Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Israeli Barrier Ruling; Incredible Reunion; The 'Goods' Live
Aired July 09, 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A security fence to some, a land grab to others, this morning, a ruling on Israel's barrier from the International Court of Justice.
It's Friday, July 9, and this is DAYBREAK.
Good morning, and welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello this morning.
Now in the news, intelligence agents got careless. That's one of the criticisms we'll hear more about in a Senate Intelligence Committee report being released this morning. The report questions the quality of intelligence assessments on the threat posed by Iraq's weapons program.
Fourteen-year-old Cody Posey heads to court today to answer charges that he killed his father, stepmother and stepsister. Posey told police he was abused. The bodies were discovered on a New Mexico ranch owned by journalist Sam Donaldson.
In just a few hours, the world court will hand down a judgment on Israel's barrier wall. The court's opinion on the legality of the West Bank separation wall is nonbinding. We'll have a live report from Israel coming up in just a few moments.
The newest Mega Millionaire is expected to step forward later today in Lowell, Massachusetts to officially claim his or her giant check. The lottery winner will pocket a cool $294 million before taxes of course.
And keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Boy, I wish I happened to be in Lowell, Massachusetts on that fateful day to get that Mega Millionaire's ticket.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We were in a lottery. We had a lottery pool going up here.
WHITFIELD: Oh man!
MYERS: All of us, 10 of us chipped in five bucks.
WHITFIELD: What!
MYERS: We had 50 tickets, 50 tickets. We didn't get one number.
WHITFIELD: Oh man, you didn't get...
MYERS: It was so ugly.
WHITFIELD: ... a dollar back.
MYERS: No.
WHITFIELD: Well what in the world is this person's story going to be that they decided to wait so long? Can't wait to hear it.
MYERS: They had to get -- well hopefully it's more than one person. Hopefully like it's an entire store.
WHITFIELD: They had to assemble everybody.
MYERS: And then that store doesn't exist anymore because they all quit.
WHITFIELD: You got it all figured out -- Chad.
MYERS: Because you know -- because that's the story you want to hear. But if it's one guy, I'm sure he had to get lawyers and all that. You really don't want to put all that back together, I guess, without knowing where all that money is going to go and how much the IRS is going to get.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well this morning the world court will deliver a ruling on the legality of Israel's barrier. An Israeli newspaper, "Herat (ph)," is reporting that the court will rule that Israel must dismantle the fence and pay compensation to the Palestinians. The verdict is expected less than four hours from now. Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for the decision.
Our Alessio Vinci has the view from both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The construction of the barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians goes on. In places, it is a network of fences with ditches and barbed wire, a concrete wall in others.
The army says stopping terror is behind where it is built and why.
COL. IAMIN HAIMAN (ph), ISRAELI ARMY: As you can see, only by the technical aspect, which everybody knows a little bit of tactics, if we played while even when we are children, it is better to defend being here on the hill than being there on the valley.
VINCI: Wissam is a student at al-Quds University in East Jerusalem. He says where the wall is on Palestinian land it is just an Israeli land grab.
WISSAM ATTWAN, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: The main point of this wall is to get the Palestinians, and especially the young ones, to leave from Palestine to go to Europe, United States, Australia, Gulf countries, anywhere else but not here.
VINCI: Israel says the barrier helps stop militants.
(on camera): Israeli officials say this fence or this wall, as the Palestinians call it, can be largely credited for successfully bringing down the number of would-be suicide bombers by as much as 80 percent in the last year. But the Palestinians are saying they are paying too high of a price for it.
(voice-over): Thousands are separated from schools and jobs. Thousands of acres of Palestinian land confiscated. Mupasum (ph), a farmer, must cross a gate in the barrier to reach his fields. He says it can take hours. The situation is depressing, he says, the whole world around us is closed. It is like living in a cage.
MAJ. SHARON FEINGOLD, ISRAELI ARMY: And not all Palestinians are terrorists. Most of them aren't. And we will try to facilitate, on the one hand, the daily lives of ordinary Palestinians. On the other hand, we must remember that the discomfort does not equal the murderous killing of Israelis.
VINCI: Israel's high court just last week ordered a small part of the route changed, saying it affected Palestinians without good reason. The government says it will obey the ruling. But Israel says the International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction and will ignore its ruling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And if indeed the International Court of Justice will rule later today that Israel has to dismantle the barrier, Palestinian officials have already said that they will seek backing by Arab nations at the United Nations to have the issue being discussed on the floor of the U.N. General Assembly. It is a move that Israeli officials say using their allies they will try to block.
Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: And, Alessio, how was this case brought to The Hague?
