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President Bush Set to Meet With Vladimir Putin; Jury For Jackson

Aired February 23, 2005 - 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: First this hour, President Bush arrives in the Slovak Republic for his meeting tomorrow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Bush spent the day in Germany, and he met this afternoon with American troops at a spirited rally along the Rhine River.
Now, earlier, he spoke once again of his personal warmth for President Putin, but he also expressed concerns about the state of Russia's democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis. I have -- I expressed some concerns at the European Union yesterday about some of the decisions, such as freedom of the press that our mutual friend has made. And I look forward to talking to him about his decision-making process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Jill Dougherty is standing by live in the Slovak capital, where Mr. Bush arrived just about an hour ago.

She has more on the Bush/Putin get-together -- hi, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hey, Kyra.

Well, you know, this is actually the 12th meeting between Presidents Bush and Putin. And we're expecting that there will be together for about 2 1/2 hours at Bratislava Castle, which you can see right over my shoulder. You know, these are two men who consider each other partners, but this partnership is running into some stormy weather. And it's over the issue of values.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY (voice-over): It's the linchpin of George W. Bush's foreign policy, freedom and democracy.

BUSH: So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

DOUGHERTY: Almost four years ago, when Mr. Bush first met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovenia, it seems he had found a kindred spirit when it came to democratic values.

BUSH: I was able to get a sense of his soul. This is a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.

DOUGHERTY: Now the Bush administration says it's worried about the country Mr. Putin is creating.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It is important that Russia make clear to the world that it is intent on strengthening the rule of law, strengthening the role of an independent judiciary, permitting a free and independent press to flourish. These are all the basics of democracy.

DOUGHERTY: When it comes to people power, revolutions like Ukraine's, George Bush may think it's democracy in action, but Vladimir Putin does not.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The most dangerous is to think up a system of permanent resolution. Now, the Rose Revolution or the Blue Resolution, of course we should support and help democracies. But if we embark on the road of permanent revolutions, nothing good will come from this.

DOUGHERTY: A senior U.S. diplomat says President Bush will raise the issue of values -- quote -- "as a friend who wants to be a partner, not to isolate Russia." But Mr. Putin thinks isolating Russia may be what George Bush has in mind.

PUTIN (through translator): I don't think this is the purpose of the American policy, although we will have a meeting with President Bush that's scheduled for the near future. And I will certainly ask him if this is really the case.

BUSH: The door is open.

DOUGHERTY: While the U.S. president may be on a mission to spread democracy throughout the world, the Russian president says his country already has democracy, Russian style.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY: And, in fact, yesterday, Mr. Putin addressed that issue of democracy. He said that Russia is going to pursue democracy, but it's going to be according to the realities of life in Russia today, as he put it -- back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, thank you so much.

And a dozen down and eight to go in the trial of Michael Jackson. A jury has been seated and now lawyers are on the hunt for alternates.

Let's get the lowdown and the breakdown from CNN's Miguel Marquez at the courthouse in Santa Maria -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this thing is moving quicker than any of us thought. The jury, the 12 jurors from Santa Barbara County that will judge Michael Joe Jackson, are now set, consists of four women and eight men. There is three Hispanics on that jury that we can tell and one Asian. That person lists their first language as Indonesian. There are no African-American on this jury, though. One juror was just dismissed a short time ago. The court is still in session. They're still dismissing jurors.

This person was dismissed in the process for selecting eight those eight alternate jurors. And he may have been dismissed for cause, because he's a friend of one of the detectives for Santa Barbara County. He's a friend of his brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was my turn to get up there and they asked me the questions. And that's it. And it's time to go now.

QUESTION: Why do you think you were excused?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably because -- because (INAUDIBLE) I guess, I guess because (INAUDIBLE) members in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, among those who will judge Mr. Jackson, the oldest is a 79-year-old female retiree. The youngest is a 20-year-old assistant head cashier. Some of the other people, a 51-year-old female computer programmer, a 62-year-old male civil engineer, a 44- year-old female -- woman who works for the Department of Social Services, a 42-year-old woman who is an educational aide for special education, and a 50-year-old female who is a horse trainer. Those are most of the people who will be judging Jackson.

