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CNN Saturday Morning News

Conflicting Reports On Death Of Ayman al-Zawahiri; Boy Shot By SWAT Team On Life Support; Frustration Concerning New Orleans Rebuilding Plan; Bush Used Radio Message To Boast About Judge Samuel Alito; Why Stardust Mission Important; China Introduces Inexpensive Car

Aired January 14, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, two different countries, different sources, different information. CNN is sifting through conflicting reports this morning on a developing story about Osama bin Laden's right-hand man.
The CIA reportedly led an airstrike yesterday on an alleged al Qaeda stronghold, killing 18 people. That part we know for sure. But was Ayman al-Zawahiri even at that location?

Good morning, everyone. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris on this, the 14th day of January. Good morning.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and that's the big question this morning. We're going to delve into that. I'm Betty Nguyen. We're going to take you live to the Pentagon for the latest on the airstrike in just a moment, but first, here is quick look at other stories happening right now.

Iran's president said just hours ago his country has every right to possess nuclear technology. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called a news conference to address the mounting pressure over Iran's nuclear program. He insisted Iran is not interested in developing nuclear weapons.

The Bush administration has opened nearly 400,000 acres of Alaskan wilderness to oil exploration. The North Slope area is a habitat for thousands of migratory birds and the hunting grounds of a native tribe. An eight-year compromise had kept the area off limits because of concerns over the impact over wildlife.

And an eighth grade student remains on life support in a Florida hospital this morning. A SWAT team was called into his school after students spotted a handgun in the boy's backpack. A deputy shot the boy when he aimed at police. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun.

HARRIS: And coming up this hour, nearly five months after Katrina hit New Orleans, big questions remain about rebuilding the Big Easy, questions like how, when, where. We'll go live to New Orleans to get some answers.

And after seven years, it's decided to come home. A NASA spacecraft will streak home after traveling three billion miles, Betty, through the solar system. The $200 million trip was all to collect -- are you ready for this -- a teaspoonful of dust.

NGUYEN: That's it?

HARRIS: Yes, that's what it says here. I don't know.

NGUYEN: There must be something important in that teaspoon.

HARRIS: Yes, and speaking of covering some miles, the Chinese are coming. The Chinese are coming. All right. Look out Detroit. The Geely and the Cherry are rolling up fast in your rearview mirror and you're going to love the price tag.

NGUYEN: That's a low, low price tag.

All right, big question this morning. Got him or not? That is what people are asking after reports that a U.S. airstrike targeted Osama bin Laden's right hand-man.

Sources tell CNN the CIA had its sights on Ayman al-Zawahiri when it launched an attack yesterday in a remote village of Pakistan. Eighteen people were killed, but there is no confirmation Zawahiri was among them. A Pakistani intelligence source tells CNN Zawahiri was not even there, and Pakistan's information minister tells us his nation plans to make a strong protest over the airstrike.

Meanwhile, terror leader Osama bin Laden himself is still on the run after a four-year U.S. man hunt. So, we are still waiting for some kind of official word from the U.S. but so far lips are zipped.

Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has been following this story. Jamie, what is taking so long to confirm this?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, you know, the working relationship between the U.S. CIA and the Pakistani government is something that neither government likes to talk about, and usually doesn't unless something goes wrong.

And it's increasingly beginning to look like that's the case in this airstrike that took place in northwest Pakistan yesterday. Eighteen people killed, including women and children, but no sign of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two leader of al Qaeda who intelligence indicated might have been in this village when the airstrike took place.

As it's becoming clear that he was not among the people killed, the Pakistani government is now protesting, calling the U.S. ambassador in for a formal protest about this strike, which sources confirm to CNN was in fact called in by the CIA, and apparently using CIA assets to conduct this missile strike inside Pakistan.

Again, if it had been a successful strike that had taken out the terrorist leader, that's something that they would give very little details about. But now the Pakistani government has to explain to its people why a U.S.-called attack may have resulted in civilian casualties, perhaps innocent civilians killed in the strike. And that's sort of raised it to a whole new level. Nobody officially in Washington is confirming any of the details of this attack. The U.S. military insists it was not involved and only sources speaking on the condition of complete anonymity have confirmed to CNN's David Ensor that al-Zawahiri was, in fact, the target of this attack and that it was carried out at the behest of the CIA.

