the weather. Major delays from Chicago east to New York City, all the way down to Atlanta. It's going to be a mess. Behind me on the board, FlightExplorer.com is showing us 6,445 airplanes in the skies. A whole lot of volume, a whole lot of weather means a whole lot of delays.
And here is how it's going to work for you. The New York City metros and Philadelphia are all seeing now one- to two-hour arrival delays, low clouds, fog, poor visibility. Once the volume really picks up, right around the evening rush between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. Eastern, the volume picks up, the rain picks up, and the delays will pick up. Don't be surprised when those delays hit three hours. Sorry to tell you, but that's the fact.
D.C. metros and Charlotte, you're going to see more like 60- to 90-minute arrival delays, low clouds, fog visibility problems and thunderstorm activity already causing a problem at Charlotte's airport and it will continue that way for the rest of the day and evening.
Atlanta-Hartsfield, you're looking at, well, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, all of you are looking at 60- to 90-minute arrival and departure delays, lots of fog, lots of rain and thunderstorm activities kicking up in the eastern Great Lakes region. It passed through Atlanta. However, the delays are there. And they're going to continue that way until around 10:00 a.m. Eastern time also.
Chicago O'Hare, you're seeing two- to three-hour arrival delays. We told you earlier it was going to happen. It didn't happen until late in the morning. But here it is, two- to three-hour arrival delays, low clouds, fog, rain. Orelon is calling for possible snow in the region, strong, gusting winds of 25 to 30 knots force a less than optimal runway configuration. Hence, you'll have lengthy delays.
And then, finally, here's a new one for today. Saint Louis- Lambert, you're likely to see 60- to 90-minute arrival and departure delays, low clouds, poor visibility. And, last but not least, snow removal is going to be required sometime during the evening. They will shut the runways down, at least one of them at a time. That will reduce the amount of airplanes that can operate in a given hour. That will mean delays, lengthy ones at that. The Western half of the United States, not even worth talking about. They're having a great day.
I'll be back on Sunday with the return leg for everybody right here on CNN -- Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, probably just as crazy.
Thanks, Rally.
Well, if you're one of the thousands of people struck in the travel chaos or expect to be, we want to help you out.
CNN's Eric Philips is here to show us some of the helpful tools available on our Web site, CNN.com.
And, Eric, of course, that graphic we just showed our viewers, we want folks to e-mail us from wherever they are on their BlackBerry or their laptop and tell us what the conditions are like at the airports, or wherever they are, at LIVEFROM@CNN.com.
Now, you are telling us about CNN.com and other things we can find out about on the Web site.
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's right.
Rally just shared with you all of the bad news. Six-hour delays, can you believe that? I get to share with you some good news, or at least how you can help navigate your way through this traveling mayhem on this day before Thanksgiving by going to CNN.com/Travel, lots of information and lots of tips there on that Web site to help you navigate through.
We can tell you what you can take on board, what you have to stow in luggage underneath, also traveling by air or traveling by ground. One thing, though, that's going to be very helpful is if you go to this Web site, you'll find a list, a list of items that you can bring on board in your carry-on luggage, vs. those things that you have to check, such as a cigarette lighter. A lot of times, people are not sure, especially in these post-9/11 days, whether or not a cigarette lighter can be brought on board.
It can in fact be packed in your carry-on luggage. But it cannot be packed in your luggage that has to be checked. So that's a good source of information to check out there. Also on that same Web site if you scroll back, you'll find that there's a spot to click on for maps, airport maps, where there's a map that lists all of the major airports across the country.
If you scroll to one of those particular sites, you'll find that there is a spot that gives you a synopsis of what's -- excuse me -- of what's going on at that particular airport, whether there are delays, departures, weather, that type of thing. If you double-click on that, you'll find more information, very detailed information about what's going on at that airport, very helpful for those who are looking for people to arrive at a certain time.
It will help them to figure out whether or not they're going to be a little bit late or maybe even, luckily, a little bit earlier than they expected them to be. One other item on this Web site that I think is worth pointing out to you is the weather.
If you scroll down a little bit further on the same Web site, you'll find an area called resources. If you click on weather there and then you write in the city or you type in the city name or you type in a zip code, very useful information for those of you who are wondering about the weather from a place of departure or a place of arrival. It will tell you the highs and lows, what the weather is expected to do. And of course that has a very large impact on how successful or unsuccessful this travel day will be, especially with it being the day before Thanksgiving -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Eric Philips. I've been talking to all our Philips families. They say you're cooking tomorrow.
