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STUDENT NEWS

US Unemployment Numbers;

Aired May 7, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re Mr. Baltus` (ph) first year (inaudible) class in Allen (ph), Texas. This is for Teacher Appreciation Week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love Mr. Baltus (ph). He`s a great teacher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we learn a lot from him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back to you, Carl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Thanks to Mr. Baltus` students for helping kick off Teacher Appreciation Week. Over the next several days, we are going to share some of the iReport videos that you sent in, and we`ll have more on Teacher Appreciation Week in a few minutes.

Right now, though, let`s get to the headlines. First up, we`re looking at the latest national unemployment numbers from the U.S. government. In April, the unemployment rate went down from 8.2 percent to 8.1.

It`s not because that many people got hired. It`s because hundreds of thousands of Americans dropped out of the labor force. If you stop looking for a job, you`re not counted in the unemployment rate. Edgar Treiguts looks at how this could impact this year`s presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDGAR TREIGUTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Employment figures are crucial in an election year, and the numbers have not been in the president`s favor. The economy added just 115,000 jobs in April. That`s down from 154,000 in March.

The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 8.1 percent. But that`s only because the number of adults actively looking for work has fallen to the lowest level since 1981. Mitt Romney says the economy should be adding closer to 500,000 jobs a month.

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a sad time in America. When people who want work can`t find jobs --

TREIGUTS (voice-over): The Economic Policy Institute says 300,000 to 400,000 jobs should be added each month for the economy to recover, but President Obama insists the recovery is still alive.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, our businesses have now created more than 4.2 million new jobs over the last 26 months.

TREIGUTS (voice-over): Employment growth began to slow in March after three strong months in the winter. Some economists believe the slowdown is a seasonal adjustment, suggesting warm weather earlier in the year gave the economy an artificial boost. President Obama says next week he`ll urge Congress to come together and take steps to accelerate job growth.

OBAMA: There`s too much at stake for us not to all be rowing in the same direction.

TREIGUTS (voice-over): If the employment figures don`t stay afloat, the president will be paddling against a strong current ahead of the November election. I`m Edgar Treiguts reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The first several months of this year have been focused on the Republican side of that election, through primaries and caucuses we now know that Governor Romney is that party`s presumptive nominee. Now his Democratic opponent has officially launched his campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): President Obama, running for reelection, kicked off his campaign with rallies in Virginia and Ohio over the weekend. Those are expected to be big battleground state in November`s presidential election. At the events, the president talked about some of his accomplishments since he took office. He pledged to, quote, "finish what we started."

Governor Romney is scheduled to be in Ohio today, working to gather support in that battleground state. His campaign also talked about President Obama`s time in office, describing it as a time of, quote, "broken promises and ineffective leadership."

In Greece, voters cast their ballots yesterday for members of the nation`s parliament. Exit polls showed that the political parties in the coalition that has been in power were probably going to lose a lot of seats in parliament. The polls indicated that many voters were angry with the government`s efforts to cut spending. That`s been happening as Greece tries to get its massive debt crisis under control.

And France is going to have a new president. The man who just went inside that voting booth is Francois Hollande. And the results from yesterday`s runoff election indicate that he beat out Nicolas Sarkozy, who`s been in power since 2007. Hollande will be France`s first left-wing president. He`s a socialist. This means its first politically liberal leader since 1995.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Ms. Lindus` social studies classes at Portland Lutheran High School in Portland, Oregon. Which of these countries has the highest population density? Here we go. Is it China, Germany, Japan or the United States? You`ve got three seconds, go.

Of those countries, Japan has the highest population density with more than 800 people per square mile. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: One of the challenges Japan`s government is facing is how to get enough electric power to all those people. Up until March of last year, part of the answer was nuclear power. That`s where nearly one-third of Japan`s energy came from.

But that changed after a meltdown at one of the country`s nuclear power plants. Kyung Lah examines the current state of Japan`s energy situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a wakeup call, literally, a nighttime visit at the front doorstep of Japan`s prime minister`s residence. Protesters demanding from the top that the world`s third largest economy stay free of nuclear energy.

"Restarting the nuclear reactors is the same as starting a war," says this protestor. "It`s the same as murder." That populist rage boiling more than a year after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, with reactors still spewing lethal radiation, tens of thousands of evacuees near the plant unable to return home, Fukushima is a worst-case scenario, unifying public fear of nuclear energy.

Post-Fukushima, reactors have come offline in Japan one by one. And when they`ve tried to turn them back on, politicians and utilities have faced a true fight from the community. Japan becomes the first major developed economy to see the modern era without any nuclear energy.

