Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Continuing Controversy Over How Benazir Bhutto Died; Ongoing Investigation of Tiger Attack; Campaign Trail Heating Up; Holiday Travel Delays
Aired December 29, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN Center this is SATURDAY MORNING on CNN. It's 7:00 a.m. here, good morning. I'm Rob Marciano in for T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: December 29, that's what you're looking for. I know. Good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for joining us.
Here are some of the round-down today. A violent spark by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto plays out across Pakistan. Now, just days after voters are supposed to go to the polls, some election officers are in ruins (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS SOUSA, SR., FATHER OF VICTIM: I want answers. Did you do this? Did you that? What happened? And I'm hearing all this stuff on the media. I mean, I want to know the facts. I want to know what's going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: A father still looking for answers after his son was killed by a tiger. The San Francisco Zoo remains closed today.
NGUYEN: Plus: CNN is the only network that has it and more candidates are coming aboard the election express, here what Barack Obama has to say, that is coming up.
MARCIANO: We begin with the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto, a country struggling to make sense of it. Adding to the confusion, conflicting versions of how she died, speculation about who's responsible and most troubling of all, uncertainty about the future. We got reporters all over Pakistan to help sort out the facts of Bhutto's violent death in Rawalpindi.
For the latest, we start with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Seconds before death, a new video released by the government, the former prime minister waves to the crowd from the sunroof of her armored car. Suddenly, three shots went out, followed by a flash of light of the suicide bomb. In slow motion, what appears to be the gun is visible at the rear left hand side of the SUV. You see the weapon raised pointed at Bhutto as the assassin open fire. The attack left at least 20 people dead.
But what killed Benazir Bhutto, in a surprising announcement of Pakistan's interior ministry claims Bhutto wasn't struck by bullets or shrapnel but died from hitting her head against part of the vehicle.
BRIG. GEN. JAVED IQBAL CHEEMA, INTERIOR MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: Maybe she's trying to tag down, you know, then, she heard the shot. So, this is the liver that is open because blood stain. So, there's every possibility that this is the liver unfortunately that's caused you know, the (INAUDIBLE) and became the caused of her death.
COOPER: If this is the cost of death contradicts to other findings from the doctor who said she succumbed to gun shot wounds and from authorities who initially said Bhutto was killed by bomb fragments. In another major development, the Pakistani government says there is no doubt who wanted her dead.
CHEEMA: We have irrefutable evidence that al Qaeda, its networks, and cohorts are trying to destabilize Pakistan which is in the forefront of the war against terrorism.
COOPER: U.S. officials tell CNN a senior Taliban leader linked to the terrorist network may be behind the assassination, his name, Baitullah Mehsud. Pakistan says they intercepted a phone conversation between Mehsud and another man talking about the attack. In the purported communication, Mehsud says, it was a quote, "Fantastic job. They were very brave boys who killed her."
Pakistan's claim that it's an ally in the war on terror is overshadowed by a long-held suspicion of the ties parts of its military and intelligence have with the Taliban and extremists who operate in plain sight along the lawless Afghan border area where Osama Bin Laden may be hiding.
On streets throughout Pakistan, violent protests in the wake of Bhutto's death continue. For the province where she lived, there are reports of at least 23 deaths. The army has orders to shoot on sight anyone who causes unrest.
And today, for the woman who hoped to bring democracy back to Pakistan, there was a final chaotic farewell. Hundreds of thousands of mourners swarmed the funeral procession, many openly weeping, trying to grab the casket. It's her husband and son at the gravesite, her body is buried near her ancestral home and next to Bhutto's father, who was executed nearly 30 years ago.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, Karachi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And CNN's Zain Verjee is in Karachi. We'll be speaking with her live a little bit later his morning.
Now, let's get you to that deadly tiger attack. The San Francisco zoo is scheduled to reopen Thursday, but how long it stays open could be in question. A criminal investigation is under way right now. Police are looking into how a 350-pound tiger got out of its enclosure. Zoo officials admit the wall around the tiger den was shorter than recommended. The tiger mauled three young men killing 17-year-old, Carlos Sousa.
A candlelight vigil for him is scheduled for tonight, and CNN's Dan Simon has more on the investigation at the San Francisco zoo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Francisco Police are still trying to figure out just what happened inside the zoo. The mystery is only deepening. The brother of the two surviving victims declined to provide any details of the attack.
SUNNY DHALIWAL, BROTHER OF SURVIVING VICTIMS: I visited them in the hospital. My brothers are doing fine. They're in stable condition, and they'll be released in two to three days, and whenever they come out, they can make a statement.
SIMON: The brothers have made statements to police but haven't been entirely forthcoming, police sources told the "San Francisco Chronicle." The father of Carlos Sousa Jr., the 17-year-old who died, says he wants answers.
CARLOS SOUSA, SR., FATHER OF VICTIM: I want answers. Did you do this? Did you that? What happened? And I'm hearing all this stuff on the media. I mean, I want to know the facts. I want to know what's going on.
SIMON: Authorities are investigating whether somebody taunted the tiger that night by jumping over a barrier to keep the public away from the animals. Police say, they found a footprint on top of the railing.
CHIEF HEATHER FONG, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: We have obtained photographs of that shoe print, and we also have all three pairs of shoes from the victims and our forensic analysis will allow us to determine if any of those shoes match the print that is on there.
SIMON: Even if there was taunting, the tiger still had to escape its enclosure. Zoo officials acknowledge that the enclosure's protective wall is shorter than previously thought. It turns out the wall is just 12 1/2 feet high. Industry standards say, it should be about 16 feet high.
(on camera): However, that's just a recommended height, not an official requirement. Each exhibit is looked at in its entirety to determine if it's safe. The association of zoos and aquariums never issued any red flags, but it's clear that the shorter wall would have made it considerably easier for the tiger to get out.
MANUEL MOLLINEDO, SAN FRANCISCO ZOO DIRECTOR: I think the tiger -- if she grabbed onto something, it could have been a ledge. She had to have jumped. How she was able to jump that high is amazing to me, but it's an exotic animal.
SIMON (voice-over): But just why the tiger suddenly lashed out remains unknown.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: You can find much more information on the deadly tiger attack at CNN.com, including the path the tiger took through the zoo, also a look at Siberian tigers in general. All that is available at your fingertips at CNN.com.
NGUYEN: To get you back to our top story, what happens next now that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated? Well, we'll tell you this -- it's a little past 5:00 in the afternoon in Karachi, and CNN's Zain Verjee has been talking with people there to gauge the mood in the city.
Zain, what's the situation on the ground at this hour?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Betty, here in Pakistan, the situation is highly emotional and highly uncertain as Pakistan braces for more violence. Just a few hours ago, we arrived here in the port city of Karachi. People have been out on the street burning tires. We've been seeing plumes of smoke all day on the horizon line over this city.
