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Your World Today
Climate Change Summit; Funeral for Top Lebanese General; Democrats Cautious About Pressing Advantage
Aired December 14, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The heat is on. A fractious U.N. climate conference goes into overtime as the U.S. and Europe feud over the framework of a new treaty.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A military sendoff. Lebanon says farewell to a general whose killing further destabilizes the country.
CLANCY: Rough politics South Korean lawmakers scuffle as they vie for possession of the speaker's cheer.
GORANI: And fluorescent felines. Scientists clone cats that glow in the dark and shine a light on what's possible. Not everyone is happy, though.
It's 1:00 a.m. in Bali, Indonesia, 7:00 p.m. in Beirut, Lebanon.
Hello and welcome. Our report is seen around the globe this hour.
I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. From Seoul to San Francisco, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
GORANI: Well, it's gone into overtime. An overtime game at the United Nations Climate Conference in Bali. The United States and the European Union are split by the chasm of a single paragraph, a call for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions 25 to 40 percent by 2020.
CLANCY: But we should say at this hour, the negotiating goes on. Europe wants it, the U.S. doesn't, at least for now. It could make for a chilly conclusion to a summit with a lofty goal of tackling global warming.
Now, ultimately, the delegates are talking about talking. The goal of the Bali talks has always been to simply set up a framework for future negotiations that wouldn't continue what the Kyoto protocol started.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY (voice over): There hasn't been the same debate seen in the past about whether there is global warming. Denial, a point of view that appears to be melting away as fast as, well, an Arctic glacier. Instead, the United Nations Climate Conference delegates moved with a sense of urgency.
YVO DE BOER, U.N. CLIMATE CHIEF: My sense very strongly is that everyone is really working hard towards a result and that nobody wants to see this process fail, and certainly nobody wants to be the country that caused the failure of this process.
CLANCY: Throughout the last 10 days, demonstrators outside the Bali gathering have been trying to do their part to keep up the pressure. A lot of that pressure has been directed at Washington.
JEAN-LOUIS BORLOO, FRENCH ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: (through translator): I have prepared a letter to the American people which I will give to the U.S. delegation saying that the whole world is awaiting a move from the United States, and this move must be that they must take their part in this fight.
CLANCY: Fresh from his Nobel Prize in Oslo, global warming hero Al Gore was first sharply critical of the Bush administration and then simply determined.
AL GORE, FMR, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm hopeful that in the remaining hours, the delegates will find a way forward.
CLANCY: Another American reminded everyone that the battle against climate change wasn't just being fought at the highest levels of government.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK: In spite of the rhetoric, we are doing it already. It is many American cities that are sitting there and are actually making changes.
CLANCY: Everything from winter storms to summer heat waves are getting more attention. The world's weather is becoming a global indicator of the human and economic cost of climate change. In the end, one of the messages coming out of Bali in 2007 has been that it is not just government but people who have to take up the challenge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: All right. Just checking the latest on the wires, we're hearing that, you know, they're on the brink of an agreement there in Bali. But so far, no direct commitment by anybody. The commitments made in Kyoto are going to expire in five years.
GORANI: And not everyone has signed up to that, of course. The expiration date comes amid alarming data on a warming trend. British scientists say 2007 this year has been one of the warmest years on record.
CLANCY: Now, here's what you need to know about the landmark Kyoto environmental treaty.
GORANI: It was passed 10 years ago and requires 37 industrial nations to reduce emissions.
CLANCY: Now, Developing nations aren't bound by the agreement to cap their emissions. And that's part of the problem -- 175 parties ratified Kyoto, the U.S. the only major industrial nation to reject it.
GORANI: However, Washington plans to join a new treaty in 2009. Talks to work out that proposal will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, along with delegates from almost 200 countries.
Protesters from all over the world have descended on Bali.
