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CNN Saturday Morning News

Australia Celebrates New Year; Violence In Iraq Claims 7

Aired December 31, 2005 - 08:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy New Year, everybody. There's the muse (ph).
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: There you have it, ringing in the new year Down Under. Good-bye, 2005, hello, 2006. It is already a brand- new year there in Sydney, Australia. These are live pictures, once again, that you're looking at from Sydney, where the clock struck midnight just moments ago, a full 18 hours ahead of New York City's Times Square.

Live pictures now from the Big Apple, where last-minute preps are underway for one of the world's biggest New Year's celebrations.

Spend your New Year's Eve right here, for a party like no other. Our own Anderson Cooper is in Times Square tonight with a mix of live music, personalities, and a look back at a year of news. You can find it only on CNN's "New Year's Eve with Anderson Cooper," starting tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's December 31, 8:00 a.m. here at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, and just after midnight in Sydney, Australia.

Good morning once again. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for being with us.

Here's what's happening now in the news.

Bombings in Iraq have killed at least seven people and wounded 11 others today. Five Iraqi civilians were killed when a bomb exploded outside an Islamic party headquarters near Baqubah, and a roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol killed two policemen in central Baghdad.

She looks cute as a button, but 3-month-old Baby Noor is very sick. The Iraqi infant is due to arrive in the U.S. this afternoon for a potentially life-saving operation here in Atlanta. Soldiers from the Georgia National Guard set the wheels in motion for the trip.

It is a story you first saw on CNN, and we'll bring you live coverage coming up later today.

Getting around could be miserable for people ringing in the new year in London. That's because rail workers on London's Underground subway are planning a 24-hour strike today. They're striking over a new work roster, which they say will end up reducing safety levels on the tube. And we want to take you once again now back to live pictures there in Sydney, Australia. Just moments ago, they rang in the new year. They're 18 hours ahead of us. They were expecting about a million people to crowd the harborfront area for the two major displays that took place at midnight, and this fireworks there were actually coming off the barges there in the harbor. Let's listen in some more.

There you have it, more fireworks celebrations in Sydney, Australia. Beautiful to watch.

Well, the weather's wicked, and it's a different story in different parts of the nation. In Northern California, sections of the coast are rain-soaked, and there's more to come. The threat of massive mudslides is looming. Authorities are preparing hillside residents just in case.

Now, take a look at this. Washington's Squalmi (ph) Pass was at times impassable. A slew of snow blew through the area. Drivers were stranded, and traffic moved at a crawl, sometimes not at all.

And in Oklahoma, firefighters have the upper hand in a string of grass fires. Hundreds of homes now ruined. Officials are preparing for hot, dry winds and sparks from New Year's fireworks. They say the combination is a recipe for disaster and could stir fires all over again.

So certainly a little bit worried about that. But boy, those fireworks in Sydney, weren't they gorgeous?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Very impressive.

KAYE: Even though the...

SCHNEIDER: Australians know how to do it, I guess.

KAYE: We work the morning shift. We're going to be asleep tonight, probably...

SCHNEIDER: Excellent.

KAYE: ... for tomorrow morning, but we still get a little New Year's celebration (INAUDIBLE).

SCHNEIDER: It was (INAUDIBLE). So happy New Year. I'll be the first person to wish you that.

KAYE: Thank you. If I lived in Sydney, it would be perfect.

SCHNEIDER: Right, exactly.

Well, we do have a lot going on in weather.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

SCHNEIDER: Most of the country enjoying mild conditions for this last day of the year. But Randi, the whole weather pattern for next week will dramatically shift, and we'll start to see that colder winter air we have yet see this season coming our way.

KAYE: Yes, great.

SCHNEIDER: (INAUDIBLE) changes.

KAYE: Bonnie Schneider, thanks so much. And happy New Year to you, (INAUDIBLE).

SCHNEIDER: Oh, thank you.

KAYE: Another wrinkle in the wiretap flap. Could it mean some terror suspects will walk free? Coming up, our legal experts will weigh in on the NSA's secret surveillance project, which is not so secret anymore.

Plus, we've got Webcam dancers and household singers, some of the most-watched Web clips of the year. But brace yourself, some of them are pretty strange.

