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CNN Live Saturday
Single Women Fastest Growing New Home Buyers; Los Alamos Laboratory In Lock Down After Losing Classified Disks; French Winemakers Repackage Wine For U.S. Consumers
Aired July 24, 2004 - 16:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it a pig? Is it a pony? Don't ask the guy who shot this video of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked at it and said, what in the world is that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We don't know exactly what it is, but Jeanne Moos is on the mystery creature's trail.
French wine makers are using using screw tops on their wine in order to target a new audience, and guess who that is.
And someone's having a good time on the campaign trail. Who are these little cheese heads?
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Those stories straight ahead.
And in 30 minutes, are you trying to build a career, or change your career? That's our topic today on "Dollar Signs." Call us at 1- 800-807-2620. Call us in about 30 minutes. Or you can e-mail us now your career job questions to dollarsigns@CNN.com. And that's in a half hour that we bring that program to you.
But first here are the headlines.
Spanish police reportedly have a rental car used by terrorist who bombed four cars in Madrid March 11. The Associated Press quotes police sources as saying the car found June 13 found tapes quoting the Koran and praising Jihad. The bombings killed 191 people and wounded 2,000.
Rail workers in Turkey are accusing the government of trying to deflect blame for the trail derailment that killed 37 people on Thursday. Three crew members have been arrested. The critics charged the government approved the high speed train knowing Turkey's aging rail system couldn't handle it.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says his campaign celebrates the spirit and the values that built America. The Massachusettes Senator is campaigning in Iowa today on a week long road trip from Colorado to the Democratic convention beginning on Monday in Boston on Monday. Keeping you informed CNN, the most trusted name in news.
We begin now in Iraq. When the Phillipines gave in to kidnappers to save the life off a hostage, U.S. officials warned it would lead to more kidnappings. There have been more. The latest victim, the chief of an Iraqi construction company was abducted today in Baghdad. That as negotiaters are trying to secure the release of a senior Egyptian diplomat being held hostage. He was kidnapped by a group calling itself The Lion of God Brigades.
Iraq's interim prime minister today urged Egypt not to give in to the kidnappers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: The only way to deal with terrorists to put them to justice and to close ranks. And this is where we hope Egypt and the Egyptian government would act accordingly. We know this is very sad. We hope that the hostage will be released unharmed. The Iraqi government will do its best to secure this, but we are not going to give up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Seven others, all truck drivers from Kenya, India and Egypt are also being held by insurgent. Negotiaters have spoken directly with their kidnappers. Negotiators see the extension of a deadline as a positive development.
Meanwhile, Iraq's deputy prime minister is trying to calm fears about the wave of kidnappings. He's says he has met with internatinoal diplomats in Iraq and assured them his government is committed to helping them stay safe.
Well, are his comments and those of the interim prime minister Allawi part of a coordinated response to the adbudtions? Let's ask CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. And she joins us from Crawford, Texas with the latest -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the State Department today is saying while they agree with Prime Minister Allawi's pressure to pressure Egypt, the position there not to give in to these kidnappers, there's no coordinated effort between the United States and Iraqi governments to put that kind of pressure on Egypt or other countries.
But having said that, the State Department released a statement here on the position in general. A spokesman saying, "when you start meeting the demands of kidnappers, you start going down a bad and slippery slope which only gives terrorists the incentives to kidnap and take hostages, thereby endangering more lives" -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: And Suzanne, the president is in Crawford. He plans to be there for a week. Apparently, some are believing that the Bush- Cheney campaign is laying low while the Democrats take center stage all week. Is that the case?
MALVEAUX: Well, President Bush is not going to be in the spotlight necessarily. Yesterday, he was at the Broken Spoke Ranch. That is where he was catering to big time donors, really trying to sure up his base. It was what they called a friend-raiser not a fund- raiser. A thank you barbecue to the donors.
So far the Bush campaign has raised some $226 million. We are told, however, the president is primarily going to focus on those recommendations from the 9/11 commission.
It's on Monday that the president will be meeting with his national security adviser Condoleezza Rice at the Crawford Ranch to discuss some of those recommendations. This, of course, follows the assignment of a special task force to look into the matter.
At the same time, however Fred, while the president is at his Crawford Ranch, certainly a big push from the Bush campaign, and front and center is going to be Vice President Dick Cheney. He is heading to the west.
His schedule on Monday: He'll be in Washington State, in Oregon; on Tuesday: California; and then Wednesday, on to Utah, all very important swing states for this critical election.
Also, should let you know, about 30 or so big time Republicans, they say, of course, they're going to be two blocks away from the Democratic convention in Boston. One of those, of course, headlining that is the former mayor of New York City, Rudy Guiliani. They say they're going to hold daily briefings, if necessary, to counter what they consider, and what they expect will be criticism from the Democrats during their convention week -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much.
While Cheney is out west, the Democrats are making their way to the East. That Democratic team trying to unseat President Bush in November is on the road this weekend. Senators John Kerry and John Edwards campaigned in Iowa and Wisconsin respectively.
They're slowly making their way to the Democratic convention in Boston. And CNN's Elaine Quijano is with Edwards in Milwaukee. And joins us there now. Hi, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka. Hello to you. Senator John Edwards spoke to an enthusiastic crowd here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A crowd that appeared to be about 1,000 people or so.
