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CNN Live At Daybreak
Nuclear Whistleblower to be Freed From Israeli Prison; Hip-Hop Vote; Low Calorie Diet
Aired April 20, 2004 - 05:30 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A nuclear whistleblower who spent 18 years in prison says he has no more secrets to spill.
It is Tuesday, April 20. This is DAYBREAK.
Good morning, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From CNN's Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines right now.
Marines operating on the outskirts of Fallujah have discovered and destroyed -- and destroyed a large cache of weapons. The weapons include anti-aircraft guns with ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades.
Prosecutors in the Terry Nichols murder trial are expected to bring their key witness to the stand today. Michael Fortier was sentenced to 12 years for knowing about the bombing plot but failing to alert police.
South Korean media reports North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il will have a second meeting with his Chinese counterpart today. Kim Jong-Il arrived in Beijing unannounced to discuss economic aid and nuclear weapons.
The Supreme Court will hear appeals today on behalf of detainees of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The court must decide if U.S. courts have jurisdiction over the so-called enemy combatants.
Now to Chad for a look at the forecast.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A nuclear whistleblower is due to be released from an Israeli prison tomorrow after 18 years behind bars. It's a very intriguing story.
Paula Hancocks explains it all for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Israeli traitor or an imprisoned hero? Mordechai Vanunu represents both extremes. With one newspaper article in 1986, Vanunu exposed Israel's nuclear secrets, which led analysts to conclude Israel had made as many as 200 nuclear bombs.
In an interview with the security services last month, Vanunu denied treason.
MORDECHAI VANUNU, PRISONER (through translator): I think I did a good thing for myself also because I acted honestly with myself and with the world.
HANCOCKS: Vanunu became a technician at the Dimona Nuclear Reactor Center in 1976, signing a pledge to honor the Official Secrets Act. He then secretly took photos inside the plant.
At the same time, he was studying philosophy at university, which many experts say contributed to a change in ideals. By the time he was laid off from Dimona in 1985, his brother says he was uncomfortable with Israel's nuclear secrets.
MEIR VANUNU, BROTHER: He felt a duty, according to what he said in the court, according to letters from him, according to my talks with him, to speak about it, to inform his own people, the international community.
HANCOCKS: After moving to Australia, Vanunu met a Colombian journalist who encouraged him to tell his story. Vanunu was in London in talks with "The Sunday Times" when he disappeared. Shortly afterwards, the newspaper published the photos of Dimona.
VOSSI MALMAN, "HAARITZ" NEWSPAPER: He also showed in a very bad light the lack of security at the nuclear reactor. And in that way he undermined the image and the reputation of Israel's security services.
HANCOCKS: Two months later, while being taken into an Israeli court, Vanunu revealed, by writing in black in on his hand and showing it to photographers, just how he was abducted. He had been lured by a female secret service agent to Rome where he was drugged and smuggled back to Israel.
M. VANUNU: He was extremely angry about that and angry about the fact that they committed a crime but prevented him from speaking about it. I was prevented of talking about it myself.
HANCOCKS: Convicted of treason and espionage at a closed trial, Vanunu was imprisoned for 18 years. The first eleven and a half spent in solitary confinement.
NISSIM MOSEK, EDITOR, "WHO IS VANUNU": He is not a great hero, but he is a courageous man. And as for the Israelis, they live in fear of their security. They feel that exposing the secrets of Dimona is putting Israel in danger.
HANCOCKS: Many Israelis believe Vanunu betrayed his country, a country he has made clear he wants to leave. The Interior Ministry has forbidden that for at least a year. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I want to talk a little bit more about this with our senior international editor David Clinch.
Put this in perspective for us, why should this matter to Americans?
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well there are a number of reasons. I mean, first of all, as we have seen here from Paula, it's a fascinating story. The character himself, Vanunu, what led him to reveal or to whistleblow on Israel's nuclear weapons program, the release tomorrow, and it will be just about this time tomorrow. We'll bring you that coverage tomorrow morning. The fact that he is going to be kept incommunicado for at least a year, not allowed to leave Israel, the idea that he may have even more secrets to reveal, all of that. And then, of course, this issue that's sort of the bigger issue that we're going to be looking at during the day today.
