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CNN STUDENT NEWS For April 16, 2002

Aired April 16, 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.

MICHAEL MCMANUS, CO-HOST: CNN STUDENT NEWS gets things rolling with coverage of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. We'll hear from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and take you to the streets of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

SUSAN FREIDMAN, CO-HOST: Up next, we "Focus" on food safety. Find out what you need to know to stay healthy.

MCMANUS: Then, want a new "Perspective" on your workout, try getting wacky.

FREIDMAN: Later, learn how pollution can be dangerous to your health.

MCMANUS: Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. I'm Michael McManus.

FREIDMAN: And I'm Susan Freidman.

Secretary of State Colin Powell's shuttle diplomacy leads him to Lebanon and Syria. Powell met with leaders from both nations yesterday in an effort to contain the West Bank violence.

MCMANUS: The Secretary of State also addressed the cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanon. Syrian President Bashar Assad told Powell that he would be in touch with the Syrian-backed Hezbollah group about its almost daily attacks.

Meanwhile, near Ramallah yesterday, a key figure in the Palestinian uprising was arrested. Marwan Barghouti is a top leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Israel has accused him of participation in terror strikes.

The future of Israelis and Palestinians has been up in the air now for weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke candidly about that yesterday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He also laid out a general timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Thank you very much for joining us on CNN, CNN International, all of our networks. We appreciate it very much.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Thank you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me ask you the question the whole world has been asking you. Maybe you can give us the answer. When will the Israeli military withdraw from those areas in the West Bank that they recently reoccupied?

SHARON: Ultimately we don't have any intention to say in those cities or cities of terror. We are accomplishing our mission now and I made it very clear that once we accomplish, we will be leaving. I believe that in one of those towns it might be within two days. Another one maybe will take another week. And I believe that altogether we'll be leaving those towns, as I have said.

BLITZER: Within a week there will be complete withdrawal from those towns?

SHARON: I will say in these towns. We have problems in Bethlehem.

BLITZER: In Bethlehem.

SHARON: We are ready to withdraw from there, but we have a problem there, of the terrorists, who took shelter. And...

BLITZER: In the Church of the Nativity.

SHARON: Yes, the Church of the Nativity. And once they will be leaving -- and we already agreed with the Americans what is going to happen with them -- they will be leaving there because we have accomplished our mission there. So that's what will happen.

BLITZER: So basically what you're saying is that within a week, Israel will be out of all of those areas recently reoccupied?

SHARON: I would say -- I mention two towns, first two towns.

BLITZER: You mentioned Bethlehem.

SHARON: One is Jenin and the other one is Shechem.

BLITZER: Nablus.

SHARON: Yes. About Bethlehem, that depends on what will happen there with those terrorists. As about Ramallah, we have a problem there. The problem is that those murderers of the minister of tourism, we cannot let them out. So that's a problem there. Altogether, we are on our way out and that's what is happening. That's exactly what I have said. And I was asked in the past, I said when we have accomplished, we will be leaving.

BLITZER: Excuse me, sir. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I may still be confused. You say within a week you will be out of all of these areas, with exception of Bethlehem, unless there's a resolution of that issue? SHARON: And Ramallah.

BLITZER: And Ramallah. You won't be out within a week, of Ramallah.

SHARON: Unless we'll be able -- if those terrorist will be handed over to us, we'll leave there.

BLITZER: But you will stay in Ramallah around the headquarters of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority until those individuals that you want are handed over to you.

SHARON: These individuals -- and I want to say, these individuals, one would think now that they have just some people there that we are looking for. I speak about the heads of the Popular Front, a terrorist organization that instigated, planned and killed Minister Zeevi inside Jerusalem. First of all, I think justice will be made.

Second, I don't think the public opinion here will accept it. Do not accept it. And the third point is that our own general is very strict on this thing and said that he -- they must be brought and tried in Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Palestinians say Ariel Sharon's talk of a withdrawal is a sham. A chief Palestinian negotiator charges that Sharon is continuing to defy U.S. President Bush. More than 200 Palestinians remained holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Violence there continues.