VINCI: Well it was demanded by a letter as written by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who basically has asked for an opinion, an advisory opinion to the International Court of Justice to discuss the legality of the barrier.
Basically what the International Court is currently looking into it is to figure out whether the barrier, the route of the barrier, which is not necessarily only on Israeli territories, is internationally legal. And according to what IRX (ph) is reporting this morning, the international court has already decided that certain portions of this barrier, because they are not built on Israeli territory and primarily on the -- in the West Bank, therefore it is illegal and it should be dismantled.
WHITFIELD: All right, Alessio Vinci, thanks very much, and that official announcement to be made in less than four hours from now.
Well stay on top of this developing Israeli-Palestinian story and all the events in the region by clicking on to our Web site. The address is CNN.com.
A milestone, albeit a dark one, in Iraq. The coalition death toll for the war now stands at 1,000. A U.S. soldier died Thursday from wounds suffered during fighting in Baghdad. While coalition deaths, both hostile and nonhostile, stand at 1,000, 880 American soldiers have died in Iraq.
U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Hassoun is in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon this morning. He arrived there Thursday. Hassoun was reported captured in Iraq last month. He is being flown to Germany later on today for a medical check up and debriefing.
An emotional reunion today in Pakistan, a Pakistani abducted by militants in Iraq and held for eight days is reunited with his family.
Former President Bill Clinton says chemical and biological weapons were unaccounted for in Iraq when Saddam Hussein kicked out the U.N. weapons inspectors back in 1998. But Clinton says he disagreed with President Bush about the top security issues facing the nation.
The former president talked with CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said I know that your people have concluded, and I've read your statements, that Saddam Hussein and missile defense are the two big security issues.
And so, I said, this has nothing to do with my being a Democrat and your being a Republican, I just -- my -- I believe objectively -- I've been reading this for eight years, I've been watching this -- I think by far your biggest problem is bin Laden and al Qaeda. And it's my great regret that I didn't get him; I tried.
And I said the second problem, by far, is the absence of a peace process in the Middle East because that's fueling all this.
And the third problem is the continuing tension between India and Pakistan because they've both got nuclear weapons. And the Pakistani military is full of people who have ties to the Taliban and, by extension, to al Qaeda.
Then, I would rank North Korea and then Iraq. I said that's just my opinion.
So, I didn't blame him for not saying anything, because I had presented him with a very different world view than he had been getting from these other folks. So, I didn't think it was that he didn't pay attention; I just think he thought -- he might have thought it wasn't prudent for him to say I disagree or I agree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. And international editor David Clinch is with us now to talk a little bit more about what is going on today.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well...
WHITFIELD: We've got a whole lot.
CLINCH: Yes, it's a busy day.
WHITFIELD: Israel, Iraq.
CLINCH: It's a very busy day internationally. That barrier decision is going to be very big. It's not a binding decision, but we'll be following that in Israel and beyond for reaction. This reunion in -- of the North Korean-U.S. defector. Great stories out there today.
But in the background, the Iraq story is still ticking over. You know it's one of these situations where we've almost got to the state where without some massive bombing, without a huge terrorist act, we're putting Iraq on the backburner.
But in the meantime, the story is still there. And one of the aspects of the story we're really keeping a very close eye on is that despite the transition of power, despite the determined efforts of the U.S. to handover military and security responsibility to the Iraqis, American soldiers are still dying. They are dying, for the most part, though, in places that we can't see. A lot of these incidents are still happening in the Sunni Triangle and beyond that.
There was an incident yesterday in Samarra in which five Americans died. An incident today just outside of Baghdad, or late last night, in which another U.S. soldier died, bringing the total, including all of the combat deaths and noncombat deaths of all the coalition forces up to 1,000 dead since the war started. And that figure includes 800-plus Americans.
And that figure of Americans dying has not changed. This is one of the things we're sort of looking at as the Americans are determined to put the Iraqi forces in the forefront, the insurgents are still finding ways to kill Americans.
WHITFIELD: Let's shift gears now, talk a little bit about what's happening in Lebanon.
CLINCH: Yes, well that story, fascinating story of Corporal Hassoun, who has found his way out of Iraq to Lebanon. The circumstances of that and now also the initial circumstances of his disappearance and his kidnapping, hostage taking in Iraq all being investigated by the U.S.
He's in Lebanon today. We're beginning to hear reports that he will be moved today from Lebanon to Germany for a full medical check up. But more importantly, at this stage, a full debrief. They want to know exactly what he was doing when he left his base in Iraq and how he managed to get from Iraq all the way to Beirut. So fascinating story.
WHITFIELD: A 500-mile track.