That may be easier said than done. Thirty percent of Japan`s energy came from nuclear. So what`s currently keeping the power on? What`s keeping Japanese factories running? Increased imports of foreign fossil fuels at a huge cost to this economy. And the government and corporate Japan is already saying that it won`t be able to keep up the pace this summer when energy demands peak.

A leading ruling party politician bluntly laid out the repercussions. "We must think ahead to the impact on Japan`s economy and people`s lives if all nuclear reactors are stopped," says Yoshito Sengoku.

Japan`s prime minister has promised a clear energy policy some time this year, perhaps this summer, right in the middle of the biggest test of energy any developed economy has ever seen -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Japan is an industrialized nation. It has several options available for ways to get energy. But what about smaller countries, where everyone doesn`t have easy access to an outlet? Two inventors came up with a unique way to generate energy. We think you might get a kick out of it, because that`s what you`d have to put into it -- a kick. Brooke Baldwin explains what this means.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Kick a soccer ball around, turn on a light.

JULIA SILVERMAN, COFOUNDER, UNCHARTED PLAY: The Soccket is a soccer ball that doubles as a portable generator. When you play with the ball, it harnesses the energy from play.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Created by two Harvard grads, the Soccket provides a power source for people in developing countries, a simple design based upon high school physics.

JESSICA MATTHEWS, COFOUNDER, UNCHARTED PLAY: We essentially have a stripped-down gyroscope inside of the ball that also harnesses the kinetic energy that`s generated when the ball`s rolling. A motor then powers a battery that stores that power. You can power a lamp, a cell phone charger. We`ve been prototyping things like hot plates, water sterilizers.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Thirty minutes of play gives you about three hours of power, depending on the device. The balls are now being donated and distributed by NGOs in places like Mexico and South Africa.

SILVERMAN: It`s, you know, an energy source, but it`s also a source of empowerment. It`s based on a sport that is so loved, and is grounded in this issue of energy, which is so critical to everyone`s lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): We don`t need to tell you what Teacher Appreciation Week is all about. We can tell you it`s all this week, Monday through Friday. And we`re looking to honor educators across the world. On our blog, there`s a post up that asks you to talk about the impact that your favorite teacher has had on your life. Check it out today and comment at cnnstudentnews.com.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: We`re going to wrap things up today with a little leisurely coincidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Can`t believe all these people decided to walk their dogs at the same place, at the same time. Though not what happened. It`s a pooch parade. Hundreds of hounds and their humans took part in this event in Kansas City over the weekend. A lot of them got dressed up for it, too. They might want to tread lightly around this guy.

The goal was to set a new world record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: They didn`t manage to do that, but at "leash" they gave it a good try, and now they all have a fun "tail" to tell. That`s all the time we have for today. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz. Look forward to seeing y`all tomorrow. Bye-bye.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

END

STUDENT NEWS

April Snowstorm in Northeastern U.S.

Aired April 24, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: It`s Tuesday. My name is Carl Azuz, and we welcome you to CNN Student News. Ten minutes, no commercials, headlines from around the world, and we have a lot of them for you today.

First up, we`re talking about winter weather. Now a large snowstorm in the northeastern U.S. is not that unusual. But when it happens near the end of April, that`s a bit more unexpected, especially when it comes after the warmest March on record, and winter that didn`t really have that much snow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): It was a different story on Monday. Parts of New York were expecting 10 inches of snow, anywhere from eight to 16 inches around Pennsylvania. One meteorologist said it won`t last long. Temperatures are expected to go up this week.

Brian Todd was in Pennsylvania on Monday as the snow came down. He was looking at one particular challenge: when winter weather hits at this time of year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, AMS METEOROLOGIST: As the heavy snow continues to fall here in north central Pennsylvania, this is what officials here are primarily worried about, the snow kind of building up on the foliage. The full foliage in a lot of the trees that has popped out, of course, since it`s late April, when the snow really starts to build up in this and in other areas, it`s going to make the trees very, very heavy.

Some of the trees are expected to collapse and fall onto power lines. That has already happened. We are told that more than 20,000 customers in this area of north central Pennsylvania are without power. They have about 200 crews from the power and electric company Penelec, fanning out all over this area. As for the roads here, the main roads in this general area still are passable, obviously.

A lot of truck traffic and car traffic coming through here. This is the corridor road leading to Interstate 80, which is a major east-west corridor for truck routes. But officials are concerned that those routes may be disrupted, may be slowed down a little bit by this snow.