And once again, we want to continue bringing you these live pictures of the New Year's festivities there in Sydney, Australia, far ahead of us, far ahead of the celebrations for tonight in New York City's Times Square with Anderson Cooper. But there you have some beautiful pictures of the fireworks display in Sydney.

And we'll continue to bring you pictures of New Year's celebrations around the world right here on CNN throughout the morning and throughout the day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: And once again, we want to ask you to give us a shout out this morning. Send us an e-mail, tell us what will you -- what you'll remember about 2005. What is your greatest memory from the year that is about to close tonight? What will you remember about 2005? E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com, and we'll be sure to read your responses on the air.

SCHNEIDER: I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your colds and flu report for today. As we take a look at the map for the last day of the year, we can show you where we have some reports of those suffering from the flu, hopefully not too many.

But there are regional outbreaks, especially in the Southwest. In California, Arizona, and New Mexico reported regional outbreaks of the flu. Sporadic outbreaks just through the center of the country. That includes Texas and Oklahoma back towards the Midwest into Missouri, and further to the south towards Tennessee down through Florida.

We have sporadic outbreaks of the flu in the Northeast as well, in New York state up towards Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Lucky, lucky, some parts of the country saying no activity thus far, and that holds true for Illinois down through Kentucky and further towards Louisiana and Arkansas at this time. We also have no activity reported for the flu in South Carolina.

That's a look at your report for this flu season. Hopefully next year, everybody will stay very healthy.

Stay tuned. We're going to have a complete check of the forecast coming up next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Domestic spying, you've heard a lot about it in the last two weeks. President Bush admits he authorized a secret surveillance program in the U.S. without warrants. He says it's within his powers, and he says the program is aimed at protecting you.

Now, the Justice Department wants to know who leaked this highly classified information to the media.

Joining us now with two opposing views on this developing story are our legal eagles. From Miami, civil liberties attorney Leda Rodriguez-Taseff, and from Houston, former prosecutor Nelda Blair.

Happy early New Year to both of you ladies.

NELDA BLAIR, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Thank you.

KAYE: Good to have you with us.

LEDA RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF, CIVIL LIBERTIES ATTORNEY: And to you.

KAYE: Leda, let's start with you. Does this kind of surveillance cross constitutional lines?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Absolutely crosses constitutional lines. The president is making two arguments, one, that this is granted to him under Article 2 of the Constitution, which makes him commander in chief. And second, that on September 14, when Congress authorized him to go after the people who had caused the September 11 attacks, that that authorized him to get rid of FISA, get rid of the PATRIOT Act, get rid of the Fourth Amendment, and basically invade the privacy of Americans. Absolutely unconstitutional.

KAYE: Let's talk about this 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This is the -- something that's created a special court that gives the president, when he requests a wiretap, they move very quickly, so he can get that done. If they can't get it done in time for this wiretap, then the president can actually go ahead with the wiretap and then seek approval later.

Is what he's doing here, and what the administration is doing, Nelda, does that -- I guess, does that go beyond what the president's rights are under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?

BLAIR: No. What the president's doing is powers under an act that was passed by Congress, as Leda said, on September 14, after the 9/11 attacks. He does have powers under the Surveillance Act, and he has powers to get a warrant, and he has powers to surveill. But this other act gives him power to do so without a warrant.

And that is what he's doing. It is perfectly legal. And with all due respect to Leda's legal mind, some of the most top legal minds in the nation, including the attorney general, the Justice Department, have reviewed what the president is doing and found it to be perfectly legal.

There is nothing wrong with what he's doing now to protect the nation. And by the way, the Constitution Article 2 does more than just make him commander in chief, it gives him the duty to protect the security of this nation. That's what he's doing.

KAYE: If we do see any charges and any convictions out of this, though, is bypassing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, could that put any of these convictions in jeopardy?

BLAIR: I don't think so...

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Well, it certainly can.

BLAIR: ... but I'm sure the defense lawyers will think so.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: I absolutely think it can put some of these convictions in jeopardy. And more importantly, if we ever get the names of the people, the possibly thousands of people, who've been surveilled under this unconstitutional abuse of power by the president, it's entirely possible that those people will be able to sue.

