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NEWSROOM for July 10, 2000

Aired July 10, 2000 - 4:30 a.m. ET



TOM HAYNES, CO-HOST: Kicking off a new week here on CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for joining us. I'm Tom Haynes. We have a lot on the agenda today and we'll start in the Mideast.

In today's top story, Israel's coalition government collapses on the eve of a critical summit at Camp David.

In "Environment Desk," Capitol Hill talks elephant rights.


BOB BARKER, ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: They are beaten, they are starved, they're deprived of water and they're deprived of food, they're shocked -- all of these things.


HAYNES: Then we head to Japan for some monkey business in "Worldview."


NAOKI SHIMABARA, TAMA ZOO (through translator): We want to show visitors how clever the chimpanzees are. The vending machine is more advanced than tools they have used before.


HAYNES: They're the stuff of champions: Meet Wimbledon's winners in "Chronicle."

In today's news, this week's high-stakes Middle East summit at Camp David. U.S. President Clinton is urging Palestinian and Israeli leaders to "seize this moment." The two sides will come together to try to bridge differences in a number of key areas before a self- imposed deadline in September. Mr. Clinton has chosen Camp David as the venue because of its historic significance.

Andrea Koppel explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Camp David -- the very name has become synonymous with the historic peace agreement Israel and Egypt negotiated in 1978. Over 13 long days, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menahim Begin, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter and a small group of their advisers worked around the clock at Camp David, a rustic mountain retreat in Maryland.

SAM LEWIS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: It's a place where you can both have private talks with people away from the eyes of anybody else, where you can get away from arguments and think quietly.

KOPPEL: But as Sam Lewis remembers, these relationships were frequently put to the test. In one instance, President Sadat confided in President Carter what Sadat said was his real bottom line for a peace deal.

LEWIS: And then he very ingeniously said, in effect, Jimmy, I trust you; you are my friend; you will never betray me -- put himself in Carter's hands, if you will.

KOPPEL: President Carter was the chief U.S. negotiator, the one who shuttled between the separate Israeli and Egyptian cabins at Camp David. His aides say the president's role was indispensable.

JODY POWELL, FORMER CARTER ADMIN. PRESS SECRETARY: And helping the parties to understand what the possibilities were, and in making clear that if there was not an agreement, then he intended to make a public report of what had happened and give his own views on the reasons for failure.

KOPPEL: The summit did come close to failing on numerous occasions. In fact, no sooner had it begun than Mr. Carter instructed the U.S. team to begin drafting a presidential speech explaining why the summit failed. But at the last moment, there was a breakthrough.

ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI, FMR. CARTER ADMIN. NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: And I remember vividly the dark clouds that had gathered, and it started pouring and thundering. And there was a moment of awe that something historic had been achieved.

KOPPEL (on camera): Ultimately, President Carter's former advisers say, the decisive moment in these negotiations hinged on whether the leaders themselves really wanted an agreement, or if they were prepared to pay the price of walking away, questions Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat will be forced to answer soon enough when they get their turn at Camp David.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, the State Department.


HAYNES: Just a day before the Middle East summit is to begin, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak finds himself alienated by his own government over fears he'll concede too much to the Palestinians. On the table at Camp David: relocating or compensating more than 3 million Palestinian refugees; determining the borders of a Palestinian state; and settling the future of Jerusalem, with the Palestinians demanding as their capital East Jerusalem.

With more on the dissension within the Israeli ranks pre-summit, here's Jerrold Kessel.


JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prime Minister Ehud Barak says he'll travel to Camp David to try to make peace no matter what. But the rabbis of the Shas ultra-religious party, whom the Israeli prime minister has courted assiduously for the past two weeks, have again put him in the hot seat. Shas decided to pull out of Mr. Barak's government on the eve of his departure for what's been billed "a make-or-break peace summit."

The Shas defection is only the latest link in a fast-evolving chain reaction that undercuts Mr. Barak's domestic political stability and leaves him with a minuscule coalition. The first step, a walk in to walk out, Natan Sharansky, head of the Russian Immigrants Party, shows his letter of resignation. He says Mr. Barak has already promised to give away too much land to the Palestinians.

