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CNN Saturday Morning News

Controversy Over the Death of Benazir Bhutto; Campaign Trail Heating Up; Ongoing Investigation in the Tiger Attack; Holiday Travel Delays

Aired December 29, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everybody, from the CNN Center right here in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Rob Marciano.

It's 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 in the evening in Karachi. And from Pakistan just moments ago, the Interior Ministry says even after calls and criticism from outside the country, it doesn't need help investigating the death of Benazir Bhutto.

NGUYEN: Plus, people in Iowa are waking up to another day of campaign ads, speeches and phone calls. The best political team on television is out and about.

MARCIANO : Well, raw emotions still evident across Pakistan following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. We've been monitoring a press conference by the Pakistan Interior Ministry. Over the past 30 minutes, many questions have focused on the details about Bhutto's death. The ministry spokesman says Pakistan can handle the investigation on its own. As we get new details, we'll bring them to you live.

NGUYEN: While this scene now in Lahore today shows just how angry and upset many people in the country are over Bhutto's violent death. At least 38 people have died in the unrest since Thursday. Let's take you now to Islamabad. University students there today staged this demonstration to protest the lack of security provided to Bhutto. Officially, the nation is in mourning so many places have been relatively quiet.

And increased police presence is keeping volatile emotions in check. The Pakistani government now says neither bullets nor shrapnel struck the former prime minister. The Interior Ministry instead says she died of a skull fracture.

But an aide who was with Bhutto and helped prepare the body for burial tells CNN that the government's explanation doesn't square with what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF SHERRY REHMAN, PPP INFORMATION SECRETARY: This is an offense to a grieving nation and family and friends because she was shot. I have seen the bullet wound 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 are absolving themselves of responsibility for providing her better security when we kept asking her to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Again, the Pakistan Interior Ministry has been holding a press conference this morning. And we're going to bring you the details as they emerge. There are some interesting information that we're trying to get confirmation on that you'll want to hear. That's coming up.

NGUYEN: As soon as we get it, we'll bring it to you right here on CNN.

In the meantime, though, just five days and counting until the first votes in the 2008 presidential race, the Iowa caucuses. But one republican candidate is already looking past Iowa to the New Hampshire primary on January 8th. Senator John McCain is holding a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. It's expected to begin very shortly. CNN's Jim Acosta joins us live now from Dover, New Hampshire, with the latest as we wait for the senator to speak.

Hey there, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.

That's right, we did not get on the wrong plane last night. We were supposed to come to New Hampshire and not go to Iowa because of the performance of John McCain in the granite state. And the political establishment was reading John McCain his last rites over the summer, but witness the resurgence, the resurrection of John McCain, if you will, just behind us is the McCain Hummer.

As you can see here, this is one of his supporters showing up and flying the colors in support of his favorite candidate. And this is really sort of a McCain mutiny in New Hampshire right now. He has come back in the polls in almost a statistical dead heat with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. And McCain, as he's about to speak at this church here in Dover, New Hampshire, he is really arriving in this state in the midst of a campaign ad war with the former Massachusetts Governor.

Mitt Romney aired an ad earlier this week criticizing McCain saying he was soft on issues like immigration and taxes, but almost as soon as that ad came out, McCain's campaign was waiting in the wings with their own campaign spot that goes straight for the jugular.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm John McCain, and I approved this message.

As you hear Mitt Romney attack John McCain, consider these words from New Hampshire newspapers. The "Union Leader" says John McCain has conviction and granite staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth.

John McCain has done that. Mitt Romney has not. The "Concord Monitor" writes, if a candidate is a phony, we'll know it. Mitt Romney is such a candidate. That's why Romney's hometown newspaper says the choice is clear, John McCain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, that is a very pointed spot. It points out that the so-called anti-endorsement that the "Concord Monitor" ran basically saying voters in New Hampshire should not support Mitt Romney who owns a home here in this state and was a neighboring governor for a while. But this is - this is basically how this race is shaping up. A McCain versus Romney race in New Hampshire.