And now it's a matter of getting to opening statements, which could happen as soon as next week -- back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Another big story there in Southern California is a day of havoc. The relentless rains are finally moving out, but still no end to the mudslides, rock slides and flooding currently blamed for at least nine deaths in that state, tens of millions of dollars in damages. Homes have been destroyed or declared unlivable. And the record rains have left so much moisture that the mudslide threat is likely to linger for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN VIDOVICH, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: More rain means more damage. Currently, since last Thursday, we've had approximately nine inches of rain here in Los Angeles, 34 inches for the area. We're approaching the record of 38 inches set in the late 1800s.

Our concern is, once the sun does come out again, the threat has not subsided. The earth is going to continue to move for several weeks. So, we're not out of the woods even after we get our sunshine back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the latest rains have made it the wettest 12 months in more than 100 years for the city of Los Angeles. Since the start of January, storms have caused more than $50 million worth of damage in Los Angeles alone.

A new book by Pope John Paul II is out today in Italy. And it's raising protests from some Jews. And it may also offend gays.

In Rome, CNN international correspondent Walter correspondent has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 84-year-old pope showed his steel again. This time in a new articulating the ideology of his faith.

John Paul II held his weekly audience on the day his new book Memory and Identity went on sale. Don't be fooled by the innocuous title. It has an edge. The aging pontiff attacks homosexual marriage as part of a new ideology of evil which he said insidiously threatens society.

(on camera): The book also condemns abortion. Not a surprise, except that the pope calls it legalized extermination, similar to what was practiced in some formally totalitarian countries. That passage offended some Jews, who saw the pope equating abortion with their holocaust.

(voice-over): Not so, said a leading Vatican cardinal.

CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER, DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH: It's not true. The pope does not compare holocaust with abortion.

RODGERS: Still, one Jewish critic took the pontiff to task for trying to impose Rome's anti-abortion doctrine on non-Catholics.

AMOS LUZZATTO, UNION OF ITALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITIES: If it is their opinion, they cannot impose to me their opinion. If it is their belief, they cannot impose to me their belief.

RODGERS: John Paul II also revisits the 1981 assassination attempt in which a Turk nearly killed him. But he sheds no new light on why, leaving speculation afloat. Some have guessed the KGB or the Mafia, or even enemies inside the Vatican did it.

ROBERT MICKENS, THE TABLET: We really don't know. Because the secrets are born and die right inside the place. And it's hard to figure out when you don't have private investigators -- or, you know, public investigations going on, and when it's all handled from the Vatican itself.

RODGERS: When near death, the pope affirms he was practically on the other side and was saved only by the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This pope is very mystical. And his adoration of Mary, it's a veneration, but it's an adoration that is mystical.

RODGERS: This professor of international law at Oxford purchased an early copy.

INGRID FRANKOPAN, INTERNATIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: He seems to be, you know, like a sport of sportsman running a marathon. And he doesn't give up.

RODGERS: Memory and Identity does not seem likely to rival "The da Vinci Code" in terms of sales, but the pope's book has its own audience.

Walter Rodgers, CNN Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Ahead on LIVE FROM, exotic animals for sale? Americans are keeping them as pets, but it's not all cute and cuddly. A look at the cruel underbelly of this four-legged trade, that's next.

And later:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT LACEY, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: It's clearly a sign of royal unhappiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Royal rejection. The queen refuses to attend her son's civil ceremony. Is it a scheduling conflict or the cold shoulder?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Ventura County, California, a big cat spotted by more than a few people over the past days was tracked down and killed today by animal control officers. No official word on just what species it is, but it appears to be a pretty sizable adult tiger. Authorities now have some questions for whomever once owned this animal.

