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CNN STUDENT NEWS For August 5, 2002

Aired August 05, 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.

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CO-HOST: It's Monday, August the 5th, and time once more for CNN STUDENT NEWS. We'll check eradication efforts in Louisiana as the state battles dangerous mosquitoes.

SUSAN FREIDMAN, CO-HOST: And time to give thanks in Pennsylvania. We'll take you to a community service celebrating the rescue of the miners.

WALCOTT: Then, gear up for automotive adventures. We'll spotlight a car craze in China.

FREIDMAN: And we'll hit the road with some young racers as Student Bureau profiles teens driving toward a professional career.

Health, culture and wheels that make the world go round. We have it all in our show today. Thanks for joining us. I'm Susan Freidman.

WALCOTT: And I'm Shelley Walcott.

Officials in Louisiana say it could turn out to be the biggest West Nile outbreak in U.S. history.

FREIDMAN: Louisiana is under a state of emergency as the West Nile virus spreads. Four people have died from it and at least 54 others have been infected. Other cases are suspected but not yet confirmed. Louisiana's governor hopes federal funds will help the state control the outbreak. The cost of spraying and fogging mosquitoes, which spread the virus, is mounting.

CNN's Ed Lavandera takes us to Baton Rouge for a look at how people there are coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Today's mission is simple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go out in full force, 13 trucks every morning.

LAVANDERA: To hunt and kill mosquitoes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. That's our job. That's what we're here for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to keep a hold of them.

LAVANDERA: All over Baton Rouge, crews are attacking spots where mosquitoes might feel safe on foot, by four wheeler, and by truck, the West Nile virus threat has these crews working overtime.

RANDY VAETH, MOSQUITO ABATEMENT BIOLOGIST: The red pins are actually been confirmed as having West Nile virus.

LAVANDERA: For Randy Vaeth and the mosquito abatement teams he works with, this map is a reminder of how urgent the West Nile virus problem has become in cities like Baton Rouge.

VAETH: These aren't just nuisance mosquitoes, but these are, you know, pathogen carrying mosquitoes. So adds a considerable amount of public pressure to us, too. And we're trying as hard as we can with all available resources to keep these populations down.

LAVANDERA: There's still a lot of time left in this mosquito season. So health experts expect to see many more cases of the West Vile virus.

DAVID HOOD, SECY. OF HEALTH & HOSPITALS: We're getting started rather early in the season here in Louisiana. And we have easily three more months of warm weather before we can expect this to subside.

LAVANDERA (on camera): This Baton Rouge neighborhood is where one of the West Nile virus victims recently died. And if you take a walk around, you can see why it's so difficult to control the spread of this virus. Mosquito experts say situations like this, this pond which is completely stagnant, is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. And situations like this exist all over the state of Louisiana.

(voice-over): The West Nile threat isn't keeping Mitch Worley from working the yard, but he is taking some precautions.

MITCH WORLEY, BATON ROUGE RESIDENT: Well, we have a six-month old. And it's not so bad for me to come outside and do yardwork, but to bring a six-month old out here, we pretty much keep him inside for now until we hear some information.

LAVANDERA: Worley lives in the same neighborhood where an elderly woman died of the West Nile virus. Mosquitoes are a part of life here, but Mitch Worley wonders just how many of those infected mosquitoes are now swarming around his home.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Symptoms of the West Nile virus include headaches, fatigue and stiff neck. In rare cases, it causes encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain. Health experts say that human's risk of contracting West Nile virus is actually very low. But it could be reduced further if people use mosquito repellant, wear long sleeves and pants at night and eliminate pools of standing water where mosquitoes breed.

WALCOTT: Well the nation rejoiced last Sunday as nine miners were pulled to safety. They'd been trapped underground for more than three days in a Somerset, Pennsylvania mineshaft. Last night, people of that town gathered to thank God for saving the lives of their men. The community wide service of prayer, praise and thanksgiving included the hymn "Great is My Faithfulness," a theme on the minds of many people there.

Here's a glimpse of Sunday's service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see before you this evening, 10 candles, 10 miners helmets. We are here to illuminate these candles and these lights. These candles represent the nine men who came out and got the warning. The 10th candle represents the one who guided them out. So as I read the names of the first nine miners to escape, Jim here will light the candles.

So we light a candle for Frank, Dave, Ryan, Wendell, Ron, Barry, Doug, Larry and Joe.

These candles represent the vigilance of the nine who escaped, and how they stood vigilant while the other nine were still underground.

And now we will say a prayer for all of you miners. Let us pray. Most kind and glorious God, you were with these 18 men, the first nine who indeed heard the warning, you guided out of the mine, and the other nine you stood with, just as their brother, as they were brothers together. And we praise you and we thank you for you being with them through these difficult times. We thank you for your vigilance and your help, for being with Randy, Tom, Dennis, Ron, Blaine, John, Mark, Robert and John, you. We thank you for being with them during their days underground, and we thank you that they're with us here to celebrate in praise and thanksgiving with their family and friends and all that took part in the rescue.

