Cnn Student News 2010年9月30日

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Officials think they've uncovered a terror plot that was targeting Europe. That story leads off this Thursday edition of CNN Student News. From the CNN Center, I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: Europe Terror Plot

AZUZ: Well, that terror plot, one source says the information comes from a man who was arrested in Afghanistan. He offered up some details about a "Mumbai-style" attack in Europe. When we say that, we're talking about the terrorist attack that happened in Mumbai, India two years ago. That is when ten men launched an attack that lasted three days and left more than 160 people dead.

This man who told officials about the plot is a German citizen. He was arrested in Afghanistan back in July and is now in U.S. custody. He went to Afghanistan last year and joined a group that's connected to the al Qaeda terrorist group. European officials are looking into the information that they're getting. But German and U.S. officials say, so far, they haven't found any evidence of an imminent attack either in Europe or the United States.

Is This Legit?

TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? The first lady is a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet. Not true! The first lady can play a big role in a presidential administration, but she is not a Cabinet member.

School Lunches

AZUZ: First ladies do have a lot of influence, and they can use that to make an impact on laws and policies. For example, first lady Michelle Obama's big push is to fight childhood obesity. And one of her goals is for Congress to pass a new child nutrition law. We're talking about the school lunch program. It hasn't been updated in about 5 years. This new bill that the first lady is pushing for would offer money to poorer districts to help pay for free meals, and it would require healthier foods in school programs. But it doesn't look like this thing's gonna become law anytime soon. You see, the money for these new programs would come from the food stamp program, and some Democrats think that should be off-limits. One Congressman said, "We're not going to tolerate robbing the poor to pay for every piece of legislation."

Fast Food Toy Ban?

AZUZ: We've been talking this week about how healthy eating means making choices. You guys can make those decisions for yourselves or talk to your parents about making them. But kids who are younger than you, maybe your little brothers and little sisters, might not know about choosing healthy foods yet. They might just want whatever meal has a toy with it. And that's why some California officials are considering a ban on including toys with some fast food meals. David Stevenson of affiliate KTVU serves up the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ERIC MAR, SAN FRANCISCO SUPERVISOR: These toys that are used too often as incentives to lure and entice children to the meals.

DAVID STEVENSON, KTVU REPORTER: Happy Meals went on trial in San Francisco.

JUANITA ALVARODO, SAN FRANCISCO MOTHER: The toy that comes in that unhealthy Happy Meal? There comes a price.

STEVENSON: The county's Land Use and Economic Development Committee heard from consumers and McDonald's executives on a proposal to ban restaurants from selling meals with toys like these, unless the food meets certain nutritional standards.

MAR: Meals must contains fruits and vegetables and not exceed 600 calories, and must not have beverages that have excessive fat or sugar.

STEVENSON: Health advocates say fast food restaurants use these promotional toys to lure low-income children into diets high in sugar, fat and salt.

JAMILAH TOOPS, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: The youth in my community are getting diet-related diseases, like diabetes and hypertension, at younger and younger ages.

KAREN WELLS, MCDONALD'S CORPORATION USA, VICE PRESIDENT OF NUTRITION: We can use the toy in our advertisement to promote and educate on nutrition. We advertise our all-white-meat nuggets, our apple dippers, our low-fat white milk.

STEVENSON: The McDonald's corporation flew in executives from Chicago to tout what they describe as healthier menu options and to oppose the measure.

WELLS: I'm a parent. I have two small children. I decide what my children will eat and what toy or what the environment will be. And so, banning or putting legislation that undermines what parents choices are, we believe are wrong.

STEVENSON: Scott Rodrick owns ten of San Francisco's 19 McDonald's restaurants. He calls the legislation proof of the city's misplaced priorities.

SCOTT RODRICK, MCDONALD'S FRANCHISE OWNER: With the limited resources that our city has today, we should be focused on the greater issues: a public safety program that works.