And it's not necessarily illegal to own sell or keep as pets the type of animal known as exotics. In fact, some states have no regulations at all to prevent you from buying just about any sort of creature you want. And,unfortunately, it's often the animals that suffer from what is a big-money and sometimes cruel industry.

More now from CNN's John Zarrella in Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her name is Nikita. Four years ago this lion was found at a home during a drug raid in Nashville, Tennessee. No one knows where she came from. Now she lives here at big cat rescue in Tampa, Florida. She may not know it but Scott Lope is her best friend. Lope manages the facility with a couple of paid staffers and several volunteers.

SCOTT LOPE, BIG CAT RESCUE: I always had a passion for animals. So I started volunteering here. Pretty soon you're hooked, quit the real job, moved here. This becomes your life.

ZARRELLA: It has to be. There are 150 cats here. Nikita's next- door neighbor is another female lion, Sarabi. This is Toby, a cougar in heat, all owned by private citizens who kept them, some legally some illegally as pets like Adonis, an ill-tempered black panther. Nearly every animal is here because their owner no longer wanted them.

LOPE: We found carriers at our front gate before. A bobcat, some of the civets.

ZARRELLA: And nearly every animal is a byproduct of a booming U.S. trade in exotic animals.

WAYNE PACELLE, HUMANE SOCIETY PRESIDENT: The exotic animal trade is second only to the drug trade in raw dollars. It's literally billions of dollars are exchanged in the exotic animal trade.

ZARRELLA: On Internet sites you can click, point and buy lions and tigers and bears. A chimpanzee for $65,000 or a giraffe to trim your backyard trees just $40 to $50,000 and that's the legal trade. What's impossible to calculate is how many animals are being bought and sold on the black market.

CAPT. JOHN WEST, FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION: It's a very high dollar business and we're talking a lot of species out there that people can't access anymore because of restrictions and they're easy to smuggle, especially reptiles, reptiles and birds.

ZARRELLA: From the beautiful to the bizarre, there's nothing Americans don't seem to want. Tucked mercilessly in suitcases, inspectors at Miami international airport have found African gray parrots. They bring 1100 each at pet stores. How about this bird- eating tarantula and her 200 babies or these poison arrow frogs from Venezuela, 300 of them. The smuggling of big cats is less likely, experts say, simply because they don't carry their black market weight.

LOPE: We have sort of a running joke that you pay more for a pure bred dog than you do for a lion or tiger.

ZARRELLA: They're easily and legally bought in the U. S. , $200 at an exotic pet auction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll still going to put a hot wire all the way over on top.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just in case. Just in case. ZARRELLA: Investigators from Florida's Fish and Wildlife Commission came to Eusebio Verrier's Miami home to inspect the new backyard enclosure for his white Bengal tiger named Harry.

EUSEBIO VERRIER, BENGAL TIGER OWNER: It's something that I need to have a tiger, something different to have and it's something that the average person can't have.

ZARRELLA: Maybe not, but Harry is one of nearly 1500 tigers registered in Florida which has some of the toughest regulations. It took Verrier two years to get his permit, but in some states, there are no regulations at all against keeping exotic animals and 29 states will allow you to keep them as pets and Scott Lope says people find ways around the regulations.

LOPE: If you're going to buy this animal from me and I say, well, it's $100 for the lion cub, but hen it's $500 for me to say you've worked for me for two years and you have all the hours that you need to own one.

ZARRELLA: Eventually, Lope says, when that cute cuddly cub grows up, it's often no longer wanted. Last year, big cat rescue was at capacity and turned away more than 300 cats. Some end up in the crosshairs of a gun.

LOPE: There's places that people pay to shoot these animals. That's where an animal like Tamarind would end up, absolutely, an adult male lion, a nice big mane like that, he's going to end up in a canned hut because some rich guy's going to pay to shoot him.

