Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

Crisis in Pakistan: Election Commission to Decide Whether to Postpone Vote; Doctors Blocked From Doing Autopsy on Bhutto; Chaos in Nairobi Follows Disputed Voting; U.S. Political Countdown; Scooters In Iraq; Celebrity Ups and Downs

Aired December 31, 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: Uncertain future. As Benazir Bhutto's supporters mourn her death, Pakistan struggling with the prospect of upcoming elections.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Turmoil in Kenya. That country's election results are met with chaos and violence.

CLANCY: New Year's celebrations. Revelers across the globe ringing in 2008.

CHURCH: And lights out in the City of Lights. The new year means a new smoking ban for Paris.

It's 6:00 p.m. in Paris and midnight 2008 in Jakarta and Bangkok.

Hello and welcome to our report seen all around the globe. I'm Rosemary Church.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

Welcome. Wherever you are in the world, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CHURCH: Well, former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif is joining a decision by the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

CLANCY: Sharif ending his boycott call and, like Bhutto's party, his party says it will take part in a parliamentary vote. Both opposition parties now calling on the government to keep next week's vote on schedule.

CHURCH: Now, the election commission is reviewing damage reports to voting centers and equipment from riots that followed Bhutto's assassination.

As Matthew Chance reports, it's now up to that commission to decide whether to delay that vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Life has returned to the streets of Pakistan, but the country's political future still hangs in the balance. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no election. No election.

CHANCE: In the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, officials are delaying a decision on whether elections on January 8th should go ahead, even though Pakistan's main political parties, including Bhutto's own, say they must.

ASIF ZARDARI, PAKISTAN PEOPLES PARTY: We are not asking for a postponement. Our demand is elections on time -- free, fair, as promised. Free, fair elections. We demand that all precautions to be taken and elections to be held.

CHANCE: But in the anger that followed last week's killing, election observers say mobs destroyed at least 10 voting centers. Buildings, ballot boxes, and voting papers have been destroyed.

Pakistan's increasingly unpopular government now faced with a decision and the consequences.

AHMED BILAL MEHBOOB, POLITICAL ANALYST: The decision is taken unilaterally. If the election commission doesn't take these parties on board, doesn't consult them, then I think there is going to be a backlash, because people already have a very low level of trust in the institutions like election commissions. They think the elections are not going to be fair.

CHANCE: A lack of trust now holds this country on the brink.

(on camera): With doubts about whether these elections can even be held on schedule, Pakistan is at risk of plunging into yet more political turmoil. After years of military rule, widespread poverty and increasing violence, the fact is many in this country are desperate for change.

(voice over): "This government has totally collapsed," says Zarhed (ph). "Unless democracy comes, our problems will never be solved."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democracy is an essential part in the development and growth of the country and the people.

CHANCE: And seen by many as essential to avoiding more of the violence and uncertainty that has ravaged it.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, a lawyer from the hospital where Benazir Bhutto died says Rawalpindi's police chief stopped doctors from conducting an autopsy, but The Associated Press is reporting that the chief is denying that claim. Still, the charge promises further complications in a case where there already are troubling questions.

Ali Velshi has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): No one doubts that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, but a puzzling controversy has erupted surrounding what exactly caused her death. Two videos released since Bhutto's death show different angles of her assassination. Both seeming to support the theory that Bhutto was shot.

This widely-seen video shows a man on the right raising a gun, pointing it in the direction of Bhutto, who is standing up in her car, with her upper body through the sunroof. He fires three shots. Then an explosion.

Another angle. On the far left, a clean-shaven man in a dark suit and sunglasses approaches Bhutto's car. He's the suspected shooter. Police are in the vicinity, but do not appear to be keeping anyone away from Bhutto's car.

Then, three gunshots. You can still see Bhutto standing. Her hair and scarf appear to move, perhaps from the bullet. Then Bhutto falls into the car, clearly before the blast.

These images appear to show what most people assumed from the beginning, that Benazir Bhutto died at the hands of a shooter, and then a suicide bomb was detonated, killing another 23 people. Everyone in Bhutto's bomb-proof car lives except her. Those with her say they saw her bleeding from her wounds and the heavily blood- stained interior appears to support them.