PHILIPS: All right, I have got the turkey ready. Just save a spot for me at the table.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: OK, you got a deal.
PHILIPS: All right. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Eric.
All right, well, another contentious election in November. The results are in and so are the protesters, as the tale of two victors continues. We're going to take you live to Kiev where the snow and insults are flying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: After three days of uncertainty and increasingly heated protests across Ukraine, that country's election commission has declared a winner in the weekend runoff vote and named the new president.
The face-off, two veteran diplomats, Ukraine's former and current foreign ministers. The vote was very close and the results disputed since Sunday. But, today, Viktor Yanukovych, with 49.6 percent of the vote, declared the winner.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. does not accept the announced results and wants an investigation into what he calls credible reports of fraud. Also not taking the official results lightly, allies of the opposition and losing candidate, Viktor Yushchenko. They're promising action.
Jill Dougherty is in Kiev.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: A turning point in the standoff over the Ukrainian presidential elections, as thousands of people rallied in the streets of Kiev, supporting the opposition candidate. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine came out and said that the government-backed candidate, Mr. Yanukovych, is the winner.
The initial results a couple of days ago had said that, that he had won by three points, three percentage points. And, again, today, the commission coming out today and that saying he, indeed, has won by approximately 3 percent of the vote. That is news that the opposition is not going to be happy about.
They have maintained all along that this election had massive irregularities and falsifications. In fact, in an interview with CNN, the opposition candidate, Mr. Yushchenko, said that they actually had proof of that. And he pointed to the decision by the international inspectors who had found many violations.
So, the question now is, where do they go? The opposition has suggested that there might be some legal steps that could be taken, perhaps an investigation of those allegations. The United States certainly wanted that. They had urged that there be an investigation. But it's unclear whether there will be that investigation or any other steps that might change things.
Finally, the question now, what do the people on the streets of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities do? The opposition supporters are going to be disappointed. So far, things have been peaceful. But it's unpredictable how all of this could play out and how they could react to the news.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kiev, Ukraine. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: News elsewhere around the world now. It's one of the smoking-est countries in the world. But Russians may soon have to take it outside.
Today, Russia's Upper House of Parliament approved a law aimed at restricting smoking in public places. The bill goes now to the desk of President Putin for him to sign or not. It could happen. He's a fitness buff. And 60 percent of his countrymen smoke cigarettes.
This won't happen, by the way, the impeachment of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but -- not now, anyway. It's not stopping a group of parliamentarians, though, 23 in all, from backing a motion to kick Blair out of office for, in their words, gross misconduct in leading Britain to war in Iraq. Even those who support impeachment know it won't work. But it's the first move to boot a prime minister since the 1800s. More embarrassing for Downing Street than anything.
Here kitty, kitty. Since when does the Post Office ship kittens? Through rain, sleet and snow, LIVE FROM delivers the details.
And while you might be trying to sneak out of the office early, Wall Street is still chugging along. We'll see if you can find some reasons to be thankful.
And if you're out in the thick of holiday travel, we'd like to hear about what you're seeing. E-mail us at LIVEFROM@CNN.com. We'll share your thoughts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we've deputized so many of you today as you've been traveling through. You've become roving reporters, I guess you could say, for all of us, telling you -- what you've been finding out as you hit the road or show up at the airport.
Just got another e-mail in, this coming from Mandy Walters (ph), saying: "I got to the airport at noon for my 3:00 p.m. flight on U.S. Air, anticipating a madhouse. Instead, I got my ticket and went through security in less than 10 minutes. The airport staff was extremely efficient. And wait times are at a minimum. Unfortunately, I'm now stuck waiting for three hours."
Sorry, Mandy. But you can watch CNN. That's the best part.
Now to a road trip that some tiny travelers probably didn't want to make.
Reporter Shawn Flynn with News 14 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a story that certainly gives one pause.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHAWN FLYNN, NEWS 14 REPORTER (voice-over): A Charlotte business owner ordered some parts from Georgia. She got a whole lot more than she ordered.
CATHY THOMAS, BUSINESS OWNER: And my husband heard something. So he opened the box and there were the four kittens.
FLYNN: The four kittens were newborn and so tiny, they had yet to open the eyes.