So as these candles and these helmets represent them, they also are here. There is one for you, and represents your undying love and care for them during this difficult time.

So we cannot praise you and we cannot ever thank you enough for all that you did for them and all that were involved in this wonderful miracle, and we praise this all in Jesus most wonderful and glorious name.

Amen.

(END VIDEO CLIP) August 5, 1930, birthday of the first man to set foot on the moon, U.S. astronaut Neil Alden Armstrong.

FREIDMAN: Transportation is a theme on STUDENT NEWS all week long. We'll be looking at cars in their culture, the role they play in our economy and in our lifestyle. We'll examine traffic and pollution problems and look under the hoods of some new models. But today we focus on an old favorite, the convertible.

CNN's Jeanne Moos has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We tend to convert to convertibles at a tender age in the U.S. They may account for only 2 percent of vehicle sales, but what are sales compared to fantasies?

For instance, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly having a picnic in one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE KELLY, ACTRESS: You want a leg or a breast?

CARY GRANT, ACTOR: You make the choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Or Thelma and Louise deciding to drive to their deaths rather than surrender.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who doesn't like convertibles?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's nothing not to like.

MOOS: At the New York Auto Show, folks gather in awe around convertible, watching, mesmerized, as the tops go up and down, from the Toyota Spider...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A good convertible top is one-handed.

MOOS: To the BMW M3.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I liked how the hood opened up there, that was wonderful.

MOOS: To the Mercedes that calls itself the contortionist for its advanced retractable technology. Take it from Alan Taylor of "Motor Trend."

ALAN TAYLOR, "MOTOR TREND": It is absolutely mechanical ballet.

MOOS: All it took was one ride in his cousin's Lexus convertible to win over Corey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wind goes in your hair...

MOOS (on camera): I don't even think your hair would move at 65 miles an hour.

(voice-over): If you'd like to pick up the latest in convertibles...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a retractable, hard top pickup truck.

MOOS: The Chevrolet Supersport Roadster has that retro look from the '40s. It's due out next year for under $40,000.

Not only do carmakers brag about how fast they go...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes 0 to 60 in about five seconds, 333 horsepower.

MOOS (on camera): But how many seconds does the top take?

(voice-over): Mercedes advertisers its top goes up at the touch of a button in only 16 seconds. We put it to the test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 16.8.

MOOS (on camera): Not bad.

The Chevy Pickup took the longest.

(on camera): 35 seconds.

MOOS (voice-over): And the winner -- the Mazda Miata.

(on camera): it's like three seconds.

(voice-over): All of the convertibles did better than the retractable roof on Seiko Stadium. It takes at least ten minutes.

Some day you'll be able to tell your top what to do.

(on camera): Open roof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Opening roof.

MOOS: This is the Buick's concept car with sliding, hiding panels. Whatever you do, do not attempt to put your top up while cruising at 65.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why you got car insurance.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Jeanne Moos isn't the only one who knows how to get the good times rolling, kids in Hong Kong are buckling up for a high- tech ride, not in a car, but in a go-kart. Now these aren't your typical go-karts, these state-of-the-art models go more than a hundred miles an hour and therefore require some serious safety measures.

Kristie Lu Stout takes us for a spin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They may not have a license to drive, but these kids definitely have the need for speed.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's fast and it's really cool when you do turns.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: You can go fast and you can ram people.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It doesn't even matter. I just want to be able to track and race.

STOUT: Thankfully these road warriors are off the highway and in the Hong Kong's Karting Mall, where tires squeal and engines roar, the sound of today's high-speed go carts.

PETER THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN, KARTING MALL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) very sophisticated. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not indoor but outdoor these carts give us speeds of up to 130 miles an hour.

STOUT: Before the engines rev, the pit crew outfits each driver with a racing suit, helmet and driving instructions. A clear sign that safety is paramount.

(on camera): There are thrills but no spills here at the Karting Mall. In fact, each car is equipped with a seatbelt, an extra-wide body to prevent roll over, even the emergency off switch. But perhaps the most impressive safety feature is something I can't show you.

(voice-over): It's off the track: A radio operating control system that links each cart to the race controller.

(on camera): I see you're looking at the times, and Thomas (ph) is just going a little bit too fast. What can you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Thomas (ph) is driving outside his capabilities, we have a radio link to the cart with a device here in the control center.

STOUT: That device right there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This device right here. This is a radio speed controller. We have a receiver on the cart, and if we press go it means they're on full power.

STOUT: Used in control of the car, all by wireless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can -- yes, all by wireless.