But as CNN's John Vause reports, relief efforts are underway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bound for Bethlehem, a convoy organized by five Christian groups, aid for a city under siege.

For more than two weeks, the Israelis have tried to stop humanitarian groups at military checkpoints. But with the ban lifted, this was the first major shipment of food, water, medicine.

UNIDENTIFIED RELIEF WORKER: The access has been the issue that has kept people hungry, without water, without medication.

VAUSE: First stop Beit Jala, on Bethlehem's outskirts. There they unloaded 1,000 packages, each a week's supply for a family of five -- sugar, flour, rice.

Not enough for everyone here, but a start.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sukar.

VAUSE: Overnight announcements on local television said the aid would be distributed door to door. Some came anyway, like Lucy Hadwi (ph).

LUCY HADWI (ph), BETHLEHEM RESIDENT: I want to take my food for my children.

VAUSE: She spoke for many here describing the last two weeks under Israeli occupation.

HADWI (ph): Bad. Bad, John (ph), what I want to tell. Hard and bad and they treat us like we are animals.

VAUSE: The convoy moved into Bethlehem, just as curfew was being lifted -- three hours of daylight for these residents. No wonder the streets were crowded.

JOHNNY FACKUCCHE, BETHLEHEM RESIDENT: You like prison in your house. You can't moving. You don't have the food in your house.

You are -- if your child is sick, you don't have the medicine to give them.

VAUSE: There was also a Jewish charity in the convoy. Last week the Joseph Storehouse was helping the victims of a suicide bombing.

BARRY SEGAL, JOSEPH STOREHOUSE TRUST: We would like to be able to visit each of the families and give them a good hug and encourage them and say, hey, we're all praying for the peace of Jerusalem, so ...

VAUSE: This part of Bethlehem is still considered a closed military zone, because it is so close to the Church of the Nativity.

And it's for that reason that many of the residents here have missed out on previous shipments of aid.

And even when the curfew is lifted for a few hours each day, most are too afraid to venture out.

Like Halla Besus (ph), afraid of the Israeli soldiers, afraid of the Palestinian gunmen, she stayed indoors. Now, though, there is some food in her cupboards donated by Jews.

HALLA BESUS (ph), BETHLEHEM RESIDENT: And thanks that there's somebody who see us and who help us.

VAUSE: But for her family of five, this food will barely last a few days. Then what?

BESUS (ph): I don't know exactly what I must do after that, but we will not eat so much.

VAUSE: A choice many others in the West Bank will be force to make, even as more convoys arrive.

John Vause, CNN, Bethlehem.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FREIDMAN: The ongoing violence in the Middle East is having a profound emotional impact on both Israelis and Palestinians. One Israeli psychologist says his patients show signs of depression, anger and fear. Those emotions can be triggered by simple events, things which would be common day-to-day activities for many people but which take on a more frightening aspect in the face of violence.

Once again, here's John Vause with a look at the danger and drama behind simply taking a bus ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Take a ticket and take your chances. It is a way of life for the 1 million Israelis who catch a state subsidized bus everyday. There is standing room only on bus number six, the same bus route where a suicide bomber was stopped in the doorway, exploded herself, and killed six people, injuring dozens of others. For the passengers on number six, this latest attack has simply added to their already substantial fear. Like Ahova (ph), she doesn't own a car, can't afford taxis, the bus is her only choice. Twice a day, she passes the stop outside the city's main market, where the suicide bomber tried to board.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We check everyone, but you know, it's never the same.

VAUSE: It is a quiet, anxious ride. Few people talk or smile because they know last Friday, it could have been them.

Are you nervous?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very nervous.

VAUSE: Two times a day, Shulamit Slotki (ph) takes the bus. She prays to God that she will survive the journey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really terrifying 24 hours a day. Either it's you or someone's child, or somebody's mother or brother. It is always someone you know.

VAUSE: There have been 10 suicide bombings on busses since the start of the Intifada. But authorities believe many more have been stopped by bus drivers who can refuse to pick up passengers who look suspicious. In 23 years, Tzion Lachuni (ph) has never been attacked. He says he knows what to look for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are people who are suspicious, if they get on, on a hot day, like today and they are wearing a jacket or big coat, I check it out. I don't have a choice, he says.

