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CNN Live At Daybreak

Rockets Fired; Facing the Famine; Kicking the Habit; Fill 'Er Up

Aired August 19, 2005 - 05:29   ET

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

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK for Friday. I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello. Thanks for waking up with us.
Right now, here are the stories in the news.

A rocket was fired at a U.S. Navy ship in the Jordanian Red Sea port city of Aqaba today. A U.S. military official tells CNN the rocket missed. No American sailors or Marines were hurt. The ships, the Kearsarge and the Ashland, sailed out of the port after the incident.

Also in that area, Israeli officials say two rockets were fired at the airport in the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Those rockets coming from Jordan. The rockets did not detonate but made a crater upon impact on a nearby road. No injuries there, either. It is not known right now if the two incidents are related.

Pope Benedict XVI plans to speak and pray at a synagogue in Germany about 30 minutes from now. He will be the second Roman Catholic Pope to visit a synagogue. The pontiff is in Cologne, Germany for World Youth Day ceremonies.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Peru today. He is trying to strengthen U.S. ties with Latin America and gauge the influence of Cuba and Venezuela in the region.

The space shuttle Discovery is tentatively set to leave California for Cape Canaveral today. The shuttle will be flown atop a modified 747. Its return has twice been postponed by bad weather and technical problems.

And the Little League World Series starting today. The baseball tournament for 11 and 12 year olds is being held in south Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Chad, I always love this time of year, watching those young kids out on the field.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, from all over the world, too, right.

WALLACE: That's great.

(WEATHER REPORT) MYERS: Back to you.

WALLACE: All right, Chad, we'll talk to you in a few minutes. Thanks so much.

MYERS: Yes.

WALLACE: And now to the breaking news we've been following this morning here on DAYBREAK. A rocket has been fired at an American vessel docked at the Jordanian port of Aqaba.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CMDR. JEFF BRESLAU, U.S. NAVY: It occurred approximately 8:45 local time this morning, and no U.S. personnel, no sailors or Marines, were injured in what appears to be a rocket attack. It came into the direction of USS Ashland while it was in port in Aqaba. The rocket impacted a warehouse nearby the ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: That is Navy Commander Breslau who we talked to here on DAYBREAK a little bit ago.

Also, an explosion has occurred in the Israeli tourist city of Eilat.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us now live from Jerusalem with more on both blasts.

Paula, what's the latest from there?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kelly, just to recap exactly what we do know, two missiles early this Friday morning were fired from Jordan. As you say, one hit the Jordanian port of Aqaba where the two U.S. Navy vessels were docked at the time. And then one hitting in south Israel in Eilat.

Let's start off with the Aqaba blast. This was a missile. We believe it was just one, although we can't get confirmation on whether or not it was more than one. It missed the U.S. Navy ship that was docked in that area and hit a warehouse very close by. We understand there are no U.S. military personnel injured in that particular blast.

Now it's not unusual for these vessels to be in this area. They were on a -- training with the Jordanian officials, with the Jordanian Navy, as well. Not unusual at all for them to be here, but one commander was saying that it is very unusual for them to come under attack -- for a U.S. Navy ship to come under attack in this particular area.

We also understand, according to certain wire reports, that those two U.S. Navy ships have now left the area. And they left the area immediately after the attack.

Now to focus on the second attack. This was in the Israeli town of Eilat. It's a holiday town, a Red Sea resort with hundreds of hotels. There would be many people on holiday there, at the moment, during the school holidays.

And we understand a rocket hit just very close to the airport, only about 15 yards, we're being told, from the perimeter fence of the airport itself. But it didn't explode. Those just left a crater in the road. There are reports of a taxi driver being slightly injured as he was in the area at that particular time as well.

So these two attacks very close geographically. The distance between Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel only about 10 miles, or maybe less, and both on the Red Sea. So both almost facing each other if you are in a lax. Just to give you an idea of how close they are, if you're sitting on the beach in Eilat, you look out over the Red Sea and just to the left-hand side, you could probably just about see Aqaba itself. And then on the right-hand side, you have Egypt.

WALLACE: Paula, that was very helpful, too, to set the scene for us. Also, I know the Israeli defense minister was holding a news conference with reporters as we were getting information about these incidents. What is he saying, particularly about the question do we know at this early stage if these two incidents were coordinated or linked in any way?

HANCOCKS: Well the Israeli Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, would not be drawn on that question. He didn't speculate in any way on whether or not they were connected in any way. They were very close in time. They're very close geographically. Both missiles were fired from Jordan. You can draw your own conclusions, but the officials will not draw any conclusions publicly at the moment.

He did say that the Israelis and the Jordanians, at the moment, are working very closely to try and find out where these rockets were launched from and exactly who was behind these two particular attacks, saying we still don't know who is behind this act.

