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Explosion in Beirut Kills Four Lebanese Bystanders; President Bush Urges OPEC to Increase Supply of Oil; Mideast Violence

Aired January 15, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Beirut blast. An explosion rips through a U.S. Embassy vehicle on a coastal highway in Lebanon.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Recession worries. Retailers hurting, inflation rising. A banking giant taking a beating. And oil prices are soaring.

What is ahead for the U.S. economy?

CHURCH: Food for thought. The FDA says milk and meat from cloned animals are safe, but is everyone buying that report?

CLANCY: And she's the French president's girlfriend, but is she his wife? More on those reports that say Nicolas Sarkozy secretly married supermodel Carla Bruni.

CHURCH: It's noon in New York, 6:00 p.m. in Paris.

Hello and welcome to our report seen all around the globe.

I'm Rosemary Church.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Beirut to Baghdad, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CHURCH: Well, new economic numbers in the U.S. are fanning fears of a recession. Consumers are holding on to their money. Inflation rose in 2007, and the nation's largest bank, Citigroup, lost almost $10 billion in the last three months.

On Wall Street, stocks are sharply lower morning trading. Right now we can see the Dow is off more than 200 points, and we'll have more on that in just a moment.

But first, a large explosion rocks Lebanon. A U.S. Embassy vehicle was hit in that blast and casualties have been reported.

CNN correspondent Anthony Mills join us now on the phone.

Anthony, you're there at scene. Just give us an idea of information coming in to you.

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, I am at the scene of that explosion. It occurred on a coastal highway parallel to the main busy highway that leads northwards out of Beirut. It occurred about two hours ago, towards the end of the afternoon here Beirut time.

A U.S. Embassy communique put out has confirmed that the apparent target of the blast was a U.S. embassy vehicle. The two occupants of that vehicle were Lebanese security personnel of the U.S. Embassy, and they were injured in that blast. The four people at least who were killed in the blast were Lebanese civilians, bystanders, we understand.

Now, Rosemary, this is the latest in a series of explosions and assassinations that have rocked this country over the last two and a half years since former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was blown up on the Beirut seafront in early 2005. It comes amid growing political divide in this country pitting a western-backed parliamentary majority against a Syrian and Iranian-backed opposition led by the militant Hezbollah group.

The explosion also comes on the eve of a return visit by the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, to Beirut, but yet another attempt to try to resolve this very serious political deadlock -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: And that's the thing, Anthony. As you say, this comes amid this political crisis. What impact could this latest explosion have on the trouble there?

MILLS: Well, Rosemary, it certainly adds to an already very tense situation. Many of the assassinations and explosions that have rocked this country over the last two and a half years have targeted Lebanese, prominent Lebanese, anti-Syrian politicians and personalities, journalists, and so on.

The latest blast targeted someone who was not overtly anti- Syrian. He was the army's head of operations. That blast came a few weeks ago and he was killed.

That, of course, at a time when the supposedly consensual candidate for the presidency is Michel Suleiman, the current head of the army, of the Lebanese army. But now this explosion coming on the heels of violence just a few weeks ago, having many people worried that the violence may be targeting more foreigners -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Anthony Mills reporting there from the scene of that latest blast.

CLANCY: Well, if you're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY in the United States, we don't have to tell you that there is a credit crisis, a mortgage meltdown, and your energy costs are soaring. Also, your job market's shrinking. The U.S. economy seems to be taking one hit right after another, and the blows just keep coming.

Reports out today are further raising fears of a recession. The U.S. Labor Department reports wholesale inflation up now to the level of 6.3 percent. That's for all of 2007. That's also the biggest gain in 26 years, and we're just getting started. Also today, the nation's largest bank reporting its biggest quarterly loss in its nearly 200-year history, while frugal consumers handed retailers their worst December shopping season since 2002.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

CHURCH: Gasoline prices at home are hanging over U.S. President George W. Bush on his Middle East trip. In Saudi Arabia, he made an appeal to oil-producing nations to increase the supply. What did his hosts think of that request?

