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Are U.S. Cities Ready for the Next 9/11?

Aired May 18, 2004 - 14:30   ET

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

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. military investigators now say they're not sure al Qaeda operative Musab al Zarqawi had Izzedine Salim killed as first thought. Zarqawi has been tied to numerous attacks and the heading of an American civilian. A suicide bombing killed Salim in Baghdad yesterday.
President Bush wants 78-year-old Alan Greenspan to serve another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Bush announced the renomination as he met with Greenspan at the White House. Greenspan became Fed chairman in 1987. He could stay as late as June 2008.

Starting next Monday you can switch cell phone companies and keep your number no matter where you live across the country. Number portability started last November in the top 100 communities. Now it will be nationwide. You can transfer your land line number to your wireless phone if the exchange is in the same locality.

Actor Tony Randall has died in New York of complications from a prolonged illness. The urbane comic of television, film and Broadway stage, was perhaps best known for his role as Felix Unger in "The Odd Couple." Tony Randall was 84.

Emotions are running high just blocks from where terrorists first struck on 9/11. Hearings continue this hour into what went wrong and the lessons learned. The panel is hearing from survivors, relatives of those killed and some of the first responders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in the north tower, communicating with some of our people. And then all of a sudden we hear this loud roar. And we were able to go into a small alcove immediately to our left, just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) adjacent to the towers, the passage to Six World Trade Center.

And as you see, everything goes black. And what we thought at this point that we were the ones in trouble. That we in the lobby, somebody happened. Something fell off the building and crashed into the lobby or maybe the elevators had blown out. But we thought we were the guys in trouble.

And when we couldn't maintain our command post in the lobby, we made a decision that we needed to regroup and pull people out of the building.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Among those scheduled to testify tomorrow, the man at the helm of the city that day, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

It's Ridge's job to make sure cities from coast to coast are ready in the event of another terror attack. How are they measuring up? Miami Police Chief John Timoney can speak for his city. Thanks for joining us.

CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: Good afternoon, Betty.

NGUYEN: Today in this hearing we're learning what went wrong, what went right and what we can do to prepare for this should it happen again. What has your city learned and what are you doing?

TIMONEY: Well, what we do in Miami and most major cities is obviously we do a whole series of scenario drills, practice drills. Each city was required to be able to submit to the Homeland Security Department a protocol on how you would handle major catastrophic events.

And they needed to be in probably about six months ago, including how you are going to handle the defense not just of the streets but also of the ports, for example, in cities like Miami that have a large port.

Those plans have been submitted to Homeland Security and have been approved. Those cities that don't get their act together could suffer the consequences of having future funding cut off.

NGUYEN: So do you feel better prepared? What do cities need to know or what do they need that they're just not getting?

TIMONEY: I think the -- we're in much better shape than we were prior to 9/11, much better shape. With the establishment of the Homeland Security Department back on March 1, the units or the units underneath that, for example, ATF, the Coast Guard, have a much more aggressive posture than they did in the past.

There's a lot more communications going on, a lot more sharing of intelligence. So it's way better than it was prior to 9/11, but there's still some need for improvement.

And then of course there's the ticklish issue of funding. How does the fed allocate funding? Some of the decisions appear to be political. In other words you're giving places like Wyoming or some other Midwestern state the same amount or in some cases more on a prorated basis than the major cities such as New York, Washington and Miami.

And clearly the big cities are going to be the main target. And so there needs to be a better method, if you will, of divvying up the pie to make sure. Especially places like New York and Washington get more than their fair share of the federal funding.

NGUYEN: As you prepare for the unexpected, what worries you the most?

TIMONEY: I think the lack of hard intelligence. You know, we get briefings all the time from our joint terrorist task force. But most of the time it's of a nonspecific nature. It may involve your locality, but it has no specificity.

And the lack of specificity is always disconcerting because you're not quite sure how much additional attention to pay, how many extra patrols to put out. So that's a great unknown that's always causing concern.

But by the same token, you don't want to panic every time you have new information. This is all a balancing act which we're getting much better at than in the past.

NGUYEN: Definitely don't want to panic. Today we learned that New York is a finalist for the 2012 Olympic Games. Is that city ready for such an event?

TIMONEY: before you get to 2012, let's see what happens in Greece coming up this summer. There's some real cause for concerns there because it's just the geographical location of Greece, close to the Mideast. There was a bombing back some months ago in Istanbul which is right next door.

In the past, the issue of how secure the airports were coming out of that part of the world has always been a problem. So I don't know how far they've come. But clearly before we start to worry about 2012, we should worry about what's coming up this summer.

