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Indonesia Landslides: Dozens Killed on Main Island of Java; Tiger Attack: Man Killed at San Francisco Zoo, Two Others Mauled; U.S. Officials: Billions in Aid to Pakistan Wasted, Columbian Rebels To Release Hostages; Japan And Divorce; Iowa Caucuses; Rocking Video Games; White House Christmas

Aired December 26, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Entire families buried alive. Rescuers dig into mountains of mud in a frantic search for landslide victims.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A Christmas outing turned tragic. How a day at the San Francisco Zoo cost an American man his life.

GORANI: A promise of freedom. Why there's new hope that several hostages in Colombia could be released in the coming hours.

CLANCY: Plus, are you ready to rock? We are going to test out new video games that -- well, they let us indulge our inner rock star.

It's midnight right now in Jakarta, noon in Bogota.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From San Francisco to Sarajevo to Soweto, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We're going to have those stories in just a moment. But we're going to take you to a story that's unfolding literally at this moment, giving a glimmer of hope for three hostages, just a handful among thousands that are being held in Colombia, some of them upwards of a decade, by the revolutionary armed forces there, a guerrilla group that is really an institution in Latin America.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who has been acting as a mediator and has been fired as a mediator, hopes to see the release within the coming hours. He says right now they are waiting for Colombia to sign off on the deal and to give the green light. There's no indication whether or not that would be controversial, but a lot of people are looking at this hostage release of three hostages, including one young son of one of the hostages, a boy who was born in captivity.

We're expecting to hear from our Karl Penhaul.

Karl -- is Karl on the line with us now from Bogota? He's going to be with us in a few minutes. Just want to bring you up to date on this because it is a story developing right now. We could see this prisoner release in a matter of hours.

GORANI: All right. Well, among the other stories we are covering today, a somber observance made worse by yet another disaster.

CLANCY: Dozens of people are dead, several still missing after a series of landslides that took place in Indonesia Wednesday. Now, this all comes on the third anniversary of the tsunami.

GORANI: Right, that killed over 200,000 people back then. Well, the dead today include several people who were buried alive, quite literally, during a dinner party. Earlier in the day, rescuers dug through the mud by hand frantically, searching for survivors.

CLANCY: Now, the location of the disaster is Indonesia's main island of Java. That's where mud-covered roads and flooded streets have been hampering the rescue efforts.

GORANI: It's now just past midnight in Indonesia. Our Kathy Quiano is following developments from Jakarta, from where she joins us now via broadband.

Kathy, where does the search and rescue operation stand right now?

KATHY QUIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, search and rescue operations have stopped for now in central Java. It is midnight there as well. It's too dark.

Electricity was cut off when the landslides happened earlier today, and officials say it was too dark to continue working. They did say that they would resume operations early Wednesday morning.

Now, it's almost a full day since the first landslides happened in several districts in central Java. There is little or no hope at all of finding more survivors. Officials did say that 36 bodies were recovered. In at least one district, 31 more people are missing and are also now feared dead.

Now, most of the victims were residing in one district. As I said, there was a late-night party going on. One official also told us that, in fact, residents in this district were actually working to prevent more mudslides from burying their homes.

Now, torrential rains have hammered the area for days now, and it reached its peak early Tuesday morning, just before dawn, when the landslides happened. Now, mud and debris blocked the roads and cut off communication lines, hampering rescue operations earlier today. And as you mentioned, heavy equipment couldn't be brought in to clear the roads leading to the worst -- the hardest-hit areas. Hundreds of rescue workers, including civilians, police and military personnel, had to use their hands and simple tools like shovels and picks to pick through the mud and debris -- Hala. GORANI: All right. Kathy Quiano live in Jakarta there, reporting on this disaster in Indonesia.

Dozens of people buried alive and the fear out there still that hundreds more may be found dead -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, it is not more good news, that's for sure. Some 40,000 people still living in temporary shelters after flash flooding was seen across Sri Lanka. You look at these pictures, you get an idea of just how much water came in here.

Heavy rains in the eastern and central parts of Sri Lanka forced as many as 150,000 people to flee their homes. Now, there was -- one of the worst-hit areas, the district of Bada Koloa (ph) -- it's on the Eastern Seaboard -- it was also one of those places that was hard-hit during the tsunami we have been talking about back in 2004. The floods come a week after monsoon rains surged and displaced some 20,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka.