NATAN SHARANSKY, RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS PARTY: There was no attempt to bring together a broad consensus among the members of the coalition on the peace process. Unfortunately, they've already reached some understanding with the Palestinians in the secret negotiations which cannot be acceptable.

KESSEL: The right-wing National Religious Party is also out. And more seriously for Mr. Barak, his foreign minister, David Levy has decided not to travel to the peace talks.

In contrast, Palestinians seem to be closing ranks around their leader. Yasser Arafat is rallying support. His invitation to some small factions in the PLO to join him at Camp David has been accepted.

This Palestinian political cartoon suggests it won't be easy with each side seeking to pull President Clinton's peace drive its way. Both sides say they have their danger lines, seemingly parallel lines that can't cross. Another cartoon shows a worried Mr. Arafat watching Ehud Barak drawing his lines. The awareness must cut both ways, says Israel's chief negotiator.

SHLOMO BEN AMI, CHIEF ISRAELI NEGOTIATOR: They should draw a line between national myth and national interest. That is, you must adapt the mythology to the inevitability of compromise, and this is exactly what we should do. And when you face such a dilemma, there is a sense of rebellion.

KESSEL (on camera): As his rebellion built up, Mr. Barak with bravado said he'll still go to the summit if only half his cabinet and just a quarter of parliament was behind him. With that dire prediction now reality, Mr. Barak's immediate goal is to try to keep his promise just by getting through the next few hours so that he can board his plane for Camp David. Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.


ANDY JORDAN, CO-HOST: "Headlines" heads to the British province of Northern Ireland. It has long been a flash point between Protestants who traditionally have wanted to stay loyal to the British crown, and Catholics, most of whom have in the past preferred separating from the United Kingdom. An annual Protestant parade through Drumcree came and went peacefully Sunday. British police prevented the Protestant Orange order supporters from marching through the contentious Catholic district in Portadown. The standoff at Portadown is an annual showdown, and often results in violence, but not this year.

HAYNES: All right, how many of you have been to the circus? Raise your hands. Then you've no doubt seen those trained elephants.

Well, the fate of those pachyderm performers is now before the U.S. Congress. Recently, an assortment of circus trainers, animal activists and celebrities gathered on Capitol Hill for a hearing on the Captive Elephant Accident Prevention Act. The proposed legislation would make illegal the use of elephants in traveling shows or circuses, and for the purpose of offering elephant rides.

Jeanne Meserve has more on the measure. And a warning: Some of the pictures are disturbing.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages...

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the greatest draw to the greatest show on Earth, but a bill on Capitol Hill could effectively ban elephants from circuses and outlaw elephant rides.


MESERVE: Animal rights activists allege mistreatment makes the animals a public safety risk. They point to the rampage of the Asian elephant "Tyke" in 1994. She killed her trainer and injured several spectators before being shot and killed. In another incident, an out- of-control elephant injured six in Florida. But the circus industry says the danger is exaggerated.

CATHERINE ORT-MABRY, RINGLING BROS./BARNUM & BAILEY SPOKESWOMAN: We have never had an incident that has put a member of the public at risk. The incidents that you may see on broadcasts or see repeated over and over and over are the same ones. They are isolated. They are very rare.

MESERVE: Circus treatment of elephants is policed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Tom Rider, who worked for two major circuses, says the animals are routinely abused with something called a bullhook.

TOM RIDER, FORMER ELEPHANT KEEPER: The only way that they think they can make the elephant do something, they'll take the hook and hook them behind the ear, yank their head down, and it's very painful to the elephant. I mean, they scream and try to get away.

MESERVE: But Heidi Herriott, a third-generation circus animal trainer, says she has never seen an elephant mistreated.

HEIDI HERRIOTT, OUTDOOR BUSINESS AMUSEMENT ASSN.: We were never more than just a sneeze away from the elephants. And I can attest to the fact that these animals are very happy, stimulated, well-cared for animals.

MESERVE (on camera): At a congressional hearing, there were dueling stories and statistics, and conflicting portrayals of circus elephants. Supporters of the legislation painted them as two-ton potential killers, while opponents said they were good will ambassadors for an endangered species.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Capitol Hill.


