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CNN Newsroom
NEWSROOM for July 13, 2001
Aired July 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.
TOM HAYNES, CO-HOST: Hey, TGIF from CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tom Haynes. The show is jam-packed today.
Here's a quick preview.
The shuttle Atlantis blasts off to the International Space Station. We'll have details in today's "Top Story." From outer space to cyberspace, we'll meet some GirlGeeks taking the Internet by storm. Moving on, we're crossing our fingers and wishing on four-leaf clovers as "Worldview" examines superstitions. Still moving along in "Chronicle," as we tag along with some New Age wanderers.
Residents of space station Alpha are expecting some company. Space shuttle Atlantis and its five-member crew are well on their way after a successful launch on Thursday. The crew is delivering something called an air lock that'll make it possible for both the U.S. and Russians to do space walks.
John Zarrella has more on the shuttle launch and its mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The weather, supposed to be iffy for a launch, couldn't have been better and the countdown to the predawn liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center couldn't have been smoother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis.
ZARRELLA: The shuttle glowed against the backdrop of the night sky, providing spectacular close-up images as the vehicle headed to orbit. For the launch team, it was about as glitch free as shuttle liftoffs get.
JIM HALSHELL, DIRECTOR, LAUNCH INTEGRATION: The vehicle was essentially perfect. The weather offered the only challenges that I became aware of and those were worked also. We got off on time.
ZARRELLA: The shuttle is now in orbit and heading for a rendezvous with the space station known as Alpha. It will catch up late Friday night. Once the shuttle and Alpha are docked, the shuttle and Alpha crews will begin six days of intense work. The primary objective of the mission is to install a six-and-a-half ton air lock on the space station. It will take three space walks to complete the work. The air lock will allow astronauts and cosmonauts to carry out space walks from Alpha. On their third and final space walk, astronauts Michael Gernhardt and James Reilly will test the air lock, stepping out into space from Alpha's new front door.
JIM REILLY, MISSION SPECIALIST: And when we come out of the crew lock on the -- on the air lock -- the joint air lock on the station, you're basically stepping out into space looking straight down at the Earth and that's going to be quite a different sensation, I think.
ZARRELLA: Another different sensation will come from the home movies being shot by the astronauts. Since 1998, astronauts and cosmonauts have shot 69,000 feet of film documenting station Alpha's construction. When the Atlantis mission ends, the last of the IMAX's camera films will be collected and made into a 3-D movie called "Space Station." When the movie is released next spring, astronauts say those of us on Earth will, for the first time, get a real sense of what it's like living in space.
John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: Now, some high school students have contributed to a biology experiment that's headed for the International Space Station. You can read more about it and the latest shuttle mission at CNNfyi.com.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: A CNN viewer wants to know: Who determines what day and what time it is on the space station?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: When you're on the International Space Station or anything else that's in low Earth orbit, it's difficult to know whether it's night or day. As a matter of fact, there's a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes so deciding what time it is is a bit arbitrary.
And so when they were deciding on the International Space Station and how to run it, the U.S., the Russians and the 14 other nations that are operating that space station, decided the best arbitrary time to go with is Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time. And this is the time that is used commonly the world over by pilots in all levels of aviation and so it seemed to be the easiest way to set time on the space station where it could be any line you draw in the sand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: Leaders from Britain and Ireland are gearing up to resume the deadlocked Northern Ireland peace talks. The talks being held in England were suspended earlier this week to give the two sides time to reflect on some issues. The parties haven't been able to come to agreement on issues of police reform, British troop reduction and weapons decommissioning. Meantime, the start of the biggest day of Protestant parades in Northern Ireland triggered rioting. The marchers were drawn from the ranks of the Orange Order, Northern Ireland's largest fraternal organization. Clashes broke out between police and some marchers who were angry about being rerouted to avoid Catholic areas.
We all know being computer savvy is becoming a modern day must. Careers in technology fields are not just becoming more common among women, they're becoming more cool. And a group of influential women in the technology industry are trying to keep it that with the help of a Web site called GirlGeeks.
Marsha Walton has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARSHA WALTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The word is out: Geek is good.
MISSY JOHNSON, STUDENT: I get up at 6:30 in the morning, and the first thing I do is get online and check my e-mail.
TARA EIDSON, STUDENT: I'm interested in learning about it, because I know it has a lot to do with my future. Like, I know that I'm going to need technology in my future.
