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CNN STUDENT NEWS

Aired March 01, 2002 - 04:30   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.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN STUDENT NEWS seen in schools around the world because learning never stops and neither does the news.

SUSAN FREIDMAN, CO-HOST: As the week ends, CNN STUDENT NEWS has more "Headlines" for you. Among today's "Top Stories," the promise of spring comes to Afghanistan.

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CO-HOST: In addition, we'll "Chronicle" the adventures of a very special extreme athlete.

FREIDMAN: Later, we'll recap the week that was in the investigation of the Enron Corporation.

WALCOTT: And finally, you'll get a chance to test your geography skills with "Where in the World?"

And welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. I'm Shelley Walcott.

FREIDMAN: And I'm Susan Freidman.

The Pentagon sets its sights on the Republic of Georgia as the next front on the war against terrorism. Military officials say up to 200 troops will be deployed there within the next few weeks.

WALCOTT: That's right. The Pentagon says U.S. troops would help train and equip the Georgian military. U.S. military officials say they believe some al Qaeda fighters have joined Chechnyan rebels in the Republic of Georgia. Some may have traveled there after September 11.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is in the Republic of Georgia and she filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHTERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last checkpoint at the entrance to the Pankisi Gorge, the mountainous and lawless region in the northeast part of this former Soviet republic, now independent country.

High in those mountains: rebels from neighboring Chechnya, bandits, drug and arms traffickers, and now, fighters allied with the al Qaeda terrorist network. The weakened Georgian military has been powerless to stop them.

Now, the United States is providing combat helicopters and military advisers, up to 200 troops, who will train the Georgians to fight terrorists. The Pentagon says they will not take part in any combat. On the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, people who in the past 10 years have lived through a civil war, ethnic clashes and attempts on their president's life now see a more positive picture emerging.

"They look at us like a tiny country without any power", he says. "This will give us authority and respect."

"If they are here to train and help", this man says, "that's fine. But we have to solve our own problems."

(on camera): Many people here in Tbilisi are relieved the United States is going to be helping them fight terror and instability. But, many of them also are concerned about the reaction of what they call their neighbor to the north.

(voice-over): In other words, Russia. Russia's foreign minister claims the U.S. presence could exacerbate an already tense situation. Georgia's president, Eduard Shevardnadze, terms the Russian outcry hysterical. He says the U.S. presence will support his country's sovereignty and help secure its borders. He plans to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin this week to discuss the matter.

But Georgia is beset with problems, including 7,000 refugees who fled the war in Chechnya and settled in the Pankisi Gorge. A senior U.S. diplomat tells CNN the military training will help, but may not be the whole solution. It's a signal to the Georgians, he says, they must take care of their own security.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Tbilisi, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: As U.S. troops prepare for their mission in the Republic of Georgia, U.S. troops in the Philippines are adjusting to life in the jungle. U.S. forces invited CNN to take a close-up look at this dangerous operation.

Maria Ressa reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before we boarded this special forces helicopter, we were given flack jackets -- necessary, says the U.S. Army, for travel to combat zones. For the 660 U.S. troops in the Philippines, this, they say, is the safest way of getting to the war-torn island of Basilan, where the Philippine military has been fighting its war on terror for nearly nine months. But even getting there this way can be dangerous.

Exactly a week ago, these men finished their mission: ferrying the last of 160 U.S. special forces now based in Basilan. They boarded their helicopter for the last time. It crashed into the ocean, killing all 10 U.S. servicemen on board. These men have volunteered for their jobs and this mission. In varying stages, they said they felt shock, disbelief, anger and grief.

MAJ. RALPH SATER, U.S. AIR FORCE: Any time something happens so unexpectedly and so huge, where you have absolutely no control and you're utterly powerless, I think you have to feel anger.

RESSA: American soldiers are armed and can fire only in self- defense. But it's against the Philippine constitution for any American to go into actual combat.