CLINCH: It is. And I mean his family definitely has been keeping in touch with him through this transition. They may also have information. But initially, the U.S. authorities want to find out how a soldier managed to leave his base without permission and then end up all the way in Lebanon.
WHITFIELD: And apparently there are reports that his lockers, you know, at the base were all cleaned out, so all of his possessions were gone.
CLINCH: There are strong indications that he had no intention of coming back when he left the base. But in some ways, more importantly now, they want to know who was helping him get from Iraq to Lebanon. And all of this, of course, you know could lead to a full investigation and possibly charges at some point. But we're watching that very closely.
WHITFIELD: All right, David Clinch, thanks very much.
CLINCH: All right.
WHITFIELD: Well here are some stories making news 'Across America' this Friday.
How much fat is in the fries? McDonald's has been sued in federal court over its failure to switch over to reduced fat cooking oil. The fast food giant had announced a February 2003 deadline for changing its oil, but McDonald's says the change was delayed due to concerns over product quality.
There's a scheduled hearing today in the Michael Jackson case. The judge will hear arguments over a motion to throw out the indictment. Defense attorneys claim the prosecution bullied witnesses in an effort to secure the indictment. Jackson is facing several charges, including lewd conduct with a child and conspiracy.
Disneyland's big Thunder Mountain Railroad Roller Coaster is shut down pending an investigation. It was closed after three riders got hurt when two trains bumped into each other. It's the second accident in less than a year.
California's education secretary is being urged to step down after making what he calls a teasing remark to a 6-year-old girl. Richard Riordan made the comment while reading to children at a Santa Barbara library. Riordan was asked by the girl, named Isis (ph), if he knew what her name meant.
Listen closely to his response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD RIORDAN, CALIFORNIA'S EDUCATION SECRETARY: And, Ericka (ph).
ISIS: No, Isis. Did you know that my name actually means an Egyptian goddess?
RIORDAN: It means -- it means stupid dirty girl.
ISIS: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Riordan, who is the former mayor of Los Angeles, says he apologized to the girl. The girl's mother says she's not going to sue for therapy bills because Isis didn't take the remark personally.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, he spent almost 40 years inside North Korea, but today, a former U.S. soldier comes out of hiding for the sake of his family. We'll go live to Jakarta for the latest.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 15 minutes before the hour, and here is what's all new this morning.
Saddam Hussein's only American attorney is seeking Supreme Court intervention. He says the dictator's detention violates multiple international and U.S. laws, including Saddam's constitutional right to due process.
Nature to the rescue, rain and humidity are helping firefighters defend a mountaintop observatory in Arizona. Officials say two fires have scorched nearly 27,000 acres.
In money, brace yourselves, parents, college tuition is on the rise again. Private institutions are expected to raise rates by 6 percent to just over $18,000 a year, while public college costs will jump 10 percent to about $5,100 a year.
In culture, a new survey shows far fewer Americans are reading poetry, pros or plays for pleasure. The National Endowment for the Arts estimates a loss of 20 million potential readers in the past 22 years.
In sports, Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer in the ninth last night to power Philly over the New York Mets five to four. The Phillies now lead the NL East by two games.
MYERS: Good morning -- Fred. WHITFIELD: Hello to you -- Chad.
MYERS: How are you this morning?
WHITFIELD: Where are you?
MYERS: I am way upstairs.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: So it was cold just for a hot second?
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Now it will be warm again in Boston.
All right, thanks a lot, Chad.
A former American soldier accused of defecting to North Korea is being united today with his Japanese wife. It's a twisted tale of love and loyalty. The latest chapter plays out in Indonesia.
Our Jakarta bureau chief Maria Ressa has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, CNN JAKARTA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Forty-five- year-old Hitomi Soga is headed for a reunion with her family, one that's far from ordinary or routine.
HITOMI SOGA, CHARLES ROBERT JENKINS' WIFE (through translator): I am very happy for the chance to see my family.
RESSA: Soga was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1978, 1 of at least 15 Japanese grabbed to train North Korean spies. She didn't return to her homeland until 24 years later, part of a program to improve bilateral relations between Japan and North Korea. But her life is far more complicated.
In 1980, she met and married American Charles Robert Jenkins, a man who disappeared from his U.S. Army unit near Korea's DMZ in 1965. The Army says he deserted.
He appeared in propaganda films and lived in North Korea since then. He did not join his wife in Japan afraid he would be arrested and extradited to the U.S. She could not return to Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a human caring issue for Mrs. Hitomi Soga.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Sergeant Jenkins, of course, is a deserter from the United States Army, and those charges remain outstanding on him. RESSA: Now a compromise hatched between the foreign ministers last week, a reunion in Indonesia, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S.
SOGA (through translator): I want to thank the Indonesian government for making this possible.