But with all of this talk of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and concentration on Iraq and Saddam Hussein and Iran, of course, and North Korea, all of these countries which the United States and Israel, of course, wants to crack down on and prevent from creating nuclear weapons, the idea that Israel itself has hundreds of nuclear weapons in the region itself, the perception, of course, in the Arab world, which is a very big issue at the moment that Israel's possession or alleged possession of nuclear weapons creates the very same instability that Israel wants to prevent others from creating. All of those issues are very big issue.
And the United States making it very clear, especially over the last 12 months or so as they went into Iraq, that there is a vision of a nuclear free Middle East. Never quite sort of getting to the point of saying what that means in terms of Israel's alleged possession of those nuclear weapons, but that may be an issue that we see coming.
COSTELLO: Well see you keep saying Israel's alleged possession of nuclear weapons, which is intriguing.
CLINCH: Well, they have never admitted it. And this issue of whether they could or should admit it at some point. What the United States' position is in regard to the continuing secrecy over the nuclear weapons in Israel, again, with the stated goal from the United States' point of view of a nuclear free region. Definitely an issue that we're going to see come back up again and again over the next few years, few months and years as the United States tries to go through with that policy. So a fascinating story.
COSTELLO: Fascinating.
CLINCH: Another story, of course, that you know internationally has some resonance now we have seen over the last day or two is this Bob Woodward book. We have been talking about it here in the U.S. and the domestic issues of who knew what and when are very interesting here.
But internationally, there's some interesting perspectives again in the region in the Middle East itself. One of the interesting things, the issue of the religious aspects for President Bush and other members of his -- of his administration as they went into Iraq, as they launched this military operation in Iraq. Bush being quoted by Woodward as saying he sought advice from a higher father when he was asked about whether he asked his own father for advice. Those issues play sort of somewhat too easily into a perception in the Arab world that this is -- there is too much of a religious aspect to the U.S. policy in the Middle East. Something that has resonance both in Iraq but also, of course, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
CLINCH: So that's an interesting thing which isn't being paid too much attention to here in the U.S.
COSTELLO: All right. David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: OK.
COSTELLO: The voice of hip hop wants to play some politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AKUA GOODRICH, YOUTH COORDINATOR, SYRACUSE SUMMIT: We are powerful. We are leaders. We are movers. We are shakers and we need you to understand our plight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Up next, a method one rap mogul is using to get young people to rock the vote.
And later at 6:00, the lessons learned from the Columbine tragedy five years later.
This is DAYBREAK, Tuesday, April 20.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There he is, Rocketman. You know we were riveted to this video this morning, Chad. This happened at about 4:30 Eastern Time. Look at Rocketman. This isn't Britain.
MYERS: It's super day of Inhorn (ph), oh-no.
COSTELLO: He's actually trying to make his way into the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest human flight with a rocket pack. We don't know if he landed on that or went down the chimney or what.
MYERS: We hope he landed in the shrubbery.
COSTELLO: His goal was to reach the height of a 13-story building, and it looks like he did but where he is now, we don't know. MYERS: We didn't see him land. He's still over there somewhere. He's in Scotland. He's almost to Charnoski (ph) at this point. He's going to go play some golf.
COSTELLO: I'm telling you, the whole newsroom was gathered around. You know we have important events happening in the world, we were watching Rocketman.
MYERS: Watching Rocketman. OK.
COSTELLO: OK. Your news, money, weather and sports now. It is 5:42 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeals today on the legal status of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on Iraq today. Senators will hear testimony on the proposed handover set for June 30.
In money news, Tennessee is the 27th state to join the nationwide Power Ball Lottery. Hundreds of people who want to be millionaires lined up to get their tickets for tomorrow's drawing. The estimated jackpot is around $90 million.
In sports, some old Yankee Stadium seats are going from the ballpark to the living room. The nearly 30-year-old seats were sold at auction for 1,500 bucks for a set of three.
In culture, an anniversary of illusion. Magicians Penn and Teller are celebrating 30 years together. They are still going strong with TV specials, books and of course their Vegas act.
MYERS: Yes, exactly.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
The courting of young voters was once all about Bill Clinton, Arsenio Hall and a saxophone. After that, candidates rocked the vote. And now a new movement is under way to get the hip hop generation to take part in the political process.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSSELL SIMMONS, CHAIRMAN, HIP HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: Hip hop is a most unifying cultural phenomena America has ever seen. Eighty percent of those who buy hip hop are not African-American in America alone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hip hop community is bigger than you know. If you can get the kids behind you, that's power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Registering to vote is your connection to community.