WALTON: Technology is second nature to these ninth-graders. They make Shakespeare and Ayn Rand rock, creating Web pages instead of bland book reports for their English class.
RONNIE PEPPERS, ENGLISH TEACHER: They love the technology, and they seem to be very interested in doing it.
WALTON: But once they reach the work force, far more men than women choose high-tech jobs.
KRISTINE HANNA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, GIRLGEEKS: Women are reluctant to enter the field because they're afraid their options will be limited, or they'll be perceived as geeky.
JENNIFER KIM, STUDENT: I don't want to be mean, but like, I don't know, when the word geek comes up to me, it's like somebody who studies constantly, doesn't really hang out that much.
WALTON: Which may be why some of the most powerful women in technology created a Web site called GirlGeeks.
HANNA: We chose to call it GirlGeeks because we wanted to smash the stereotype.
LAURIE EDWARDS, GIRLGEEKS: This is a great site.
WALTON: GirlGeeks' Laurie Edwards has run a small Internet service provider and worked in software development. She finds the site an oasis. EDWARDS: It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who has the struggles that I have. I'm not the only one that feels like sometimes I'm the only woman here, and you know, I'm not taken seriously.
WALTON: A Web site like GirlGeeks or an English class like this one in Tucker, Georgia have the same message: The more kids are exposed to technology, the more confident they'll be in trying new things.
EIDSON: I use the simple programs to start with, because I don't know that much. But I'm realizing that I'm learning more and more. And this semester, I did a lot better because I knew more and it took quick -- I mean, I did it in a quicker amount of time. And it was less frustrating for me.
JOHNSON: You have to realize that the geeks are going to be the ones ending up Bill Gates. They have the high-rate jobs, and I think people need to start looking up to geeks, instead of looking down at them.
WALTON: Another message: Tech jobs aren't all about sitting at a desk and writing code. Technology maneuvers a rover on Mars, builds robots, or makes great movies.
ANNMARIE HARMON, STUDENT: Well, I want to be a doctor and probably some sort of surgeon. I think technology will probably have a -- it will have a role in my career. I'm not sure how big.
WALTON: So after years of all those stereotypes, just maybe the geeks will inherit the Earth.
Marsha Walton, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: Well, NEWSROOM has certainly had its share of Emmy nominations. Of course we're still working on winning one of those. But yesterday in Los Angeles, this year's Emmy nominations were announced and it looks like a big year for organized crime.
Lauren Hunter has the rundown from Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICIA HEATON, BEST ACTRESS NOMINEE: The nominations in the drama series category are...
LAUREN HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Sopranos" iced its competitors as the 53rd annual Emmy nominations were announced Thursday morning in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOPRANOS")
JAMES GANDOLFINI, BEST ACTOR NOMINEE: I said, do you got a problem?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER: HBO's crime series garnered 22 nominations, including best drama, and nods for lead actor James Gandolfini and two of its female stars, Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco for best actress. They'll go up against Amy Brenneman from "Judging Amy," last year's winner Sela Ward from "Once and Again" and surprise nominee Marg Helgenberger from "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation," who took the news in stride.
MARG HELGENBERGER, BEST ACTRESS NOMINEE: As soon as I found out -- it was 6:00 in the morning or whatever it was -- and I said, well what am I going to do now? So I ended up paying bills, cleaning off my desk. Oh, OK, well that's got to be done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE WEST WING")
MARTIN SHEEN, BEST ACTOR NOMINEE: We've got to see if it's doable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER: Last year's drama winner, "The West Wing," was this year's second-most nominated show, with 18 nods including best drama.
AARON SORKIN, CREATOR, "THE WEST WING": The second time around is sweeter because it's harder to do a show well for two years than it is for one year. So that the Academy recognized that we've maintained the quality of the show is really gratifying.
HUNTER: Its two stars, Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe, will compete against each other in the best actor category, along with Andre Braugher from "Gideon's Crossing," Dennis Franz from "NYPD Blue" and Gandolfini.