And it's also possible that if there's a violation of FISA, which this appears to be, that under FISA, this is a felony. People who violate FISA, who conduct surveillance without following the strict requirements of the law, they can be sent to prison for up to five years, and they should be sent to prison.

KAYE: And now the Justice Department is saying that they are investigating who might have leaked this information that this was even going on. They're going to talk to "New York Times" reporters, which first broke the story. What do you think we should make of this here? What do you think we'll see from this investigation?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: (INAUDIBLE)...

BLAIR: That's the real question.

KAYE: Leda, go ahead.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: No, I was just going to say that, basically, what this is, is the ultimate shoot-the-messenger. We don't like what "The New York Times" did because it exposed to the country that the president is acting like a dictator, instead of the president of the United States.

For him to sit there and say that he has the unilateral, absolute power to spy on American citizens, on American soil, is akin to saying that he's a dictator.

BLAIR: Leda...

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: We don't tolerate that in this country, even under a terrorist situation.

BLAIR: Leda, let's look at the real problem. The real problem is the people who are leaking national security information to the public, to suspected terrorists, to known terrorists, who are making our security so unstable because of the leaks. That is the real story here, and that's why there's an investigation, and that will be found out.

KAYE: All right, (INAUDIBLE)...

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: But Nelda, let me...

KAYE: Last word...

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: ... then we'll go.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: ... and it's a rhetorical question. Nelda, the (INAUDIBLE) these terrorists didn't know we were spying on them? There's no national security leak here. There's no concern here. We didn't give away state secrets. We just exposed criminal activity on behalf of the (INAUDIBLE).

BLAIR: Leda, the spying...

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: That's the problem.

BLAIR: ... the spying's legal. The problem you have is that the president's doing it.

KAYE: Do you think the two of you might agree in the new year?

BLAIR: No.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Not like, not likely.

KAYE: Not going to happen.

All right, Leda Rodriguez-Taseff, Nelda Blair, good to see you both once again. Thanks so much.

BLAIR: Thank you.

KAYE: Happy New Year.

BLAIR: Thank you, same to you.

KAYE: Up next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, oh, yes. Everybody sing along. Our talented friend here, we've seen on computers all over the world. Our Anderson Cooper takes a look at some of the best, or (INAUDIBLE) the worst video downloads of the year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Time for a little dot-com fun.

Every day of every year, the Web offers something entertaining to download.

Our Anderson Cooper has his own top five list of the most-watched Web videos of 2005.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN (voice-over): We begin with everyone's favorite Jedi, the Star Wars Kid. Thanks to this school video, the Canadian teenager was already a cybercelebrity before 2005, but this year came the remix, followed by several tributes. All received heavy rotation, but if you ask me, it just don't stack up to the original.

From sci-fi to sports, remember this college reporter?

BRIAN COLLINS, BALL STATE University: It seems less -- we (INAUDIBLE) on -- it seems every week they have a player...

COOPER: Brian Collins, a freshman at Ball State University, tough day on the job. But he did coin this memorable catchphrase.

COLLINS: Shoots it, and boom goes the dynamite.

COOPER: It spread like spam across the Web and made its way mainstream, until one day, when it just went, well, boom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, great. Thanks a lot for that look into sports, Brian.

COLLINS: Yes.

COOPER: This short from "Saturday Night Live," with a couple of performers, hardcore rapping about cupcakes and "The Chronicles of Narnia," became an instant Internet sensation. Since its December 17 debut, the clip has been downloaded more than 1 million times.

Then there's the Webcam dancers and household singers, both always crowd pleasers.

But out of all the video downloads this year, there can be only one champion, and here he is now.

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I give you the Numa- Numa Kid.

Anderson Cooper, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Oh, that's hilarious. Coming up in our next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, an amazing story of survival. This woman is the longest survivor ever of someone trapped after an earthquake. You won't want to miss her incredible story, surviving for two months buried beneath rubble.

But first, are you ready to quit smoking? "HOUSE CALL" is helping you kick the habit in the new year. Find out the best ways to stop lighting up, and how to survive those cravings and withdrawal symptoms next on "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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