The doctor who initially examined the body said she died of bullet wounds. Then the government said she died from shrapnel wounds from the explosion. Then the government released x-rays of Bhutto's skull, saying it shows she died when she hit her head on the metal lever of the sunroof, as she fell into the car. But this video challenges that, showing Bhutto dropping and disappearing through the sunroof after the gunshots, but before the explosion.

Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, says the government is using this to divert attention from the main issue -- who's behind the killing?

ZARDARI: (INAUDIBLE) controversy whether it's a bullet or whether it's shrapnel.

VELSHI: Further complicating the issue was a speedy burial done in accordance with Islamic custom. There was no autopsy.

I have lived in this country long enough to know how and where the autopsies are done. I know that their forensics reports are useless. We know what the wound is. We know how it was done.

VELSHI: Pakistan's interior minister now concedes it's immaterial how she died. What's more important is who killed her and finding who killed her.

(on camera): The Pakistan Peoples Party and Benazir Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, have called for an international investigation into the circumstances surrounding Benazir Bhutto's assassination. They say the Pakistani government cannot be trusted to handle this investigation properly. The government of President Musharraf says they're fine and don't need help from the outside, but after a conversation with British prime minister Gordon Brown, Musharraf may be reconsidering that decision.

Ali Velshi, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: Well, Britain's Foreign Office is advising its own subjects not to travel unless it's absolutely necessary to parts of Kenya that include the capital city of Nairobi. A curfew now in place, along with a media blackout.

Neil Connery has more on the violence that followed the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEIL CONNERY, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): On the streets of Nairobi and across Kenya, the violence continues to spread. Thousands of demonstrators protesting against what they say was a rigged presidential election. Riot police have been deployed in the worst affected areas using live rounds and tear gas to try to restore order. Protesters are shown no mercy by the security forces.

In the western town of Kisumu, more than 40 bodies are reported to have been discovered after a night of violence. Kenyan television says at least 124 people have been killed across the country so far.

President Mwai Kibaki's supporters have also taken to the streets defending the election result and Kibaki's immediate swearing in for a second term. The opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has condemned the elections as a fraud.

RAILA ODINGA, KENYAN OPPOSITION LEADER: The people in Kenya will not wait (ph) five years again. There's now nothing but contempt for him, having lost an election, and he wants to rule. There's no difference between him and Idi Amin, or other military dictators.

CONNERY: The police have announced curfews in a bid to limit the unrest, but anger across Kenya is growing. Independent election observers, including the European Union, have condemned serious problems with the process.

The opposition leader has demanded a recount and this morning called for a rally of his supporters to be held on Thursday, where he expects more than a million people to attend. Kenya is facing one of its toughest tests in decades, with the prospect of further bloodshed in the days to come.

Neil Connery, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right. Well, coming up, it's time to say good-bye to the old and hello to the new.

CLANCY: That's right. Cities all around the world right now helping people begin 2008 with a bang. We're going to show you some of the best New Year's celebrations from Sydney to Seoul to Taipei.

CHURCH: While in France, 2008 will begin a health revolution. But smokers are fuming about a new ban on lighting up indoors.

CLANCY: And after all the anticipation, it's down to the wire in Iowa, where the first votes are going to be cast in the U.S. presidential race. We'll see who's leading the latest polls.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Evening prayers at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, the traditional hymn of Thanksgiving, the "Hymn of the Church," as it's called, giving thanks for 2007.

CHURCH: All right. Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: A special welcome back to our viewers joining us from the United States this hour. We're going to try to take you around the world.

CHURCH: We will.

Well, here in the United States, we're still laying out our party attire and planning our champagne toast, of course.

CLANCY: But you have to recognize in other parts of the world, the celebration of welcoming in 2008 already well under way. I can imagine.

CHURCH: Wow, look at that. Thousands in Hong Kong ignored the unusually chilly temperatures to toast the new year at Victoria Harbor there. They were treated to a dazzling fireworks display when the clock struck midnight.

CLANCY: All right. Let's go over and take a look at what's going on in Seoul.

Ah, there it is. Listen. Revelers ringing in the new year, the traditional tolling of a huge bell, 33 times. The use a log in order to ring the bell. Century ago, the bell-ringing signaled the opening of the four gates of the city.

CHURCH: And we have to go to Sydney, Australia, of course. It opened the curtain on the New Year's festivities in this part of the world. Some one million people gathered at the harbor for that spectacular fireworks display, one of the biggest actually. CLANCY: Yes. Well, you've seen that live, haven't you?