GORANI: Well, in another part of Asia, Nepal, police in the western part of that country say they will keep on searching. They want to account for all the people missing since Tuesday's collapse of an apparently overloaded bridge.

Today, five people were found alive, three days after the collapse. But that leaves 28 still missing. Fifteen are known dead.

Police say 32 people of been taken to Kathmandu for medical treatment. Now, hundreds of Hindu festival-goers fell into an icy river when that bridge gave way a few days ago, and police say they have searched some 30 kilometers downstream so far.

CLANCY: One of the -- all right. We are going to talk about a story of a miraculous survival. A 13-year-old California girl walks away alive after a plane crash killed three other people in the mountains of Panama.

Kara Finnstrom is in Santa Barbara and gives us the latest on this story.

All right. I apologize that we don't have that report for you right now talking about an American hedge fund manager who was in a private plane. They were viewing a volcano, he and his daughter were killed. But one of her young friends is a survivor now and is said to be getting out of that remote area and getting to the help that she needs -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Well, taking you now to Iraq and an escalating conflict in the northern part of Iraq.

Turkish aircraft hit Kurdish rebel hideouts inside northern Iraq Wednesday, the third cross-border assault in 10 days. A spokesman for Iraq's Kurdish regional security forces says there were no civilian casualties.

Well, on Tuesday, Turkey's military said it killed at least 150 Kurdish militants in strikes this month. Ankara also says the U.S. has provided military intelligence on Kurdish rebels. The Kurdistan Workers Party has waged a war for autonomy in parts of Turkey for more than two decades.

CLANCY: Well, first it was the fairytale world of Disney, now it is the land of the pharaohs.

GORANI: The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, swept away his new girlfriend on another high-profile date.

CLANCY: He and the Italian singer and ex-supermodel Carla Bruni are in Egypt right now. There are hordes of photographers there that are stalking them, trying to capture their every move.

GORANI: Well, they have visited the Valley of the Kings of Luxor, as we just said, the ancient burial site of powerful pharaohs. Back home, critics are blasting what they call Mr. Sarkozy's fascination for jet-set glitz.

CLANCY: Well, he flew to Egypt on the private jet of a billionaire businessman for a few days of rest. He is, after all, the president. And he's coming in there for an official visit on the 30th of December.

GORANI: He just got a divorce...

CLANCY: Yes, he did.

GORANI: ... two months ago. Moving on. Next. I like it.

Al right. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is wearing his mediator hat in Colombia.

CLANCY: Like a crown, some would say. Ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, Chavez says he has secured the imminent release of three hostages held by a rebel group. We're going to take a closer look at his role and all the controversy around it.

GORANI: While in Panama, some good news emerges from tragedy, with reports of a young lone survivor of a horrific deadly plane crash.

CLANCY: Now they've got jukebox heroes for the new millennium. Some just-released video games can help us all unleash our inner rock gods.

We're going to show you what's new on that front. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. This is CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: A special welcome to our viewers this holiday season joining us in the United States. Well, what better way to wind down on a Christmas afternoon than to go for a visit to the zoo in San Francisco, one of the few cities that has a zoo that's open on Christmas? It turned into a nightmare for the visitors. A tiger escaped its enclosure. One man was killed, two other people mauled.

Today, a lot of questions being asked about how could this have happened?

Dan Simon is there in San Francisco with a live report for us.

Dan, what's the latest that you're hearing about the condition of the two people that survived the attacks?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Jim.

We are told that those two people who survived are in serious but stable condition. When they got to the hospital last night, they were talking. They were alert. A very good sign, but nonetheless, they had some significant injuries.

That tiger lashed certain parts of their body, their head and their shoulders. So, obviously, a difficult situation for them. We'd love to hear what they have to say in terms of how they fought that off -- fought off that tiger, but it's not clear if they're going to wind up talking to the press today or not.

Meanwhile, Jim, this zoo is closed today. It's open 365 days a year, but it's closed today for the public.

We're still seeing employees come to this entrance behind me because, after all, these animals still need to be looked after, but the big question, Jim, how on earth did this tiger, this 350-pound Siberian tiger, get out of its enclosure? It's fortified, surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat and a 20-foot-tall wall. The question is, how did it get over?

In theory, according to the zoo, it would have had to literally leap over its exhibit, because there's really no way it can get through the door. There really is no door, is what they were telling us.