NGUYEN: We'll all be watching. Miami Police Chief John Timoney. Thank you for your info today.

TIMONEY: Thank you, Betty.

NGUYEN: For years some parents have worried childhood vaccines might be linked to autism. A study just released tries to clear up the confusion.

And is soda increasing your risk of cancer? That's also in today's health headlines.

Plus the food fight between although carb and low fat. Just how many carbs should you eat?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Israeli tanks and bulldozers have been rolling through Rafah and Southern Gaza. Israeli rocket attacks reportedly killed a number of Palestinians. Matthew Chance is in Gaza City with the latest on what's happening and why -- Matthew.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a major confrontation between the Israeli armed forces and Palestinian militants here in the Gaza Strip.

And the fighting is focused on the Rafah refugee camp where some 100 Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers and other armored vehicles have taken up positions there in what Israel says is an operation to crack down on Palestinian militant strongholds in the refugee camp as well as to search and destroy tunnels which militants use to smuggle weapons out of Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

There has been a heavy humanitarian toll, though. Of those dead at least two of them are said by hospital workers in Rafah to have been children, a brother and sister age 10 and 11 are amongst those killed. Many others killed at this stage as well.

Some ambulances having a difficult time, according to the ones that we've spoken to, actually getting to the areas where there have been clashes with Israeli troops and Palestinian militants to take out those dead and injured.

The Palestinian leadership, the Palestinian Authority has been calling for international pressure on Israel, for it to stop its operation in Rafah. For it's part, though, Israel says its troops won't pull back until it's achieved its aims in what it calls the Gaza gateway to terrorism.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: There's a new wrinkle in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. The government's proposal payout to Iraqi victims as some former American prisoners of war in Iraq asking where's our share. Kathleen Koch explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF TICE, GULF WAR POW: It's a rather brutal experience.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeff Tice knows about torture in Abu Ghraib Prison. He was on the receiving end there in the first Gulf War.

TICE: I was essentially beaten, tortured and starved.

KOCH: Ties and 16 other U.S. POWs brutally tortured in 1991 by Saddam Hussein's troops sued Iraq, and in July won $653 million in damages. But by then, the U.S. government had appropriated the $1.7 billion in frozen Iraqi assets they were to be paid from Iraqi reconstruction.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: They were resources required for the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq.

KOCH: So the POWs were stunned when the defense secretary promised to compensate Iraqis abused in Abu Ghraib Prison. TICE: Well, I thought that it was utterly unfair for secretary Rumsfeld to say that, well, we're going to pay these Iraqi prisoners from U.S. funds, at the same time, our own government is blocking us from receiving compensation from Iraqi funds.

JEFF FOX, GULF WAR POW: There's inconsistency there that is, quite frankly, a little embarrassing.

KOCH: Former POW Jeff Fox sent a letter to Donald Rumsfeld expressing his, quote, "frustration and disbelief" and asking for an explanation. One senator vows to block any payments to Iraqi prisoners.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: I'm going to do everything I can to throw roadblocks into compensating Iraqi prisoners of war when American prisoners of war have not been compensated. It is unfair.

KOCH (on camera): The POWs eventually hope to be paid from Saddam Hussein assets hidden overseas or future Iraqi governments, though the federal government is now trying to overturn the initial court ruling entitling hem them to compensation.

(voice-over): For the men and their attorneys, the administration opposition sends a troubling message.

HAWK: OK, active duty military, if you're in combat, you're captured and tortured, deal with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And sends the wrong message to the next torturers, that you can get away with it.

KOCH: The former POWs say they realize they may never be compensated.

TICE: I tell people I won the lottery already because I came back.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll has been gauging your feelings about the war in Iraq, same-sex marriage and 50 years of desegregated schools. Gallup editor in chief Frank Newport has been crunching the numbers in Princeton, New Jersey.

Frank, have the prisoner scandals and the Nicholas Berg murder hurt support for the war in Iraq.

FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Well it has. There's no question about that. Support, was it worth going to war is clearly down, other indicators down.

But I've been looking at a lot of polling on the war. It seems to me that one question that the CNN/"TIME" poll asked, just released Friday and over the weekend probably summarizes it better than anything else. There is still some ambivalence on the part of the American public. They think the current costs doesn't make it worth it for the U.S. to be in Iraq. On the other hand, they think the initial decision, in a lot of polling, still was the right one.

