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CNN Live At Daybreak

Train Tragedy; Power of Pictures; Environmental Heroes; The Skinny on Beer

Aired April 23, 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: Running out of time in Iraq, coalition forces deliver an ominous message to fighters in Fallujah, hand over your weapons or else.
Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. It is Friday, April 23. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date right now.

A Red Cross disaster team has been dispatched to the scene of a horrific train explosion in North Korea. Reuters quotes the Red Cross as saying 54 people were killed, more than 1,200 injured, but there could be many more fatalities.

U.S. Marines are telling Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah they have just days to hand over heavy weaponry or face possible attacks. Weapons turned over so far have been described as unusable junk.

The House has approved a contingency plan in case it is the target of a terrorist attack. Under the measure, a special election would be held within 45 days if more than 100 House members are killed.

And Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning is expected to be one of the top players selected in this weekend's NFL draft. San Diego has the first pick, but a pre-draft deal could land Manning elsewhere.

Should be interesting -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It will be very interesting. I love watching that on TV.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Well at least it's Friday.

MYERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Happy Friday.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Let's talk about the big mystery in North Korea, the terrible mystery there. The Red Cross is now confirming that 54 people have been killed, more than 1,200 injured in a horrifying train explosion in North Korea.

Dr. Eigil Sorensen, the World Health Organization's representative to North Korea, joins us live by phone from Pyongyang with more on this tragedy.

What do you know about this accident?

DR. EIGIL SORENSEN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REP. TO N. KOREA: We know so far that based on the information we have from the government that more than 50 people have been killed, but casualty figures could be substantial higher in there -- the major damage on the site with about 2,000 houses destroyed. And we know the injuries are, at the moment, more than 1,000 people. But to say that we have not been on the site so far, so this is based on the information we have from the government.

COSTELLO: And the accident itself, two trains collided and both were carrying fuel?

SORENSEN: Well I am not sure whether that -- from the information we have from the government is that there was actually an explosion which occurred related to some work which was going on and close to the train. So I think that the confirmation related to the collision of two trains is not confirmed.

COSTELLO: Why don't North Korean officials allow aid workers in to help?

SORENSEN: Well they have actually now accepted, just a couple of hours ago, they have asked for international assistance. And an assistance team from the international community will go into tomorrow morning, and here there is already evening time, tomorrow morning go to the site to inspect. So I think this is clearly that the magnitude of this disaster means that they are actually asking for assistance and will allow foreign international organizations to assist that situation.

COSTELLO: Does North Korea have the facilities to handle this many people injured or killed?

SORENSEN: The health services in North Korea is in really a crisis, and that's why they really --their capacity to handle this type of saucery (ph) is very limited. And that's why I think they do depend on international assistance.

COSTELLO: Dr. Eigil Sorensen from the World Health Organization, he's the representative to North Korea, joining us live by phone from Pyongyang.

Let's talk with our senior international editor Eli Flournoy now about the situation in Iraq?

ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well, actually in North Korea, looking at the story, just as the doctor was saying, the logistics there for dealing with this type of crisis are really, really difficult. We have heard also from the Red Cross, they have been invited in to send a team that's coming from China. And as we heard from Jaime FlorCruz, who is on the border of North Korea and China in the city of Dandong, they will be -- we will probably be seeing casualties, injured, possibly dead to deal with them coming out into China.

COSTELLO: There were casualties in China, as well, as a result of this explosion?

FLOURNOY: Well, actually there were Chinese casualties, Chinese nationals who were either working in the industry there in North Korea, but the Chinese were relatively quick to confirm that they had some of their own nationals who were injured and killed in the, yes, in the accident or explosion.

COSTELLO: Tell us how difficult it was for Jaime FlorCruz even to get to the border there.

FLOURNOY: Well it's -- he had to travel, of course, from Beijing, and that, in and of itself, was not -- was not that difficult. But even with the Chinese officials, they're very sensitive, particularly within their relationship with North Korea. They have the closest relationship with North Korea, so they want to be very careful not to upset the North Koreas by allowing some sort of coverage. But they have allowed us to go there and set up, and we are able to broadcast live, which is something outside of -- outside of Beijing within...