Rounding out the field for best drama were three shows that have already won Emmys: "Law & Order," "The Practice" and "ER." Nominations for best comedy were also familiar: "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Frasier," "Sex and the City," last year's winner "Will & Grace," and the nomination newcomer, "Malcolm in the Middle."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Mom, who's tongue's longer?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER: Malcolm's mom, Jane Kaczmarek, is nominated for lead actress in a comedy, along with "Ally McBeal"'s Calista Flockhart, "Will & Grace" star Debra Messing, and "Sex and the City"'s Sarah Jessica Parker.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, BEST ACTRESS NOMINEE: I think that the Academy has been very receptive to us, and the television community has. And I think, you know, HBO produces really good television, and I'm very proud that, you know, I'm nominated with the other, you know, 90 billion nominations they got. HUNTER: Also a best actress nominee, last year's winner and one of the morning's announcers, Patricia Heaton from "Everybody Loves Raymond."
HEATON: It was a little scary, I have to say. I was more nervous up there than I was accepting my Emmy last year. Isn't that weird?
HUNTER: Fourteen-time nominee Kelsey Grammer makes the grade again this year. He led the list of lead actors in a comedy, along with Eric McCormack from "Will & Grace," Ray Romano from "Everybody Loves Raymond," first-timer Frankie Muniz from "Malcolm in the Middle" and John Lithgow from "3rd Rock From the Sun," a show that ended its run this season.
And for the first time, reality shows were eligible for recognition, with nominations going to CBS' "Survivor" and Fox's "American High," among others. The 53rd annual prime-time Emmy Awards ceremony will be telecast live from Los Angeles on September 16.
Lauren Hunter, CNN Entertainment News, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: In "Worldview" today, lunch and luck. We'll run the gamut from superstitions to sandwiches. We'll find out who invented the sandwich as we visit England and learn about lucky and unlucky customs in countries, including the U.S. and Japan. By the way, did you notice what day it is? Well, this Friday the 13th is actually a lucky day for the city picked to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Today is the day the International Olympic Committee announces its decision. There are five cities in the running. For the winner, expectations are high that the Games will bring in millions of dollars for that city, but bidders beware, experience may not meet expectations.
Grant Holloway takes us to Australia to tell us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRANT HOLLOWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you build it, they will come. In Sydney, they don't. Future Olympic city hosts, be warned. Despite the stunning sellout success of the 2000 Games, Sydney's $400 million Olympic stadium is shaping up as a white elephant of mammoth proportions. While the massive Stadium Australia has managed to secure some major sporting events like international rugby games, what it lacks is an anchor sporting team that can keep the crowds coming back.
The situation is so bad the stadium's bankers have given its managers until September to prove it can be a viable business.
KEN EDWARDS, STADIUM AUSTRALIA: We find competition is more from interstate, from probably Melbourne, where the state government in Melbourne bids for events and the New South Wales government doesn't. So we can compete with other stadiums, but it's hard to compete with state governments. HOLLOWAY: The problems aren't confined to the main stadium. Most days this sprawling complex resembles little more than a state-of-the- art ghost town. It still looks terrific, but now the Games are over, there are very few good reasons for Sydney-siders to come here.
(on camera): Sydney, like so many other host cities before it, is struggling to turn their short-term publicity bonanza into long- term economic gain. However, a recent report shows that overall the Games could have added up to $4.3 billion to Australia's gross domestic product.
(voice-over): But so far little of that new economic activity is happening at the former home of the Games, despite the construction of an $80 million railway. Sydney's state government, which paid for the building of many of the Games' facilities, is now looking for ways to inject new life into the Olympic precinct.
DIANNE LEESON, OLYMPIC PARK AUTHORITY: What we'd like to see out here is a great base population across the site of about 13,000 people. We'd like to see workers, residents, people coming out for leisure and entertainment. And so we'd like to see a very vibrant mix of use and activity in what we call our town center.
HOLLOWAY: Former Olympic boss Juan Antonio Samaranch might have declared the 2000 Games the best ever, but now the party's over and Sydney is discovering that winning isn't everything; it's just the easiest thing.
Grant Holloway, CNN, Sydney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHELLEY WALCOTT, CO-HOST: Are you superstitious? Do you carry a rabbit's foot or have a lucky number or color? Today, we look at superstition. A superstition is defined as any belief that is inconsistent with known facts or rational thought, especially such a belief in omens or the supernatural. Are superstitions irrational or do they have their origins in something solid?
Kathy Nellis takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHY NELLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Check out the calendar. It's Friday the 13th, an event that occurs only twice this year. So is it a day to beware? Sociology professor Jackie Boles says the date is ominous in Christian culture.