RESSA: Soga's husband will travel to Jakarta with their two daughters, Mika and Belinda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
On Friday morning, Jenkins boarded a Japanese charter flight taking him from North Korea to Jakarta. This is the very first time he will set foot outside the reclusive kingdom in nearly 40 years. That plane is scheduled to land here in Indonesia's capital just about 15 minutes from now -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Maria, does that mean that this journey for Jenkins guarantees that he would not be extradited under any circumstances?
RESSA: At this point, at least temporarily, yes, they can -- he can meet with his family, his wife, his daughters will be with him. They can stay here in Jakarta for at least a month. That's the duration of the visa they have been given and perhaps for longer without any fear of arrest or extradition -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Maria Ressa, in Jakarta, thanks very much.
Well he's not a journalist but he plays one on TV. In the next hour of DAYBREAK, we'll take a sneak peak at some summer movies headed to the big screen.
Also, money can't buy love, but can it buy happiness? Rich teens are lusting for labels, but is the pressure of it all too much too soon?
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: 'Health Headlines' for you this morning.
The expected jump in AIDS cases in California has not happened. Health officials fear the rate of infection would spike after studies showed that more gay men were having unprotected sex. The expected rise was also tied to cases of syphilis, which have tripled, apparently.
A new study shows a link between depression and heart disease. Researchers say that women who have had episodes of depression have increased odds of developing the symptoms associated with Type 2 Diabetes. The cluster of symptoms is known as Metabolic Syndrome.
Medical researchers say adult stem cells effectively treat patients who have had heart attacks. German researchers treated 60 heart patients with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow. After six months, it was found the hearts of those patients were working better.
For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address is CNN.com/health.
There's apparently a name for the wretched excess Americans are famous for, it's called "Affluenza," and America's youth is afflicted with it.
CNN's Jason Bellini has yet to find a cure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rich or not, today's teens make a beeline to brands. Not just any brand. Alexis Palladino wants to have exactly what the young celebs are wearing.
ALEXIS PALLADINO, YOUNG SHOPPER: The stories on E! about all the movie stars who have Prada bags and stuff.
BELLINI: She admires Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress in "The Simple Life."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPLE LIFE")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever had a real job?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELLINI: She's like many young people fascinated by today's shows like MTV's "Rich Girls."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RICH GIRLS," MTV)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People pay money for clothes, OK? But shouldn't it be, like, a free necessity, like water, because you need it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELLINI: Who say, That's what I want to be.
(on camera): You're 12 years old. How important is it to have the right bag when you go to school?
PALLADINO: Oh, it's really important.
BELLINI: Why?
PALLADINO: Well, because if you have, like, a wrong bag or, like, an ugly bag, people will make fun of you and stuff.
LESLIE LANGSAM, SAKS FIFTH AVENUE: They're $200.
BELLINI (voice-over): Leslie Langsam of Saks Fifth Avenue sees teens every day for whom must-haves really are must-haves.
(on camera): Do you ever see sticker shock on the faces of kids?
LANGSAM: Oh, sure, but that doesn't stop them from buying.
BELLINI (voice-over): Last year, U.S. teens spent $175 billion, up about 25 percent in five years. An author of the book "Affluenza" argues that the spending gone wild is a societal epidemic.
JOHN DE GRAAF, AUTHOR, "AFFLUENZA: THE ALL-CONSUMING EPIDEMIC": This virus has struck deep into the heart of American youth that there's a real sense that the good life is the goods life for kids.
BELLINI: Alexis says seventh-graders at her school are branded by the brands they buy. The rich kids benefit.
(on camera): Are they the more popular kids too?
PALLADINO: They are.
BELLINI: The rich kids are?
PALLADINO: Yes.
BELLINI: Why?
PALLADINO: I don't know. It's just how it is.
BELLINI (voice-over): John De Graaf suggests the following prescription for fighting "Affluenza." Parents should teach their children media literacy, to be aware of manipulation of their tastes by marketers.
Make children masters of money. Place emphasis on saving money and spending wisely.
Protect the plastic. Keep the credit card in an envelope with questions, like, Do I really need this?
There's no easy remedy, especially when ostentatious teen role models portray money as no object.
Mark Jacob boots, $550. Chanel bag, $1,000.
(on camera): Why does a 10-year-old need a Prada bag?
PALLADINO: I don't know, it's just fun to have.
BELLINI (voice-over): Carrying a Prada purse to middle school, priceless.
Jason Bellini, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Maybe another solution is get a job and pay for it themselves.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Will this wall come down? An international court weighs in on a symbol that literally divides the Middle East.
It's Friday, July 9, and this is DAYBREAK.