(on camera): This is the forward operating base of the U.S. special forces on the island of Basilan. Most of these men are involved in planning, logistics and communications. Given the sensitive nature of conflict here, though, a lot of time is spent explaining their presence to the residents.

(voice-over): Colonel David Maxwell commands the troops here and emphasizes the importance of civic action.

LT. COL. DAVID MAXWELL, U.S COMMANDER IN BASILAN: One of the things that we know is that the problems here are problems that need to be solved with the people. We show movies every night for the children. The children have been great to us, so be nice to them.

RESSA: This is what they will face away from the camp: a guerrilla war in tropical jungle. Twelve U.S. special forces will be deployed with each of the 10 Filipino battalions here. For these men, the mission is just beginning. Maria Ressa, CNN, Basilan Island, the Philippines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: In other news on the war against terrorism, nearly two-thirds of the 300 Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners being held at a U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are on a hunger strike. This, after a guard stripped an inmate of a homemade turban after he refused to remove it. Turbans are banned at the camp to prevent inmates from concealing items. There is also word Guantanamo Bay may get a new prison.

Bob Franken has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If the schedule holds, the 300 detainees, or prisoners, will be moved in late April from their famous, or infamous, outdoor cells, or cages, at Camp X-Ray to new quarters, indoor cells, a few miles down the road.

This empty field is officially called Radio Range. Within two months, it will be the Radio Range Detention Facility, a modular building but a maximum-security prison. Four hundred eight cells to start, a potential for 2,000 if necessary. BRIGADIER GENERAL MICHAEL LEHNERT, SECURITY COMMANDER: I would describe them not as permanent and not as temporary but somewhere intermediate between the two.

FRANKEN: For the inmates, the new prison will mean plumbing in their cells, no air conditioning but more protection from the outdoor elements. For the security forces, much less danger.

COLONEL TERRY CARRICO, CAMP X-RAY COMMANDER: Well because it is actually designed for security and a detention facility, it'll be more efficient, therefore, it'll require a little less manpower over there. That's one of the reasons we're looking forward to going to Radio Range.

FRANKEN: No more high security escorts to the restrooms, no more movements outside the camp to interrogation, they'll be inside.

(on camera): At the moment, there are no plans to provide facilities for military tribunals here. As a matter of fact, there are few announced long-range plans at all.

LEHNERT: What we're looking at in terms of the modular facilities is a five-year design criteria. Now that doesn't mean that we've made a decision to keep them here five years. I really have nothing that I can tell you about tribunals at this time, frankly because I haven't been told.

FRANKEN (voice-over): Also, no discussions, according to the commanders here, about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's intention to send some of the detainees back to their home countries for prosecution.

But now construction of the more permanent facility is about to begin. Already, Seabees are building the quarters for the security forces at Radio Range. Officials plan to shut down Camp X-Ray but not tear it down because plans have a way of changing. Before January, no one had really planned on opening a prison here.

Bob Franken, CNN, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: For the past four years, much of Afghanistan has been in the grip of one of the worst droughts on record. Failed crops have forced more than one million people to leave their homes. Many refugees who have crowded into a camp just outside Herat now have new hopes of returning home thanks to a bout of rainfall and an experimental program.

CNN's Nic Robertson explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With hopes high, drought-stricken Afghans prepare to go home, the first in an experimental program to be leaving Afghanistan's largest camp of displaced people, driven from their homes over the last few years, not by fighting but failing crops. The trip is made possible as after four years of drought, recent rainfall means crops may now grow.

DANNY GILL, IOM SENIOR OPERATIONS OFFICER: We've got roughly a month, month and a half window and they need to be there and get their crops in.

ROBERTSON: Seventy families are volunteering for the pilot scheme, in which they each receive 50 kilos of special wheat seed, fertilizer, tools, and a guarantee of food until the harvest is ready.

"If there is rain" says Ismael "then with God's help, something good will happen."

For the aid officials overseeing this project, it's success is important.