CLANCY: They say what they want is real action on climate change, not more words, not more of the officials getting together and making promises. They're sparing neither creativity nor enthusiasm to get their points across.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): I can block anything faster than you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): No, you can't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Yes, I can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): No, you can't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Yes, I can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): No you can't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Yes, I can. Yes, I can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. Well, this green group has named Canada as the biggest culprit in obstructing progress in Bali. It was named Fossil of the Year and awarded a bag of coal.
CLANCY: Lumps of coal in your Christmas stocking.
Canada also named for failing to show up on some negotiating this session and for siding heavily with the United States. It should be noted countries like China and India coming under criticism because they're increasing their greenhouse gas emissions by leaps and bounds as their economies grow, and they are immune from a lot of these -- well, from all of these limits the caps that are going to be put on here. That's why you hear Canada and the U.S., Japan and others, complaining.
Let's move on to another topic here.
We're hearing from al Qaeda's number two man, releasing a new message, but it's really an old message in terms of its content. It is critical of the Palestinian/Israeli Middle East peace process.
The audiotape was posted on a radical Islamist Web site. CNN, of course, cannot independently verify the tape is actually Ayman al- Zawahiri. In it, according to terrorism expert Laura Mansfield, Zawahiri calls last month's Annapolis peace conference a betrayal of the Palestinians.
Now, with the U.S.-sponsored talks, both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed for the first time they were going to try to hammer out a deal by the end of 2008.
GORANI: Taking you now to Lebanon. Deep political divisions in that country have delayed the election of a new president. But for today, at least, it appears the country has, at least on a superficial level, come together. The nation bid a final farewell to a top ranking army general who was killed in a bomb attack earlier this week.
Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): An heroic sendoff for an assassinated Lebanese army general, Francois Hajj, a respected military tactician whose leadership helped defeat al Qaeda- inspired Islamic militants in three month of ferocious battles. His murder has left Lebanon war with emotion. A day soldiers wept for a fallen comrade.
General Hajj was a Maronite Catholic. And his funeral cortege passed through parts of the Christian heartland. Honor guards and gun barrels lined the route for mourners in a heavy rain.
It was the first attack on the military in a long series of murders that have plunged Lebanon into the dubious category of a failing state, with no president now for three torturous weeks. The western-backed ruling coalition claims Syria can benefit by destabilizing Lebanon in a bid to eventually reassert control over it.
BOUTROS HARB, LEBANESE PARLIAMENT MEMBER: It's a message to the Lebanese that they will not find stability, they will not find security, unless, again, they go back where they were. And I think the Lebanese will not (INAUDIBLE).
SADLER: Lebanon's institutions, both political and now security, are targeted. None is seemingly immune.
The presidential front-runner, chief of army staff General Michel Suleiman, also a Christian, is willing but has been unable to rise to power in the political quagmire. Leaders from both the anti and pro- Syrian political camps were in somber mood, reflecting the agony of a nation impaled on the bitter political rivalry that engulfs the nation.
The head of the Maronite Church in Lebanon struck a harsh note condemning the tragedy as not only the loss of an officer, but a nation thrown into the wilderness. Lebanon, as feared by many, may be on the brink of an escalating political battle that could trigger yet more unsolved murders and violence. (on camera): The Lebanese authorities have asked the United Nations to help investigate this latest killing, adding to the 18 other assassinations and bombings that have terrorized this country in almost three years.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Harisa, Lebanon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Protests after Friday prayers in Baghdad's Sadr City. Followers of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr showing their anger over a triple car bombing in the heartland of Shia in the south. Wednesday's attack in Amara in the south killed 28 people. No one has yet claimed responsibility.
The region is relatively peaceful compared to other parts of Iraq. Tensions though have been high between rival Shia factions, including al-Sadr's own Mehdi Army and followers of Abdul Aziz al- Hakim. He's the leader of Iraq's largest Shia party and has ties with Iran. He's also been a major U.S. partner in Iraq.
