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CNN Student News

Aired May 29, 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: It's Wednesday, May 29, and STUDENT NEWS begins with a country now joining an organization once tasked with fighting it. Sound ironic? We'll explain.

And for those wrapping up school, we "Chronicle" the tough summer job market.

In the back half of the program, a look at the human brain and the music that soothes...

(AUDIO GAP)

FREIDMAN: I'm Susan Freidman.

Part of our show was preempted yesterday for coverage of Russia's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and that's where we begin today.

It's official: After years of Cold War hostility, Russia is now part of the oldest Western alliance. The new NATO-Russia council gives Russia a junior partner status and a voice in a limited number of issues, including terrorism.

President Bush, who's now back in Washington, was there for the signing, along with a number of other NATO leaders.

CNN's Jill Dougherty has more on the new partnership, which Russian President Vladimir Putin says wouldn't have been possible a few years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man of the hour, Russian President Vladimir Putin. His seat at the table, payback for his support of the coalition against terrorism. The world has changed, he says, and so should NATO.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): A point of departure is a clear understanding that neither nuclear missile capabilities or the Cold War commitments can actually provide some kind of panacea from the current threats. DOUGHERTY: As Mr. Putin knows well, Russia will have a full voice in NATO, but only on certain issues: anti-terrorism, peacekeeping, crisis management, search and rescue, stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction. But Moscow will not have a veto on the core military issues of the alliance.

In the hall, a sense of dejavu as Russia and NATO, for the second time in five years, pledge to work in partnership. This time, they say, it will be different.

BUSH: The attacks of September 11 made clear that the new dangers of our age threaten all nations, including Russia. The months since have made clear that by working together against these threats, we multiply our effectiveness.

DOUGHERTY: And NATO will continue to expand, in spite of Russian objection, bringing in new members that once were part of the old Soviet Union. But that, apparently, is no longer a sticking point.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Russia knows that these invitations will be extended at Prague, and nonetheless, Russia is here today.

DOUGHERTY: The real test for the new NATO, summed up by the secretary general...

GEORGE ROBERTSON, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: There are high expectations of all of us, expectations that this will not just be another glitzy protocol event, but a real breakthrough.

DOUGHERTY (on-camera): Both Russia and NATO say this is the beginning, not the end of a process. If it's to work, it will require new thinking, a new mentality on both sides, if these two former foes are truly to become partners.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: NATO now has 20 members, but will vote on adding more in November. Log on to CNN STUDENT NEWS for a list of countries wanting and waiting to get in. You'll also find a map of the member countries. And join us right here on CNN STUDENT NEWS the week of June 10. We have a full line up planned on Russian politics, culture and business. That will be in "Perspectives," and you won't want to miss it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Greg Chase from Jerome, Idaho asks: What do U.S. diplomats do in foreign countries?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: If you're a diplomat, it sounds like you spend a lot of time negotiating treaties. Well, that's part of the job, but it's a lot more than that. A diplomat's job is to protect and advance U.S. interests in other countries.

Now what does that mean? It means promoting trade and investment. It means communicating the views of the U.S. government to other countries, and their government's views back to Washington. It means developing programs that support common interests, like fighting international crime, drug trafficking, terrorism and disease. It means assisting U.S. travelers who have problems, and U.S. citizens who live abroad. It means issuing visitors permits and work permits to people who want to come to the United States, and making sure they won't cause trouble. It means making sure U.S. economic aid gets to the right people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: In the Headlines today, the International Whaling Conference ends on a low note. Last week, we told you about the annual meeting underway in Japan. The two rival camps at the conference, led by the United States and Japan, have accused each other of trying to destroy cultures that rely on whaling as a way of life. Commercial whaling was banned 15 years ago, though it's permitted on a limited basis in some areas.

Rebecca MacKinnon has more in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To hunt or not to hunt, and how? A week of bitter disputes ended on a final bitter note, the second rejection in two days of the special quota allowing native people to hunt whales for subsistence.