But the streets here, though, by and large have been relatively empty, the shops have been shut down, police are patrolling the streets. So, things here are relatively quiet compared to places like Rawalpindi with clashes between Benazir Bhutto's supporters and police.
Also, in the cultural capital of Pakistan, the city of Lahore, protesters are burning tires and blocking roads as well. The thing is, Betty, that a lot of people are not out on the streets and they're also staying home because the gas stations are shut down and nobody can get gas to drive around and go and demonstrate if they want to.
But, there really is a sense of anger here on the streets directed toward President Musharraf with many people saying, he just didn't do enough to protect Benazir Bhutto and give her the kind of security that she needed -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Well, Zain, let me ask you this, because elections are still just days away. Do we know who's going to take over for Benazir Bhutto and her party, and are those elections going to continue?
VERJEE: We don't know whether those elections are going to take place. They were scheduled for January the 8th, but that's sort of up in the air. Without her and the party's participation, elections would essentially be meaningless.
What we know is that there is going to be a special prayer for Benazir Bhutto in her ancestral home, called Larkana, and there the parties will get together in the evening and they're going to decide who's going to replace her. She was a real giant, a very charismatic national leader, and it's going to be very difficult to fill her shoes. What they're saying right now is that her husband, Asif Zardari, could take over.
The thing is -- he's not a Bhutto. It's like the Kennedy family. That name has resonance here in this country. They're also saying that maybe her sister, Sanam Bhutto could take over. She's been living out of the country for years, but she was close to Benazir Bhutto. One of her top party leaders, Matuma Bin Sahem (ph) could take over, but it really remains to be seen what decision they'll make.
But the point here is that anyone here you talk to, thinks that the Pakistan People's Party is going to win whatever election takes place because of a sympathy vote, and that is what counts, whether it's held on the 8th of January or later -- Betty?
NGUYEN: That's a very interesting point. All right. CNN's Zain Verjee joining us live from Pakistan today. Thank you, Zain.
To continue with this story, because a leader assassinated, now there are so many unanswered questions.
MARCIANO: Yes, claims of a cover-up. Stay with us for the latest on Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
But next: just five days to go until the Iowa caucus and the gloves are off. The best political team on television is covering of Democrats and Republicans live from the CNN Election Express bus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, as you can see, crunch time on the campaign trail. It is the last weekend before the Iowa caucus on Thursday. And all of the major presidential candidates are in Iowa except for one.
MARCIANO: That's right. Senator John McCain is already looking forward to the next contest, the New Hampshire primary, that's on January 8th. CNN's Jim Acosta joins us live from Dover, New Hampshire; he's part of the best political team on television. You're always ahead of the curve there, Jim, ahead of the pack so to speak.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
MARCIANO: What can we expect from John McCain this morning?
ACOSTA: Well, John McCain was left for dead as campaign road kill over the summer, but he is back with a vengeance in New Hampshire with some polls showing him in a statistical dead heat with former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney. McCain lands in the state today for a campaign bus tour across the granite state and is doing so in the midst of a political ad war with Romney.
Romney, who was feeling that pressure, released an attack ad against McCain earlier this week, criticizing the Arizona senator on immigration and taxes. But the McCain campaign was waiting in the wings, anticipating that ad, releasing a spot of their own that goes straight for the jugular.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also would remind some of my fellow Americans that Benazir Bhutto and Shari (ph) presided over failed states. There was corruption. There was failed states in Pakistan when Musharraf took charge. And I hope that we will make the transition to a free and fair election, but I'd like to give President Musharraf some credit for taking the measures that we have asked him to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And that was McCain last night in Iowa. We were hoping to run that new McCain spot attacking Romney, but that was McCain in Iowa last night talking about the situation in Pakistan which really tees up what we should be hearing from the Arizona senator today.
He will be focusing on foreign policy, sort of showing off his foreign policy credentials, if you will and he, surprisingly, backed Musharraf, President Pervez Musharraf, in Iowa yesterday, who has come under some criticism in the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. McCain saying very much that Pervez Musharraf is getting the job done in the war on terrorism.
Now, the thinking is in the McCain campaign, if they can get a strong finish in Iowa, where he is doing better than expected, and win New Hampshire, that perhaps he can take on the glow of a front-runner heading into South Carolina. So, the granite state, even though the New Hampshire primary runs five days later or happens five days later after the Iowa caucus, it is almost do-or-die time in New Hampshire for John McCain -- Rob?
MARCIANO: Well, that would explain the strategy of him being there ahead of the pack. We've got McCain, we got Romney who are battling out with these attack ads on each other. Where does that lead Giuliani? How does it affect Rudy?
ACOSTA: Rudy Giuliani, the big surprise in this campaign is that despite coming in first in most national polls, he is not doing particularly well in Iowa or New Hampshire, and really his fire wall is Florida, which is weeks away.
But Giuliani is going to be back in New Hampshire tomorrow. He has a town meeting scheduled here in the granite state, and he is hoping, despite the fact that he is now in third place, that perhaps he can get back into a second-place showing in New Hampshire because if he comes out of here, you know, third or worse and does the same in Iowa, there are some Republican strategists who are saying that perhaps the GOP will start looking to either McCain or Romney as their guy, and it'll be just sort of too little, too late, if Giuliani does well in some of the later contests.
So, Giuliani is coming back to New Hampshire with some urgency here tomorrow -- Rob?
MARCIANO: Jim Acosta, live for us in New Hampshire this morning, kind of a nasty day, stay dry out there, Jim. Thanks.
All right. From the Republicans, we'll now turn to the top Democrats. They're locked in a tight race for first place in the Iowa caucuses coming up.
NGUYEN: Yes, they are. And with just five days to go, the gloves are coming off. The latest now: Barack Obama defends himself against attacks by both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. CNN's Jessica Yellin sat down with Obama aboard the CNN election express. He is with the Election Express right now in Coralville, Iowa.
Alright, so, what went down?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning, Betty.
Well, Senator Barack Obama's campaign has taken some heat from the Clinton campaign. The Clinton folks, they've accused Obama's people of trying to politicize Benazir Bhutto's death, because one of his aides, Obama's aides said that well, perhaps Senator Clinton's vote for the Iraq war took our eye off the ball, got us distractive from al Qaeda and now, it looks like al Qaeda is behind, perhaps, Bhutto's death.