COSTELLO: Is there a chance that Jaime may be get -- may be able to get into North Korea?

FLOURNOY: We're hoping so. We're hoping so. We're hoping that maybe with a relief team that's going across into -- from China into North Korea. We're hoping that we might be able to join along or that the North Korean officials will see the value of illustrating what the tragedy that has happened and hopefully bring world opinion of sympathy to them. So we're hoping to be able to actually go into China. He's just hours, hours I say, he's just miles from the location there on the border.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

FLOURNOY: It is just -- it is just across the border.

COSTELLO: And quickly now, you also have a story out of Brazil to tell us about.

FLOURNOY: Yes, river surfing. We have -- we had this, as our Harris Whitbeck there, you can see, got stuck on the boat after covering this -- covering this river surfing competition there in Brazil. You can see this huge, huge river. Well a big tidal wave comes down this river twice a year and surfers come in. And I think we have some video of some surfers on the -- on the competition. They jump right into that water and they surf right on the river. Now the problem is that there are piranhas and alligators and poisonous snakes right in the river, and Harris and his team, their motor went out. They were stuck on the river. They were afraid they were getting washed out to sea. And we had to have a whole rescue operation to get them out. Eventually some locals came up to help them in a rescue boat...

COSTELLO: That's what Harris gets for covering a fun story.

FLOURNOY: Exactly.

COSTELLO: You know this is a river, there can't be many waves, so all of those waves are being generated by the boats?

FLOURNOY: No, no, this is a phenomenon.

COSTELLO: So,...

FLOURNOY: This is a natural phenomenon that happens...

COSTELLO: On a river?

FLOURNOY: ... on a river. Because of the moon and the way the winds are twice a year, this tidal wave comes down the river and washes out to sea. And these crazy surfers come out there and ride the -- ride the wave down there. It's up to -- up to 10 feet and they can go on that wave for I think the record is 36 minutes...

COSTELLO: It's amazing.

FLOURNOY: ... on that same -- on that same wave.

COSTELLO: So is Harris safe and sound or is he still on the...

FLOURNOY: Harris is safe and sound, don't worry.

COSTELLO: Glad to hear it. And he looked OK, just a little sunburned.

FLOURNOY: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Eli.

Well it is no secret that hundreds of American men and women have come home from Iraq in coffins. But the Pentagon is trying to make sure you do not see any of those images. So when photographs of flag- draped coffins of American war dead were released to the media, military officials were quick to clamp down.

We get more details now from senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are pictures the Pentagon didn't want you to see, row on row of flag draped coffins on their final voyage home from Iraq.

The official Air Force photographs were taken for historical purposes and released to an anti-government secrecy Web site, the memoryhole.org under the Freedom of Information Act.

That release is now under review because it conflicts with official Pentagon policy banning news media coverage of the return of military remains. To some that policy seems misguided.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: The idea that they are essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong.

MCINTYRE: Since just before the 1991 Persian Gulf War with a few rare exceptions, the Pentagon has banned cameras at Dover Air Force Base or anyplace en route. Grave site coverage is permitted if the family agrees.

The Pentagon insists it's not trying to cover up the war's human cost but simply protecting the privacy of families and it has the support of the National Military Family Association.

In a statement, the organization says there is no apparent consensus among families about the policy and it believes the current policy is sensitive to the needs of the families.

This picture published on the front page of The Seattle Times last Sunday showing more than 20 flag-draped coffins resulted in a contract worker losing her job. After e-mailing the picture, taken earlier this month, to a friend the woman was fired along with her husband for what the contractor says was a violation of government and company regulations.

For the newspaper, publishing the picture was an easy call.

DAVID BOARDMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE SEATTLE TIMES": The most amazing thing about it really is that everybody seems to be moved by it. What they see in it is largely a function of what they bring to it, so that some people see it as a strong anti-war statement. Other people see it very much as a picture that honors the soldiers who are over there.