Other than that, we have very few details. We believed that this was probably done by a Predator spy plane that was armed with hellfire missiles. But even that we haven't been able to confirm, Betty.

NGUYEN: So, Jamie, if I hear you correctly, this formal protest by the Pakistani government -- is this a way of saving face, since people on the ground were killed and al-Zawahiri may not have been one of those that was killed? And the fact that this strike had to have had some kind of cooperation with the Pakistanis?

MCINTYRE: Well, I mean, the obvious answer is that it is politically difficult for Pakistan to admit that the United States is operating inside the borders of its country. If they are conducting an operation and turns out well, that's not such a problem, but if it turns out that there were unintended civilian casualties in great numbers, that's something that they have to explain.

And there are already protests in Pakistan, the villagers there in this area insist that no al Qaeda militants were in the area at the time of the attack. So it's a politically difficult situation and because the CIA is apparently involved, it's not something that the U.S. government talks about publicly. But it's going to have to be handled on diplomatic channels.

Of course, it does raise a question of what kind of cooperation the United States will get the next time it believes it has intelligence that Zawahiri, bin Laden or some other al Qaeda leader is somewhere within striking distance.

NGUYEN: Very good point, Jamie McIntyre. Thank you at the Pentagon with the latest on this as we wait for word on whether al- Zawahiri was indeed killed in the attack.

Well, al-Zawahiri is widely believed to be the brains behind al Qaeda. He's appeared regularly over the Internet and in Arab media, urging Muslims to attack Americans and U.S. interests worldwide. So, if he was killed in that attack, what, if anything, would it mean to the al Qaeda terror network?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): The thing to keep in mind is that al Qaeda is now a network. It's not necessarily nor have we ever been able to establish that it's hierarchical, that actions take place derivative to commands from somebody up above.

You know, when bin Laden says something, it's going to happen someplace else. That is not the case. This is very much a network, so his departure one could argue will affect the morale and certainly might affect the direction but what you have is local actions, local recruitment taking place worldwide.

The bombings in London -- Zawahiri took credit for those after the fact, but what you saw were local Londoners. This was local recruiting. So you had intent from the top and local actions taking place in order to meet that intent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: U.S. authorities believe al-Zawahiri helped mastermind the September 11th terrorist attacks.

And that does bring us to our e-mail question this morning. Would al Qaeda -- or al-Zawahiri, we should say -- would that death, if indeed he is dead, be a turning point in the war on terror? Would it make a difference for al Qaeda and terrorism? We want to hear from you this morning on what you think about it. E-mail us your thoughts. The address is weekends@CNN.com.

HARRIS: And, Betty, this morning a 15-year-old Florida boy is hospitalized on life support. He was shot and severely wounded by a SWAT team officer at his school. According to reports the eighth grader was intent on creating some kind of violence. CNN's J.J. Ramberg joins us live from Longwood, Florida with an update. J.J., good morning.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Well, what he did create was a big scare for all of the students and the faculty at Milwee Middle School yesterday. Yesterday morning two students noticed that eighth-grader Christopher Penley was carrying a gun in his backpack.

Now we know that that was just a pellet gun but yesterday that was not clear. When they confronted Christopher Penley, he took one of those students, put him in a closet. A teacher was notified, as were the security guards.

There was then a chase through the school. The security guard was chasing Christopher Penley. A SWAT team was called in, some other backup was called in. Eventually they got him cornered into an alcove in the school, and the sheriff yesterday described what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF DON ESLINGER, SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Our SWAT operator, Lieutenant Michael Wipphert (ph), had positioned himself between the suspect, the gunman and two occupied classrooms directly behind him. The individual then raised the firearm in a tactical position and pointed it at the Lieutenant Wipphert and the Lieutenant Wipphert decided to use deadly force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMBERG: Now the lieutenant yesterday explained how they got confused between the pellet gun and a real gun. Generally pellet guns have a red tip to signify this is not a real gun. The gun that Christopher Penley was holding was painted to look like a real gun. Now, Penley is in the hospital right now and he is still on assisted life support. We'll be continuing to follow and see what happens with him -- Tony.

HARRIS: J.J., what kind of profile of this kid is emerging?