So, Barack Obama, he had the response to Senator Clinton, he said, he is not the one who's politicized this. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Clinton campaign started pushing this notion that somehow immediately after this happened that somehow this was going to advantage their campaign. And one of my campaign aides responded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, he also took on John Edwards. John Edwards has been adding some lines to his speeches lately and also in interviews directly criticizing Barack Obama, suggesting that he, John Edwards, is better able to fight for the working man than Obama and that Edwards has more of a track record and a history of taking on special interests. Senator Obama doesn't quite agree. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: When you look at the track record, you know, what John is talking about now, is not what he was talking about four years ago, it's not what he was talking about eight years ago. You know, on issue after issue, he now says, he made a mistake. But, when he suggests that somehow he's going to fight more steadfastly on behalf of the American people, then I have to point out that my track record of fighting on behalf of working families in America has been unwavering. (END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, perhaps it should come as no surprise that there are more jabs on the campaign trail, that we're seeing more of these personal criticisms, because as you said it really is a statistical dead heat, a tie among these three front-runners, and at this point the betting money says any one of them could walk away from Iowa in less than a week from today -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Well, Jessica, you know, Senator Dodd is also firing some shots, in fact, raising eyebrows with some comments that he made. What do you think about Senator Clinton's experience?
YELLIN: He really has, Betty. Senator Clinton, as you know, has campaigned on this message that she has the experience in Washington to really get things done. Well, Senator Dodd when asked about that yesterday actually compared Senator Clinton's experience to Laura Bush's. He said that well, maybe Senator Clinton has a little more experience because she's served in the Senate, but what she did watching her husband in the White House, that's not experience, he said, that's witnessing experience. Those might be some of the strongest words criticizing Senator Clinton's claim that we've heard from any candidate in this race so far -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Jessica Yellin on the campaign trail there with the Election Express bus, on the best political team on television. Thank you, Jessica.
MARCIANO: Yes, with the pre-game hype almost done, primaries just days away, you want to stay up to the minute with political news anywhere you go. Well, CNN.com, CNNPolitics.com now, I guess, is your one-stop shop, used to be CNN.com/politics. It's the Internet's premiere destination for political news: CNNPolitics.com. Got a tip towards the end of the year now, you know. Like those year-end pieces.
NGUYEN: Looking back ...
MARCIANO: It was a busy year weather-wise.
NGUYEN: Oh, my goodness.
MARCIANO: Yes, we had a lot of tornadoes, we had big fires. So, we're going to talk more about that. The top weather stories of the year, that's coming up.
NGUYEN: And it's also a big travel weekend. Jacqui Jeras is here with a preview of the weather stories that she is working on. Good morning, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys.
Yes, our top weather stories affecting the west coast and the east coast, and it all spells travel trouble. The only good spot is looking like the nation's midsection. We'll have your travel forecast and a sneak peek at New Year's Eve. That's all coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Are you ready for 2008? I know I am. Our Anderson Cooper will be in New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve and you can make the party even better. Here's what you could do, you go to CNN.com/iparty and send us your photos or tell us about your memories from 2007. Maybe yours will be shown live on New Year's Eve. Our live coverage begins 11:00 p.m. Eastern. I can only imagine some of the pictures that are going to be coming through that night.
MARCIANO: Yes, send us pictures you took before you pop the champagne.
NGUYEN: How about after? Those are even better. Well, people are trying to get to their destination in time for New Year's, but there's going to be delays.
MARCIANO: Yes, there was a mess yesterday, big-time delays in Chicago. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the severe weather for us. Good morning, Jacqui. What's going on?
JERAS: Hey, guys.
Well, you know, Chicago's going to be a little bit better today, so that's some good news. Of course, you have to play catch-up a little bit for those flights that get canceled.
But the big focus I think today, is going to be across the east, particularly the northeastern corridor. Now, you can see all the rain showers here, snow into northern parts of New England, but even though a lot of this is starting to pull out, we're going to stay very overcast throughout the day, so, you get those low ceilings, makes it difficult. Those planes have to slow down and line up in order to get into some of those airports. We are expecting to see delays, you know, possibly over an hour or so. So, make sure you call ahead.
Freezing rain an issue here along I-95, westward towards Lewiston, and on over into New Hampshire and Vermont getting in on some of that freezing rain. It's just rain for you right now in Boston. Kind of intermittent, a little on and off, a little steadier down towards Providence. Hartford is beginning to pull out for you, and look at that New York City, starting to dry up but certainly not starting to clear up.
We may see more showers and thunderstorms redeveloping here across the mid-Atlantic later on this afternoon, and some of these thunderstorms are a little bit on the strong side here along (INAUDIBLE) and then heading up to the north of Albany area. We are looking for some very beneficial rain into the southeast. In fact, we could see as much as maybe two inches to the south of the Atlanta area moving towards Columbia of South Carolina. So, welcome rain there, but the rain not quite as welcome for those travelers.
Look at some of those delays, guys. We think La Guardia, JFK, and Newark should be well over an hour by this afternoon.
MARCIANO: Take the train, right?
JERAS: Not a bad idea.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Jacqui.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, a lot of our viewers are telling us what they think about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Josh Levs is here with a preview.
Good morning, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Yes, this is a big part of the story today. This contradictory explanation coming from the Pakistani government, they're causing a lot of suspicion and they're causing a lot of theories out there. And now, a lot of CNN.com users are trying to keep the Pakistani government honest. I'll explain coming up. Rob?
MARCIANO: A great buy. A $2 garage sale purchase turned into something worth thousands. Lucky guy. We'll have that story and much, much more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): They say they never dreamed of having to do background checks on essays from little girls.
HANNAH MONTANAH, TEEN CELEBRITY: I think this is the nicest conversation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: What? Background checks? Little girls? Oh, yes. It's the latest scam to hit Hannah Montana tickets, and it is outrageous. Wait until you hear this one. And the link that some people, even children will go to get their hands on those tickets.
MARCIANO: A popular show.
NGUYEN: Yes, but this is a story you don't want to miss. Welcome back everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano in for T.J. Holmes. Now, the craziest story for sure, how to get concert tickets for your kids. Stick around for that.
But first: we got new information coming in now about former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's death.
NGUYEN: Yes, Pakistan has set up two official investigations into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Video shows Bhutto standing through the sunroof of her armored SUV when a suicide bomber fires three shots and then blew himself up. Pakistan's interior ministry initially said Bhutto was killed by the assassin's bullet. State-run media then quoted the interior ministry saying, she was killed by bomb shrapnel. And now, the interior ministry says, she died of a skull fracture after hitting her head on a sunroof lever.
MARCIANO: Well, Bhutto's followers have denounced the official explanation as, quote, "A pack of lies." A top aide, though, says bullet wounds were found in her head visible when she actually washed her body to prepare her for burial.
NGUYEN: Yes, this is information coming that's coming into CNN amid such confusing and conflicting information that we've been reporting from the interior ministry. Listen to this -- Josh Levs at the dot-com desk has been looking into all these different scenarios and we're trying to figure out exactly what happened.
So, Josh, what have you been able to determine?
LEVS: Well, I tell you, I mean, this is something we're following closely in this story and trying to figure out. Right now, you can go to CNN.com, you can see part of what you said and more about what the government has been saying and you know it's amazing. What we've talked in the past about the fact that no matter what the story is, there are always those who want to sound off on it. Not always a ton of news value in that.