And he also said the attacks were intended to hit the Israeli site, as well as the Jordanian site. So showing that the two are just on the border with each other, these two sites of the attacks. But he said he does believe that they were meant to hit both the Jordanian side and the Israeli side -- Kelly.

WALLACE: And, Paula, this is a question I asked you in the last half-hour, but for viewers who are just joining us now, when we have been hearing about any kind of rocket or mortar attacks, we have often been hearing about them coming perhaps from the Gaza Strip, aiming at Jewish settlements in Gaza, or into Israel itself. What about, though, this part of the country, in particular, targeting Eilat, is this unusual?

HANCOCKS: It is unusual, yes. The security down there is incredibly tight. And there has been a precedence of there's been some incidents in the area before, just across the Egyptian border in Taba. Back in November of last year there was a huge bomb at a hotel, Hilton Taba, just there. And there were numerous casualties. Many lost their lives in that particular attack. It's very close by to Eilat. If you get to Eilat, all you have to do is walk across the border and you are in Taba. So there have been attacks very close by.

And there also have been an increase of the state of alert in the area in Israel. They had no specific warnings about an attack. They had no specific warnings about this particular area. But, as a whole, before this evacuation of the settlers from Gaza started, the state of alert was particularly high.

And this is Israel. Security here is incredibly high anyway. If you go into a bar or a restaurant, you have your bags checked. There's always a security guard sitting outside public places. So security is incredibly tight here.

But we are hearing from officials that they have no specific intelligence of these particular attacks, and, also, they had no warnings whatsoever -- Kelly.

WALLACE: OK, Paula, thanks so much for bringing us the latest. We will be checking in with you again. Paula Hancocks reporting live from Jerusalem.

Coming up next on DAYBREAK, a look at the growing hunger crisis in Africa. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: Turning now to the hunger crisis in Africa and an urgent new plea for help. This time the plea comes from leaders of six countries in southern Africa where nearly 11 million people face a hunger crisis brought on by drought. Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Malawi, and Zambia are affected.

The World's Food Program says more than $300 million is needed for those countries or they could end up with a famine like the one in Niger.

CNN's Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange was there when the story grabbed headlines last month. He brought you all angles of the crisis that is affecting more than three-and-a-half million people. And we're happy to say Jeff joining us from Atlanta this morning.

Jeff, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Thank you -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Let me ask you first, though, about the growing situation there. The concern from the leaders of some of those southern African countries that if more is not done now, they could turn into another Niger.

KOINANGE: That's right. And we're talking, like you said, half a dozen countries. And of course drought is nothing new in that part of the world. But again, the plea is coming out now just to avoid a Niger.

If you recall, eight months before the Niger crisis began, World Health Organization and other aid agencies were crying out, raising the red flag, saying, folks, there's a hunger looming in this part of the world, please take a look, please help. Very little happened. The world seemed to have turned its back on Niger at that time and then we had this crisis.

You saw those pictures, the children emaciated, dying of hunger. Their mothers dragging them to these aid centers looking for any kind of help. That's what happened, Kelly, when the world ignored. Southern Africa is pleading to the world to avoid this crisis.

WALLACE: Jeff, and your reporting from there was really incredible. Give us a sense of what you were seeing firsthand on the ground and the biggest, biggest obstacles facing relief officials as they try to get food and aid to these people.

KOINANGE: I'll tell you, Kelly, I've covered these kind of stories in Africa before, but the one -- the worst thing about this, when it was totally avoidable. You get to these crisis centers and you see mothers literally having dragged their children hundreds of miles. They come in, they are so hungry, emaciated, they want any kind of help. They were literally crawling to these centers. And guess what, these were the lucky ones, because they were able to get some kind of aid.

The biggest obstacle out there is the fact that this is a country twice the size of Texas with 10 percent of the infrastructure. So as soon as you get off the main roads trying to get into the countryside and the villages, it was practically impossible. Those roads, you couldn't get through unless you had an SUV, and there are very few of those over there. So getting the aid. Those aid agencies who could get the aid to the people out there had a very difficult time.

We had -- our car broke down several times when we tried to get to the villages, because the roads are so terrible. That was the biggest obstacle. And that's where a lot of the children, a lot of mothers are dying, because they cannot get to the big cities. You have to walk hundreds of miles. And for the aid workers getting the aid to the people, equally difficult -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Jeff, you know, take us behind the scenes, because, as you say, this story incredibly difficult, very emotional and personal. So what is it like for you when you're there covering the story day in and day out, how do you sort of keep doing it and how do those images, they must stay in your head even to this day?

KOINANGE: They do, and they're very haunting, Kelly. And you know the thing is we're there to do a story. And we're thinking, you know what, if one person or two people do see this story and react, then we'll know that we did the right thing.