RAMBERG: You know, we've talked to -- or they have been interviewing some of his friends and a lot of them have said that he was depressed and that he was angry but a lot of people are still surprised that something like this happened. And, of course, again, it's a completely tragic story because, as it turns out as we know, it wasn't a real gun.

HARRIS: Yes, boy. J.J. Ramberg for us in Longwood, Florida. J.J., thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, when the official plan to rebuild New Orleans came out this week it did little to unite a city so divided. Next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, two sides of a very heated issue live, a member of the commission that formed the plan and a city council woman who has a few problems with it all right here.

HARRIS: To say the least.

Plus, take a look at this smooth little ride. Some say it would revolutionize the auto business and it's not because of its good looks. You won't believe how much it costs.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The seven-year mission of NASA's Stardust is in the homestretch, and it could come to a dramatic end, returning to earth with perhaps untold secrets of the universe. That story coming up on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Let's check out our top stories just in case you're just joining us this morning.

A Pakistani source tells CNN that al Qaeda's number two man may not have been killed in a CIA airstrike after all. Friday's strike killed 18 people in a remote Pakistani village, including five children. The U.S. accuses Ayman al-Zawahiri of being the mastermind behind 9/11. Meantime, though, Pakistan's information minister tells CNN his nation is protesting that airstrike.

Back in the U.S. now, the government has decided to open nearly 400,000 acres of Alaskan land to oil exploration. The "New York Times" reports the decision reverses an 8-year-old compromise. It was intended to protect the habitat of migratory birds and the hunting grounds of a native American tribe.

Forecasters are predicting extremely critical fire conditions for western Oklahoma today. High winds and higher than normal temperatures are fanning those flames. Two-hundred-and-fifty homes and businesses have been destroyed in the state since the fires started in November.

HARRIS: A tough road to recovery -- this week the city of New Orleans unveiled its plan to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. The process has been slow, tedious, and frustrating, and residents are losing their patience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the mud. We're cleaning out our homes and all we're asking for is a little help and a little support. If you can't give us direction get the hell out of the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Boy, local officials say the Crescent City is broke because it hasn't received any of the promised money from federal or state agencies.

Joining me now is a member of the New Orleans Commission, Archbishop Alfred Hughes. Archbishop, thanks for taking the time to talk to us this morning. We appreciate it.

ARCHBISHOP ALFRED HUGHES, NOLA COMMISSION: Good to be with you.

HARRIS: Now, I have to ask you, we're going to put up some side panels and we'll show everybody some of the details of the plan. But as you entered into this process what was the overarching goal or mission of this committee?

HUGHES: Well, first of all, I'd like to underscore that it's been a bi-racial commission and we have striven to make it possible for every citizen to be able to return to New Orleans and to have the opportunity to be located perhaps not where they originally were located, but in a community where they would like to live.

We hope by this effort to make sure that there is sufficient flood protection, infrastructure, that we have the best possible public schools, that we are able to restore the health and social services for the community, that we're able to build on the rich culture and make it possible for African-American and Caucasian, for Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, to live together, rich and poor, in the same city, building on the wonderful heritage and resisting some of the difficulties of the past.

HARRIS: OK, Archbishop. I have a couple of questions. Why do you feel the need -- and I think I understand this, but I'll ask the question anyway. Why do you feel the need to stress the bi-racial component of the work that was done and coming up with this plan?

HUGHES: Well, I think it's incredibly important that the publication of the plan not become a moment for racial division in our city. There are so many people that want the best for New Orleans and this plan deserves reflective and objective study. And then I think together we can refine it, work out the kinks in it, but it provides a comprehensive blueprint that I think is welcoming to all people and providing an opportunity during the next four months for everyone who wants to be a part of determining the shape of their own neighborhood.

HARRIS: OK. Archbishop, let's sort of bottom line some things here. Will the Ninth Ward be rebuilt?

HUGHES: Portions of it, yes. Portions of it will not be able to be rebuilt. It's going to be important that there is provision for some wetlands there to absorb the impact of future storms.

But wherever land ultimately will not be able to be rebuilt on, there will be -- the commission is proposing the pre-Katrina value of the residences be provided to the owners and comparable property chosen by the previous owners made available to them in the neighborhood in which they would like to live.