ROY BRENNEN, DACCAR: If the wrong message comes back, it's going to be discouraging to the people and they won't be encouraged to return to their places of origin.

ROBERTSON: One hundred and fourteen thousand people live in this camp. It has, for many, become a place of permanent refuge.

ROBERTSON (on camera): A year ago, everyone in this camp lived in tents. Now most people live in mud homes and that's part of the problem aid officials say, convincing people who have made their lives here more comfortable that it really is time to go home.

(voice over): Safta and his family live in this mud room. In the six months they've been here, baby Tequila has been born. He complains he has no home to go to.

"As long as the aid keeps coming, we will stay here in the camp" he says.

(on camera): While life here is tough, no one seems to be starving. In fact, until the Taliban left, an accurate head count could not be made. Accordingly, food deliveries will now be cut back from 90 to 50 tons a day.

Those gathering around to share their views say they feel the pressure to go and plant their crops, and although a handful are concerned about security, most worry about getting enough help to survive.

"Of course I am ready to go back" Ismael says "but I don't believe the aid organizations when they say they will support us."

Success in this relocation effort will be measured in the numbers leaving the makeshift city. One-third by summer is what aid officials hope.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCH 1, 1961, the Peace Corps is established. FREIDMAN: Soon it will be time to ride bikes, go mountain climbing or just take it easy with a walk. These are fun, healthy activities but ones most of us take for granted. Physical and medical conditions make it hard for some to enjoy the outdoors, but not for one man whose nickname says it all.

Rhonda Grayson introduces us to Extreme Mike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA GRAYSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call him Extreme Mike because of his love for outrageous sports. His name is Mike McKeller. While most people have the emotional fears to overcome, Mike has the physical obstacles as well. What makes Mike unique is he's in a wheelchair, but he hasn't let it slow him down. This adrenaline addict loves to skydive, rock climb, scuba dive, ride in a stunt plane and most recently, even taken on a waterfall, repelling down, armed with just a rope.

MIKE MCKELLER, EXTREME SPORTSMAN: I've got an extreme side. I'm very much a thrill seeker. I love the -- I love overcoming obstacles. And to do that, a lot of times I have to push myself in areas that really I may not be comfortable.

GRAYSON: His brother echoes Mike's philosophy.

MARK MCKELLER, MIKE'S BROTHER: The most satisfaction you get out of life and the thing you can do for -- to boost your self-confidence the most is to accomplish things that people say you can't do. Well Michael gets to do that all the time, so he has within him a confidence in his mental and intellectual abilities that maybe some of us don't understand because we don't get the pleasure of being able to beat the odds so often.

GRAYSON: Mike hasn't always been in a chair. He was a healthy young boy, an avid athlete, competing in soccer and playing the drums. Then, he developed curvature of the spine. As a freshman in high school, he underwent surgery for a disorder called muscular spinal atrophy. This surgery left him paralyzed and traumatized, but he credits his positive mental attitude as his source of strength.

While daily activities that most of us take for granted can be challenging, Mike takes it all in stride. Making a difference is what drives Mike in all areas of his life.

(on camera): Not only is Mike involved in extreme sports, he's also a popular motivational speaker, sharing his life story in hopes of motivating others to overcome their obstacles and achieve their dreams.

MIKE MCKELLER: No matter what your setback, you can come back.

GRAYSON (voice-over): Mike uses his experiences to inspire other people. On his Web site, extrememike.com, he lends support to others who are dealing with their own disabilities, encouraging them to push their limits. He gets some 10,000 hits a month. Mike says he uses fear as a tool rather than an obstacle.

Extreme Mike has been dreaming of jumping out of a plane for over 10 years. Now, Mike's dreams have become reality.

MIKE MCKELLER: We go from inside the confines of an airplane to free falling at a hundred and something miles an hour, and all I can think about is we're going really, really fast.

GRAYSON: You can be sure Mike will be conquering fear one adventure at a time.