CLANCY: Well, obviously, this tiger a very powerful animal, weighing more than 300 pounds. But it had a history of problems, didn't it?

SIMON: It did. Almost one year ago to the day, this same tiger attacked a zookeeper during a public feeding demonstration. Actually, it took off a big chunk of the trainer's arm. In fact, she had to have her arm amputated. It was a horrific incident, and there was some discussion at the time that perhaps that this tiger had to be put down, euthanized.

Zoo officials made the decision not to euthanize the tiger. Of course, there will be a lot of second-guessing today about that decision. But what happened at the time is they went in there and they made some adjustments to that particular area, sort of refortified the cage, if you will.

There was a thought that -- that everything was safe for both the employees and patrons alike. Of course, it wasn't to be, Jim. And now you have this zoo closed, and it will probably be closed for several weeks to come, I would think.

CLANCY: All right. Dan Simon there in San Francisco.

Dan, thanks to you.

We're going to be hearing a little bit more, I think, from a hospital shortly that's going to update the condition of the two victims that survived.

Dan, thank you.

GORANI: Well, let's check some other stories making news around the world this hour.

CLANCY: We are going to begin with yet another big transaction between Moscow and Tehran. Iran says it will receive a new air missile defense system from Russia. Iranian state media touting the S-300 system as more sophisticated than the Tor-M1 fleet that they got from Moscow a little bit earlier this year at the cost of a better part of a billion dollars. The United States has called on Russia to cancel the arms sales.

GORANI: Well, South Korea's new president was just elected last week, and he's already under the microscope. The nation's cabinet has approved a probe into allegations of financial fraud against Lee Myung-bak. The prosecutor should complete an initial investigation before Lee's inauguration in February. Lee denies the charges.

CLANCY: The United Nations in talks now with Afghanistan, trying to dissuade that country from expelling two top diplomats. A top EU official, as well as the United Nations staff, are under suspicion of -- well, this is what Afghanistan charges -- they were threatening national security by visiting the volatile Helmand Province and talking to the Taliban. A European diplomat says the Afghans are accusing both of trying to contact the insurgents directly and negotiate with them.

GORANI: In neighboring Pakistan, well, that country receives billions of dollars in military aid from the United States, an ally in Washington's so-called war on terror. The money is meant to help Pakistan fight al Qaeda and the Taliban. Now some U.S. officials are reportedly wondering whether the U.S. is really getting its money's worth.

CNN's Barbara Starr has been looking into that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "The New York Times" headline: "U.S. Officials See Waste in Billions Sent to Pakistan." The paper cites unnamed U.S. officials who say aid to bolster Pakistani military units fighting al Qaeda has been misused.

Pakistan's ambassador says that's not the case.

MAHMUD DURRANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: It's very, very sad that people make such comments. And in a partnership, when there is a problem with partnership, people start shifting the blame, and that's, as I said, very unfortunate. This is also untrue.

STARR: Pakistan has long complained the U.S. doesn't appreciate the efforts it has made against al Qaeda and that hundreds of its troops have been killed. Both sides agree more training and equipment are needed.

The Pentagon is helping Pakistan expand its paramilitary Frontier Corps force, but the aid allegations come at a tough time. Campaigning is well under way for January parliamentary elections, elections Pakistan says will show it's back on the road to democracy.

The U.S. Congress isn't convinced. Lawmakers are withholding $50 million in aid until the State Department reports the government of Pervez Musharraf is really committed to democratic rule. But the Pentagon has even deeper concerns that Pakistan is not making an all- out effort to crack down on al Qaeda.

Pointed words from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are beginning a dialogue with the new chief of staff of the Pakistani army in terms of how we can help them do a better job in counterinsurgency through both training and equipment.

STARR (on camera): But with the latest allegations swirling, Congress at least is making it clear any additional assistance to Pakistan won't be on a blank check.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: A story of survival amid tragedy.

GORANI: Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a trip to photograph a volcano turns deadly for an American businessman and his daughter. We'll have more on that teenager that walked away alive from the plane crash.

CLANCY: Plus, avoiding divorce. Japanese men may have discovered some magic words to keep their wives happy.

Men, you won't want to miss this lesson. That's coming up.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. It's the half hour in most parts of the world. And welcome to our viewers joining us from around the globe, including the United States this hour.

This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. And these are some of the top stories in YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Rescue efforts are going to resume tomorrow in the Indonesian island of Java, where authorities continue looking for survivors after a number of devastating landslides. All of the power has been cut out. It is in total darkness this hour.

