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CNN Live At Daybreak
Prison Abuse Scandal; Historic Host?; World Cup Fever; Making the Grade; Carbophobia
Aired May 14, 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: ... document the founding of the premiere independent movie studio. Publisher Harper Collins says the book is due out in two years -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Abu Ghraib Prison, it has become one of the scorching focal points for anti-American sentiment in Iraq. Just a few hours ago, an estimated 250 Iraqis were released from the prison where the U.S. military admits that some prisoners were abused.
Ben Wedeman at the prison this morning, he filed this report a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first large batch of prisoners was released from Abu Ghraib today. A total of 315, according to a senior coalition source.
Now they left -- the first bus left Abu Ghraib Prison at about 9:20 in the morning local time. Rather than stopping outside the gates of the prison, however, it headed east towards Baghdad, much to the disappointment of hundreds of people who had assembled outside the prison having heard rumors that there would be a prisoner release. In total, five buses left the prison, one apparently heading towards Fallujah, three to the northwest of Baghdad.
Now already from those who have emerged from the prison, reports that they were abused, humiliated and mistreated. At this point it is difficult to confirm those stories. But what seems to be clear is that those coming out are bringing with them a good deal of resentment against the U.S.-led coalition.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
COSTELLO: And that brings us to this morning's e-mail question, should Abu Ghraib Prison be destroyed? E-mail your answers, your opinions to DAYBREAK@CNN.com and, of course, we'll read some of your opinions on the air. Now we know there will be changes in Iraq after the U.S. hands over power on June 30, but here is one you might not know about. The lead role for most U.S. operations in Iraq will transfer from the Pentagon to the State Department on that day. President Bush signed an executive order on that this week, although it has not yet been made public.
Let's bring in our senior international editor Eli Flournoy right now.
We want to talk more about the prisoner release from Abu Ghraib Prison. And a lot of -- were a lot of women released, too? How many women are in the prison anyway?
ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well it's not clear exactly how many women are in the -- in the prison. As Ben has reported before, there are some 3,000 prisoners. So in there, they're dramatically trying to reduce the size of the prison population there and 250 have been released today. It's not clear how many of those were women, but there are women in there. And there are women amongst those who have reportedly been abused.
We saw -- the lawmakers in the U.S. saw the pictures of abuse. And amongst those photos, there were pictures which reportedly showing soldiers forcing women to expose themselves, although there are no specific reports, according to U.S. lawmakers, there are no specific pictures which show sexual contact between American soldiers and women there. But it presents a particular problem for...
COSTELLO: And what is that problem for...
FLOURNOY: Well, because of the cultural taboo towards -- for women in Iraq, it's very, very unlikely that any of them would come forward with allegations of abuse. And so Iraqi human rights workers are trying to find out which women have been released from the prison. The U.S. is not giving them that information about who has been released from the prison. So it's very hard for them to track down and to treat or offer therapy or anything like that to women who have been released who may have been subject of abuse. But Iraqi human rights workers say that they have received many allegations of abuse. They don't have any specific substantiated claims yet.
COSTELLO: And it will be interesting to see in the future just how many prisoners will be released from Abu Ghraib when all is said and done.
FLOURNOY: Exactly. I mean they want to get the prison population down, because they say a lot of these -- a lot of these problems were the result of too few soldiers handling too many prisoners. So we'll see.
COSTELLO: Anything else on the plate this morning you want to talk about?
FLOURNOY: No, we've got -- we're going to be doing Sudan coverage throughout today and into the weekend. Christiane Amanpour is on the border between Chad and Sudan, so she's going to be -- they're doing more reporting with the huge number of refugees fleeing the fighting in Sudan out there. So we're looking forward to seeing more reporting from Christiane.
COSTELLO: OK, Eli Flournoy, many thanks to you.
FLOURNOY: OK.
COSTELLO: Quick, grab whoever is in the house and get them in front of the television. They will want to see this video. It is topping our 'Across America' segment. Just unbelievable. Check out the house. This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto. Well, actually, it is Kansas, it's just not Auntie Em's house. This house was completely destroyed. Incredibly, no injuries reported from several tornadoes that swept across south central Kansas. Nobody was in that house, obviously, when that happened.
Marcus Vick, quarterback for Virginia Tech, goes on trial, along with two teammates today. They are charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Vick's brother, Michael, of course, is quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.