But you are so right, every morning we would wake up and we would walk to these centers and we would see the heartbreaking, heart- wrenching scenes, these children with flies all over their faces. Some of them, literally, dying as we were at the centers.

And doctors saying, OK, you know what, we're going to separate these children. And they would put wristbands on the children, red meaning critical, blue meaning OK they can last maybe a couple of days and green meaning OK they can go the rest of the week. So they would literally separate these children and they would treat the ones that they could -- that they were sure would survive. And others, they'd just say, you know what, just take him away because he's going to die and it's a waste of medicine, it's a waste of food stuff.

That was so heart wrenching, because you feel so helpless. You're out there, you're filming this, you're reporting on it and you're trying to plead to the world to listen and to look and to react. But you walk away and you say, you know what, this is a tough one, a tough one because it was completely avoidable, did not have to happen -- Kelly.

WALLACE: And that is -- brings us to, we talked to an official from Niger with CARE who was talking to us yesterday about emergency relief. And we talked about the importance of reporters, like yourself, and having international coverage of a story. But, as we said, Jeff, how difficult is it to continue to get international coverage of places like Niger and then to get into other countries before they turn into a crisis situation?

KOINANGE: Very, very difficult. In fact, you talk about that official from CARE. The president of Niger himself came on television and said, look, my people are not starving, this whole thing is overblown.

And those are the kinds of obstacles we face, when officials, at that level, would come out and try to save political face, or whatever it is, saying that there is no crisis. And you see those pictures, you see -- we're not reporting stuff that we're making up, the pictures don't lie. And these pictures speak a thousand words. You saw those images. So, yes, it's so important for us to get in there.

And you're talking about this crisis in southern Africa. Look at Zimbabwe, a country that was known as the breadbasket of Africa, now facing famine. It makes no sense at all. But getting into that country to report will probably be impossible for us, because the government doesn't want us to highlight to the world what's going on in that country. A difficult, difficult situation.

But, Kelly, we have to do it any which way we can.

WALLACE: And we're lucky, so lucky to have people, like yourself, who keep doing it.

Jeff Koinange, what a treat to talk to you today, thanks so much for being with us.

KOINANGE: Thanks, Kelly, appreciate it.

WALLACE: And enjoy your time in Atlanta.

KOINANGE: Thank you.

WALLACE: Well the United Nations believes the next area of crisis is Malawi. And we've been talking about this. A look at the DAYBREAK data file on Malawi. The country located in southern Africa is surrounded by the nations of Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Malawi is slightly larger than the state of Pennsylvania. The median age of its population is 16 years old. And listen to this, the life expectancy at birth is 36 years old.

Well here's how you can help. Contact CARE International or UNICEF at the numbers on your screen. Very important to get some help there. We'll get those numbers to you after the break.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

You might not know this, but lung cancer kills more Americans than breast cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer combined. It is the deadliest form of cancer for both men and women.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looks at ways you can kick the habit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer. It's estimated that it killed 160,000 Americans last year. By now, most everyone knows that, for smokers, the key to preventing lung cancer is to stop.

DR. MICHAEL TUHN, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: This is a hard thing to do, but it's the best thing a smoker can do for themselves.

COHEN: And quitting at any point can dramatically benefit your health. Many studies have shown you can reap the benefits of quitting just 20 minutes after you put out that last butt. And after 15 years of being a nonsmoker, you cut the health risks associated with smoking by nearly 90 percent.

But the endless onslaught of quit smoking products can be dizzying. So how do you sort through it all? Doctors say they all work, but not necessarily for you.

TUHN: The trick is to find what works for you. Most people still quit cold turkey, but some people profit from using a nicotine patch, which delivers nicotine in a very steady way. Some people combine a patch with gum to get through the hard parts, the cravings. Sort of more sudden ways to get nicotine are through either the inhalant or the nasal spray.

COHEN: Nicotine gums, candies, nose sprays, inhalers can all cut cravings by releasing small bursts of nicotine into your system quickly. But there are downsides. A quick burst now may leave you wanting more very shortly in the form of more gum, or even a cigarette.

And how about the patch? It keeps nicotine levels in your bloodstream more constant so the cravings are reduced, but it still releases much lower levels of nicotine than a smoker is used to.

Some people choose other methods, like individual or group therapy, antidepressant medications such as Zyban, or alternative treatments like hypnosis or acupuncture.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And tomorrow morning, "HOUSE CALL WITH DR. SANJAY GUPTA," we'll have much more on kicking the habit and treating lung cancer. Important information you don't want to miss. "HOUSE CALL" airs at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Well, Chad, time to see what the e-mailers are saying this morning. What do you have so far?

MYERS: You know what we asked was you know how can we make schools safer? Over 50 percent of the kids in school today do not feel safe when they are in school. That's from a "USA Today" story today. What's the answer? Got a couple here.