VAUSE: There really is nothing routine about catching a bus in Israel, but many of the passengers say it is a bit like a game of Russian roulette. There is always a chance that the next person who tries to get on could be a suicide bomber. For Israelis, random choices and events can mean being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It can often mean life or death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we can do?

VAUSE: John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Terror is touching lives all around the world. As you learned yesterday on our show, it seems like all of America is keeping a watchful eye on the nation's food supply. The government is doing more to ensure safeguards and so are consumers. The country may have a new bioterror concern to deal with but as I found out, we should be aware of other ever-present dangers as well.

Now some concerns and possible solutions in Part 2 of my special series on food safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS (voice-over): The nation's food supply may be challenging to protect, but most food safety experts say it's just as hard to contaminate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what have we got in the tubes here today?

MCMANUS: According to food safety expert Dr. Michael Doyle, we should be less concerned with possible terrorism and more concerned with natural bacteria killers like E. coli and salmonella.

DR. MICHAEL DOYLE, CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY: We really need to be concerned about bacteria that -- harmful bacteria that have been around for years. We've known about salmonella, we've known about E. coli 0157.

MCMANUS: According to the Centers for Disease Control, food- borne illness strikes 76 million people each year. Of those, 325,000 end up in the hospital and over 5,000 people die as a direct cause of the food they consumed.

DOYLE: If people were to properly cook food, properly handle food, we would greatly minimize cases of food-borne illness.

MCMANUS: Zero cases is the goal for food processing facilities. They have strict guidelines in place to help prevent contamination by Mother Nature as well as human hands.

ANN VENEMAN, U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: There is a lot of control in this country by our food manufacturers to make sure that they maintain the integrity of our food supply.

MCMANUS: This includes the instillation of video cameras, security fences, checkpoints and at many facilities, the ability to kill pathogens by both pasteurization of liquids and this machine which irradiates food.

DOYLE: Irradiation of foods is a good process. It does not make foods toxic. It's been proven to be safe by many different studies.

MCMANUS (on camera): The Department of Agriculture is also getting more involved. An increase in $327 million from Congress should allow for more checks and balances in the fight for food safety.

VENEMAN: They're to enhance our inspection systems, our food safety systems, our physical structure systems here. We run a lot of laboratories, for example, in USDA. And so we're now using that money to do the enhancements that were deemed to be necessary in a post- September 11 world.

MCMANUS (voice-over): Consumers aren't only depending on the federal government for safe food, many are taking matters into their own hands. Organic and natural food markets have seen a huge surge in popularity.

SCOTT ALLSHOUSE, WHOLE FOODS: As the customers become more aware of healthier lifestyles and also the importance of food issues such as growth hormones and artificial pesticides and herbicides.

AVANA (ph) PERKINS, CONSUMER: You kind of feel like you're taking time for yourself and you are rewarding yourself by putting good things in your body.

MCMANUS: In fact, the issue of mass-produced vegetables versus organic is so popular, it was recently parodied on "The Simpsons" television show.

LISA SIMPSON, "THE SIMPSONS": Mom, my potato is eating a carrot.

MARGE SIMPSON, "THE SIMPSONS": That's it. From now on, I'm growing all our vegetables myself.

MCMANUS: Jokes aside, one of the reasons for going organic seems to be safety, but one of the main concerns is still cost.

DARDUN (ph) BINDER, CONSUMER: The biggest difference in price is really in milk. I think you're talking milk, a quart of milk that is organic is up to $3.79 at times and if I bought regular milk, it would be I think a third of that.

ALLSHOUSE: The trend in the industry is that the cost is decreasing. Again, as popularity increases, it's more a supply and demand.

MCMANUS: After bringing your groceries home, there are things you can do to keep the chances of getting sick to a minimum. Doyle says to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before cooking or consuming, and he thinks the handling of meat is even more important.

DOYLE: Especially raw foods of animal origin such as ground beef. Cooking to a temperature -- an internal temperature of 160 degrees will make that food safe.

