Return to Transcripts main page

CNN 10

CNN STUDENT NEWS For July 16, 2002

Aired July 16, 2002 - 04:00   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: The American stock market tumbles, then rebounds. The roller-coaster ride continues. We'll have that in our "Lead Story." Plus, American-Taliban John Walker Lindh strikes a plea with the government. Later, salad is on the menu in our "Health Report." And Student Bureau gives us helpful hints for healthy living.

Welcome to STUDENT NEWS for Tuesday, July 16. I'm Susan Freidman.

After a roller-coaster day, the Dow ends the day down 45 points. Financial analysts say there's plenty to blame the ups and downs on. Even so, investors seem to be favoring stable bank accounts to risky financial portfolios. At one point during the day, the Dow was down more than 400 points.

President Bush was out doing his part yesterday to help heal America's financial wounds. He traveled south and told an audience in Alabama that despite market turmoil, the U.S. economy is healthy and strong.

With U.S. markets down, so goes the rest of the world.

Our Kitty Pilgrim explores the weakening of markets worldwide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How low can it go? A question asked in English, German, French, Japanese and especially on Wall Street. Wall Street's sell-off Monday created a downdraft in Europe. In London, the FTSE 100 fell to a five and a half year low, down 5.4 percent in one day. The DAX in Frankfurt down five percent, the CAC Caeron (ph) in Paris down nearly five and a half percent.

KEITH STOCK, CAP GEMINI ERNST & YOUNG: The biggest fear that a lot of people have right now is the negative impact of the wealth effect, where we see unprecedented numbers of Americans, in particular, and increasingly Europeans holding stocks typically through pension funds or mutual funds that are losing value. PILGRIM: The U.S. economy seems to be on track, but Wall Street woes, accounting scandals, earnings unpredictability, corporate wrongdoing have eroded confidence in the U.S. market. And presidential pep talks about the economy haven't reversed the market pessimism.

ROBERT HORMATS, GOLDMAN SACHS INTERNATIONAL: Washington is right. The economy is solid. It is productive. Inflation is very low. The problem is that investors don't invest in the economy. They have to choose which companies to invest in.

CLARK WINTER, THE CITIGROUP PRIVATE BANK: Those who simply look at numbers are seeing increasing strength in the economies around the world. Those, on the other hand, who have to make decisions are waking up everyday with too much news, most of that news unsettling, and, therefore, inability to make decisions. So I call it sort of a decision paralysis. First, it happened in the United States. And we're seeing increasing evidence of it wandering around the world recently.

PILGRIM (on camera): The problem was money being repatriated overseas was not going into stocks. Globally, all the markets were down. Now some said investors were pulling money home to diversify out of U.S. assets that were not performing well. The only problem is, overseas assets weren't performing well either.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Well it looks like there won't be a trial for Taliban- American John Walker Lindh after all. The 21-year-old is headed straight to prison for up to 20 years. It's all part of a plea bargain deal struck with federal prosecutors and announced in court yesterday.

Lindh pled guilty to two charges. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop eight other charges against him, including conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens. A conviction on that charge could have kept him in prison for life.

Walker Lindh was captured with Taliban forces in Afghanistan last year. He was taken into U.S. custody on December 1 and flown to the United States on January 23. He made his first court appearance on January 24. His plea bargain deal was announced yesterday.

Bob Franken has more on the case of the Taliban-American.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): The deal had been struck about midnight, just some nine hours before John Walker Lindh came back to court. So secret that judge T.S. Ellis only found out shortly before he took the bench.

Lindh pleaded guilty to two charges: illegally providing help to the Taliban and a new one, carrying explosives, grenades, in the process. The government dropped all other charges, including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals. Among them, CIA operative Mike Spann. Instead of possible life in prison, John Walker Lindh, the so- called Taliban-American, now faces 20 years. Prosecutors declared victory.

PAUL MCNULTY, U.S. ATTORNEY: This is a tough sentence. This is an appropriate punishment. And this case proves that the criminal justice system can be an effective tool in combating terrorism.

