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CNN Newsroom

NEWSROOM for June 13, 2001

Aired June 13, 2001 - 04:30   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Seen in classrooms the world over, this is CNN NEWSROOM.

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CO-HOST: And welcome to the middle of the week and another edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Shelley Walcott.

Here's what's ahead.

In "Today's News," President Bush on his first European tour -- why he's defending his stance on the environment and the death penalty. Then, in "Business Desk," why Americans may be some of the most overworked people in the industrial world. Next, in "Worldview," a stop in Hawaii and an island that was created by a volcano. And in "Chronicle," a summit for peace. This one organized by hip-hop artists.

United States President George W. Bush kicks off his first official trip to Europe. He and first lady, Laura Bush, arrived Tuesday in Spain. At a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Mr. Bush touched on several hot button issues, including global warming and missile defense. During his six- day tour, Mr. Bush also plans to visit Belgium, Sweden, Poland and Slovenia.

John King looks at the president's agenda and some issues he'll be addressing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At stop one, the president was polite but defiant, brushing aside fresh criticism from major European allies on global warming.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Kyoto Treaty was unrealistic. It was not based upon science. The stated mandates in the Kyoto Treaty would affect our economy in a negative way.

KING: Spain's prime minister is among those urging Mr. Bush to reconsider. And as the president began his five-day visit, protesters took to the streets of Madrid, and the European Union called the U.S. approach, "soft on action that will contribute to actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the short to medium term."

Missile defense is another pressure point. Mr. Bush wants to amend or abandon the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty so the United States can test new intercept technologies.

BUSH: The ABM Treaty is a relic of the past. It prevents freedom-loving people from exploring the future.

KING: Spain was a warm-up for more contentious stops ahead: Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels and a Saturday sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BUSH: The days of the Cold War have ended, and so must the Cold War mentality, as far as I am concerned. And I believe we are going to make great progress on this issue. I truly do.

KING: His host offered Mr. Bush a helping hand, warning against a rush to judgment.

JOSE MARIA AZNAR, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): What I am surprised by is the fact that there are people who, from the start, disqualify this initiative.

KING: U.S. officials described the talks here as upbeat, and took the prime minister's remarks as a sign of slow progress in the debate over missile defense. But outside the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, a reminder that controversy will shadow Mr. Bush in the days ahead.

(on camera): The president shows no signs of giving ground in the major policy disputes over global warming and missile defense. But over and over again, he is promising to listen, an effort on his part to quiet European criticism, that in his early months of office, the president has too often taken the go-it-alone approach.

John King, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: President Bush is promising many changes on major issues like global warming and missile defense. Question is, though, will these changes be accepted internationally? Many people in the U.S. and abroad are content with the way things are and the way they were under the Clinton administration.

Bill Schneider looks at how President Bush is handling the skepticism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): President Bush is having the same problem in world affairs that he is having in domestic politics. He is assuming a mandate for change where there isn't any.

Americans were overwhelming happy with the way that things were going in the country under President Clinton. Nearly two-thirds of them said so in exit polls on Election Day. What Americans were looking for in Bush was a change of leadership, not a change of direction. Over the years, Clinton defined a broadly acceptable policy consensus in the U.S. Whenever President Bush has tried to break outside the boundaries of that consensus -- on the environment, on education, on spending, or church-state relations -- he's been forced to backtrack.

Ditto for international policy. President Bush has criticized the Clinton administration for not being tough enough with adversaries like China and North Korea, for being too quick to commit U.S. forces.

BUSH: Many in our military have been overdeployed and underpaid.

SCHNEIDER: But President Clinton's world policy was broadly popular in the U.S. and very popular overseas, especially in Europe.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: President Clinton was a great assistance during difficult parts of the Northern Ireland peace process.

SCHNEIDER: Americans repudiated Clinton, not Clintonism. Those things that led Americans to turn against Clinton -- his behavior, his values -- meant little to Europeans.

BLAIR: Bill Clinton is a friend of mine and will remain a friend of mine.

SCHNEIDER: Europeans were dismayed when President Bush set off on a program to change U.S. policy in the world -- on global warming, for instance.

GERHARD SCHROEDER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We agreed on practically everything except obviously, for one thing, and that was no surprise to you: the Kyoto protocol.