Now look for McCain as he is traveling the state today to talk about foreign policy in the aftermath of the assassination of Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. McCain yesterday in Iowa essentially showing his support for current President Pervez Musharraf despite all of the criticism that has come for the Pakistani leader since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: I also would remind some of my fellow Americans that Benazir Bhutto and Sharif 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 as we mentioned, in just a few moments John McCain is going to be talking to what is almost a filled to capacity room of supporters. And basically, the thinking goes with the McCain campaign right now is that if he can get a strong showing in Iowa, where he is doing better than expected right now, and win New Hampshire, he may take on the glow of a front-runner as this campaign heads into South Carolina, which would be almost a political reversal that American politics has not seen in some time.

This is a candidate who is essentially campaign road kill over the summer, to be back in this position now where he could possibly win New Hampshire is almost unprecedented, Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, Jim, strategically, though, let's look at this. McCain and Romney are battling it out, right? How does this affect Giuliani?

ACOSTA: Rudy Giuliani thought he was going to perhaps win New Hampshire at one point. He is leading in the national polls and was showing a strong second in New Hampshire. Not doing so well in Iowa. But now Giuliani is going to have to come back here. He is going to be back here in the state tomorrow with a town hall meeting that is scheduled. And he is essentially battling for a strong second place showing at the point because essentially he really cannot wait until these later contests to get a good finish. He needs something now. And so this campaign swing for Giuliani will also be very critical for him.

NGUYEN: All right. Jim Acosta joining us live from Dover, New Hampshire. Thank you, Jim.

Want the most up-to-the-minute political news anywhere available? Well, cnnpolitics.com is your one-stop shop. It's the Internet's premier destination for political news. Again, that's cnnpolitics.com.

MARCIANO: Now 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 still looking into how a 350-lb 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 is scheduled for tonight. The surviving victims are two brothers that are still recovering from their injuries.

NGUYEN: If you are trying to get home from the Christmas holiday or head out for new year's eve, the going is tough out there in many parts of the country. A winter storm with snow and rain is moving through the Midwest. Hundreds of flights were delayed at Chicago's busy O'Hare International Airport yesterday. So you want to check your airline if you are flying today. Bad weather is also being blamed for the highway tie-ups across the Midwest.

Now let's take you to Tennessee where there's a lack of snow. Yes, a lack of snow that's causing worries for resort owners. In Gatlinburg, warming temperatures and melting man-made snow has forced some resort owners to close their ski slopes. And in Wisconsin, where there's so much snow, lots of it, the worry is over road salt used to make streets passable. The city of Madison is short on salt. So officials are asking plow drivers to be prudent.

MARCIANO: Jacqui Jeras is all over the weather situation today. She joins us from the CNN severe weather center.

Good morning, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, good morning, Rob and Betty. Good morning, everybody.

That midwestern storm you guys were just talking about has pulled out of there. And it's now affecting the northeastern corridor. We aren't reporting any delays tight now at the airport with the one exception of Minneapolis-St. Paul. That's just departure delays and it's very minor, maybe 10, 15 minutes just to de-ice the plane before you take off. Now, the good news here is we're expecting to see some pretty dramatic improvements especially by the afternoon hours. But it's going to take a little bit to clear out some of this snow and melt off some of the freezing rain that's been going on across northern parts of Maine. It's just been rain for you in Portland. That's the same case in Boston. That pulls out intermittent drizzle still expected here maybe over the next couple of hours.

But I say by noonish, everybody from Boston down through the megalopolis is going to be seeing much drier conditions. And hey, yes, maybe the sun peeking out, too.

Now, the rain certainly welcome and we're happy to see this across the southeast. It's been quite heavy here along the i-10 corridor extending up towards Columbus, Georgia. Just kind of missing out, unfortunately on the Atlanta metro area.

We're likely going to see some of those rain showers make it a little farther on up to the north as we head towards the afternoon. There you can see that accumulating rain. Big, powerful system in the Pacific northwest. Doesn't look like a whole heck of a lot right now but the big player comes into action, we think, late tonight and tomorrow.