ZARRELLA: If anything, experts say the demand for exotic animals is still growing, no matter what species. If someone wants it and will pay enough for it, someone will get it for them one way or another.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Royal watchers are calling it the big snub. So why won't Queen Elizabeth II be attending her son's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles? Well, it just depends on who you ask.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Well, is it a royal rebuff? Royal watchers are abuzz over Queen Elizabeth II's decision to avoid Prince Charles' wedding. Whether or not the crown is frowning on his upcoming marriage is open for debate, but one thing is for sure. The guest list is mighty skimpy.

Harry Smith explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HARRY SMITH, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): The queen certainly knows her way around the Guildhall in Windsor. This is her on a visit there during her golden jubilee celebrations. But her decision to avoid the place on the day Charles get married to Camilla Parker Bowles has amazed royal watchers.

ARTHUR EDWARDS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: I was surprised, yes, because it's her eldest son. And I think every parent should be at their eldest son's wedding, any son's wedding, I think a daughter's wedding. I think it's just a great occasion, a wedding, and she should be there to sort of wish him well.

SMITH: A spokesman for Prince Charles insisted he was happy with the queen's decision and did not regard her absence as a snub. It was always his intention to make the ceremony as low-key as possible.

A spokesman for the queen also denied it was a snub and pointed out that she will attend the service of dedication after the civil ceremony and she is paying for the reception. But others are skeptical.

LACEY: It's clearly a sign of royal unhappiness. The queen is, of course, attending the church service. She is giving the party. But the fact that she's not willing to pad across the road to the registry office clearly reflects, I think, at least her displeasure at the chaos with which this wedding has been organized.

SMITH: Others say the decision is typical of the queen's cautious approach to anything remotely controversial.

INGRID SEWARD, ROYAL JOURNALIST: She's taken the advice of her government, obviously. And they decided that it was better that she should stay out of the controversy and risk the comment than get involved in the controversy and risk far more comment.

SMITH: For Charles and Camilla, it means yet more embarrassing publicity. First, they had to hastily move the wedding after problems with a marriage license for Windsor Castle. Now the guest list is beginning to look slim.

Harry Smith, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this Wednesday 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 February 23, 2005 - 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: First this hour, President Bush arrives in the Slovak Republic for his meeting tomorrow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Bush spent the day in Germany, and he met this afternoon with American troops at a spirited rally along the Rhine River.
Now, earlier, he spoke once again of his personal warmth for President Putin, but he also expressed concerns about the state of Russia's democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis. I have -- I expressed some concerns at the European Union yesterday about some of the decisions, such as freedom of the press that our mutual friend has made. And I look forward to talking to him about his decision-making process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Jill Dougherty is standing by live in the Slovak capital, where Mr. Bush arrived just about an hour ago.

She has more on the Bush/Putin get-together -- hi, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hey, Kyra.

Well, you know, this is actually the 12th meeting between Presidents Bush and Putin. And we're expecting that there will be together for about 2 1/2 hours at Bratislava Castle, which you can see right over my shoulder. You know, these are two men who consider each other partners, but this partnership is running into some stormy weather. And it's over the issue of values.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY (voice-over): It's the linchpin of George W. Bush's foreign policy, freedom and democracy.

BUSH: So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

DOUGHERTY: Almost four years ago, when Mr. Bush first met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovenia, it seems he had found a kindred spirit when it came to democratic values.

BUSH: I was able to get a sense of his soul. This is a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.

DOUGHERTY: Now the Bush administration says it's worried about the country Mr. Putin is creating.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It is important that Russia make clear to the world that it is intent on strengthening the rule of law, strengthening the role of an independent judiciary, permitting a free and independent press to flourish. These are all the basics of democracy.

DOUGHERTY: When it comes to people power, revolutions like Ukraine's, George Bush may think it's democracy in action, but Vladimir Putin does not.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The most dangerous is to think up a system of permanent resolution. Now, the Rose Revolution or the Blue Resolution, of course we should support and help democracies. But if we embark on the road of permanent revolutions, nothing good will come from this.