MIKE MCKELLER: That first step was the toughest.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAYSON: Rhonda Grayson, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Be sure to catch a live interview with Mike McKeller on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific. Once again, that's coming up this Sunday.

ANNOUNCER: Exploring our world, here now is CNN STUDENT NEWS "Perspectives."

WALCOTT: She is one of America's most respected dramatic actresses, but life wasn't always easy for Cecily Tyson. Despite hardships, she persevered to earn awards and accolades for her craft, but her real passions are education and human rights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CECILY TYSON, TRUMPET AWARD HONOREE: When I told my mother that I wanted to be an actress, she said you can't live here and do that. And so I moved out. I was determined to prove her wrong because she was so sure that I was going to go astray, huh, and that's the juice that kept me going. I'm really grateful that she lived long enough to be able to share in part of the recognition and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And for me to hear her say I am so proud of you.

I was in California when this journalist was asking me some questions. And she made a blanket statement about the fact that she did not think that black men and women had the kind of love relationship that Rebecca and Nathan had in "Sounder." Well I asked her if she realized what she was saying. I said do you realize that you're saying we're not human beings? And I walked away that day saying to myself, Cecily, you cannot afford the luxury of just being an actress. I knew that there were a number of issues that I had to address and I used my career as my platform.

Well if I took whatever came along, I guess I would be a multimillionaire. It's money versus ethics and pride and dignity. And so to be able to hold on despite that has been the biggest challenge for me. I think when you begin to think of yourself as having achieved something, then there's nothing left for you to work towards. I want to believe that there is a mountain so high that I will spend my entire life striving to reach to the top of it.

I think that if each individual will just take one small corner of the fabric of life, just one small corner, and really work it, all right, that we would have a lot more harmony, a lot less pain. That's all it takes, each one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: Lawmakers are still trying to get to the bottom of what happened over at the now bankrupt Enron Corporation. Past and present company executives have been getting a grilling before the Senate Commerce Committee. But senators who hoped to learn something new were disappointed.

Our Joel Hochmuth sums up the week's big story in our "Week in Review."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOEL HOCHMUTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A seemingly transformed Jeffrey Skilling squared off against senators Tuesday. The former Enron chief executive who took a verbal beating during testimony before a House subcommittee three weeks ago this time came out swinging.

JEFFREY SKILLING, FORMER ENRON CEO: What has happened thus far, primarily in the House, should be cause for concern of every American. The entire management and board of Enron has been labeled everything from hucksters to criminals, with a complete disregard for the facts and evidence assembled. These untruths shatter lives and they haven't -- and they do nothing to advance the public understanding of what happened at Enron.

HOCHMUTH: Skilling headed Enron for about eight months last year, resigning in August for personal reasons. He claims as far as he knew the company was financially healthy when he left. But Enron Vice President Sherron Watkins also testified Tuesday. While acknowledging she never talked to Skilling about it, she has said Skilling must have known what was happening to the company and that he duped his successor Kenneth Lay.

SKILLING: I have not lied to the Congress or anyone else about my recollection of events while out at -- while I was at Enron.

HOCHMUTH: Throughout his testimony, Skilling insisted he relied on the expertise of others, both lawyers and accountants, who assured him the company's finances were in good order. A few months after Skilling left, the company collapsed after it admitted its accounting practices hid debts and inflated earnings.

Lawmakers were skeptical that Skilling, who calls himself a control freak, didn't know that trouble was brewing.

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: You're also very smart, and that's why I don't believe you when you say you didn't know what was going on, because you had people with lesser education, you had people with less access to the documents, less access to the meetings, to the people making the decision who knew exactly what was going on.

HOCHMUTH: Skilling made millions by selling his Enron stock from 1999 to 2001. At the same time, he was publicly urging employees to buy the stock, but he denies accusations that he was intentionally misleading employees or investors.

SKILLING: Common decency suggests that I be treated as innocent until proven otherwise. Common sense suggests that accusations made now, before the facts are in, are likely to be wrong.