(on camera): Through a tracking order, they were able to find out that the cats were packaged up on a Tuesday. They were found on a Thursday, meaning that the cats were boxed up and without food for a couple of days. Thankfully, some of them started to make some noise.
(voice-over): The kittens were not in great condition. So, Cathy Thomas took them home and become the feline foster mom.
THOMAS: It took me a while to get them to take the bottle. I was feeding them out of an eye dropper at that point. But after about a day -- it took them about a day and then they seemed to get their energy back. So...
FLYNN: Cathy's twin sons named the cats Wild Thing, Georgia, Sparky and Boots. Each kitten requires a two-ounce bottle every three hours, which is enough to tire any mother.
THOMAS: I survived twins, so this is like quads, having quads. They're nursing every three hours. It's like having infants all over again.
FLYNN: Two weeks later, the kittens have doubled in size and, as you can see, are full of energy. However, it's still not yet known how the kittens got in the package.
THOMAS: Don't know if the mom had just entered the box, because it was a fairly large box and had the kittens and
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left.
THOMAS: And/or if they were packed purposely.
FLYNN: Even after their 200-mile trip trapped in a box, these kittens are still looking for the perfect home.
THOMAS: I'm sure there's a loving family out there who wants a kitten.
PHILIPS: In Charlotte, North Carolina, Shawn Flynn for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, a judge in Los Angeles has thrown the book at a man caught running a pirated movie Web site. The Malaysian man must pay film studios $23.8 million now for charging people to watch pirated movies on his Web site. Tan Soo Leong put his computer servers overseas in an effort to avoid business liability. Well, it didn't work. The judge ordered him to destroy his entire stock of pirated movies. Now, in the NBA, officials believe a Pistons fan threw the plastic drinking cup that set off the chain-reaction brawl last Friday night. Spectator John Green says the cup did come from the direction where he was sitting, but denies that he was the one who threw it at the Pacers' Ron Artest.
Last night on CNN's "LARRY KING," Green summed up his take on the whole drama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
JOHN GREEN, PISTONS FAN: A cup hitting somebody, I don't think should be -- constitute somebody going on a rampage and beating people. You know, the guy's a thug. I mean, so he's going to pay the price of what happens to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: I think everybody needs to grow up.
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
PHILLIPS: And not to be catty, but in case you're not on the White House Christmas card list, we can show you what you're going to be missing. Here it is. The cover was designed of Cindy Holt (ph) of Fort Worth, Texas. Of course, it's got to be a Texan, right? And it shows the White House Red Room, inside, a Bible verse from Psalms, along with a wish for happiness during the holidays. The White House plans to send out two million Christmas cards this year.
Well, that wraps up this Wednesday's edition of LIVE FROM.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 24, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A revolution in reverse. In Ukraine, a presidential candidate backed by the Kremlin was named the winner today, amid charges of widespread fraud. Supporters of the candidate friendly toward the West remain in the streets of that capital amid calls for a nationwide protest.
The election announcement in Ukraine condemned today also in Washington by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell is calling the official results unacceptable. He is warning of consequences now coming from the U.S. side.
Have gun, won't travel. A 79-year-old Florida woman ended up in jail, instead of the Bahamas, after airport security found this unloaded gun packed in her carry-on bag. She says she put it in there when she moved recently and just forgot about it. Check out the title of that book, FYI.
Also today, a knife attack at a school near Gary, Indiana. Police say that a student at Valparaiso High School attacked another student or a number of students in a classroom, sending eight of them to the hospital with cuts. The alleged attacker is in custody. And the wounded are expected to be released.
Well, up first this hour, a soggy and stormy getaway day. For lots of the nation, travel conditions are about as appealing as a half-baked Thanksgiving turkey, in other words, bleh, all of this as millions of Americans as take to the roads and not-so-friendly skies.
Let's check in with Orelon Sidney. She has the very latest from the CNN Weather Center. Hi, Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.
Indeed, this is one of the worst holiday travel days I remember in the weather. This is what it looks like now across the Southeast, new instability, new tornadoes possible and new tornado watches in effect. We continue now with tornado watches for South Carolina and Georgia, Georgia down into Florida. And we do have numerous warnings. One of those warnings expires at about 3:15. That is for Orangeburg County, South Carolina. We have a warning expiring at 3:30 for Barnwell County in South Carolina as well. That's that squall line there that's working its way eastward.