CHURCH: Oh, yes.

CLANCY: It's got to be spectacular.

CHURCH: Yes. You're sort of jostling with all the drunks, but...

CLANCY: You know. Well, listen, the Chinese do these fireworks display as well or better than anybody, but I've got to say, the Australians are giving them a run for their money.

CHURCH: Is that tough to say? Is that tough to say, the Australians did it the best?

CLANCY: All right. Let's take you to some live pictures from New York's Times Square.

It's quiet right now, relatively quiet as it ever gets in the city. But in a matter of hours, that area is going to be teeming with New Year's Eve revelers.

Deborah Feyerick joins us now as New York City prepares for a historic new year.

Deborah, well, you do have a bit of a crowd down there.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We actually do. As a matter of fact, they're all around us. But that's another story.

Anyway, the party is beginning here, and you can really feel the vibe here at Times Square. The reason it's historic, the reason it's the 100th tradition, it's the 100th anniversary of the ball drop. Although the tradition began back in 1904, it was suspended because of various events that were happening in history. So now, tonight, the 100th anniversary of the ball drop, it's going to be bigger and brighter -- mirrors, strobes, crystals, cheering people all around.

And we can tell you that people are in from all over the country, all over the world. We have spoken to people from China, from Israel, of course here from the United States.

A couple of people over across the street there, just on the other side, they actually got here a little while ago, then staked a claim. They had to move three times. But they want to be right near the stage, which is just to my left. That's where all the live music and the events are going to be taking place.

And with me right now, Missy Green (ph), Patty Ann (ph) and Bobby (ph), who are in from Columbus, Mississippi.

You went through a whole list of things you thought you might deon this New Year's Eve. Why here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most definitely. I decided for my daughter's 21st birthday in October, I said, "Patty Ann, you will be in New York City for New Year's Eve. This has been a long time dream of hers, and so we're so very happy to be here."

FEYERICK: What kind of preparations have you made?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are staking it out, just across the street. We're in for the ride, for 12 hours until it all happens.

FEYERICK: OK. Twelve hours, 60 seconds. Talk to me about the tradeoff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The tradeoff? Well, no doubt, I'm so glad to be here once again. Mom, dad, Bobby all came with us to make it happen. Just glad to be here, enjoying all the people, the scenery and just, again, so glad to be here.

FEYERICK: All right. A million people are expected to attend. And what do you want to go home -- what is it you want to tell people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we definitely have a great view of the ball. We staked it out, we got our spot. So, just to tell them that, you know, with the tradition here and with the anniversary, the big anniversary, just so glad to be here and just the memory. I'll always remember.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, happy...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And hello to everyone, everyone back home.

Hello, mom, everyone.

FEYERICK: All right.

And this particular ball is environmentally friendly, the one that's going to drop tonight. It apparently uses about 95 less energy. And again, there really is a vibe now.

The police are already beginning to cordon off this entire area that's around here. The vendors are selling all these fabulous glasses which will be in vogue for 365 days.

And so, really, things are good. Security is tight. There's no particular warning, but, of course, police are going to be cordoning this whole area off.

People will be brought into different sections and corralled, they will have to say there for the duration, but they are really excited about it. There are going to be live bands, live music, a lot of guests, and confetti dropped, two tons, once midnight strikes.

So, a lot of fun here. And a lot of people apparently now coming out.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Yeah!

FEYERICK: Now, if they can keep that up for the next 12 hours, they're golden -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well said.

Deborah Feyerick at Times Square in New York City.

I don't know if we're going to make it, but you know what? We can visit them online. We can see them live.

CHURCH: We can. There are many ways, of course, to ring in the new year. And some like to look ahead to 2008 with a snowman. Actually, we should call this a snow bear.

CLANCY: Now, this picture was sent to us by Ted Guzzi of Tahoe City, California. Guzzi says the bear gives good fortune to all who see it, and it looks like it took some serious time to construct that bear as well. Good looking bear.

CHURCH: Well done, actually.

CHURCH: Now, we have a special Web page just for this sort of thing. You have heard of our Web page link for I-Reports. Well, now we have cnn.com/iparty.

Let us know how you're ringing in the new year. We want to see your pictures, want to hear your stories.

