CNN Student News

Aired, September 16, 2003

This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be dated.

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: Have the breaks been put on California's recall election? We'll head to court to find out. South Korea wakes up from a nightmarish typhoon, to find damage everywhere. And how far would you go, to keep 14 pigs off the kitchen table?

Hello and welcome to CNN Student News on this Tuesday, September sixteenth! I'm Christina Park at the CNN Center.

First Up: California Recall Postponed?

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: First up--a decision that could change the political course of California...a federal appeals court ruled Monday to delay the state's upcoming recall vote. The move fell in line with an argument by the ACLU, which stated that some of the older voting machines would disenfranchise, or take away the voting rights of, minorities. Now it could be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the October 7th ballot, will take place. Kelly Wallace explores how some officials, are trying to keep election history from repeating itself.

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KELLY WALLACE, CNN REPORTER: In its decision to delay the election, the three-judge federal appeals panel said, "The inherent defects in the system are such that approximately 40,000 voters who traveled to the polls and cast their ballot will not have their vote counted at all.

The court sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that six California counties including Los Angeles were still using punch card ballots. Those ballots were ruled invalid by the federal courts after the disputed 2000 presidential election.

The proponents of the recall movement pledged to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court within 48 hours.

The Republican candidates quickly condemned the ruling. Republican State Sen. Tom McClintock called the 9th circuit has become a quote "national laughingstock".

TOM MCCLINTOCK, R-CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most reversed court in the United States and for good reason.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN REPORTER: The man who appeared to benefit most, embattled Governor Gray Davis, who teamed up with a democratic heavyweight, former president Bill Clinton, for the second day in a row.

Davis had pushed for the election to be postponed until the March presidential primary when traditionally more voters head to the polls. But on this day, he reacted cautiously.

GOV. GRAY DAVIS, D-CALIFORNIA: I was not a party to this suit. I did not bring the suit. I would like a result, however, that allows as many Californians as possible to vote.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN REPORTER: The stage is now set for the U.S. Supreme Court, which made the controversial decision to settle the 2000 presidential race to step in and settle another election dispute, and its decision could significantly impact California's historic recall.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Los Angeles.

(End Video)

Shoutout!

Time for the Shoutout!

Which amendment to the Constitution requires states to give equal protection of law to all individuals? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Fourth Amendment, B) Fifth Amendment, C) Tenth Amendment, D) Fourteenth Amendment?

You've got three seconds--GO!

The 14th Amendment ensures that state governments give equal protection of law. It also requires Due Process of law and reduces congressional representation for states that deny voting rights. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Bracing for Hurricane Isabel/Typhoon Maemi

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: Updating you now on the formidable Hurricane Isabel. You can see the eye of this massive storm from space, as it whirls west over the Atlantic toward the U.S. coast. Its maximum sustained winds had decreased to 125 miles-per-hour on Monday, but forecasters say it's still a very dangerous system. If Isabel continues on its current path, it could make landfall on Thursday afternoon...so people from the Carolinas to New England are scrambling for supplies, to protect their homes.

They're trying to prevent the kind of damage that South Korea suffered late last week, when Typhoon Maemi tore through the country, killing at least 86. Sohn Jie-ae tells us, what else was lost in the storm.

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SOHN JIE-AE, CNN REPORTER: As if the death toll from Typhoon Maemi were not bad enough....The economic toll has South Koreans reeling.

Initial estimates put the property damage from one of the biggest typhoons to ever hit the country at nearly one billion dollars. It couldn't have come at a worse time

CHO DONG-CHUL, KOREA DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: This typhoon occurred when the Korean economy is near the bottom. In other words, this could make a rather big impact sentimentally to the Korean people in that sense.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN REPORTER: Hundreds of ships beached...Huge freighters slammed against docks...As Maemi ---- packing winds over 200 kilometers ---- 130 miles ---- an hour slammed her way across the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Even ships under construction at Hyundai heavy industries' were damaged.

Busan, the country's main container port, suffered badly. Giant container cranes laid on the ground, crumbled and twisted like discarded pipe cleaners.

Major disruptions are expected in international trade...which is being reflected in the country's stock market.

Analysts say shares of construction and cement companies which will be involved in the massive rebuilding process, are doing well.

KIM HUN SEOK, DAISHIN SECURITIES: But the shares for shipbuilding and oil and chemistry companies are in bad position. The shipbuilders could not work for a while due to the typhoon and now they have to repair broken vessels.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN REPORTER: Agriculture will suffer, too. More than 17,000 hectares of farmland have been destroyed.

The government has earmarked 1.2 billion dollars for recovery efforts. And special tax breaks will be offered to victims and affected companies.

Thousands of soldiers, rescue workers and volunteers have mobilized to make life as normal as possible as quickly as possible for the nearly 9,000 people who lost their homes.

(End Video)

Fast Facts: Euro

Time for some Fast Facts!

Here's a close-up of the euro: Twelve European nations adopted the currency on January 2, 2002. Within two months, the original currencies of those countries were no longer in circulation. Denmark, Great Britain, and Sweden are the only members of the European Union that have not adopted the euro.

Sweden Says No to the Euro

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: And it looks like Sweden will stick with its own currency, the krona, for another decade. Prime Minister Goran Persson says his country is performing better than nations who already have the euro...so Sweden is hesitant to trade in its chips. But Robyn Curnow tells us how the decision, could have an impact on Sweden's standing with the European Union, an economic and political cooperative of European countries.

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN REPORTER: The day after Sweden snubbed Europe... signaling their distrust of the Continent's monetary union... saying 'no' to the euro. It's delighted euro-skeptics, but it's dismayed the European Union leadership in Brussels and European governments.

JOSCHKA FISHER, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Sweden not being a member is a pity, but especially at this point the integration process will have to continue amongst those who are member states. This is a very important economic factor for all of us.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN REPORTER: The economic implications of Sweden's rejection of the European monetary union are being hotly debated across the Continent.

Swedish 'no' voters harboring no regret the morning after. Still not feeling the political and economic hangover that government and big business predict will come from staying outside of Europe's financial union.

UNIDENTIFIED SWEDE: I feel pretty good.

UNIDENTIFIED SWEDE: I feel pretty fine. I am satisfied with the result, and I am not worried. Of course, we have to work with the other countries in the European Union. So I am pretty calm.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN REPORTER: Calm, after the shock of last week's murder of foreign minister Anna Lindh in central Stockholm. She was the face of the government's 'yes' campaign, but her death and legacy still not enough to change voters' minds. Many Swedes had thought carefully about their vote long before Lindh's death.

KARIN BOGH,TEACHER: It has affected me, yes, in my heart. But not in my vote. No, I knew before.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN REPORTER: She voted yes. That campaign lost by a 14 percent margin in the end, leaving the Swedish krona as the currency of choice for at least another ten years.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN REPORTER: By turning its back on the European monetary union, Sweden has helped ease the pressure on Denmark and Britain to give up their currencies. All three countries are inside the European Union but outside of its financial control. So this 'no' vote has delighted euro skeptics, but for some, it's a real setback for European integration.

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Before We Go

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: Before we go...one woman's porcine philanthropy, is hogging headlines in maple ridge, Canada. She has taken in about 14 sizable swine -- Vietnamese potbellied pigs, to be exact. They were once considered exotic pets, but some got too big or wore out their welcomes with their previous owners. So the woman whose neighbors call her "miss piggy" opened up a sort of hog hotel...to keep her precious porkers from going to market.

Goodbye

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN ANCHOR: Way to pig out on a Tuesday! For CNN Student News, I'm Christina Park. Stay tuned as Headline News continues, next.