GORANI: Well, back in the United States at the White House, President Bush stepped out of a cabinet meeting and into the cameras and microphones of reporters waiting outside. He touched on a number of subject from Iraq to North Korea. But mostly, Mr. Bush spoke about his continued frustration with the Congress dominated by the Democratic Party and their lingering impasse over the federal budget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unfortunately, members of Congress have not been able to complete their work by today, when the current continuing resolution expires. So last night, Congress passed another continuing resolution that will fund the government for one more week. And I just signed the resolution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Well, opinion polls show the American people have very little respect for what they consider to be a do-nothing Congress at this point.
GORANI: Absolutely. But President Bush's numbers are even worse.
So why are Democrats in Congress so reluctant to press their majority against an unpopular president?
CLANCY: It would seem to be the opportune time. It's a good question, and Bill Schneider, our seen political analyst, has the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): The Democratic Congress and President Bush are nearing a showdown. Should Congress stand up to the president? Congressional leaders are painfully aware of what happened when the Republican Congress stood up to President Clinton at the end of 1995, but things are very different now.
In November 1995, President Clinton's job approval stood at 52 percent. What's President Bush's job rating now? Thirty-two percent.
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: The Democrats ought to have a freer hand here. They ought to be in a stronger position. But they don't quite see it that way.
SCHNEIDER: Why not? Here's one reason. The job approval rating for the Democratic leaders of Congress is only slightly higher than President Bush's. That's partly because Congress isn't standing up to President Bush. Most liberals say they disapprove of the job the Democrats in Congress are doing.
Moreover, when it comes to making tough budget choices, the public prefers the Democrats in Congress over President Bush by better than two to one. So why don't the Democrats stand their ground? Because they don't want to risk handing President Bush an issue.
ROTHENBERG: I think they figure if they can go into the election running against Republicans in the Senate, running against George Bush, they'll take that now rather than risk a big blowup.
SCHNEIDER: Of course, there's also a risk if they give into the president.
ROTHENBERG: If they look weak, if they look ineffectual, they could suffer some costs as well there, but they don't see those as great as a big blowup, what's often referred to as a political train wreck.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Congressional Democrats don't want to be seen as causing a train wreck, even if that makes them look week and ineffectual.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: To the race for the White House now. And we begin with just-released polls that show a rapid rise for a former Arkansas governor in a key early state.
CLANCY: That's right. The CNN/Opinion Research poll shows that Mike Huckabee surged to the top among Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina. Now, Huckabee was the choice of 24 percent.
Former senator Fred Thompson coming in second there. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney tie at 16 percent each.
GORANI: Now, for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton still leads with 42 percent. Barack Obama is gaining. He's now at 34 percent. John Edwards comes in third. The rest of the candidates were at 3 percent or less.
CLANCY: All right.
This race looks like it's wide open right now. There were no fireworks, just some gentle sparring, I think we could say, Hala. A couple of zingers though when Democratic presidential candidates shared the stage Thursday night.
GORANI: Well, with their final debate before next month's crucial caucuses in Iowa, and with the race too close to call, did this latest appearance make a difference?
CLANCY: Yes. Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley was there, gives us a share of the look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three weeks to go, the last debate before the caucuses. You have never seen six such agreeable people. When Joe Biden defended himself for racially insensitive remarks, they backed him up.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That Joe is on the right side of the issues.
CROWLEY: They all want to roll back tax breaks for the rich and corporations and reconsider trade agreements that have cost American jobs.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We believe in trade, but we don't want to be the trade patsies of the world.
CROWLEY: Their differences were about who could get it done.
Edwards: Throw the bums out.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Corporate power and greed have literally taken over the government. And we need a president who's will to take these powers on.
CROWLEY: Obama: the politics of hope.
OBAMA: But we can only do it if we have the courage to change, if we can bring the country together.
CROWLEY: All of which gave Clinton an opening for the only zinger of the day.
CLINTON: Well, everybody on this stage has an idea about how to get change. Some believe you get change by demanding it. Some believe you get it by hoping for it. I believe you get it by working hard.