CLANCY: Yes. And wherever you go, you go out to a party in your neighborhood, whatever you do, be sure to join CNN at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Anderson Cooper is going to be right there in Times Square, live, bringing us all in on the party.

CHURCH: And that's at 04:00 GMT for our international viewers, right here on CNN.

CLANCY: I don't know. If they've already celebrated, do they want to see how New York does it? Well, some people -- some Americans...

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: They're going to want to do it.

CHURCH: All right.

Well, New Year's Eve revelers in France will be able to ring in 2008 with a glass of champagne, at least. Maybe not...

CLANCY: Well, they're not going to have their (INAUDIBLE) in their hands. A new ban leaves the French smokers, well, standing out in the cold, literally.

CHURCH: That's right. Arwa Damon has more on the law against lighting up in the City of Lights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For a true smoker, there's nothing like a good cigarette, although smokers will often debate which cigarette is best -- the morning smoke with coffee, the after-meal cigarette, or the one we can't really show? It's a habit often romanticized, but beginning January 1st, indoor smoking will be banned in a country that includes one of the romantic capitals of the world, Paris.

A provisional ban has been in place in France since February, and is being extended to include bars, cafes, hotels, and restaurants. The government says it's part of a national shift toward health consciousness. Not all that surprising, since they now have a president with a rather public health routine.

For artist Anna Golex (ph), it's about time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The smoking people are dinosaurs.

DAMON: Just glance at her artwork. The future with no smoking is beautiful.

Cultural icons of the past, avid smokers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir might disagree. Images of them puffing away at Paris cafes are burned into the national consciousness.

A brasserie called Le Fumoir, meaning "The Smoking Den," will have a misleading name as of the new year. Many cafe and restaurant owners fear they will lose business.

"We've acquired a certain fame with this name," head waiter Olivier Goulpeau says. "We'll have to put the famous no smoking sign on the door."

One client looks at it with irony. "Great idea. I love it when things get imposed on us," he says sarcastically.

"Buckle your seat belt. You need to be healthy. You're too fat. It's not good. That's all for our own benefit."

He'll be outside soon enough, as France joins Italy, Ireland, Spain and Britain with the indoor smoking ban.

(on camera): It's not that bad in the summer, but say you're at this pub and you're enjoying some good conversation and a nice drink with friends, and all of a sudden that nicotine craving kicks in. You have to bundle up, step outside and just deal with the weather.

(voice over): The ban went into effect some six months ago in Britain. Living through their first winter, these pros have this advice for their French counterparts...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) if it's in the winter.

DAMON: Most were good humored about it, saying at least their clothes didn't smell when they got back home.

Arwa Damon, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: We're going to have a check of U.S. headlines up next for our viewers in the United States.

CHURCH: That's right. We'll do that. And for the rest of you, a look at how financial markets are wrapping up as 2007 comes to a close.

CLANCY: Also straight ahead, cheap, quick and easy. A fast and fuel-efficient way to dodge dangerous traffic in Baghdad hitting the streets right now.

CHURCH: And later, 2007 was a crazy year for celebrities. We'll look back at some of the tabloid headlines.

Stay with us for that and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: They ring 2008 in with a bang. A bell running 33 times to greet the new year. Number 33 is a symbol of luck in South Korea.

Sydney, Australia, celebrated with a fantastic light explosion over the harbor. There it is. and New Zealand threw the first major party of the new year. Of course, the big celebration right here in the U.S., New York City. More than a million people expected to crowd Times Square. A live shot there from the top of where that ball's going to drop. It's the 100th anniversary of that ball drop, by the way.

Well, CNN on New Year's Eve, we're going to bring that party to you live. Plus, we've got a look back at this year's top stories and big events. Anderson Cooper and comedian Kathy Griffin live from Times Square. It all starts tonight, 11:00 Eastern only on CNN.

And another reminder for you. Tomorrow, New Years Day, catch the game that really matters, the battle of the presidential candidates. The contenders talking about the most important issues of the campaign, the economy, the war, immigration, in their own words. CNN's Ballot Bowl starting tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. We'll see you here.

And all's fair in love and political cartoons. Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Mike Luckovich draws out the best of 2007 and looks ahead to 2008. Guarantee a few laughs.

In the meantime, "Your World Today" continues after a quick break.