SIMMONS: Our goal at the Hip Hop Summit Action Network is to register over two million voters. We have registered hundreds of thousands of voters already. I think that empowering those who are locked out is my job and the hip hop community is the voice of those who are locked out.
GOODRICH: We are powerful. We are leaders. We are movers. We are shakers and we need you to understand our plight.
SIMMONS: Old people have already twisted everything up. And the highest aspirations America can have are in the minds of young people. The Hip Hop Summit is dedicated to that effort, to use the artists' power and young people's power to make this country better.
LAYZIE BONE, BONE THUGS IN HARMONY: The reason why I'm here is to raise awareness and show the importance of, you know, what it is to vote, what it means to select our own leaders.
KEVIN LILES, PRESIDENT, DEF JAM RECORDINGS: We can't relate to George Bush. We can't relate to a lot of the other politicians who never lived our plight and our struggle, you know. We are in our own war every day. You know they want to talk about what's going over on in Iraq and we want to talk about what's going on in the hood.
SIMMONS: The fact that these young people look up to these artists and respect these artists more than they do the politicians, they trust them more than they do the politicians. The politicians rarely speak of their plight. The more of them that register, the more politicians will have to be accountable to them.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am fascinated by rap and by hip hop. I think there is a lot of poetry in it. And I think you better listen to it pretty carefully because there is -- it's important.
ED GILLESPIE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE (?): I think we have got a great opportunity. We're going to -- we're going to work hip hop hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a nonpartisan effort. I think the candidates are becoming sensitive. They realize that we're registering voters all over the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Register to vote.
SIMMONS: And these people will vote in one voice. Those who listen to hip hop are sensitized to the plight of the poor. Whoever speaks to their agenda and helps them to uplift themselves are the ones who will get their vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Want to take a closer look at the possible impact of young voters in the upcoming election. For that we turn to our friends Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier from radio station WOKQ in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They are joining us live by phone.
Good morning.
MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Good morning, Carol.
DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So what do you think, hip hop?
ERICSON: Well, as you know, New Hampshire was the place where John Kerry kicked off this college tour thing last week. Now to be fair, in New Hampshire he only had about 500 people at the rally. Pittsburgh was his big deal, he had 10,000 people there, Carrie -- Carol, but he also had Jon Bon Jovi with him.
CARRIER: Yes, that's a draw.
COSTELLO: Yes, you -- yes, really, you wonder who they were really coming out to see. You know the reason I laugh about this is it's admirable that people are trying to get young voters involved, but...
CARRIER: Once the voting...
COSTELLO: ... does either John Kerry or George Bush really speak to the younger generation as far as saying that they are really trying to get into hip hop and they find it important? It just seems disingenuous from both candidates.
ERICSON: You're saying you don't think either one of these guys is the hippest dude on the block -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Well maybe they are deep inside, but it doesn't seem to be coming out.
CARRIER: You know -- you know what I love the most is the Democrats. They are holding a contest to have people just write in their essays saying why they should be on any kind of campaign trail, so forth and so on. One of the -- I think it's the President's Call for Community Service, he has a title for it.
ERICSON: That's actually the Republican contest.
CARRIER: Is it a Republican contest?
ERICSON: It's called Stand Up and Holla (ph).
CARRIER: Not stand up and holler, but Stand Up and Holla.
ERICSON: Holla, oh yes. CARRIER: He gave me some attitude in that.
COSTELLO: Well I can't remember what John Kerry's little title is, but for you it has just the letter U.
ERICSON: Well the tour was called "Change Starts With U."
COSTELLO: Yes, with the letter U.
CARRIER: The letter U, right.
ERICSON: Right. And he is -- he kicked off most of the college campus appearances by saying that he was going to absolve anyone of anything they did on spring break if he was elected president.
CARRIER: You know I think it's -- I think it's really neat that MTV is getting behind the youth, trying to get the youth. I mean that makes sense. But it kind of goes back to the whole Clinton thing. I didn't get when Clinton was on MTV, so I don't get how the presidents or even the candidates are getting into the MTV thing.
COSTELLO: Well, you know what's interesting, too, there was a Harvard study done. It says in the year 2000 overall voter turnout was 50 percent. Among those 18 to 24, it was only 29 percent -- 29 percent.
CARRIER: Wow!
COSTELLO: That's not many.
CARRIER: No.
COSTELLO: So you wonder, these campaigns are pouring so much money into getting these young, young voters, is it really worth it?