But this state, Wisconsin, a crucial one. One that Al Gore won by just a small margin, 5,700 votes back in 2000. Wisconsin, according to recent polls, shaping up to be tight once again.
And Senator Edwards, who actually finished a strong second behind John Kerry during the primary, now reaching out to voters here on behalf of John Kerry, the Massachusettes Senator. Today, against a backdrop of a park named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Edwards told the crowd that the Kerry-Edwards team represented the politics of hope and optimism. He quoted Dr. King during his remarks here.
He also told this crowd that he and his runningmate want to give tax breaks to help pay for healthcare, childcare and college tuition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're trying to send your kids to college, we've got hundreds of thousands of young people who want to do exactly what I did, first in my family to be able to go to college. They want to go to college, but they can't go.
Why can't they go? They can't pay for it. Well, we want to do something about that. We want to make a tax break for families for up to $4,000 of tuition a year. There are real things we can do to strengthen working middle class families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now even though Senator Edwards was here to focus the political spotlight on his running mate, John kerry, it was his two young children, 6-year-old Emma Claire and 4-year-old Jack who stole the show. At one point, they came onto the stage wearing the traditional Wisconsin cheese head hats so familiar to Green Bay Packers fans.
We saw them butting heads -- cheese heads, I guess, you could call it. At which point, Senator Edwards actually interrupted his own speech there, and talked about how he couldn't really get any attention with his children up there.
But in in any case, Senator Edwards moves onto soem serious campaigning. He moves onto San Antonio Texas for events there. Goes back to his home state of North Carolina before he gives that highly anticipated speech on Wednesday at the Democratic Nation Convention. A speech, Fredericka, that aids say he continues to work on -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: And Elaine, John Kerry spent the day in Sioux City, Iowa. What's the strategy of campaigning separately on the way to Boston?
QUIJANO: Well, this is a chance for them to try and introduce or reintroduce John Kerry to the American people in a way that, perhaps he has not connected at this point. They are hoping that by covering some of these key states, Senator Kerry in Iowa, as you said, moving on to Columbus, Ohio, and also Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania, before finally getting to the convention in Boston, they're hoping that with this strategy, they will be able to reach voters and explain to them a little bit more about John Kerry the man.
Now we have heard of, already, previews of the themes that we are likely to hear in the next few days. Out in Denver, at a joint appearance by the 2 candidates, the 2 men, we heard about John Kerry's military service during the Vietnam War. Talking about John Edwards, noting that the men who served with him can testify to his leadership abilities even at that very young age.
So, those are the kinds of things they hope will connect with voters: the ideas, the messages, that they hope by splitting up in this way, they will be able to reach voters in a way that perhaps they haven't yet -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano, thanks very much, out of Wisconsin.
Well, Boston's highways and water ways have been under close watch ahead of the Democratic convention beginning on Monday. And today, it was the sight of the gathering itself that came under scrutiny. CNN national correspondent, Bob Franken, joins us now from Boston. Hi, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You forgot about the airways between the airports and the fact there are Air Force jets flying over head. In conjunction with Secret Service security, they are covering every base that they can.
You can see the story really in back of me. You can see some military police from the National Guard being brought in to supplement the local police. They come from virtually every jurisdiction, from states surrounding Massachusetts, to say nothing of the federal presence.
Thousands of security people here to try to make the Democratic National Convention go without any hitch other than the inconvenience caused by the security.
Now, the delegates are starting to trickle in. They have been warned that the watch word for this convention is patience. They're hoping that there are no incidents so the watch word can be enthusiasm. They'll be going into the Fleet Center, the big hall where they're going to be holding they're sessions.
It was swept today, that's the term for federal agengs going in, the experts going in combing over every inch it. It took several hours. In fact, overnight. Only in the afternoon did they start letting people back into the hall and into the areas surrounding it, particularly, the media areas.
The city of Boston, in effect, is going to be turned over to the visitors. The people who live here are being told not to come in. The roadways are going to be shut down during so much of the time that the convention sessions are going on, in particular, I-93, which is the main in and out artery here. So people are taking off, leaving the town to the conventioneers, who say they're just hoping, as well as the security officials are hoping, that the story at the end of this convention is the nomination of John Kerry and not something more tragic -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Bob Franken in Boston. Thanks very much. Well, Barack Obama will take center stage at the convention next weekend. And even if you haven't heard of him, you've likely heard of the Illinois race that he's running in. Last month, Obama's Republican challenger was forced out by a sex scandal. CNN's Jonathan Freed tells us more about a campaign that's caught fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voic-over): When describing how they feel about Barack Obama, for some, there are no words. The three term state senator from Chicago's southside is trying to capture a U.S. Senate seat for the Democrats. The 42-year-old father of two has built a reputation as a respected liberal leaning legislature.
BARACK OBAMA, (D) U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I believe in the woman's right to choose. I believe in common sense gun safety laws. I believe in protecting our environment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're awesome. I heard a lot about you.
OBAMA: Some of it's true.
FREED: And his political charm is crossing the ails.
OBAMA: I'm Republican and but I'm voting for you.
OBAMA: If he wins, it could help tip the balance of power in the Senate. And Obama would become only the third African-American senator since reconstruction. He's a former Chicago civil rights attorney and first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
Some see him as a future national leader, calling him both intelligent and charismatic.
OBAMA: The next president of the United States of America, Mr. John Kerry.