Good morning, from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 9, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A security fence to some, a land grab to others, this morning, a ruling on Israel's barrier from the International Court of Justice.
It's Friday, July 9, and this is DAYBREAK.
Good morning, and welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello this morning.
Now in the news, intelligence agents got careless. That's one of the criticisms we'll hear more about in a Senate Intelligence Committee report being released this morning. The report questions the quality of intelligence assessments on the threat posed by Iraq's weapons program.
Fourteen-year-old Cody Posey heads to court today to answer charges that he killed his father, stepmother and stepsister. Posey told police he was abused. The bodies were discovered on a New Mexico ranch owned by journalist Sam Donaldson.
In just a few hours, the world court will hand down a judgment on Israel's barrier wall. The court's opinion on the legality of the West Bank separation wall is nonbinding. We'll have a live report from Israel coming up in just a few moments.
The newest Mega Millionaire is expected to step forward later today in Lowell, Massachusetts to officially claim his or her giant check. The lottery winner will pocket a cool $294 million before taxes of course.
And keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Boy, I wish I happened to be in Lowell, Massachusetts on that fateful day to get that Mega Millionaire's ticket.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We were in a lottery. We had a lottery pool going up here.
WHITFIELD: Oh man!
MYERS: All of us, 10 of us chipped in five bucks.
WHITFIELD: What!
MYERS: We had 50 tickets, 50 tickets. We didn't get one number.
WHITFIELD: Oh man, you didn't get...
MYERS: It was so ugly.
WHITFIELD: ... a dollar back.
MYERS: No.
WHITFIELD: Well what in the world is this person's story going to be that they decided to wait so long? Can't wait to hear it.
MYERS: They had to get -- well hopefully it's more than one person. Hopefully like it's an entire store.
WHITFIELD: They had to assemble everybody.
MYERS: And then that store doesn't exist anymore because they all quit.
WHITFIELD: You got it all figured out -- Chad.
MYERS: Because you know -- because that's the story you want to hear. But if it's one guy, I'm sure he had to get lawyers and all that. You really don't want to put all that back together, I guess, without knowing where all that money is going to go and how much the IRS is going to get.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well this morning the world court will deliver a ruling on the legality of Israel's barrier. An Israeli newspaper, "Herat (ph)," is reporting that the court will rule that Israel must dismantle the fence and pay compensation to the Palestinians. The verdict is expected less than four hours from now. Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for the decision.
Our Alessio Vinci has the view from both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The construction of the barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians goes on. In places, it is a network of fences with ditches and barbed wire, a concrete wall in others.
The army says stopping terror is behind where it is built and why.
COL. IAMIN HAIMAN (ph), ISRAELI ARMY: As you can see, only by the technical aspect, which everybody knows a little bit of tactics, if we played while even when we are children, it is better to defend being here on the hill than being there on the valley.
VINCI: Wissam is a student at al-Quds University in East Jerusalem. He says where the wall is on Palestinian land it is just an Israeli land grab.
WISSAM ATTWAN, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: The main point of this wall is to get the Palestinians, and especially the young ones, to leave from Palestine to go to Europe, United States, Australia, Gulf countries, anywhere else but not here.
VINCI: Israel says the barrier helps stop militants.
(on camera): Israeli officials say this fence or this wall, as the Palestinians call it, can be largely credited for successfully bringing down the number of would-be suicide bombers by as much as 80 percent in the last year. But the Palestinians are saying they are paying too high of a price for it.
(voice-over): Thousands are separated from schools and jobs. Thousands of acres of Palestinian land confiscated. Mupasum (ph), a farmer, must cross a gate in the barrier to reach his fields. He says it can take hours. The situation is depressing, he says, the whole world around us is closed. It is like living in a cage.
MAJ. SHARON FEINGOLD, ISRAELI ARMY: And not all Palestinians are terrorists. Most of them aren't. And we will try to facilitate, on the one hand, the daily lives of ordinary Palestinians. On the other hand, we must remember that the discomfort does not equal the murderous killing of Israelis.
VINCI: Israel's high court just last week ordered a small part of the route changed, saying it affected Palestinians without good reason. The government says it will obey the ruling. But Israel says the International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction and will ignore its ruling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And if indeed the International Court of Justice will rule later today that Israel has to dismantle the barrier, Palestinian officials have already said that they will seek backing by Arab nations at the United Nations to have the issue being discussed on the floor of the U.N. General Assembly. It is a move that Israeli officials say using their allies they will try to block.
Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: And, Alessio, how was this case brought to The Hague?
VINCI: Well it was demanded by a letter as written by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who basically has asked for an opinion, an advisory opinion to the International Court of Justice to discuss the legality of the barrier.