Well, Hala Gorani is following developments from Riyadh. She joins us live.

So, Hala, what did they say?

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, after the president was welcomed with a ceremonial sword event, welcoming him in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, as well as visiting the Saudi museum, he did make a statement to business leaders that he believed that the level of production of OPEC, oil producing nations, could be tinkered with in order to try to take some of the pressure off of global oil prices. He met with business leaders in the Saudi capital just a few hours ago, and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I talked to the ambassador who will talk to his majesty tonight about the fact that, you know, oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy, and that I would hope that as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if they're one of our biggest consumers, the economy suffers, it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right. Well, in fact, Saudi Arabia has a lot less influence on oil prices than it did, say, a decade ago. A lot of what is driving oil prices up today, Rosemary, is geopolitical instability, what happened in the Strait of Hormuz between U.S. and Iranian navy ships, what's going on in Nigeria, for instance.

The Saudi oil minister today said that output would be adjusted when conditions on the market were justified that output be adjusted. So that was also a very evasive response -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Very evasive. And how much of a slap of a face for President Bush was that response?

GORANI: I'm not sure you could qualify it as that yet. I think there is the realization, even within Saudi Arabia and within the White House, that, as I mentioned, only 40 percent of world oil production comes out of OPEC. And a lot of the oil that's produced is shipped out of the Strait of Hormuz.

There is an understanding that what is affecting oil prices today, Rosemary, is that political instability and speculation within the market. Two years ago, when the president met with King Abdullah in Crawford, Texas, oil prices were at $54 a barrel. Today, we're closer to $100 a barrel. But so many nations outside of OPEC- producing countries are now shipping oil all over the world -- I'm talking about Russia and others.

Really what Saudi Arabia does today, with limited excess capacity, will really put just a small dent in the overall price of oil -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our Hala Gorani reporting there from Riyadh.

Thanks for that -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, let's take a look, a survey, if you will, of some of the other stories that are making news around the globe.

We begin with the U.S. secretary of state's unannounced trip into Iraq. Condoleezza Rice says now is, in her words, a time of hope for Iraq. She praised Iraq's parliament for passing a measure that allows thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's now defunct Ba'ath Party to reclaim government jobs or pensions.

A new study raises questions about cholesterol-lowering drugs. It shows the heavily-advertised Vytorin works no better than inexpensive generic drugs. And it was a study sponsored by the manufacturers of Vytorin.

Would you eat a steak if you knew it was from a cloned cow?

CHURCH: There's a question for you. U.S. food regulators have come out saying meat and milk from cloned animals are safe, but the big question is, will it sell more?

That controversial issue still ahead.

CLANCY: Plus, a deadly day in Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calling an Israeli raid in the territory a massacre.

What happened ahead this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

The Palestinian Authority president is calling it a massacre against his people. Israel insisting this was a counterattack that was done entirely in self-defense. Both sides referring to a deadly incursion in the Gaza on Tuesday.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even by Gaza's bloody standards it was a bloody day. According to Palestinian medical sources, more than 15 people, civilians as well as fighters, were killed in Israel's latest operation. Israeli spokesmen say the incursion was aimed at stopping rocket and mortar attacks against Israel.

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER'S SPOKESMAN: Unfortunately, every day over the last weeks and months we've had continuous terrorist activities -- mortar shells, rockets, small-arms fire -- from Gaza into Israel. They're trying to kill our people, and it is our obligation to do what we can to protect our people.

WEDEMAN: Among the dead in Tuesday's incursion, Hassan al-Zahar (ph), the 24-year-old son of hard-line Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar. He was a field commander with the Izz a-Din al-Kassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, and the second of Zahar's sons to be killed by Israel.

The first, Khalid (ph), died when Israel bombed Zahar's house in 2003. Zahar was wounded in the attack. After seeing his son's body in the morgue at Gaza's Shifa Hospital, Zahar vowed unspecified revenge against Israel. "We'll respond to them in the way they understand," he warned in Arabic.