HARRIS: Sounds reasonable. Archbishop, let's leave it there for now. Thank you for your time. We'll hear a different view of this in just a moment. But Archbishop Alfred Hughes, thanks for your time this morning.

HUGHES: You're welcome.

HARRIS: So now we have a sense of the New Orleans rebuilding plan. But it's leaving some people feeling a bit uneasy, Betty.

When we come back, we'll talk to a city councilwoman who says the plan is distressing and extremely disappointing. She joins us live. That's next.

NGUYEN: Plus, Tony, you'll soon have more purchasing options. Listen to this -- American, German, Japanese or Chinese. That's right. A new Asian vehicle is rolling on the scene, and it will make your wallet very happy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well before the break we heard from Archbishop Alfred Hughes about how the city of New Orleans plans to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. It's a plan with many critics. One of them is City Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell. She joins us with her take. Councilwoman good to talk to you.

CYNTHIA HEDGE-MORRELL, DISTRICT D CITY COUNCIL: Nice talking to you, Tony.

HARRIS: Well let's see how you feel about that after we get done here.

Pre-Katrina value for your home and an opportunity to pick where you live next. That's what the Archbishop just said. That doesn't sound like a bad deal.

HEDGE-MORRELL: Well, he said that's a suggestion. Who is going to pay ...

HARRIS: Yes, you're right, he did say that.

HEDGE-MORRELL: ... the pre-Katrina price. Yes, you know, I mean, we don't have -- the Baker Bill didn't pass through Congress. So right now we don't have anyone stepping up to say, pre-Katrina prices.

I've had conversations with the Corps of Engineers regarding some property that is in my district along the canal that breached and they are not offering pre-Katrina prices. They want to pay post-Katrina prices and they only want to buy part of the land. So literally they would buy to the back door of the house and the homeowner would really be not made whole.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Councilwoman, the Louisiana Recovery Authority is the body that is going to come up with the money, in association with the federal government, that pays that pre-Katrina value for homes. Is that correct?

HEDGE-MORRELL: That's the suggestion but I haven't seen anything in writing and, you know, there's been a lot of promises made about things to do, especially the levees, and until the money actually gets to where it needs to go, you can't really take that to the bank.

HARRIS: Is that why I hear all the skepticism in our voice?

HEDGE-MORRELL: Yes, I think so. It's been a long four months.

HARRIS: Yes, no, I agree with that.

So the plan on its face, is there a better plan out there? What is your real concern that -- well, I'm not going to put words in your mouth. What is your real concern here?

HEDGE-MORRELL: OK, my concern is that my district, district D -- and I really -- I mean, I'm concerned about the whole city but I focus on my district.

HARRIS: Is that in the Ninth Ward? It's not?

HEDGE-MORRELL: No, I have the Upper Ninth Ward.

HARRIS: Upper Ninth, OK.

HEDGE-MORRELL: Not, the Ninth Ward. I have the Lakefront. I have portions of New Orleans East. These were all viable communities that never flooded before, and if it had not been for the breaches in the levees and Mr. Gogh (ph), they would not be flooded today.

A lot of the constituents and the residents in that area -- including myself, because I live in that area and I had nine feet of water -- want to return to their homes. We had very viable communities. We had parks. We have all of the infrastructure that they are talking about. We have the capacity in most areas of my district to rebuild, so ...

HARRIS: Your concern is that it's just not going to happen?

HEDGE-MORRELL: My concern is that you can't keep making residents the victims. We -- a couple of weeks ago told them everybody could come back and start the rebuilding process. A lot of them did.

And then this report comes out and it says, oh, and it suggested a moratorium on permits. You can't do that to people. You can't one week tell them to come home, the next week, you know, they take their savings, because they are still fighting with the insurance companies and -- go ahead.

HARRIS: Well, Councilwoman, let me just jump in for a second and just ask you this last question before I lose you. It seems to me that all of this rebuilding talk is predicated on what happens with the levees and how you rebuild the levees and how you make them strong enough to withstand a bigger storm. And none of this makes any sense if we don't have a plan to rebuild those levees. Where are we on that front?

HEDGE-MORRELL: I think we're moving along very well on that front. The Corps has said that we will have protection by June 1st. I just returned from the Netherlands and looking at the fact that they have -- some of their strongest economic areas are built in areas that are 20 feet below sea level, that they plan for 1,000 year storms and 10,000 year storms.