You can see some gusty winds in Columbia. So be ready for that. And if you're planning to get out on Interstate 95, you might want to wait until this clears. Three counties now under a tornado warning, two counties there across the Florida Panhandle with tornado warnings. We also have the potential for strong thunderstorms to the north. This western tornado watch box expires at 5:00 p.m. The eastern one expires at 7:00 p.m. Both of these areas have the potential for very strong thunderstorms, even if we don't get tornadoes.
And of course we have had very heavy rain. Something else we're watching is that rain/snow changeover now in Chicago, Peoria with snow, Springfield, Moline, Saint Louis all currently with snowfall. And some of this could be pretty heavy, in excess of four inches, certainly. Some locations could see as much as nine inches. That's going to be very isolated, though, mostly, I think, four to six inches along this corridor from southern Lake Michigan all the way back to Kansas City.
Travel on those interstates is going to be going downhill as we head through the rest of the day. So do remember that as well. You have got some snowfall in the mountain passes to the north. Most of the passes are open without restriction, except for Sherman Pass. There, you have to use your traction tires.
Here's the way it looks for tomorrow. Cold front pushes off the coast. There will be some snow left over in the Great Lakes, but probably only an inch or two, not really looking at much there. Rainfall, though, will be heavy across the Eastern Seaboard. And our storm system in the West rolls in with snowfall in the Northern Rockies -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thank you very much, Orelon.
Well, the weather is causing some big-time delays at the airports.
Rally Caparas with Travelocity Business has been monitoring air travel all day.
How is it looking?
RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Well, Kyra, two weeks leading up to today, we saw virtually no delays. The country was delay-free.
Now, the busiest travel day of the year, Orelon showed you all the weather. Major delays from Chicago east to New York City, all the way down to Atlanta. It's going to be a mess. Behind me on the board, FlightExplorer.com is showing us 6,445 airplanes in the skies. A whole lot of volume, a whole lot of weather means a whole lot of delays.
And here is how it's going to work for you. The New York City metros and Philadelphia are all seeing now one- to two-hour arrival delays, low clouds, fog, poor visibility. Once the volume really picks up, right around the evening rush between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. Eastern, the volume picks up, the rain picks up, and the delays will pick up. Don't be surprised when those delays hit three hours. Sorry to tell you, but that's the fact.
D.C. metros and Charlotte, you're going to see more like 60- to 90-minute arrival delays, low clouds, fog visibility problems and thunderstorm activity already causing a problem at Charlotte's airport and it will continue that way for the rest of the day and evening.
Atlanta-Hartsfield, you're looking at, well, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, all of you are looking at 60- to 90-minute arrival and departure delays, lots of fog, lots of rain and thunderstorm activities kicking up in the eastern Great Lakes region. It passed through Atlanta. However, the delays are there. And they're going to continue that way until around 10:00 a.m. Eastern time also.
Chicago O'Hare, you're seeing two- to three-hour arrival delays. We told you earlier it was going to happen. It didn't happen until late in the morning. But here it is, two- to three-hour arrival delays, low clouds, fog, rain. Orelon is calling for possible snow in the region, strong, gusting winds of 25 to 30 knots force a less than optimal runway configuration. Hence, you'll have lengthy delays.
And then, finally, here's a new one for today. Saint Louis- Lambert, you're likely to see 60- to 90-minute arrival and departure delays, low clouds, poor visibility. And, last but not least, snow removal is going to be required sometime during the evening. They will shut the runways down, at least one of them at a time. That will reduce the amount of airplanes that can operate in a given hour. That will mean delays, lengthy ones at that. The Western half of the United States, not even worth talking about. They're having a great day.
I'll be back on Sunday with the return leg for everybody right here on CNN -- Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, probably just as crazy.
Thanks, Rally.
Well, if you're one of the thousands of people struck in the travel chaos or expect to be, we want to help you out.
CNN's Eric Philips is here to show us some of the helpful tools available on our Web site, CNN.com.
And, Eric, of course, that graphic we just showed our viewers, we want folks to e-mail us from wherever they are on their BlackBerry or their laptop and tell us what the conditions are like at the airports, or wherever they are, at LIVEFROM@CNN.com.
Now, you are telling us about CNN.com and other things we can find out about on the Web site.
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's right.