SCHNEIDER: The president was forced to backtrack.

BUSH: To the contrary, my administration is committed to a leadership role on the issue of climate change.

SCHNEIDER: U.S. allies were dismayed when the Bush administration altered course on North Korea. And in fact, the administration was forced to announce last week that it was reopening negotiations with North Korea. Europeans are especially disconcerted by the Bush administration's determination to scrap the antiballistic missile treaty and replace it with the unproven technology of missile defense. Why is he doing this, they wonder.

BLAIR: I think what is important is that if we take this forward in a constructive way and have the right discussion with allies, then we can find a way through this.

SCHNEIDER: The bottom line is the Europeans don't want change. They certainly didn't ask for it, and they wonder if Americans did.

(on camera): Think of this as the second phase of the Bush presidency: Reality sets in. The reality is: There is no mandate for big changes in U.S. policy, either at home or in the world.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: For a full itinerary of the president's European trip and highlights of the main issues he'll face, go to our Web site at CNNfyi.com.

Meantime, the perception of President Bush by European leaders is very different from that of his predecessor President Clinton.

Charles Bierbauer reports on how Mr. Bush and his mandate for change are being received internationally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD (singing): Good news, that what we're singing about. Good news...

CHARLES BIERBAUER, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The Supreme Court opened the doors for the religious-themed Good News Club to hold in-school, after-school meetings. The court said the public Milford Central School in New York State violated free speech rights by closing the doors.

Justice Clarence Thomas, in a six to three decision, wrote: "We can see no logical difference between the invocation of Christianity by the club and the invocation of team work, loyalty or patriotism by other associations."

REV. ROB SCHENCK, NATIONAL CLERGY COUNCIL: It's a very good decision for communities. Religious activity has been shown over and over again to be a very positive influence in the lives of young people.

BIERBAUER: The community had struggled with a First Amendment question: Did the club engage in prohibited religious instruction on government property?

PETER LIVSHIN, MILFORD CENTRAL SUPT.: One of the tenets is that you have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Now, he may not say that, but the materials that they use clearly state those points of view.

REV. STEPHEN FOURNIER, MILFORD COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCH: I don't want the endorsement of the school. I don't want their favoritism. I just want to use space in their building, in a public building.

BIERBAUER: The court found no breach of church-state separation. Justice Thomas: "Because the children cannot attend without their parents' permission, they cannot be coerced into engaging in the Good News Club's religious activities."

Critics say the only good news is the ruling is narrow. BARRY LYNN, AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: It does not open the door to public school prayer, to Bible instruction during the school day, but it does, I think, open the doors -- the back doors of the public schools to aggressive evangelism.

BIERBAUER: In Milford, both sides called it a "friendly disagreement," but its implications are broader.

(on camera): The decision means Milford Central will either have to open the schools to the Good News Club or close the doors to other organizations. It could also open the doors to more than 2,000 Good News Clubs across the country and other religious organizations that might want to use public facilities.

Charles Bierbauer, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: Do your parents ever complain about feeling overworked? Well, chances are they're not alone. Recent federal statistics show that on the average, Americans work - get this - 1,966 hours a year. That's 200 hours more than workers in other industrialized nations. In fact, a new study reveals that Americans are the most overworked people on the planet.

Kathy Slobogin reports on how overwork could end up having an adverse affect on companies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no, absolutely no personal life at all. I just work. That's all I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably work maybe 50 hours a week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It can be 40, which is nice, or it can be more like 80.

KATHY SLOBOGIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We have become a workaholic nation. American workers put in the longest hours of any industrialized nation, surpassing the next closest country, Japan, by nearly two full work weeks a year. Now a new study finds we're paying a price.

ELLEN GALINSKY, FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE: Nearly half of the U.S. work force, 46 percent, feel overworked in one way or another. This study is a clarion call for all of us, companies and individuals, to look at how we're working.

SLOBOGIN: The Families & Work Institute's survey of 1,000 U.S. workers found that 28 percent often felt overworked, 28 percent felt overwhelmed by how much work they had and 29 percent felt they had no time to step back and reflect on their work. Women felt more overworked than men, baby boomers more than Gen X-ers or older workers. Although the survey found that employees on average would like to work about a 35 hour work week, for many that's a distant fantasy.