But in this case, it's kind of mind-boggling that this government provided three very different explanations in such a short period of time, having every reason in the world to know that it could trigger lot of conspiracy theories out there. And what I am going to right now is show you what's been happening. All these people around the world writing to CNN to tell us how frustrated they are with what they're hearing from the Pakistani government.
Let me just a few examples right here. We're going to start with this one from Santosh. She writes us, "A Musharraf government which strangely could not intercept any communication from al Qaeda before the assassination, surprisingly and so easily picks up a congratulatory message a day after. Easy case to solve, Mr. Musharraf?"
Another one from Concerned Indian, look at this. "The Pakistan government's change in its statement regarding the cause of Benazir's death is testimony to the lying and double-game policy that Musharraf has been playing since he took over."
Another one now from Jason: "It is atrocious, the amount of speculation and misinformation that surrounds this tragic event. Surely, the medical professionals that tended to Ms. Bhutto know exactly how she died. It is unfortunate that the rest of the world may never know the truth."
And finally this one from Ali. A kind of support to the government and frustrated with party's spokesman, saying, it's disgusting to see a perfectly logical explanation by the government being dismissed by a third-rate political worker.
All of that through CNN.com. And if you want to share your ideas, just go to CNN.com. You can click on the main story or click on I-report and send us your videos, your thoughts. We're going to take a look and we're going to keep them sharing with you today.
And as I'm saying, you know, Betty, Rob, this is really a big part of the story here. These are from people all over the world who are very frustrated with these contradictory explanations, and now this, what I just showed you, this is really something the Pakistani government has to contend with, providing ultimately, a believable explanation to all these people around the world -- guys?
NGUYEN: Well, here's the thing, too, Josh. An aide to Bhutto now says that she prepared her body for burial and then she saw bullet wounds. In fact, she spoke with CNN. We're going to have some of that sound coming your way in just a few minutes and it's definitely something you want to hear. But the scenarios, they continue to change, so, the question is, what really happened. Hopefully, we'll get down to the bottom of this.
MARCIANO: It's not only frustrating, Josh, for our viewers but, it's frustrating for us to report on. We want to know what the truth is as well.
LEVS: I worked on the story all day yesterday. Tell me about it. No, it's very frustrating. We want to get to the truth. And right now, unfortunately, all you can do is pick who to believe until we get more information.
NGUYEN: All right, Josh. Thank you.
Well, it's been a nightmare for many holiday travelers trying just to get home. A winter storm dumped several inches of snow in the great lakes area, forcing Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to cancel hundreds of flights yesterday. Best advice is to check with your airline if you are flying today.
MARCIANO: And driving isn't much better. The roads were treacherous in one Michigan County alone, there were almost 150 accidents. We'll talk more with Jacqui Jeras in just a little bit because that storm is moving east and we've had a slew of storms over the past year.
Looking back now at 2007, the biggest weather stories in the nation, one for sure, folks in Kansas will never forget, in Greensburg, Kansas, an EF-5 tornado just tearing through this town. CNN does an extensive coverage of it. The town a little more than a mile wide, the tornado a mile and a half wide, the town pretty much gone. Winds over 200 miles an hour.
Eleven people dead but I tell you what, it could have been a lot worse. The National Weather Service was just on it with warnings and when you look at that damage and how many people live in that town, certainly, could have been a lot worse.
NGUYEN: Definitely. You know, I went to Greensburg just a month ago, and even today, most of the town is still wiped out. MARCIANO: I don't even know where they begin to rebuild, but I'm sure the folks in Kansas will find a way. So cal, San Diego, nothing like we've ever seen, a firestorm, if that is an accurate term for what went through San Diego in October. Winds of 100 miles an hour taking those flames and whipping them up like something we've never seen before, well over 1,000 homes destroyed from this fire. Tens of thousands of people evacuated. So, certainly this was a huge weather story of 2007.
Not so much a weather story but an environmental story I want to tell you about. We covered this in La Grange, Georgia, just down the road here from Atlanta, a town that was making goods from methane gas which produced from a landfill. Methane's like 20 times more potent than CO2 as far as greenhouse gas warming goes, so what they're doing to solve that problem is pretty amazing.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO (voice-over): Methane, David uses to run his carpet factory, and methane, the local utility is happy to sell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We pull the landfill gas in, clean it up, condition it, compress it, and pipe it about nine miles to the customers.
MARCIANO (on camera): So, here we are nine miles away and the methane is being pumped into your factory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: That's a carpet factory. He's getting that methane at a 30 percent discount. So, he's saving money. The town is getting money from taxes and the gas and selling off the landfill and the utility is also making money. And we're saving the environment and trying to fend off global warming by reducing this potent greenhouse gas.
I'm hoping we're to see more of these stories, Betty, going in 2008 and beyond as this green movement keeps its momentum going. And there are solutions that do make money to help the environment.
NGUYEN: And it's just sad that we have to get to a point that you're forced to find those solutions because they're out there. It's just a matter of people having access to them.
MARCIANO: And the good thing about America, if there's a way to make money at it, they'll get to it. At least one solution to that.
NGUYEN: Here's something a lot of people are on, as well, trying to get concert tickets. You know Hannah Montana. But, here's a question for you. Would you lie for those concert tickets? We have a heartbreaking essay that won a six-year-old girl Hannah Montana tickets turned out to be a big investigation. We'll tell you why. MARCIANO: All right, guys. I know you're bored with that. A lot of bowl games this weekend right. They're coming up in the next few days. Several are in Florida. We're going to talk college football with our boy Rick Horrow. He's live for us. There he is. Smile, Rick. It's that time of year.
NGUYEN: What are you holding up there, Rick?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: We'll talk about bowls and swag and free gifts and all that good stuff right after we come back. How's that?
MARCIANO: Christmas continues, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Keep your driveway and walkway slip-free during winter months. Shovel as much snow as possible, shovel early, and shovel often. Only use salt on icy spots that can't be removed with a shovel. Use calcium chloride rather than sodium chloride salt. It's less harmful and you can easily find it in most home supply and hardware stores.
While calcium chloride costs three times as much as standard rock salt, you'll only need one-third as much to get the job done. You can also mix salt with sand or kitty litter so you use less of it.
I'm Gerri Willis and that's your tip of the day. For more ideas, strategies and tips to save you money and protect your house, watch "OPEN HOUSE," every Saturday 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Aside from football on New Year's Day, there's also a big parade out in Pasadena, California. Here you can see some of the floats prepared for this year's tournament of roses, the rose parade, of course. Around 40 million people will watch the parade every year, and the grand marshal for 2008 is star chief, Emeril Lagasse.
MARCIANO: All right. Well, first the Rose Parade, then the real action, the Rose Bowl, just part of a very jam-packed bowl season. There are 64 teams, 32 games, and you better believe there's lots of corporate sponsors and when we think of sports and business, we think of sports business analyst, Rick Horrow joining us live from Orlando site (INAUDIBLE).