Rally just shared with you all of the bad news. Six-hour delays, can you believe that? I get to share with you some good news, or at least how you can help navigate your way through this traveling mayhem on this day before Thanksgiving by going to CNN.com/Travel, lots of information and lots of tips there on that Web site to help you navigate through.
We can tell you what you can take on board, what you have to stow in luggage underneath, also traveling by air or traveling by ground. One thing, though, that's going to be very helpful is if you go to this Web site, you'll find a list, a list of items that you can bring on board in your carry-on luggage, vs. those things that you have to check, such as a cigarette lighter. A lot of times, people are not sure, especially in these post-9/11 days, whether or not a cigarette lighter can be brought on board.
It can in fact be packed in your carry-on luggage. But it cannot be packed in your luggage that has to be checked. So that's a good source of information to check out there. Also on that same Web site if you scroll back, you'll find that there's a spot to click on for maps, airport maps, where there's a map that lists all of the major airports across the country.
If you scroll to one of those particular sites, you'll find that there is a spot that gives you a synopsis of what's -- excuse me -- of what's going on at that particular airport, whether there are delays, departures, weather, that type of thing. If you double-click on that, you'll find more information, very detailed information about what's going on at that airport, very helpful for those who are looking for people to arrive at a certain time.
It will help them to figure out whether or not they're going to be a little bit late or maybe even, luckily, a little bit earlier than they expected them to be. One other item on this Web site that I think is worth pointing out to you is the weather.
If you scroll down a little bit further on the same Web site, you'll find an area called resources. If you click on weather there and then you write in the city or you type in the city name or you type in a zip code, very useful information for those of you who are wondering about the weather from a place of departure or a place of arrival. It will tell you the highs and lows, what the weather is expected to do. And of course that has a very large impact on how successful or unsuccessful this travel day will be, especially with it being the day before Thanksgiving -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Eric Philips. I've been talking to all our Philips families. They say you're cooking tomorrow.
PHILIPS: All right, I have got the turkey ready. Just save a spot for me at the table.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: OK, you got a deal.
PHILIPS: All right. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Eric.
All right, well, another contentious election in November. The results are in and so are the protesters, as the tale of two victors continues. We're going to take you live to Kiev where the snow and insults are flying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: After three days of uncertainty and increasingly heated protests across Ukraine, that country's election commission has declared a winner in the weekend runoff vote and named the new president.
The face-off, two veteran diplomats, Ukraine's former and current foreign ministers. The vote was very close and the results disputed since Sunday. But, today, Viktor Yanukovych, with 49.6 percent of the vote, declared the winner.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. does not accept the announced results and wants an investigation into what he calls credible reports of fraud. Also not taking the official results lightly, allies of the opposition and losing candidate, Viktor Yushchenko. They're promising action.
Jill Dougherty is in Kiev.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: A turning point in the standoff over the Ukrainian presidential elections, as thousands of people rallied in the streets of Kiev, supporting the opposition candidate. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine came out and said that the government-backed candidate, Mr. Yanukovych, is the winner.
The initial results a couple of days ago had said that, that he had won by three points, three percentage points. And, again, today, the commission coming out today and that saying he, indeed, has won by approximately 3 percent of the vote. That is news that the opposition is not going to be happy about.
They have maintained all along that this election had massive irregularities and falsifications. In fact, in an interview with CNN, the opposition candidate, Mr. Yushchenko, said that they actually had proof of that. And he pointed to the decision by the international inspectors who had found many violations.
So, the question now is, where do they go? The opposition has suggested that there might be some legal steps that could be taken, perhaps an investigation of those allegations. The United States certainly wanted that. They had urged that there be an investigation. But it's unclear whether there will be that investigation or any other steps that might change things.
Finally, the question now, what do the people on the streets of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities do? The opposition supporters are going to be disappointed. So far, things have been peaceful. But it's unpredictable how all of this could play out and how they could react to the news.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kiev, Ukraine. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: News elsewhere around the world now. It's one of the smoking-est countries in the world. But Russians may soon have to take it outside.
Today, Russia's Upper House of Parliament approved a law aimed at restricting smoking in public places. The bill goes now to the desk of President Putin for him to sign or not. It could happen. He's a fitness buff. And 60 percent of his countrymen smoke cigarettes.
This won't happen, by the way, the impeachment of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but -- not now, anyway. It's not stopping a group of parliamentarians, though, 23 in all, from backing a motion to kick Blair out of office for, in their words, gross misconduct in leading Britain to war in Iraq. Even those who support impeachment know it won't work. But it's the first move to boot a prime minister since the 1800s. More embarrassing for Downing Street than anything.
