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CNN Live Saturday

U.S. Government Wants to Attract More Students to Science; Too Much Sun Can be Hazardous to your Health

Aired April 29, 2006 - 16:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening. April, now is the deadliest month of 2006 for U.S. troops in Iraq. A soldier was killed today, raising the total this month to 69. More than twice the number from March. And the highest monthly total since November.

Reports say rumors of federal raids have swept illegal immigrant communities. Thousands of immigrant workers stayed home last week, apparently fearing arrest. A construction firm in Florida says absenteeism cost it millions of dollars. Federal officials say the rumors are unfounded.

Powerful winds shoved airplanes around on the ground during storms that hit Gainesville, Texas overnight. A tornado watch is in effect this hour in parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

And this is the truck of former big league pitcher Steve Howe. Howe died early Friday when he rolled his truck in Southern California. During his baseball career, Howe served seven suspensions for drug and alcohol abuse. He was 48.

Monday could be a costly day for the U.S. economy. An immigrant- led boycott is planned in cities across the country. Supporters are expected to rally against proposed laws declaring illegal immigrants felons. It's a grass-roots project that is growing. Our Thelma Gutierrez takes us behind the scenes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The great march. Massive student walkouts. The national day of action.

It's never been done in the history of the Mexican, Latino civil rights movement in the U.S.

GUTIERREZ: All building toward May 1st, the great American boycott. Whose supporters are asked to boycott work, school, and not spend any money to show their economic power.

Don't work.

GUTIERREZ: Who's behind this? We go to what's called the lions den.

Concentrate on the phone banking and concentrate on phone calls.

GUTIERREZ: For a behind-the-scenes look at the force driving the marches. We're not talking about P.R. executives with big advertising budgets or high-profile national leaders. We're talking about people like Jesse Diaz, a gardener and a Ph.D. candidate who's putting himself and his daughter through college by cleaning yards. In six weeks, he's traveled to 20 different cities to help strategize.

JESSE DIAZ, RALLY ORGANIZER: We feel that we are in a position to keep the pressure on to gain amnesty for the 11 or 12 million undocumented folks that are here now.

Racists go home!

GUTIERREZ: It was protests against the minutemen, self-appointed protectors of the border that moved Diaz, a U.S. citizen, to take a stand against what he believes is racism. That's what propelled him from this to this.

DIAZ: It has brought us all together with the same interests. The interests of the community. The interests of 12 million folks, right, that are looking for our leadership.

GUTIERREZ: Using donated tickets, Diaz has traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago, New York, and Washington, often with no place to stay. Sleeping at people's homes and community centers.

DIAZ: It's been hard organizing it. Because we don't have no money. We have very little money to go across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know there is a sacrifice to be made, and I think people are willing to sacrifice for justice. And a humane immigration law.

GUTIERREZ: In fact, for some of the organizers who live paycheck to paycheck, that means no full income for the past six weeks. But Diaz says it's worth it.

DIAZ: We're not settling for learning and reading about history. We are making it, brothers and sisters. We are making it.

GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now topping our security watch, we're hearing a lot from Al Qaeda these days. The latest, a videotape from the terror group's number two man, Ayman Al Zawahiri. It surfaced just days after a tape from Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In his message, Al Zawahiri boasts about the Iraqi insurgency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRANSLATION OF AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, AL QAEDA SECOND-IN-COMMAND: We praise Allah that three years after the crusader invasion of Iraq, America, Britain and their allies have achieved nothing but losses, disaster and misfortune. The group Al Qaeda in the land of the two (INAUDIBLE) alone has carried out 800 martyrdom operations in three years, besides the sacrifices of the other Mujahideen, and this is what has broken the back of America in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Letters from the government, thousands of them. The Justice Department reveals the scope of its expanded powers under the Patriot Act. Federal officials sent more than 9,200 national security letters in 2005, affecting more than 3,500 Americans. Their purpose? To get information on U.S. citizens in terrorism and other probes. No idea who received the requests, but it likely went to phone companies, internet service providers and financial institutions.

Meantime, a lawsuit has been filed over the National Security Agency's secret surveillance program. The government is asking a federal court to dismiss the suit, citing national security reasons. Some AT&T customers are suing the phone company. They say, AT&T's cooperation with the program violates their constitutional rights.