FRANKEN: The plea bargaining intensified last week after President Bush signed off on the negotiations. The deal was struck just as the two sides prepared to fight in court over whether alleged confessions and statements made by Walker Lindh on the battlefield could be used at trial. Defense attorneys knew they faced an uphill battle.

JAMES BROSNAHAN, LEAD ATTORNEY FOR WALKER LINDH: I think the factors included, among other things, the environment in which we're all living. But people are somewhat frightened. They are upset. It would have been difficult.

FRANKEN: Walker Lindh was asked by the judge, do you feel you're able to make decisions about your future today? In a quiet voice, the defendant said, yes. As he entered the courtroom, Lindh gave a broad smile to members of his family, but the mood was somber as he left.

NAOMI LINDH, WALKER LINDH'S SISTER: I love my brother very much. I just want him to come home, but I know it's not going to happen. But he's been so strong and we had to be strong for him.

FRANK LINDH, WALKER LINDH'S FATHER: Nelson Mandela served 26 years in prison. He's a good man like John. Someday I hope, I hope that the government will come around even further and say that even 20 years is wrong for this boy.

FRANKEN (on camera): His many critics say that the long time in prison, up to 20 years, is about all that John Walker Lindh has in common with Nelson Mandela. But now that the government has softened its approach to him, he will not spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Bob Franken, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: For even more on this story, head to our Web site, CNNSTUDENTNEWS.com.

On another front, a British foreign Islamic militant has been found guilty for the kidnap and murder of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. Yesterday on CNN, correspondent Tom Mintier gave anchor Kate Snow the details of the sentence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, the verdict was pretty well expected. It had been held in reserve for a week by the judge, but after the prosecution and the defense presented their summations to the court, everyone assumed that they would all be found guilty. No one was quote, sure, though, about the death sentence. Omar Sheikh joins 79 other people on death row right now. In Pakistan the death penalty is carried out by hanging, but it may take some time. It is going to be seven days before deadline passes for the appeal to the high court. And once the high court hears this case, it's quite possible it could move on to Pakistan's supreme court.

But everyone here is bracing for the potential after-effects. If, indeed, a threat that was issued in the courtroom, passed through his attorney, by Omar Sheikh to take revenge for the sentencing and the death penalty is carried out, it might mean that there are more terrorist attacks here in Pakistan, something that the government is taking quite seriously. Security has been beefed up around the embassies here in Islamabad, and in Karachi, helicopters could be seen flying over the city shortly after the verdict was read. So they are bracing for the possibility that this threat is really carried out.

But it could be some time before this case is really finished. Police say they have at least a half a dozen other suspects that may be more directly involved with the actual murder of Daniel Pearl, and they're still seeking them. And there's a possibility that there'll be another trial.

I'm Tom Mintier, CNN, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Yesterday we introduced you to two people winning the battle to lose weight. There are all sorts of diet and exercise plans out there, and some people manage to lose considerable weight on them. But when it comes to maintenance, there's no quick or easy fix. In fact, it often takes several combined efforts to keep the weight off.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more on that in Part II of our documentary, "Fat Chance."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): My, oh my, oh my! The fat, the grease, the calories, the downright lard of it all! Every where you look, every where you go, food screaming at us, yelling at us -- "Take me, take me! Eat me, eat me! Now!" Is it any wonder that one in four Americans are obese and another one-third of us are overweight?

DR. JIM HILL, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR HUMAN NUTRITION, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: Age by age, group by group, everybody is gaining weight.

DR. RUDOLPH LEIBEL, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: This epidemic has swept the country.

HILL: It's very scary to think about what's going to happen if we don't start changing things quickly.

COHEN: Scary because the fatter you are, the more likely you'll get heart disease, diabetes and a whole host of other diseases.

LEIBEL: Obesity accounts for about 300,000 deaths per year.

COHEN: There is a group of people who have lost lots of weight and kept it off for years.

KAREN BROWN, SUCCESSFUL DIETER: I looked like a completely different person. People treat me so differently.

COHEN (on-camera): So many people have failed. What is your secret?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Two habits of successful dieters: keep trying and don't deny yourself. Tomorrow, we'll look at a couple more tips.

