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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Eye on the World; Costly Curriculum; Olympic Games; Buying Obesity

Aired May 12, 2004 - 05:30   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Reaction to a horrific execution at the hands of hooded militants.
It is Wednesday, May 12. This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date now.

The body of the American beheaded in Iraq may be returned to the United States as early as today. The group that executed him issued a statement saying the worst is yet to come. His executioners say they killed Nicholas Berg in retaliation for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Today, U.S. senators will look at new photos and videos of the abuse.

In Karbala in Iraq, coalition forces have killed at least 20 militia members loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Seven coalition troops were wounded.

Will Athens be ready for the Olympics about three months from now? You're looking at a live picture from Greece. A member of the International Olympic Committee will hold a news conference to discuss construction and security issues. When that begins, we'll take you to Greece live.

Now to the Forecast Center to check in with Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

A somber vigil in West Chester, Pennsylvania today, the family and friends of American Nicholas Berg are awaiting the return of his body from the Middle East. Neighbors and friends held a vigil last night outside of the home of his parents. Berg was beheaded by his Iraqi captors.

Before learning of his death, the victim's father talked about why his son went to Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BERG, NICK BERG'S FATHER: He just really wanted to be part of something that was important. He supported the administration's being in Iraq. He supported everything that they were doing and he -- and he wanted to help. And he wanted to help in a positive way, by building, rather than breaking down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Pennsylvania's governor also reacts to news of Berg's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Our deepest sympathies to the -- to the Berg family. And it just seems so senseless that an American, who went over there to try to help this country rebuild its telecommunications infrastructure, could wind up with a fate like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well Nicholas Berg owned a company that built, maintained and inspected communications towers. Nicholas Berg's father, Michael, collapsed in front of the family home Tuesday when he learned details of his son's death.

This was Nichols Berg's second trip to Iraq. He visited the country last December to help rebuild infrastructure and returned to the U.S. on February 1. But by mid-March, he was on his way back to Iraq. Communication with his family ended on March 24.

Expecting his arrival, Berg's father waited at JFK airport for his son's return on March 30, but the FBI later informed the Berg family back in Pennsylvania that Nicholas was in coalition custody in Iraq and that prompted them to file suit against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Berg was released from coalition custody on April 6, but he disappeared again on April 9. His family had not heard anything about where he was until Monday when they were informed of his death. And then yesterday, the videotape of his killing was released on a pro al Qaeda Web site. State Department says his body, Berg's body that is, could be returned to Pennsylvania as early as today.

Well you know the lure of big money is leading many to forego the danger and take jobs in Iraq. A new group of contractors packed up for Iraq Tuesday. They will be working for the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. That's the company former hostage Thomas Hamill was driving trucks for when he was captured last month. But for many, the risk is worth the reward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to get over there and, you know, make them have some (ph). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well I'm a little sad to see him go, because he will be gone a whole year, as well as my daughter. But you know I feel they are doing a good cause to go over and support the troops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can get killed here in the streets or the jobs that I do, clean room plants, somebody hits a wrong valve, you can get killed there. There is -- there is no guarantees. I mean it's a risk that you take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Contractors sign up for one full year at high tax-free salaries. Halliburton and KBR have about 24,000 workers in the region.

Well today all 100 U.S. senators will get to see the rest of the pictures and the video showing Iraqi prisoners being abused at the Abu Ghraib Prison. The Army general who first investigated the abuse blames poor leadership, discipline and training among MPs at Abu Ghraib.

Major General Antonio Taguba explained his findings to senators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: In your judgment, were these abuses a result of an overall military or intelligence policy to -- quote -- "soften up detainees for interrogation?"

MAJOR GENERAL ANTONIO M. TAGUBA, U.S. ARMY: Sir, we did not gain any evidence where it was an overall military intelligence policy of the sort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Let's talk more about what's happening in Iraq right now. Our senior international editor David Clinch joins us live.

And first of all, let's talk about who in this video killed Nicholas Berg.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well that's an excellent question. The initial information that we had, and it is on the Web site itself, is that it is Abu Zarqawi, the man who the United States says has been responsible for a lot of the terrorist activity in Iraq since the United States invaded. Having said that, we have our own experts, all of our own experts, agreeing that none of the voices of those people speaking in the video have Jordanian accents, therefore...