Look at all those warnings. On top of it, guys, winds could be as strong as 60 miles per hour. In the stark red here, including Idaho Falls, blizzard warnings in effect late tonight and through the day tomorrow.

NGUYEN: 60 miles per hour. Is that close to hurricane strength?

JERAS: 74 would be hurricane, so it's up there.

NGUYEN: So it's up there.

MARCIANO: But when it's 20 degrees and the snow is blowing sideways, you know, blizzards are pretty missable.

JERAS: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Yes, exactly. OK. Stay indoors if you can.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Jacqui. You know, I stopped TiVo'ing or DVR'ing my late night TV.

NGUYEN: Why is it? Because of the re-runs?

MARCIANO: But some good news on the way for TV fans. They may get a bit of an early new year's present from at least David Letterman.

NGUYEN: And it is just coming in the neck of time. TV watchers are getting sick of those reruns like Rob was just belly-aching about.

MARCIANO: Well, I'm sorry but blame it on Saturday morning. Josh Levs is going to join us live from the dotcom desk. He's got lots of theories out there over the Internet about who's behind the death of Benazir Bhutto.

NGUYEN: I mean, what happened exactly.

MARCIANO: Yes.

NGUYEN: We're still trying to figure all that out. So, stay with us and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: It's about 14 past the hour. Time now for more news with our "quick hits." Investigators, they are looking into this fiery train wreck in western Pennsylvania. Look at this, Rob.

MARCIANO: Oh, yes. Oh, my goodness. Firefighters were also called in when nine tanker cars derailed yesterday. At least two of them caught fire. There's the result of it. Fire officials say eight of the cars carried ethanol. Another carried liquid propane, but no one luckily was injured.

And in Boston, a teenager is in jail after allegedly trying to steal a gun from a transit revenue agent. It was all caught on surveillance tape. There it is. Police say the teen claimed he was robbed and may have been grabbing the gun to chase down whoever took his letter jacket.

NGUYEN: What was he thinking? I mean, really. You get a gun from an officer to go chase down your leather jacket?

MARCIANO: I guess it was his favorite leather jacket. He's being held on $25,000 bail.

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 on the job when he comes back on the air next week.

MARCIANO: All right. We're looking forward to that.

Hey, lots of confusion and conspiracy theories, at least theories out there about Benazir Bhutto's death.

NGUYEN: A series of theories.

MARCIANO: A series of theories and conspiracy goings on. And it's all popping up all over the Internet. Josh Levs is here to decipher what happened.

NGUYEN: You've been looking into this. I mean, I don't expect you to know exactly what happened to Benazir Bhutto, but we have heard about four different scenarios. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, four different scenarios. They are all piling on top of each other. And you know, we've talked about this in the past that no matter when there's a big story, we always hear from a lot of people because people like to send in their ideas. In this case though, there's a ton of journalistic value here.

Because what really happened here, it's mind boggling that the Pakistani government just came out and provided three completely contradictory statements as to what happened. Obviously that's going to fuel conspiracy theories and make a lot of people very concerned.

So, we here at CNN have been receiving these kinds of comments from people all over the world. What I've done for you right now is just pick out a handful. You can see the kinds of things we're getting all day.

Let's take a look at this one, starting one from Patricia. This is posted on cnn.com. "Every time I listen to the news there's a different cause of death. Will we ever know what happened to this brave lady?"

Now Reema, "the death of Bhutto seems very suspicious. Why was Bhutto buried so soon? Why were people not allowed to see her or there's no picture of her after her death? I think it's a political conspiracy."

Now from Sean. "Nice cover-up of the truth of what actually happened."

And one last one I'll show you guys from Sunia. "The authorities are trying to cover up a security lapse. Such efforts only fuel conspiracy theories in an already depressing and tragic time.