FREED: It's hoped he can help energize his party. So Obama is delivering the key not speech at the Democratic convention on Tuesday.
OBAMA: For those of you who don't know me, I'm State Senator Barack Obama.
FREED: He's essentially been running unopposed for the past month, since GOP nominee Jack Ryan withdrew from the race over a sex scandal. The Republicans are still scrambling to find a candidate.
OBAMA: I'm the first one to acknowledge this is a pretty strange situation.
FREED: That situation has some wondering if there's a little too much swagger in Obama's step these days. But he insists that his modest beginnings and diverse background, a father from Kenya and mother from Kansas, keeps him from losing his head.
OBAMA: If it wasn't for a couple of lucky breaks, I could easily be nowhere. That is part of what drives my politics.
FREED: The Chicago Tribune's Bruce Gold believes Obama got lucky during the primary, when a frontrunning Democrat stumbled over a divorce controversy leaving the field wide open.
BRUCE GOLD, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: He does not owe anything to the Chicago Democratic leadership, he does not owe anything to the national African-American leadership, he doesn't really owe anything to the Democrats in Washington, because he's not really going to need their support to win.
FREED: But Obama has never been tested on the national stage, and expectations are running high for his convention speech next week. Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Obama won't be the only rising African-American politician to speak at the Democratic National Convention, Congressman Cendric Meek of Florida will address delegates on opening night, Monday.
Well, when does 61 seconds make a difference? When you're racing in the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong says he's tired and still has to avoid crashing. We'll check in on his progress straight ahead.
The Los Alamos Laboratory isn't the only classified research facility to be closed down.
And some French wine makers are cutting out the big words on their wine bottles. We'll tell you why in a bit.
And coming up in less than a half an hour from now, changing your career or rebuilding your career: that's our topic on "Dollar Signs" today. E-mail your questions to dollarsigns@CNN.com. Or call us at 4:30 Eastern time at 1-800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The U.S. secretary of energy is halting operations at all Department of Energy facilitates that store classified information on disks or removable hard drives. The order comes when the search for two disks full of classified data reported missing from Los Alamos National Laboratory earlier this month. CNN's Sara Dorsey has that story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First it was Los Alamos, now anyone working with classified documents within the Department of Energy will have to account for that material. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham ordered a nationwide stand down Friday, halting all work with classified documents at facilities in California, Tennessee, and New York, Texas and other states. 19 staff members at Los Alamos have been placed on paid leave as an investigation into 2 missing disks full of classified materials continues.
Lab director Peter Nanos held an all hands meeting with his workers to stress the serious effects of mishandling information.
PETER NANOS, LOS ALAMOS LAB DIRECTOR: I basically told the laboratory that this is no longer an issue of competition, it's an issue of survival. That their performance will not be tolerated.
DORSEY: That's the message system-wide. Starting Monday, the Department of Energy will do a physical inventory of all controllable removable media, a move that has already begun at Los Alamos. Abraham says quote, "these procedures are designed designed to guarantee a complete inventory of our classified electronic holdings and make certain that specific individuals can be held responsible and accountable for future problems."
Los Alamos officials say the stand down could take months to complete.
NANOS: We can either expect to make it work this time, or start to see migration of work and other activities away from Los Alamos to other institutions.
DORSEY: The director of public affairs at Los Alamos says the mishandling are a threat to the national security. And if the lab can't guard the nation's secrets, then it is not doing its job. Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Massive floods in Bangladesh top our news from around the world now. Heavy rains and overflowing rivers are creating chaos. Nearly two thirds of Bangladesh has been submerged since the start of Asia's monsoon season in late June. 202 people have died.
Floods in China have forced evacuations for more than 900 people in Hunan province. Villagers were trapped by heavy rain storms and mud slides. With dangerous rivers, China is still on high flood alert. Nearly 400 people have been killed there.
A high-tech blimp makes a high profile patrol over Olympic sites in Athens, Greece. Authorities are carrying out final security tests ahead of next month's games. The air ship is expected to float over the Capitol for more than 15 hours a day. It's part of a $312 million security surveillance network.
And In France, Lance Armstrong is on the verge of making cycling history. He all but assured his record sixth Tour de France victory by winning today's final time trial. He has to pedal his way into Paris tomorrow.
And for all you wine lovers out there, fancy French wines are about to have a new look. They're getting a facelift to woo back American drinkers. CNN's Kathleen Hays reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A boycott of French wines by Americans during the Iraq War couldn't have come at a worse time for French vintners: Faced with upstart competitors from around the globe, French wine sales in the United States had already started to sour.
In 2003, French wine exports to the U.S. fell by 10 percent. But now, the French are fighting back, forsaking tradition for modern marketing methods to woo back U.S. consumers.
JACQUES THEBAULT, PRES. SOPEKA MARKETING: What we're doing in the U.S. is basically adjusting, adapting marketing techniques, and basically also making sure our products are better understood.
HAYS: French fashion sense hitting the bottle.
THEBAULT: It's key that the bottle stands out. It's important also, that consumers, who are, let's say, entry level consumers for french Wine can pronounce the name on the bottle and find the packaging attractive.
HAYS: Gone are the complicated labels that trace a wine's origins back to tiny French villages and family vineyards. Taking a page from popular California vintners, this new wave of French wines is adopting simple names according to the type of grapes. With familiar names like Pinot Noir and Chardonney.