MCMANUS: The bottom line says Doyle, everyone has to eat. And though all the prevention out there can't stop every food-related illness, it's simple steps and slight changes that should make your meals a lot safer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: There is more on food safety at CNNstudentnews.com. My food safety Web special looks at organic foods and has some great links to further explore organic gardening. That's a lot of fun, including what makes something organic and a guide to food-borne illnesses. So definitely check it out.

FREIDMAN: In today's "Chronicle," we continue our look at the blues. Yesterday, we gave you a primer on the history of the music and its roots in the Mississippi Delta. Today, a look at how the music is being passed on to the next generation.

Our Shelley Walcott profiles blues teacher Johnnie Billington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CO-HOST (voice-over): The Mississippi Delta has produced some of the greatest blues musicians of our time. Artists like the late great Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. The Delta is also home to another great blues man who's as authentic and unspoiled as his surroundings.

His name is Johnnie Billington. Known as "Mr. Johnnie" to his friends and neighbors in Lambert, Mississippi. Mr. Johnnie is a Delta original. The 64-year-old musician and singer was born in nearby Clarksdale. He taught himself how to play the guitar and sing the blues while still in his teens. While still a young man, Mr. Johnnie moved to Chicago. He ran an auto repair shop by day and performed with blues greats like Muddy Waters and Earl Hooker.

Mr. Johnnie returned to his Mississippi roots in 1977. Since then, he has taken on something perhaps even more challenging than the professional music scene, everyday after school Mr. Johnnie gathers local kids to teach them the basics of the blues through his Delta Blues Education Program. The goal is to encourage kids raised on Hip- Hop to reclaim their Delta heritage.

JOHNNIE BILLINGTON, BLUES TEACHER: The reasons that kids I think that should learn about it because it's an inherited of their ancestors started the blues. It's kind of like planting a tree and the tree grows up, it's just one branch. But as the tree grows and get grown, it grows out and many branches grows off of that root. So my idea has been to get some roses (ph) try to keep that root alive. And if you don't keep the root alive, the whole tree dies.

WALCOTT: The music lessons are free of charge, funded by private and public friends. The students play on donated instruments, some almost as big as the kids themselves. Mr. Johnnie knows his work is uncommon since most blues preservationists are white. In fact for every Johnnie Billington there are probably 100 more white blues promoters, authors and DJs. BILLINGTON: The only thing black owns -- actually originally own in America, he owns the blues and yet they're letting that kind of slip through his fingers.

WALCOTT: For his part, Johnnie Billington has managed to keep the blues torch lit in Mississippi. Many of his former students have gone on to become professional musicians. And all have received a precious legacy, the gift of music from their ancestors.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

MCMANUS: Health is one of our topics on Tuesdays, and we're putting fitness at the forefront all week long in our "Perspectives" segment.

Today, wacky workouts. Have you ever twirled a hula-hoop or hung from a trapeze? What if I told you those are workout routines for some people? It's going on in a gym in where else, Los Angeles.

Eric Horng takes us into the gym.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They may want you but they can't have you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really sensual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, four, five.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's innovative, it's hard to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like going to a disco.

ERIC HORNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Los Angeles, a city known for its hard bodies, getting in shape has become an adventure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lift, lift.

HORNG: At Bodies In Motion in Santa Monica, what they call the goddess workout fuses aerobics and belly dancing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hardest thing about working out is getting there, starting it. So what it is is it provides that incentive for why people want to come and work out.

HORNG: Tired of Tae Bo? How about capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that has participants kicking and spinning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great abs, great butt, great legs, great arms, balance and it's fun. HORNG (on camera): But for many, it's not just about exercising the body. It's also an opportunity to give the imagination a workout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stretch, bend one knee, arch over.

HORNG (voice-over): At Crunch Fitness in L.A., the circus sports class takes exercising to new heights. Participants hang from a trapeeze, swing on the rings and tumble on mats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lift left.

HORNG: Retro is also in. When was the last time you did the hula hoop?

JEFF COSTA, CARDIO-STRIPTEASE INSTRUCTOR: Push, push.

HORNG: But for something more risque, there's cardio-striptease? The class attracts adults of all ages and is guaranteed to make participants sweat and blush.