Basically what the International Court is currently looking into it is to figure out whether the barrier, the route of the barrier, which is not necessarily only on Israeli territories, is internationally legal. And according to what IRX (ph) is reporting this morning, the international court has already decided that certain portions of this barrier, because they are not built on Israeli territory and primarily on the -- in the West Bank, therefore it is illegal and it should be dismantled.
WHITFIELD: All right, Alessio Vinci, thanks very much, and that official announcement to be made in less than four hours from now.
Well stay on top of this developing Israeli-Palestinian story and all the events in the region by clicking on to our Web site. The address is CNN.com.
A milestone, albeit a dark one, in Iraq. The coalition death toll for the war now stands at 1,000. A U.S. soldier died Thursday from wounds suffered during fighting in Baghdad. While coalition deaths, both hostile and nonhostile, stand at 1,000, 880 American soldiers have died in Iraq.
U.S. Marine Corporal Wassef Hassoun is in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon this morning. He arrived there Thursday. Hassoun was reported captured in Iraq last month. He is being flown to Germany later on today for a medical check up and debriefing.
An emotional reunion today in Pakistan, a Pakistani abducted by militants in Iraq and held for eight days is reunited with his family.
Former President Bill Clinton says chemical and biological weapons were unaccounted for in Iraq when Saddam Hussein kicked out the U.N. weapons inspectors back in 1998. But Clinton says he disagreed with President Bush about the top security issues facing the nation.
The former president talked with CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said I know that your people have concluded, and I've read your statements, that Saddam Hussein and missile defense are the two big security issues.
And so, I said, this has nothing to do with my being a Democrat and your being a Republican, I just -- my -- I believe objectively -- I've been reading this for eight years, I've been watching this -- I think by far your biggest problem is bin Laden and al Qaeda. And it's my great regret that I didn't get him; I tried.
And I said the second problem, by far, is the absence of a peace process in the Middle East because that's fueling all this.
And the third problem is the continuing tension between India and Pakistan because they've both got nuclear weapons. And the Pakistani military is full of people who have ties to the Taliban and, by extension, to al Qaeda.
Then, I would rank North Korea and then Iraq. I said that's just my opinion.
So, I didn't blame him for not saying anything, because I had presented him with a very different world view than he had been getting from these other folks. So, I didn't think it was that he didn't pay attention; I just think he thought -- he might have thought it wasn't prudent for him to say I disagree or I agree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. And international editor David Clinch is with us now to talk a little bit more about what is going on today.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well...
WHITFIELD: We've got a whole lot.
CLINCH: Yes, it's a busy day.
WHITFIELD: Israel, Iraq.
CLINCH: It's a very busy day internationally. That barrier decision is going to be very big. It's not a binding decision, but we'll be following that in Israel and beyond for reaction. This reunion in -- of the North Korean-U.S. defector. Great stories out there today.
But in the background, the Iraq story is still ticking over. You know it's one of these situations where we've almost got to the state where without some massive bombing, without a huge terrorist act, we're putting Iraq on the backburner.
But in the meantime, the story is still there. And one of the aspects of the story we're really keeping a very close eye on is that despite the transition of power, despite the determined efforts of the U.S. to handover military and security responsibility to the Iraqis, American soldiers are still dying. They are dying, for the most part, though, in places that we can't see. A lot of these incidents are still happening in the Sunni Triangle and beyond that.
There was an incident yesterday in Samarra in which five Americans died. An incident today just outside of Baghdad, or late last night, in which another U.S. soldier died, bringing the total, including all of the combat deaths and noncombat deaths of all the coalition forces up to 1,000 dead since the war started. And that figure includes 800-plus Americans.
And that figure of Americans dying has not changed. This is one of the things we're sort of looking at as the Americans are determined to put the Iraqi forces in the forefront, the insurgents are still finding ways to kill Americans.
WHITFIELD: Let's shift gears now, talk a little bit about what's happening in Lebanon.
CLINCH: Yes, well that story, fascinating story of Corporal Hassoun, who has found his way out of Iraq to Lebanon. The circumstances of that and now also the initial circumstances of his disappearance and his kidnapping, hostage taking in Iraq all being investigated by the U.S.
He's in Lebanon today. We're beginning to hear reports that he will be moved today from Lebanon to Germany for a full medical check up. But more importantly, at this stage, a full debrief. They want to know exactly what he was doing when he left his base in Iraq and how he managed to get from Iraq all the way to Beirut. So fascinating story.
WHITFIELD: A 500-mile track.
CLINCH: It is. And I mean his family definitely has been keeping in touch with him through this transition. They may also have information. But initially, the U.S. authorities want to find out how a soldier managed to leave his base without permission and then end up all the way in Lebanon.