Rick, what happened to the game last night? We'll start you up there.
HORROW: Well, it's pretty good. I thought you were going to introduce Emeril and ask me for some cooking tips, so ... MARCIANO: (INAUDIBLE) I can just imagine what that would come out to be.
HORROW: Don't even start there, OK? Twenty-four to 21, an exciting game. It's a good example of a niche bowl that everybody says, that's not important enough. It's one of 32 clearly, but a deal here, $50, 60 million of economic impact. Michigan State, depressed. Boston College, happy, they were number two in the country seven weeks ago and fell from grace. You wouldn't know it after today. They're all pretty happy.
MARCIANO: You know, Rick, I'm looking at this morning's "USA Today," and it's got you know, the breakdown because I need that to help me get through this. And I'm looking, I don't recognize any of these names, you got the Miami Key car care Bowl, you've got the Petrosun Independence bowl with two six and six teams. I mean, how does a six and six team manage to get into a bowl game?
HORROW: Well, look at this way. Maybe the mediocrity bowl. It's six and six, Alabama, six and six, Colorado. But it used to be the Poland (INAUDIBLE) Independence Bowl, then Stanford, then, Maine State and Louisiana's government that bridged it. Now it's Petrosun. Look, 25 companies love the idea of major exposure out of the 32 bowls. So, we understand why corporations spend $7 billion on sponsorship and name recognition is one of the best ways they can deal with this and how? They sponsor a bowl game.
Even if it is two 6-6 teams by the way. Mediocrity bowl, that's fine, but don't tell that to those four teams because they're really excited about it. Them, in all the games this weekend, 51 losses in six games this week and alone. But again, these are teams that love being there and love the support.
MARCIANO: Well, as always, it's all about the money. Florida always seems to get the better piece of it. We've got at least three bowl games in Florida alone?
HORROW: Well, you have five in Florida alone, you've got five in Texas, four in California, four in Louisiana. And again, the states see the economic impact of it. On Tuesday, we go from Tampa to Orlando to Jacksonville for those three games. And again, $50 to $75 million of economic impact in each region.
Then, we'll talk about it next week. In New Orleans with the big game and the sugar bowl, there's nearly $400 million of economic impact. So, they do it clearly as a boost to their respective tourist organizations.
MARCIANO: As we can see why there's resistance to going to some sort of a playoff format with all those money to be made.
HORROW: Well, and the other thing is it's not going to change. The contracts are locked in until 2010 and 2013, respectively. Corporations love it; television likes it because the viewers believe it or not are they're more affluent, they're tied to their schools. You've got 64 schools that love being in these games. Don't tell a 6-6 team they shouldn't be there, they should. More important, it's good for us. Hundred twenty hours of programming, like it or hate it, it's here. So, strap it on and watch.
MARCIANO: Hey, somebody next to me, talking about some holiday bowl. There was some team in there, Texas ...
NGUYEN: The Longhorns.
MARCIANO: What happened there?
NGUYEN: You know what I'm saying.
HORROW: Hey, you know what? Hey, Betty, you know, you've been waiting for what, a couple years after Vince Young to come back and say you finally won.
NGUYEN: Oh, get out of here. You know what ...
HORROW: They have been less motivated to play that game. Congratulations. Wait until next year. Oklahoma is going to crush you again. Sorry.
NGUYEN: No, you just wait for that red river shoot-out. We'll see.
HORROW: Happy New Year.
NGUYEN: I don't even want to hear it.
MARCIANO: Ever since she played on the '63 national championship, (INAUDIBLE) a free safety, she's been a diehard fan.
NGUYEN: Right.
HORROW: Do it for me, OK? Pile on.
MARCIANO: Happy New Year, Rick.
HORROW: Talk to you next week.
MARCIANO: All right. OK.
NGUYEN: People in New England are feeling the winter weather today. Jacqui Jeras is live in the severe weather center with a look at that. Hey, Jacqui.
JERAS: Hey, guys.
And speaking of football, the NFL tonight, New England versus the Giants. We think this rain is going to be out of there by then, but it's going to be a little on the chilly side, temperatures falling through the 40. We have snow across northern parts of Maine, but we're not expecting to pick up three to six inches at best with this system. A little bit of ice north of the Portland area. We think Portland is going to be staying predominantly rain, as well as Boston down into New York City. Even though a lot of this rain is starting to pull out now, we are still looking at kind of misty, drizzly conditions and low, overcast skies, so, do we expect to see some delays at the airports.
We just got reports out of Philadelphia that you have a ground stop in effect there. Showers and thunderstorms in the southeast on the heavy side and we could see significant rainfall accumulation, maybe a good inch for some of you. And we also have a powerful storm moving in from the west, this one moving in after the last one pushed out from yesterday. We've got some pictures to show you out in the sierras in California. Some beautiful snow. The elevation is pretty low on this one, only down to 1,200 feet.
These pictures that you see from Colfax, California, they picked up a nice inch before they changed over to that rain. More rain expected there in Colfax this afternoon. So, kind of busy, guys. On both coasts of the country, just a little cloudy in between.
MARCIANO: And then a great holiday ski season for those folks. Getting snow it seems every week.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: The northwest will get it but this time of year, I think it's a no good for them.
MARCIANO: All right. Thanks, Jacqui. Well, it's been a wild year for the animal kingdom. Josh Levs is here for more on that. Hey, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, there. Yes, you know, I have plenty of serious news today and of course some people battling the weather. Everybody deserves a nice, light change of pace, right, on a weekend morning? So, coming up, what we have for you some of the best animal moments. Look at that from 2007, including the skateboarding bulldog. You cannot miss it. It's too good.
MARCIANO: Better than a tiger attack. I'd rather watch him skateboard.
LEVS: Love that guy.
MARCIANO: Nice work. He's better than I am.
NGUYEN: He's going to pet (ph) pretty well too. All right. This story, though. She won ticket to a Hannah Montana concert but now, people are talking about how she got them. It is pretty shocking. You got to hear this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, party people. You ready for 2008? Well, our Anderson Cooper will be in New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve, and you can help make the party even better. Yes, all you have to do is go to CNN.com/iparty. Send us your photos or tell us your memories from 2007. Maybe yours will be shown on New Year's Eve. Our live coverage begins 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
MARCIANO: Well, Anderson already looks like he's having a good time right there.
Well, the end of the year is a great time to look back at some of the most outstanding video you saw right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: And Josh Levs at the dot-com desk has the best wild things of 2007. I can't wait to see these videos.
LEVS: Yes, it's so much fun. This is the best thing about the final weekend of the year. I love it.
NGUYEN: Looking back.
LEVS: I guess with all the fun video. They're rewarding me, sprinkling in the fun stuff. Take a look at this. You know the animal kingdom stole its share of headlines this year. Do you remember this one? This was a shoplifting seagull. Seagulls have no respect. No respect. No, they don't.