Interestingly enough, a lot of the trucks that are out here to plow and salt roads had to have their plows and spreaders reattached to them, because they have taken all that equipment off, of course not anticipating this weather to hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: In some of those states struggling with severe weather yesterday, voters are heading to the polls today. There are Republican presidential primaries in New York and Pennsylvania as well as in Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is now the presumptive Republican nominee. He`s expected to win the party`s nomination. But primary season isn`t officially over, and Governor Romney isn`t the only Republican candidate who`s still in the race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Representative Ron Paul are on the ballot in all five states holding contests today.

President Obama spent part of the day Monday focused on human rights. He visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum as part of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust was the systematic killing of millions of Jewish people by Nazi Germany during World War II.

During his visit to the museum, President Obama announced that he`ll award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jan Karski, who tried to warn the world about the Holocaust.

The president also announced a new executive order that aims to stop countries from using technology to abuse human rights. He specifically talked about cell phone monitoring in Syria, and he explained the importance of addressing global violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to be doing everything we can to prevent and respond to these kinds of atrocities, because national sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): On this day in history, back in 1800, President John Adams established the Library of Congress. The institution is now one of the largest libraries in the world.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. The Spanish- American war was mostly over within three months.

And in 1990, the Hubble telescope hitched a ride on a shuttle into space. Hubble has spent decades exploring and documenting our universe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Heading over to Europe now for a pair of political stories that both involve prime ministers, the first one is in the Netherlands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Mark Rutte has been the prime minister of that country since 2010 -- not any more. Rutte handed in his resignation yesterday. The prime minister is the leader of the party in the majority, but no party won a majority in the last elections.

So Rutte put together a coalition of several parties. One of those backed out of the coalition on Monday. No coalition, no majority, which is why Rutte stepped down. This could lead to new elections in the Netherlands, maybe as soon as this summer.

This is Iceland`s former prime minister, Geir Haarde. He is the first world leader to be convicted of a criminal charge in connection with the global financial crisis. Before that started, Iceland was one of the world`s wealthiest countries, but its banking system collapsed in 2008, wiping out billions of dollars in savings.

Haarde was convicted of negligence related to that collapse, but he was cleared of three other charges and a court official says the former Icelandic prime minister won`t face any punishment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can ID me. I come from space, but I`m most often seen in the Earth`s atmosphere. I usually don`t stick around longer than a few seconds. I`m a glowing streak that`s sometimes called a shooting or falling star.

I`m a meteor, a space object you can see burning up in the night sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: When a bunch of those glowing streaks show up in the sky all at the same time, it`s known as a meteor shower. There`s one that happens every year, right at the same time, and scientists say it`s the cause of some mysterious booms in California recently, although there are some residents who aren`t so sure. Sharokina Shams of affiliate KCRA has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN CAMPBELL: And I looked straight up through here at the Sierras, and it looked like the sun coming at you.

VICKI, AMADOR COUNTY: It was so loud that it shook the ground and continued long enough for my husband to run over to me and shelter me with his body.

CAMPBELL: There was a really low rumble that started getting louder and louder and louder, like a rocket taking off. And then it finally started shaking the house and everything.

CRAIG SHOEMAKER, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: I think it is exciting.

SHAROKINA SHAMS, KCRA CORRESPONDENT: Craig Shoemaker is a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service. He says what happened today was part of the ongoing Lyrid meteor shower. It happens every April 22nd, and if it had been dark, might have looked something like this.

SHOEMAKER: And the causes of that have been a debris cloud that`s left over from Comet Thatcher. The amount of meteors that pass through the atmosphere vary every year. This year it seems to be that maybe we`ve had a few more than usually. There may be some larger ones that have passed through.

Today some people, including Campbell, were skeptical.

CAMPBELL: I thought it was a satellite coming down, because we see meteors all the time and meteors don`t burst into thousands of blue sparks, you know. They just disappear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: All right. Tell me if this sounds familiar. You`re eating ice cream, and all of a sudden, wham, massive headache. You`re suffering from sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. Most of us, thank heavens, just know it as a brain freeze. Some scientists are trying to figure out what causes it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): According to their research, that headache may actually be your brain acting in self-defense. It allows more blood flow to deal with the extreme cold, and that could be what causes the pain.

Why would anyone care about figuring out brain freeze? Well, what they`re hoping is that their results could influence research on other types of headaches, like severe migraines. One expert said he doesn`t think this brain freeze study is going to offer any breakthroughs. The scientist who ran the study says more tests need to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): It`s prom season, so sights like this one, high school students decked out in dresses and tuxes -- you see this stuff. It`s pretty common.