CNN's security keeps a watch -- keeps a watch for you on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

The fight for Iraq. Insurgents and U.S. soldiers battling house to house in Ramadi. The army reports eight insurgent fighters killed with no American casualties. Such clashes are frequent in Ramadi, a predominantly Sunni city west of Baghdad. Also, one U.S. soldier died today when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle. It raised the total of U.S. troop and military civilian deaths in the war to 2,397.

After a yearlong deployment in Iraq, members of Georgia's 48th infantry brigade are coming home. You'll recall it was this national guard unit which found and rescued the little Iraqi girl named Baby Noor. Earlier, I spoke with one infantryman and his wife, both of whom are very happy that he's home again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Sergeant first class, Michael Sonen, Tina, welcome, and welcome back.

SGT. MICHAEL SONEN, 48th INFNATRY BRIGADE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so how does it feel to be back on U.S. soil now?

SGT. SONEN: It's outstanding. I tell you, you just can't imagine how wonderful it feels to be back home.

WHITFIELD: While you were in Iraq, a lot has taken place.

SGT. SONEN: Yes, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: You know, your brigade is one that suffered tremendous loss. That also paralleled with incredible, you know, discovery, with baby Noor, who is now getting treatment here in the U.S. You all have been on an incredible roller-coaster ride.

SGT. SONEN: Yes, ma'am, we surely have. The highs have been very, very wonderful, but the lows and the loss of our soldiers makes it difficult, and it brings us back to reality. And it makes the Baby Noor story so much more important to us. We saved a life, as opposed to taking a life or losing a life.

WHITFIELD: How do you-all as a group, even decompress after a tour of duty just like that?

SGT. SONEN: Well, the main thing you do is just appreciate and understand what you have done. What you've accomplished, and who is there for you back at home.

WHITFIELD: When you made the discovery, you as a group made the discovery of Baby Noor, a baby with spina bifida, just a few months old, a severe case of spina bifida.

SGT. SONEN: Yes, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: And you know you-all pulled together and felt a real connection with this family, with this baby's plight. How did it all come together?

SGT. SONEN: Well, initially we were doing a (INAUDIBLE) we were searching homes and we asked if there were any medical issues at the time, and the grandmother brought Baby Noor to us, and Specialist Donnelly and Sergeant Juggs, they looked at her and they decided, you know, we got to do something, and they brought this information to me, and we went out there and looked at her, did an initial assessment and we decided, as a group of infantry soldiers that this is going to be our project. If this is the only thing we do in Iraq that means anything, this is going to be it. So we took it on.

WHITFIELD: And you took it on, and you managed to get Baby Noor here in the states whose now still getting medical attention here. How are you learning about updates about how she's doing right now?

SGT. SONEN: Well, we didn't get too much information back there, because, you know, we're busy running around the streets of Baghdad. But we did get some information, and once we got back, we found out a lot more information, how she's doing and who she's staying with and all the things that she's been through, and it's really an exciting thing to know that she's going to have a good chance to survive life, which makes us very happy.

WHITFIELD: And then talking about information, how much did you and other soldiers, your fellow comrades get about the growing criticisms about the mission in Iraq or even whether it pertained to President Bush as the commander in chief of this mission, or whether it was defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld?

SGT. SONEN: Well, ma'am, a lot of folks saying that we don't -- we haven't accomplished anything there. But I disagree. Look at the Baby Noor story. There are thousands and thousands of stories just like that every day and there are soldiers that are out there doing the very same thing every day. And, yes, it hasn't received the notoriety, but they still do that, and the only way we're going to win there is you fix one thing at a time, one child at a time, and one family at a time, and that's how we're going to do it, and we're doing it whether anybody sees it or not, we're still doing it.

WHITFIELD: And Tina, what's it been like, this experience for you? You are hearing the reports here at home. You have two kids at home, at the same time you know, you're having direct dialogue on occasion with your husband, and you know what he's up against.

TINA SONEN, SOLDIER'S WIFE: We have had good communication with him. He was able to e-mail us. And we were able to watch him -- when he was on TV that was really exciting. And be able to follow him then. We were very proud of him. We had a lot of family support. We're just very grateful and so glad that he's home.