COSTELLO: What kind of accidents -- accents do they have?

CLINCH: Well most, from what we're told, have Iraqi accents, although we're still, you know, clarifying whether all of them do, but none of them have Jordanian accents. Specifically, there is one man who indicates he may be Zarqawi. He does not have a Jordanian accent. The fonting on the video says it is Zarqawi killing an American. We, and others, have no indication that it is Zarqawi. They are obviously all masked.

COSTELLO: Which is interesting, because it is on a pro al Qaeda Web site. So could the people -- whoever is putting this Web site out, could they have put the captions on, too, when...

CLINCH: Yes, that's very possible.

COSTELLO: I mean they don't know.

CLINCH: Although, again, the people in the video themselves give the indication that Zarqawi is involved in the killing. It's a really fascinating, I mean it's a horrible thing to see, I have watched the video myself. But the aspect of whether or not it is Zarqawi plays into this whole dynamic of the United States saying that Zarqawi is behind a lot of this.

And we have seen, for instance, reaction in Baghdad today from people, varying from the fact that some Iraqis believe that Zarqawi isn't there and that he is an invention of the United States. Others who agree with the United States that he is behind some of the violence in Iraq, including this killing, are sort of happy to agree with the United States that it is outsiders that are doing some of the worse things...

COSTELLO: Because they don't want to believe it is Iraqis.

CLINCH: ... because they don't want to believe that it is Iraqis. So all sorts of interesting aspects to the video itself. Obviously the primary is that the horror of it and the images.

Again, we've been talking about the prisoner abuse images. The horror of this image, of course we're not showing it, and interestingly, most, if not all, Arab media are not showing the full video, even though it is available to them as well. We haven't seen any incidents of Al Jazeera or anybody else showing the entire video. But the reaction is strong, nevertheless, around the world.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.

Kobe Bryant says he is not guilty. That's the plea he entered in court at the end of Tuesday's hearings. The judge read the complaint, which includes the charge that Bryant used force or physical violence. Kobe Bryant answered that charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE TERRY RUCKRIEGEL, DISTRICT JUDGE: Do you understand that charge?

KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Yes, sir.

RUCKRIEGEL: How do you plead, not guilty or guilty?

BRYANT: Not guilty.

RUCKRIEGEL: Plea of not guilty will be entered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The judge did not set a court date, but earlier, both sides had agreed to an August start for the trial.

A deadly truck crash tops our stories from 'Across America' this Wednesday. All lanes of Interstate 95 in Baltimore open again after two trucks crashed there yesterday. The incident left three people dead and two injured. Two others escaped without injury. Officials say the two tractor trailers, two cars and a minivan collided.

In Washington State, a military hearing is scheduled at Fort Lewis for Specialist Ryan Anderson. He's the National Guardsman accused of trying to give information to al Qaeda. Today's proceeding will determine if he will face a court-martial. Police arrested the 26-year-old man earlier this year shortly before he was to be deployed to Iraq.

And federal prosecutors will reportedly join the case against Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. He is the man accused of killing University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. The Associated Press quotes a law enforcement source as saying "the move would allow authorities to seek the death penalty against the man." Neither North Dakota nor Minnesota, where Sjodin's body was found, has the death penalty.

It is graduation time across America. Of course you have heard of college seniors graduating with honors.

But as CNN's Kitty Pilgrim reports, many of them are graduating with a lot of debt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rachel Kay is packing up for the summer after her first year at Occidental College in Los Angeles, a private college that costs more than $37,000 a year. She gets about a quarter of the money from achievement scholarships, takes out another quarter of the tuition in loans and works in the summer. But she says her family still feels the financial burden. Her sister is going to a state school next year because it's cheaper.

RACHEL KAY, STUDENT, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: I think my sister kind of felt like she almost couldn't apply to a private school or a most expensive school because she knew it would be too much of a burden and so that kind of influenced her choice on where she was going to apply to.

PILGRIM: The college says the middle-class kids bear a new burden.