They took my aunt in Disney World, they took all the French fries. Anyway, every day, he'd walk into the convenience store, take pretty much anything he wanted, take the snacks and bolt back outside. And he begins such an attraction that people offered to pay for the stolen items just so, he could keep going in and take some stuff. (INAUDIBLE).
Well, imagine waking up to the commotion of a raccoon running amok inside your house. Not a very welcome sight, especially if you have, you know, these shelves full of knickknacks. So, animal control finally captured the critter and deposited him back outside where he belongs. It wasn't his fault. I don't think ...
Not warfare a TV crew got there with good video cameras.
NGUYEN: How did that happen?
LEVS: They called the local stations, like we've got to be on TV. And everyone's favorite of the year, here he is. Not exactly Tony Hawke, but not too shabby for a K9, buddy the bulldog. He learned to skateboard a few years ago. But his owner bought a skateboard after seeing video of another dog showing off his shots on a board.
NGUYEN: I thought maybe he wanted buddy on a diet or some sort to get into exercise. Look at the slobber kind ...
MARCIANO: Well, that's what they do, bulldogs do. They look tough and they slobber.
NGUYEN: And they skateboard, apparently.
LEVS: I'm not sure it counts as exercise at the end. (INAUDIBLE).
You can see more, we got more and you can vote for your favorites over CNN.com/yearinreview. Go there, play with it, have fun, pick your favorite videos, we'll be telling you all of that stuff this morning.
NGUYEN: It's going to be hard to beat buddy the skateboarding bulldog though. Love that video.
LEVS: Yes, love that guy.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Josh.
Well, coming up in the next half an hour, you wanted it, you got it. Setup up, knock 'em down. The year's most memorable building implosions, one after another, after another. You don't want to miss that.
NGUYEN: We love implosions around here. And we are live in Iowa with just five days until the first caucus on the trail in the next half hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well, it was a disappointment for a six-year-old girl. She won an essay contest which got her tickets to a Hannah Montana concert.
NGUYEN: Sounds great, right? Well, now, the organizers say, they are considering taking those tickets a way because her essay was all a lie. Byron Harris of CNN affiliate, WFAA in Dallas reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BYRON HARRIS, WFAA (voice over): Club Libby Lu stores across the country sell rock star dreams. Little girls who walk in are sprinkled with fantasy dust and make a wish. To help them become more like Hannah Montana, girls can get secret celebrity makeovers.
And, when a six-year-old Garland girl came in with her mom today, she was presented with a surprise makeover. Her essay won her four tickets and air fare to a Hannah Montana concert. Priscilla Ceballos did most of the talking for her daughter. She laid out a tragedy of a father killed in Iraq, an army sergeant named Jonathan Mengevar (ph) of Garland, who died on April 17th of this year.
But, for those who sadly track local Iraq casualties, that was an unfamiliar name. A checklist at Department of Defense record showed that no one of that name was killed in Iraq on that day. In fact, no one of that name has died in Iraq. The mother would not talk about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no person that was killed in action.
PRISCILLA CEBALLOS, GIRL'S MOTHER: I don't need -- I don't ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no such person.
CEBALLOS: I don't need to be ...
UNIDENTIFIED KID: It's a Hannah Montana four pack.
HARRIS: Club Libby Lu sponsored the essay contest. The company now says the statement about the father killed in Iraq is false. They say never dreamed of having to do background checks on essays from little girls.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, Club Libby Lu says it had no knowledge of the inaccuracies of the essay until Friday afternoon.
MARCIANO: In a statement, the company said, quote, "We regret the original intent of the contest, which was to make a little girl's holiday extra special, has not been realized in the way we anticipated."
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Rob Marciano in today for T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for being here. We do love getting your videos and pictures through our I-reports, and this one from Wisconsin shows more than just a snowy day. The state is actually running short of salt. Yes. Welcome to winter, folks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's interesting that there are more Pakistanis who illegally cross the border than of any other nationality except for those immediately south of our border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Say what? You heard that comments like this are putting this presidential candidate under the microscope. We're on the campaign trail with Mike Huckabee this hour.
NGUYEN: And take a look at this and this. Yes, it's year-ender time and we have to show you one of our favorite things -- implosions.
MARCIANO: Well, new details are emerging in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto this morning.
NGUYEN: Yeah. A top aide to Bhutto was with her in Rawalpindi where she was killed and that aide tells CNN that bullet wounds to the head were clearly visible while she was preparing the former prime minister's body for burial. That is in sharp contrast to the official government version, which says Bhutto died of a skull fracture.
The Pakistani government also says it has evidence a Taliban leader in Pakistan was behind the attack, a view supported by the U.S. But a spokesman for the Taliban leader denies any involvement with Bhutto's assassination.
Sherry Rehman is the aide to Bhutto who helped prepare her body for burial and she spoke to CNN about the government's conflicting causes of death. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF SHERRY REHMAN, AIDE TO BENAZIR BHUTTO: This is an offense to a grieving nation and family and friends because she was shot. I have seen the bullet wounds at the back of her head where it went in, where it came out. To say that she was concussed from the sunroof is dangerous nonsense because they're absolving themselves of responsibility for providing her better security when we kept asking her to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Much of Pakistan is in mourning right now. So many of the streets have been emptied, but there are signs of unrest. It's a little after 6:00 in the evening there, and Zain Verjee joins us live from Karachi for the latest from the streets there.
What is it looking like, Zain?
VERJEE: Well, the situation here is highly emotional as the country is in shock and mourning and the situation is also highly unpredictable as Pakistan braces for more violence. We arrived a few hours ago here in the port city of Karachi. People were out on the streets burning tires. We saw plumes of smoke across the day on the horizon line of this city. But by and large, the streets have been quiet relatively. They've been emptied. The shops have been shut down, really not a lot of people out and about.
In Rawalpindi, a military garrison town though, Benazir Bhutto supporters were out on the streets. They clashed with police. It's unclear if anyone was killed or wounded. In the cultural capital, Lahore, there were also demonstrators out on the streets blocking roads. People on the ground here Rob are really angry that this has happened and they are directing their anger at President Musharraf saying, look, you know, the government just did not provide Benazir Bhutto with the kind of security that she should have had, especially given all the threats that she clearly faced.
So, the country is in mourning and people are bracing themselves to see what happens next -- Rob?
MARCIANO: There's a lot of controversy, Zain, about exactly how she died -- shrapnel, blunt trauma or as we're hearing maybe now this morning a gunshot wound. Is there some frustration via the State Department as to the way the Pakistani ministry is handling this investigation?
VERJEE: Well, the State Department isn't commenting on that really. They're saying that this is a Pakistani issue and the Pakistanis need to handle it. We spoke to U.S. officials here and what they are telling us just a few minutes ago that what the U.S. is trying to do here on the ground is to try and understand what exactly is happening. It's a fast-changing situation. Emotions are high. The blame game is on and it's a dangerous situation.