Twenty-four percent of American workers work 50 or more hours a week. Twenty-two percent work six to seven days a week. A quarter don't take the vacation time they're entitled to. But Ellen Galinsky says it's not just the hours.

GALINSKY: When you feel pressured and pushed, when you feel not respected, when you have tension at work, when you feel that the work that you're doing isn't of any real value, that it's low-value work, all of those lead us to feeling more overworked and sizable proportions of the U.S. work force are having these feelings.

SLOBOGIN: The survey found those who felt overworked were more likely to neglect themselves, less likely to feel successful in their personal and family relationships.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel tired and I feel like I'm juggling five or six different balls in the air at one time between work and family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You feel stressed, frazzled. You feel like you're missing out on a lot of your life.

SLOBOGIN: What's more, the survey found overwork can lead to serious on-the-job consequences. Over worked employees are more likely to look for a new job, feel angry at their employers and make mistakes. Seventeen percent of those who feel over worked report often making mistakes on the job compared to only 1 percent of those who don't feel over worked.

(on camera): All that means that overwork is costing business. From higher health care cost for stressed employees, to training new workers who replace those who get burned out and leave. Survey researchers say it's that impact on the bottom line that will be the wake-up call for America's businesses.

Kathy Slobogin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN FIALA, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: Hello, my name is John Fiala, and I'm from Baltimore, Maryland. I've been wondering for a long time who or what group of people make the stock prices go up or down, because it's not me.

JASON ZWEIG, COLUMNIST, "MONEY": Well, John, I beg to differ. It actually is you. You may not realize it, but you and at least 85 million other American investors just like you are the kinds of people who make the stock market go up and down every day.

Now, your trade today is not probably going to be enough to make the stock market go up and down by itself, but it's the trades that you make combined with the trades of all the other investors out there that make stocks move up and down. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: In "Worldview" today, animals, adventure and amigos. We'll head to the United States to meet some fury ferrets. Should these pets be illegal? We'll check out the controversy. From fur to fire, journey to Hawaii to examine volcanoes. Lookout for the lava. And get a Spanish lesson as we head to Guatemala.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Spanish language is becoming more prevalent, so is the Latino influence. You can see it on television, hear it in music and even feel the change in Washington. In fact, President Bush is now delivering his weekly radio address in English and Spanish. Feeling left behind, well, it's not too late to catch up. You can even do it over summer vacation.

We head to Guatemala, a country in Central America. Its official language is Spanish, but there's also a heavy Mayan influence in the region. The Mayas ruled the area until it was conquered by Spain in 1534. In 1821, Guatemala became independent.

We head there now for this report from Thomas Nybo who says it's a great place to learn Spanish.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS NYBO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Spanish language revolution is under way in the United States, influencing everything from fast food commercials...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Viva gorditas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NYBO: To cutting edge cinema, to presidential politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Para mi, la educacion es numero uno.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NYBO: What's behind the movement? The latest census reveals a boom in the Hispanic population, with Latinos roughly equal to Blacks as America's largest minority. More Latinos means more Spanish, and more reasons than ever to learn the language.

Want to learn something beyond what you picked up in the classroom or a Taco Bell commercial? The quickest way is to jump into an immersion program. One of the most popular spots, Antigua, Guatemala, where a mix of low prices and high quality instruction draws people from around the world.

The streets are cobblestone; the locals are friendly; and at practically every turn, you'll find a Spanish language school.

(on camera) (through translator): Here in Antigua, there are three dozen Spanish schools, and each school has a similar system: one student, one teacher.

(voice-over): One of the top schools is La Union, which was started by one Carlos Martinez, who perfected his style instructing Peace Corp volunteers.

JUAN CARLOS MARTINEZ, DIRECTOR, LA UNION (through translator): This school has an international atmosphere and receives students of all ages, from four years old to 100 years old.

NYBO: A week of classes with a private teacher will only set you back $75. Throw in another $50, if you want a private room with a Guatemalan family and three meals a day.

You can even take private Latin dance classes. An hour lesson will cost you less than a movie ticket in the United States.

So how long does it take to learn Spanish? Depends on what you plan on doing with it.

MARTINEZ (through translator): For travelling, four weeks. When a student learns Spanish for business, four months. When you want to learn Spanish to give classes in your country, one year.