PROFESSOR JACKIE BOLES, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Jesus had 12 disciples plus himself, which adds up to 13. And Jesus was crucified on Friday, which is bad luck. So therefore Friday the 13th is bad luck and the 13th floor is bad luck for the same reason.
NELLIS: In Japanese culture, the number four is unlucky because the Japanese word for four sounds like the Japanese word for death. Many Japanese buildings have no fourth floor. Many superstitions cross cultures. For example, spilling salt. If you do, toss a pinch over your left shoulder to appease evil spirits. This superstition lurks from the days when salt was a valuable and scarce mineral. In fact, Roman soldiers received pay or solarium to purchase salt. So spilling it was, indeed, a misfortune.
Actually, all superstitions should be taken with a grain of salt. Like this next one, which originated with the Druids.
(on camera): Centuries ago, people believed the gods lived in trees. It was the custom to knock on a tree to ask for a favor or give thanks for one. Today, we knock on wood for luck.
BOLES: If I were to tell you I am being considered for the position of vice president and I really think I have a very good chance at getting that, that tells you I think two things, one, I don't think it's a slam dunk, and also, you know, I don't want to sound like I think that it's a sure thing. And so I knock on wood and that indicates to you that I know there's an element of luck.
NELLIS: There are all sorts of lucky things, from lucky pennies to four-leaf clovers. And it's said a person born on Sunday will always have good luck. Many superstitions predict bad luck, however. For example, it's said a bride and groom will have bad luck if they see each other on their wedding day before the ceremony.
(on camera): Another superstition, that mirrors posses magic power. They capture the soul or other self of the viewer so breaking one is seven years bad luck.
BOLES: Gradually in Western civilization, we have replaced a lot of superstitions. I mean people no longer believe that your soul is inhabited in a mirror.
NELLIS (voice-over): But some superstitions hang on, like the lucky rabbit's foot or horseshoe.
BOLES: Some occupations are particularly given to superstition and these are occupations in which a lot of luck is important. I just finished writing a book on show business and show people are notoriously superstitions. Opals, for example, opals are never to be worn. Opals are an unlucky stone. You should never open a show on Friday. That's bad luck. On the other hand, where black cats are usually bad luck, among show people they're good luck.
NELLIS: You can change your luck, however. While walking under a ladder is considered bad luck, there are counterspells to help out.
BOLES: If you find that you have walked under a ladder or are in the process of walking under it, if you make a wish while you're under the ladder, not only will nothing bad happen, but you will also have your wish come true.
NELLIS: There are dozens of superstitions and they're not all to be sneezed at. In fact, sneezing was considered unlucky for it expelled the essence of life. Saying god bless you was a response to protect the sneezer and those nearby. Superstitions have existed in human society throughout history. There's even a saying, "superstition is the poetry of life." Sociologists say superstitions can be a fun part of folklore, as long as you don't take them too seriously.
BOLES: I very often knock on wood. You know, it's just kind of habit. And then you say to yourself, well, why not, you know? It can't hurt.
NELLIS: In the end, maybe Friday the 13th is not all it's cracked up to be.
Kathy Nellis, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: How about a little Swiss? Yeah, that's good.
While I wait for my sandwich, here's a little pop quiz. Which came first, the soup or the sandwich? It turns out they both originated in Europe, but the soup beat the sandwich by 7,000 years. Here's another fact to chew on. Of all the American cities, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the highest consumption rate of sandwiches.
This is just a taste of what started in the 18th century when a man named John Montagu, the fourth earl of Sandwich, popularized the food arrangement. An intent gambler, the earl made a habit of eating beef between slices of toast so he could continue playing cards uninterrupted. Since then, the sandwich has spread to nearly every corner of the globe.
But as Richard Quest reports, some modern day earls are preserving the sandwich's identity in its own hometown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to making snacks with bread, they know something about it here in Dorset. After all, this is the true home of the sandwich.
JOHN MONTAGU, 11TH EARL OF SANDWICH: The fourth earl was the very beginning of the story. But of course, the first earl was given the title Earl of Sandwich for bringing King Charles II back from Holland.
QUEST: These are the sandwiches -- the earl of sandwich, to be precise. This family has been making the snack for more than two centuries.