ROLLAND SCHMITTEN, U.S. DELEGATE: That was the most unjust, unkind, unfair vote that was ever taken. That vote literally denied people to feed their families. We have Eskimos calling, asking their leaders will we get food this year, and that vote definitely cinched it. The views from Japan and others is no, they will not.

MACKINNON: The quota for aboriginal whaling has never been denied since regulators began voting on it in the early 1970s.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep in mind this is not commercial. This is for subsistence purposes. And we met those requirements at the International Whaling Commission for well over 20 years.

MACKINNON: Critics called the action a tit-for-tat revenge on those who blocked the right of Japanese coastal communities to hunt 15 minke whales a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an attempt to say that prosperous Japanese towns are morally equivalent to isolated Inuit and Chukotka communities. Everybody knows that is wrong.

MACKINNON: The Japanese delegate, Masauki Kamatsu (ph), insisted Japan's proposal to allow coastal whaling is based on local people's needs, and is thus identical to the aboriginal whaling proposal. Japan had originally hoped this meeting would pave the way for the resumption of commercial whaling; instead, the world seemed more divided over the fate of the whale than ever before.

Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Amid the ruins of the past, Afghanistan's future is forming. The country's national airline once boosted thousands of employees, regular flights to Europe, and offices in a dozen countries. But two decades of war and the Taliban regime eventually grounded all flights. Earlier this year, business resumed at Ariana Airlines, and now there are expansion plans in the works.

But as CNN's Chris Wheelock reports, there's much progress to be made.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS WHEELOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Afghanistan's national airline has survived more than 50 years. Its once shiny fleet of 20 has been reduced to just two whole planes. The Kabul International Airport is littered with the remnants of the glory days of Ariana. But there are big plans for the airline already running flights to Dubai, New Delhi, and Islamabad, there are hopes to add flights to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and a second city in India.

Check-in is anything but routine in Kabul, as you take in the flavor or reality of a country trying to rebuild. Security screening is all done by hand. Electricity is still unreliable. And then there's the ride out to the plane: There are mortar holes, more wreckage, and notice the bullet hole at eye level in the old passenger bus.

PETER RUDDEN, ARIANA PASSENGER: On a normal carrier, you'd -- as a regular carrier that has a good reputation -- and not too many people in the world have heard of Ariana. And I'm sort of looking forward to the flight, but I'm also a bit nervous.

WHEELOCK: Pilots earn only $150 a month, among the lowest salaries for commercial pilots anywhere in the world. But Ariana's vice president of operations insists the company adheres to the highest safety standards. And there have been some changes since the Taliban left.

FEDA FEDAWI, VICE PRESIDENT, ARIANA OPERATIONS: Well, the Taliban changed -- firstly, they have dismissed the female flight attendants and they enforced some restrictions on the cockpit crew to put (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

WHEELOCK: The women are back, complete with jewelry and perfume. The beards, which made it hard to don oxygen masks, are no longer required, and there are plenty of customers.

The one-way fare from Islamabad to Kabul will cost you $200. Ariana says it is meeting its costs without any help from the interim government. And later this month, the first of three Airbus planes will be donated to Ariana by India, putting the airline a step closer to realizing its goals.

Chris Wheelock, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: From high above the ground to far below it, efforts to rebuild Afghanistan are all encompassing. U.S. Army Reserve engineers are now helping Afghans build wells, replenishing hope for the nation's future.

CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clean drinking water is a luxury for this village in southern Afghanistan's harsh desert. The new well is built by Afghans and supervised by U.S. Army Reserve engineers. It's one of a dozen well projects near the Kandahar Air Base. The engineers who manage the wells which are funded by the U.S. government. At another location, villagers say they are grateful their well is now yielding better quality water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell him we can go ahead and cap these, finish them up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more digging, just casing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more digging. Put the casing in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pump -- hand pumps.

WEAVER: Helping to improve daily life here is gradual. Successes are measured against a rural society locked in the past. Only a few clues here of present day times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: X.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Y.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Y.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Z.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Z.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Z.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then right here, USA.