ERICSON: Well, and that poll that you are talking about also shows Kerry in the lead by about 10 percent over President Bush at the moment. But if you look deep into that survey, a lot of people are looking towards Kerry simply because he isn't President Bush. They don't really know much about John Kerry.
COSTELLO: Interesting stuff. Wish we could go on, but our time has run short.
CARRIER: Darn.
COSTELLO: Dang.
ERICSON: Well you stand up and holla and have a good day -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I will. I am with U -- letter U.
CARRIER: We (INAUDIBLE) U.
COSTELLO: Danielle and Mark, thanks, as always, for joining DAYBREAK.
We'll be right back with much more. You stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK, 5:53 Eastern.
Cut calories, increase life span, that's what research has found in animals. Whether or not the same holds true for people, it's actually still up in the air.
But as CNN's Christy Feig reports, the low calorie diet does have its health benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New research shows people who drastically reduce the number of calories in their diet actually reduce their risk of heart disease and diabetes.
DR. STUART SEIDES, CARDIOLOGIST: I think one would bet if one had to bet that these folks will probably live longer. It is not-- certainly not proven by this study.
FEIG: The researchers found 18 people who had been eating this very low-calorie diet of 1100 to just under 2,000 calories a day, then compared them to 18 people that ate like the average American, consuming anywhere from nearly 2000 calories a day to more than 3500. Those on the restricted diet have more of the good and less of the dangerous cholesterol. The heart benefit has been seen in real life. During World War II, the shortage of food in some Northern European countries led to a drop in death from heart disease. When the war ended, deaths rose again. Although experts can't explain why drastic calorie reduction seems to have these benefits, they do say it should be done only with a nutritionist or you could end up malnourished. Christy Feig, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: For more on this story or any other health story, head to our Web site, the address CNN.com/Health.
This morning the buzz on journalist Bob Woodward's book, "Plan of Attack," is his assertion the Saudis hope to keep oil prices low during the period before the election. He talked about it on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODWARD: What I say in the book is, according to Bandar, the Saudis hoped to control oil prices in the 10 months running up to the election because if they skyrocketed, it would hurt the American economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now both the White House and Saudi Prince Bandar have denied any such plan or deal to keep prices low during election time. We're asking you this morning what you think. And we got some interesting e-mails.
Shall I read the first one?
MYERS: Go right ahead.
COSTELLO: All right, I will. This is from Tom (ph) and he is from New Jersey. He says the conversation with the Saudi Arabian ambassador, actually he meant the prince, about gas prices, whether it happened or not shouldn't surprise anyone. American politics has never been as honest and forthright as the politicians would have you, the United States, believe, Democrat or Republican.
MYERS: From Joe (ph), didn't say where from. Nixon was brought down by Deep Throat. Bush could be brought down by deep pockets. All the president's men are lining up just like Mitchell Dean and the rest. Bush's spin is eerily remnant of I am not a crook.
COSTELLO: Goodness.
This is from Anne (ph). She says how long has it been since the gas price didn't go up at this time of year and then it goes down?
MYERS: Sure. Absolutely. Summer driving season, of course.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
And this one from our friends in Canada, because we hear this as Americans all the time.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: This is from Ryan (ph). He says it's difficult for most Canadians to understand why Americans fret over their gas prices so much. They are already paying less at the pump than most of the world because your government is pretty lax on the taxation. But he adds, if you're going to drive around in a huge SUV and a pickup truck, then someone has to pay the piper.
Well thank you our friends from Canada.
MYERS: True. But you know what, this is actually pretty good for the Oklahoma and Texas economy, too, because it takes about -- when I was living there -- it takes about $20, $21 to pump some oil out of the ground out there. And if you're -- if you can sell it for now 30 bucks a barrel, whatever it might be, $35, whatever it is now, that means the Oklahoma and Texas economy is doing pretty well because they can actually start pumping some of that oil again. So we'll see.
COSTELLO: Wish I was more of an expert on that topic, but I am not, but it's interesting.
MYERS: Get some oil from home for a change.
COSTELLO: Yes, thank you -- Chad. MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: The Woodward book is a story that just won't go away. So in the next hour of DAYBREAK, more buzz on the assertion in Woodward's book the president and the Saudis discuss keeping oil prices low before the election. We'll have a debate.