In Denver, what a headache, a freight train jumps the tracks near Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. At least one of the cars winds up in the South Platte River. A hazardous materials crew was called in to clean up. No injuries reported here.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, a new pyramid in Egypt, this one not an ancient tomb but more like a PR stunt advertising this country as a possible host for one of the biggest sporting events in the world, but Egypt isn't the only hopeful nation.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeff Koinange in Casablanca, Morocco. Anticipation is building here as the country says they deserve the World Cup because they have been in the bidding game for the last 16 years. More coming up live on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time to open the 'DAYBREAK E-mail Bag' I should say. We've been asking you this question, should the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq be totally destroyed in light of what's happened there?
This from Allen (ph) from Natchitoches, Louisiana. Boy, I hope I pronounced that town name right. He says absolutely, Abu Ghraib should be destroyed. The prison was built by the Hussein regime and has such a terrible reputation. I agree with an earlier message that tearing it down would send a very strong message.
This from Pete (ph) from New Jersey, from Waldwick, New Jersey. He says think of what we're talking about. Abu Ghraib Prison isn't even our property. This might be likened to Mexico tearing down the Alamo. The Iraqi's prison may well become their Alamo, a source of national pride for generations.
And this from George (ph) from Baltimore, Maryland. He says we didn't tear down Dacha (ph).
Keep the e-mails coming, DAYBREAK@ or C -- DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
My goodness, I'm glad it's Friday, aren't you?
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:40 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.
In Iraq, more than 200 prisoners were released from Abu Ghraib Prison today. It's the first mass prisoner release there since news of the abuse scandal broke.
For 37 cents, you can celebrate explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who launched their famous expedition 150 years ago today. The Postal Service commemorates the expedition with the release today of a Lewis & Clark stamp.
In money news, Delta Air Lines says not to worry about the number of pilots who could be retiring soon. It says it has reached an agreement with the Pilots Association and flight schedules will not be affected.
In sports, she's 47 and she's coming back. Martina Navratilova will play at the French Open a decade after her last Grand Slam singles match. You go, girl.
In culture, one of the greatest stars of the state and screen coming to Virginia. Judi Dench participates in a day of festivities tomorrow and will be honored at the Black Friars Playhouse -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
North Americans have the so-called World Series, but the rest of the world has the World Cup, as in soccer. And Egypt is awaiting a vote tomorrow that would make it the first African and first Arab country to host the sports event.
CNN's Sandy Petrykowski reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDY PETRYKOWSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of Egyptian sports fans made their way to the Great Pyramids of Geza to show their support for Egypt's bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
(on camera): Egypt has the potential to host an excellent World Cup, according to a FIFA technical report issued in advance of the vote. It noted the total commitment of the government and the public. The one area that Egypt would need to address, however, is what it termed a lack of World Cup quality stadium. (voice-over): Egyptian team captain Hossam Hassan says hosting the first African, first Arab World Cup would send a political message that outweighs the thrill of victory.
"I wish if we host the tournament it would become a message of peace," he said. "I call upon American and Egyptian and people of the whole world to end all the wars and live in peace."
Sandy Petrykowski, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And two other African countries also hoping to score big, South Africa and Morocco. Both nations have their hearts set on winning the bid to host the world's soccer cup. We'll take you live to both capitals now.
Our Jeff Koinange is in Casablanca and Charlayne Hunter-Gault is live on the phone from Johannesburg.
Charlayne, let's begin with you, good morning.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
There's no other way to put it here the nerves are on edge. But the spirit, the South Africans are soaring with what they believe is going to be victory for the country tomorrow in Zurich. Their hopes were also raised by the Football Association's inspection team which rated the country's ability to host the Cup as excellent, which appears to put it ahead of its main rivals Morocco and Egypt because South Africa already has the statia (ph) to host the Cup.
But South Africa lost the bid in 2006 when one of the FIFA members abstained. But that member from Germany is now helping South Africa this time around to pull the rabbit out of the hat.
South Africa needs 13 votes to put it over the top, so they have put together a formidable team, led by the country's President Thabo Mbeki and joined by some of the country's heroes, Nelson Mandela, Oscar Award winning South African actress Charlize Theron.
