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CNN Student News Transcript: December 19, 2007

(CNN Student News) — December 19, 2007

Quick Guide

Price of Pop: Learn why the mayor of San Francisco wants to tax some soft drink sellers.

Big Rat: Get a peek at a new species of giant rat that was discovered in Indonesia.

Teen Hero: Meet a student whose quick thinking is being credited with saving a life.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: We’re halfway through the week here at CNN Student News, and we’re glad to have you with us. From the CNN Center, I’m Carl Azuz. Let’s kick things off with a delicious definition.

Word to the Wise

JOHN LORINC, CNN STUDENT NEWS: A Word to the Wise…

fructose (noun) a very sweet, easily dissolving sugar that is found especially in fruit juices and honey

First Up: Price of Pop

AZUZ: The mayor of San Francisco wants to charge some vendors that help you get your fructose fix. Now, different parts of the country have different names for carbonated beverages. But whether you’re drinking from a 12-ounce can of soda or a 2-liter bottle of pop, there’s a good chance that you’re chugging down some fructose. And Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks that large stores that sell it should pay a fee. Jeremy Lee of affiliate KRON explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY LEE, KRON REPORTER: A fee on soft drinks in San Fransisco? The mayor says the sugary drinks are responsible for obesity and weight gain amongst kids, so he’s going after the big box stores that sell them. Mayor Newsom says the city could fund campaigns against high fructose drinks.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: Which disproportionately are increasing the number of people that are obese and overweight in the United States. A quarter of all San Franscisco kids are obese or overweight, and that is driving healthcare costs to the tune, in San Franscisco, of $192 million.

LEE: The mayor says he will try to levy a fee against the big box stores that distribute the beverages, but not from mom-n-pop stores like this one on Ellis. Eric Diluzio goes to a high school down the street. He says he doesn’t drink soda pop, and he wouldn’t at school even if he wanted to, because of the lack of vending machines selling soft drinks.

ERIC DILUZIO, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Yeah, they took them away about two years ago. We have a new thing, Fitness for Life; educates kids to eat healthier.

LEE: Those are the kinds of programs the mayor wants to fund with money the city would get from the fee. But Eric Diluzio doesn’t think it’s fair to punish the middle man.

DILUZIO: I don’t think neccessarily you should tax the stores, ’cause they’re just doing their jobs by selling the product. They should take it away from the brand name like Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

LEE: How much will the big stores have to shell out if the mayor gets his way?

NEWSOME: The cost of calorically sweetened beverages as it relates to obesity in our city is about $54 million. We’re looking at a much more modest fee: 1.7 million, as high as 7 million.

LEE: In San Francisco, Jeremy Lee, KRON4 News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Fructose

AZUZ: Fructose isn’t just limited to soft drinks. It’s part of some sauces, snack foods, even some cereals. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us a little more about this sugar, and explains why you can find it on the ingredients list of so many foods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No doubt you are going to hear a lot about the San Francisco mayor’s new plan to tax a lot of these sugary sodas. At target, really, is a substance known as fructose. It is a high-calorie, low-nutrition substance that is corn syrup. It is in just about everything. That’s the first point. This stuff is absolutely ubiquitious, and it’s not particularly good for us. It doesn’t provide nutritional value whatsoever. Those are the two points to keep in mind, which is why the mayor actually believes there is a connection between these sugary drinks and the obesity problem in his city, and really around the country. That’s harder to prove — that there is in fact a link — although a lot of people believe that there is one.

If you target even further back, you’ll notice that we subsidize corn in a very big way in this country. There is a lot of excess fructose going around, which is why it’s everywhere, because of the corn subsidies which can date back years, if not decades, in terms of how we actually look at these products. Now, whether or not to tax food or whether or not to tax sodas, that is obviously a more controversial issue. People will say it’s very different than a tobacco tax. Tobacco is something we simply don’t need, whereas food, whether it’s fast food or whether it’s sugary food, it’s something we consume on a daily basis. This is going to be a subject of great controversy for sure. Keep in mind as well, the overall tax will trickle down to us as consumers, eventually offsetting all those corn subsidies that make these products cheaper. They may actually go up in price because of taxes like this one. Best bet, really, is to try and avoid sugary foods as much as possible. Keep in mind that fructose is in so many different products that you actually look at the labels, turn those labels over, and read them. And if you see fructose in the first couple of ingredients, that may be a product that you want to avoid, if you can. Good luck this holiday season. Back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Blog Promo

AZUZ: All right, we want to know what you think. Is it fair for San Fran to charge a fee for fructose? If the tax does pass and then gets passed on to consumers, would it affect how much soda you swig every day? Head to our blog at CNNStudentNews.com and leave us your comments on the issue.