HOCHMUTH: Answers like that left lawmakers frustrated.

SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: The hearing today, you know, was a little discouraging in some ways. We had hoped that we'd get a bit more from Mr. Skilling than we did. But his position is I know nothing, I saw nothing, things were just dandy when I was with the Enron Corporation, and he pretty much bottles it all up that way.

HOCHMUTH: So what happens next? Dorgan anticipates his committee will hold four more hearings, a process that could take months or longer. Ultimately, the Senate is looking to see whether any new legislation is needed to prevent disasters like Enron in the future.

DORGAN: I don't believe we ought to run off quickly to suggest changes. But I think what this story tells us is you need effective regulators in certain key areas. You have to have regulation that is effective to look over the shoulder of those who might otherwise steal you blind.

HOCHMUTH: As for Skilling, he admits he still has most of the millions he made while at Enron, but he wouldn't commit to contributing any of that to a fund for out-of-work Enron employees. He doesn't know how much he'll need to fight the mountain of lawsuits he faces, a fight that could last a decade or more.

Joel Hochmuth, CNN STUDENT NEWS.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Sometimes real life can be more fascinating than fiction, such is the case with a young man named Sirr Parker. He overcame poverty in the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles to become a professional football player. His story is so remarkable it was even made into a Showtime original movie.

Our CNN Student Bureau has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Buried amongst the chilling sounds of police sirens and gunfire lies an unbreakable bond between two brothers growing up in the streets of South Central Los Angeles. This is a story of a talented young man who rose above the perils of inner-city life to become a professional football player for the Cincinnati Bengals. His name is Sirr Parker, named by his mother who wanted him to always be treated with respect.

Up and coming actor, Kente Scott, who plays Parker in the Showtime original film "They Call Me Sirr," reflects on the remarkable raw talent Parker possessed at such a young age.

KENTE SCOTT, ACTOR: And I remember Sirr Parker, his name, from when they played -- Texas A&M played Kansas State like a couple of years ago and he scored like three touchdowns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parker never knew his father, and his mother was an alcoholic who left him and his younger brother, Danya (ph), to live with their grandmother. After the death of Parker's grandmother, he secretly took on the responsibility of raising his younger brother while maintaining a 3.9 GPA, working part-time and notably becoming the "L.A. Times" player of the year.

SCOTT: In this movie, football is kind of like his escape. And it shows like more of the personal side, his interaction with his little brother, his interaction with his mother, his teaching with his mother and his dealing with -- and it shows like his grandmother and his auntie supporting him. And even his cousins, who are gangbangers, showing him that you can't do this, you've got too much going for you, we're not even going to let you try and do this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parker proved to have much more going for him than just football. He majored in agriculture development at Texas A&M and plans on someday having his little brother live with him and his daughter, Alicia (ph), who's four, and his 6-month-old son, so they can all be together in the off season.

Parker's inspirational story of perseverance and hope reminds us that there are good kids in Central Los Angeles and in all poverty stricken neighborhoods across America who are determined to succeed.

SCOTT: Everybody rode us hard, but if you have faith and if you stick to something, some vision or some goal that you're determined to do, that you can do it.

Lauren Childress (ph), CNN STUDENT NEWS Bureau, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Where in the World" has two official languages and eight major dialects, former first lady known for shoe fetish, involved in dispute over the Spratly Islands? Can you name this country? Philippines.

FREIDMAN: And here's another great way to exercise your mind, head to our Web site, CNNstudentnews.com, and see if you can figure out who we profile on the CNN STUDENT NEWS quiz Who Am I? We'll give you a couple of hints. The first hint, he's been the director of the division of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland.

WALCOTT: And hint No. 2, he led a medical team in the first separation of conjoined twins who shared a portion of the same brain. If you think you know, click on our Web site and tell us. Time now to tell you goodbye until Monday. Have a good weekend.

FREIDMAN: Have a great weekend.

WALCOTT: Bye-bye.