Here's the question I'm talking about. Has the military campaign in Iraq been a success? The biggest answer here, 19 successful, 26 unsuccessful. But there's 52 percent say something where in between.

And I think that probably summarizes where Americans are better than anything else at this point as they ponder what's happening in Iraq.

NGUYEN: Let's shift to controversy over same-sex marriage, sharing the headlines with the war. Are Americans still overwhelmingly upset about the idea of same-sex marriages?

NEWPORT: I would not say overwhelmingly. But there's no question that the pictures we're seeing out of Massachusetts are in opposition to the feelings of at least a majority of Americans. A majority are opposed, about 55 percent to legalized same-sex marriage.

However, big differences by age. Probably the most interesting thing we find when we analyze the data, 18 to 29s, 58 percent in favor of same-sex marriage. Big support among young Americans. But as you get older, you see the support drop. If you're 65 and older, only 23 percent support same-sex marriage.

By the way, we've seen an increase in support for civil unions. I think it is a contrast effect here. The more we hear about same-sex legalized marriage, we're finding a little increase in the idea of an alternative which would be legalized civil unions.

Every May we ask about it. It has gone from 44 percent support a few years ago to break even right now, 49 percent support legalized same-sex unions.

NGUYEN: We can't forget yesterday marked the anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit that makes school segregation illegal. Do Americans believe problems still exist for black children in our schools?

NEWPORT: Black Americans do, no question about it. Our polling shows even blacks and of course (UNINTELLIGIBLE) progress.

But look at the contrast that's still here. I couldn't highlight it any better than this one question. Do black and white children today have equal education opportunity? Whites 63 percent yes.

But look at the right-hand side. This is our sample at the Gallup poll that black Americans, only a third say some 50 years after Brown that black children have the same opportunities as white children.

So clearly there's still a racial divide in the perceptions of the schools in America today.

NGUYEN: Numbers are always interesting. All right. Gallup editor in chief Frank Newport in New Jersey, thank you.

There's an ongoing health debate. Can childhood vaccines cause autism? The results of a new study in today's health headlines.

Plus turning the food pyramid upside down. The low carb confusion.

And the big green guy is back at the box office. Can Shrek work his magic a second time around?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Health headlines for Tuesday, May 18. A new report should easy parents' fears about vaccinations. It found no evidence linking vaccines to autism. The findings are based on the results of five large studies which traced children in the U.S. and overseas.

Researchers concluded the mercury-based preservative was not linked to the brain disorder. Many parents of autistic children thought vaccinations were the cause.

A new study could have you rethinking your trip to the soda machine. A Harvard University report links carbonated sodas with the risk of esophageal cancer. Consumption habits found that the rates of that cancer went up with the intake of carbonated beverages.

Swimsuit season is here in many places. Lots of Americans are on one diet or another. With new studies pitting low carb against low fat, there's a lot of confusion over which type works best -- if at all. Bruce Burkhardt offers his thought on the dieting dilemma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It took the ancient Egyptians decades to build the pyramids. It may take longer for us to build a food pyramid that everyone can agree on.

(on camera): According to the current USDA food pyramid, the foods down here at the bottom -- in other words, the ones we should eat the most of -- are breads and cereals, rice and pasta. In other words, carbs.

(voice-over): But according to the hot diets now -- South Beach and Atkins -- those foods should be at the top, the ones we should eat the least -- if we want to lose weight, that is. Now, to make things worse, a couple of new studies released today. One concludes that after a six-month trial, a low-carb diet is more effective than regular low-fat diets. And yet another study, this one following subjects for 12 months, finds little difference between low-carb and other diets. So how are we going to fill in the pyramid this week?

(on camera): What foods would you put at the bottom?

KIMBERLY GLENN, NUTRITIONIST: At the bottom of the pyramid is the base of the diet. I would have a lot of whole grains, 100 percent whole wheat bread. BURKHARDT: Nutritionist Kimberly Glenn (ph) doesn't have a major problem with the pyramid. What's ignored is the idea that not all carbs are created equal.

GLENN: The white refined carbs are the ones you want to try to limit.

BURKHARDT: But eliminating carbs is not only nutritionally a bad idea, it's a tough diet to follow.

GLENN: When you eliminate them completely, we start having cravings for them. So we overeat them.

BURKHARDT: So no matter how you might fiddle with the food pyramid, no matter how many studies come out, the one thing that matters most seldom comes up in a study: common sense.

Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

NGUYEN: The money should start rolling in at the box office as summer blockbusters roll out. We'll get the critics pick in our next hour.