HAYNES: All right, so you heard about elephants in the "Daily Desk" today. Well, we're packing more pachyderms into "Worldview." We're all about the environment and nature. Our stories take us to Asia and North America. Hear about how cities and neighborhoods are growing in the U.S., and get the scoop on something we call "sprawl." You'll also learn about the growing Hispanic population. Go ape over animals as we take you to Japan. And don't forget those animals who never forget -- the elephants -- in India.

JORDAN: India is a populous Asian nation. Much of it forms a peninsula that extends into the Indian Ocean. Its capital is New Delhi, and it is the country that gave its name to the Indian elephant, although you can find these beasts in the forests and jungles of other southern and southeastern Asian countries as well.

Indian elephants are smaller than African elephants. But you can also tell them apart because their ears are only about half the size of their African counterparts, and they have arched backs with two humps on their foreheads. They have five toes on their front feet and four on the back. Since they can carry heavy loads, the huge beasts have been an important part of the logging industry in Asia.

But Indian elephants are becoming scarce in their native country, as Chris Riker explains.


CHRIS RIKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): India's wild elephants are a national symbol of sorts, and a big draw for tourists wanting to see them in their natural habitat. But logging and urbanization are forcing many elephants into urban areas in search of food and water. In recent years, attacks by wild elephants have increased, resulting in destruction of homes and crops, and sometimes even resulting in death.

DHARANI DHAR BHUYAN, SCHOOL TEACHER (through translator): An elephant entered my house at night. It broke the place of worship, destroyed the grain pantry and then broke another room in the backyard. Fortunately, it left our main rooms unbroken. If it had tried to break into our living rooms, all of us would probably have died. I estimate the total loss at 40,000 to 50,000 rupees.

RIKER: Because of these attacks, elephant trainers in the area are taking steps to tame the wild elephants. But animal rights activists say the training methods are causing the deaths of many of the giant creatures. The animals are frequently tied up for long periods, beaten and starved and frightened with fire. Trainers say that's what it takes to tame the biggest land mammal.

DUNBESWAR MECH, ELEPHANT TRAINER (through translator): These newly captured wild animals consider everyone, from man to dog, their enemies. They can turn violent at any time. That's why we keep them roped.

RIKER: The head of India's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals calls the training methods "brutal" and says poaching for ivory is also decimating the population.

MANEKA GANDHI, ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Elephants are almost extinct in India. I say this with great responsibility because we have less than 20,000 elephants. And remember, the Asian elephant is not like the African elephant. Only the males have tusks. There are less than 800 tuskers left in India, which means now your semen distribution is really low because there are only 800 inseminators and they are being killed all the time.

RIKER: India banned the capture and training of elephants in 1987. But the government lifted the ban 10 years later after a sharp increase in the number of elephants entering villages and destroying crops. It remains to be seen whether India's elephants and humans will manage to live side by side in peace.

Chris Riker, CNN.


RUDI BAKHTIAR, CO-HOST: We turn from India to Japan for a little monkey business. Monkeys are some of the world's most intelligent animals. They belong to the order of primates, the highest order of mammals, which also includes human beings, apes and lemurs.

There are about 200 species of monkeys, but they're classified into two major groups: Old World monkeys and New World monkeys. New World monkeys live in Central and South America and have nostrils spaced widely apart. Old World monkeys have nostrils which are closer together and live in Africa and Asia. Just like people, Old World monkeys have 32 teeth. New World monkeys have more -- 36 -- and some of them can pick up things with their tails, a skill which eludes Old World monkeys.

We head to Japan to check out other monkey skills. Zoo keepers there have added something extra to their chimpanzee exhibit.

And as Marina Kamimura tells us, it's a test of that old adage "monkey see, monkey do."


MARINA KAMIMURA, CNN TOKYO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Chimpanzees have been wowing crowds for decades with their antics at this Tokyo zoo. Some of their habits are unbelievably human-like; others, we certainly hope not.

Now, zookeepers are giving their monkeys another taste of modern human culture by installing a vending machine in their compound. It wouldn't be the first time that chimpanzees tried to use one. On top of her amazing grasp of the three Rs, Ai-Chan (ph), Japan's most famous primate, knows how to use money to buy grapes and bananas from a vending machine. But Ai-Chan was taught how to do things like that.