BROWN (on camera): The Pentagon says they have nothing to apologize in trying to craft guidelines that balance the needs of the news media against the sensitivities of the families. And an official says there are no plans to review the policy.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning. At least 54 people now confirmed dead, more than 1,200 injured in a train explosion in secretive North Korea. It's not clear if the train was carrying fuel oil or explosives when it ignited at a rail station.

The U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, now wants to give jobs back to some of Saddam Hussein's former military officers and Ba'ath Party members. It's the newest effort to pacify the Sunni minority and cut the violence.

In money, automaker DaimlerChrysler plans to dump money-losing Mitsubishi Motors. DaimlerChrysler says it will try to sell its 37 percent stake in the Japanese auto company.

In sports, tennis beauty Anna Kournikova is being sued by her parents.

That got Chad's attention.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, her parent says that she has taken over the $5 billion Miami waterfront home the three jointly owned and they want money for their share of it. What a happy family.

MYERS: Gee.

COSTELLO: In culture, the man who discovered the Titanic is going back to the sunken ship. Robert Ballard's televised expedition is aimed at halting the ship's deterioration.

MYERS: That's work (INAUDIBLE) is pretty deep.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: That's crazy.

Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you.

Earth Day is highlighted by awarding the Goldman Prize for environmental activism. Seven people around the world who risked it all for their causes are singled out this year.

CNN's Daniel Sieberg has their stories for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Margie Richard fought for years to hold Shell Chemical accountable for the health problems that plagued the people in her Louisiana community.

MARGIE RICHARD, 2004 GOLDMAN PRIZE WINNER: I said we really need to become organized well enough to confront the opposing persons, which were Shell. I knew we had to become well organized to be heard. SIEBERG: The former middle school teacher becomes the first African-American recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, an award that celebrates grassroots environmental activism around the world.

The 20th anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster is at the foundation of the struggle launched by Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla. Many survivors of the 1984 gas leak, that killed more than 20,000 people in Bhopal, India, are still ailing to this day. Their suffering caused Bee and Shukla to seek justice and hold companies accountable for practices that injure the people or ecology in their region.

In the midst of a violent narcotics war in Colombia and lax government policies that threaten nearly 30 percent of the region's plants and animals with extinction, Libia Grueso led a campaign that secured nearly six million acres and territorial rights for her nation's rural black communities, giving them more control over development in their area.

For years, attorney Rudolf Amenga-Etego risked assassination in his struggle against Ghana's government to insure that the African nation's poor could access clean water.

RUDOLF AMENGA-ETEGO, 20004 GOLDMAN PRIZE WINNER: We saw that the price of water was going up and up and up and many people were being disconnected because they couldn't pay their bills.

SIEBERG: His grassroots movement united his country's citizens and blocked a major water privatization project sponsored by the World Bank that he says would have limited people's ability to obtain affordable water supplies.

Manana Kochladze launched an environmental campaign that won protections for local villagers in her home of Tbilisi in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Her efforts stopped the development of a major oil pipeline that would have threatened the ecology and natural water resources in the region.

After centuries of ecological degradation under colonial occupation and warfare in East Timor, Demetrio de Carvalho, head of the only environmental organization on the Asian island, works with the poverty stricken population to encourage them to limit practices that degrade their natural resources.

And that's a mission shared by all the winners of this year's award.

Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A small town, a big sacrifice. In the next hour of DAYBREAK, several former students from one school decide to serve their country at a costly expense. The story of sacrifice in the next hour of DAYBREAK. And one beverage maker says enough of the attacks, beer on a diet is AOK. But a beer belly on South Beach may be a bit of a problem, Chad. We'll explain more next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK on a Friday.

'Health Headlines' for you this morning. Dozens of steroid-like substances that people buy as over-the-counter supplements may soon become controlled substances. A House panel has ordered to ban more than 40 so-called steroid precursors from store shelves. Among them, Andro, the performance enhancing substance made famous by baseball slugger Mark McGwire.

A Japanese study has found a drug combination called UFT can add years to the lives of people in the early stages of lung cancers. Doctors in Japan say UFT comes in pill form and has relatively few side effects. Ironically, the drug combination was rejected as a cancer treatment in this country.