DOUGHERTY: A senior U.S. diplomat says President Bush will raise the issue of values -- quote -- "as a friend who wants to be a partner, not to isolate Russia." But Mr. Putin thinks isolating Russia may be what George Bush has in mind.

PUTIN (through translator): I don't think this is the purpose of the American policy, although we will have a meeting with President Bush that's scheduled for the near future. And I will certainly ask him if this is really the case.

BUSH: The door is open.

DOUGHERTY: While the U.S. president may be on a mission to spread democracy throughout the world, the Russian president says his country already has democracy, Russian style.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY: And, in fact, yesterday, Mr. Putin addressed that issue of democracy. He said that Russia is going to pursue democracy, but it's going to be according to the realities of life in Russia today, as he put it -- back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jill Dougherty, thank you so much.

And a dozen down and eight to go in the trial of Michael Jackson. A jury has been seated and now lawyers are on the hunt for alternates.

Let's get the lowdown and the breakdown from CNN's Miguel Marquez at the courthouse in Santa Maria -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this thing is moving quicker than any of us thought. The jury, the 12 jurors from Santa Barbara County that will judge Michael Joe Jackson, are now set, consists of four women and eight men. There is three Hispanics on that jury that we can tell and one Asian. That person lists their first language as Indonesian. There are no African-American on this jury, though. One juror was just dismissed a short time ago. The court is still in session. They're still dismissing jurors.

This person was dismissed in the process for selecting eight those eight alternate jurors. And he may have been dismissed for cause, because he's a friend of one of the detectives for Santa Barbara County. He's a friend of his brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was my turn to get up there and they asked me the questions. And that's it. And it's time to go now.

QUESTION: Why do you think you were excused?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably because -- because (INAUDIBLE) I guess, I guess because (INAUDIBLE) members in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, among those who will judge Mr. Jackson, the oldest is a 79-year-old female retiree. The youngest is a 20-year-old assistant head cashier. Some of the other people, a 51-year-old female computer programmer, a 62-year-old male civil engineer, a 44- year-old female -- woman who works for the Department of Social Services, a 42-year-old woman who is an educational aide for special education, and a 50-year-old female who is a horse trainer. Those are most of the people who will be judging Jackson.

And now it's a matter of getting to opening statements, which could happen as soon as next week -- back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Another big story there in Southern California is a day of havoc. The relentless rains are finally moving out, but still no end to the mudslides, rock slides and flooding currently blamed for at least nine deaths in that state, tens of millions of dollars in damages. Homes have been destroyed or declared unlivable. And the record rains have left so much moisture that the mudslide threat is likely to linger for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN VIDOVICH, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: More rain means more damage. Currently, since last Thursday, we've had approximately nine inches of rain here in Los Angeles, 34 inches for the area. We're approaching the record of 38 inches set in the late 1800s.

Our concern is, once the sun does come out again, the threat has not subsided. The earth is going to continue to move for several weeks. So, we're not out of the woods even after we get our sunshine back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the latest rains have made it the wettest 12 months in more than 100 years for the city of Los Angeles. Since the start of January, storms have caused more than $50 million worth of damage in Los Angeles alone.

A new book by Pope John Paul II is out today in Italy. And it's raising protests from some Jews. And it may also offend gays.

In Rome, CNN international correspondent Walter correspondent has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 84-year-old pope showed his steel again. This time in a new articulating the ideology of his faith.

John Paul II held his weekly audience on the day his new book Memory and Identity went on sale. Don't be fooled by the innocuous title. It has an edge. The aging pontiff attacks homosexual marriage as part of a new ideology of evil which he said insidiously threatens society.

(on camera): The book also condemns abortion. Not a surprise, except that the pope calls it legalized extermination, similar to what was practiced in some formally totalitarian countries. That passage offended some Jews, who saw the pope equating abortion with their holocaust.

(voice-over): Not so, said a leading Vatican cardinal.

CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER, DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH: It's not true. The pope does not compare holocaust with abortion.