Plus, after days of intense fighting, why things seem to have quieted down in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
And safety in American schools, what has changed since the bloodiest attack at a U.S. school five years ago today?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 20, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A nuclear whistleblower who spent 18 years in prison says he has no more secrets to spill.
It is Tuesday, April 20. This is DAYBREAK.
Good morning, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From CNN's Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines right now.
Marines operating on the outskirts of Fallujah have discovered and destroyed -- and destroyed a large cache of weapons. The weapons include anti-aircraft guns with ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades.
Prosecutors in the Terry Nichols murder trial are expected to bring their key witness to the stand today. Michael Fortier was sentenced to 12 years for knowing about the bombing plot but failing to alert police.
South Korean media reports North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il will have a second meeting with his Chinese counterpart today. Kim Jong-Il arrived in Beijing unannounced to discuss economic aid and nuclear weapons.
The Supreme Court will hear appeals today on behalf of detainees of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The court must decide if U.S. courts have jurisdiction over the so-called enemy combatants.
Now to Chad for a look at the forecast.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A nuclear whistleblower is due to be released from an Israeli prison tomorrow after 18 years behind bars. It's a very intriguing story.
Paula Hancocks explains it all for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Israeli traitor or an imprisoned hero? Mordechai Vanunu represents both extremes. With one newspaper article in 1986, Vanunu exposed Israel's nuclear secrets, which led analysts to conclude Israel had made as many as 200 nuclear bombs.
In an interview with the security services last month, Vanunu denied treason.
MORDECHAI VANUNU, PRISONER (through translator): I think I did a good thing for myself also because I acted honestly with myself and with the world.
HANCOCKS: Vanunu became a technician at the Dimona Nuclear Reactor Center in 1976, signing a pledge to honor the Official Secrets Act. He then secretly took photos inside the plant.
At the same time, he was studying philosophy at university, which many experts say contributed to a change in ideals. By the time he was laid off from Dimona in 1985, his brother says he was uncomfortable with Israel's nuclear secrets.
MEIR VANUNU, BROTHER: He felt a duty, according to what he said in the court, according to letters from him, according to my talks with him, to speak about it, to inform his own people, the international community.
HANCOCKS: After moving to Australia, Vanunu met a Colombian journalist who encouraged him to tell his story. Vanunu was in London in talks with "The Sunday Times" when he disappeared. Shortly afterwards, the newspaper published the photos of Dimona.
VOSSI MALMAN, "HAARITZ" NEWSPAPER: He also showed in a very bad light the lack of security at the nuclear reactor. And in that way he undermined the image and the reputation of Israel's security services.
HANCOCKS: Two months later, while being taken into an Israeli court, Vanunu revealed, by writing in black in on his hand and showing it to photographers, just how he was abducted. He had been lured by a female secret service agent to Rome where he was drugged and smuggled back to Israel.
M. VANUNU: He was extremely angry about that and angry about the fact that they committed a crime but prevented him from speaking about it. I was prevented of talking about it myself.
HANCOCKS: Convicted of treason and espionage at a closed trial, Vanunu was imprisoned for 18 years. The first eleven and a half spent in solitary confinement.
NISSIM MOSEK, EDITOR, "WHO IS VANUNU": He is not a great hero, but he is a courageous man. And as for the Israelis, they live in fear of their security. They feel that exposing the secrets of Dimona is putting Israel in danger.
HANCOCKS: Many Israelis believe Vanunu betrayed his country, a country he has made clear he wants to leave. The Interior Ministry has forbidden that for at least a year. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I want to talk a little bit more about this with our senior international editor David Clinch.
Put this in perspective for us, why should this matter to Americans?
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well there are a number of reasons. I mean, first of all, as we have seen here from Paula, it's a fascinating story. The character himself, Vanunu, what led him to reveal or to whistleblow on Israel's nuclear weapons program, the release tomorrow, and it will be just about this time tomorrow. We'll bring you that coverage tomorrow morning. The fact that he is going to be kept incommunicado for at least a year, not allowed to leave Israel, the idea that he may have even more secrets to reveal, all of that. And then, of course, this issue that's sort of the bigger issue that we're going to be looking at during the day today.
But with all of this talk of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and concentration on Iraq and Saddam Hussein and Iran, of course, and North Korea, all of these countries which the United States and Israel, of course, wants to crack down on and prevent from creating nuclear weapons, the idea that Israel itself has hundreds of nuclear weapons in the region itself, the perception, of course, in the Arab world, which is a very big issue at the moment that Israel's possession or alleged possession of nuclear weapons creates the very same instability that Israel wants to prevent others from creating. All of those issues are very big issue.