WHITFIELD: And apparently there are reports that his lockers, you know, at the base were all cleaned out, so all of his possessions were gone.
CLINCH: There are strong indications that he had no intention of coming back when he left the base. But in some ways, more importantly now, they want to know who was helping him get from Iraq to Lebanon. And all of this, of course, you know could lead to a full investigation and possibly charges at some point. But we're watching that very closely.
WHITFIELD: All right, David Clinch, thanks very much.
CLINCH: All right.
WHITFIELD: Well here are some stories making news 'Across America' this Friday.
How much fat is in the fries? McDonald's has been sued in federal court over its failure to switch over to reduced fat cooking oil. The fast food giant had announced a February 2003 deadline for changing its oil, but McDonald's says the change was delayed due to concerns over product quality.
There's a scheduled hearing today in the Michael Jackson case. The judge will hear arguments over a motion to throw out the indictment. Defense attorneys claim the prosecution bullied witnesses in an effort to secure the indictment. Jackson is facing several charges, including lewd conduct with a child and conspiracy.
Disneyland's big Thunder Mountain Railroad Roller Coaster is shut down pending an investigation. It was closed after three riders got hurt when two trains bumped into each other. It's the second accident in less than a year.
California's education secretary is being urged to step down after making what he calls a teasing remark to a 6-year-old girl. Richard Riordan made the comment while reading to children at a Santa Barbara library. Riordan was asked by the girl, named Isis (ph), if he knew what her name meant.
Listen closely to his response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD RIORDAN, CALIFORNIA'S EDUCATION SECRETARY: And, Ericka (ph).
ISIS: No, Isis. Did you know that my name actually means an Egyptian goddess?
RIORDAN: It means -- it means stupid dirty girl.
ISIS: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Riordan, who is the former mayor of Los Angeles, says he apologized to the girl. The girl's mother says she's not going to sue for therapy bills because Isis didn't take the remark personally.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, he spent almost 40 years inside North Korea, but today, a former U.S. soldier comes out of hiding for the sake of his family. We'll go live to Jakarta for the latest.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 15 minutes before the hour, and here is what's all new this morning.
Saddam Hussein's only American attorney is seeking Supreme Court intervention. He says the dictator's detention violates multiple international and U.S. laws, including Saddam's constitutional right to due process.
Nature to the rescue, rain and humidity are helping firefighters defend a mountaintop observatory in Arizona. Officials say two fires have scorched nearly 27,000 acres.
In money, brace yourselves, parents, college tuition is on the rise again. Private institutions are expected to raise rates by 6 percent to just over $18,000 a year, while public college costs will jump 10 percent to about $5,100 a year.
In culture, a new survey shows far fewer Americans are reading poetry, pros or plays for pleasure. The National Endowment for the Arts estimates a loss of 20 million potential readers in the past 22 years.
In sports, Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer in the ninth last night to power Philly over the New York Mets five to four. The Phillies now lead the NL East by two games.
MYERS: Good morning -- Fred. WHITFIELD: Hello to you -- Chad.
MYERS: How are you this morning?
WHITFIELD: Where are you?
MYERS: I am way upstairs.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Fredricka, back to you.
WHITFIELD: So it was cold just for a hot second?
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Now it will be warm again in Boston.
All right, thanks a lot, Chad.
A former American soldier accused of defecting to North Korea is being united today with his Japanese wife. It's a twisted tale of love and loyalty. The latest chapter plays out in Indonesia.
Our Jakarta bureau chief Maria Ressa has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, CNN JAKARTA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Forty-five- year-old Hitomi Soga is headed for a reunion with her family, one that's far from ordinary or routine.
HITOMI SOGA, CHARLES ROBERT JENKINS' WIFE (through translator): I am very happy for the chance to see my family.
RESSA: Soga was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1978, 1 of at least 15 Japanese grabbed to train North Korean spies. She didn't return to her homeland until 24 years later, part of a program to improve bilateral relations between Japan and North Korea. But her life is far more complicated.
In 1980, she met and married American Charles Robert Jenkins, a man who disappeared from his U.S. Army unit near Korea's DMZ in 1965. The Army says he deserted.
He appeared in propaganda films and lived in North Korea since then. He did not join his wife in Japan afraid he would be arrested and extradited to the U.S. She could not return to Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a human caring issue for Mrs. Hitomi Soga.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Sergeant Jenkins, of course, is a deserter from the United States Army, and those charges remain outstanding on him. RESSA: Now a compromise hatched between the foreign ministers last week, a reunion in Indonesia, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S.
SOGA (through translator): I want to thank the Indonesian government for making this possible.