WHITFIELD: Well, Tina and Sergeant First Class Michael Sonen, we're glad that you're home as well, back safely with the rest of your brigade.

SGT. SONEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIFELD: And Sergeant Sonen's fellow guardsmen, you'll recall, are the ones who found the sick infant that we know as Baby Noor. A quick note on how she's doing. We're told by the Atlanta hospital treating her that she is well, recovering and growing just like a weed.

Coming up next, on CNN SATURDAY, summer is almost here, and those red, blistery sun burns. Yuck. That's not the only worry you should have. Some dangers you might not be aware of.

Plus, science gap, why U.S. students aren't making the grade, and what the government is doing to combat it.

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WHITFIELD: Well, now a friendly message for all you sun worshippers out there, it's the season to catch some rays, but beware, basking in the sun can pose quite a few health hazards from simple sunburn to more serious skin cancers. So what precautions should you be taking. Let's ask Dr. Bill Lloyd. It's good to see you Dr. Bill.

DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So sunburn isn't the only thing we need to be worrying about. There are other things associated with too much exposure.

LLOYD: Oh you're right, you know here in northern California, we've had 32 days of rain and so the sun is finally breaking out which is drawing many people outdoors for the first real time this spring. The same thing is happening across the country. We're not trying to diminish the importance of being aware about the possibility of early aging of the skin or skin tumors, but there are other health concerns.

They fall into three basic categories. Some people with neurologic problems like multiple sclerosis, their symptoms can become much worse if they are stuck in the sun for too long. There are other people who may be taking certain medications or using other products that they put on their skin, they get in the sun they can be in trouble. And, finally, there's a group of Americans who are actually allergic to the sun.

WHITFIELD: And that's what's remarkable to me, because when you say a group, you mean about 15 percent, right? So that is a significant number of people who are allergic to the sun? What does that mean?

LLOYD: Up to 10 to 15 percent, children and adults, all ages, all racial groups can be involved. It starts early in the season. They get an eruption on their skin. It could be a fine little hives or little rash or redness of the skin that doesn't burn like sunburn. In fact, it may itch. As the season goes on, they become less and less sensitized to it and the problem seems to go away later in the summer, but next spring it will be back again. So this is the time of year when people ought to pay attention to using those sun blocks, not just to protect themselves from aging and cancer, but from these rashes that they can get because they're allergic to the sun. And there's no test to find out beforehand who is or is not sensitive.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So once you discover you're allergic to the sun, it doesn't mean just slathering on more sunscreen than the average Joe, it means taking much more extreme measures. What do you do?

LLOYD: Well, you ought to check with your dermatologist first and get an accurate diagnosis. You may find out that your allergy is based on something you're taking. There's a variety of medications, Fredricka that can make you extra sensitive to the sun.

WHITFIELD: Right.

LLOYD: And those sensitivities come in two big categories. It could intensify a sunburn, tetracycline will do that. Or other medications like some antihistamines. Non steroidals like Motrin, they too can give you a serious case of the hives when you go outside in the sun. But back to that other group, who, by themselves, spontaneously get a rash when they go out in the sun, they can get a small biopsy and an accurate diagnosis from their dermatologist. And, yet, avoiding the sun, and using the usual precautions will help make their springtime far more enjoyable.

WHITFIELD: Wow, great advice. All right, take lots of precautions, be careful before you walk out into the sun. Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks so much.

LLOYD: We'll talk to you again soon.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well thanks so much. And straight ahead, more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Susan Roesgen, up here from New Orleans, sacrificing the Jazz Fest weekend. Too much sun?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Glad to be here. At 5 o'clock we've got an interesting story, Fredricka. There's a new law in Mexico that legalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana, but it also legalizes small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD. So we're going to talk to the district attorney in San Diego county to find out what drug agents on this side of the border think about this new law in Mexico.

Then at 6 o'clock, did you see the new survey on dieting that's come out this week?

WHITFIELD: I don't think I did.

ROESGEN: Well there's this new survey and it says that most people on average say they want to lose 29 pounds, not two or three pounds, but 29 pounds. A lot of pounds.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

ROESGEN: We're going to be talking to a dieting expert to find out whether that's a realistic goal, should you try to lose that much, could you try to lose that much, and if so how do you do it?