Student Giving Report

AZUZ: All right, we’ve been asking what you guys are doing to celebrate the spirit of giving this holiday season, and we’ve gotten some great responses. Mrs. Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada, heard about military officers who were asking for mail for their soldiers. So, her Geography classes have adopted a unit with the 101st Airborne, which is currently serving its 3rd tour in Iraq. The 8th graders put together care packages filled with letters and Christmas cards that they wrote to the men and women in the unit. Out in El Mirage, Arizona, Mr. Johnson’s World Cultures classes are collecting money for mosquito nets. They’re used in underdeveloped African countries to help fight against the spread of malaria. The students are working hard this holiday to try to help save the lives of others. And in Phoenix, one of the clubs at Cordova Middle School, the Klassy Ladies, is holding a sock drive. They’ve put a collection bag in every classroom where students and staff can donate socks for the homeless and less fortunate around the community. We want to thank them, and everyone who sent in e-mails about their holiday activities.

Shoutout

LORINC: Time for the Shoutout! What is this? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it a A) Possum, B) Squirrel, C) Rat or D) Chinchilla? You’ve got three seconds — GO! You’re looking at a newly discovered species of rat! That’s your answer and that’s your Shoutout!

Big Rat

AZUZ: And you thought Rodents of Unusual Sizes only existed in The Princess Bride. Well this isn’t a fairy tale or An American Tail. Researchers came across the voluminous vermin during an expedition to Indonesia back in June. According to scientists, the giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat. Discovering a brand new species is pretty rare, so just imagine the surprise when this curious critter wandered into the middle of camp.

Teen Hero

AZUZ: Switching gears and species now. When we see something dramatic or unexpected happen right in front of our eyes, it can be a normal response to have no response, to be stunned into inactivity. Well, Joel Fryer of affiliate KARE tells us about one Minnesota teenager who did just the opposite, and how her quick thinking might have helped save someone’s life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL FRYER, KARE REPORTER: It’s a common complaint among high school students that stuff they learn in the classroom doesn’t have much real world value.

LINDSEY PARADISE, SAVED REF’S LIFE: The transformation factor is the number you’d multiply with this to get that.

FRYER: Last Thursday night, 16-year-old Lindsey Paradise poked a serious hole in that argument.

LINDSEY PARADISE: I was sitting up about section 5 right here.

FRYER: Lindsey and her mom were among those packed in the Fridley gym, watching the boys basketball team take on Simley. With five minutes left, one of the officials, 49-year-old Dale Wakasugi, fell to the floor.

JIM MACDONALD, TEACHER-COACH: We’ve had officials blow out a knee or twist an ankle. You see them taken off on a cart, but never, never this.

FRYER: The ref had suffered a serious heart attack. Lindsey ran onto the floor, and with help from three adults and CPR training she’d just finished up in health class, she went to work.

ALYSSA PARADISE, LINDSEY’S TWIN: This is crazy. Like at first, when I saw her run down there, I was like, Get out of there. But then I realized, oh, she knows what she’s doing, she can do it.

FRYER: When three rounds of CPR failed to revive him, someone grabbed one of the school’s automated exterior defibrillators. Lindsey ran thru the steps and pushed the button.

LINDSEY PARADISE: I could see his stomach going up and down after that, so I knew he was coming around again.

DALE WAKASUGI, LIFE SAVED BY DEFIBRILLATOR: God sent her to be at that place at that time for a reason.

FRYER: Dale Wakasugi left the hospital knowing he owes his life to a simple yet amazing machine, and a teenager who was not afraid to use it

WAKASUGI: So many things had to happen for me to be alive, and they all fell into place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: And finally, from a teenager who did the saving to one who needed saving. Navy officials say a 14-year-old girl is expected to make a full recovery after she had emergency surgery at sea over the weekend. The girl and her family began their trip on a cruise ship to Mexico, but she arrived back at the mainland aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. Her appendix ruptured during the voyage, and the Navy ship was the closest vessel with a hospital facility. So, when the distress call went out, it jumped into action.

Goodbye

AZUZ: And that tale of maritime medicine is where we sail out of here for today. But we’ll be back tomorrow with more CNN Student News. We hope to see you then. I’m Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend

found here.

S. Koreans go to the polls

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean voters Wednesday are choosing between a presidential frontrunner who faces renewed fraud allegations and two opponents who have failed to capture the public’s imagination.