CLANCY: Survivors after a number of devastating landslides. All of the power has been cut out. It is in total darkness this hour. More than 60 people were killed outright in the slides triggered by days of torrential rains.

GORANI: Police in San Francisco are investigating an incident at the city zoo. A Siberian tiger attacked and killed one patron Tuesday and injured two others in the zoo's cafe. The tiger escaped shortly after closing time. Police shot and killed the animal. The animal also attacked a staff member last December.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our two victims, I'm happy to report, are doing very well right now. They are in very stable condition. They rested overnight after they were taken to the operating room for a cleaning and closure of their wounds. Right now I can tell you that they're in good spirits and they look absolutely fantastic. They have youth going for them and a lot of good health behind them when they first came in here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Another story developing this hour. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says the Colombian rebels have agreed to release three hostages. Mr. Chavez says that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels have agreed to the deal and that Colombia government must now approve it. Let's get the latest from Karl Penhaul. He joins us on the line from Bogota, Colombia.

Karl, is this deal going to involve the Colombian government having to give up some of the people that it is hold -- some of the rebels that it has in custody?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, certainly that's not part of the deal at present Chavez is talking here about right now, Jim. That's part of a wider deal that the rebels have been calling for, for a long time. But essentially these three hostages that the rebels have said they will release is a unilateral gesture.

But the devil is in the detail here. Until now, everybody had assumed that the rebels would spirit those hostages across the border into Venezuela and there hand them over to President Chavez, as they said in their communicate, or to one of his representatives. And now what President Chavez has told us is that the rebels are saying that, that release will take place in Colombia. That those -- but still that those hostages will be handed over to a Chavez representative. And that is where the difficulty is likely to come, because President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia is very sensitive about letting President Chavez gain political capital out of this.

Nevertheless, President Chavez has gathered a number of international diplomats around him, saying that they're all ready to travel aboard Venezuelan aircraft and helicopters to Colombia to pick the hostages up. This is what he had to say at the press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, (through translator): We are only waiting to give the green light. We only need the authorization of the Colombian government and ask baby Jesus to open the skies because I see that it's -- we've got some bad weather, hopefully not there, but we are looking forward for the unfolding of this operation with the expediency necessary, with the patience, the prudence and that . . .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Now President Chavez says that if President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia does give the green light for the operation to go and pick up these three hostages from the Colombian jungle, President Chavez says he believes that operation could be done and dusted (ph) by tomorrow night. He says he believes those hostages could be at home by tomorrow. But there's a number of elements in this that are likely to be a sticking point, and right now we're still waiting for an official reaction from the Colombian government - Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Karl Penhaul continuing to monitor very fluid situation, possible hostage release there in Bogota, Colombia.

Thank you, Karl -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, the big question is, of course, will the deal end in freedom or a cruel letdown for the families of those waiting for are their loved ones? And what about Chavez' role in all of this? Let's get some perspective. We're joined by Michael Shifter. He's the vice president for policy with the inter American dialog group and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University in Washington. He comes to us live from the nation's capital.

Thanks for being with us.

That is a question, what is in it for Chavez?

MICHAEL SHIFTER, PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, Chavez is in the cat bird's seat. He's in a very strong position. He wants to be a regional leader. He wants to be seen as a humanitarian, as a peacemaker. And if he could cause a breakthrough in this impasse of the hostage situation, that would enhance this regional standing. and, of course, that's what he wants. And so I think he's in a very, very strong position, especially if the hostages are released. But even if they're not, he clearly has the initiative in this whole situation.

GORANI: Is this more of a PR effort on his part than truly the desire to be a peacemaker and help release hostages, do you think?

SHIFTER: Well, I think one can't dismiss that it is a very powerful, poignant story here. Human story. These hostages have been held, some of them for 10 years. It's a terrible situation. It's a barbaric practice that the FARC has committed over many years. And so to see any of these hostages released, I think, is welcome.

I think one shouldn't doubt President Chavez' intentions. But it's also naive to think that there isn't a political agenda behind it. He clearly is somebody who's tried to spread his influence, has tried to spread his power in Latin America. And, of course, this would be a major boost if he's able to achieve this breakthrough.

GORANI: Sure, but he's in conflict with the president of Colombia. The question is, will he succeed? What do you think?