RODGERS: Still, one Jewish critic took the pontiff to task for trying to impose Rome's anti-abortion doctrine on non-Catholics.

AMOS LUZZATTO, UNION OF ITALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITIES: If it is their opinion, they cannot impose to me their opinion. If it is their belief, they cannot impose to me their belief.

RODGERS: John Paul II also revisits the 1981 assassination attempt in which a Turk nearly killed him. But he sheds no new light on why, leaving speculation afloat. Some have guessed the KGB or the Mafia, or even enemies inside the Vatican did it.

ROBERT MICKENS, THE TABLET: We really don't know. Because the secrets are born and die right inside the place. And it's hard to figure out when you don't have private investigators -- or, you know, public investigations going on, and when it's all handled from the Vatican itself.

RODGERS: When near death, the pope affirms he was practically on the other side and was saved only by the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This pope is very mystical. And his adoration of Mary, it's a veneration, but it's an adoration that is mystical.

RODGERS: This professor of international law at Oxford purchased an early copy.

INGRID FRANKOPAN, INTERNATIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: He seems to be, you know, like a sport of sportsman running a marathon. And he doesn't give up.

RODGERS: Memory and Identity does not seem likely to rival "The da Vinci Code" in terms of sales, but the pope's book has its own audience.

Walter Rodgers, CNN Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Ahead on LIVE FROM, exotic animals for sale? Americans are keeping them as pets, but it's not all cute and cuddly. A look at the cruel underbelly of this four-legged trade, that's next.

And later:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT LACEY, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: It's clearly a sign of royal unhappiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Royal rejection. The queen refuses to attend her son's civil ceremony. Is it a scheduling conflict or the cold shoulder?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Ventura County, California, a big cat spotted by more than a few people over the past days was tracked down and killed today by animal control officers. No official word on just what species it is, but it appears to be a pretty sizable adult tiger. Authorities now have some questions for whomever once owned this animal.

And it's not necessarily illegal to own sell or keep as pets the type of animal known as exotics. In fact, some states have no regulations at all to prevent you from buying just about any sort of creature you want. And,unfortunately, it's often the animals that suffer from what is a big-money and sometimes cruel industry.

More now from CNN's John Zarrella in Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her name is Nikita. Four years ago this lion was found at a home during a drug raid in Nashville, Tennessee. No one knows where she came from. Now she lives here at big cat rescue in Tampa, Florida. She may not know it but Scott Lope is her best friend. Lope manages the facility with a couple of paid staffers and several volunteers.

SCOTT LOPE, BIG CAT RESCUE: I always had a passion for animals. So I started volunteering here. Pretty soon you're hooked, quit the real job, moved here. This becomes your life.

ZARRELLA: It has to be. There are 150 cats here. Nikita's next- door neighbor is another female lion, Sarabi. This is Toby, a cougar in heat, all owned by private citizens who kept them, some legally some illegally as pets like Adonis, an ill-tempered black panther. Nearly every animal is here because their owner no longer wanted them.

LOPE: We found carriers at our front gate before. A bobcat, some of the civets.

ZARRELLA: And nearly every animal is a byproduct of a booming U.S. trade in exotic animals.

WAYNE PACELLE, HUMANE SOCIETY PRESIDENT: The exotic animal trade is second only to the drug trade in raw dollars. It's literally billions of dollars are exchanged in the exotic animal trade.

ZARRELLA: On Internet sites you can click, point and buy lions and tigers and bears. A chimpanzee for $65,000 or a giraffe to trim your backyard trees just $40 to $50,000 and that's the legal trade. What's impossible to calculate is how many animals are being bought and sold on the black market.

CAPT. JOHN WEST, FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION: It's a very high dollar business and we're talking a lot of species out there that people can't access anymore because of restrictions and they're easy to smuggle, especially reptiles, reptiles and birds.