(END VIDEO)

Shoutout

STAN CASE, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to the students and teachers at Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pennsylvania! Cape Town, Pretoria and East London are all cities in what country? Is it: A) Mauritania, B) South Africa, C) Madagascar or D) Great Britain? You've got three seconds -- GO! You'll find those cities in South Africa. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Township Baseball

AZUZ: South Africa played host to this year's soccer World Cup Championship. Those of us who watched it still hear the horns. But there's another sport, one from America, that's gaining popularity in parts of South Africa, including the Cape Town area. And people aren't just focused on what's happening on the field. It's about the sport keeping young people away from stuff off that's off the field, too. Nima Elbagir explains what we mean.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CAPE TOWN: Philippe Township on the outskirts of Cape Town, just off the glossy, double-lane highway leading into South Africa's second city. Like many of the other townships ringing Cape Town, the lucky few live in government-built housing. But the vast majority live in shacks. Hundreds of thousands of families with no power, no heat and no running water. South African Townships, like the one behind me, are an incredibly difficult environment for young men. Guns, drugs, crime and a host of other temptations are a daily reality here, but an American import is now offering them a surprising alternative: baseball. Coach Nyameko Gabada introduced the game here four years ago after South Africa did well in the world baseball classic.

NYAMEKO GABADA, BASEBALL COACH: I was staying here in Philippe. I found out that it's a lot of crime that is abusing the children of this place.

ELBAGIR: While baseball has gained some popularity in South Africa in more affluent areas with access to international sports channels, in the townships, it was all but unheard of. And Coach Gabada said he banked on that novelty to draw in the children.

GABADA: Once we started, then they came in interest. Everybody wants to see what is this baseball. And then they started coming in numbers!

ELBAGIR: But once the team, the Philippe Angels, was up and running, their success has surprised even the coaches.

ROB ROSENBLUM, BASEBALL COACH: The very first season, we started with two teams: under-twelves and under-fourteen. And amazingly, the under-fourteens won their league and the under-twelves came in second. And so, you can imagine the impact that had in the community, where these kids came home with a big trophy and ran around the community celebrating and everything.

ELBAGIR: In a neighborhood where there is often little worth celebrating, the teams' success has had a huge impact on the children's confidence and aspirations.

LAZOLA NDLANGALAVU: This township, very lot of drugs, bad things happening now. But now, if you do sports, and then you can stop doing drugs, all that stuff, bad stuff.

ELBAGIR: And it's not just on the sports field that trophies are being won. To play baseball here, you also commit to academic tutoring. It's already paying off for some of the older children.

ROSENBLUM: It's the commitment to something bigger than yourself. It's the hard work, the discipline, everything that comes from that. You transfer that to the rest of your life and you've got a much better chance. And when somebody comes up to talk, they don't say, "Thank you for spreading baseball." They don't say anything like that. What they say is, "Thank you for getting these kids off the street."

ELBAGIR: Nima Elbagir, CNN, Cape Town.

(END VIDEO)

Chile Mine Rescue

AZUZ: From South Africa to South America for an update on those 33 men trapped in a mine in Chile. They're not out, not yet. But there is some progress in the rescue efforts. One of the drills that's making a hole big enough for these guys to get out hit the halfway point yesterday. That's something. Officials are looking at early November for when they think the rescue operation will actually happen.

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, I'm Carl Azuz, and you're watching CNN Student News! Now, you hear me say something like that just about every day to introduce the show. Now, we want you to do it! This is what we talked about yesterday. We want you to introduce CNN Student News! It has to be through an iReport, and you can find out how to make and send in one of those by checking out the "How Do I..." bin at CNNStudentNews.com. One rule here: You have to be at least 13 years old to send us an iReport. So, if you're old enough -- at least 13 -- grab a camera, give us your name and your best show intro, and maybe we'll see you saying "this is CNN Student News."

Goodbye

AZUZ: If you're pundering how to do this, just take a little time for introspection. All right, you know we were gonna have some sort of pun there, but we really are looking forward to what you come up with. And plus, it'll give me a break at the start of the show, and I'd appreciate that. We thank you for tuning in today. Friday's edition of CNN Student News -- you know it -- it's gonna be awesome!