Also mentioned is one I read earlier, I'll read it again later in which someone said they believe everything the government has said and they just think that other people who are complaining about the government are the ones creating theories. But what's happened here factually, all these different explanations about a very prominent figure. No one knows the truth. All these skepticism and we're just getting more and more of that.

NGUYEN: Well, I mean the facts are these -- the Interior Ministry said that one it was bullets, two, it was shrapnel, and, then three, she hit her head on a sunroof lever.

MARCIANO: Right.

NGUYEN: So, that is a government with three different theories.

LEVS: In no time and at the same time yesterday during the press conference when the Interior Minister was saying it wasn't shrapnel it was hitting her head on the lever. I went to the government's web site, and at the same time, the government-run news agency was saying that she was killed by shrapnel.

NGUYEN: Well, then we have this fourth one from an aide to Bhutto who says she prepared Bhutto's body for burial. She said, no, no, I saw the bullet wounds.

MARCIANO: Right.

NGUYEN: So the question is what exactly happened?

LEVS: And we have no answers right now. All we get are lots and lots of questions. That's where the story lies right now in these questions.

NGUYEN: All right. We will be following it.

MARCIANO: There's an ongoing press conference that we're trying to decide. We may have more information before this morning at least is up.

NGUYEN: And coming up, if you still have, you know, those gift returns to make, we have some tips on keeping the process as painless as possible.

MARCIANO: It can be painless, that's for sure.

But first, here's a preview of today's "Open House" with Gerri Willis.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Coming up at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, "OPEN HOUSE," financial security watch. We're looking at the triple threat to your bank account, the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch and the ultimate worry of a recession. We'll break down all the angles for you and send you in 2008 with a clear picture of what lies ahead. Plus foreclosure fraud is the fastest growing white collar crime in the U.S. We'll show you how to spot it and how to fight it.

That's all for now with the show that saves you money at 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Taking a live look right now. This is in Dover, New Hampshire, where John McCain is going to be speaking very shortly at a town hall meeting there. A lot of the candidates both in New Hampshire and Iowa. As you know, the caucus in Iowa is on Thursday, Rob. New Hampshire's primary is following on January 8th. As soon as McCain takes to the microphone, we're going to try to bring you a little bit of that live.

MARCIANO: Ahead of the other bunch. He really wants to gain momentum, hoping to win New Hampshire and take that through South Carolina and beyond. So, he's one of the big guys right there. When he makes it up to the mike, we'll bring it to you live.

On to more important issues, maybe if it's the wrong size or the wrong color or maybe you just didn't like it.

NGUYEN: Maybe you just didn't like it.

MARCIANO: Didn't get the gift that you wanted.

NGUYEN: Yes, this is the season for taking back those holiday gifts that weren't quite right. T.J. Holmes talked earlier with CNN's personal finance editor about advice for returning those gifts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, it's inevitable, everybody out there who have a holiday gift return or two. And CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, to tell us how to make sure those returns are a painless as possible. A lot of people Gerri might be returning some recalled toys. Since we got so many on the recall list these days. How do you go about doing that and making sure that you are doing it the right way?

WILLIS: Well, that's right, T.J.

First of all, if you have any toys on your child's wish list, double check with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make sure you didn't miss any recalls. Now, their web site is cpsc.gov. Go directly to the retail store if the product was recalled -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right and gift receipts, no matter everywhere When we receive a gift, we get one of these receipts. And when we buy one, they say, do you want a gift receipt? So, how crucial are these things?

WILLIS: Well, you know, that's right. First and foremost, whether you are giving or returning that gift, make sure you get a gift receipt. Items often go on sale, you know, right after the holidays. Without that receipt, your friends and family may get short changed if they are returning gifts.

Now, if it's a big gift you may need the gift receipt to qualify for warranties. Remember, some stores have separate return deadlines for different categories of products. So, look if you bought a digital camera, the return policy may be different than if you bought a sweater set.

HOLMES: OK and I have a problem with this one here, Gerri. We have to be careful about how we open our gifts? We can't just tear into it with that holiday excitement on Christmas morning?