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR, HAMAS LEADER: This is one of the reasons of Bush's visit. He encouraged the Israelis to (INAUDIBLE) the Palestinian people, and we are going to defend ourselves by all means.

WEDEMAN: The Israeli operation in Gaza came the day after Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Jerusalem for the first time since the visit by U.S. president George W. Bush. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warns, the negotiations will suffer if the violence continues.

"Today there was a massacre, a slaughter against our people," he tells reporters. There's no way this will bring peace.

Also Tuesday in southern Israel, a volunteer farm worker from Ecuador was killed by gunfire from Gaza. Hamas claimed responsibility for his killing.

(on camera): The grim cycle of attack and counterattack is already well under way. Tuesday afternoon, Hamas let loose with a volley of more than a dozen rockets, lightly wounding several people. And according to a statement from Hamas, that was only the initial response.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right. Now to a very controversial story.

Milk and meat from cloned livestock could seen be in your supermarket after years of scientific review. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has ruled cloned cows, goats and pigs can be used for food. But can we trust what the FDA says? And what about the ethics of animal cloning? Well, Judy Fortin joins us with more on the FDA's decision.

It makes us all a little uncomfortable, I think. A lot of questions.

JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Uncomfortable, and we'll be talking about this at the dinner table tonight, no doubt.

You know, it looks like it may be few years off, but you may one day be eating a carbon copy of that steak that you ate last week. The long-awaited report from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration is being released as we speak in Washington. These are live pictures that you are looking at.

It says that milk and meat from healthy cloned animals and their offspring are safe for human consumption. Specifically, the FDA says, "Food products derived from cattle, swine, and goat clones pose no more risk than food derived from sexually reproduced animals." The only group of animals where they had insufficient evidence was sheep.

Overall, the FDA looked at two areas of concern -- animal health and food consumption risks. And the group concludes, cloning animals is a way to introduce superior genetics to the herd and claims it can produce animals that are healthier.

So that's something for you to think about.

CHURCH: It is. But there is still that psychological hurdle, isn't there? What are critics saying?

FORTIN: Well, there are a lot of critics out there, and there especially will be after this news conference today. A lot of people criticizing the FDA's plan not just because they're worried about the safety of cloned food, but they also have moral, religious and ethical concerns as well.

And there's also concern about the potential impact of cloned food on U.S. trade. Some countries outside the United States are already worried about genetically-manipulated food and they're already raising those red flags about allowing imports. But some are satisfied that the food is safe, including the European Food Safety Authority. But it's already soliciting public comment.

Many other countries have been awaiting today's decision as well, and we'll see what they have to say.

CHURCH: So, will people actually know what they're buying at this point?

FORTIN: That's a good question. Labeling has still not been decided. We don't know what's going to happen with that. And it's an important point you have to think about.

When food from these animals shows up in your supermarket, it may not be labeled as such. The FDA has yet to decide whether it will require the labeling of foods from cloned animals. But there are some reports that say they may allow labels on foods from ordinary animals, stating that it's not from clones. And we've just learned this within the last few minutes, Rosemary, that some producers may want a voluntary labeling system, and they'll have to decide that on a case- by-case basis.

CHURCH: Certainly. All right.

Judy Fortin, thanks so much for that scary stuff though.

CLANCY: All right. We're going to take a break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

But still to come, it is a big day for Republican candidates for the U.S. presidency as they stump for the votes in the Rust Belt state of Michigan.

CHURCH: Also ahead, the arrest of a Saudi Arabian blogger casts a shadow over President Bush's Bush to Saudi Arabia.

You're watching CNN.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church. And here are some of the top stories we've been following.

A U.S. embassy vehicle was hit in an explosion in Lebanon. A U.S. State Department spokesman says four Lebanese bystanders were killed in that blast. He also said the driver was slightly injured but that an embassy official in the car was not hurt. No American diplomats or citizens were in that car.