MAUREEN MCRAE LEVY, DIRECTOR, FINANCIAL AID, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: If you have a $20,000 income you're going to get a lot of financial aid to come to college but the people in the middle are getting squeezed out.

PILGRIM: Private college tuition has shot up 14 percent in the last year and state schools have seen tuition hikes of 6 percent. The average federal grant used to cover 98 percent tuition at a state college, but even the maximum Pell grant now covers only 41 percent of tuition, fees, room and board. Students make up the difference by borrowing and the amounts of debt are staggering, averaging $18,000 but it can go higher.

DAN MOTE, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: It's very easy to find students graduating from the University of Maryland, for example, with $30,000 and $40,000 worth of debt at the bachelor level. Debt levels of this scale aren't manageable.

PILGRIM: 64 percent of students now graduate with debt, double the number from eight years ago.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The College Board says total college costs at four- year state schools are taking nearly 20 percent of the income of middle class families. Increases in costs at both public and private colleges are at historic highs in the last year and state funding for education has been falling.

Coming up, we'll open the DAYBREAK 'Mail Bag.' We'll read some of your e-mails.

Then, can you believe it, three weeks until the Summer Games? We'll get an update on the preparations for the 2004 Olympics.

This is DAYBREAK for May 12.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:45 Eastern. He is what's all new this morning.

Disturbing video from an Islamic Web site shows the beheading of American hostage Nicholas Berg in Iraq. The masked men in the video say the killing is in part retaliation for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

All 100 U.S. senators will get a chance to see the additional photos and videos of prison abuse in Iraq. The Pentagon will make the pictures available to the senators only for three hours this afternoon, but they will not be allowed to make any copies.

In money news, the Senate passed a tax bill that rewards American companies for manufacturing goods at home. The plan calls for $170 billion in cuts over the next decade.

In sports, the Calgary Flames scored just 20 seconds into the game on the way to a 4 to 1 win over the San Jose and the Western Conference finals. The Flames led the Sharks two games to none in the series. Actually, they lead them that way right now.

In culture, time to take a trip to the South Fork Ranch. Coming soon, the first and second seasons of the prime time soap "Dallas" will be available on DVD. And I know, Chad, you're going to run right out and get them.

MYERS: I'm going to get "Dynasty," too, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you.

The Summer Olympic Games in Athens set to begin in just three months. Can you believe it? The question this morning, will Greece be ready for the athletes, the visitors, the games and the possible terrorism?

For some answers, let's head live to London and CNN's Guy Raz.

And, Guy, that press conference has started in Athens. What are they saying?

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, as we speak, the International Olympic Committee has given the Athens organizers a clean bill of health. This is certainly good news for Athens organizers who have been saddled with major problems, major delays in trying to get The Games under way and trying to be prepared for The Games when they begin on the 13th of August.

Now, about 50 percent of the main Olympic venues have yet to be completed. And one of the key problems is the roof, the roof of the main Olympic Stadium complex. Now, the work on the roof process began this week. It's about two weeks late. It should have been completed about two weeks ago.

The other main concern, of course, is security, and the triple bomb attacks in Athens last week certainly underline some of the security issues that Greek officials will be facing come August 13. Now officials in Athens are promising to deploy some 70,000 security personnel to help protect athletes and about 5.5 million spectators who are expected to come to Athens to watch The Games. They are hoping to bring these Games forward without a hitch -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We hope so. Guy Raz reporting live from London this morning.

We have been soliciting your e-mails this morning about the beheading of that American in Iraq. We have been asking you if the U.S. should pull out or intensify the fight. And boy, we've been getting some responses. Many people just venting, and you can just feel the anger and the sadness coming through in your e-mails this morning. Allow me to read some of them.

This one says when will the U.S.A. wake up? We can never fight those we can't see. We will not win this one. It's another Vietnam and similar to the Gaza Strip tit for tat.

This one from Susan (ph). She says these people are less than the lowest. We need to hit them with all we have got, hunt them down like the animals they are. When President Bush said axis of evil, he hit the nail on the head, evil.