Emotions are very volatile and statements that the government has made that Benazir Bhutto died of a fractured skull and not of a gunshot wound, that really fans the flames here on the streets. So, the U.S. isn't commenting about this and there's an enormous amount of anti-American sentiment in this country, so the U.S. really doesn't want to be seen as meddling or having any kind of significant and direct input in Pakistan here and now -- Rob?
MARCIANO: Zain Verjee live for us this morning -- this evening for them -- in Pakistan. Thanks, Zain.
NGUYEN: Back here in the U.S., let's get you (ph) to that deadly tiger attack in San Francisco. Police are still trying to determine how the tiger got out of its pen. Zoo officials have admitted that the wall was under the recommended height and reports say the tiger may have been taunted by some zoo visitors. The tiger mauled three people, killing 17-year-old Carlos Sousa.
A candlelight vigil for Sousa is planned for tonight. The surviving victims are two brothers. They are still recovering from their injuries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNNY DHALIWAL, SURVIVING VICTIM'S BROTHER: All I can tell you is I visited them in the hospital. My brothers are doing fine. They're in stable condition and they'll be released in two to three days and whenever they come out, they can make a statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Zoo officials expect to reopen on Thursday.
MARCIANO: Well, we know that you want more news in the morning, so here are some quick hits for you.
NGUYEN: A deal now between David Letterman and the striking writers. The writers' union has negotiated a separate deal with Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, so the "Late Show" host will have his own writers back when he comes back on the air next week.
MARCIANO: And a warning for drivers in Madison, Wisconsin. The city is running out of salt for the streets. They have already had more major storms this month than they normally see in an entire season, so salt truck drivers are being told to conserve as much salt as they can.
NGUYEN: In New York, crews busy building the Times Square ball. Take a look at that, piecing together more than 600 Waterford crystal triangles.
MARCIANO: Fancy. NGUYEN: It is magnificent and get this. If you're counting and I know that many of you are, there are less than 72 hours until 2008. And you know what, Rob.
MARCIANO: What's that?
NGUYEN: CNN is also counting down.
MARCIANO: Oh, yeah.
NGUYEN: Even our own Anderson Cooper. In fact, his stop watch is on because he is going to be in New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve, live coverage begins at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. You don't want to miss it.
MARCIANO: There's going to be a slew of other people there, a couple comedians, Kiran Chetry, some other CNN personalities. I didn't get invited. Did you get invited?
NGUYEN: I'll be holding down the fort here. So I'll be working.
MARCIANO: New Year's Eve festivities may be a washout for some folks. Jacqui Jeras holding down the fort in the weather center, talking about severe weather today, at least the start (INAUDIBLE).
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: It is a sprint to the finish line for the presidential candidates.
MARCIANO: They're on the bus, or at least ...
NGUYEN: Some of them.
MARCIANO: Some of them.
NGUYEN: One at a time.
MARCIANO: We've got the Election Express, that big, fancy, high- tech bus. They're following the contenders as they hunt for the votes in these last few days before the Iowa caucuses.
NGUYEN: And you know we love them, so we're going to show you these. This is what we love -- implosions. We've got some of the best that we've covered in all of 2007. It's exhilarating folks and you don't want to miss this big bang.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Time for politics. Democrats in Iowa locked in a virtual three-way tie and the gloves are coming off.
NGUYEN: Yep. Here's the latest on the rounds here. Barack Obama defends himself against attacks by both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. CNN's Jessica Yellin sat down with Obama aboard CNN's election express. She is in fact with the election express in Coralville, Iowa.
So what did Obama say?
YELLIN: Well Betty, Rob, I'll tell you, right after Benazir Bhutto's assassination, you might recall that all the campaigns were reacting in various ways to that news. And Senator Clinton's campaign accused Barack Obama and his people of trying to politicize the death because they essentially said that the vote for the Iraq war distracted the U.S. from efforts to crack down on al Qaeda, which led to the current turmoil we're seeing in Pakistan.
Well, Barack Obama fiercely defended himself and his aides against that accusation by Senator Clinton's people and he said he is not the one who has politicized the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Clinton campaign started pushing this notion that somehow immediately after this happened that somehow this was going to advantage their campaign. And one of my campaign aides responded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: And now after knocking back that jab, he then turned his attention to Senator John Edwards. Edwards on the trail has been campaigning as the working man's advocate. And increasingly, as this race has become tight, as we face these final days, John Edwards has said that he is a man who will fight special interests harder and with more dedication than Barack Obama. And Senator Obama simply scoffed at that idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I think you look at the track record, you know, what John is talking about now is not what he was talking about four years ago. It's not what he was talking about eight years ago. You know, on issue after issue he now says he made a mistake. But when he suggests that somehow he's going to fight more steadfastly on behalf of the American people, then I have to point out that my track record of fighting on behalf of working families in America has been unwavering.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: And it should be no surprise that some of these criticisms are getting rather personal and sharp in these last days. This race, as you say, is truly a statistical dead heat. Any of these three front runners could walk away with Iowa in less than a week -- Betty, Rob?
NGUYEN: All right, Jessica. We do appreciate that, some interesting comments there from Obama. Thank you.
MARCIANO: As Jessica mentioned, the political turmoil in Pakistan is testing presidential candidates here in the U.S. Republican Mike Huckabee is among the candidates whose foreign policy credentials are under scrutiny. His comment that the death of Benazir Bhutto should lead to a crackdown on illegal immigrants raised some eyebrows and some questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUCKABEE: We have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than of all other nationalities except those immediately south of the border. And in light of what's happening in Pakistan, it ought to give us pause as to why are so many illegals coming across these borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Huckabee says he got those figures from a 2006 newspaper article. The border patrol tells CNN it apprehended only a handful of illegal immigrants from Pakistan in 2007.
NGUYEN: Well, two other Republican candidates are just slugging it out with five days to go before Iowa caucuses. Tensions are rising between Arizona Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
MARCIANO: Live to Des Moines, Iowa and CNN's Mary Snow, part of the best political team on television. Lots going on with the Republicans, Mary Snow, where are you going to start?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, these new salvos that are being fired mostly on the airwaves and it's really getting heated. The latest one comes from John McCain. His campaign released an ad that Mitt Romney calls mean spirited and personal.
It takes direct aim at Mitt Romney, and it's airing in New Hampshire, where the race is really tightening up. Basically this ad focuses on endorsements for McCain and uses the word phony that was used to describe Mitt Romney. Now, Mitt Romney came back saying that he felt that this was a really personal slam on him.
However, the McCain ad came in response to a Romney ad that was launched earlier in the day that took direct aim at John McCain. And Romney is trying to portray him as being soft on illegal immigration, also pointing out that he once opposed tax cuts and targeting him.