CLANCY: Some dire news for the U.S. economy, renewing recession worries on Wall Street. The wholesale U.S. inflation rate jumping by the largest amount in 26 years. Retailers having their worst December holiday season in five. Reaction on Wall Street? Well, predictably harsh. The Dow is trading down nearly 200 points in midday averages.

As U.S. President George W. Bush pushes for democracy in the Middle East, there are questions if his stand is going to reach into the virtual world as well there. Mr. Bush is in Saudi Arabia right now where blogger Fouad al-Farhan was detained last month. It is the first known arrest of an online critic in Saudi Arabia. Hala Gorani and Nic Robertson are following some developments for us in Riyadh.

Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you mentioned the name of Fouad al-Farhan. That's a name that's gone around the world. This is the Saudi blogger who was imprisoned on December 10th. He sent a letter to his friends when he suspected that authorities were going to arrest him saying, "do not let the world forget me." Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has been following his story over the last few weeks and interviewed Saudi officials today with a reaction to the continued imprisonment of Fouad al-Farhan.

What did they tell you, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well the interior ministry, they say that he is currently being investigated and that he's currently being questioned. They say this is not a security matter. That this is a personal matter. That this is not a matter against the Saudi government. But they do have the right to hold him for up to six months without being charged. But they said if he cooperates with the investigation, then -- then, perhaps, he can be released.

GORANI: Let's listen to what the interior minister told you just a few moments ago and then I'll ask you another question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. TURKI AL MANSOOR, SAUDI ARABIA: Well, actually, there is a case he is involved in. And he has to be investigated for such a case. And that is apparently what's going on. And he's being interrogated now and hopefully he will be cooperative actually with this investigation so he could leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right, Major General Mansoor al- Turki, the spokesperson for the interior minister here in Saudi Arabia. What does cooperate mean exactly? Cooperate in what investigation?

ROBERTSON: I think the best clue we have about this, and, of course, this is what Fouad's friends are saying, that they don't have any information about him. They won't really know what he's being charged or what the questions are or what the investigation is until his release. So they're holding back on making judgments.

But the thing that they're saying is, that when he sent this letter to friends, the request was that he need to sign an apology. And he said, I'm not sure if I'm ready to sign that apology. What, admit that I lied was what he said. So it may be a real matter of principle for him. Of course we're speculating here. We don't know what he was supposed to apologize for.

GORANI: Right. But we do know what was in his blog. And he, in a sense, was accusing the government, perhaps, of detaining people under the guise of terrorism laws when, in fact, they may be dissenters. That's really essentially what he said in his blog, correct?

ROBERTSON: He did say that in his blog. The bloggers we've talked to here say it's very difficult in Saudi Arabia. They feel that there's a sense that the government is allowing a little bit greater freedom of speech. However there are red lines and they don't know what those red lines are and those red lines change. Just before he was arrested, Fouad printed -- wrote a list of sort of 10 least popular Saudi officials, if you will. That may have been what caused this issue for him. But we do know that he completely believed that the Internet and his blogging was a way to get a message, to bring reform in Saudi Arabia. He said we don't have freedom of the media, we don't have the right to assemble and that's why we're blogging.

GORANI: But I'll tell you, the fact that we're talking about it on CNN International, and it's seen all over the world, including in Saudi Arabia, is raising the issue really with many people. But when I spoke to a Saudi journalist just a few hours ago, I said, I want to ask you a few questions on camera. And very worried he said, you're not going to ask me about the blogger are you? So, I mean, there's still a lot of fear here.

ROBERTSON: There's a huge amount of fear. I mean some of the bloggers we talked to just didn't want to appear on camera. The ones that we did, they said quite clearly, you know, we want to appear on camera because we absolutely -- if we were in Fouad's position, we'd want to be supported. We want to help get him freed. But we hope as well that because we appear on camera, that because we support him, we'll be recognized and the same thing won't happen to us. And they also told us that, you know, while they feel a little bit brave about speaking out, their families are really, really worried because Fouad's family, an indication of how much they fear, they're too afraid, his wife is too afraid to speak out as well.