A new study seems to lend credence to school programs that discourage soft drinks in an effort to curb childhood obesity. Over a year's time, the study found a drop in the percentage of elementary students who were overweight after they reduced their soda consumption by less than one can a day.

Let's talk beer now. Beer giant Anheuser-Busch says enough is enough. It accuses the South Beach Diet of driving customers away by spreading false information about beer. Now Busch is going public with what it considers the real skinny on beer.

CNN's John Zarrella has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA: You'd like a cold one. But, you're on a diet. Don't worry, says Anheuser-Busch. The nation's largest beer maker is charging that the mega popular South Beach Diet book is flatly misleading when it comes to beer.

FRANCINE KATZ, ANHEUSER-BUSCH: We realize that the South Beach diet has helped many people lose weight. But it doesn't change the fact that Dr. Atkinson's advice about beer is absolutely wrong.

ZARRELLA: In the book, author Dr. Arthur Atkinson writes, "Maltose, the sugar in beer has a higher glycemia index than white bread. The insulin response to it leads to the fat storage in the abdomen that we call, quite accurately, the beer belly. Anheuser- Busch representatives holding a news conference in, of all places, South Beach, said the beer belly isn't caused by Maltose because, there isn't any maltose in beer.

DOUGH MUHLEMAN, CHIEF BREWMASTER: Yeast consumes the maltose converting it to alcohol and carbon dioxide, leaving no maltose behind. ZARRELLA: The South Beach Diet doctor told the south Florida, "Sun Sentinel." he's willing to do more research on that point but remains convinced that "beer is fattening." Anheuser Busch unveiled an ad that will appear Friday in more than 30 newspapers. The ad reads, have a beer with your South Beach Diet. Company officials say they are going public because they can't let misstatements go unchallenged. The beer maker's message to consumers? There's nothing wrong with bellying up to the bar, as long as it's done in moderation.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Just remember yeast consumes maltose.

For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/Health.

Yeast consumes maltose, so drink up.

MYERS: Good, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) turns into alcohol. Well you have to be careful, because there are many beers out there with high carb content and there are many beers out there with low carb content and you look at the label. You can tell. If you are on a low carb diet, you can't go out there and have a Newcastle, you can't really go out there and have a Budweiser, but you can have Bud Light or there is now Michelob Ultra or a Miller Light.

COSTELLO: Spoken by a man who has been through it.

MYERS: I am on the South Beach Diet. I have lost 10 pounds over the past two-and-a-half months. I'm not religiously on it, but if I want a beer, I go have a Miller Light and it's 3.2 carbs, so I don't worry about it. I can -- I can go out and clean my pool and it takes that much for me to burn that off, so moderation.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about -- let's talk about Nutter Butter cookies, because when I...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... heard about this story, all I could think of was have another Nutter Butter peanut butter sandwich cookie, teacher.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: But apparently in South Orange, New Jersey,...

MYERS: Scary.

COSTELLO: ... a sixth grader was suspended after school officials found that he had a small package of Nutter Butter cookies in his pocket.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: And apparently what they say he was doing is threatening his teacher, who is allergic to peanuts, with the cookies.

MYERS: Like he was going to force-feed her this peanut butter cookie. I don't know, I don't know how -- I mean is she not going to look at it and smell it and go obviously this is peanuts, I'm not eating it. But I'll tell you what, peanut allergies are -- that's why a lot of...

COSTELLO: They are very serious.

MYERS: That's why a lot of airplanes stopped putting peanuts on airplanes...

COSTELLO: I understand that, but these cookies didn't even come close to the teacher.

MYERS: But he told a classmate that I have something in my pocket that's going to make the teacher sick.

COSTELLO: So...

MYERS: So that other classmate says.

COSTELLO: Yes, well the parents are angry and of course they'll probably sue the school board.

MYERS: Suspended. Suspended for 10 days, I think, so far.

COSTELLO: We'll keep you posted.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Just ahead on DAYBREAK, we will have the latest on that terrible train explosion in North Korea.

And a change in policy, why U.S. officials are moving to allow members of Saddam's party to hold positions in the new Iraqi government.