This is that race in New Hampshire has been getting really tight as John McCain has been surging there and John McCain has basically been responding to this, saying Mitt Romney's in a tailspin and saying that when a candidate is doing well, they'll know because Mitt Romney goes on the attack -- Rob?
MARCIANO: Well, John McCain already in New Hampshire. You still have lots of action with Huckabee and Romney and the other contenders there. There's still lots of talk about it and for you to report on I suppose over the next several days before the caucuses on January 3rd. Mary Snow, live for us in Iowa. Thanks Mary.
NGUYEN: The presidential race is certainly heating up for the precious polls, the latest fights, the political ticker blog and so much more, check out cnnpolitics.com.
Just ahead, we're going to take a look back at some of our top stories of 2007.
MARCIANO: That's right. Josh Levs has a preview.
Hey, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, yeah, this hour light change of pace, maybe not top story definitely some top videos. Coming up, we're going to look back at some of the major instances of people, how do I put this, getting down in 2007. The best dance videos we have from the past year. You don't want to miss this. Coming up right here, CNN SATURDAY MORNING:
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So, being a parent is a tough job, but just imagine raising 100 kids. Sound like so much work, maybe too much for you? Not for a Florida woman. Fran Jennings has been opening her heart and her home to foster children for the past 22 years and she just took in her 100th child.
MARCIANO: Wow. That's amazing.
NGUYEN: Great job, Fran.
MARCIANO: Nice work.
NGUYEN: And this weekend, we are taking a quick look back at some of the unforgettable moments you watched right here on CNN.
MARCIANO: Right now here he is, Josh Levs, going to talk to us about dot com desk and the best dances?
LEVS: Best dances. When we started, you kind of have to use the word dance very, very broadly.
NGUYEN: Very loosely, especially when it comes to President Bush, because I know that's one of your top videos.
LEVS: His presidency is over, he might not be on "Dancing with the Stars."
NGUYEN: You don't think so.
LEVS: Well I don't know. You guys decide. You let us know. Let's take a look at this. This is definitely a big year for people, busting a move, from President Bush all the way on down. Take a look. You may remember this. This is the president and the first lady. He's got a little rhythm. This was an event for malaria awareness day back in April at the White House. He got caught up in the moment with some West African musicians.
MARCIANO: Clearly a president on his second term.
LEVS: He's like half a beat behind. But he's got (INAUDIBLE) NGUYEN: He's got the shoulder and then he has movement. Facial expressions are what get me.
LEVS: Oh, just got to hold on to that. Now, this guy has got it going on. You got to take a look at this one. This is the dancing cadet. Remember this?
MARCIANO: This kid's got some skills.
LEVS: This guy's got some skills.
NGUYEN: Party for one right here.
LEVS: And you might not know this, but even the secretary of Defense mentioned this guy in his graduation this year, because this was a big hit on YouTube. It was huge. This guy's got some moves.
NGUYEN: You really believe he didn't know the camera was going?
LEVS: You know, I actually think he didn't because of the expression. Apparently that's why the guy planted the camera because he always does this.
NGUYEN: He may be on dancing with the stars. He does have some moves.
LEVS: He would increase their ratings not that they need that.
All right, one last one, let's just take a look at the last one here. And this you might remember because it's recent, the dancing traffic cop, annual tradition. Dude always comes out during the holidays, the holiday tradition...
NGUYEN: Look at him dropping it.
LEVS: He could rule out (ph) as an instructor. That guy's got it going on too. Maybe he could get together with President Bush, teach him a few moves.
MARCIANO: Collaborative effort maybe.
NGUYEN: It might take more than just one guy to help the president out (INAUDIBLE). I wonder if he practices -- whoa, a little hip movement there.
MARCIANO: I'm not going near that. (INAUDIBLE)
NGUYEN: It is a morning show, folks.
LEVS: My goodness, Rob.
So, (INAUDIBLE) let you know, you can see all this and a lot more, cnn.com, year in review. You can watch this all day long.
NGUYEN: You have all the fun stuff today, don't you? LEVS: They're so good to me today. They're so good to me. Thank you everybody for letting me do the fun stuff. Although next hour we're going to be back with (INAUDIBLE) but for now, I got an hour of fun. There's much more fun to come.
NGUYEN: Speaking of, we love our implosions around here. Roll that footage.
MARCIANO: Love imploding.
NGUYEN: Got it?
MARCIANO: Come on.
NGUYEN: Tape rewinding. Here you go, here you go.
MARCIANO: It is rewinding literally, literally. Keep doing that.
NGUYEN: A look back at our favorite big blasts of -- that is crazy to watch it go in rewind, isn't it? Here's one more.
LEVS: Seriously, we've got to put that on dot com.
NGUYEN: Have it go up, have it go up. This is the real one right here. Nope, there it is. Boom, like that.
MARCIANO: An engineering feat.
NGUYEN: A marvel here on Saturday morning.
MARCIANO: We're going to bring you the best bangs of 2007. Stay tuned for that. And the Coast Guard to the rescue. The most dramatic saves of the year. That's coming up in our 9:00 hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's a live picture now from Karachi, Pakistan, where the interior ministry is holding a press conference. Hopefully, we'll learn a little bit more as to the investigation into Benazir Bhutto's death. We heard yesterday several stories including one that she was shot by a bullet, another that it was shrapnel that hit her head and caused her death and then another that she hit her head on a sunroof lever and that, instead, is what caused her death.
And today, CNN is learning from an aide to Bhutto that, in fact, that aide says she prepared Bhutto's body for burial and that she saw distinctly that there were at least a bullet hole in Bhutto's head, referring to the fact that she may have been shot to death. So, there's a lot of questions and perhaps the interior ministry will be able to sort all of this out today.
We'll be monitoring this press conference as it takes place. You're watching it live right now in Karachi, Pakistan. And as news develops, we'll bring it straight to you -- Rob. MARCIANO: All right, Betty, let's switch gears for a moment. If you've ever watched this show, you know that we have a bit of a soft spot for the furry animals, but we also like loud noises too, like these -- implosions. Got to have implosions. The fun way to clear out a room, some say. But a reminder to your kids out there, don't try this at home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Yes, we love implosions. So, we tried to give you the best bangs throughout the year from one end of the country to the other. We even went across the border for the longest implosion of the year. Whatever the location, we were there to watch all those buildings come tumbling down. The Kodak complex in Rochester, New York, giving us numerous implosions this year.
But it wasn't just buildings. We also saw some launch pad towers come down in Florida. And we can't forget the cooling towers coming down at the nuclear power plant in Sellifield (ph), England. And then an amusement park ride in Texas. We saw one building blow up as part of a movie stunt. But none were as good as the casinos. Atlantic City trotted out the flash for the Sands implosion.
But you just can't beat Vegas for a good show. First, they imploded the Stardust. Then it was time for the historic Frontier to say good-bye.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