I'm Kyra Phillips. See you in about 30 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. Whether you're watching around the globe or right here in the United States.

I'm Jim Clancy.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. Here of some of the top stories we've been following.

Police in Nairobi are cracking down after the violence that followed Sunday's disputed election. The government of President Mwai Kibaki says he won a narrow victory in an election that supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga say was rigged.

CLANCY: Voters in Pakistan waiting to hear if parliamentary elections will be held on time. Several election offices were destroyed in the widespread rioting that followed Benazir Bhutto's assassination. The election commission will announce Tuesday if the January 8th vote will be postponed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Oh, yes, and some parts of the world, of course, have already running in the new year, as we've seen. More than a million people took in a massive fireworks display above the harbor in Sydney.

Meanwhile, in France, ringing in the new year means ringing in a new ban on smoking in public places. The ban won't actually be enforced until Wednesday, January 2nd.

CLANCY: Well, most of you may be thinking about the countdown to the new year, but in Iowa, political gurus and presidential candidates alike focused on another ticking clock, the hours that remain before the first votes are counted in the U.S. presidential race.

CHURCH: That's right. Thursday's caucuses start the process of picking each party's candidates and the contenders are racing around more than ever.

CLANCY: Now on the Republican side, Rudolph Giuliani bypassing Iowa to court voters in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney has moved ahead of Mike Huckabee in one survey, while other polls have the two locked in a statistical dead heat. In politics, front-runner, not a title that's guaranteed to last anyone very long, especially this year, it seems. There are few Republican candidates who know that all too well and our Dana Bash knows it as well, too.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At the Community Heights Alliance in Newton, Iowa, it's not just about praying and praising the Lord, it's about politics.

CORY STOUT, PASTOR: You know the caucus is coming to Iowa on Thursday. I want to encourage each and every one of us to take part.

BASH: No endorsement from the pulpit, but the pastor supports Mike Huckabee, plays a video to point them in the right direction.

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the Righteous rule, the people rejoice.

BASH: These are evangelicals Huckabee is relying on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a responsibility, as being a follower of Jesus Christ, to choose Godly people.

BASH: Volunteers lobbying church goers to support the former preacher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am kind of trying to get the word out to my friends who I think have the same values who would be interested in him.

BASH: Yet despite passion here, new polls show Huckabee's Iowa support is slipping. A series of misstatements in the wake of crisis in Pakistan have some backers worried the former Arkansas governor lacks credentials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: National security and national interest is huge for us. And I know there are other people who have a little more foreign policy experience.

BASH: Huckabee says Mitt Romney's barrage of ads against him on taxes, immigration and crime has hurt.

HUCKABEE: If a person is dishonest in order to get a job, do you believe that he will be honest if he gets the job?

BASH: So, with days to go, he's abandoned his promise to stay positive, launching at Romney.

HUCKABEE: He's a recent convert to the pro-life position. And if I want to say, well, is it real? His health care plan has a $50 co- pay for an elective abortion.

BASH: Meanwhile, Romney's frenzied bus tour is aimed at closing positive. Suddenly avoiding confrontation.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to try to keep this from being a personal matter. And personal attacks, I just don't think, serve the candidate or the process very well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Now another question about Iowa, can it be ignored? Some see Rudy Giuliani's decision to side step that state as a bit of a dangerous gamble. CHURCH: Well, in the race for the Democratic nomination, one candidate is looking to Iowa for a boost to his national campaign. John Edwards has raised less cash than rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but, he says, a win in Iowa will bring more money and momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What happens in Iowa, what happens in New Hampshire is enormously important because you can't buy an election here. You just can't. I mean, the people who participate in the caucuses and in the primaries in New Hampshire, they see you and they see you up close. And so grassroots campaigning and tough questioning is a day to day occurrence.

Many times a day for the serious candidates. And that's a gauntlet any presidential candidate should have to go through. We should not be able to sore through a presidential campaign by raising a lot of money and running at altitude and running a bunch of television ads, sound bite television ads. We have to actually answer tough questions in places like Iowa and New Hampshire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Now the votes in Iowa are the very first in the nation that will be counted in the presidential race. But the voting process, very much different than in other states. Jeffrey Toobin tells us just how it works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Imagine an election with no secret ballots, no all-day voting. The age requirement, only 17. And finally, you can vote for more than one candidate. If that sounds un-American, it's actually how the Iowa Democratic caucuses operate. And listen up. You care because those folks in Iowa may actually choose your next president. In fact, the rules here are so strange that the campaigns in Iowa run training sessions on how to vote. Step one, stand up and be counted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what you'll do is then you will get up out of your seat and you'll go walk to the corner or space by the wall designated for the candidate of your choice. OK. Ready? Go.