That and much more in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) 180 and decides members of the old regime, the Saddam regime can take part in the nation's new government.

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Aired April 23, 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: Running out of time in Iraq, coalition forces deliver an ominous message to fighters in Fallujah, hand over your weapons or else.
Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. It is Friday, April 23. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date right now.

A Red Cross disaster team has been dispatched to the scene of a horrific train explosion in North Korea. Reuters quotes the Red Cross as saying 54 people were killed, more than 1,200 injured, but there could be many more fatalities.

U.S. Marines are telling Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah they have just days to hand over heavy weaponry or face possible attacks. Weapons turned over so far have been described as unusable junk.

The House has approved a contingency plan in case it is the target of a terrorist attack. Under the measure, a special election would be held within 45 days if more than 100 House members are killed.

And Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning is expected to be one of the top players selected in this weekend's NFL draft. San Diego has the first pick, but a pre-draft deal could land Manning elsewhere.

Should be interesting -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It will be very interesting. I love watching that on TV.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Well at least it's Friday.

MYERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Happy Friday.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Let's talk about the big mystery in North Korea, the terrible mystery there. The Red Cross is now confirming that 54 people have been killed, more than 1,200 injured in a horrifying train explosion in North Korea.

Dr. Eigil Sorensen, the World Health Organization's representative to North Korea, joins us live by phone from Pyongyang with more on this tragedy.

What do you know about this accident?

DR. EIGIL SORENSEN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REP. TO N. KOREA: We know so far that based on the information we have from the government that more than 50 people have been killed, but casualty figures could be substantial higher in there -- the major damage on the site with about 2,000 houses destroyed. And we know the injuries are, at the moment, more than 1,000 people. But to say that we have not been on the site so far, so this is based on the information we have from the government.

COSTELLO: And the accident itself, two trains collided and both were carrying fuel?

SORENSEN: Well I am not sure whether that -- from the information we have from the government is that there was actually an explosion which occurred related to some work which was going on and close to the train. So I think that the confirmation related to the collision of two trains is not confirmed.

COSTELLO: Why don't North Korean officials allow aid workers in to help?

SORENSEN: Well they have actually now accepted, just a couple of hours ago, they have asked for international assistance. And an assistance team from the international community will go into tomorrow morning, and here there is already evening time, tomorrow morning go to the site to inspect. So I think this is clearly that the magnitude of this disaster means that they are actually asking for assistance and will allow foreign international organizations to assist that situation.

COSTELLO: Does North Korea have the facilities to handle this many people injured or killed?

SORENSEN: The health services in North Korea is in really a crisis, and that's why they really --their capacity to handle this type of saucery (ph) is very limited. And that's why I think they do depend on international assistance.

COSTELLO: Dr. Eigil Sorensen from the World Health Organization, he's the representative to North Korea, joining us live by phone from Pyongyang.

Let's talk with our senior international editor Eli Flournoy now about the situation in Iraq?

ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well, actually in North Korea, looking at the story, just as the doctor was saying, the logistics there for dealing with this type of crisis are really, really difficult. We have heard also from the Red Cross, they have been invited in to send a team that's coming from China. And as we heard from Jaime FlorCruz, who is on the border of North Korea and China in the city of Dandong, they will be -- we will probably be seeing casualties, injured, possibly dead to deal with them coming out into China.

COSTELLO: There were casualties in China, as well, as a result of this explosion?

FLOURNOY: Well, actually there were Chinese casualties, Chinese nationals who were either working in the industry there in North Korea, but the Chinese were relatively quick to confirm that they had some of their own nationals who were injured and killed in the, yes, in the accident or explosion.

COSTELLO: Tell us how difficult it was for Jaime FlorCruz even to get to the border there.

FLOURNOY: Well it's -- he had to travel, of course, from Beijing, and that, in and of itself, was not -- was not that difficult. But even with the Chinese officials, they're very sensitive, particularly within their relationship with North Korea. They have the closest relationship with North Korea, so they want to be very careful not to upset the North Koreas by allowing some sort of coverage. But they have allowed us to go there and set up, and we are able to broadcast live, which is something outside of -- outside of Beijing within...