So how do you know if you're overweight? One way to judge is by looking at a body mass index like the one on our Web site, CNNSTUDENTNEWS.com. While you're there, check out our food special.

Later, looking for a creative way to eat your veggies, try broccoli brew. It may not be as unappetizing as it sounds. Hang around for "Perspectives" for a taste.

In a society that loves convenience and promotes food as a social mechanism, it's no wonder obesity has nearly doubled in the last decade. Health advocates say it's up to the food industry to stop tempting consumers.

But as CNN's Bill Schneider tells us, that request isn't going over too well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One side says it's an issue of public health.

DR MARGO WOOTAN, CSPI: Obesity is the most pressing public health issue facing the country.

SCHNEIDER: It's not just the couch potato problem. It's also a French fried potato problem. Americans eat out a lot more. Public health activists have been warning consumers about the hidden dangers of pizza and tacos and kung pao chicken and running ads like this one, comparing food dangers to tobacco. So the food and restaurant industries are fighting back with ads like these attacking the food police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hear why your rights and your cheeseburgers may soon be in jeopardy.

SCHNEIDER: Food industry spokesmen say the government's new obesity standards are ridiculous.

RICK BERMAN, CENTER FOR CONSUMER FREEDOM: According to the government standard, I am obese. In fact, if I lost 15 pounds, I'd still be obese. But I am in good company because Tom Cruise is obese and Russell Crowe is obese and Michael Jordan is considered overweight.

SCHNEIDER: Public health activists talk about a bad food environment.

WOOTAN: You have ads that encourage us to eat, eat, eat.

SCHNEIDER: They want people to see the food issue as comparable to the tobacco issue -- greedy companies that make money by endangering public health.

WOOTAN: Health advocates are looking at tobacco as a model.

SCHNEIDER: The food industry says food is not addictive like tobacco. They prefer the prohibition model.

BERMAN: This intrusion of the federal government into people's lifestyles, which we find pretty alarming.

SCHNEIDER: The response from public health activists? We're not trying to force anything on people.

WOOTAN: We're trying to help people do what they already want to do.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): As usual, it's a contest to define the issue. After all, 10 years ago tobacco lawsuits were considered frivolous until the issue got defined as one of public health and corporate greed.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

FREIDMAN: If you don't like eating your broccoli, researchers say you should try drinking your tea, Brassica tea. Makers of the new brew say Brassica contains the same antioxidants as broccoli.

Diane Lane has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANE LANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The health benefits of a good cup of tea are well known. Now there's a new broccoli brew that promises to be more beneficial. Sold under the name Brassica tea, it's offered in six flavors, including green and black, caffeinated and decaffeinated. (on camera): Broccoli haters are in luck, it doesn't taste or feel like the crunchy green vegetable. But these taste testers say there's something there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can smell broccoli in it, but you can't really taste it. It's pretty light. Yes, it's very good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't taste any broccoli in it; a very faint smell of broccoli. I think the tea is delicious. I actually like it better than green tea.

LANE (voice-over): The tea was discovered and patented by scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School. Their aim: find a new way to deliver sulforaphane, or SGS, a naturally occurring ingredient in broccoli that boosts the body's own natural defense system and helps fight cancer.

JED. W. FAHEY, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICAL SCHOOL: I find it quite exciting that we have this alternative method now for getting the antioxidant protection of fruits and vegetables. It's not in a pill, it's not in a capsule, it's in a beverage.

LANE: The broccoli beverage is already a hit at this store.

ERIC WILMOTH, GROCERY MANAGER, WILD OATS: Oh absolutely, yes. Shelves were almost completely bare.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It tastes delicious.

LANE: Tea enthusiasts who want to brew their own broccoli can order their drinks online to add a new twist to traditional tea time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's good.

LANE: Diane Lane for CNN, Denver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Even though there's been talk about what's actually good for you and what isn't, one thing will not change, plenty of vegetables are a prerequisite for a healthy diet. Many people enjoy salads to get their daily dose.

And CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at how you can create the perfect salad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's (ph) my salad. I just enjoy it.