SHIFTER: Well, it's unclear. This puts President Uribe against the wall. He'll have to make a decision. But I think it's going to be very, very hard, if the FARC has agreed to release these three hostages, I think it will be very hard for President Uribe to deny their release unless there are some strong demands that the FARC has made.

President Uribe has to be very careful because he doesn't want to see the FARC regain legitimacy, visibility. The FARC has very, very low support in Colombia. So he's got to weigh that against the pressure for the release of these hostages. But I think if, clearly, if there is a green light, I think it's going to be hard for President Uribe to deny their release.

GORANI: And what about the FARC? I mean, what is in it for them? What -- why are they doing this now?

SHIFTER: Well, again, this is a chance -- clearly they see President Chavez, more than any other international leader, as somebody with legitimacy. I think if he could -- if they could strengthen President Chavez' hand against President Uribe, who they don't like, who see they see as the obstacle, as the enemy, that's good politics for them. They see President Chavez more sympathetically and so they gain in political terms. And, of course, this puts President Uribe in a very difficult position. It embarrasses him because President Chavez, not President Uribe, was able to achieve this breakthrough.

GORANI: And Michael Shifter, also, let's put this within the context of U.S./Venezuelan relations. Does that have any impact on that or none at all?

SHIFTER: Well, I think the U.S. is very ambivalent. Let's remember, there are three U.S. hostages also being held by the FARC. There's been increased pressure here in Washington to try to secure their release. And so the U.S. wants these hostages released. But, of course, they're very ambivalent because anything that benefits Chavez, who's an adversary of the United States, is something that the U.S. doesn't feel too good about.

So they're in a very conflicted position, the United States. They want to move forward on this, but they don't want to give Chavez too much credit, too much protagonism in this whole situation.

GORANI: All right. Thank you very much for your analysis. Michael Shifter joining us live from Washington, D.C., there on the possible release of some FARC hostages. A deal negotiated by Hugo Chavez.

CLANCY: Well, yes, actually . . .

GORANI: George Bush's arch nemesis.

CLANCY: Yes, the FARC gave them over to Chavez, to save Chavez. Uribe had fired him as a negotiator because last month he was trying to negotiate and talk directly to the Colombian military.

GORANI: Well, regardless of how you slice it, would be Chavez getting the credit. So that's really going to have an impact politically for sure.

Let's move -- yes.

CLANCY: I was going to say, one of the hostages has her son with her and he was born in captivity.

GORANI: Born in captivity. It is a tragic, tragic human story, absolutely.

CLANCY: Yes, it is. But we're talking about marriage.

GORANI: We're going to talk about marriage. I know I heard a joke over the holidays. Christmas isn't for regrets, that's what anniversaries are for.

A change in Japan's divorce law has triggered a change in the way some husband's treat their wives.

CLANCY: And the men, you know, they're looking at all of this and, Hala, they're trying to be a little bit nicer. Kyung Lah tells us it makes some wonder if they really have their hearts in the right place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This may look like a meeting of the old boys club, but look again and listen.

"I can't win. I won't win. I don't to win." This is their mantra to their women, married men, trying to keep their wives from leaving them.

"Wife first, work second," members advise.

"I'm too Japanese," says this man. "Well, you're too old fashioned." "Change," says the group leader.

The club posts three golden rules of love. Say thank you, I'm sorry, I love you. And give ten rings of good husbandry. The highest saying I love you without embarrassment. The support group of 4,700 members nationwide grew when divorce spiked in Japan this year. A law changes that entitles a wife to walk with up to half her husband's company pension. These men took notice.

Which begs the question, are these men meeting to save their marriages or save their pensions?

For Yoshi Takayama (ph) it's a little of both. After the wedding bliss faded, the domestic doldrums followed.

"Both of us have jobs and we kept fighting about splitting domestic duties," says Yoshi Takayama. She also says there's nothing wrong with the change in Japan's law, especially if it helps women in unhappy marriages. Unnerved by their fighting, Yoshi signed up for the club, to the horror of his father who called it deplorable for a man to act this way.

It may seem silly, they say, but it's improved their relationship and they believe it's their guarantee against divorce.

"I can't say I love you very easily," says Takayama, "but I can say thank you and I'm sorry."

And he's working on more. At tonight's meeting, he's graduated to level four, meaning he's able to put ladies first.

As embarrassing. It seems so easy. I mean, why is it so hard?