TOOBIN: At Obama's Iowa rehearsal caucus, they practice without candidates. Instead, they used winter activities. We've got ice skating here, drinking hot cocoa, snowboarding, building snowmen and, of course, snowball fights.

After the first round, anyone who's standing for a candidate -- well, activity in this case -- that doesn't meet the threshold of 15 percent of the room is out of luck.

Turns out on this night, not enough snowboarders. Very sad. So what happens now? If the snowboarders want their votes to count at all, they have to pick a new candidate before the second and final tally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each group that is viable gets to send one ambassador over to the snowboarding group and try to persuade them to join your group.

TOOBIN: Now it's, let's make a deal. The other groups all send someone over to the snowboarders to say, come on, join our side, a little arm twisting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ice skating, you feel free. You feel free. You can go on one foot, two feet. You can twirl around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I like that one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do too.

TOOBIN: The snowboarders decide ice skating is their second choice and they all make the switch.

Understanding that the persuasion period and how to win over second-choice voters is so important, candidates have web videos to explain it.

JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't just go to the caucus, bring your friends.

TOOBIN: And even highlighted on the stump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you hit that floor and work it and try to get them. And it's like a fun game. It's like Monopoly some. You go over and say, hey, well your man isn't going to make it, come over here. Remember, I loaned you that snow shovel or . . .

TOOBIN: Because the rules are so complicated, organization is key. You need to get your supporters to the caucus locations by 7:00 or they can't vote. And this is Iowa in the wintertime. Sometimes the weather's a factor.

By comparison, the Republican caucuses are pretty simple. Though the campaigns -- here, Fred Thompson's -- are also training their supporters. It's a secret ballot and there's no viability threshold. Every vote counts.

The complicated rules make for one sure thing, that the results here are very hard to predict.

So after all this, who wins? Well, that's not simple either. The party keeps the popular vote totals at the caucuses a secret. They only announce the percentage of delegates each candidate will receive at the state party convention later in 2008. And there's more, of course. The caucus rules are 72 pages long.

Jeffrey Toobin, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Boy, just 72 pages. That makes it easy.

CHURCH: Oh, yes, that should have answered a few questions too there.

We're going to take a short break now. But still ahead . . .

CLANCY: Many Iraqis opting for two wheels instead of four. Volatile Baghdad, the scooter saves time, gas, and, well, some say maybe lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): Every Iraqi citizen hopes that the security situation improves. We feel sorry for young people being killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): My wish for the year 2008 is that peace and security will prevail in the country and the Iraqi people will be unified from north to south and the security situations get improved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): I hope that security will prevail in Iraq in the new year and immigrants return home, God willing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Listening there to the wishes coming in a country racked by war. Wishes for a more peaceful 2008. Welcome back, everyone.

New Year's Eve in Iraq saw more violence in the cities north of Baghdad in particular. Officials in Tarmya say five people were killed when a suicide car bomb exploded at a checkpoint. Meantime, in Diyalah's capital, Baquba, a female suicide bomber -- that's unusual there -- blew herself up near an Iraqi police patrol. Authorities say seven people were wounded.

CHURCH: Well on the dangerous streets of Iraq, cars stuck in traffic and at checkpoints are sitting ducks for potential attackers. So many Iraqis are ditching their four wheels for a faster way to get around. Alphonso van Marsh looks at the new scooter sensation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The scooter is the two-wheeled wonder in traffic-clogged, car bomb-plagued Baghdad that a growing number of Iraqis say they can't live without.

MAJID KADHIM, SCOOTER SALESMAN, (through translator): Because of current circumstances and the traffic difficulties, add to that high fuel prices, all this has created a market for fast, easy and cheap transportation.

VAN MARSH: Cheap relatively speaking. A new scooter at Majid Kadhim's shop averages about $650. A used car costs at least three times that. Scooters need much less gas.