COSTA: It's an adult club. It's an adult environment, and it's what I say adult games. This is play with an edge.

HORNG: Workouts for the new year, sure to bring fitness buffs back for more.

Eric Horng, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among American adults, lung cancer is the most fatal form of cancer and asthma is the No. 1 chronic disease in children. Now we know air pollution can make each one of these sicknesses worse, but did you know dirty air could be causing them in the first place?

CNN medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland explains why in today's health report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From May until September, 16-year-old Kristin Bayer is often under house arrest. Why? Because being outdoors can trigger an asthma attack.

KRISTIN BAYER, ASTHMA PATIENT: And a lot of that could be because I'm more active, but also, along with the activeness, there's the pollution involved.

ROWLAND: Bayer lives in Atlanta, one of the most polluted cities in America.

DR. GERALD TEAGUE, ASTHMA RESEARCHER, EMORY UNIVERSITY: We know that air pollution can trigger asthma attacks.

ROWLAND: And new research shows dirty air may even cause asthma. The federally funded study conducted in the Los Angeles area and published last month found children who play team sports outdoors on days of high ozone levels develop the most asthma.

TEAGUE: If you grow up in an area where say the ozone is high, your lungs don't grow as well. So we believe that chronic exposure, long-term exposure to ozone may limit the growth of the lung, even in a normal person.

ROWLAND: And now even more evidence that the air we breathe may cause us harm. A new study conducted by the American Cancer Society and others found pollution may lead to deaths from lung cancer, heart attack, stroke and asthma.

GEORGE THURSTON, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: The bad news of the study is that we have confirmatory evidence of what we thought, that air pollution is causing death in the United States in excess of what we would have if there weren't as much air pollution.

ROWLAND: In the most polluted cities, lung cancer deaths were 20 percent higher than in cleaner cities, a risk that's about the equivalent of second-hand cigarette smoke.

THURSTON: Many of the cities in the United States are above and the -- and well above the legal standard for the country so that it shows that we have a lot of work to do in terms of cleaning up that pollution.

ROWLAND (on camera): Don't think you can escape the problems of bad air by leaving the big city. Summer heat can bring high ozone levels no matter where you live. And pollution from these cars and trucks and power plants can be carried by wind and weather hundreds of miles away. And it's just as dangerous there as it is here.

Rhonda Rowland, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: We continue our focus on health in our next report. Millions of people worldwide are living with HIV or AIDS, but it's spreading especially fast among minority populations in America.

Our CNN Student Bureau has more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENIK GILMORE (ph), CNN STUDENT BUREAU (voice-over): In the past 10 years, the rate of the HIV cases has increased tremendously in minorities for those 25 to 44 years of age. HIV is a virus that cannot be cured. This is a virus that makes you become more susceptible to dying from the common cold, the flu, pneumonia and other related illnesses.

Dr. David K. Butler (ph) explains how HIV is affecting the minority culture.

DR. DAVID K. BUTLER: One reason that AIDS/HIV affects the minority population disproportionately more than a majority population is because one, education onto the -- education to the disease itself and treatment options for them. Two is just the access to healthcare.

GILMORE: According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are 30 million people worldwide with HIV, but African-American and Hispanics account for a disproportionate share of AIDS cases. The YWCA offers health education and health fairs. They also provide HIV testing at local clinics. YWCA HIV Program Manager Deborah Scott (ph) says that there are two ways to prevent the HIV virus percentage rate from increasing among minorities.

DEBORAH SCOTT, YWCA HIV PROGRAM MANAGER: Education. Education is No. 1 and safe sex is No. 2.

GILMORE: Correct use of latex condoms has been shown to be effective in preventing the transmission of the HIV virus. Health experts say that total abstinence from sexual activity is the only sure way to prevent the sexual transmission of the AIDS/HIV infection.

Jenik Gilmore, CNN STUDENT NEWS Bureau, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Where in the World," this city was chartered in 1847, most of the city was burned down in 1864, capital city of its state? Can you name this city? Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

MCMANUS: That's it for today. I'm Michael McManus.

FREIDMAN: And I'm Susan Friedman. We'll see you here tomorrow.

MCMANUS: Bye-bye.

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