WEAVER: The engineers hope the message isn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that the United States has helped, rather that villagers will learn to keep up the pace of progress themselves.

(on camera): The long-term goal of building the wells is to use Afghan contractors so the benefits don't dry up once the outside help is gone.

(voice-over): Along the way, frustration when villagers insist on digging 50 meters instead of 30 to reach sweeter water, they say, without a cent more for the contractor -- yet another example of local agenda seeping into the broader interest.

But in the end, a few wells do make a difference and seem to symbolize the stability most Afghans seek. Villagers in the area say the coalition's military presence is still welcome, as long as the benefits keeps trickling down to people here.

Lisa Rose Weaver, CNN, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Good news for you: School is either out or almost out. Bad news if you're looking to get a job. Good luck. Last year, high school and college students had their pick of summer jobs, but what a difference a year can make.

Ceci Rodgers reports on the tough summer career market ahead for all you job seekers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CECI RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bobby Fowler is one of the lucky ones. Because he's worked five summers at this golf course, he landed a job again this year.

BOBBY FOWLER, COLLEGE STUDENT: To get a job in here today takes a lot of luck. To get a job anywhere, it seems right now, takes a lot of luck.

RODGERS: It's the toughest summer job market in more than a decade for the 22 million teenagers and college students looking for jobs, and unlike the recent past, it's a buyer's market for workers.

PAUL DAVIES, KLEIN CREEK GOLF COURSE: We've got a tremendous talent pool out there that we can draw, from whereas, in previous years, we were happy if someone would show up and work.

RODGERS: Six Flags Great America was begging for workers last year. This summer?

JOHN CURTY, SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA: We found ourselves going into the beginning of the season pretty much with a full seasonal staff, which is really good from our standpoint.

RODGERS: Six Flags is hiring the usual number of younger teenagers, but other employers are not.

(on camera): Last year, this job board was plastered with postings here at New Trier High School. This year, it's half empty.

(voice-over): New Trier's career development counselor thinks the jobs are there. They're just not going to high schoolers. JOANNE BOWERS, NEW TRIER CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELOR: What I'm assuming is that our college students are taking those jobs that are available and that our high school students just don't have the opportunities they did last year.

RODGERS: So these students are being told to look for a volunteer job, go to summer school, and to wait for better economic times.

Ceci Rodgers, CNN Financial News, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

FREIDMAN: May is Mental Health Month, and with that in mind, we thought we'd start at the beginning with your brain. OK teens, do you ever feel frustrated? Well aside from not being able to find that summer job, there is a reason you sometimes seem a little on edge. Neuroscientists say the hard wiring of the adolescent brain is very different from a child's or an adult's.

Our Shelley Walcott explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The teen years can roar in like a lion, turning an otherwise easygoing kid into one with ferocious mood swings.

GIEDD: I think in general, teens get kind of a bad rap.

WALCOTT: Maybe so, but teens have been known for making silly decisions; appearing out to lunch in the areas of self-control; running hot, then cold; loving you one minute, hating you the next.

(on camera): It's behavior often blamed on hormones or youth rebellion. But scientists say the root of teen tantrums could be buried deep in their brains.

(voice-over): While using sophisticated brain-mapping technology, U.S. and Canadian scientists made a startling discovery.

GIEDD: It used to be thought that the brain didn't change very much after about the age of three or four. But by studying teens, we now know that the teenage brain is changing very dramatically.

WALCOTT: In other words, the adolescent brain isn't as fully developed as scientist had previously thought, a theory that tends to provoke strong reactions from some kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's dumb, personally. We're just young; we're having fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, if it's proven, I guess I'd have to give some credit to that, but personally, I would have to see the results myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just having fun; it's not like we're retarded or, like, are you all stupid or something? No, see, we're just out here trying to have some fun, basically. You know, you're only young once.

WALCOTT: For a long time, scientists believed the most important time in brain development occurred during the first few years of life, an assumption that prompted many parents to stimulate newborns with classical music or alphabet flash cards. Turns out, parents of young children can relax a bit, since researchers say a child's brain is still developing way into puberty.