And South Africa is going to be making its presentation to the committee Friday afternoon, determined that in this year when the country is celebrating 10 years of freedom from apartheid, it will also be able to celebrate getting the World Cup as the ultimate reward for this soccer loving country -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Some big names involved there. Charlayne Hunter-Gault reporting live from Johannesburg.
Well let's cross over to the other end of the continent, that would be Africa, where our Jeff Koinange joins us live from Casablanca.
Hello -- Jeff.
KOINANGE: Hello there, Carol.
And while Morocco may not have some big names in it, Carol, let me tell you they have been in this bidding war for the last 16 years. First started in 1986, the first African country to enter a bid. And in 1994 they lost by only one vote. Guess to who, the United States. So they feel this time they deserve it. They have been in this game long enough.
And here's the other thing, Morocco is literally an hour and a half away from most European capitals. They share the same climate and all the infrastructure is in place. And here's one more thing, Carol, this, if they get the bid, would be the first Arab country to host the World Cup finals, not just African, but first Arab country.
They feel they have everything going for them. They are very excited. People on the street are extremely excited. Anticipation is building to an all-time high. They feel 24 hours from now they will get that bid and they will get to host Africa's first ever World Cup finals -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And of course, Jeff, a big concern is security. Is Morocco able to provide sufficient security for those countries coming in?
KOINANGE: That's a very good point, Carol. And just remember exactly a year ago to this day, 12 suicide bombers blew themselves up right here in this city of Casablanca. And of course a couple of months ago, during the May -- March 11 Madrid bombing, about two dozen of those alleged bombers were Moroccan. So security is a big, big issue.
We spoke to officials here on the ground. They say security will be an all-time. They are trying to tighten up. They are arresting all kinds of fundamentalists and extremists on the ground. They say that will not be a problem. But all they want is the green light to host these games and everything else will fall into place, according to them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Jeff Koinange reporting live for us from Casablanca this morning.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, if you want a real taste of ancient Greece, then southern France is the best place to be. It's all about "Troy" in Cannes this weekend. We're going to take you live to the south of France for more on this annual film festival.
And do you feel like a common criminal for eating a potato or a piece of bread? We will take you on a mission to find out what's feeding the anti-carb craze.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
Startling increases in college tuition are leaving low-income students with growing levels of debt when they graduate. The federal Pell Grant program for low-income students has had a few adjustments since it began in 1975 and now there are increasing calls for the program to keep pace with rising tuition.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Iowa to Pennsylvania, backlash against the Bush White House and its trade policies. It started when the president's man on trade, Robert Zoellick lobbied all 50 governors seeking their, quote, "voluntary commitment" to agree to procurement rules that mean, quote, "treating foreign suppliers in the same manner as domestic suppliers." In other words, just say no to the anti-outsourcing backlash and let foreign companies compete for state contracts.
LORI WALLACH, PUBLIC CITIZEN: What's at stake is whether or not the different states and enough taxpayers in the states will decide how our tax dollars are spent, or whether we're going to have global one size fits all rules. To some degree that may be the ideology the White House is for. I doubt that many Americans would favor that.
VILES: Originally the state of Pennsylvania agreed to the White House policy but then this week Governor Ed Rendell wrote saying to Zoellick saying, quote, "I was elected to ensure the prosperity and stability of Pennsylvania, I am rescinding my agreement." Politicians responding to the outrage that results when state money supports outsourcing.
MICHAEL VEON (D), PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE: It really is adding insult to injury. You lose your job because the job is outsourced overseas. The insult is the company who did it is being paid taxpayers' dollars on a state contract. So it's adding insult to injury and people are outraged about it.
VILES: Also saying no to the White House on this, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack saying he needs every tool available to help workers in his state.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: 'Health Headlines' for you this morning, more proof that it's better to breastfeed. A new study finds that obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes in adults can be influenced by a person's growth rate during infancy. And enriched infant formulas encourage rapid growth; therefore, formula fed babies may have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke later in life.
Speaking of babies, scientists say it's possible that air pollution doesn't only affect animals and people but their unborn offspring, too. Researchers found genetic mutations known to be caused by some pollutants can be passed through sperm to baby mice. They say the same thing could happen to humans.
Some would argue this point, but researchers say people would rather earn their money instead of get it for free like say in a lottery or trust fund. Yes, right!
MYERS: Really?
COSTELLO: Come on! How would researchers know that, you ask, though? Well they studied the pleasure center in people's brains. I don't know.