And the United States making it very clear, especially over the last 12 months or so as they went into Iraq, that there is a vision of a nuclear free Middle East. Never quite sort of getting to the point of saying what that means in terms of Israel's alleged possession of those nuclear weapons, but that may be an issue that we see coming.
COSTELLO: Well see you keep saying Israel's alleged possession of nuclear weapons, which is intriguing.
CLINCH: Well, they have never admitted it. And this issue of whether they could or should admit it at some point. What the United States' position is in regard to the continuing secrecy over the nuclear weapons in Israel, again, with the stated goal from the United States' point of view of a nuclear free region. Definitely an issue that we're going to see come back up again and again over the next few years, few months and years as the United States tries to go through with that policy. So a fascinating story.
COSTELLO: Fascinating.
CLINCH: Another story, of course, that you know internationally has some resonance now we have seen over the last day or two is this Bob Woodward book. We have been talking about it here in the U.S. and the domestic issues of who knew what and when are very interesting here.
But internationally, there's some interesting perspectives again in the region in the Middle East itself. One of the interesting things, the issue of the religious aspects for President Bush and other members of his -- of his administration as they went into Iraq, as they launched this military operation in Iraq. Bush being quoted by Woodward as saying he sought advice from a higher father when he was asked about whether he asked his own father for advice. Those issues play sort of somewhat too easily into a perception in the Arab world that this is -- there is too much of a religious aspect to the U.S. policy in the Middle East. Something that has resonance both in Iraq but also, of course, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
CLINCH: So that's an interesting thing which isn't being paid too much attention to here in the U.S.
COSTELLO: All right. David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: OK.
COSTELLO: The voice of hip hop wants to play some politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AKUA GOODRICH, YOUTH COORDINATOR, SYRACUSE SUMMIT: We are powerful. We are leaders. We are movers. We are shakers and we need you to understand our plight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Up next, a method one rap mogul is using to get young people to rock the vote.
And later at 6:00, the lessons learned from the Columbine tragedy five years later.
This is DAYBREAK, Tuesday, April 20.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There he is, Rocketman. You know we were riveted to this video this morning, Chad. This happened at about 4:30 Eastern Time. Look at Rocketman. This isn't Britain.
MYERS: It's super day of Inhorn (ph), oh-no.
COSTELLO: He's actually trying to make his way into the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest human flight with a rocket pack. We don't know if he landed on that or went down the chimney or what.
MYERS: We hope he landed in the shrubbery.
COSTELLO: His goal was to reach the height of a 13-story building, and it looks like he did but where he is now, we don't know. MYERS: We didn't see him land. He's still over there somewhere. He's in Scotland. He's almost to Charnoski (ph) at this point. He's going to go play some golf.
COSTELLO: I'm telling you, the whole newsroom was gathered around. You know we have important events happening in the world, we were watching Rocketman.
MYERS: Watching Rocketman. OK.
COSTELLO: OK. Your news, money, weather and sports now. It is 5:42 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeals today on the legal status of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on Iraq today. Senators will hear testimony on the proposed handover set for June 30.
In money news, Tennessee is the 27th state to join the nationwide Power Ball Lottery. Hundreds of people who want to be millionaires lined up to get their tickets for tomorrow's drawing. The estimated jackpot is around $90 million.
In sports, some old Yankee Stadium seats are going from the ballpark to the living room. The nearly 30-year-old seats were sold at auction for 1,500 bucks for a set of three.
In culture, an anniversary of illusion. Magicians Penn and Teller are celebrating 30 years together. They are still going strong with TV specials, books and of course their Vegas act.
MYERS: Yes, exactly.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
The courting of young voters was once all about Bill Clinton, Arsenio Hall and a saxophone. After that, candidates rocked the vote. And now a new movement is under way to get the hip hop generation to take part in the political process.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSSELL SIMMONS, CHAIRMAN, HIP HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: Hip hop is a most unifying cultural phenomena America has ever seen. Eighty percent of those who buy hip hop are not African-American in America alone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hip hop community is bigger than you know. If you can get the kids behind you, that's power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Registering to vote is your connection to community.