GORANI: All right. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. Thanks so much for all your reporting. And we'll be seeing your story on air in the coming hours. And this, of course, is coming all as the U.S. president is having dinner with the king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah, in his royal farm or royal ranch. Whether or not the issues will come up really this day is anyone's guess.

Back to you, Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Hala Gorani reporting there live from Saudi Arabia, alongside Nic Robertson. Thanks to both of you.

CHURCH: Well, some Chinese journalists are comparing it to the Rodney King case in the U.S. The killing of a man who took pictures of a confrontation involving city inspectors is sparking outrage in China. The outlet for the criticism, the Internet, of course. Beijing bureau chief Jaime FlorCruz has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Wei Wenhua was a model communist and now a blogger's hero and martyr. The 41-year- old company manager happened to pass by and witness a team of city inspectors beating up local villagers. He took out his cell phone and began taking pictures. The city inspectors saw him and then they attacked him, beating Wei for five minutes. When it was over, Wei was dead. But his death has stirred a raging controversy. JEREMY GOLDKORN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, DANWEI.ORG: Immediately after the news got out, a lot of journalists and bloggers wrote about it in quite condemnatory terms.

FLORCRUZ: (INAUDIBLE) in and outside China blogged about Wei and criticized official abuse. "City inspectors are worse than the Mafia," writes a Chinese blogger. "They are violent, civil servants acting in the name of law enforcement." "We can no longer remain silent," writes another. "We must speak out loudly and ask just who gave these city inspectors such absurd powers?"

City inspectors are supposed to keep law and order and are often deputized to crack down on unlicensed trading. They chase street vendors and confiscate their goods. Critics say they often abuse authority and prey on the weak.

GOLDKORN: It's the latest in a series of incidents which have hedged usually provincial government authority against citizens who are either protesting against something or are recording and blogging and writing about something that they consider scandalous.

FLORCRUZ: Years ago, murder cases like this would have been non- events and victims totally forgotten. But with modern technology, now in the hands of ordinary citizens, abusive officials are now getting caught in the act.

Days after Wei's death, one local official has been fired, four detained and 100 others are under investigation. So far no one has seen the pictures Wei took that day. It's believed his cell phone was destroyed during the beating. Still, this time technology trumps tyranny.

Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Let's turn now to Africa where Kenya's parliament convenes in the capital city Nairobi. This it's first session since last month's presidential election descended into violence. President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga both making appearances in the parliament, but the opposition was successful in getting their candidate named as house speaker. It took a full three rounds of voting. The struggle in parliament, amid a lot of shouting and a background of violence. Ethnic clashes have killed more than 600 people in Kenya since Odinga accused Mr. Kibaki of rigging the December 27th election.

CHURCH: All right. Still to come here on YOUR WORLD TODAY . . .

CLANCY: How to top the iPhone. Is it possible? We're going to get a glimpse of the latest gadgets a little bit later today at the Mac World Expo.

CHURCH: And did they or didn't they? Rumors swirling that French President Nicholas Sarkozy and his girlfriend have taken the plunge. That when we come back. Do stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to you all. You are watching YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International.

CLANCY: Not only covering the most important stories in the world, but also the ones that we find interesting, like this one. Famous for creating iconic products and setting the tone in technology, Mac World Expo is one of those big dates on the annual, you know, tech geek with the propeller on his head. This is his day.

CHURCH: That's right. A very special day for him. Well today Apple boss Steve Jobs will unveil the company's latest batch of gadgets. But with the iPod line receiving a makeover just months ago and, of course, the new iPhone and Mac operating system already launched, what's likely to shake from the apple tree?

CLANCY: Yes, that's a great question. And Jennifer Westhoven is there with a preview for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): He sure knows how to whip the Mac world faithful in a frenzy.

STEVE JOBS, CEO, APPLE: We got a really special treat today.