MYERS: They missed it.
COSTELLO: I think they did, too.
For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/Health.
MYERS: I could be just as happy winning the lottery as just working here all day.
COSTELLO: I know, any way you get it, it's fine with me.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: You give some money for charity and work for charitable organizations to make you feel better about contributing.
MYERS: There's always something.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Europeans may find it humorous, but the war on carbohydrates is serious stuff here in overweight America.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because people are constantly fighting, you know, the Atkins Diet.
MYERS: Right, South Beach, Sugar Busters.
COSTELLO: And I'm just in to eating in moderation and exercising.
You know I was talking to a nutritionist the other day, and she said people come in and they want her to put them on the Atkins Diet.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And when she doesn't do that, they become angry and leave.
MYERS: OK, it's a free country. Well if you want to do it, you can do it.
COSTELLO: Don't you think people have become obsessed, though?
MYERS: No. I think -- I think if you do it in moderation, you don't have to be zero carbs all day. You know what, that's maybe the first two weeks, if you want to be on that plan. I just -- I'm just careful how much sugar I eat. I'm just -- it's just...
COSTELLO: I don't know, I think some people are taking it to the extremes.
MYERS: Well, I'm sure they are.
COSTELLO: Let's check in with CNN's Bruce Burkhardt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks like a pleasant springtime lunch scene. But beware, there is an enemy among us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't look low carb to me. Carbs, carbs, carbs! Bread, bread, bread!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a potato?
BURKHARDT: It's a if there's a new kind of McCarthyism going on -- food McCarthyism. Maybe MacCarbyism.
(on camera): Are you now or have you ever been a consumer of carbs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
BURKHARDT (voice-over): It is out of hand. When was the last time a diet craze affected the stock market?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look at the stock that is down today by almost 28 percent right now, losing 9 bucks a share.
BURKHARDT: Guilt by carb association. There's a new kind of black list. Food processors and restaurants want to stay off of it. The orange juice, even the beer industry, had to publicly defend themselves against charging of pedalling carb-carrying products.
FRANCINE KATZ, ANHEUSER-BUSCH: We realize 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.
BURKHARDT: Imagine that, attacking beer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you no sense of decency, sir?
BURKHARDT: No other diet fad, Scarsdale, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, none of them have spread tentacles into the culture like this one.
Low carb stores, low carb magazines, with fascinating stories like top 10 low carb cities. There's low carb Web sites. And of course all the food product is with low carb come-ons.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like the salad today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not carb counter but I'm watching my fat.
BURKHARDT: At Subway, which like many chains offers a low carb alternative, a wrap instead of a bun, nutritionist Kimberly Glenn believes this too shall pass.
KIMBERLY GLENN, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: I think happened with this low carb craze is people for when-got about calories and fat, and they both count.
BURKHARDT: There's only one solution -- eat less. Tough advice to follow.
(on camera): Are you going to eat that?
(voice-over): Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: That sounds like me and my wife, are you going to eat that?
COSTELLO: That's terrible. No.
MYERS: Are you done yet?
COSTELLO: You know Chad doesn't want to talk about this next topic, because he is just not romantic at all.
MYERS: It's fine, there's just -- there's some royal things going on here, some Danish prince met some commoner in a bar. I love that they call her a commoner.
COSTELLO: I know.
MYERS: What is that? I mean she's not a prisoner or anything.
COSTELLO: But they met in Australia during the 2000 Olympics.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And she's a law student, apparently. She was drinking in a bar in Sydney and in comes the prince. He sits down and offers to buy her a drink.
MYERS: What's the name of the bar here. Well I can't find it now. The Slip Inn. The Slip Inn in the hotel bar, and now they have drinks named for the two of them, so.
COSTELLO: That's beautiful.
MYERS: All kinds of...
COSTELLO: They're going to get married later this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. That would be Denmark time.
MYERS: Right. COSTELLO: Because you know everything has to be on his side.
MYERS: Yes, but they also -- they are going to be dressed in furs.
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Because I guess it's still cold there.
COSTELLO: It's cold in Denmark?
MYERS: I don't know.
COSTELLO: Coming up on the -- in the next hour of DAYBREAK, remember the days when totaling a car referred to a mangled mess of metal? Well that definition is changing and so is the cost of repairs. Stick around to see what's driving up the expenses for you and your insurance company.