COSTELLO: Is there a chance that Jaime may be get -- may be able to get into North Korea?

FLOURNOY: We're hoping so. We're hoping so. We're hoping that maybe with a relief team that's going across into -- from China into North Korea. We're hoping that we might be able to join along or that the North Korean officials will see the value of illustrating what the tragedy that has happened and hopefully bring world opinion of sympathy to them. So we're hoping to be able to actually go into China. He's just hours, hours I say, he's just miles from the location there on the border.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

FLOURNOY: It is just -- it is just across the border.

COSTELLO: And quickly now, you also have a story out of Brazil to tell us about.

FLOURNOY: Yes, river surfing. We have -- we had this, as our Harris Whitbeck there, you can see, got stuck on the boat after covering this -- covering this river surfing competition there in Brazil. You can see this huge, huge river. Well a big tidal wave comes down this river twice a year and surfers come in. And I think we have some video of some surfers on the -- on the competition. They jump right into that water and they surf right on the river. Now the problem is that there are piranhas and alligators and poisonous snakes right in the river, and Harris and his team, their motor went out. They were stuck on the river. They were afraid they were getting washed out to sea. And we had to have a whole rescue operation to get them out. Eventually some locals came up to help them in a rescue boat...

COSTELLO: That's what Harris gets for covering a fun story.

FLOURNOY: Exactly.

COSTELLO: You know this is a river, there can't be many waves, so all of those waves are being generated by the boats?

FLOURNOY: No, no, this is a phenomenon.

COSTELLO: So,...

FLOURNOY: This is a natural phenomenon that happens...

COSTELLO: On a river?

FLOURNOY: ... on a river. Because of the moon and the way the winds are twice a year, this tidal wave comes down the river and washes out to sea. And these crazy surfers come out there and ride the -- ride the wave down there. It's up to -- up to 10 feet and they can go on that wave for I think the record is 36 minutes...

COSTELLO: It's amazing.

FLOURNOY: ... on that same -- on that same wave.

COSTELLO: So is Harris safe and sound or is he still on the...

FLOURNOY: Harris is safe and sound, don't worry.

COSTELLO: Glad to hear it. And he looked OK, just a little sunburned.

FLOURNOY: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Eli.

Well it is no secret that hundreds of American men and women have come home from Iraq in coffins. But the Pentagon is trying to make sure you do not see any of those images. So when photographs of flag- draped coffins of American war dead were released to the media, military officials were quick to clamp down.

We get more details now from senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are pictures the Pentagon didn't want you to see, row on row of flag draped coffins on their final voyage home from Iraq.

The official Air Force photographs were taken for historical purposes and released to an anti-government secrecy Web site, the memoryhole.org under the Freedom of Information Act.

That release is now under review because it conflicts with official Pentagon policy banning news media coverage of the return of military remains. To some that policy seems misguided.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: The idea that they are essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong.

MCINTYRE: Since just before the 1991 Persian Gulf War with a few rare exceptions, the Pentagon has banned cameras at Dover Air Force Base or anyplace en route. Grave site coverage is permitted if the family agrees.

The Pentagon insists it's not trying to cover up the war's human cost but simply protecting the privacy of families and it has the support of the National Military Family Association.

In a statement, the organization says there is no apparent consensus among families about the policy and it believes the current policy is sensitive to the needs of the families.

This picture published on the front page of The Seattle Times last Sunday showing more than 20 flag-draped coffins resulted in a contract worker losing her job. After e-mailing the picture, taken earlier this month, to a friend the woman was fired along with her husband for what the contractor says was a violation of government and company regulations.

For the newspaper, publishing the picture was an easy call.

DAVID BOARDMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE SEATTLE TIMES": The most amazing thing about it really is that everybody seems to be moved by it. What they see in it is largely a function of what they bring to it, so that some people see it as a strong anti-war statement. Other people see it very much as a picture that honors the soldiers who are over there.

BROWN (on camera): The Pentagon says they have nothing to apologize in trying to craft guidelines that balance the needs of the news media against the sensitivities of the families. And an official says there are no plans to review the policy.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning. At least 54 people now confirmed dead, more than 1,200 injured in a train explosion in secretive North Korea. It's not clear if the train was carrying fuel oil or explosives when it ignited at a rail station.