Until this week, it seemed that the election would be a slam dunk for Lee Myung-Bak, of the opposition Grand National Party, who has been comfortably leading the pack of presidential hopefuls.

Then, on Monday, the National Assembly voted to investigate accusations of fraud against Lee after political opponents released a video clip of him saying he founded an investment company that’s at the center of stock manipulation charges.

Lee’s political opponents were quick to strike.

Voting for Lee is the same as voting for a lie, said Chung Dong-Young, the candidate of the ruling United New Democratic Party.

Lee has repeatedly denied any involvement with the company, and prosecutors earlier this month cleared him of similar charges.

I’ve never once been troubled by any kind of corruption in my life, and I’ve received the support and recognition of the nation accordingly, Lee said after the new investigation was announced. But Lee did admit he had made incorrect statements.

Lee, a 65-year-old former Seoul mayor and Hyundai executive, broke out from the pack of candidates by virtue of his compelling rags-to-riches life story and his business background.

He collected trash to put himself through college, then rose to become one of the youngest CEOs of Hyundai Construction, earning himself the nickname The Bulldozer.

Chung, 54, is a former television news anchor and unification minister who has been running a distant second in the race, with an approval rating 20 percentage points behind Lee.

Running as an independent is Lee Hoi-Chang, 72. He is considered the most conservative of the top three presidential hopefuls.

The winner will take over from Roh Moo-Hyun. Roh won the presidency with promises of reform and clean governance, but his five-year term has been marred by scandal, with a string of Cabinet officials forced to resign over corruption allegations and Roh himself surviving an impeachment attempt in 2004.

At the same time, he improved relations with North Korea and became only the second South Korean president to meet with his counterpart in the North. Watch what a Lee victory could mean for North-South Korea relations

Ethical questions have dogged Lee throughout the year. But in a campaign where economic issues have been on the minds of many South Korean voters, Lee’s corporate resume has given him the upper hand.

Critics have challenged Roh’s economic policies, saying he raised taxes, created higher unemployment and caused real estate prices to soar.

People like 41-year-old office worker Hong Sung-Jun is tired of paying too much taxes.

I want someone who is going to keep a close eye on the economy, he says.

Others that CNN talked to on Seoul streets complained about how young Koreans could not get jobs or the soaring real estate prices.

The issue of relations with North Korea has not been a major factor for the voters, largely because most analysts believe there will not be any significant change in South Korea’s stance, whoever becomes president.
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Schneider: Giuliani’s in Florida, but will that strategy work?

WASHINGTON (CNN) — So what’s the big news in the Republican race? Huckabee vs. Romney? McCain’s endorsements? Ron Paul’s money?

How about: Where’s Rudy Giuliani?

The former mayor of New York has been spending a lot of time in Florida, his first must-win state. And where would you rather be this time of year — Iowa or Florida?

Giuliani’s still the national front-runner, according to the most recent national survey — a Gallup poll out Tuesday. Four other candidates — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — are essentially tied for second.

But the action is in the early voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Giuliani is not leading in any of them. Polls in Michigan and Nevada show a close race between Giuliani and Romney.

Giuliani could go through the entire first month of the campaign without winning anything. Is he worried? Not according to his pollster. The real focus is running the national campaign, obviously Florida being the only big contest for us, said Ed Goeas, a Giuliani campaign adviser and pollster.

Giuliani does have a clear lead in Florida, which doesn’t vote until the end of January, followed a week later by more big-state primaries, including New York, New Jersey, California and Illinois. Giuliani expects to sweep the big states.

Can he afford to wait that long?

If one candidate sweeps the early voting states, that candidate will have tremendous momentum. Giuliani could look like the forgotten contender.

On the other hand, the Giuliani campaign would be very happy to see the early states split — say, Huckabee win Iowa, then McCain win New Hampshire, then Thompson win South Carolina.

I think letting that fight for second occur when we run a national campaign is very much to the candidate’s benefit, Goeas said.

The polls show Giuliani’s standing has eroded a bit since summer. That could have something to do with what’s happening in the Democratic race. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York doesn’t look quite so inevitable as the Democratic nominee.

I think a lot of the support in South Carolina behind Giuliani, behind Romney, was the concept of ‘This is the person who can knock off Hillary,’ said Scott Huffmon, a political scientist and pollster at Winthrop University in South Carolina. If Clinton is less of a threat, some Republicans may be going with a candidate they agree with more.

Giuliani’s signature issue has always been terrorism. But according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, terrorism is no longer the voters’ top concern. Among all voters, terrorism ranks fifth out of five issues. Among Republicans, it’s in third place, behind the economy and illegal immigration. And it’s declining in importance. The agenda is shifting to domestic issues.