SIMMONS: Our goal at the Hip Hop Summit Action Network is to register over two million voters. We have registered hundreds of thousands of voters already. I think that empowering those who are locked out is my job and the hip hop community is the voice of those who are locked out.
GOODRICH: We are powerful. We are leaders. We are movers. We are shakers and we need you to understand our plight.
SIMMONS: Old people have already twisted everything up. And the highest aspirations America can have are in the minds of young people. The Hip Hop Summit is dedicated to that effort, to use the artists' power and young people's power to make this country better.
LAYZIE BONE, BONE THUGS IN HARMONY: The reason why I'm here is to raise awareness and show the importance of, you know, what it is to vote, what it means to select our own leaders.
KEVIN LILES, PRESIDENT, DEF JAM RECORDINGS: We can't relate to George Bush. We can't relate to a lot of the other politicians who never lived our plight and our struggle, you know. We are in our own war every day. You know they want to talk about what's going over on in Iraq and we want to talk about what's going on in the hood.
SIMMONS: The fact that these young people look up to these artists and respect these artists more than they do the politicians, they trust them more than they do the politicians. The politicians rarely speak of their plight. The more of them that register, the more politicians will have to be accountable to them.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am fascinated by rap and by hip hop. I think there is a lot of poetry in it. And I think you better listen to it pretty carefully because there is -- it's important.
ED GILLESPIE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE (?): I think we have got a great opportunity. We're going to -- we're going to work hip hop hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a nonpartisan effort. I think the candidates are becoming sensitive. They realize that we're registering voters all over the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Register to vote.
SIMMONS: And these people will vote in one voice. Those who listen to hip hop are sensitized to the plight of the poor. Whoever speaks to their agenda and helps them to uplift themselves are the ones who will get their vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Want to take a closer look at the possible impact of young voters in the upcoming election. For that we turn to our friends Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier from radio station WOKQ in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They are joining us live by phone.
Good morning.
MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Good morning, Carol.
DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So what do you think, hip hop?
ERICSON: Well, as you know, New Hampshire was the place where John Kerry kicked off this college tour thing last week. Now to be fair, in New Hampshire he only had about 500 people at the rally. Pittsburgh was his big deal, he had 10,000 people there, Carrie -- Carol, but he also had Jon Bon Jovi with him.
CARRIER: Yes, that's a draw.
COSTELLO: Yes, you -- yes, really, you wonder who they were really coming out to see. You know the reason I laugh about this is it's admirable that people are trying to get young voters involved, but...
CARRIER: Once the voting...
COSTELLO: ... does either John Kerry or George Bush really speak to the younger generation as far as saying that they are really trying to get into hip hop and they find it important? It just seems disingenuous from both candidates.
ERICSON: You're saying you don't think either one of these guys is the hippest dude on the block -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Well maybe they are deep inside, but it doesn't seem to be coming out.
CARRIER: You know -- you know what I love the most is the Democrats. They are holding a contest to have people just write in their essays saying why they should be on any kind of campaign trail, so forth and so on. One of the -- I think it's the President's Call for Community Service, he has a title for it.
ERICSON: That's actually the Republican contest.
CARRIER: Is it a Republican contest?
ERICSON: It's called Stand Up and Holla (ph).
CARRIER: Not stand up and holler, but Stand Up and Holla.
ERICSON: Holla, oh yes. CARRIER: He gave me some attitude in that.
COSTELLO: Well I can't remember what John Kerry's little title is, but for you it has just the letter U.
ERICSON: Well the tour was called "Change Starts With U."
COSTELLO: Yes, with the letter U.
CARRIER: The letter U, right.
ERICSON: Right. And he is -- he kicked off most of the college campus appearances by saying that he was going to absolve anyone of anything they did on spring break if he was elected president.
CARRIER: You know I think it's -- I think it's really neat that MTV is getting behind the youth, trying to get the youth. I mean that makes sense. But it kind of goes back to the whole Clinton thing. I didn't get when Clinton was on MTV, so I don't get how the presidents or even the candidates are getting into the MTV thing.
COSTELLO: Well, you know what's interesting, too, there was a Harvard study done. It says in the year 2000 overall voter turnout was 50 percent. Among those 18 to 24, it was only 29 percent -- 29 percent.
CARRIER: Wow!
COSTELLO: That's not many.
CARRIER: No.
COSTELLO: So you wonder, these campaigns are pouring so much money into getting these young, young voters, is it really worth it?