OLIVIER WATRIN, FRENCH VINTNER, CHANTOVENT: This bottle is packed in a very conservative way. It's really busy, you have the chateau on the bottle, the vintage in the middle, et cetera. Whereas Chantovent is really accessible (ph) for the U.S. consumer. It has a brand, Chantovent, and it has a (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And then he saying he knows that it's coming from South of France. And that's it.
HAYS: As for the name game, catchier is better and not necessarily French. Aurelius, Endelli, even Fat Bastard, yes, they're all French. And talk about avant garde, for one wine, a fancy drawing of a leaf takes the place of a name.
BILL CHIUSANO, WINE AND SPIRITS IMPORTER: Americans tends to drink with their eyes. And what takes you to the bottle first, because you're not tasting the wine, you have it in your hand, if it's pleasant to your eye, your apt to buy it.
HAYS (on camera): And it goes far beyond labels. What once might have been considered wine making heresy is now being used to make wine drinking more convenient: Corks are out, screw tops in.
Kathleen Hays, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, single women seem to be cashing in as they become the fastest growing group of new home buyers, the story when we come back.
And then a litle later, the guessing game continues. What is this? CNN's Jeanne Moos has the mystery creature.
And coming up at 4:30 Eastern, 1:30 Pacific thinking about a career change? Well, you might want to hear what our experts have to say before quitting your current job. E-mail you questions to dollarsigns@CNN.com. Or call us at 1-800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're not far from the start of "Dollar Signs," so don't forget to e-mail your questions to dollarsigns@cnn.com, or call us at 1-800-807-2620.
The pride of homeownership: It's not just for families anymore. In fact, the number of single women buying homes in America is outpacing the number of single men taking out mortgages. Our Maria Hinojosa takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Megan Cressy, 32 years old, high school guidance counselor, single and the face of America's new home buyer.
MEGAN CRESSY, HOMEOWNER: It was rental, so it needed some work. I came to an open house and got lucky.
HINOJOSA: So did Connie Chen who's moving to Manhattan and buying her second apartment. She's single, too, a mini real estate mogul in the making.
CONNIE CHEN, HOMEOWNER: Financially, I was very stable. I'd saved quite a bit and it was good investment.
HINOJOSA (on camera): There might have been a time not too long ago when single women thought buying their own homes was just too difficult, too out of their reach. Now, single women are part of the fastest growing group of new homeowners country.
(voice-over): They make up 1 out of every 5 home sales nationally, according to the National Association of Realtors, which also reports single women buy 1 out of every 3 condos sold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As women are earning more, and as I say, marrying later, they are often in their late 20s and the decision to rent or to own is very different than it once was. The first home purchase now, is not necessarily made with a partner or spouse, and people have begun to buy homes on their own.
HINOJOSA: Single women are making more money, and banks are lending more money and low interest rates they're gender neutral.
MELISSA COHN, MORTGAGE BANKER: Real estate has become such a strong investment, and has outweighed the stock market, for example, for the past six years, there's no reason for them not to buy just because they're single. HINOJOSA: And no reason they can't fix up their own places just because they're women. At home depot, 50 percent of the customers are female.
Megan Cressy admits it was scary at first.
CRESSY: Looking back, it wasn't as bad as I thought. But if you had saw me the day when I was signing all those papers, it probably would have been a different story.
HINOJOSA: All smiles today for a risk worth taking. Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Some stories across America now. An interChinese fisherman is in stable condition after being plucked from a tuna boat in a dramatic rescue operation. The U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard teamed up to evacuate the man after he was injured in an accident about 200 miles from Puerto Rico.
Authorities say they may have to restrict the use of Southern California's national forests to combat wildfires. In the earliest onslaught ever, firest destroyed more than 48,000 acres of brush and trees this week.
And five years after invading the U.S., West Nile Virus is a now a fatal threat coast-to-coast. Health officials report the first death from the mosquito-born disease in California. A 57-year-old Orange County man under treatment for encephalitis died on June 24.
Well, is it a mut with mange, or a missing link in the chain of evolution? Whatever it is, the mystery animal that surfaced recently in Maryland is turning a lot of heads these days. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it an anteater? Is it a pig? Is it a pony? Don't ask the guy who shot this video of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked at it and said what in the world is that thing?
MOOS: Jay Roe (ph), took these pictures in the backyard of his parents home in Glenden, Maryland where neighborhood kids have given the creature a name, combining coyote and hyena together: Hyote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's predominantly hyena.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A wolf and a pony. MOOS: A wony? That's good.
Wony or Hyote, for the moment, this is Glenden's version of Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See how long his tail is? Well, hyenas don't have tails that are that long.
MOOS: Check out the hyenas relatively short tail.
But a tall tale about a mystery creature gets Web sites buzzing. It's one bad mullet. It's supper. Someone suggested it's Taco Bell feeling out public reaction to its new spokesman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo quiero Taco Bell.
MOOS: What we want are answers. We took the tape to experts at the Bronx Zoo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know from personal experience that Pat still belives in the Easter Bunny.
MOOS: Pat, being the curator of mammals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would guess it's a god with mange. It's lost a lot of its hair.
MOOS: Are you joking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
MOOS: But how coulda dog have a mane?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only prominent, because it has no hair over most of its body.
MOOS: Experts back in Maryland think it's a red fox with mange.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a hoar (ph).
MOOS: A what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hoar.