They have a very -- they use the delta works which is their research arm. They use the water works which is something that we are proposing that you have one district that handles the flood protection.

But the other thing is that they use current research and they look at what is necessary for the lake, what would be necessary for the river, what would be necessary to rebuild our wetlands so that we would have adequate protection from storms.

HARRIS: So if you can rebuild the levees to the Dutch model, can you rebuild more of the Ninth Ward? Lower Ninth? Upper Ninth?

HEDGE-MORRELL: Yes, you could. Sure.

HARRIS: All right.

HEDGE-MORRELL: What they have found is that the areas that they have provided the protection have developed to be strong economic areas and they have had a 60 percent surge in economic production. So that's something else to look at. You know, we need to talk about the fact that New Orleans provides oil -- I mean New Orleans and the State of Louisiana.

We provide oil and gas to the country, a third of it. And with the offshore production, we provide the largest port. You know, all of this is -- all of these are economic services that we provide to the rest of the United States. So we're -- there are many viable economic reasons to rebuild our city.

HARRIS: Councilwoman, good to talk to you. Thanks for taking the time. That wasn't too bad. Thanks for your time this morning.

HEDGE-MORRELL: No, it wasn't. Thank you.

HARRIS: Have a good day.

NGUYEN: You got some good information there.

You know, we have been talking about the damage that Katrina caused. Well, today, let's get an update on the weather outside. Bonnie, there's been some severe weather in some areas.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: And we will be watching you. Thank you, Bonnie.

Speaking of weather, when we come back, Bonnie is going to give us the forecast for the return of Stardust. Do you know what that is?

HARRIS: Oh, really?

NGUYEN: Well, the seven-year journey of the NASA space capsule -- that's what Stardust is -- is nearing what could be a dramatic end, so you want to get those cameras out. We're going to tell you when you can see it and what scientists hope is inside the capsule.

HARRIS: Let's hope folks send us pictures. If you're out there, send us pictures.

Just a few moments ago, President Bush had the Supreme Court on his mind in his radio address. You'll hear what he had to say when we take you to Washington next on CNN's SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back, everybody on this Saturday morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for joining us.

NGUYEN: This morning President Bush used his radio message to boast about Judge Samuel Alito's character and why Alito should be on the Supreme Court. Mr. Bush isn't the only one in Alito's corner. You would think he was a rock star with that kind of welcome. Supporters were posted outside the Capitol Hill clapping, cheering, waving signs saying "Confirm Alito" earlier this week.

Alito testified for more than three days and managed to survive what critics call a contentious questioning. What happens next is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Alito likely secured the votes of all 10 GOP committee members, but the panel's eight Democrats have not decided which way they will vote.

President Bush appealed to senators referring to Alito as eminently qualified to serve on our nation's highest court. Will this latest endorsement help sway the vote one way or the other? CNN's Kathleen Koch is live outside the White House with more on this. What are you hearing, Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's unclear obviously the kind of impact the presidential radio address would have on the senators' vote. Certainly they know that the president very strongly and very firmly supports this nominee.

And the president here is really wanting to cap this week of contentious hearings with a positive note in the radio address this morning speaking out very forcefully for his nominee. The president said that Judge Samuel Alito answered the questions this week with quote, grace and composure and showed his personal humility and legal brilliance. And Mr. Bush in the radio address touted Alito's qualifications for a seat on the highest court in the land.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sam Alito's brilliance, integrity and accomplishments have gained him respect and praise from his colleagues and from attorneys across the political spectrum. This week fellow judges from the third circuit publicly testified in support of his confirmation and they praised his integrity and fairness.

The American Bar Association gave Judge Alito a unanimous rating of well qualified, the ABA's highest possible rating. The ABA concluded that Judge Alito meets the highest standards of integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament. In the past leading Democratic senators have called the ABA's rating system the gold standards for judicial nominees.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOCH: The president urged senators to give his nominee a speedy up or down vote. Obviously still unclear where the Senate as a whole stands, but as for the Judiciary Committee, again, the 10 Republicans are expected to vote for Samuel Alito while the eight Democrats, their position still remains unclear. Back to you.

NGUYEN: All right, Kathleen Koch at the White House. Thank you Kathleen.