CROWLEY: Nobody slipped up. Nobody stuck out. But there was a stumper. The question was how Obama could bring about change with so many old Clinton advisers in his campaign.
OBAMA: You know, I am...
CLINTON: I want to hear that.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Well, Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well.
(LAUGHTER)
CROWLEY: As per usual, to the front-runners went the limelight, but the beauty of Iowa is that everybody gets a chance to speak.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I like best about Iowans is you like underdogs.
(LAUGHTER)
And you like to shake things up. You don't like the national media and the smarty-pants set telling you who's going to be the next president.
CROWLEY: Everybody gets a chance to hope.
(on camera): After all that sweetness and light, it's time for reality. And reality here on the ground is a three-way tie -- Obama, Clinton, Edwards -- which means look for a little hardball over the next three weeks.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Johnston, Iowa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: What does Republican candidate Mike Huckabee think about his rise in popularity, and how does he view the political race for the White House so far? Hear what he has to say about that and more when the presidential hopefuls talk -- the presidential hopeful talks to our Larry King. That's Tuesday on "LARRY KING LIVE," 10:00 GMT, right here on CNN, and 9:00 p.m. Eastern for our U.S. viewers.
CLANCY: OK. Concern to everybody, coming up we're going to take a short look at the markets and see how they're shaping up.
GORANI: Also, the northeastern United States just got slammed by a huge snowstorm this week, but is there more wintry weather in store for the weekend? And it's not winter yet.
CLANCY: Plus, look at these fellas. You heard about cats without tails and even without hair, but what about a cat that glows in the dark? We're not kidding. That story straight ahead.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back, everyone, to all of our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries around the globe, including, this hour, the United States.
CLANCY: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Here are your top stories.
The Bali climate conference goes along as U.N. delegates look to break their deadlock. They're lining up behind the U.S. or the EU. Those two blocks split over specific targets for emission cuts. The two-week summit was set to end today. Its goal? Set a framework for future talks on global warming.
CLANCY: Lebanon paying its final respects to a top ranking army official this day. Brigadier General Francois Hajj was killed in a bomb blast Wednesday near Beirut. He was expected to succeed Army Chief General Michel Suleiman, seen as a likely consensus candidate to become the next president. Opposition lawmakers have been unable to elect a new president.
GORANI: A new poll in South Carolina shows Mike Huckabee has surged to the top among Republican presidential candidates. Huckabee was the choice of 24 percent of Republican voters, followed by Fred Thompson. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that, among democrats, Hillary Clinton still leads with 42 percent. Barack Obama is gaining ground with 34 percent. John Edwards comes in third.
CLANCY: Now Barack Obama got a major infusion of star power into his campaign when talk show queen Oprah Winfrey stumped for him this past week. Well, some see it as a big boost to the senator's campaign. There are others who are very upset. Why? Here's Carol Costello.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Barack Obama!
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Who knew that Oprah Winfrey, super celeb, might suffer the same fate as mere mortal celebrities, backlash. Fans writing in to her Web site are angry she's gone political, angry she's campaigning for Barack Obama. "Oprah," says one, "count me as tuned out for now." Another says, "It is a real turn off for a lot of your fans." Yet another says, Oprah "has crossed a line and lost my trust completely." We asked people in South Carolina if they agreed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a private citizen, you know, she could be involved. But to try to promote a politician, I don't think the involvement was needed. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think any celebrity should go public with their opinions.
COSTELLO: What's especially interesting about reading Oprah's Web site, though, is why many online fans are upset. Some say it seems she's pitting white against black because of how she stumped for Obama.
WINFREY: You know, Dr. King dreamed the dream. But we don't have to just dream the dream anymore. We get to vote that dream into reality.
COSTELLO: Some reaction? "Winfrey has artfully begun her stump speeches alongside Obama with a negative tone. Don't pit blacks against whites." And this one. "This is getting so tiring. Are we voting for Obama because he's black?" That's something Winfrey rejected on "Good Morning America."