MOOS: We're pretty sure he meant to say a boar, as in wild boar, but anyone thinks this is a hyote has been smoking too much peyote. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 24, 2004 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it a pig? Is it a pony? Don't ask the guy who shot this video of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked at it and said, what in the world is that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We don't know exactly what it is, but Jeanne Moos is on the mystery creature's trail.
French wine makers are using using screw tops on their wine in order to target a new audience, and guess who that is.
And someone's having a good time on the campaign trail. Who are these little cheese heads?
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Those stories straight ahead.
And in 30 minutes, are you trying to build a career, or change your career? That's our topic today on "Dollar Signs." Call us at 1- 800-807-2620. Call us in about 30 minutes. Or you can e-mail us now your career job questions to dollarsigns@CNN.com. And that's in a half hour that we bring that program to you.
But first here are the headlines.
Spanish police reportedly have a rental car used by terrorist who bombed four cars in Madrid March 11. The Associated Press quotes police sources as saying the car found June 13 found tapes quoting the Koran and praising Jihad. The bombings killed 191 people and wounded 2,000.
Rail workers in Turkey are accusing the government of trying to deflect blame for the trail derailment that killed 37 people on Thursday. Three crew members have been arrested. The critics charged the government approved the high speed train knowing Turkey's aging rail system couldn't handle it.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says his campaign celebrates the spirit and the values that built America. The Massachusettes Senator is campaigning in Iowa today on a week long road trip from Colorado to the Democratic convention beginning on Monday in Boston on Monday. Keeping you informed CNN, the most trusted name in news.
We begin now in Iraq. When the Phillipines gave in to kidnappers to save the life off a hostage, U.S. officials warned it would lead to more kidnappings. There have been more. The latest victim, the chief of an Iraqi construction company was abducted today in Baghdad. That as negotiaters are trying to secure the release of a senior Egyptian diplomat being held hostage. He was kidnapped by a group calling itself The Lion of God Brigades.
Iraq's interim prime minister today urged Egypt not to give in to the kidnappers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: The only way to deal with terrorists to put them to justice and to close ranks. And this is where we hope Egypt and the Egyptian government would act accordingly. We know this is very sad. We hope that the hostage will be released unharmed. The Iraqi government will do its best to secure this, but we are not going to give up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Seven others, all truck drivers from Kenya, India and Egypt are also being held by insurgent. Negotiaters have spoken directly with their kidnappers. Negotiators see the extension of a deadline as a positive development.
Meanwhile, Iraq's deputy prime minister is trying to calm fears about the wave of kidnappings. He's says he has met with internatinoal diplomats in Iraq and assured them his government is committed to helping them stay safe.
Well, are his comments and those of the interim prime minister Allawi part of a coordinated response to the adbudtions? Let's ask CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. And she joins us from Crawford, Texas with the latest -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the State Department today is saying while they agree with Prime Minister Allawi's pressure to pressure Egypt, the position there not to give in to these kidnappers, there's no coordinated effort between the United States and Iraqi governments to put that kind of pressure on Egypt or other countries.
But having said that, the State Department released a statement here on the position in general. A spokesman saying, "when you start meeting the demands of kidnappers, you start going down a bad and slippery slope which only gives terrorists the incentives to kidnap and take hostages, thereby endangering more lives" -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: And Suzanne, the president is in Crawford. He plans to be there for a week. Apparently, some are believing that the Bush- Cheney campaign is laying low while the Democrats take center stage all week. Is that the case?
MALVEAUX: Well, President Bush is not going to be in the spotlight necessarily. Yesterday, he was at the Broken Spoke Ranch. That is where he was catering to big time donors, really trying to sure up his base. It was what they called a friend-raiser not a fund- raiser. A thank you barbecue to the donors.
So far the Bush campaign has raised some $226 million. We are told, however, the president is primarily going to focus on those recommendations from the 9/11 commission.
It's on Monday that the president will be meeting with his national security adviser Condoleezza Rice at the Crawford Ranch to discuss some of those recommendations. This, of course, follows the assignment of a special task force to look into the matter.
At the same time, however Fred, while the president is at his Crawford Ranch, certainly a big push from the Bush campaign, and front and center is going to be Vice President Dick Cheney. He is heading to the west.
His schedule on Monday: He'll be in Washington State, in Oregon; on Tuesday: California; and then Wednesday, on to Utah, all very important swing states for this critical election.
Also, should let you know, about 30 or so big time Republicans, they say, of course, they're going to be two blocks away from the Democratic convention in Boston. One of those, of course, headlining that is the former mayor of New York City, Rudy Guiliani. They say they're going to hold daily briefings, if necessary, to counter what they consider, and what they expect will be criticism from the Democrats during their convention week -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much.
While Cheney is out west, the Democrats are making their way to the East. That Democratic team trying to unseat President Bush in November is on the road this weekend. Senators John Kerry and John Edwards campaigned in Iowa and Wisconsin respectively.
They're slowly making their way to the Democratic convention in Boston. And CNN's Elaine Quijano is with Edwards in Milwaukee. And joins us there now. Hi, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka. Hello to you. Senator John Edwards spoke to an enthusiastic crowd here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A crowd that appeared to be about 1,000 people or so.
But this state, Wisconsin, a crucial one. One that Al Gore won by just a small margin, 5,700 votes back in 2000. Wisconsin, according to recent polls, shaping up to be tight once again.