HARRIS: News across America now. Police in southern Kentucky are trying to find out if a teenager had an illicit sexual relationship with one of her middle school students. The FBI tracked down 26-year old Angela Comer (ph) and the 14-year-old boy in Mexico this week. Comer's three-year-old son was with them. Comer so far has been charged with custodial interference.

After nine months on the run, a reputed Chicago mob boss is in jail. And as it turns out, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo hadn't run far. He was found in the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park. Lombardo, who is 76, is charged along with 13 others with plotting several organized crime murders. A tribal chairman's teenage son has reportedly been sentenced to up to one year in a juvenile center for exchanging threatening messages with the teen gunman in last year's shooting on Minnesota's Red Lake Indian reservation, according to the "Minneapolis Star Tribune." Seventeen-year-old Louis Jourdain will also be on probation until he is 21. His 16-year-old friend killed nine people in the shooting.

NGUYEN: Well NASA has spent a whole bunch of money to collect what may be less than a teaspoon full of dust from space. Now the trick is, getting that dust safely back down to earth. Technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg on the importance of the Stardust mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been a long trip for Stardust, seven years and nearly 3 billion miles through the solar system, all to collect interstellar dust particles from the tail of a comet and return them to earth.

DON BROWNLEE, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Our mission is called Stardust, in part because we believe some of the particles in the comet will in fact be older than the sun and planets, formed around other stars. We call them stardust.

SIEBERG: Early Sunday morning, the spacecraft will fly by earth and release the 100 pound canister containing the samples. It will enter the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, going almost 29,000 miles per hour. If the weather permits, sky watchers on the West Coast may be able to see it streak overhead.

As it nears the landing zone at the Air Force Utah test and training range, parachutes will open to bring it in for a soft landing. As the sky will be dark for the entire descent, NASA will track the canister using infrared cameras as seen in this test.

ED HIRST, MISSION SYSTEMS MANAGER: This is the fastest return vehicle that has ever been brought back to earth, so bringing it home for the first time is the only way to test a system like this.

SIEBERG: NASA's last sample return mission did not go as planned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we have a no chute, sir.

SIEBERG: In 2004, the parachutes on the Genesis spacecraft didn't open and it crashed into the ground at full speed. Stardust mission managers say they are confident that won't happen this time. But they are prepared for the unexpected.

TOM DUXBURY, PROJECT MANAGER: We've been out testing and training at Utah for hard landings where we might even breach the return capsule. We might land in wet or mud or whatever. All of these possible contingencies which are low probability, we have actually test and trained for. SIEBERG: Scientists say comets are icy, rocky debris leftover from the beginning of the solar system four and a half billion years ago. They expect analysis of the Stardust samples will help them better understand how the planets form and evolved. Daniel Sieberg, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: How about this, Daniel Sieberg will join us live tomorrow morning for more on the return of Stardust. As he just told us, the seven-year mission comes to an end during Sunday's predawn hours. He is expected to be on hand -- do we not know this? Have we not confirmed this? He might be.

NGUYEN: I think he will be.

HARRIS: OK. So join us tomorrow for the return of Stardust. That's tomorrow morning on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: The word expected kind of throws it all off. But here's a question for those in areas where they can actually see Stardust come down. Are the clouds going to be in the way, Bonnie?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Betty it looks like in some areas we will see some low clouds, but stay optimistic because this flash of light that will come through the sky for about 30 seconds at a time should be visible in some areas, central California across Oregon on into Nevada. Incidentally, Winnemucca, Nevada, 1:57 and 31 seconds Pacific standard time, we do have some cloud coverage and even snow showers in the forecast.

So if you're going to be traveling on interstate 80, that's the best vantage point to see this. And it looks like we're going to see some snow showers. Temperatures at that hour of the morning will be in the 20s. So bundle up for your venture to enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Look at the speed, the way Stardust will be traveling, the fastest man-made vehicle to ever re-enter the atmosphere and that will occur at 1:57:31 Pacific time. The actual landing in Utah at the test and training range will occur at 3:12 a.m. Mountain time.

So it looks like it will be a sight to see despite the cloud coverage as that streak of light lasting for about 30 to 90 seconds, depending where you are in the northwest or into Nevada. So something to see tonight or early tomorrow morning, I guess.