WINFREY: To think that I would just be in support of somebody because of the color of their skin would mean we hadn't moved very far from Dr. King's speech in 1963, saying that we want people to be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
COSTELLO: Winfrey also told us she weighed carefully whether she should get involved in politics, asking herself, "am I going to lose viewers? I made the decision that I have the right to do it as an American citizen."
Oprah says she welcomes all comments. It's good to vent and talk about these kinds of issues. Issues that are so very important.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: The issues, the candidates, the races, you'll find in- depth coverage of the U.S. election on our Web site. That's at cnn.com/politics.
GORANI: One day after a respected American diplomat issued a damning report on the widespread use of steroids in Major League Baseball, one veteran pitcher is crying foul. Seven time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens says he's never used steroids to enhance his performance on the field. As Gary Tuchman reports, though, there's plenty of blame to go around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): You remember the feel-good sports story of 1998? Mark McGwire busting Roger Maris' single season home run record? His name looms large in the Mitchell report. And the ageless pitcher, Roger Clemens. His name is also prominently mentioned. Rumors of steroid use in baseball were rampant for years. DONALD FEHR, MLB PLAYERS' ASSOCIATION: Perhaps we and the owners could have taken these steps sooner. And for my part, in hindsight, that seems obvious.
TUCHMAN: But what really kept the players' union and the commissioner's office from cracking down? Critics say one thing -- money. For the owners, power baseball sells. More home runs hit means more tickets sold. For players, the calculus is just as simple. Performance sells. Better play means a bigger contract.
GEORGE MITCHELL, AUTHOR, MLB DRUGS REPORT: Everyone involved in baseball, commissioners, club officials, Players' Association, players, shares responsibility. I can't be any clearer than that.
TUCHMAN: The baseball commissioner also says, in hindsight, he wished he did more. But now . . .
BUD SELIG, MLB COMMISSIONER: His report is a call to action. And I will act.
TUCHMAN: Everybody talks a good game about wanting baseball to be steroid-free. But when Senator Mitchell invited all the implicated current players to meet with him, with almost no exception, he says they refused. Too worried, says their union leader, that they could incriminate themselves.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, U.S. President George W. Bush reacting to that steroid report. As a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, he said he hoped the report would put the steroid era, as he called it, in baseball into the past.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As you know, I'm a baseball fan. I love the sport. I love the game. Like many fans, I've been troubled by the steroid allegations. I think it's best that all of us not jump to any conclusions on individual players' names. But we can jump to this conclusion, that steroids have sullied the game and players and the owners must take the Mitchell report seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, baseball is an important game in the U.S. for people of all ages and many of the players link today steroids in that report are looked up to by little leaguers across country.
CLANCY: Our own correspondent, Alina Cho, went out and talked with some of the young ballplayers, find out, what do they think about all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The New York Metro's Little League team had a winning season this year and they did it simply by playing hard and fair. But can the same be said of many of their Major League hero, grown men, it turns out, who may not be the best role models.
NATHANIEL CRAMER-GIBBS, LITTLE LEAGUE PITCHER: They're cheaters. They're just ruining the sport for kids and even people on their team.
CHO: The line-up of seven MVPs and 31 all-stars in the report was disappointing. But to see hometown hero Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers of the last 20 years, tainted by allegations of steroid use, even though he vehemently denies them, was almost too much to handle.
RYAN THIER, LITTLE LEAGUE 3RD BASEMAN: When I was younger, I like looked up to him and stuff and tried to like have like windups like them and stuff. And now like they cheated and I don't really want to be like them.
CHO: Jimmy Haber has coached little league baseball for seven years. He says the Major Leagues are setting a bad example.
JIMMY HABER, LITTLE LEAGUE COACH: We're send out a message to them that if they cheat at work or they cheat at school, they're going to make more money and that's the way they're going to get ahead in life. And that's not the right message.