And Senator Edwards, who actually finished a strong second behind John Kerry during the primary, now reaching out to voters here on behalf of John Kerry, the Massachusettes Senator. Today, against a backdrop of a park named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Edwards told the crowd that the Kerry-Edwards team represented the politics of hope and optimism. He quoted Dr. King during his remarks here.
He also told this crowd that he and his runningmate want to give tax breaks to help pay for healthcare, childcare and college tuition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're trying to send your kids to college, we've got hundreds of thousands of young people who want to do exactly what I did, first in my family to be able to go to college. They want to go to college, but they can't go.
Why can't they go? They can't pay for it. Well, we want to do something about that. We want to make a tax break for families for up to $4,000 of tuition a year. There are real things we can do to strengthen working middle class families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now even though Senator Edwards was here to focus the political spotlight on his running mate, John kerry, it was his two young children, 6-year-old Emma Claire and 4-year-old Jack who stole the show. At one point, they came onto the stage wearing the traditional Wisconsin cheese head hats so familiar to Green Bay Packers fans.
We saw them butting heads -- cheese heads, I guess, you could call it. At which point, Senator Edwards actually interrupted his own speech there, and talked about how he couldn't really get any attention with his children up there.
But in in any case, Senator Edwards moves onto soem serious campaigning. He moves onto San Antonio Texas for events there. Goes back to his home state of North Carolina before he gives that highly anticipated speech on Wednesday at the Democratic Nation Convention. A speech, Fredericka, that aids say he continues to work on -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: And Elaine, John Kerry spent the day in Sioux City, Iowa. What's the strategy of campaigning separately on the way to Boston?
QUIJANO: Well, this is a chance for them to try and introduce or reintroduce John Kerry to the American people in a way that, perhaps he has not connected at this point. They are hoping that by covering some of these key states, Senator Kerry in Iowa, as you said, moving on to Columbus, Ohio, and also Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania, before finally getting to the convention in Boston, they're hoping that with this strategy, they will be able to reach voters and explain to them a little bit more about John Kerry the man.
Now we have heard of, already, previews of the themes that we are likely to hear in the next few days. Out in Denver, at a joint appearance by the 2 candidates, the 2 men, we heard about John Kerry's military service during the Vietnam War. Talking about John Edwards, noting that the men who served with him can testify to his leadership abilities even at that very young age.
So, those are the kinds of things they hope will connect with voters: the ideas, the messages, that they hope by splitting up in this way, they will be able to reach voters in a way that perhaps they haven't yet -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano, thanks very much, out of Wisconsin.
Well, Boston's highways and water ways have been under close watch ahead of the Democratic convention beginning on Monday. And today, it was the sight of the gathering itself that came under scrutiny. CNN national correspondent, Bob Franken, joins us now from Boston. Hi, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You forgot about the airways between the airports and the fact there are Air Force jets flying over head. In conjunction with Secret Service security, they are covering every base that they can.
You can see the story really in back of me. You can see some military police from the National Guard being brought in to supplement the local police. They come from virtually every jurisdiction, from states surrounding Massachusetts, to say nothing of the federal presence.
Thousands of security people here to try to make the Democratic National Convention go without any hitch other than the inconvenience caused by the security.
Now, the delegates are starting to trickle in. They have been warned that the watch word for this convention is patience. They're hoping that there are no incidents so the watch word can be enthusiasm. They'll be going into the Fleet Center, the big hall where they're going to be holding they're sessions.
It was swept today, that's the term for federal agengs going in, the experts going in combing over every inch it. It took several hours. In fact, overnight. Only in the afternoon did they start letting people back into the hall and into the areas surrounding it, particularly, the media areas.
The city of Boston, in effect, is going to be turned over to the visitors. The people who live here are being told not to come in. The roadways are going to be shut down during so much of the time that the convention sessions are going on, in particular, I-93, which is the main in and out artery here. So people are taking off, leaving the town to the conventioneers, who say they're just hoping, as well as the security officials are hoping, that the story at the end of this convention is the nomination of John Kerry and not something more tragic -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Bob Franken in Boston. Thanks very much. Well, Barack Obama will take center stage at the convention next weekend. And even if you haven't heard of him, you've likely heard of the Illinois race that he's running in. Last month, Obama's Republican challenger was forced out by a sex scandal. CNN's Jonathan Freed tells us more about a campaign that's caught fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voic-over): When describing how they feel about Barack Obama, for some, there are no words. The three term state senator from Chicago's southside is trying to capture a U.S. Senate seat for the Democrats. The 42-year-old father of two has built a reputation as a respected liberal leaning legislature.
BARACK OBAMA, (D) U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I believe in the woman's right to choose. I believe in common sense gun safety laws. I believe in protecting our environment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're awesome. I heard a lot about you.
OBAMA: Some of it's true.
FREED: And his political charm is crossing the ails.
OBAMA: I'm Republican and but I'm voting for you.
OBAMA: If he wins, it could help tip the balance of power in the Senate. And Obama would become only the third African-American senator since reconstruction. He's a former Chicago civil rights attorney and first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
Some see him as a future national leader, calling him both intelligent and charismatic.
OBAMA: The next president of the United States of America, Mr. John Kerry.
FREED: It's hoped he can help energize his party. So Obama is delivering the key not speech at the Democratic convention on Tuesday.
OBAMA: For those of you who don't know me, I'm State Senator Barack Obama.