WESTHOVEN: But what special treats are in store for Apple lovers this year? Steve Jobs has unveiled Apple's star products at past Mac World. IPods, iTtunes, the long-awaited iPhone. But you can't roll out a blockbuster every year. Or can you?

MICHAEL GARTENBERG, VICE PRESIDENT, JUPITER RESEARCH: What's really interesting at these keynotes is always that element of the unknown. That idea of the one more thing that no one was expecting that Steve Jobs pulls out of his hat and amazes the audience with.

WESTHOVEN: Tech blogs are buzzing and expectations are intense. Some say the new star could be a mini Mac book. A smaller, lighter laptop. Jobs could say where the iPhone is headed next, in Europe, or for the first time to Asia. A new Apple TV could be on tap. Most of the buzz centers on a possible iTunes movie rental store with films from major Hollywood studios, meaning Apple would go head-to-head with Blockbuster and Netflix.

GARTENBERG: You might listen to the same song 10,000 times in your life. You only may want to watch a movie once or twice. So providing that opportunity to rent it as part of that ecosystem as opposed to buy it makes an awful lot of sense at which point you can then choose to watch it on your computer or your TV or your iPod or your iPhone.

WESTHOVEN: For a new iPhone or iPod, Apple watchers say, don't hold your breath. They'll probably come out later this year. But then again, it's Apple we're talking about here. Anything seems possible. We asked fans at the company's flagship Manhattan store what they'd want to see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An iPod without earphones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The offer in Australia would be good, for a start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really hoping that he comes out with an Mac tablet or an ultra portable Mac book.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he comes up with that gadget that can print dollars or print euros, then he has it made.

WESTHOVEN: Despite all its past success, Apple can't afford to rest on its laurels, especially with a possible U.S. recession threatening to cut consumer spending. So will the company that made the iTouch still have the magic touch in 2008? To be able to keep people enthralled with its new products? We'll find out when Steve Jobs hits the stage.

Jennifer Westhoven, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Now I know a lot of people out there are just dying to find out the very latest. And we've actually got our man Dan Simon there at Mac World. You can go to cnn.com, look up his blog, leave some questions for him, whatever you want, carry on a conversation and get the very latest. Be the first to know.

CHURCH: That's right. He's ready for anything, so fire away.

All right. And ahead's a lovely little story we've covered. Most of the time the small town of Stephenville, Texas, doesn't attract too much attention.

CLANCY: But people there think that they've suddenly got a lot of attention from visitors who come from very, very far away.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY, (voice over): Stephenville, Texas, isn't too big. Just about 17,000 folks out on the prairie 70 miles southwest of Ft. Worth. Until the past few days, milk was what made it famous. All that changed when several dozen residents looked up and saw a UFO more than once.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It kind of is the talk of the town right now.

CLANCY: Being the front page story and all, Angela has been pretty busy interviewing local whose swear, big as it was, it wasn't from Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very intense, bright lights. I keep hearing that over and over and over. And they spanned a wide area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was so fast when it took off, you know. And it made not a sound.

CLANCY: Rick Sorals (ph) led a camera crew through the woods to where he saw it. It was up there, above the trees.

RICK SORALS: And it did just like this and I could see it. And if you'll look at the trees, you know, it was right here. I mean it was 300 foot up, right here.

CLANCY: A pilot and a constable back up Ricky's story of what he saw up there in the woods. The U.S. Air Force says it was just an illusion. But maybe the visitors read what the town posted on its website -- if you're looking for a small town community, you've found one of the best.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, some residents are saying today that they saw U.S. fighter jets chasing that UFO.

CHURCH: That's right. But, on the other hand, the military said it had no planes anywhere near Stephenville at the time and that it was most likely just a large airliner, not a UFO.

CLANCY: That's what they always say, remember?

CHURCH: That's right.

Now while you're thinking about that, we'll take a short break. Is he or isn't he married?