The U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, now wants to give jobs back to some of Saddam Hussein's former military officers and Ba'ath Party members. It's the newest effort to pacify the Sunni minority and cut the violence.

In money, automaker DaimlerChrysler plans to dump money-losing Mitsubishi Motors. DaimlerChrysler says it will try to sell its 37 percent stake in the Japanese auto company.

In sports, tennis beauty Anna Kournikova is being sued by her parents.

That got Chad's attention.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, her parent says that she has taken over the $5 billion Miami waterfront home the three jointly owned and they want money for their share of it. What a happy family.

MYERS: Gee.

COSTELLO: In culture, the man who discovered the Titanic is going back to the sunken ship. Robert Ballard's televised expedition is aimed at halting the ship's deterioration.

MYERS: That's work (INAUDIBLE) is pretty deep.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: That's crazy.

Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you.

Earth Day is highlighted by awarding the Goldman Prize for environmental activism. Seven people around the world who risked it all for their causes are singled out this year.

CNN's Daniel Sieberg has their stories for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Margie Richard fought for years to hold Shell Chemical accountable for the health problems that plagued the people in her Louisiana community.

MARGIE RICHARD, 2004 GOLDMAN PRIZE WINNER: I said we really need to become organized well enough to confront the opposing persons, which were Shell. I knew we had to become well organized to be heard. SIEBERG: The former middle school teacher becomes the first African-American recipient of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, an award that celebrates grassroots environmental activism around the world.

The 20th anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster is at the foundation of the struggle launched by Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla. Many survivors of the 1984 gas leak, that killed more than 20,000 people in Bhopal, India, are still ailing to this day. Their suffering caused Bee and Shukla to seek justice and hold companies accountable for practices that injure the people or ecology in their region.

In the midst of a violent narcotics war in Colombia and lax government policies that threaten nearly 30 percent of the region's plants and animals with extinction, Libia Grueso led a campaign that secured nearly six million acres and territorial rights for her nation's rural black communities, giving them more control over development in their area.

For years, attorney Rudolf Amenga-Etego risked assassination in his struggle against Ghana's government to insure that the African nation's poor could access clean water.

RUDOLF AMENGA-ETEGO, 20004 GOLDMAN PRIZE WINNER: We saw that the price of water was going up and up and up and many people were being disconnected because they couldn't pay their bills.

SIEBERG: His grassroots movement united his country's citizens and blocked a major water privatization project sponsored by the World Bank that he says would have limited people's ability to obtain affordable water supplies.

Manana Kochladze launched an environmental campaign that won protections for local villagers in her home of Tbilisi in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Her efforts stopped the development of a major oil pipeline that would have threatened the ecology and natural water resources in the region.

After centuries of ecological degradation under colonial occupation and warfare in East Timor, Demetrio de Carvalho, head of the only environmental organization on the Asian island, works with the poverty stricken population to encourage them to limit practices that degrade their natural resources.

And that's a mission shared by all the winners of this year's award.

Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A small town, a big sacrifice. In the next hour of DAYBREAK, several former students from one school decide to serve their country at a costly expense. The story of sacrifice in the next hour of DAYBREAK. And one beverage maker says enough of the attacks, beer on a diet is AOK. But a beer belly on South Beach may be a bit of a problem, Chad. We'll explain more next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK on a Friday.

'Health Headlines' for you this morning. Dozens of steroid-like substances that people buy as over-the-counter supplements may soon become controlled substances. A House panel has ordered to ban more than 40 so-called steroid precursors from store shelves. Among them, Andro, the performance enhancing substance made famous by baseball slugger Mark McGwire.

A Japanese study has found a drug combination called UFT can add years to the lives of people in the early stages of lung cancers. Doctors in Japan say UFT comes in pill form and has relatively few side effects. Ironically, the drug combination was rejected as a cancer treatment in this country.