FREED: He's essentially been running unopposed for the past month, since GOP nominee Jack Ryan withdrew from the race over a sex scandal. The Republicans are still scrambling to find a candidate.
OBAMA: I'm the first one to acknowledge this is a pretty strange situation.
FREED: That situation has some wondering if there's a little too much swagger in Obama's step these days. But he insists that his modest beginnings and diverse background, a father from Kenya and mother from Kansas, keeps him from losing his head.
OBAMA: If it wasn't for a couple of lucky breaks, I could easily be nowhere. That is part of what drives my politics.
FREED: The Chicago Tribune's Bruce Gold believes Obama got lucky during the primary, when a frontrunning Democrat stumbled over a divorce controversy leaving the field wide open.
BRUCE GOLD, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: He does not owe anything to the Chicago Democratic leadership, he does not owe anything to the national African-American leadership, he doesn't really owe anything to the Democrats in Washington, because he's not really going to need their support to win.
FREED: But Obama has never been tested on the national stage, and expectations are running high for his convention speech next week. Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Obama won't be the only rising African-American politician to speak at the Democratic National Convention, Congressman Cendric Meek of Florida will address delegates on opening night, Monday.
Well, when does 61 seconds make a difference? When you're racing in the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong says he's tired and still has to avoid crashing. We'll check in on his progress straight ahead.
The Los Alamos Laboratory isn't the only classified research facility to be closed down.
And some French wine makers are cutting out the big words on their wine bottles. We'll tell you why in a bit.
And coming up in less than a half an hour from now, changing your career or rebuilding your career: that's our topic on "Dollar Signs" today. E-mail your questions to dollarsigns@CNN.com. Or call us at 4:30 Eastern time at 1-800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The U.S. secretary of energy is halting operations at all Department of Energy facilitates that store classified information on disks or removable hard drives. The order comes when the search for two disks full of classified data reported missing from Los Alamos National Laboratory earlier this month. CNN's Sara Dorsey has that story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First it was Los Alamos, now anyone working with classified documents within the Department of Energy will have to account for that material. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham ordered a nationwide stand down Friday, halting all work with classified documents at facilities in California, Tennessee, and New York, Texas and other states. 19 staff members at Los Alamos have been placed on paid leave as an investigation into 2 missing disks full of classified materials continues.
Lab director Peter Nanos held an all hands meeting with his workers to stress the serious effects of mishandling information.
PETER NANOS, LOS ALAMOS LAB DIRECTOR: I basically told the laboratory that this is no longer an issue of competition, it's an issue of survival. That their performance will not be tolerated.
DORSEY: That's the message system-wide. Starting Monday, the Department of Energy will do a physical inventory of all controllable removable media, a move that has already begun at Los Alamos. Abraham says quote, "these procedures are designed designed to guarantee a complete inventory of our classified electronic holdings and make certain that specific individuals can be held responsible and accountable for future problems."
Los Alamos officials say the stand down could take months to complete.
NANOS: We can either expect to make it work this time, or start to see migration of work and other activities away from Los Alamos to other institutions.
DORSEY: The director of public affairs at Los Alamos says the mishandling are a threat to the national security. And if the lab can't guard the nation's secrets, then it is not doing its job. Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Massive floods in Bangladesh top our news from around the world now. Heavy rains and overflowing rivers are creating chaos. Nearly two thirds of Bangladesh has been submerged since the start of Asia's monsoon season in late June. 202 people have died.
Floods in China have forced evacuations for more than 900 people in Hunan province. Villagers were trapped by heavy rain storms and mud slides. With dangerous rivers, China is still on high flood alert. Nearly 400 people have been killed there.
A high-tech blimp makes a high profile patrol over Olympic sites in Athens, Greece. Authorities are carrying out final security tests ahead of next month's games. The air ship is expected to float over the Capitol for more than 15 hours a day. It's part of a $312 million security surveillance network.
And In France, Lance Armstrong is on the verge of making cycling history. He all but assured his record sixth Tour de France victory by winning today's final time trial. He has to pedal his way into Paris tomorrow.
And for all you wine lovers out there, fancy French wines are about to have a new look. They're getting a facelift to woo back American drinkers. CNN's Kathleen Hays reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A boycott of French wines by Americans during the Iraq War couldn't have come at a worse time for French vintners: Faced with upstart competitors from around the globe, French wine sales in the United States had already started to sour.
In 2003, French wine exports to the U.S. fell by 10 percent. But now, the French are fighting back, forsaking tradition for modern marketing methods to woo back U.S. consumers.
JACQUES THEBAULT, PRES. SOPEKA MARKETING: What we're doing in the U.S. is basically adjusting, adapting marketing techniques, and basically also making sure our products are better understood.
HAYS: French fashion sense hitting the bottle.
THEBAULT: It's key that the bottle stands out. It's important also, that consumers, who are, let's say, entry level consumers for french Wine can pronounce the name on the bottle and find the packaging attractive.
HAYS: Gone are the complicated labels that trace a wine's origins back to tiny French villages and family vineyards. Taking a page from popular California vintners, this new wave of French wines is adopting simple names according to the type of grapes. With familiar names like Pinot Noir and Chardonney.