CLANCY: Inquiring minds in France and far beyond want to know the status of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

CHURCH: We've been digging to find out if he really has tied the knot with super model Carla Bruni. Our live report from Paris is coming up. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Some are saying it's a national distraction for all of France. And they couldn't care less. Others apparently can't get enough of the story.

CHURCH: Like us, for instance. Well, we're referring to the love life of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who's now rumored to be married to his super model companion.

CLANCY: CNN's Diana Magnay got on a train in the middle of the night. She's now in Paris and she brought us in this report just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Vintage pictures of super model Carla Bruni in the early '90s, selling furiously in this Paris gallery now she's French President Nicolas Sarkozy's official flame.

ANTOINE HELWASER, GALLERY OWNER: Everybody who comes here, they say, oh, Carla Bruni, it's unbelievable that you found those images from the '90s because everybody now you can see her everywhere but from recent pictures.

MAGNAY: The ink barely dry on his divorce papers, President Nicolas Sarkozy's latest catch is top topic in the country's gossip magazines. The regional paper, "L'est Republican," even claiming Monday that he'd already married Bruni in a secret ceremony last Thursday. Rumors that the presidential palace has refused to comment on. True or not, it seems that even the gossip mag's editors have had enough of all the speculation.

COLOMBE PRINGLE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "POINTE DE VUE": Everybody says they got married. They got married Thursday. They got married Friday. It was Thursday (ph) at 4:00 after the town hall of 16 district west (ph). Then people call and say, no, it was (INAUDIBLE) on Friday night. Then they say, no, she's rented some room (INAUDIBLE) honeymoon in Italy. Everybody wants to know. But just to know, in fact, I think we don't really care.

MAGNAY: After four weeks of Carla covers, "Point De Vue's" latest spread is of Sarkozy's ex, Cecilia. Three books were published about her life with Sarkozy just last week, giving the French a whole new insight into the alleged philandering ways of their president. Decent from the street so (ph) and recent polls showing a decline in his popularity ratings. But enough's enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very tired to see him in all the magazines. To me, he's the president. It's not the singer, not an actor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not OK. No, it's like the most (INAUDIBLE) and whether (INAUDIBLE) for the country and (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. Well, the weather looks absolutely miserable, but Diana joins us now and she looks fine.

Diana, you've had a chance to survey the newsstand. One magazine is reporting they got married. What are the others saying?

MAGNAY: Well, Jim, yes, it was just the "L'est Republican" that was talking about this supposed marriage. The other papers haven't been able to find that source that "L'est Republican" was using. An unnamed source, by the way.

The other papers have been naming dates for themselves for a wedding in the future. They all are suggesting that the wedding hasn't happened yet, is still to come. Some of them naming February the 14th, Valentine's Day, as a possible date. And one newspaper suggesting it might take place on May the 16th, which would market the one-year anniversary of Mr. Sarkozy's term in office. Now the last thing we heard from the president himself on that matter was him saying at a press conference last Tuesday that the press would probably be the last people to know about the wedding actually having happened. So, you know, he is guessing what has really happened and when we'll ever be able to find out about it.

Jim.

CHURCH: And, Diana, aren't we continuing to guess here, but just give us an idea. We got a taste there in your story and what the French think about this. On the whole, some of the other people you've been talking to, generally they don't seem to care? Is that a good assessment?

MAGNAY: Well, it's interesting. I mean generally they feel much more so than perhaps an English audience might or even an American. They feel that a politician's private life should remain fairly private.

Now for the first time, a French president seems to have changed that himself by making his relationship so public. So the question is, yes, everybody I've been speaking to at the moment seems to say someone's private life is their private life and let's keep our noses out of it. But given the fact the media here is now catching on to this story to such an extent, perhaps we're going to see French popular culture, the French opinion towards issues like this, change also.

CLANCY: All right. Live from Paris, Diana Magnay. It's not quite spring time there, but, you know, love appears to be in bloom.

CHURCH: Yes. And Paris is beautiful any day.

All right. That's it for this hour. I'm Rosemary Church.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Don't go away. The news continues right here on CNN.

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