"Look at America. There's so many divorces there," says the club. "We're trying to really change ourselves and that's not easy."

Takayama says he's still got a lot to learn. He still doesn't help as much as he could in the kitchen. But he's doing more of the cleaning and the shopping. And as he aims for the next level of husbandry, small signs of happily ever after.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Interesting. Do they have that program for co-anchors?

CLANCY: I'm not sure.

GORANI: We should sign up just to make sure we preserve the relationship.

But we're going to get a short break. When we come back . . .

CLANCY: Are you ready to rock?

GORANI: You might call it a new twists on the art of air guitar. Except there's a semblance of a guitar where the air is supposed to be. We'll explain.

CLANCY: Also, this is what it looks like in Des Moines, Iowa, right now. The first votes are coming up soon in the U.S. presidential sweepstakes, if I can call them that. Our political guru, Bill Schneider, is going to help us sort it all out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

CLANCY: Seen live in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe. Everyone now knows when they hear that music, we're talking politics.

All right. In the United States, the presidential candidates just about to find out who officially is in the lead. The first votes set to come in early January in the state of Iowa. That's where most candidates are spending the day after Christmas. And that is also where we find our very own senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Bill, how is that race shaping up where you are?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very different universe politically here in Iowa than in the rest of the country. In the country as a whole, Hillary Clinton is the Democratic front-runner. Rudy Giuliani is the Republican front-runner. But not in Iowa where the race has been going on for a year now. The candidates spending a lot of time here.

Here, on the Democratic side, it's a tight three-way contest between Clinton and John Edwards and Barack Obama. Any of them could win according to the polls. And it's a very tough contest between all of them. If Hillary Clinton wins here, the view is she'll probably have an easier time getting to the nomination. But if they can stop her here, either Obama or Edwards, then there could be a lot of stumbles and the race is anyone's to grab.

On the Republican side, Giuliani's not even a factor here in Iowa. He has not spent a lot of time here. Here it's a neck and neck race between Mitt Romney, who spent a lot of time and money here in Iowa, and Mike Huckabee, who simply emerged in the last few weeks as the leading candidate, the man to beat. So it's a very different kind of race that could overthrow the national polls.

CLANCY: All right. When it's like that, when, you know, it could go any way on either side of the aisle, so to speak, with all your experience, how important are these last days of campaigning for these candidates?

SCHNEIDER: Iowa often decides at the last minute. People decide whether to attend the caucuses or not. There could be a late surge. Look what happened to Howard Dean four years ago. He was on top of the polls two weeks before the Iowa caucuses and then suddenly Iowa comes along and what happens? He comes in third, he screams, and he's finished. In the last week or so of this campaign, anything could happen, particularly in a race as tight as this one is.

CLANCY: All right. Bill Schneider, great to have you there as we count down all the way to the Iowa caucuses.

Bill Schneider, our senior political correspondent. Thank you.

GORANI: Eight shopping days left. Well, shoppers are hitting the after-Christmas sales today for the gifts they didn't find under the tree, including some hot video game titles apparently.

CLANCY: Yes, both Guitar Hero and Rock Band let gamers indulge their inner rock star, all from the comfort of their own home.

GORANI: And Ines Ferre has this lowdown on the latest musical craze.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): There's Prince, Eric Clapton and now a new type of Guitar Hero -- Tatyana Kantorovich. This 20-year-old gaming whiz is showing off her chops on Guitar Hero 3 at an electronics store in New York. She says it satisfies her inner need to rock.

TATYANA KANTOROVICH, VIDEO GAME PLAYER: You don't have to motivate yourself to play a real guitar, which takes a lot of time. This is more like something you can enjoy.

FERRE: These are great times, indeed, for wannabe guitar gods everywhere. Guitar Hero is rocking America. As well as Rock Band, a competing game from MTV. Rock Band includes not only a guitar, but also a drum kit and a mike for vocals. Rock Band and Guitar Hero are among the hottest gifts around this holiday season, as they battle it out for guitar game supremacy. And cultural supremacy.

They've struck a chord on YouTube. And even "South Park." Sales projections for both games are staggering.

MICHAEL PACHTER, WEDBUSH MORGAN SECURITIES: I think you'll see probably something around 10 million units, maybe 12 million units combined for these two games next year. And that's big. That's Grand Theft Auto-like numbers at a much higher price.