OLIVIER WATRIN, FRENCH VINTNER, CHANTOVENT: This bottle is packed in a very conservative way. It's really busy, you have the chateau on the bottle, the vintage in the middle, et cetera. Whereas Chantovent is really accessible (ph) for the U.S. consumer. It has a brand, Chantovent, and it has a (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And then he saying he knows that it's coming from South of France. And that's it.
HAYS: As for the name game, catchier is better and not necessarily French. Aurelius, Endelli, even Fat Bastard, yes, they're all French. And talk about avant garde, for one wine, a fancy drawing of a leaf takes the place of a name.
BILL CHIUSANO, WINE AND SPIRITS IMPORTER: Americans tends to drink with their eyes. And what takes you to the bottle first, because you're not tasting the wine, you have it in your hand, if it's pleasant to your eye, your apt to buy it.
HAYS (on camera): And it goes far beyond labels. What once might have been considered wine making heresy is now being used to make wine drinking more convenient: Corks are out, screw tops in.
Kathleen Hays, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, single women seem to be cashing in as they become the fastest growing group of new home buyers, the story when we come back.
And then a litle later, the guessing game continues. What is this? CNN's Jeanne Moos has the mystery creature.
And coming up at 4:30 Eastern, 1:30 Pacific thinking about a career change? Well, you might want to hear what our experts have to say before quitting your current job. E-mail you questions to dollarsigns@CNN.com. Or call us at 1-800-807-2620. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're not far from the start of "Dollar Signs," so don't forget to e-mail your questions to dollarsigns@cnn.com, or call us at 1-800-807-2620.
The pride of homeownership: It's not just for families anymore. In fact, the number of single women buying homes in America is outpacing the number of single men taking out mortgages. Our Maria Hinojosa takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Megan Cressy, 32 years old, high school guidance counselor, single and the face of America's new home buyer.
MEGAN CRESSY, HOMEOWNER: It was rental, so it needed some work. I came to an open house and got lucky.
HINOJOSA: So did Connie Chen who's moving to Manhattan and buying her second apartment. She's single, too, a mini real estate mogul in the making.
CONNIE CHEN, HOMEOWNER: Financially, I was very stable. I'd saved quite a bit and it was good investment.
HINOJOSA (on camera): There might have been a time not too long ago when single women thought buying their own homes was just too difficult, too out of their reach. Now, single women are part of the fastest growing group of new homeowners country.
(voice-over): They make up 1 out of every 5 home sales nationally, according to the National Association of Realtors, which also reports single women buy 1 out of every 3 condos sold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As women are earning more, and as I say, marrying later, they are often in their late 20s and the decision to rent or to own is very different than it once was. The first home purchase now, is not necessarily made with a partner or spouse, and people have begun to buy homes on their own.
HINOJOSA: Single women are making more money, and banks are lending more money and low interest rates they're gender neutral.
MELISSA COHN, MORTGAGE BANKER: Real estate has become such a strong investment, and has outweighed the stock market, for example, for the past six years, there's no reason for them not to buy just because they're single. HINOJOSA: And no reason they can't fix up their own places just because they're women. At home depot, 50 percent of the customers are female.
Megan Cressy admits it was scary at first.
CRESSY: Looking back, it wasn't as bad as I thought. But if you had saw me the day when I was signing all those papers, it probably would have been a different story.
HINOJOSA: All smiles today for a risk worth taking. Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Some stories across America now. An interChinese fisherman is in stable condition after being plucked from a tuna boat in a dramatic rescue operation. The U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard teamed up to evacuate the man after he was injured in an accident about 200 miles from Puerto Rico.
Authorities say they may have to restrict the use of Southern California's national forests to combat wildfires. In the earliest onslaught ever, firest destroyed more than 48,000 acres of brush and trees this week.
And five years after invading the U.S., West Nile Virus is a now a fatal threat coast-to-coast. Health officials report the first death from the mosquito-born disease in California. A 57-year-old Orange County man under treatment for encephalitis died on June 24.
Well, is it a mut with mange, or a missing link in the chain of evolution? Whatever it is, the mystery animal that surfaced recently in Maryland is turning a lot of heads these days. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it an anteater? Is it a pig? Is it a pony? Don't ask the guy who shot this video of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked at it and said what in the world is that thing?
MOOS: Jay Roe (ph), took these pictures in the backyard of his parents home in Glenden, Maryland where neighborhood kids have given the creature a name, combining coyote and hyena together: Hyote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's predominantly hyena.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A wolf and a pony. MOOS: A wony? That's good.
Wony or Hyote, for the moment, this is Glenden's version of Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See how long his tail is? Well, hyenas don't have tails that are that long.
MOOS: Check out the hyenas relatively short tail.
But a tall tale about a mystery creature gets Web sites buzzing. It's one bad mullet. It's supper. Someone suggested it's Taco Bell feeling out public reaction to its new spokesman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo quiero Taco Bell.
MOOS: What we want are answers. We took the tape to experts at the Bronx Zoo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know from personal experience that Pat still belives in the Easter Bunny.
MOOS: Pat, being the curator of mammals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would guess it's a god with mange. It's lost a lot of its hair.
MOOS: Are you joking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
MOOS: But how coulda dog have a mane?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only prominent, because it has no hair over most of its body.
MOOS: Experts back in Maryland think it's a red fox with mange.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a hoar (ph).
MOOS: A what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hoar.
MOOS: We're pretty sure he meant to say a boar, as in wild boar, but anyone thinks this is a hyote has been smoking too much peyote. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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