ERICSON: Well, and that poll that you are talking about also shows Kerry in the lead by about 10 percent over President Bush at the moment. But if you look deep into that survey, a lot of people are looking towards Kerry simply because he isn't President Bush. They don't really know much about John Kerry.
COSTELLO: Interesting stuff. Wish we could go on, but our time has run short.
CARRIER: Darn.
COSTELLO: Dang.
ERICSON: Well you stand up and holla and have a good day -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I will. I am with U -- letter U.
CARRIER: We (INAUDIBLE) U.
COSTELLO: Danielle and Mark, thanks, as always, for joining DAYBREAK.
We'll be right back with much more. You stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK, 5:53 Eastern.
Cut calories, increase life span, that's what research has found in animals. Whether or not the same holds true for people, it's actually still up in the air.
But as CNN's Christy Feig reports, the low calorie diet does have its health benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New research shows people who drastically reduce the number of calories in their diet actually reduce their risk of heart disease and diabetes.
DR. STUART SEIDES, CARDIOLOGIST: I think one would bet if one had to bet that these folks will probably live longer. It is not-- certainly not proven by this study.
FEIG: The researchers found 18 people who had been eating this very low-calorie diet of 1100 to just under 2,000 calories a day, then compared them to 18 people that ate like the average American, consuming anywhere from nearly 2000 calories a day to more than 3500. Those on the restricted diet have more of the good and less of the dangerous cholesterol. The heart benefit has been seen in real life. During World War II, the shortage of food in some Northern European countries led to a drop in death from heart disease. When the war ended, deaths rose again. Although experts can't explain why drastic calorie reduction seems to have these benefits, they do say it should be done only with a nutritionist or you could end up malnourished. Christy Feig, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: For more on this story or any other health story, head to our Web site, the address CNN.com/Health.
This morning the buzz on journalist Bob Woodward's book, "Plan of Attack," is his assertion the Saudis hope to keep oil prices low during the period before the election. He talked about it on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODWARD: What I say in the book is, according to Bandar, the Saudis hoped to control oil prices in the 10 months running up to the election because if they skyrocketed, it would hurt the American economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now both the White House and Saudi Prince Bandar have denied any such plan or deal to keep prices low during election time. We're asking you this morning what you think. And we got some interesting e-mails.
Shall I read the first one?
MYERS: Go right ahead.
COSTELLO: All right, I will. This is from Tom (ph) and he is from New Jersey. He says the conversation with the Saudi Arabian ambassador, actually he meant the prince, about gas prices, whether it happened or not shouldn't surprise anyone. American politics has never been as honest and forthright as the politicians would have you, the United States, believe, Democrat or Republican.
MYERS: From Joe (ph), didn't say where from. Nixon was brought down by Deep Throat. Bush could be brought down by deep pockets. All the president's men are lining up just like Mitchell Dean and the rest. Bush's spin is eerily remnant of I am not a crook.
COSTELLO: Goodness.
This is from Anne (ph). She says how long has it been since the gas price didn't go up at this time of year and then it goes down?
MYERS: Sure. Absolutely. Summer driving season, of course.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
And this one from our friends in Canada, because we hear this as Americans all the time.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: This is from Ryan (ph). He says it's difficult for most Canadians to understand why Americans fret over their gas prices so much. They are already paying less at the pump than most of the world because your government is pretty lax on the taxation. But he adds, if you're going to drive around in a huge SUV and a pickup truck, then someone has to pay the piper.
Well thank you our friends from Canada.
MYERS: True. But you know what, this is actually pretty good for the Oklahoma and Texas economy, too, because it takes about -- when I was living there -- it takes about $20, $21 to pump some oil out of the ground out there. And if you're -- if you can sell it for now 30 bucks a barrel, whatever it might be, $35, whatever it is now, that means the Oklahoma and Texas economy is doing pretty well because they can actually start pumping some of that oil again. So we'll see.
COSTELLO: Wish I was more of an expert on that topic, but I am not, but it's interesting.
MYERS: Get some oil from home for a change.
COSTELLO: Yes, thank you -- Chad. MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: The Woodward book is a story that just won't go away. So in the next hour of DAYBREAK, more buzz on the assertion in Woodward's book the president and the Saudis discuss keeping oil prices low before the election. We'll have a debate.
Plus, after days of intense fighting, why things seem to have quieted down in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
And safety in American schools, what has changed since the bloodiest attack at a U.S. school five years ago today?
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