But this particular prom we`re showing you is all different. It`s the first one for students in Joplin, Missouri, since a massive tornado devastated their city last year. Back then, news cameras were in town to cover the deadliest tornado in more than 60 years.

This time, those cameras were back to cover a celebration. The rebuilding is far from over in Joplin, but one student described this prom as a victory call, and said it`s a sign that, quote, "no tornado can take us down."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Before we go, your parents might have told you not to play with your food.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): They never said anything about your dishes. This is speed stacking. You`ve probably seen this before. You probably assume the video was sped up. It`s not. And if you think stacking isn`t a sport, you`re going to have to take that up with the Junior Olympics, because it is being featured as part of this year`s games.

These speedsters are trying to qualify for that contest --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: -- plus the preliminary events let you check out the competition and see how you stack up. If you`re looking for more puns, sorry, we only have a cupful today. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

END

STUDENT NEWS

April Snowstorm in Northeastern U.S.

Aired April 24, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: It`s Tuesday. My name is Carl Azuz, and we welcome you to CNN Student News. Ten minutes, no commercials, headlines from around the world, and we have a lot of them for you today.

First up, we`re talking about winter weather. Now a large snowstorm in the northeastern U.S. is not that unusual. But when it happens near the end of April, that`s a bit more unexpected, especially when it comes after the warmest March on record, and winter that didn`t really have that much snow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): It was a different story on Monday. Parts of New York were expecting 10 inches of snow, anywhere from eight to 16 inches around Pennsylvania. One meteorologist said it won`t last long. Temperatures are expected to go up this week.

Brian Todd was in Pennsylvania on Monday as the snow came down. He was looking at one particular challenge: when winter weather hits at this time of year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, AMS METEOROLOGIST: As the heavy snow continues to fall here in north central Pennsylvania, this is what officials here are primarily worried about, the snow kind of building up on the foliage. The full foliage in a lot of the trees that has popped out, of course, since it`s late April, when the snow really starts to build up in this and in other areas, it`s going to make the trees very, very heavy.

Some of the trees are expected to collapse and fall onto power lines. That has already happened. We are told that more than 20,000 customers in this area of north central Pennsylvania are without power. They have about 200 crews from the power and electric company Penelec, fanning out all over this area. As for the roads here, the main roads in this general area still are passable, obviously.

A lot of truck traffic and car traffic coming through here. This is the corridor road leading to Interstate 80, which is a major east-west corridor for truck routes. But officials are concerned that those routes may be disrupted, may be slowed down a little bit by this snow.

Interestingly enough, a lot of the trucks that are out here to plow and salt roads had to have their plows and spreaders reattached to them, because they have taken all that equipment off, of course not anticipating this weather to hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: In some of those states struggling with severe weather yesterday, voters are heading to the polls today. There are Republican presidential primaries in New York and Pennsylvania as well as in Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is now the presumptive Republican nominee. He`s expected to win the party`s nomination. But primary season isn`t officially over, and Governor Romney isn`t the only Republican candidate who`s still in the race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Representative Ron Paul are on the ballot in all five states holding contests today.

President Obama spent part of the day Monday focused on human rights. He visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum as part of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust was the systematic killing of millions of Jewish people by Nazi Germany during World War II.

During his visit to the museum, President Obama announced that he`ll award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jan Karski, who tried to warn the world about the Holocaust.

The president also announced a new executive order that aims to stop countries from using technology to abuse human rights. He specifically talked about cell phone monitoring in Syria, and he explained the importance of addressing global violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to be doing everything we can to prevent and respond to these kinds of atrocities, because national sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): On this day in history, back in 1800, President John Adams established the Library of Congress. The institution is now one of the largest libraries in the world.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. The Spanish- American war was mostly over within three months.

And in 1990, the Hubble telescope hitched a ride on a shuttle into space. Hubble has spent decades exploring and documenting our universe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Heading over to Europe now for a pair of political stories that both involve prime ministers, the first one is in the Netherlands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Mark Rutte has been the prime minister of that country since 2010 -- not any more. Rutte handed in his resignation yesterday. The prime minister is the leader of the party in the majority, but no party won a majority in the last elections.

So Rutte put together a coalition of several parties. One of those backed out of the coalition on Monday. No coalition, no majority, which is why Rutte stepped down. This could lead to new elections in the Netherlands, maybe as soon as this summer.

This is Iceland`s former prime minister, Geir Haarde. He is the first world leader to be convicted of a criminal charge in connection with the global financial crisis. Before that started, Iceland was one of the world`s wealthiest countries, but its banking system collapsed in 2008, wiping out billions of dollars in savings.