MONTAGU: The original earl, the fourth earl, was a gambler. I mean, he was a politician, but that didn't preclude gambling. So he spent a lot of time sitting at card table, and he had to have one hand free. And I don't know why nobody else thought of it -- but probably they did -- but he got landed with the idea. And then other people said I want one like Sandwich's, so they got a sandwich. QUEST: Now those hands have found other work. The latest generation of this aristocratic group have gone into catering, using the name and making sandwiches to be delivered to the desks of London's financial district, the City.
But these aren't just any old sandwiches: The idea is to stuff the bread with the best of British. This isn't just about business, but about honoring the family name.
ORLANDO MONTAGU, CEO, EARL OF SANDWICH: It provides, I think most importantly, a motivator for all of us here -- you know, our family and the staff that are working with us alike -- to produce a product and a service that lives up to the reputation of the family.
QUEST: The 11th earl says he'll give this venture at least six months, and if all goes well, they want to take their stately snacks into Europe and on to the United States. But he'll need more luck than the fourth earl. After all, he was blamed for the British defeat during another attack on America, the War of Independence.
Richard Quest, CNN Financial News, with the Earl of Sandwich, in Dorset.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: That tastes good.
Well, NEWSROOM's Jason Bellini continues down the road in our "Border to Border" series. This time he talks with some kids who, in many ways, are most comfortable on the road. The kids who refer to themselves as "Rainbows" spend their lives on the road traveling from one city to the next and learning a little along the way.
Jason has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oregon, Oregon, please take us to Oregon.
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ready for their next adventure, Alley and Nable join a row of ride seekers near the parking lot at the Rainbow gathering in Oregon. Their thumbs in good karma, they say, delivered them to this hippie campout flocked to by thousands of old, new and wanna-be Bohemians. Now making a life of the road, they joyfully await where freedom and fate take them next.
NABLE WALLIN, AGE 18: I think of myself as like a pilgrim kind of. Like -- just like -- just like trying to -- like go around and try to learn and try to like have some sort of understanding and like just seeing people and seeing things I've never seen before.
BELLINI: Among the Rainbows are many who call the road their home, part of a wandering class mostly looked down upon by society. The kind of hobo lifestyle romanticized in the '60s and '70s is, from their perspective, making a comeback. ALLEY LAKE, AGE 18: There are a lot of kids that have runaway and are -- you know are living on the streets and, you know, into the drug scene. That's really not what I'm about. I mean I haven't -- I have a home to go -- to go back to.
BELLINI: Alley and Nable say they stay away from drugs, even though they find themselves immersed in a culture where addiction is commonplace and many young people fall into lives that are dirty, desperate and hard to escape.
The traveling duo acknowledge that hitching rides with strangers is dangerous and all they can rely on is the vibe they get when someone stops to pick them up. They try to get jobs wherever they go and stay with friends they've met rather than sleep on the street.
WALLIN: I'm not a street kid. I'm not like -- I'm not really good at just living out in the street in the city because I mean like I can't defend myself. I don't really want to defend myself. In New Orleans, we were jumped and like -- and just like that's really like screws you up and just makes you -- I don't know, it's definitely a learning -- it's a learning experience.
BELLINI: An unmeasurable number of Gen Y-ers who've never had the chance to travel to Grateful Dead concerts or experience anything but the sameness of the suburbs are joining the ranks of the underground traveler culture.
LAKE: America youth is bored, you know. They don't have anything to look forward to and they just like TV and movies and they have all this fake life to live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to collect stones.
BELLINI: Joshua, a 21-year-old road dog, as he puts it, plans on skipping college enamored by living life as a wandering merchant. So far he's not making enough to save, just enough to get by.
JOSHUA TAYLOR, AGE 21: I think it's beautiful to be able to just go out there and sometimes you don't know where you're going and sometimes like you don't know when you're getting a ride or like -- I don't know, it's kind of a rush. But then you just kick back and you look at what you're doing and how beautiful it is, all the people you get to meet, all the places you get to see.
BELLINI: To make money sometimes, Joshua says he "spanges," meaning he asks people for their spare change. At other times, he finds seasonal labor. The line separating adventure from vagrant may be hard at times to navigate but Nable, Alley and Joshua know what road they're traveling and they're not planning to turn back.
Jason Bellini, CNN NEWSROOM, Bear Valley, Idaho.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYNES: And that is CNN NEWSROOM for Friday. Thanks for watching. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you back here on Monday.
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