STOUT (voice-over): So even when Thomas (ph) spins out of control, his wheels can roll to a gentle stop.

And how does that mix with the speed demons? (on camera): These guys can actually slow your cart down if you go out of control. Doesn't that bother you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: No.

STOUT: No?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yeah, it does.

STOUT: It bothers you? Why does it bother you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, I like going fast.

STOUT (voice-over): Some kids want just one simple thrill: Putting the pedal to the metal without being pulled over.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

WALCOTT: Well can you guess what else has consumers in China all revved up these days? It's the automobile, a luxury that's becoming more and more accessible to the average Chinese citizen. For years bicycles were the primary mode of transportation in China, but now, some folks are trading in two wheels for four and hopping into the driver's seat of the country's latest trend.

Jaime FlorCruz reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dazzling objects of desire, sleek models that consumers covet. In China, like everywhere else, car shows attract the new rich and the hopeful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our living standards have risen and owning cars is no longer just a dream.

FLORCRUZ: Economic boom has fueled a pension among China's growing middle class for travel on four wheels. What is their dream car?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I like the small sports cars like this Audi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Advanced sports car. That one.

FLORCRUZ: This buyer-to-be wants a sedan, which costs six times his annual income. He plans to take a car loan.

YINGWEN CAI (through translator): A car is a necessity in a man's life, like a belt or a tie. FLORCRUZ: Car companies target urban professionals and government officials, spending millions of dollars on new car designs and fancy booths where salesmen extol each model's virtues.

Indoctrination begins early as families search for the best buys. They come in with the money and they drive right out of the dealer's lot.

GUO YONG, CAR DEALER (through translator): Private buyers account for around 85 percent of our sales.

FLORCRUZ: Some choose imports, others prefer the locally assembled.

Over 120 Chinese automobile companies turn out close to two million vehicles a year, about half passenger cars. The Tangin Autoworks (ph) produce compact cars that sell for $11,000, affordable to many Chinese families. Many are planning to buy, anticipating lower prices as Beijing cuts tariffs and allow more imports.

Beijing's roads are already bursting at the seams, prompting calls to slow down the car market's growth. But these rich entrepreneurs who bought these Rolls Royces are revved up to drive around in luxury and style with or without any new highways.

FLORCRUZ (on camera): Such big dreams are luring automakers into the Chinese market, holding car shows and plotting ways to turn the Chinese driving desires into a roaring trade.

Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: Rubber hits the road again tomorrow in "Perspectives" when we'll zero in on streetcar racing in, of all places, Russia. You won't want to miss that.

But for now we switch gears to a ride that's been around for a hundred years, it's the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Ray Delessio (ph) has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY DELESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Harley-Davidson, the name has become synonymous with American motorcycles and the American spirit. Harley-Davidson: what do you think of when you hear it? The open road, long bearded bikers, glamour, tattoos? How about a cramped wooden garage?

You see before Harleys became the loud-mouth ride of choice for bandits and businessmen alike, they were little more than glorified bicycles. Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson rolled out their first motorbike back in 1903. Those first bikes, built out of a small Milwaukee garage, sold for $200 apiece and labeled the silent gray fellow. The bike achieved a fair degree of success. However, it wasn't until World War I that Bill and Arthur saw their investment truly take off.

Twenty-two thousand Harley-Davidsons were ordered for the war in Europe and were put to use for scouting and communications. With the onset of World War II, the government again called on Harley-Davidson. This time, 90,000 bikes were produced, some with gun mounts. Well Harley's reliable performance during the war greatly enhanced the bike's reputation.

In the post-war years, motorcycles, Harleys in particular, became associated with society's more rebellious outlaw side. Films such as "The Wild One" and "Easy Rider" glorified motorcycle gangs and made popular the familiar uniform of a leather jacket, a white T-shirt and jeans. Cigarettes and blond bombshell, that's optional.

The company originally tried to separate itself from this rebel counterculture. But through the years, Harley-Davidson has come to pride itself on its tough guy image, although you don't need to have tattoos, a nasty sneer or be wanted in three states to ride a Harley. CEOs and celebrities have taken to the bike every bit as much as the biker gangs that rumble through Sturgis, South Dakota each year to get a little silly and celebrate this symbol of independence and rebellion.

More than a means of transportation, Harley-Davidson has become a status symbol, a merchandising monster and a pretty good way to wake up your neighbors.

(on camera): One hundred years of Harley, from a small Milwaukee garage to cult status as an American icon, it's indeed been one heck of a ride with many more to come.

For CNN, I'm Ray Delessio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRIEDMAN: The popularity of motor sports is growing fast and furiously. With the proper training, stock car racing can offer a high octane dose of excitement.