A new study seems to lend credence to school programs that discourage soft drinks in an effort to curb childhood obesity. Over a year's time, the study found a drop in the percentage of elementary students who were overweight after they reduced their soda consumption by less than one can a day.

Let's talk beer now. Beer giant Anheuser-Busch says enough is enough. It accuses the South Beach Diet of driving customers away by spreading false information about beer. Now Busch is going public with what it considers the real skinny on beer.

CNN's John Zarrella has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA: You'd like a cold one. But, you're on a diet. Don't worry, says Anheuser-Busch. The nation's largest beer maker is charging that the mega popular South Beach Diet book is flatly misleading when it comes to beer.

FRANCINE KATZ, ANHEUSER-BUSCH: We realize that the South Beach diet has helped many people lose weight. But it doesn't change the fact that Dr. Atkinson's advice about beer is absolutely wrong.

ZARRELLA: In the book, author Dr. Arthur Atkinson writes, "Maltose, the sugar in beer has a higher glycemia index than white bread. The insulin response to it leads to the fat storage in the abdomen that we call, quite accurately, the beer belly. Anheuser- Busch representatives holding a news conference in, of all places, South Beach, said the beer belly isn't caused by Maltose because, there isn't any maltose in beer.

DOUGH MUHLEMAN, CHIEF BREWMASTER: Yeast consumes the maltose converting it to alcohol and carbon dioxide, leaving no maltose behind. ZARRELLA: The South Beach Diet doctor told the south Florida, "Sun Sentinel." he's willing to do more research on that point but remains convinced that "beer is fattening." Anheuser Busch unveiled an ad that will appear Friday in more than 30 newspapers. The ad reads, have a beer with your South Beach Diet. Company officials say they are going public because they can't let misstatements go unchallenged. The beer maker's message to consumers? There's nothing wrong with bellying up to the bar, as long as it's done in moderation.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Just remember yeast consumes maltose.

For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/Health.

Yeast consumes maltose, so drink up.

MYERS: Good, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) turns into alcohol. Well you have to be careful, because there are many beers out there with high carb content and there are many beers out there with low carb content and you look at the label. You can tell. If you are on a low carb diet, you can't go out there and have a Newcastle, you can't really go out there and have a Budweiser, but you can have Bud Light or there is now Michelob Ultra or a Miller Light.

COSTELLO: Spoken by a man who has been through it.

MYERS: I am on the South Beach Diet. I have lost 10 pounds over the past two-and-a-half months. I'm not religiously on it, but if I want a beer, I go have a Miller Light and it's 3.2 carbs, so I don't worry about it. I can -- I can go out and clean my pool and it takes that much for me to burn that off, so moderation.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about -- let's talk about Nutter Butter cookies, because when I...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... heard about this story, all I could think of was have another Nutter Butter peanut butter sandwich cookie, teacher.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: But apparently in South Orange, New Jersey,...

MYERS: Scary.

COSTELLO: ... a sixth grader was suspended after school officials found that he had a small package of Nutter Butter cookies in his pocket.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: And apparently what they say he was doing is threatening his teacher, who is allergic to peanuts, with the cookies.

MYERS: Like he was going to force-feed her this peanut butter cookie. I don't know, I don't know how -- I mean is she not going to look at it and smell it and go obviously this is peanuts, I'm not eating it. But I'll tell you what, peanut allergies are -- that's why a lot of...

COSTELLO: They are very serious.

MYERS: That's why a lot of airplanes stopped putting peanuts on airplanes...

COSTELLO: I understand that, but these cookies didn't even come close to the teacher.

MYERS: But he told a classmate that I have something in my pocket that's going to make the teacher sick.

COSTELLO: So...

MYERS: So that other classmate says.

COSTELLO: Yes, well the parents are angry and of course they'll probably sue the school board.

MYERS: Suspended. Suspended for 10 days, I think, so far.

COSTELLO: We'll keep you posted.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Just ahead on DAYBREAK, we will have the latest on that terrible train explosion in North Korea.

And a change in policy, why U.S. officials are moving to allow members of Saddam's party to hold positions in the new Iraqi government.

That and much more in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) 180 and decides members of the old regime, the Saddam regime can take part in the nation's new government.

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