THIER: Whenever I see someone hit a home run, I'm always like wondering if they take steroids and if they really like are naturally hitting it or if it's like the drugs hitting it.
CHO: And what does this 12-year-old say he'll do when he sees his former hero, Andy Pettitte, head to the mound at Yankee Stadium next year?
THIER: I'll boo him, loud.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: All right. A short break. When we come back, freezing rain and snow. A winter blast hits the U.S. Northeast.
CLANCY: That's right. Straight ahead, we're going to give you a look at some of the images that you have been sending us from places like New England.
GORANI: Also ahead, private moments made public for the first time. Letters written by the late Princess Diana are read out in court during a British inquest into her death. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A 1-2 winter punch is paralyzing parts of the United States' Northeast. This is what it looked like after round one of a fierce winter storm. Overturned cars, fender-benders, all-around chaos on the road. People say streets and highways went from bare to being blanketed in snow in barely one hour.
CLANCY: Residents trying to dig out right now while preparing for the second blast. This one's on the way, Hala. It's the same system that's responsible for dozens of deaths in the middle West and massive power outages across the heartland of America.
GORANI: What happened this week. Monday through Friday we saw bombings in the Middle East, a bomb shell in baseball and an intensifying race for the White House. Most of our i-Reporters just want to talk, though, about the weather.
CLANCY: That's right. CNN citizen journalists sent us more material on the wintry conditions across the U.S. than any other story this week. Here's some remarkable photographs that you took and sent us. Here's Jonathan Mann with an overview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The pictures look like a postcard. I-Reporters showed off their artistic side this week sending us hundreds of impressive images. But for every striking snowy scene, there's a price to be paid.
SANDY MEYER: We will be without electricity until probably after Christmas is what we're all hearing. Lots of wires down, lots of ice on the trees, lots of trees broken, transformers popping and blowing up.
MANN: I-Reporter Sandy Meyer of Harrington (ph), Kansas, says she hasn't seen an ice storm like this in 25 years. The bad weather will prevent Meyer's daughter and grandson from coming home for the holidays.
MEYER: It's the people in the rural areas that have the concerns right now. They are still without electricity and no water because naturally they have to have electricity to run the pumps to get the water out of the wells. We're running a generator and we have another family staying with us so that they have heat also.
MANN: The storm moved northeast later in the week, dumping heavy snow all along the way. I-Reporter Philip Truax of Sharon, Connecticut, send in this video of his backyard turned winter wonderland. That's his poodle, Jupiter, having fun in the snow. Truax saw an i-Report on CNN and thought he could do better. You be the judge.
CHARLES RIVERA: It's been cold. But after Tuesday, I think a lot of the ice has melted and I guess we're bracing for two to four inches of snow this weekend.
MANN: Charles Rivera, a fire chief on an Army base in Lawton, Oklahoma, sent us these images of buffalo grazing on a frozen field. Fortunately for them, the ice in Lawton didn't stick around for long. Jonathan Mann, CNN, reporting for i-Report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: I thought buffaloes were cool about ice.
You can post your own i-Reports on the weather or any other story right here on our Web site. Go to cnn.com. Click on the I-Report. Or you can e-mail them directly to ireport@cnn.com.
In Britain, the inquest into the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed has been hearing some very personal information about the Princess of Whales. The princesses letters to Fayed were read at the inquest. Documents that Fayed's father says prove the two were in love. Here's Sue Churtin (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUE CHURTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Princess Diana's close friend, Rosa Munckton, provided intimate details of the princess' love for Dodi Fayed at the high court this morning. Her private letters raked over for clues on just how deep their relationship was. Mohamed Al Fayed has always stressed that the couple were deeply in love.
In one letter she wrote after a six-day holiday on his yacht, she thanked, darling Dodi -- "this comes with all the love in the world and as always a million heartfelt thanks for bringing such joy into this chick's life." In another she sent after giving him a pair of cufflinks she wrote, "darling Dodi, these cufflinks were the very last gift from the man I loved most in the world, my father. They are given to you as I know how much joy it would give him to know they're in such safe and special hands. Fondest love, Diana."