And another movie star is gone. A comedian, Tony Randall, is dead. We'll have more on how the famous "Odd Couple" came to be.

Plus the 9/11 hearings are in progress now in New York. We'll go there live in part of next hour of LIVE FROM...

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 May 18, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. military investigators now say they're not sure al Qaeda operative Musab al Zarqawi had Izzedine Salim killed as first thought. Zarqawi has been tied to numerous attacks and the heading of an American civilian. A suicide bombing killed Salim in Baghdad yesterday.
President Bush wants 78-year-old Alan Greenspan to serve another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Bush announced the renomination as he met with Greenspan at the White House. Greenspan became Fed chairman in 1987. He could stay as late as June 2008.

Starting next Monday you can switch cell phone companies and keep your number no matter where you live across the country. Number portability started last November in the top 100 communities. Now it will be nationwide. You can transfer your land line number to your wireless phone if the exchange is in the same locality.

Actor Tony Randall has died in New York of complications from a prolonged illness. The urbane comic of television, film and Broadway stage, was perhaps best known for his role as Felix Unger in "The Odd Couple." Tony Randall was 84.

Emotions are running high just blocks from where terrorists first struck on 9/11. Hearings continue this hour into what went wrong and the lessons learned. The panel is hearing from survivors, relatives of those killed and some of the first responders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in the north tower, communicating with some of our people. And then all of a sudden we hear this loud roar. And we were able to go into a small alcove immediately to our left, just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) adjacent to the towers, the passage to Six World Trade Center.

And as you see, everything goes black. And what we thought at this point that we were the ones in trouble. That we in the lobby, somebody happened. Something fell off the building and crashed into the lobby or maybe the elevators had blown out. But we thought we were the guys in trouble.

And when we couldn't maintain our command post in the lobby, we made a decision that we needed to regroup and pull people out of the building.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Among those scheduled to testify tomorrow, the man at the helm of the city that day, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

It's Ridge's job to make sure cities from coast to coast are ready in the event of another terror attack. How are they measuring up? Miami Police Chief John Timoney can speak for his city. Thanks for joining us.

CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: Good afternoon, Betty.

NGUYEN: Today in this hearing we're learning what went wrong, what went right and what we can do to prepare for this should it happen again. What has your city learned and what are you doing?

TIMONEY: Well, what we do in Miami and most major cities is obviously we do a whole series of scenario drills, practice drills. Each city was required to be able to submit to the Homeland Security Department a protocol on how you would handle major catastrophic events.

And they needed to be in probably about six months ago, including how you are going to handle the defense not just of the streets but also of the ports, for example, in cities like Miami that have a large port.

Those plans have been submitted to Homeland Security and have been approved. Those cities that don't get their act together could suffer the consequences of having future funding cut off.

NGUYEN: So do you feel better prepared? What do cities need to know or what do they need that they're just not getting?

TIMONEY: I think the -- we're in much better shape than we were prior to 9/11, much better shape. With the establishment of the Homeland Security Department back on March 1, the units or the units underneath that, for example, ATF, the Coast Guard, have a much more aggressive posture than they did in the past.

There's a lot more communications going on, a lot more sharing of intelligence. So it's way better than it was prior to 9/11, but there's still some need for improvement.

And then of course there's the ticklish issue of funding. How does the fed allocate funding? Some of the decisions appear to be political. In other words you're giving places like Wyoming or some other Midwestern state the same amount or in some cases more on a prorated basis than the major cities such as New York, Washington and Miami.

And clearly the big cities are going to be the main target. And so there needs to be a better method, if you will, of divvying up the pie to make sure. Especially places like New York and Washington get more than their fair share of the federal funding.

NGUYEN: As you prepare for the unexpected, what worries you the most?

TIMONEY: I think the lack of hard intelligence. You know, we get briefings all the time from our joint terrorist task force. But most of the time it's of a nonspecific nature. It may involve your locality, but it has no specificity.

And the lack of specificity is always disconcerting because you're not quite sure how much additional attention to pay, how many extra patrols to put out. So that's a great unknown that's always causing concern.

But by the same token, you don't want to panic every time you have new information. This is all a balancing act which we're getting much better at than in the past.

NGUYEN: Definitely don't want to panic. Today we learned that New York is a finalist for the 2012 Olympic Games. Is that city ready for such an event?

TIMONEY: before you get to 2012, let's see what happens in Greece coming up this summer. There's some real cause for concerns there because it's just the geographical location of Greece, close to the Mideast. There was a bombing back some months ago in Istanbul which is right next door.