This one from G. Michaels (ph) in Florida. He says if I were president, I would mobilize every military unit and wipe the earth clean of the sadistic persons who feel it acceptable to lie, change their own rules, disregard the beliefs of others, finger point at our misdeeds when theirs are worse and then demand apologies to the families.

And this one from Scott (ph) in Manhattan. He says after having obtained and watched the video of the man from Philadelphia being killed, I'm having trouble sleeping imaging the pain he felt, that his parents feel. I think we should pull out right after June 30 and only give support as it is requested. How is it anyway that we believe the Iraqis will accept a government that has been constructed by the United States.

Keep them coming, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

DAYBREAK will return after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK. It is 5:53 Eastern.

Why are America's children getting fat? Well, one consumer group says the problem starts not at home but at school.

CNN's Christy Feig has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For schools they are a moneymaker. Some get 50 percent of the profits.

CAROLYN WHITEHEAD, IACCOMB, MISS. SCHOOL DISTRICT: The vending machines provide what I consider like petty cash.

FEIG: For kids, they often mean easy access to sodas, candy bars and chips. The Center for Science in the Public Interest looked at more than 1,400 vending machines in 250 schools across the country.

MARGO WOOTAN, CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Seventy percent of the beverage options were surgery drinks like soda pop, imitation juice drinks, ice tea and sports drinks.

FEIG: They found 85 percent of snack options were high in calories and fat. And they say those bad choices are setting America's kids up for problems like heart disease and diabetes. But the snack food industry says it is not the food itself that is to blame. LISA KATIC, SNACK FOOD ASSOCIATION: Well if kids don't have enough time to eat a meal, that's an issue. That needs to be rectified. If kids aren't making choices that fit into their diet, then they need education.

FEIG: Already many schools nationwide are switching to healthier options.

WHITEHEAD: Now we have Dasani, the Minute Maid fruit juices, the PowerAde and I mean we're seeing the kids purchasing them. They are buying the drinks and it's been a positive change.

FEIG: That way schools still get extra income, but kids get healthier snacks.

In Washington, I'm Christy Feig.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And for more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/Health.

Guess what, the cicadas are coming.

MYERS: They are coming.

COSTELLO: The cicadas are coming.

MYERS: And not John Secada (ph), the cicadas.

COSTELLO: I don't think that was exactly his name.

MYERS: I know.

COSTELLO: But the insect cicada, because I guess the ground is warming up in what...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... 10 or 12 states throughout the country.

MYERS: This is called brood 10. They come out every 17 years. Now there are cicadas every year. There are other broods that come out and there are also ones that come out every year, they're annual. But this is the 17-year plague of the cicadas.

COSTELLO: I mean this is a big brood.

MYERS: Yes, probably.

COSTELLO: And they are starting to come out in Maryland and in Washington,...

MYERS: Yes. Right.

COSTELLO: ... because the ground is warming up to what? MYERS: I think it's 64.

COSTELLO: Sixty-four degrees.

MYERS: Something like that, yes. As soon as they get up like that, and then they come out of the ground. They have been sitting down there for 17 years. I can't believe they have been sucking on the sap of these trees for 17 years and now they finally come up and they get to live a couple of weeks and then they are dead.

COSTELLO: Well not only that, but they get to mate and then they die.

MYERS: Well, of course, otherwise there would be no...

COSTELLO: There would be no more locusts.

MYERS: There'd be no -- 17 years, we wouldn't have any more.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk to an entomologist in the next hour of DAYBREAK. A guy who has been sitting up in a tree for a couple of days watching the cicadas come out of the ground.

MYERS: Did you know that male cicadas have a sound of 100 decibels and your garbage disposer is 80?

COSTELLO: Unbelievable.

MYERS: So they are -- they are loud.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk more about this in the next hour.

Also coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, what should you be using to sweeten your favorite foods and drinks? Our DAYBREAK nutrition expert Lisa Drayer will tell us about the safety of sugar substitutes.

And courts-martial plea deals and the legality of releasing those prisoner abuse photos. Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey will join us for some 'Coffey Talk' in our next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Graphic, shocking, unspeakable, the beheading of an American in Iraq caught on tape for the world to see.

This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday, May 12.

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


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