Michael Mansfield, QC (ph), acting on behalf of Mr. Al Fayed, suggested to Ms. Munckton that Diana was treating this relationship with Dodi as a serious matter rather than a fling after a couple of days. Ms. Munckton explained how Diana tended to speak and write in an extravagant way, but conceded it was more than just a fling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, Sue Churtin there reporting. At the inquest, now Munckton also said Diana had told her she regret that now infamous interview on the BBC's panorama program. A program in which she told the host, Martin Bashir, that the Prince of Whales camp was, "the enemy."
GORANI: And where she said, of course, you'll remember there was three of us in this marriage.
It looks like a win for Nicole Kidman. And this one has nothing to do with the movie box office. The actress is the promotional face of Chanel Number 5 perfume. Published reports say she was wearing a competitor's fragrance while she was in London last month for the release of her latest film, "The Golden Compass." Well, Kidman raised a fuss because her lawyer said she suffered embarrassment and distress. He says "The Daily Telegraph" has now agreed to pay Kidman's legal costs and substantial damages because off the story. She intends to give the money to the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Well, score it Chanel Number 5, "Daily Telegraph" zero.
CLANCY: Five to zero. OK. Chanel wins.
Still ahead, are you afraid of cats?
GORANI: Not at all. Love cats. But even if you're not, you may be a little startled by these unusual felines. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. These cats are glowing in the dark. We'll tell you why after this.
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GORANI: You know, some people think that cloned cats are creepy. But what about a cloned cat that also glows in the dark?
CLANCY: It's an incredible story. Not everybody's happy to hear this, though, that scientists in South Korea cloned a pair of kitties who light up with a fluorescent glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. Glow kitties.
GORANI: All right. Now the question is, what was all this for. Apparently there's a good reason for it. Kristie Lu Stout has the story.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At first glance, these cats look like any normal cat. But there are two big things which make them very different. One, the cats are clones. Two, they glow in the dark. You heard right. When they're put underneath ultraviolet light, they glow a dull red. And it's no accident. Scientists manipulated the donor cat's genetic code, then passed those changes on to the clones.
KONG Il-KEUN, GYEONGSANG UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, (through translator): It's meaningful as we introduce outside genes to transgenic cloned cats for the first time. And as they have the red fluorescent protein gene in their organs, they give off a red color.
LU STOUT: Here's how they did it. Scientists took skin cells from a Turkish angora female cat and used a virus to insert the genetic instructions for making red fluorescent protein. Then they put the gene altered nuclei into eggs for cloning. After that, they implanted the eggs back into the donor cat which effectively became the surrogate mother.
Now these glow-in-the-dark cats shine a light on what may be possible down the road. Scientists say if you can pass along coding for fluorescent markers through cloning, you could eventually pass along more complex, genetic coding. That means cats could help development treatments for diseases, for animals and for humans. After all, researchers say there are some 250 diseases which affect cats and humans. In theory, leaving a warm, healthy, fuzzy glow, many more than just their nine lives.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
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GORANI: Gosh, that doesn't look like a healthy glow to me.
CLANCY: Didn't sound like that cat was very happy about whatever they did. Maybe that goes with it, I don't know.
GORANI: I don't know.
It's the stuff, though, dreams are built on. A sunken pirate ship.
CLANCY: This is a special one, too, Hala. Archaeologists from Indiana University say the wreck of a pirate ship abandoned by, and you know this guy, 17th century pirate Captain Kidd found in the Caribbean, mates.
GORANI: Arrgh. The ship is in water three meters deep off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic. Well, no gold coins or silver bars, but archaeologists say the ship can reveal a lot about the pirate and his Caribbean adventures.
CLANCY: All right. Captain Kidd's ship has been found.
That's it for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.
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