And the Internet as a tool for terrorists, who are these extremists who go online to spread their message and can they be stopped?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 14, 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: ... document the founding of the premiere independent movie studio. Publisher Harper Collins says the book is due out in two years -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Abu Ghraib Prison, it has become one of the scorching focal points for anti-American sentiment in Iraq. Just a few hours ago, an estimated 250 Iraqis were released from the prison where the U.S. military admits that some prisoners were abused.
Ben Wedeman at the prison this morning, he filed this report a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first large batch of prisoners was released from Abu Ghraib today. A total of 315, according to a senior coalition source.
Now they left -- the first bus left Abu Ghraib Prison at about 9:20 in the morning local time. Rather than stopping outside the gates of the prison, however, it headed east towards Baghdad, much to the disappointment of hundreds of people who had assembled outside the prison having heard rumors that there would be a prisoner release. In total, five buses left the prison, one apparently heading towards Fallujah, three to the northwest of Baghdad.
Now already from those who have emerged from the prison, reports that they were abused, humiliated and mistreated. At this point it is difficult to confirm those stories. But what seems to be clear is that those coming out are bringing with them a good deal of resentment against the U.S.-led coalition.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
COSTELLO: And that brings us to this morning's e-mail question, should Abu Ghraib Prison be destroyed? E-mail your answers, your opinions to DAYBREAK@CNN.com and, of course, we'll read some of your opinions on the air. Now we know there will be changes in Iraq after the U.S. hands over power on June 30, but here is one you might not know about. The lead role for most U.S. operations in Iraq will transfer from the Pentagon to the State Department on that day. President Bush signed an executive order on that this week, although it has not yet been made public.
Let's bring in our senior international editor Eli Flournoy right now.
We want to talk more about the prisoner release from Abu Ghraib Prison. And a lot of -- were a lot of women released, too? How many women are in the prison anyway?
ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well it's not clear exactly how many women are in the -- in the prison. As Ben has reported before, there are some 3,000 prisoners. So in there, they're dramatically trying to reduce the size of the prison population there and 250 have been released today. It's not clear how many of those were women, but there are women in there. And there are women amongst those who have reportedly been abused.
We saw -- the lawmakers in the U.S. saw the pictures of abuse. And amongst those photos, there were pictures which reportedly showing soldiers forcing women to expose themselves, although there are no specific reports, according to U.S. lawmakers, there are no specific pictures which show sexual contact between American soldiers and women there. But it presents a particular problem for...
COSTELLO: And what is that problem for...
FLOURNOY: Well, because of the cultural taboo towards -- for women in Iraq, it's very, very unlikely that any of them would come forward with allegations of abuse. And so Iraqi human rights workers are trying to find out which women have been released from the prison. The U.S. is not giving them that information about who has been released from the prison. So it's very hard for them to track down and to treat or offer therapy or anything like that to women who have been released who may have been subject of abuse. But Iraqi human rights workers say that they have received many allegations of abuse. They don't have any specific substantiated claims yet.
COSTELLO: And it will be interesting to see in the future just how many prisoners will be released from Abu Ghraib when all is said and done.
FLOURNOY: Exactly. I mean they want to get the prison population down, because they say a lot of these -- a lot of these problems were the result of too few soldiers handling too many prisoners. So we'll see.
COSTELLO: Anything else on the plate this morning you want to talk about?
FLOURNOY: No, we've got -- we're going to be doing Sudan coverage throughout today and into the weekend. Christiane Amanpour is on the border between Chad and Sudan, so she's going to be -- they're doing more reporting with the huge number of refugees fleeing the fighting in Sudan out there. So we're looking forward to seeing more reporting from Christiane.
COSTELLO: OK, Eli Flournoy, many thanks to you.
FLOURNOY: OK.
COSTELLO: Quick, grab whoever is in the house and get them in front of the television. They will want to see this video. It is topping our 'Across America' segment. Just unbelievable. Check out the house. This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto. Well, actually, it is Kansas, it's just not Auntie Em's house. This house was completely destroyed. Incredibly, no injuries reported from several tornadoes that swept across south central Kansas. Nobody was in that house, obviously, when that happened.
Marcus Vick, quarterback for Virginia Tech, goes on trial, along with two teammates today. They are charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Vick's brother, Michael, of course, is quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.