RESSA: Soga's husband will travel to Jakarta with their two daughters, Mika and Belinda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
On Friday morning, Jenkins boarded a Japanese charter flight taking him from North Korea to Jakarta. This is the very first time he will set foot outside the reclusive kingdom in nearly 40 years. That plane is scheduled to land here in Indonesia's capital just about 15 minutes from now -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Maria, does that mean that this journey for Jenkins guarantees that he would not be extradited under any circumstances?
RESSA: At this point, at least temporarily, yes, they can -- he can meet with his family, his wife, his daughters will be with him. They can stay here in Jakarta for at least a month. That's the duration of the visa they have been given and perhaps for longer without any fear of arrest or extradition -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Maria Ressa, in Jakarta, thanks very much.
Well he's not a journalist but he plays one on TV. In the next hour of DAYBREAK, we'll take a sneak peak at some summer movies headed to the big screen.
Also, money can't buy love, but can it buy happiness? Rich teens are lusting for labels, but is the pressure of it all too much too soon?
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: 'Health Headlines' for you this morning.
The expected jump in AIDS cases in California has not happened. Health officials fear the rate of infection would spike after studies showed that more gay men were having unprotected sex. The expected rise was also tied to cases of syphilis, which have tripled, apparently.
A new study shows a link between depression and heart disease. Researchers say that women who have had episodes of depression have increased odds of developing the symptoms associated with Type 2 Diabetes. The cluster of symptoms is known as Metabolic Syndrome.
Medical researchers say adult stem cells effectively treat patients who have had heart attacks. German researchers treated 60 heart patients with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow. After six months, it was found the hearts of those patients were working better.
For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address is CNN.com/health.
There's apparently a name for the wretched excess Americans are famous for, it's called "Affluenza," and America's youth is afflicted with it.
CNN's Jason Bellini has yet to find a cure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rich or not, today's teens make a beeline to brands. Not just any brand. Alexis Palladino wants to have exactly what the young celebs are wearing.
ALEXIS PALLADINO, YOUNG SHOPPER: The stories on E! about all the movie stars who have Prada bags and stuff.
BELLINI: She admires Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress in "The Simple Life."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPLE LIFE")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever had a real job?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELLINI: She's like many young people fascinated by today's shows like MTV's "Rich Girls."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RICH GIRLS," MTV)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People pay money for clothes, OK? But shouldn't it be, like, a free necessity, like water, because you need it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELLINI: Who say, That's what I want to be.
(on camera): You're 12 years old. How important is it to have the right bag when you go to school?
PALLADINO: Oh, it's really important.
BELLINI: Why?
PALLADINO: Well, because if you have, like, a wrong bag or, like, an ugly bag, people will make fun of you and stuff.
LESLIE LANGSAM, SAKS FIFTH AVENUE: They're $200.
BELLINI (voice-over): Leslie Langsam of Saks Fifth Avenue sees teens every day for whom must-haves really are must-haves.
(on camera): Do you ever see sticker shock on the faces of kids?
LANGSAM: Oh, sure, but that doesn't stop them from buying.
BELLINI (voice-over): Last year, U.S. teens spent $175 billion, up about 25 percent in five years. An author of the book "Affluenza" argues that the spending gone wild is a societal epidemic.
JOHN DE GRAAF, AUTHOR, "AFFLUENZA: THE ALL-CONSUMING EPIDEMIC": This virus has struck deep into the heart of American youth that there's a real sense that the good life is the goods life for kids.
BELLINI: Alexis says seventh-graders at her school are branded by the brands they buy. The rich kids benefit.
(on camera): Are they the more popular kids too?
PALLADINO: They are.
BELLINI: The rich kids are?
PALLADINO: Yes.
BELLINI: Why?
PALLADINO: I don't know. It's just how it is.
BELLINI (voice-over): John De Graaf suggests the following prescription for fighting "Affluenza." Parents should teach their children media literacy, to be aware of manipulation of their tastes by marketers.
Make children masters of money. Place emphasis on saving money and spending wisely.
Protect the plastic. Keep the credit card in an envelope with questions, like, Do I really need this?
There's no easy remedy, especially when ostentatious teen role models portray money as no object.
Mark Jacob boots, $550. Chanel bag, $1,000.
(on camera): Why does a 10-year-old need a Prada bag?
PALLADINO: I don't know, it's just fun to have.
BELLINI (voice-over): Carrying a Prada purse to middle school, priceless.
Jason Bellini, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Maybe another solution is get a job and pay for it themselves.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Will this wall come down? An international court weighs in on a symbol that literally divides the Middle East.
It's Friday, July 9, and this is DAYBREAK.
Good morning, from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