In the past, the issue of how secure the airports were coming out of that part of the world has always been a problem. So I don't know how far they've come. But clearly before we start to worry about 2012, we should worry about what's coming up this summer.

NGUYEN: We'll all be watching. Miami Police Chief John Timoney. Thank you for your info today.

TIMONEY: Thank you, Betty.

NGUYEN: For years some parents have worried childhood vaccines might be linked to autism. A study just released tries to clear up the confusion.

And is soda increasing your risk of cancer? That's also in today's health headlines.

Plus the food fight between although carb and low fat. Just how many carbs should you eat?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Israeli tanks and bulldozers have been rolling through Rafah and Southern Gaza. Israeli rocket attacks reportedly killed a number of Palestinians. Matthew Chance is in Gaza City with the latest on what's happening and why -- Matthew.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a major confrontation between the Israeli armed forces and Palestinian militants here in the Gaza Strip.

And the fighting is focused on the Rafah refugee camp where some 100 Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers and other armored vehicles have taken up positions there in what Israel says is an operation to crack down on Palestinian militant strongholds in the refugee camp as well as to search and destroy tunnels which militants use to smuggle weapons out of Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

There has been a heavy humanitarian toll, though. Of those dead at least two of them are said by hospital workers in Rafah to have been children, a brother and sister age 10 and 11 are amongst those killed. Many others killed at this stage as well.

Some ambulances having a difficult time, according to the ones that we've spoken to, actually getting to the areas where there have been clashes with Israeli troops and Palestinian militants to take out those dead and injured.

The Palestinian leadership, the Palestinian Authority has been calling for international pressure on Israel, for it to stop its operation in Rafah. For it's part, though, Israel says its troops won't pull back until it's achieved its aims in what it calls the Gaza gateway to terrorism.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: There's a new wrinkle in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. The government's proposal payout to Iraqi victims as some former American prisoners of war in Iraq asking where's our share. Kathleen Koch explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF TICE, GULF WAR POW: It's a rather brutal experience.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeff Tice knows about torture in Abu Ghraib Prison. He was on the receiving end there in the first Gulf War.

TICE: I was essentially beaten, tortured and starved.

KOCH: Ties and 16 other U.S. POWs brutally tortured in 1991 by Saddam Hussein's troops sued Iraq, and in July won $653 million in damages. But by then, the U.S. government had appropriated the $1.7 billion in frozen Iraqi assets they were to be paid from Iraqi reconstruction.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: They were resources required for the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq.

KOCH: So the POWs were stunned when the defense secretary promised to compensate Iraqis abused in Abu Ghraib Prison. TICE: Well, I thought that it was utterly unfair for secretary Rumsfeld to say that, well, we're going to pay these Iraqi prisoners from U.S. funds, at the same time, our own government is blocking us from receiving compensation from Iraqi funds.

JEFF FOX, GULF WAR POW: There's inconsistency there that is, quite frankly, a little embarrassing.

KOCH: Former POW Jeff Fox sent a letter to Donald Rumsfeld expressing his, quote, "frustration and disbelief" and asking for an explanation. One senator vows to block any payments to Iraqi prisoners.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: I'm going to do everything I can to throw roadblocks into compensating Iraqi prisoners of war when American prisoners of war have not been compensated. It is unfair.

KOCH (on camera): The POWs eventually hope to be paid from Saddam Hussein assets hidden overseas or future Iraqi governments, though the federal government is now trying to overturn the initial court ruling entitling hem them to compensation.

(voice-over): For the men and their attorneys, the administration opposition sends a troubling message.

HAWK: OK, active duty military, if you're in combat, you're captured and tortured, deal with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And sends the wrong message to the next torturers, that you can get away with it.

KOCH: The former POWs say they realize they may never be compensated.

TICE: I tell people I won the lottery already because I came back.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll has been gauging your feelings about the war in Iraq, same-sex marriage and 50 years of desegregated schools. Gallup editor in chief Frank Newport has been crunching the numbers in Princeton, New Jersey.

Frank, have the prisoner scandals and the Nicholas Berg murder hurt support for the war in Iraq.

FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Well it has. There's no question about that. Support, was it worth going to war is clearly down, other indicators down.

But I've been looking at a lot of polling on the war. It seems to me that one question that the CNN/"TIME" poll asked, just released Friday and over the weekend probably summarizes it better than anything else. There is still some ambivalence on the part of the American public. They think the current costs doesn't make it worth it for the U.S. to be in Iraq. On the other hand, they think the initial decision, in a lot of polling, still was the right one.