WILLIS: Look, if you are getting electronics and you probably already know if it's on your list, right, you have to be careful. You may have to pay a restocking fee of 10 percent to 15 percent if the product is used or open. So if you tear into that plastic, they're not going to let you return it if you don't like it. Ask to speak to the store manager or file a complaint with your state's attorney general if you have problems with this. Don't stand for it.

HOLMES: No. I got to rip open that package. We are all so excited. You can't open anything carefully, Gerri. Come on now. All right. You know, it's your wallet, not mine. I guess you can do what you want. HOLMES: Hey, you do your part to try to save us money. Now, it's up to us to take the advice. Tell us, what's coming up at 9:30 at "Open House"?

WILLIS: 9:30 a.m. Eastern, it's a special edition of "OPEN HOUSE," financial security watch. We're looking at the triple threats here -- bank account, mortgage meltdown, credit crunch and of course, the ultimate worry of a recession. We will break down all the angles for you and send you into 2008 with a clear picture of what's coming. That's "OPEN HOUSE," The show that saves you money, 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Join us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: All right. That's coming up pretty soon.

NGUYEN: Got some returns today?

MARCIANO: You know, mom's probably watching so I don't want to talk about it.

NGUYEN: You don't want to say.

I think I have one thing to take back.

MARCIANO: Well, everybody is making their best of 2007 list and we got one for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we do.

NGUYEN: This is a great one because it's got a happy ending. How about the best rescues. The U.S. Coast Guard has made this list. We'll show you some of the best of the best next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: 2007 has its share of tragedies and disasters and countless acts of heroism by ordinary people and trained professionals. Well, the Coast Guard has put together a top ten list of the most dramatic rescues this year. Captain Jim McPherson of the coast guard is here to take a look at some of these rescues -- the best of. We want to thank you for your time.

Let's get straight to it because this video is pretty amazing. First one up that we want to talk about is number nine on the list. And this is a rescue that happened about 7,000 feet above? When you think of the Coast Guard you think water. But this happened up on a mountain actually.

CAPT. JIM MCPHERSON, CNN: That's right. This is the highest altitude rescue in coast guard history. We've rescued over 1 million people since 1790. This is our first rescue at this altitude.

NGUYEN: My goodness, so 40,000 rescues this year. Number four on the list deals with a boat that went over a dam and actually got dangerously close to power lines. Talk to us as we put that video up about what happened here.

MCPHERSON: Yes, a recreational vessel went over the dam. We got a report there's two people on board. When the rescue swimmer went down, we found four. Also a 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old boy. The rescue swimmer did an amazing job of swinging through the curtain of water to pull out the two boys and to wind up rescuing everybody.

NGUYEN: And it's amazing how you are able to hoist them to safety. Number two on the list, it's a boat that capsized off the coast of New Jersey. What are you facing here?

MCPHERSON: We patrol about 95,000 miles of coastline every day. And the rescue crew from New Jersey is under way in a regular patrol. Comes out and finds this vessel overturned with three people in the water. And they were able to rescue them before these men were able to even make a distress call. It's what we do every day.

NGUYEN: You got there before the distress call. How did you get there before the distress call?

MCPHERSON: Just because they were out patrolling.

NGUYEN: That is amazing.

All right. Number one, drum roll, please. This includes the 160 people and six pets that the coast guard helped rescue after all that severe flooding in the northwest earlier this month. Talk to us about how difficult an operation just of that size truly is.

MCPHERSON: Well, just as we saw during Hurricane Katrina, when there's historic flooding, the coast guard is forced to go in and help people get out of their homes. In this case, we rescued 160 people and six pets. We did it at night, but, obviously, the power lines and the trees in the area make it very dangerous and a very difficult situation.

NGUYEN: And these people, were they just stranded on top of their roofs.

MCPHERSON: They've never had flooding like that before. So they had no place to go to the roof, so nobody knew how long the water was going to continue to rise.

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