The most popular, Chinese knockoffs of well-known models. Note that's a Youmha, not a Japanese Yamaha.

Traditional road rules don't exist in Baghdad. The most brazen or most heavily armed gets the right of way. But scooters can weave through the traffic, as well as security checkpoints and concrete blast walls meant to stop car bombers.

Soldiers and security firms almost prefer scooter drivers like Abrahim (ph) here, because unlike people in a regular car, they can see his entire body, knowing he's not a suicide bomber.

Even a scooter laced with dynamite won't have the impact of a car stuffed with explosives. That can be the difference between life and death at Baghdad's numerous checkpoints.

No wonder Iraq's interior ministry says scooter and motorcycle registrations have gone up 50 percent in five months. And that's good business for mechanics Mohammed Mohsen.

MOHAMMED MOHSEN, MECHANIC, (through translator): If anything breaks, it's pretty easy to fix. Scooters are not sophisticated like a car. And repairs cost less.

VAN MARSH: Some scooter fans say they're less dangerous, too. In a city where bandits and militias operate, a scooter-jacking or kidnapping a scooter driver for ransom just isn't worth the effort.

Alphonso van Marsh, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right. A completely different story ahead. Celebrities behaving badly.

CLANCY: Bet you can't guess who this is. Yes, been quite a year in pop culture. One by one, the -- well so-called stars have fell back down to earth. Well, he fell on the dirt, that's for sure.

CHURCH: Oh, yes. Well, not all of them, of course. We'll tell you who's bound to have a better year ahead when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, 2007 has certainly been full of surprises in the celebrity world. From a reality star's sudden and shocking death, to jail time for Hollywood's starlets. Not quite enough, but some, at least.

CHURCH: That's right. And at times it seemed like this year just couldn't get any stranger. Here's a look back at the year that was in pop culture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not breathing and she's not responsive. She's actually Anna Nicole Smith.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drugs and controlled substances were part of the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the pages of "Playboy" magazine, to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, it was a life story with more drama than any screen writer could have ever dreamt up. She married her manager and long time friend Howard K. Stern in the Bahamas and said he was the father. Just as quickly, a former boyfriend filed a paternity suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a child. Somebody needs to care for her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoever has access to the child has access to tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Submit to a DNA and find out who the father is. It's enough bologna here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate to be the one that told you this, but I told you so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope to God you guys give the kid the right shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you nervous going in? And what was the experience like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, they were nice. They were really nice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is how Britney Spears looked when she turned herself in on charges that could send her to jail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At rock bottom and then there is where Britney Spears is right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lifetime's worth of headlines and a lot of criticism.

It's the singer's second court appearance in as many weeks in the ongoing legal battle with ex, Kevin Federline for custody of their two children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see the judge increasing her custody any time soon.

PARIS HILTON: I want to be treated like everyone else. I'm going to do the time. I'm going to do it the right way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she was caught.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paris Hilton's journey back to jail. From her house, to a waiting judge. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was sobbing and cried out for her mother.

HILTON: I was locked in a cell for three and a half weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's created a monster. She created herself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris turned her release from jail into a paparazzi dream come true.

HILTON: I want to help set up a place where these women can get themselves back on their feet and hopefully stop this vicious circle of these people going in and out of jail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just days after promising to open a halfway house for former prison inmates, Paris was off to Hawaii.

AMY WINEHOUSE (singing): Tried to make me go to rehab. I won't go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A sad case of life imitating art for Amy Winehouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 24-year-old singer has openly admitted her love of pot and alcohol.

WINEHOUSE: I guess Jack Daniels is the only thing that's simple and it's (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amy Winehouse's personal problems didn't keep her from being nominated for best album.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amy Winehouse has been booed instead of applauded at the opening of her tour in Birmingham.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is in jail and now she's been arrested in connection with his case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This relationship, this girl, this career, it is a bit of a car wreck. And the thing about a car wreck is, you can't take your eyes off it, which is why, you know, she's on the front page of every single newspaper today. She is tabloid fodder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be fair to her, she is only human.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right.

CHURCH: Wow, all those naughty people.

CLANCY: Exactly. Well that is it for YOUR WORLD TODAY 2007. We're glad you were with us.

I'm Jim Clancy.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. And wherever you are in the world, we would all like to wish you a very happy 2008. Enjoy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com