FERRE: These games will help the video industry post some $40 billion in hardware and software sales this year worldwide. And it's not just the video game industry that's getting a boost. The hard-hit music industry should also benefit.

BRIAN HIATT, "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE: Bands are getting new recognition among kids who would have never heard of them before. I mean there's no doubt video game players are suddenly learning who The Who are. Even who Pearl Jam is, for all we know. And so it's probably, in general, these games have been really good for rock music.

FERRE: Good news, indeed, if it leads to a spike in music sales and downloads. But enough of all this talk. I'm ready to rock with Guitar Hero 3. Best Buy's Andre Sam (ph) shows me how it's done.

ANDRE SAM, BEST BUY: You have to hit the buttons on time. It shows the button and you hit the key.

FERRE: And within minutes I have it down.

Fire away

SAM: Good job.

FERRE: All right. Pretty good.

With Guitar Hero and Rock Band around, you can forget about a silent night this holiday season.

All right.

SAM: Good job.

FERRE: Ines Ferre, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Again, call the help number for that and you get a rehab center in Los Angeles.

GORANI: Oh, dear.

All right. Still ahead, we're going to take you to the White House next, as it's still glowing apparently with festive spirits.

CLANCY: Our own Richard Quest dropping in for a chat with First Lady Laura Bush. I've got to see this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, it's the day after Christmas, so we know what the first couple gave each other. U.S. President George Bush gave his wife, Laura, a silver tray. She gave him a new coat.

CLANCY: And it was all there at the White House, all decked out for the season. We sent our own Richard Quest to talk to the first lady about how she did it all, how she got Christmas together at the White House. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): We all like to dress up our homes at the festive season. So my next visit had to be to one of the most famous displays. I'm in Washington, D.C., at the White House. This year, the Christmas decorations are unusual and distinctive. As first lady, Laura Bush is responsible for making the house glow with festive spirit. This is her seventh season.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Well, we're here in front of the major White House Christmas tree. The big Christmas tree in the White House it's always here in the Blue Room.

QUEST: From the gingerbread model of the mansion . . .

BUSH: It is real gingerbread.

QUEST: T that giant tree in the Blue Room, the White House takes festive spirit seriously.

Mrs. Bush kindly invited me in for a Christmas chat.

BUSH: Happy holidays.

QUEST: How important is it for you, ma'am, to create this environment, to create a special feeling at this time of the year?

BUSH: Well, I love Christmas. I love the opportunity to decorate this magnificent house for Christmas. And every year I've worked very closely with the White House florist and all of the other White House staff. We usually start in March trying to determine what the Christmas theme will be and what the decorations will be.

QUEST: Did you say you start in March?

BUSH: That's right.

QUEST: I mean that reminds me of those toy stores that buy a good year in advance. How can you be thinking about Christmas in March?

BUSH: Well, we just start to think of the theme of something that we want to talk about that Christmas. Some special American theme that both President Bush and I like. And that we think is important for our country. And this year it's our national parks.

QUEST: America's national parks are displayed everywhere. That's a replica of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. And on some of those Christmas trees, you can eat the ornaments.

Those are beautiful ornaments. I mean, I suppose I won't get out in one piece if I try and eat any of them?

BUSH: They are edible.

QUEST: I know.

BUSH: You can have one.

QUEST: Will you say that again?

BUSH: You can have one.

QUEST: Excellent. Note right now, I've got permission to eat an ornament.

Tens of thousands of people of been invited to visit here over the holiday period.

The White House cooks 20,000 cookies at Christmas -- 19,999 to go.

America is a melting pot of cultures and religions. So here at the White House they are truly celebrating this as a happy holiday season.

What is it about this time of the year that it doesn't matter what we're celebrating, what religion we're celebrating, it doesn't really matter, there is something about December. What do you think it is?

BUSH: Well, maybe it's the idea of home and hearth and the coziness of being together with the family and loved ones. I think that's one of the most important parts of the holiday, of the Christmas holiday, for many Americans. And, of course, when you're in a time of war like we are and when you have people overseas, our troops who are deployed over there, are a lot of families who are at home without a loved one, and I think it's a special time of year to remember all of those families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. Laura Bush there.

We have some breaking developments on a story out of Chad. Six French aid workers of been sentenced by Chadian authorities, eight years of hard labor.

CLANCY: That is for taking or attempting to take 103 African children. They say they thought they were Sudanese orphans. They were not. We'll have much more on this story ahead.

That has to be it for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.

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