NGUYEN: So it's quick. I mean you either catch it or you don't.

SCHNEIDER: Exactly, a flash of light.

NGUYEN: At 29,000 miles per hour. I go 85 and I think I'm going fast. This is the fastest ever. I just busted myself. Oh, well.

HARRIS: Bonnie, thank you.

NGUYEN: OK, so if you live in Utah or Nevada -- you still shocked by that.

HARRIS: Yes, Betty.

NGUYEN: And you're headed out with your camera to catch Stardust. You know you speed, Tony -- be sure to e-mail us a picture. Here's the address, weekends@cnn.com.

HARRIS: You can't drive 85.

NGUYEN: I don't often.

HARRIS: The Chinese are revving up the auto industry, if you feel like the price of a brand new car is too high.

NGUYEN: A lot of people do. Well the Chinese, though, have another option for you. They are bringing the price down which is good for your pocket. So would you choose a Geely as it's called or let's say a Jetta? Reasons why you should or you shouldn't. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The highways they are jam packed with auto imports from the likes of Germany, Japan, Italy, just to name a few. Now China is putting the pedal to the metal in the U.S. for the first time ever with a Geely. You might hear more about it in the coming months. Our own Bill Tucker take a look at this Geely. It's a story that first appeared on CNN's "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Its name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, the MR 7151ACK sedan. The company's name evokes images of a bad J. Lo, Ben Affleck movie and the car doesn't yet meet U.S. safety or emissions standards.

But Geely is the first Chinese auto maker to show its wares at the Detroit auto show, a first in the show's 98-year history. The company's chairman openly admits that quality is a problem, but he says in 18 months the car will go on sale in America. No one expects an overnight success but --

MALCOLM BRICKLIN, CEO, VISIONARY VEHICLES: Five, 10 years from now. All the Chinese manufacturers who are now partners with all these joint ventures, will be independent, will have their own factories and will come in like Toyota and Nissan and Honda and Mitsubishi and Subaru did.

TUCKER: Bricklin has announced his own plans for importing a line of cars from China starting with the Cherry. For now, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are clinging to the upper hand in the market. The big three owning 56 percent of the American market, versus 44 percent by the foreign auto makers. Critics point out that in entering into their joint ventures with China, they have created a massive strategic blunder. PETER MORICI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Their biggest enemy is themselves. They're in China and they're transferring technology and know how. They're pushing their suppliers to go to China to lower their costs here so they can import components. In the process of doing so, the General Motors and Ford are manufacturing competitors for themselves. In some way they are giving away the family jewels.

TUCKER: The Geely is expected to sell for under $10,000. Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.

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NGUYEN: So would a Geely become the it car of 2008? As Bill reported, with an anticipated price around $10,000, $10,000, that's it. The Geely would be a thrifty buy no doubt. It's now undergoing U.S. emissions and safety tests. So let's see what automotive industry expert Lauren Fix thinks about the Chinese invasion. She joins us from Buffalo this morning. So let's compare the cars with the vehicles we have on the market today and this new Geely as it's called. Do they offer the same thing?

LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE EXPERT: They are going to try and offer the obviously, the most state of the art they can for the package. What you're really looking at is a car that may cost when they get their high end car, between $19 and $20,000 which is comparable to a vehicle today that may cost you $30,000. So it's a big savings, but the safety tests are what I'm really waiting for and I really want to see a clear emissions, because that may cause the price to rise.

NGUYEN: Right. Let me ask you, though, looking just at the numbers right now for them to put cars on this market at that price and so much cheaper than what other vehicles are going for, how can they afford to do that?

FIX: Well, what they are happening is all state of the art equipment. The Chinese government put in a ton of money, millions and millions and millions of dollars to put the current state of the art equipment and we are working with a lot of older equipment.

Remember, we've been in business since the 1900s. This is all brand new for them, new equipment, new technology, so they can work quicker. Their cost of labor is less and because of that and they are already selling around the world and they're just getting into the U.S. market which is key. You're going to watch these prices be low and that's how they are doing it. They're keeping their labor costs much lower than ours.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, it's a competitive market, so with that being the case, once these are introduced at a $10,000 price tag, does that mean other cars, other makers are going to lower their prices?