(on camera): Zookeepers here are hoping that their chimpanzees will get the hang of using a vending machine naturally, by watching humans do the same thing nearby.

(voice-over): It's not as far-fetched an idea as you might think. These chimpanzees have displayed a passion for other human experiences, making the zoo extremely optimistic about the success of their experiment.

Take the UFO Catcher. That's the Japanese name for an arcade game, featuring a mechanical arm players use to try to fish out a prize. Here, the monkeys have their own version of the same game, even though the main challenge for them appears to be just making sure no one steals the prize.

SHIMABARA (through translator): We want to show visitors how clever the chimpanzees are. The vending machine is more advanced than tools they have used before. It would be perfect if they could figure it out and throw the can away in the end.

KAMIMURA: It'd be great if humans could do the same thing, too. But given their notoriously short attention spans, zookeepers won't even hazard a guess as to how long it will take their chimps to conquer the vending machine. For now, it's just another novelty item for them to peer at, or simply ignore.

Marina Kamimura, CNN, Tokyo.


HAYNES: Environmentalists are concerned about a new menace sweeping the United States. It's called suburban sprawl, and it's striking open areas surrounding many of the nation's big cities. Last year alone, more than 1.5 million new homes were built across the U.S., many on what was once countryside. As Deborah Feyerick reports, New Jersey is among a handful of states trying to stem the tide.


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Farmland has defined East Amwell, New Jersey's cultural fabric for generations -- cows and corn and the rambling fields that Theodore Rabachefski has cultivated for decades.

THEODORE RABACHEFSKI, RETIREE: Well, I'm an outdoorsman, so maybe that has a lot to do with it, you know? And I like the open spaces.

FEYERICK: At a time when suburban homes and strip malls are seeping into the countryside in places like California, Florida and Arizona, East Amwell's spaces have remained open, mainly because of local New Jersey officials like Barbara Wolfe.

BARBARA WOLFE, PLANNING BOARD DIR.: And if this had been sold for housing, as was being considered 15 years ago, we wouldn't have these farms here today.

FEYERICK (on camera): Fearing uncontrolled growth and traffic, sprawl and crawl, town leaders embraced a three-part, state-inspired plan: pay farmers to sell their land-development rights to the state, give tax breaks to those who donate their land to the community, and change zoning laws.

MAYOR LEE HAMILTON, EAST AMWELL, NEW JERSEY: It's controversial because it's regulation. And the people who have large pieces of land think that it reduces the value of their land.

FEYERICK (voice-over): More than 30,000 new homes and apartments were built in New Jersey last year. Developers say with demands so high, zoning unfairly restricts business.

HOWARD WOLFE, COMMUNITY BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF N.J.: There are some other undertones which I don't know are true or not, but it seems that the people who live in, quote, "exclusive areas" don't want to invite new people in.

FEYERICK: New Jersey's governor has made the environment a top priority during her second term, slating one million open acres for preservation.

GOV. CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN (R), NEW JERSEY: It's not a question of environmental protection or growth. It's not one or the other. It has to be both things together. Businesses are going to stop coming if the quality of life for their workers isn't good.

FEYERICK: Twelve states, New Jersey included, have comprehensive plans to combat sprawl. Experts say the goal of smart growth is finding a balance.

ROBERT BURCHELL, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Everybody wants a better environment, wants a better-looking environment, wants economic development. As long as someone is not denied in that process, everybody benefits.

FEYERICK: Reversing sprawl before it gets out of control.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN.


HAYNES: Along with the housing boom, the U.S. is experiencing a population boom, driven in large part by the Hispanic community. Sometime within this decade, they will surpass African-Americans to become the nation's largest minority. That growth is most noticeable in the southern third of the nation, closest to Mexico and the Latin countries of the Caribbean.

As Aram Roston reports, it's a diverse population.


ARAM ROSTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Census Bureau report says 44 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. don't have a high school diploma. Take Lucio Martinez. He has two children who both attend school in Athens, Georgia. That's a chance he never had growing up in Mexico.

(on camera): And you never went to school a day in your life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anytime. Only worked.