In Denver, what a headache, a freight train jumps the tracks near Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. At least one of the cars winds up in the South Platte River. A hazardous materials crew was called in to clean up. No injuries reported here.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, a new pyramid in Egypt, this one not an ancient tomb but more like a PR stunt advertising this country as a possible host for one of the biggest sporting events in the world, but Egypt isn't the only hopeful nation.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeff Koinange in Casablanca, Morocco. Anticipation is building here as the country says they deserve the World Cup because they have been in the bidding game for the last 16 years. More coming up live on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time to open the 'DAYBREAK E-mail Bag' I should say. We've been asking you this question, should the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq be totally destroyed in light of what's happened there?
This from Allen (ph) from Natchitoches, Louisiana. Boy, I hope I pronounced that town name right. He says absolutely, Abu Ghraib should be destroyed. The prison was built by the Hussein regime and has such a terrible reputation. I agree with an earlier message that tearing it down would send a very strong message.
This from Pete (ph) from New Jersey, from Waldwick, New Jersey. He says think of what we're talking about. Abu Ghraib Prison isn't even our property. This might be likened to Mexico tearing down the Alamo. The Iraqi's prison may well become their Alamo, a source of national pride for generations.
And this from George (ph) from Baltimore, Maryland. He says we didn't tear down Dacha (ph).
Keep the e-mails coming, DAYBREAK@ or C -- DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
My goodness, I'm glad it's Friday, aren't you?
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:40 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.
In Iraq, more than 200 prisoners were released from Abu Ghraib Prison today. It's the first mass prisoner release there since news of the abuse scandal broke.
For 37 cents, you can celebrate explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who launched their famous expedition 150 years ago today. The Postal Service commemorates the expedition with the release today of a Lewis & Clark stamp.
In money news, Delta Air Lines says not to worry about the number of pilots who could be retiring soon. It says it has reached an agreement with the Pilots Association and flight schedules will not be affected.
In sports, she's 47 and she's coming back. Martina Navratilova will play at the French Open a decade after her last Grand Slam singles match. You go, girl.
In culture, one of the greatest stars of the state and screen coming to Virginia. Judi Dench participates in a day of festivities tomorrow and will be honored at the Black Friars Playhouse -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
North Americans have the so-called World Series, but the rest of the world has the World Cup, as in soccer. And Egypt is awaiting a vote tomorrow that would make it the first African and first Arab country to host the sports event.
CNN's Sandy Petrykowski reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDY PETRYKOWSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of Egyptian sports fans made their way to the Great Pyramids of Geza to show their support for Egypt's bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
(on camera): Egypt has the potential to host an excellent World Cup, according to a FIFA technical report issued in advance of the vote. It noted the total commitment of the government and the public. The one area that Egypt would need to address, however, is what it termed a lack of World Cup quality stadium. (voice-over): Egyptian team captain Hossam Hassan says hosting the first African, first Arab World Cup would send a political message that outweighs the thrill of victory.
"I wish if we host the tournament it would become a message of peace," he said. "I call upon American and Egyptian and people of the whole world to end all the wars and live in peace."
Sandy Petrykowski, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And two other African countries also hoping to score big, South Africa and Morocco. Both nations have their hearts set on winning the bid to host the world's soccer cup. We'll take you live to both capitals now.
Our Jeff Koinange is in Casablanca and Charlayne Hunter-Gault is live on the phone from Johannesburg.
Charlayne, let's begin with you, good morning.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
There's no other way to put it here the nerves are on edge. But the spirit, the South Africans are soaring with what they believe is going to be victory for the country tomorrow in Zurich. Their hopes were also raised by the Football Association's inspection team which rated the country's ability to host the Cup as excellent, which appears to put it ahead of its main rivals Morocco and Egypt because South Africa already has the statia (ph) to host the Cup.
But South Africa lost the bid in 2006 when one of the FIFA members abstained. But that member from Germany is now helping South Africa this time around to pull the rabbit out of the hat.
South Africa needs 13 votes to put it over the top, so they have put together a formidable team, led by the country's President Thabo Mbeki and joined by some of the country's heroes, Nelson Mandela, Oscar Award winning South African actress Charlize Theron.
And South Africa is going to be making its presentation to the committee Friday afternoon, determined that in this year when the country is celebrating 10 years of freedom from apartheid, it will also be able to celebrate getting the World Cup as the ultimate reward for this soccer loving country -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Some big names involved there. Charlayne Hunter-Gault reporting live from Johannesburg.