But Giuliani is not worried.

I think what you’ve seen is not just terrorism fading as an important issue as much as there’s been a layer added on to Rudy Giuliani, understanding what he did as mayor, bringing down welfare, crime, cutting taxes 23 times, Goeas said.

Giuliani’s a big-state man — Florida, California, New York. But the big states vote late. He’s counting on the other candidates to split the early voting states. Because happiness in politics is a divided opposition.
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Crowded train derails in Pakistan

MIRPURKHAS, Pakistan (AP) — An express train crowded with holiday travelers derailed in southern Pakistan early Wednesday and many have died, a relief worker said.

The express train was going from Karachi to Lahore when 14 of its 16 carriages came off the rails near Mehrabpur, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Karachi, said Anwar Kazmi, spokesman for the Edhi Foundation, a charity that dispatched ambulances to the scene of the accident.

Kazmi said many died in the accident but did not have an immediate figure for the number of dead or injured.

The train was loaded with passengers traveling home for the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Adha. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

Khalid Amin, a senior railway official, said the accident happened at 2:10 a.m. (2110 GMT)

Two relief trains were being dispatched to the scene, he said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Girl who shielded mom is a hero to special ed class

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) — As the gunman was about to open fire, 7-year-old Alexis Goggins lunged from the back seat of the SUV and threw herself across her mom, crying, Don’t hurt my mother!

Six bullets from the 9 mm handgun slammed into Alexis, one piercing her right eye. Two slugs hit her mother.

Alexis’ mother pulled through. But two weeks later, Alexis lies in critical condition, blind in one eye. And to her classmates and many people in this city so depressingly familiar with violence, the little girl is a hero.

She was trying to save me, her mother, Seliethia Parker, 30, said.

My baby is just an angel to her mother. I thought as the mother, I’d be saving my child. I never thought my daughter would be saving me.

Alexis has undergone three operations since the shooting, and her mother sits by her bedside at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

As for the mother, she was seriously wounded, with one slug grazing her head and the other entering her chest and stopping just short of an artery. But she was released from the hospital just a few days later.

Parker’s former boyfriend, Calvin Tillie, a 29-year-old ex-convict on parole, was arrested in the shooting and charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, along with other offenses. He could get life in prison.

Alexis is learning-disabled and lags behind other youngsters her age. As a result, police say it may never be known whether Alexis meant to shield her mother from the bullets with her body. But Parker said that if her daughter hadn’t put herself in between, I really don’t know. We might have been dead.

Parker said she met Tillie earlier this year and called off the relationship after three months, but he had other ideas. He was harassing me, she said. He would constantly call my house, popping up in the middle of the night.

Shortly after midnight on December 2, police say, Alexis and her mother climbed into their friend Aisha Ford’s vehicle for a late night birthday get-together for Ford’s mother. The girl got into the back seat, and her mother took the front passenger seat.

Tillie, who had been standing outside the house in the shadows despite the cold, jumped into the back of the SUV, next to Alexis, and forced Ford to drive at gunpoint for several harrowing minutes until the woman convinced him she needed to stop for gas, according to an account the women gave police.

Ford told police she tried to stall for time while pumping gas. As she and the station attendant called 911, several shots erupted from inside the vehicle. Police say the girl had jumped toward her mother in the front seat.

Parker bolted from the SUV, screaming. Officers found Alexis curled beneath the steering wheel in a pool of blood. Tillie was arrested at the scene.

His attorney, Kim Basen Michon, asked for a psychological evaluation for Tillie. The lawyer was on vacation and could not be reached for comment Monday.

In addition to losing her right eye, Alexis was shot in the chin and jaw. Several days after the shooting, the little girl, her face horribly swollen and wrapped in bandages, stirred and squeezed her mother’s hand.

She is doing much better, Parker said. She opened up one eye. Everything seems to be going great.

In Alexis’ special education classroom at Campbell Elementary School, her classmates have named a stuffed toy with pink ears Hero.

We didn’t want Alexis’ spot to be vacant, so she’s got a sweet bear to sit in her place until she comes back, said her teacher, Angela Lang.

Alexis suffered a stroke before age 1 and has epilepsy. Her teacher showed off a journal revealing strides Alexis had made in writing over the past few months. What started as an illegible series of lines had evolved into distinct letters: A, L and E.

I know she can do it. There’s no stopping Alexis, said her mother’s cousin, Tonya Blockett-Colbert. It may take her a little longer now because of this. But she is a fighter.
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