PAGE LOVE, DIETICIAN: The salad bar may not always be your lowest fat option if you don't know how to balance the choices on the salad bar.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Salad bars may offer healthy choices, but beware of foods with hidden fat. Some salad staples like croutons, bacon bits, pre-mixed salads and some creamy salad dressings may be drenched in fat calories.

LOVE: Some of the cheeses, the meats, the side type mixed salads that may be on the salad bar like a pasta salad or a macaroni salad or a vinaigrette bean salad, an oil-based salad. So -- and a lot of people will pile those types of -- parts of the salad bar high on their plate and then they actually end up getting more fat than if they had had a grilled chicken sandwich and steamed vegetables.

GUPTA: So what's the recipe for a tasty and healthy salad? Lots of leafy green lettuce like spinach or romaine. Fresh vegetables like broccoli, carrots and cherry tomatoes. If fatty items such as boiled eggs or some meats are just too hard to resist, limit them to small portions. And if you're craving cheese, use parmesan or mozzarella.

When choosing a healthy salad dressing, follow this rule of thumb: clear is key.

LOVE: A vinegar and oil, a raspberry vinaigrette, a tomato vinaigrette, a French type dressing, we'd probably want to stay away from our limit. A bleu cheese dressing or a ranch dressing or a thousand island dressing where it's creamy again and you can't see through it.

GUPTA: The more dense your dressing, the more likely it's full of fat and cholesterol. Compared to full fat creamy dressings, low fat versions of dressing like ranch and bleu cheese have 10 to 30 percent fewer fat calories. Vinaigrette dressings have one-third to one-half the fat calories. And light vinaigrette has even fewer, 30 to 50 percent less.

LOVE: Lower calorie may be just that, it could be less calories but you don't know what type of calories may be reduced. It could be a little bit less sugar, just a little bit less volume. It may not be lower fat.

GUPTA: Love says checking the labels for fat calories is important, and use moderation when topping that salad.

LOVE: An ideal portion size for a salad, two tablespoons for a salad dressing portion.

GUPTA: If you're in a restaurant that doesn't have low fat dressing...

LOVE: You may want to consider taking a portable light salad dressing option with you.

GUPTA: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Throughout this program, we've talked a lot about creating and maintaining a proper diet. We've been introduced to people who have revamped their relationships with food. Time now for Student Bureau to weigh in on the topic with further guidance to a healthy lifestyle. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Exercising and eating healthy are two things Jessica Rubel makes time for.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I've always been very health conscious and you know working out has always been something that I've done, but I decided that I needed to do something a little bit stronger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over the past nine months, Jessica, a 22- year-old college student, has lost 39 pounds with the help of Weight Watchers.

RUBEL: My goal originally, like I said, was to lose, you know, 10 or 15 pounds. Once I reached that, I decided that I wanted to just continue losing weight until I felt healthy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Members of Weight Watchers like the plan because it allows you to eat whatever you want but in moderation. Weight Watchers Group Leader Arlene Lewis explains why.

ARLENE LEWIS, WEIGHT WATCHERS GROUP LEADER: If you learn to eat healthy, learn to control your portions, you can, first of all, take off the weight and then keep it off. And so it's not a diet as such, it's just a new approach to food and general health.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And experts in the health field like Weight Watchers and plans like it because they don't put stress on the word diet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not one to advocate going on a diet, because when you go on a diet that means you're going to go off it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weight Watchers worked for Jessica, but it may not be the right plan for you. According to health experts, many college women don't realize that dieting can cause serious health problems. They recommend eating a healthy diet and maintaining a regular workout routine.

Leading a healthy lifestyle includes avoiding fad diets which cut out major food groups.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't need to cut our your favorite foods. In fact, I think that's often dangerous to cut our your favorite foods because then you're holding off from eating them, you build up such huge cravings or you associate guilt with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So instead of feeling guilty, stay healthy and remember...

RUBEL: If you really want to do it, it definitely can be done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: "Where in the World" country is an Islamic Republic, section of this nation seceded in 1971 becoming Bangladesh, shares a border with Afghanistan? Can you name this country? Pakistan.

FREIDMAN: That's it for today. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com