Well let's cross over to the other end of the continent, that would be Africa, where our Jeff Koinange joins us live from Casablanca.
Hello -- Jeff.
KOINANGE: Hello there, Carol.
And while Morocco may not have some big names in it, Carol, let me tell you they have been in this bidding war for the last 16 years. First started in 1986, the first African country to enter a bid. And in 1994 they lost by only one vote. Guess to who, the United States. So they feel this time they deserve it. They have been in this game long enough.
And here's the other thing, Morocco is literally an hour and a half away from most European capitals. They share the same climate and all the infrastructure is in place. And here's one more thing, Carol, this, if they get the bid, would be the first Arab country to host the World Cup finals, not just African, but first Arab country.
They feel they have everything going for them. They are very excited. People on the street are extremely excited. Anticipation is building to an all-time high. They feel 24 hours from now they will get that bid and they will get to host Africa's first ever World Cup finals -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And of course, Jeff, a big concern is security. Is Morocco able to provide sufficient security for those countries coming in?
KOINANGE: That's a very good point, Carol. And just remember exactly a year ago to this day, 12 suicide bombers blew themselves up right here in this city of Casablanca. And of course a couple of months ago, during the May -- March 11 Madrid bombing, about two dozen of those alleged bombers were Moroccan. So security is a big, big issue.
We spoke to officials here on the ground. They say security will be an all-time. They are trying to tighten up. They are arresting all kinds of fundamentalists and extremists on the ground. They say that will not be a problem. But all they want is the green light to host these games and everything else will fall into place, according to them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Jeff Koinange reporting live for us from Casablanca this morning.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, if you want a real taste of ancient Greece, then southern France is the best place to be. It's all about "Troy" in Cannes this weekend. We're going to take you live to the south of France for more on this annual film festival.
And do you feel like a common criminal for eating a potato or a piece of bread? We will take you on a mission to find out what's feeding the anti-carb craze.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
Startling increases in college tuition are leaving low-income students with growing levels of debt when they graduate. The federal Pell Grant program for low-income students has had a few adjustments since it began in 1975 and now there are increasing calls for the program to keep pace with rising tuition.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Iowa to Pennsylvania, backlash against the Bush White House and its trade policies. It started when the president's man on trade, Robert Zoellick lobbied all 50 governors seeking their, quote, "voluntary commitment" to agree to procurement rules that mean, quote, "treating foreign suppliers in the same manner as domestic suppliers." In other words, just say no to the anti-outsourcing backlash and let foreign companies compete for state contracts.
LORI WALLACH, PUBLIC CITIZEN: What's at stake is whether or not the different states and enough taxpayers in the states will decide how our tax dollars are spent, or whether we're going to have global one size fits all rules. To some degree that may be the ideology the White House is for. I doubt that many Americans would favor that.
VILES: Originally the state of Pennsylvania agreed to the White House policy but then this week Governor Ed Rendell wrote saying to Zoellick saying, quote, "I was elected to ensure the prosperity and stability of Pennsylvania, I am rescinding my agreement." Politicians responding to the outrage that results when state money supports outsourcing.
MICHAEL VEON (D), PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE: It really is adding insult to injury. You lose your job because the job is outsourced overseas. The insult is the company who did it is being paid taxpayers' dollars on a state contract. So it's adding insult to injury and people are outraged about it.
VILES: Also saying no to the White House on this, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack saying he needs every tool available to help workers in his state.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: 'Health Headlines' for you this morning, more proof that it's better to breastfeed. A new study finds that obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes in adults can be influenced by a person's growth rate during infancy. And enriched infant formulas encourage rapid growth; therefore, formula fed babies may have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke later in life.
Speaking of babies, scientists say it's possible that air pollution doesn't only affect animals and people but their unborn offspring, too. Researchers found genetic mutations known to be caused by some pollutants can be passed through sperm to baby mice. They say the same thing could happen to humans.
Some would argue this point, but researchers say people would rather earn their money instead of get it for free like say in a lottery or trust fund. Yes, right!
MYERS: Really?
COSTELLO: Come on! How would researchers know that, you ask, though? Well they studied the pleasure center in people's brains. I don't know.
MYERS: They missed it.
COSTELLO: I think they did, too.
For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/Health.