Just as a teen is all arms and legs one day and all nose and ears the next, different regions of his or her brain also have an awkward sense of timing, with neural growth spurts that seem to coincide with important leaps in learning ability.

Researchers say there are three major periods of brain growth. The first occurs between the ages of three and six; that's when there is a virtual forest fire of growth in the front of the brain.

DR. ELIZABETH SOWELL, NEUROSCIENTIST, UCLA LAB OF NEURO IMAGING: We know that the frontal lobes are regions in the brain that are responsible for things like planning, organization, inhibiting inappropriate responses, controlling emotions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes me and my friends just -- we laugh a lot; we have a lot of jokes and stuff. My parents, they're kinds of down to earth, and not like that.

WALCOTT: As children grow older, the wave of rapid growth in the frontal lobes responsible for all that organization and planning slows down, not picking up again until much later in adolescence into early adulthood.

SOWELL: Teenagers can plan and organize their lives, just not as well as they probably can when they're maybe 20, 25.

WALCOTT: The second phase of the brain development takes place between the ages of 7 and 13. At that time, there is a growth spurt towards the middle and back of the brain, areas that affect, among other things, language skills.

DR. PAUL THOMPSON, NEUROSCIENTIST, UCLA LAB OF NEURO IMAGING: So one of the things you might want to do is, you know, say maybe a little language a little bit younger. You know, he wants to learn Spanish, or something like this. That might be a key period for educating children in that type of skill.

WALCOTT: But all this rapid growth suddenly ends around the ages of 13 to 15. During this final phase, the brain begins to fine tune itself for the adult years, holding on to neurons and connections that get used a lot, and shedding those that are hardly used at all, a time when certain motor skills, like playing an instrument, become more of a challenge. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know: I started playing guitar last year, and I'm still pretty bad at it. So you know, that might support the theory.

WALCOTT: Scientists say that the brain's growth pattern also explains the characteristic most associated with the adolescence: teen angst, that feeling of edginess and the inability to control emotions, plain old stress. All this, scientist say, can be traced to the amygdala; that's the area of the brain that controls fear, the fight or flight response.

Teen emotions are centered around the amygdala, since their frontal lobes, which temper emotions, are still not fully developed.

DR. DEBORAH YURGELUN-TODD, NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST, MCLEAN HOSPITAL: It has implications for anything that requires a responsible review of the consequences. And that could be anything from decisions about what kind of work one's going to do, how you're going to apply yourself in school, what kind of relationships you wants to have.

WALCOTT (on camera): So whether it's learning French, learning to play an instrument, or learning to control anger, biology plays a big part in those all-important teen years. And, while parents may not have much say in the development of their child's brain, they can make a difference in another crucial area.

SOWELL: If parents really understand that maybe their teenagers are a little bit scattered or disorganized or take risks or are rebellious because the part of their brain that would keep them from doing that isn't yet finished -- so I think it just again reinforces that strong structure and support through the teenage years is of critical importance.

WALCOTT (voice-over): Scientists say they will continue to probe the teenage brain, and they say parents should take heart. Even though it might sound like the teen brain is nothing more than a mental mosh pit, adolescence is actually the time when nature steps in to help a teenager grow up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: One of the few growth areas of the tech industry is the business of recycling old computer hardware. People who upgrade their computers every few years face a growing problem: They must find a use or place for old equipment. High-tech trash puts an environmental and financial burden on local governments.

And as CNN's Casey Wian reports, no one group wants to take responsibility for hardware disposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When Socal Computer Recyclers first entered the business four years ago it took in 300 pounds of hardware a month. Now, it's handling 45 tons. WIAN: Computers and other electronic equipment contain hazardous waste, especially monitors, which have several pounds of lead. California is among a handful of states that ban so-called e-waste from landfills, to prevent toxins, such as mercury, from polluting groundwater.

(on camera): In California alone, an estimated 6 million obsolete computer monitors and TV sets are gathering dust in attics, garages, and storage facilities. Nationwide, the United States generates about 220 million pounds of e-waste every year.