NYBO: The locals will be happy to talk with you, no matter how rough your Spanish. You could practice on a weekend getaway to Tikal, a collection of Mayan ruins buried deep in the Guatemalan jungle, or check out Guatemala's many volcanoes -- from a safe distance, of course. Or you could soak up the culture right in Antigua.

One of the more colorful spectacles happens throughout the year as townsfolk built elaborate carpets made of dyed sawdust. At just about the time they finish, a procession baring a massive religious scene makes it way across the carpets, destroying in minutes what took hours to create.

If you miss the event, stick around. There's a good chance another one is right around the corner.

And who knows?: You might just learn something.

Thomas Nybo, CNN, Antigua, Guatemala.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: It's known as the Aloha State, a cluster of islands in the North Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only state in the United States that's separated from the North American mainland. The capital city is Honolulu, located on Oahu. Famous for its beauty and pleasant climate, Hawaii is a hot spot for tourism. The state's flowers, waterfalls and palm trees provide some of the most captivating scenery in the U.S. Another unique attraction, Hawaii's vast history of volcanic activity. Volcanoes are openings in the earth's surface which erupt lava, hot gases and rock fragments. The lava, or melted rock, forms these openings when it blasts through the surface from deep within the earth. The materials ejected usually build up around the opening forming cone-shaped mountains.

And as Gail O'Neill tell us, Hawaii's volcanoes are generating mountains of interest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GAIL O'NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hawaii's remote island chain was created by volcanoes. Today, only three are still active, all on the big island, two in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not something you see everyday, and where else in the world can you see them like this?

O'NEILL: In one part of the park, you can walk through a section of an ancient tube. This one carried molten lava for miles. We pass ferns already taking hold of the new land. Every crunchy step brings us closer to the ultimate prize.

(on camera): The heat here is incredible, 150 degrees against my skin, but that flowing lava is 2,000 degrees. And though it's a liquid now, in just a couple of minutes it'll harden and be solid enough to stand on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at some lava that is just oozing out slowly onto the surface from a larger flow.

O'NEILL (voice-over): And the view from above is no less spectacular.

DAVID GRIFFIN, BLUE HAWAII HELICOPTERS: It's one of the most awe inspiring things most people ever see in their entire lives.

O'NEILL: Gail O'Neill, CNN, Volcano, Hawaii.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're cute, they're fury, yes, you guessed it, they're ferrets. Ferrets are small mammals that belong to the weasel family. Once wild animals, domesticated ferrets are now so dependent on humans they can't survive without care. In fact, if they ever got lost, they'd likely die.

In Roman times, ferrets were used to drive rabbits, rats and other pests from underground burrows. Their long, lean body perfect for this.

Today, ferrets serve primarily as pets. But it seems in New York City, the ferret is causing quite a fuss. New York City council voted to lift a ban on keeping ferrets as pets, but the city's mayor has vetoed the measure. Jeanne Moos has more on this ferret fiasco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hey ferret, did you hear what the mayor called your city council victory?

RUDY GIULIANI, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: The special legislation for weasels.

MOOS: But ferret owners say: Who's calling who a weasel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's only going to go down in history as the meanest mayor of New York.

MOOS: Just to set the record straight, the ferret is a cousin of the weasel. It's got its own magazine. It's starred in Budweiser commercials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BUDWEISER AD")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looks like a little European filmmaker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: It was even featured in an Arnold Schwarzenegger film.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "KINDERGARTEN COP")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to your dog?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Ferrets get no respect.

(on camera): They have a little odor, don't they?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, they have a little musk.

MOOS (voice-over): But what stinks from the ferret's point of view is that in New York City, it's illegal to keep them as pets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Technically yes, we're outlaws right now.

MOOS: Though the police weren't exactly running over to cuff them as they stood in plain view.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ferrets are legal in 48 of the 50 states.

MOOS: But not in New York City. Here they're grouped with wild animals, such as tigers, and giraffes, and hippos.

(on camera): OK, just kidding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the viscous, terrible, monstrous animal that the mayor thinks should be banned. MOOS (voice-over): Ferrets have a thing for ears. And talk about an earful, listen to what happened two years ago when a ferret owner called in to the mayor's radio show to complain about the ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LIVE FROM CITY HALL")

GIULIANI: There's something deranged about you.