MYERS: I could be just as happy winning the lottery as just working here all day.
COSTELLO: I know, any way you get it, it's fine with me.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: You give some money for charity and work for charitable organizations to make you feel better about contributing.
MYERS: There's always something.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Europeans may find it humorous, but the war on carbohydrates is serious stuff here in overweight America.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because people are constantly fighting, you know, the Atkins Diet.
MYERS: Right, South Beach, Sugar Busters.
COSTELLO: And I'm just in to eating in moderation and exercising.
You know I was talking to a nutritionist the other day, and she said people come in and they want her to put them on the Atkins Diet.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And when she doesn't do that, they become angry and leave.
MYERS: OK, it's a free country. Well if you want to do it, you can do it.
COSTELLO: Don't you think people have become obsessed, though?
MYERS: No. I think -- I think if you do it in moderation, you don't have to be zero carbs all day. You know what, that's maybe the first two weeks, if you want to be on that plan. I just -- I'm just careful how much sugar I eat. I'm just -- it's just...
COSTELLO: I don't know, I think some people are taking it to the extremes.
MYERS: Well, I'm sure they are.
COSTELLO: Let's check in with CNN's Bruce Burkhardt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks like a pleasant springtime lunch scene. But beware, there is an enemy among us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't look low carb to me. Carbs, carbs, carbs! Bread, bread, bread!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a potato?
BURKHARDT: It's a if there's a new kind of McCarthyism going on -- food McCarthyism. Maybe MacCarbyism.
(on camera): Are you now or have you ever been a consumer of carbs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
BURKHARDT (voice-over): It is out of hand. When was the last time a diet craze affected the stock market?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look at the stock that is down today by almost 28 percent right now, losing 9 bucks a share.
BURKHARDT: Guilt by carb association. There's a new kind of black list. Food processors and restaurants want to stay off of it. The orange juice, even the beer industry, had to publicly defend themselves against charging of pedalling carb-carrying products.
FRANCINE KATZ, ANHEUSER-BUSCH: We realize 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.
BURKHARDT: Imagine that, attacking beer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you no sense of decency, sir?
BURKHARDT: No other diet fad, Scarsdale, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, none of them have spread tentacles into the culture like this one.
Low carb stores, low carb magazines, with fascinating stories like top 10 low carb cities. There's low carb Web sites. And of course all the food product is with low carb come-ons.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like the salad today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not carb counter but I'm watching my fat.
BURKHARDT: At Subway, which like many chains offers a low carb alternative, a wrap instead of a bun, nutritionist Kimberly Glenn believes this too shall pass.
KIMBERLY GLENN, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: I think happened with this low carb craze is people for when-got about calories and fat, and they both count.
BURKHARDT: There's only one solution -- eat less. Tough advice to follow.
(on camera): Are you going to eat that?
(voice-over): Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: That sounds like me and my wife, are you going to eat that?
COSTELLO: That's terrible. No.
MYERS: Are you done yet?
COSTELLO: You know Chad doesn't want to talk about this next topic, because he is just not romantic at all.
MYERS: It's fine, there's just -- there's some royal things going on here, some Danish prince met some commoner in a bar. I love that they call her a commoner.
COSTELLO: I know.
MYERS: What is that? I mean she's not a prisoner or anything.
COSTELLO: But they met in Australia during the 2000 Olympics.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And she's a law student, apparently. She was drinking in a bar in Sydney and in comes the prince. He sits down and offers to buy her a drink.
MYERS: What's the name of the bar here. Well I can't find it now. The Slip Inn. The Slip Inn in the hotel bar, and now they have drinks named for the two of them, so.
COSTELLO: That's beautiful.
MYERS: All kinds of...
COSTELLO: They're going to get married later this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. That would be Denmark time.
MYERS: Right. COSTELLO: Because you know everything has to be on his side.
MYERS: Yes, but they also -- they are going to be dressed in furs.
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Because I guess it's still cold there.
COSTELLO: It's cold in Denmark?
MYERS: I don't know.
COSTELLO: Coming up on the -- in the next hour of DAYBREAK, remember the days when totaling a car referred to a mangled mess of metal? Well that definition is changing and so is the cost of repairs. Stick around to see what's driving up the expenses for you and your insurance company.
And the Internet as a tool for terrorists, who are these extremists who go online to spread their message and can they be stopped?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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