From Tim (ph) in Columbus, it's obvious that the parents are not providing the proper discipline at home. When I was in school, I was more afraid of my parents, what they were going to do to me when I got home, than what was going to go on in school. Hold parents accountable for their children's actions.

And from Roger (ph) in Reading, Pennsylvania, school safety will return when discipline is returned to the school and home without interference from the legal left. Our children must adhere to school and society rules to function in this world before and after school.

Bruce (ph) thinks that adding more guards is a good first step. However, creating a prison-like atmosphere should be used in conjunction with expelling disruptive students.

I never got that disrupting, that expelling thing. I mean, because isn't that what they want anyway is to not have to go school? Put them somewhere where they have to sit their butt down for the whole day and be with somebody else or be with a cop or something.

And then a way from Susan (ph), parents need to teach children values and morals and perhaps get some themselves. It would take a guard for each student to prevent violence in some schools. And I am a retired, thank God, teacher -- Kelly.

WALLACE: You know, Chad, I'm just sorry -- surprised no one's really talked about sort of just that issue of the impact.

I went to Brooklyn public school. And I remember when I was going to school, or trying to figure out which one I was going to go to, there were some schools that are better in terms of you feel a little more safe than others. And I was interested in school and didn't want to be in an environment where I was going to be sort of worried, either picked on or made fun of if I wanted to study. So I really think there's something to it if kids feel worried about being unsafe, then how do they focus on studies? That's a key issue.

MYERS: Well, exactly.

WALLACE: All right, Chad, we'll see what people have to say.

MYERS: OK.

WALLACE: I'm glad I got that off my chest.

MYERS: Yes, good enough.

WALLACE: OK.

Much more of DAYBREAK on this Friday, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: A new day dawning here in New York City. Welcome back.

Well if you think filling up your SUV is getting expensive, try filling up an ice cream truck. Not only are Mr. Softee ice cream trucks major gas guzzlers, their coolers are powered by diesel generators, and profits are melting because of those high gas prices.

Chris Huntington spent the day with an ice cream truck driver in Brooklyn, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may just look like sprinkles and swirls to you, but selling soft ice cream from a truck is one tough business. If you scream at the prices you're paying at the pump, imagine how this guy feels.

DOC GUISHARD, MR. SOFTEE DISTRIBUTOR: We're finished with the gas on this side, we're going to go for diesel. All right, have a good one.

HUNTINGTON: Doc Guishard is a distributor for Mr. Softee ice cream in Brooklyn, New York. His business, and the livelihood of the vendors who work with him, depend on fuel. Their custom-built trucks run on gasoline, and each carries a heavy-duty diesel-powered generator to run the freezers, ice cream dispensers, and air conditioning.

The heavy trucks get terrible gas mileage in stop-and-go city driving, and those generators run constantly. The trucks need to fill up every other day with 40 gallons of gas and up to 22 gallons of diesel.

GUISHARD: $60 on pump 11.

HUNTINGTON: At New York City prices, that's a killer.

GUISHARD: So the guys can't go out and make the kind of profit that they're accustomed to making, and so there are a lot of complaints. And you know they're looking for alternatives. Hopefully, we can keep them here.

HUNTINGTON (no camera): Even with gas and diesel prices up by 40 to 50 percent this year, Mr. Softee is holding firm on prices. Vendors, like Sam (ph) here, are essentially eating the cost of higher fuel so their customers don't have to.

(voice-over): The vendors are, in effect, small businessmen. They own their own trucks, pay for the ingredients and operating expenses, and pocket the profits.

Jim Conway, co-owner of Mr. Softee, says higher fuel prices hit them hard.

JIM CONWAY, CO-OWNER, MR. SOFTEE: If you're a small mom-and-pop business, which our people are, that translates into maybe $2,000 or $3,000 more per year. And that money becomes significant. That money could just as well have gone to pay for your health insurance or a child's college tuition, and, instead, it's going to Exxon and Saudi Arabia.

HUNTINGTON: And as if the high cost of fuel weren't enough of a problem, there is political pressure brewing in New York to muffle the distinctive Mr. Softee theme music.

GUISHARD: Without the music, we're out of business.

HUNTINGTON: But for now, Mr. Softee's speakers are blaring. And despite the pain at the pumps, the generators are cranking, and so is the soft ice cream, doing what it does best, making little customers happy.

Chris Huntington, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Firsthand account of dealing with those rising gas prices.

The next hour of DAYBREAK begins in just 60 seconds. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: It is Friday, August 19.

Blasts rock the Middle East. One happening dangerously close to an American ship. Blasts in Israel and Jordan this morning. We will go live to the region in a moment. And we are looking right now at some of the first pictures coming in to CNN of the Israeli

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