FIX: I think you're going to start seeing it being very competitive. I know they are going to make the market for Geely and Cherry very exclusive, sort of like Mini where's there's only like one dealer in each area, possibly two. And the reason is so that you will actually go to that dealer and there won't be a competition amongst dealers.

But you will see Kia has already got cars in the $10,000 range. Hyundai has cars. I'm sure the domestic manufacturers will not let that group of potential customers walk away. Everybody wants the sale and you are going to watch the market become more competitive than it is now.

NGUYEN: Well, everybody want a deal. But nowadays what some auto industry makers or auto makers I should say are doing to set themselves apart is, they are offering free oil changes. They're offering all this maintenance for so many years. Is Geely doing that?

FIX: Well, Geely's doing a test market in Puerto Rico. They are going to sell 2,000 cars and they're going to offer those people that get these vehicles free oil changes, full maintenance, everything except for accidents. But in exchange, they want feedback, good and bad.

What is wrong? What is not working and they are doing a little test market in Puerto Rico, which is actually quite smart, because when it hits the U.S. market, just like any other vehicle, like the Yugo when it hit here, if it's got a bad reputation, they will never sell it.

NGUYEN: And as we listened to the piece with Bill Tucker, do you agree that GM has kind of created its own competition by moving into China?

FIX: Yes, they have. They're pinned against the wall but I think after being at the Detroit auto show and watching the new vehicles they've got coming out, the Enclave and they're upgrading a lot of their vehicles. I think that GM is really going to try their best to survive and there's a lot of jobs that are on the line. I mean, it would be really a sad situation. But I think General Motors is going to come back strong.

NGUYEN: We will be watching. Lauren Fix, we appreciate your time today.

FIX: Thank you.

NGUYEN: So here's another question for you, has nothing to do with the cars we've been talking about, kind of an odd question. How would you like a pig to match your green eggs and ham?

HARRIS: That doesn't sound too appetizing.

NGUYEN: No, not at all.

HARRIS: But there is a green pig in the world today. We'll tell you where next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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NGUYEN: OK, you ready for this? Feast your eyes on a green pig. Yes, you kind of got to look closely. HARRIS: The snout there a little bit.

NGUYEN: It's a little lime colored maybe we should say. It does top our wows of the week. Look closely for the green. Scientists in Taiwan created the chartreuse swine for medical study of human diseases. They achieved the milestone by injecting the color gene from a jellyfish into a pig embryo.

HARRIS: OK, still good eating.

NGUYEN: Tony, you get in so much trouble.

HARRIS: This crystal pyramid in Amsterdam, it's a world record of champagne glasses stacked atop each other. It took about 36 straight hours to stack the nearly 36,000 glasses. Besides getting a new record, the stunt also was a charity fund raiser for a children's hospital in Amsterdam.

NGUYEN: The phone boards are just lighting up Tony.

Finally, where does a seal go to catch some rays? Anywhere it wants. Take a look at this picture. This particular seal in Seattle chose a hybrid car. I wonder why a hybrid car -- in the parking lot of a restaurant. An employee eventually shooed the critter back into the ocean, but it did leave behind a good size dent in the hood. Try explaining that to your insurance company.

HARRIS: You see what happened is -- our e-mail question of the morning. Let's put this thing up here. Would al-Zawahiri's death be a turning point in the war on terror? That's our question of the day. And Diane writes, it doesn't matter if the number two, the number one or the number 100 person is captured or killed, it will be their children, their friends and/or their comrades to follow in their footsteps. It will be a never ending hate process. Thank you Diane.

NGUYEN: I imagine referring to the fact that al-Zawahiri is claimed to be Osama bin Laden's number two man. Well, Roger in Canada says, whether the death of al-Zawahiri is true or not, I know that there are probably at least two guys more than willing to fill his sandals. We appreciate your thoughts this is morning. Our e-mail question. We'll have another one for you tomorrow.

HARRIS: And quickly upstairs now to Bonnie Schneider in the CNN weather center. Good morning Bonnie.

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NGUYEN: We will be here watching. Thanks Bonnie.

HARRIS: And there is much more to come in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: The book "A Million Little Pieces" remains on the bestseller list as well as Oprah's Book Club. This despite claims that not all the author's accounts are true. We'll talk with the publisher coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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