Here's the question I'm talking about. Has the military campaign in Iraq been a success? The biggest answer here, 19 successful, 26 unsuccessful. But there's 52 percent say something where in between.

And I think that probably summarizes where Americans are better than anything else at this point as they ponder what's happening in Iraq.

NGUYEN: Let's shift to controversy over same-sex marriage, sharing the headlines with the war. Are Americans still overwhelmingly upset about the idea of same-sex marriages?

NEWPORT: I would not say overwhelmingly. But there's no question that the pictures we're seeing out of Massachusetts are in opposition to the feelings of at least a majority of Americans. A majority are opposed, about 55 percent to legalized same-sex marriage.

However, big differences by age. Probably the most interesting thing we find when we analyze the data, 18 to 29s, 58 percent in favor of same-sex marriage. Big support among young Americans. But as you get older, you see the support drop. If you're 65 and older, only 23 percent support same-sex marriage.

By the way, we've seen an increase in support for civil unions. I think it is a contrast effect here. The more we hear about same-sex legalized marriage, we're finding a little increase in the idea of an alternative which would be legalized civil unions.

Every May we ask about it. It has gone from 44 percent support a few years ago to break even right now, 49 percent support legalized same-sex unions.

NGUYEN: We can't forget yesterday marked the anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit that makes school segregation illegal. Do Americans believe problems still exist for black children in our schools?

NEWPORT: Black Americans do, no question about it. Our polling shows even blacks and of course (UNINTELLIGIBLE) progress.

But look at the contrast that's still here. I couldn't highlight it any better than this one question. Do black and white children today have equal education opportunity? Whites 63 percent yes.

But look at the right-hand side. This is our sample at the Gallup poll that black Americans, only a third say some 50 years after Brown that black children have the same opportunities as white children.

So clearly there's still a racial divide in the perceptions of the schools in America today.

NGUYEN: Numbers are always interesting. All right. Gallup editor in chief Frank Newport in New Jersey, thank you.

There's an ongoing health debate. Can childhood vaccines cause autism? The results of a new study in today's health headlines.

Plus turning the food pyramid upside down. The low carb confusion.

And the big green guy is back at the box office. Can Shrek work his magic a second time around?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Health headlines for Tuesday, May 18. A new report should easy parents' fears about vaccinations. It found no evidence linking vaccines to autism. The findings are based on the results of five large studies which traced children in the U.S. and overseas.

Researchers concluded the mercury-based preservative was not linked to the brain disorder. Many parents of autistic children thought vaccinations were the cause.

A new study could have you rethinking your trip to the soda machine. A Harvard University report links carbonated sodas with the risk of esophageal cancer. Consumption habits found that the rates of that cancer went up with the intake of carbonated beverages.

Swimsuit season is here in many places. Lots of Americans are on one diet or another. With new studies pitting low carb against low fat, there's a lot of confusion over which type works best -- if at all. Bruce Burkhardt offers his thought on the dieting dilemma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It took the ancient Egyptians decades to build the pyramids. It may take longer for us to build a food pyramid that everyone can agree on.

(on camera): According to the current USDA food pyramid, the foods down here at the bottom -- in other words, the ones we should eat the most of -- are breads and cereals, rice and pasta. In other words, carbs.

(voice-over): But according to the hot diets now -- South Beach and Atkins -- those foods should be at the top, the ones we should eat the least -- if we want to lose weight, that is. Now, to make things worse, a couple of new studies released today. One concludes that after a six-month trial, a low-carb diet is more effective than regular low-fat diets. And yet another study, this one following subjects for 12 months, finds little difference between low-carb and other diets. So how are we going to fill in the pyramid this week?

(on camera): What foods would you put at the bottom?

KIMBERLY GLENN, NUTRITIONIST: At the bottom of the pyramid is the base of the diet. I would have a lot of whole grains, 100 percent whole wheat bread. BURKHARDT: Nutritionist Kimberly Glenn (ph) doesn't have a major problem with the pyramid. What's ignored is the idea that not all carbs are created equal.

GLENN: The white refined carbs are the ones you want to try to limit.

BURKHARDT: But eliminating carbs is not only nutritionally a bad idea, it's a tough diet to follow.

GLENN: When you eliminate them completely, we start having cravings for them. So we overeat them.

BURKHARDT: So no matter how you might fiddle with the food pyramid, no matter how many studies come out, the one thing that matters most seldom comes up in a study: common sense.

Bruce Burkhardt, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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