(voice over): That's a financial burden on local government. It can cost $25 to properly dispose of an old computer. Because of that, many people ignore laws against throwing them away.

In February, California lawmakers proposed requiring computer manufacturers to pay for recycling programs, but Silicon Valley lobbyists protested, and lawmakers now want consumers to pay.

GLORIA ROMERO, CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR: The consumer, if you can think about it right now, is already paying the cost, via local government, via the taxes we pay.

WIAN: Manufacturers favor a nationwide recycling program, also paid for by consumers. Details of the plan are expected this fall.

RANDY LEWIS, PRESIDENT, SOCAL COMPUTER RECYCLERS: This is something that we can control at this point, as long as we stay on top of it. If we let it go much further without some sort of direction, though, we could bury ourselves in our own junk.

WIAN: Already, large amounts of U.S. e-waste is flowing to Third World countries with fewer environmental restrictions.

Casey Wian, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: What kind of music do you listen to: hip-hop, rap? What about jazz? It's not just easy listening for your parents anymore. Jazz may be one of the oldest American art forms, but its message is very modern today.

Our CNN Student Bureau hits a high note with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Jazz is perhaps one of the oldest music forms in America, but it is not only enjoyed by adults. Wynton Marsalis, artistic director for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Program in New York, is making sure of that.

WYNTON MARSALIS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER: Well, our overall mission is to bring the feeling and the power of the music to as many people as we can: kids, little ones, and big ones. And this is an important part of us allowing good information about the music to travel without us being there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marsalis is leading an effort to take jazz to the classrooms through a comprehensive curriculum called Jazz for Young People. The project will provide elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, with materials to train students in jazz history and appreciation.

MOEEN KHAN, AGE 11: Makes me feel proud. And I like jazz because I never -- I never went to jazz before. This is the first time I've been to jazz, and I like it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jazz at Lincoln Center is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to jazz. The organization launched the jazz curriculum on February 26, 2002, on what has been deemed Jazz Education Day by New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Over the years, the Lincoln Center has repeatedly observed that elementary and secondary music teachers have had limited access to accurate and comprehensive information about jazz. So in 1998, Marsalis and his staff began developing the Jazz for Young People curriculum.

MARSALIS: Well, I love participating in the lives of people, I love dealing with music, and I love being a part of the positive force to heal and to bring the people together. And I love to be able to exemplify a level of integrity no matter how corrupt the time is. And I'm just very grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate on this level, to be able to have a job, to be able to teach students, to be able to have a wonderful organization like Jazz at Lincoln Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thaddeus Expose, a music teacher at Manhattan's O'Shea Middle School, says a specialized jazz curriculum for younger students is long overdue.

THADDEUS EXPOSE, MUSIC TEACHER: My education experience, I've always learned classical music. And jazz has been out to the beginning to the ending of the 1800s. So I mean it took up to this particular time, and going into the 21st century for this curriculum to be developed after one century. So I'm just happy that someone initiated the curriculum into the system. And I just hope that people, teachers, even if they're not music teachers, pick up the curriculum and invest it in the lives of the children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what does Marsalis want the children to get out of the new curriculum?

MARSALIS: I hope that they learn about what it means to be American in the best sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The launch of the jazz curriculum is being followed by a jazz concert tour of schools. Arturo O'Farrill and his Latin Jazz Quintet will perform in 14 New York City venues, including public and private schools, hospitals and community programs.

Ray Sinclair, CNN Student Bureau, New York City. (END VIDEOTAPE)

"Where in the World": Air pollution and deforestation are among its environmental problems; its lowest elevation is the Caspian Sea; natural resources include timber, oil, and natural gas? Can you name this country?

Russia.

FREIDMAN: OK, that wraps up today's edition of STUDENT NEWS. But before we let you go, an important announcement of sorts, a time change. Starting June 17, look for us one half hour earlier. We'll be on in the eastern half of the United States at 4:00 a.m. and out on the West Coast at 1:00 a.m.

Have a great day.

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