Our Student Bureau talked to two young drivers who have a profound respect for the sport and their competitors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA CANTRELL, RACE CAR DRIVER: If someone pins, it's just a challenge. I like challenge. My name is Lisa Cantrell. I'm 19 years old, and I'm here to beat all of these boys tonight. It's just a dream of mine to race, to be the first woman in NASCAR to successfully win.

JASON CROFT, RACE CAR DRIVER: I feel real good -- real good with the car. I mean it felt fast. I'm Jason Croft. And I'm (UNINTELLIGIBLE) years old. Right now it's a hobby, but one day I would like to run NASCAR and be able to make a living at doing racing.

CANTRELL: Well, Jason Croft and I, we both started around the same time. We're both in our teens and doing the high school thing. And I guess we're good rivals. And I definitely want to be better than him.

CROFT: She's a pretty good driver, you know. She's the only girl out there. And everybody says it's a guy sport, but I always look at it if the girl is capable of driving a race car then let them get in there and try it.

We'll probably be about middle ways back in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) so we'll have to come through the traffic again.

CANTRELL: Hopefully we'll do good, just won't get in any accidents.

I first got interested in racing was because of my dad. He raced when he was my age. My granddad raced and my dad raced and then when there was no boys it was me and that's a good thing.

CROFT: I just like to go fast. And when I went and watched the go-carts one year, and I just don't know, it just hit me that this is what I wanted to do. So I started racing go-carts when I was 11 years old.

CANTRELL: I would say this is definitely like the minor leagues. It's a learning experience.

I'm fine. We got into a little fender there, but I'm fine. Devastating. Oh I'm so devastated to go through all this work and then nothing. And everybody else didn't get out. They're still out there racing and so, anyway.

CROFT: I'm happy with the fifth place finish as far back as I started.

There's a lot of young of drivers taking over now and that's what everybody's looking for, somebody young who can drive a race car and.

CANTRELL: And we're going to win. I'm telling you we're going to win. I'm not going for second place this time. Tired of these boys beating me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Where in the World" capital and largest city: Muscat, currency: Omani rial, government: absolute monarchy? Can you name this country? Oman.

WALCOTT: Native to our "Where in the World" country, the sounds of a promising young songwriter and singer named Lamya. The songstress just released her first solo album last week.

FREIDMAN: But for years she's been on a campaign of her own trying to find her place as a Middle Easterner in a Western music industry.

CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has the story of her rise into the biz. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPODNENT (voice-over): Her name and voice foreign to most Americans. The music of Lamya Sultan Al- Megheiry.

LAMYA SULTAN AL-MEGHEIRY, SINGER: Sort of hip alt rock pop, I guess, with a bit of Middle Eastern thrown in.

WHITFIELD: Twenty-eight and blending Western and Middle Eastern sounds through her five-octave voice. And any one of five instruments she plays.

AL-MEGHEIRY: I am Arab, you know, within other cultures.

WHITFIELD: A citizen of Oman, a country of two million in the southeastern Arabic Peninsula, Lamya was born in Kenya. Educated in England and Egypt, she earned a degree in anthropology.

AL-MEGHEIRY: But the whole time I was planning on singing.

WHITFIELD: And coming to the U.S. to find a career like her idol, pop star Madonna. Even though such a sultry pursuit stands to upset Muslim fundamentalists back home.

AL-MEGHEIRY: You know, I had visions of becoming Salman Rushdi, you know.

WHITFIELD: Her parents, still living in Oman, supportive now, but not at first.

AL-MEGHEIRY: They didn't really think that that was a career for a young woman, a Muslim woman.

WHITFIELD: This Muslim woman got one of her first breaks in the Western recording industry in the '90s, singing back-up for Duran Duran. Last year, she caught the attention of J Records' head honcho, Clive Davis, responsible for recently hoisting to Grammy Award winning status Alicia Keyes and Santana. She admits, she's in good company, but still has moments of isolation.

AL-MEGHEIRY: When I was looking for, I guess, being in this business, not feeling so alone. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because I think I'm more alone now than I've ever been.

WHITFIELD: Alone because her beat, her image, all tied to her roots in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. She hopes to fit into America's music world without losing herself and without having to explain all things Arab in this post-9/11 culture.

AL-MEGHEIRY: I think I have to be careful, because I wouldn't want to be a poster child or a spokesperson for that.

WHITFIELD: So far, it's Lamya's music, not her political views, in the spotlight.

AL-MEGHEIRY: I am actually really, really sort of like taken aback and thankful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: And right now Lamya is in Europe promoting her album "Learning from Falling."

FREIDMAN: Later this month, she'll begin a two-month tour of small clubs in the U.S.

WALCOTT: That's it for our show today. Jjoin us again tomorrow when we'll look at the air you're breathing. How healthy or unhealthy is it?

For now, I'm Shelley Walcott.

FREIDMAN: And I'm Susan Freidman. We'll see you then.

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