ZARRELLA: From the beautiful to the bizarre, there's nothing Americans don't seem to want. Tucked mercilessly in suitcases, inspectors at Miami international airport have found African gray parrots. They bring 1100 each at pet stores. How about this bird- eating tarantula and her 200 babies or these poison arrow frogs from Venezuela, 300 of them. The smuggling of big cats is less likely, experts say, simply because they don't carry their black market weight.

LOPE: We have sort of a running joke that you pay more for a pure bred dog than you do for a lion or tiger.

ZARRELLA: They're easily and legally bought in the U. S. , $200 at an exotic pet auction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll still going to put a hot wire all the way over on top.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just in case. Just in case. ZARRELLA: Investigators from Florida's Fish and Wildlife Commission came to Eusebio Verrier's Miami home to inspect the new backyard enclosure for his white Bengal tiger named Harry.

EUSEBIO VERRIER, BENGAL TIGER OWNER: It's something that I need to have a tiger, something different to have and it's something that the average person can't have.

ZARRELLA: Maybe not, but Harry is one of nearly 1500 tigers registered in Florida which has some of the toughest regulations. It took Verrier two years to get his permit, but in some states, there are no regulations at all against keeping exotic animals and 29 states will allow you to keep them as pets and Scott Lope says people find ways around the regulations.

LOPE: If you're going to buy this animal from me and I say, well, it's $100 for the lion cub, but hen it's $500 for me to say you've worked for me for two years and you have all the hours that you need to own one.

ZARRELLA: Eventually, Lope says, when that cute cuddly cub grows up, it's often no longer wanted. Last year, big cat rescue was at capacity and turned away more than 300 cats. Some end up in the crosshairs of a gun.

LOPE: There's places that people pay to shoot these animals. That's where an animal like Tamarind would end up, absolutely, an adult male lion, a nice big mane like that, he's going to end up in a canned hut because some rich guy's going to pay to shoot him.

ZARRELLA: If anything, experts say the demand for exotic animals is still growing, no matter what species. If someone wants it and will pay enough for it, someone will get it for them one way or another.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Royal watchers are calling it the big snub. So why won't Queen Elizabeth II be attending her son's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles? Well, it just depends on who you ask.

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PHILLIPS: Well, is it a royal rebuff? Royal watchers are abuzz over Queen Elizabeth II's decision to avoid Prince Charles' wedding. Whether or not the crown is frowning on his upcoming marriage is open for debate, but one thing is for sure. The guest list is mighty skimpy.

Harry Smith explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HARRY SMITH, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): The queen certainly knows her way around the Guildhall in Windsor. This is her on a visit there during her golden jubilee celebrations. But her decision to avoid the place on the day Charles get married to Camilla Parker Bowles has amazed royal watchers.

ARTHUR EDWARDS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: I was surprised, yes, because it's her eldest son. And I think every parent should be at their eldest son's wedding, any son's wedding, I think a daughter's wedding. I think it's just a great occasion, a wedding, and she should be there to sort of wish him well.

SMITH: A spokesman for Prince Charles insisted he was happy with the queen's decision and did not regard her absence as a snub. It was always his intention to make the ceremony as low-key as possible.

A spokesman for the queen also denied it was a snub and pointed out that she will attend the service of dedication after the civil ceremony and she is paying for the reception. But others are skeptical.

LACEY: It's clearly a sign of royal unhappiness. The queen is, of course, attending the church service. She is giving the party. But the fact that she's not willing to pad across the road to the registry office clearly reflects, I think, at least her displeasure at the chaos with which this wedding has been organized.

SMITH: Others say the decision is typical of the queen's cautious approach to anything remotely controversial.

INGRID SEWARD, ROYAL JOURNALIST: She's taken the advice of her government, obviously. And they decided that it was better that she should stay out of the controversy and risk the comment than get involved in the controversy and risk far more comment.

SMITH: For Charles and Camilla, it means yet more embarrassing publicity. First, they had to hastily move the wedding after problems with a marriage license for Windsor Castle. Now the guest list is beginning to look slim.

Harry Smith, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this Wednesday edition of LIVE FROM.

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