DAVID GUTHARTZ, FERRET OWNER: No, there isn't, sir.

GIULIANI: The excessive concern that you have for ferrets is something that you should examine with a therapist.

GUTHARTZ: Sir, understand that -- well, first of all, don't go insulting me again.

GIULIANI: I'm not insulting you, I'm being honest with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: David Guthartz is still smarting.

DAVID GUTHARTZ, FERRET OWNER: And I take serious offense to that. I am not a nut. I happen to be quite sane.

MOOS: The health department says the main reason for banning ferrets is that they bite. It even cites a vet saying an infant's eyelid was torn off.

But supporters don't seem to fear for their body parts, saying there are far fewer ferret bites than cat or dog bites.

KATHRYN FREED, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: For 10,000 dogs, there are 81 bites. For 10,000 ferrets, there are seven.

MOOS: In "Kindergarten Cop," the ferret only bit bad guys. The city council voted to lift the ban, but the mayor seems ready to cast a veto.

GIULIANI: You are devoting your life to weasels.

GUTHARTZ: I happen to have a very good life -- better than his, frankly.

MOOS: But what about this guy's life? Was that a tear he left on the lens, or was his nose just runny?

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Teachers, make the most of CNN NEWSROOM with our free daily classroom guide to the program. There you'll find a rundown of each day's show so you choose just the program segment that fits your lesson plan. Plus, there are discussion questions and activities and the guide highlights key people, places and news terms. Each day find hot links to other online resources and previews of upcoming "Desk" segments.

It's all at this Web address where you can also sign up to have the guide automatically e-mailed directly to you each day. It's easy. It's free. It's your curriculum connection to the news. After all, the news never stops and neither does learning.

WALCOTT: The hip-hop community is gathering this week in New York. A two-day summit is being held to look at the effects and criticisms of hip-hop music. Several music artists, members of Congress and record label and industry executives are there. Many of them are fighting to preserve the First Amendment's rights of hip-hop artists.

Jodi Ross has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JODI ROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day one of the hip- hop summit felt a bit like a pep rally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hip-hop generation is our best generation, not our worst!

ROSS: A gathering of religious leaders, politicians, music executives and rappers have convened in New York City to discuss and debate hip-hop, the music and its mission.

JAMES PRINCE, RAPPER: We're honoring the cause and being supportive.

QUESTION: What is the cause?

PRINCE: Peace, peace and elevating the levels and the variety of the music.

ROSS: This three-day event was organized by Def Jam records president Russell Simmons.

RUSSELL SIMMONS, FOUNDER, DEF JAM RECORDS: We're not here today to make anyone change, but to inspire some change to let some of the older people who have always been critical of hip-hop, now support it.

ROSS (on camera): Most of today's meeting are taking place behind closed doors, and it's in these rooms where the rap community says it's addressing their most serious issues.

(voice-over): But exactly what the issues are -- well, each attendant seemed to have a separate agenda. From image...

REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D), GEORGIA: This issue of ownership! Who controls these young artists and why is it that they are putting out an image and a message that does not in any way relate to our young kids?

ROSS: ... To how the media portrays the image. CHUCK D, MUSICIAN: From Shyne getting arrested to this artist getting arrested to this person getting shot. You guys are going to cover that as the main story, but you're going to overlook the great aspects. So, today there's a great story to actually be magnified.

ROSS: The marketing of the music and rap lyrics were also hot topics.

HILARY ROSEN, RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: Obviously, hip-hop is threatening to a lot of people because its messages often have lyrics that are harsh and aggressive. Those lyrics are there for a reason, and I don't think that the music is going to change. I think what this is about is trying to help artists and help the community learn about new ways to talk about new things.

SCARFACE, RAP ARTIST: Man, we got some people who love us and some people who hate us. We got some people who want to diversify and we got some people stuck in their ways. That's what makes us all independent.

ROSS: With another two days to go, this summit has just scratched the hip-hop surface, but already many rappers seem ready to rise to whatever the occasion.

TALIB KWELI, RAP ARTIST: In this meeting, this assembly will, you know, challenge me more.

ROSS: Jodi Ross, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: And that wraps up today's show. We'll see you right back here tomorrow. Have a good one.

Bye-bye.

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