ROSTON: Because his English is so poor, his children have to translate for him.

The federal government says there are about 32 million Hispanics in the United States, and projects that, in five years, there will be 38 million, surpassing the number of African-Americans. The Census Bureau emphasizes there are wide differences in education, income and poverty levels.

In the South, the Hispanic population has increased more than 20 percent since 1994. That's the fastest growth in the country. Many still work as migrant laborers, as field hands, and in construction, but the community is becoming increasingly stable.

SAM ZAMARRIPA, LATIN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION: We're talking about the large families that are here for the long term.

ROSTON: Rosa Casas (ph) is part of a growing business infrastructure that meets the needs of Mexicans who are here without language skills, and even helps them before they arrive in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After they send this application to the National Visa Center, they get the appointment for the interview into that squad.

ROSTON: Cuban-born Luis Cassaras (ph) sells spices and Mexican food items in Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody wants to get to Atlanta because it's growing.

PROF. GARY BACHTEL, UNIV. OF GEORGIA: Basically, the Hispanic population really fits well into the South because of a couple of things. One is they're family-oriented. Second, they're really religious. And third, they're hardworking. And so those are a very Southern tradition.

ROSTON: The statistics indicate U.S. hospitality has its limits. A quarter of Hispanics in the U.S. live in poverty.

Aram Roston, CNN, Atlanta.



HAYNES: When you get hungry, you probably run to the fridge to see what your parents picked up at the grocery store. But have you ever thought about what it takes to get all that food to the supermarket? Well, some seventh graders don't have to think about the process at all. They're actually doing it.

Bill Delaney has the story.


BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What shouldn't be any self-respecting seventh-graders idea of a good time: work, hard work, starting at 6:15 in the morning. At The Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts, though, somehow, digging....

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could even go deeper than that...

DELANEY: ... planting, grooming...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get both hands behind it, get your body behind it.

DELANEY: And often enough on what's a full 12-hour day, a fair amount of groaning...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up, up, up, up. OK, that's good.

DELANEY: ... all seem to add up to -- amazingly enough -- fun.

(on camera): Did you think you were going enjoy this?

CLINT HAYMON, SEVENTH-GRADER: No, not that much. But it was -- I was surprised. It was a lot funner than I suspected.

VAPOR BROWN, SEVENTH-GRADER: It's teaching me the responsibility of how to handle things and how the attitude you should have every day when you wake up in the morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our planting line.

DELANEY (voice-over): A positive attitude toward good, old- fashioned work that Farm School founder, Ben Holmes, first learned about as a boy from San Francisco summering on his uncle's Ohio farm.

BEN HOLMES, FOUNDER, THE FARM SCHOOL: There's something about just having your hands in the soil. There's something in us, I think, that naturally needs this kind of work. Farming is something that's a part of us. It's been part of our culture for millennia.

DELANEY: Now, the school's trying to raise money to buy the 130- acre property it's leased for 10 years, where every year at least 1,200 children for three-day stints learn about honest-to-God work.

(on camera): The essence of the philosophy of The Farm School is illustrated by what's going on behind me here: real work, in this case building a stone wall, not as a kind of exercise, but because this real farm needs a stone wall.

(voice-over): The farm sells to a small local dairy cooperative and sells its produce, and simply wouldn't make it without the children's labor.

HOLMES: There's been a real disconnect between adults and kids. This is a real reconnect. They're entering a world of adults, a culture of adults here, who values them as partners in a real project.

DELANEY: In a classroom without four walls, where the lessons are often down and dirty, and deep.

Bill Delaney, CNN, Athol, Massachusetts.


HAYNES: On to the grass courts of Wimbledon now where Pete Sampras served himself a piece of history on Sunday. The defending champ picked up his 13th Grand Slam title, breaking the world record held by Australia's Roy Emerson. The king of slams beat Australian Patrick Rafter in four sets, tying a 111-year-old record for Wimbledon wins.

Fifth-seeded Venus Williams picked up the woman's title, beating number two seed and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in straight sets. To get to the finals, Williams had to play and win a very emotionally charged game against her own sister in the semifinals.

And we're going to play our way on out of here. Thanks for joining us today. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Take care.



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