WHITFIELD: Does that also mean that there are an awful lot of us who are just not happy with our weight?

ROESGEN: There are, unfortunately.

WHITFIELD: 29 pounds is a lot. All right Susan, thanks so much, we'll be looking for that.

ROESGEN: Okay.

WHITFIELD: Now, coming up next on this hour of CNN SATURDAY, is America falling behind when it comes to science? We'll take a closer look at why American students are choosing not to study it and what the government is doing about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: If you're in the market for a new car and you're concerned about the soaring price of gasoline. CNN Money along with Edmonds.com selected the top cars to buy that are also easy at the pump. If you're into luxury cars, the Mercedes-Benz E-class gets impressive fuel mileage. There also is a diesel option available in some states. In the family sedan category, the Toyota Camry came out on top. It gets 24 miles per gallon in the city and 34 on the highway. A couple of alternatives to the Camry are the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion.

Are you looking for something sporty with a bit more punch? Then experts recommend the Chevrolet Corvette. It gets an impressive 28 miles per gallon on the highway and runs fine on regular fuel, even though premium is recommended. And if you like compact cars, the Toyota Corolla has great gas mileage and good marks in crash tests. For more, you can go online to cnnmoney.com/gas. For the dotcom desk I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

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WHITFIELD: So robots, they have taken over Atlanta. Just for this weekend. It's the annual International Robotics Championship, and it's bigger than ever. 9,600 high school students from all over the world duking it out in games and challenges featuring machines they built. These are among the world's brightest young minds in science and engineering. Well it's quite a weekend for brainiac kids. Another gathering this one in Washington. It's giving students the chance to strut their studious stuff. It's the National Science Bowl. A government-sponsored event that aims to keep brain power already here staying here. Brianna Keilar has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: High school senior Charlotte Seid is one of the brightest young minds in the nation. At this year's National Science Bowl, she and her teammates are going for their school's fifth consecutive title. The competition is like "Jeopardy."

Name the transitional stage between snow crystals and ice.

KEILAR: With harder questions.

CHARLOTTE SEID, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Which natural substance provides chemicals that are used in birth control, and it was yams, apparently, which it was a pretty obscure question.

KEILAR: Before the contest students compete to build a hydrogen fuel cell car, a subject with real-world applications for a country struggling with high oil prices. The Department of Energy sponsors the National Science bowl hoping these participants can help the U.S. remain the world's leader in scientific innovation and research.

SAMUEL BODMAN, ENERGY SECRETARY: There's little doubt that other countries have observed how we do what we've done, and they're seeking to emulate it.

KEILAR: Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says China and India are gearing up to be formidable competitors. Experts like Timothy Tong say increasingly foreign students who study in the U.S. take their scientific expertise back to their home countries, and the U.S. isn't churning out enough homegrown scientists to fill the gap.

TIMOTHY TONG, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: For example, the Chinese population, there's only four times that in the U.S. But on an annual basis, they graduate ten times more engineers than the United States do.

KEILAR: The problem has caught the attention of the White House. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People have got to understand that if we don't educate our children in math and science, jobs are going to go to other countries. It's as simple as that.

KEILAR: President Bush has traveled the country promoting his American competitiveness initiative, a ten-year plan, to, among other things, invest billions of taxpayer dollars in improving how students like Charlotte are taught math and science.

SEID: Hopefully if they have an early interest, they can take more advanced science courses and luckily pursue those fields in college.

KEILAR: Professor Tong says engaging students in science is effective but the National Science Bowl is just a beginning.

TONG: The issue is we need many more activities like this, ten times more, for example.

KEILAR: Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead on CNN. We continue to keep a close watch on the tornado watch affecting Arkansas and Louisiana, to name a few. Susan Roesgen is up next with more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. troops in Iraq reach a grim milestone this month. Mexico makes a major move to partially legalize small amounts of narcotics. We'll tell you why and what people think about it.

And 12 years spent living the life of a college student. You'll hear from the man who made every student's fantasy a reality. Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Susan Roesgen, filling in for Carol Lin. Here's what's happening now in the news.

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