Here kitty, kitty. Since when does the Post Office ship kittens? Through rain, sleet and snow, LIVE FROM delivers the details.
And while you might be trying to sneak out of the office early, Wall Street is still chugging along. We'll see if you can find some reasons to be thankful.
And if you're out in the thick of holiday travel, we'd like to hear about what you're seeing. E-mail us at LIVEFROM@CNN.com. We'll share your thoughts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we've deputized so many of you today as you've been traveling through. You've become roving reporters, I guess you could say, for all of us, telling you -- what you've been finding out as you hit the road or show up at the airport.
Just got another e-mail in, this coming from Mandy Walters (ph), saying: "I got to the airport at noon for my 3:00 p.m. flight on U.S. Air, anticipating a madhouse. Instead, I got my ticket and went through security in less than 10 minutes. The airport staff was extremely efficient. And wait times are at a minimum. Unfortunately, I'm now stuck waiting for three hours."
Sorry, Mandy. But you can watch CNN. That's the best part.
Now to a road trip that some tiny travelers probably didn't want to make.
Reporter Shawn Flynn with News 14 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a story that certainly gives one pause.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHAWN FLYNN, NEWS 14 REPORTER (voice-over): A Charlotte business owner ordered some parts from Georgia. She got a whole lot more than she ordered.
CATHY THOMAS, BUSINESS OWNER: And my husband heard something. So he opened the box and there were the four kittens.
FLYNN: The four kittens were newborn and so tiny, they had yet to open the eyes.
(on camera): Through a tracking order, they were able to find out that the cats were packaged up on a Tuesday. They were found on a Thursday, meaning that the cats were boxed up and without food for a couple of days. Thankfully, some of them started to make some noise.
(voice-over): The kittens were not in great condition. So, Cathy Thomas took them home and become the feline foster mom.
THOMAS: It took me a while to get them to take the bottle. I was feeding them out of an eye dropper at that point. But after about a day -- it took them about a day and then they seemed to get their energy back. So...
FLYNN: Cathy's twin sons named the cats Wild Thing, Georgia, Sparky and Boots. Each kitten requires a two-ounce bottle every three hours, which is enough to tire any mother.
THOMAS: I survived twins, so this is like quads, having quads. They're nursing every three hours. It's like having infants all over again.
FLYNN: Two weeks later, the kittens have doubled in size and, as you can see, are full of energy. However, it's still not yet known how the kittens got in the package.
THOMAS: Don't know if the mom had just entered the box, because it was a fairly large box and had the kittens and
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left.
THOMAS: And/or if they were packed purposely.
FLYNN: Even after their 200-mile trip trapped in a box, these kittens are still looking for the perfect home.
THOMAS: I'm sure there's a loving family out there who wants a kitten.
PHILIPS: In Charlotte, North Carolina, Shawn Flynn for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, a judge in Los Angeles has thrown the book at a man caught running a pirated movie Web site. The Malaysian man must pay film studios $23.8 million now for charging people to watch pirated movies on his Web site. Tan Soo Leong put his computer servers overseas in an effort to avoid business liability. Well, it didn't work. The judge ordered him to destroy his entire stock of pirated movies. Now, in the NBA, officials believe a Pistons fan threw the plastic drinking cup that set off the chain-reaction brawl last Friday night. Spectator John Green says the cup did come from the direction where he was sitting, but denies that he was the one who threw it at the Pacers' Ron Artest.
Last night on CNN's "LARRY KING," Green summed up his take on the whole drama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
JOHN GREEN, PISTONS FAN: A cup hitting somebody, I don't think should be -- constitute somebody going on a rampage and beating people. You know, the guy's a thug. I mean, so he's going to pay the price of what happens to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: I think everybody needs to grow up.
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
PHILLIPS: And not to be catty, but in case you're not on the White House Christmas card list, we can show you what you're going to be missing. Here it is. The cover was designed of Cindy Holt (ph) of Fort Worth, Texas. Of course, it's got to be a Texan, right? And it shows the White House Red Room, inside, a Bible verse from Psalms, along with a wish for happiness during the holidays. The White House plans to send out two million Christmas cards this year.
Well, that wraps up this Wednesday's edition of LIVE FROM.
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