Haarde was convicted of negligence related to that collapse, but he was cleared of three other charges and a court official says the former Icelandic prime minister won`t face any punishment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can ID me. I come from space, but I`m most often seen in the Earth`s atmosphere. I usually don`t stick around longer than a few seconds. I`m a glowing streak that`s sometimes called a shooting or falling star.

I`m a meteor, a space object you can see burning up in the night sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: When a bunch of those glowing streaks show up in the sky all at the same time, it`s known as a meteor shower. There`s one that happens every year, right at the same time, and scientists say it`s the cause of some mysterious booms in California recently, although there are some residents who aren`t so sure. Sharokina Shams of affiliate KCRA has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN CAMPBELL: And I looked straight up through here at the Sierras, and it looked like the sun coming at you.

VICKI, AMADOR COUNTY: It was so loud that it shook the ground and continued long enough for my husband to run over to me and shelter me with his body.

CAMPBELL: There was a really low rumble that started getting louder and louder and louder, like a rocket taking off. And then it finally started shaking the house and everything.

CRAIG SHOEMAKER, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: I think it is exciting.

SHAROKINA SHAMS, KCRA CORRESPONDENT: Craig Shoemaker is a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service. He says what happened today was part of the ongoing Lyrid meteor shower. It happens every April 22nd, and if it had been dark, might have looked something like this.

SHOEMAKER: And the causes of that have been a debris cloud that`s left over from Comet Thatcher. The amount of meteors that pass through the atmosphere vary every year. This year it seems to be that maybe we`ve had a few more than usually. There may be some larger ones that have passed through.

Today some people, including Campbell, were skeptical.

CAMPBELL: I thought it was a satellite coming down, because we see meteors all the time and meteors don`t burst into thousands of blue sparks, you know. They just disappear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: All right. Tell me if this sounds familiar. You`re eating ice cream, and all of a sudden, wham, massive headache. You`re suffering from sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. Most of us, thank heavens, just know it as a brain freeze. Some scientists are trying to figure out what causes it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): According to their research, that headache may actually be your brain acting in self-defense. It allows more blood flow to deal with the extreme cold, and that could be what causes the pain.

Why would anyone care about figuring out brain freeze? Well, what they`re hoping is that their results could influence research on other types of headaches, like severe migraines. One expert said he doesn`t think this brain freeze study is going to offer any breakthroughs. The scientist who ran the study says more tests need to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): It`s prom season, so sights like this one, high school students decked out in dresses and tuxes -- you see this stuff. It`s pretty common.

But this particular prom we`re showing you is all different. It`s the first one for students in Joplin, Missouri, since a massive tornado devastated their city last year. Back then, news cameras were in town to cover the deadliest tornado in more than 60 years.

This time, those cameras were back to cover a celebration. The rebuilding is far from over in Joplin, but one student described this prom as a victory call, and said it`s a sign that, quote, "no tornado can take us down."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Before we go, your parents might have told you not to play with your food.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): They never said anything about your dishes. This is speed stacking. You`ve probably seen this before. You probably assume the video was sped up. It`s not. And if you think stacking isn`t a sport, you`re going to have to take that up with the Junior Olympics, because it is being featured as part of this year`s games.

These speedsters are trying to qualify for that contest --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: -- plus the preliminary events let you check out the competition and see how you stack up. If you`re looking for more puns, sorry, we only have a cupful today. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

END

STUDENT NEWS

France Holds Elections; Celebrating Earth Day

Aired April 23, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GROUP: We are the (inaudible) senior class of (inaudible), Nebraska, and you`re watching CNN Student News with Carl Azuz. Whoo!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: From those seniors in Nebraska to the CNN Center here in Atlanta, Georgia, we`re welcoming all of you watching around the world to a new week of CNN Student News.

First up, election day in France, as voters cast their ballots in that country`s presidential election. Just like in the United States and other countries around the world, the economy and jobs -- two of the big political issues leading up to this election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): According to French television, exit polls showed that current president Nicolas Sarkozy came in second yesterday to Francois Hollande. But neither candidate got at least 51 percent of the vote.

In fact, neither got more than 30 percent. And according to French law, if no candidate wins an absolute majority, the top two candidates have a runoff election. That means Sarkozy and Hollande will face off again on May 6th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: One year -- according to the owner of the Costa Concordia, that`s how long it will take to remove the cruise ship from the waters near an Italian island. The salvage process will start in May. First, the Concordia will have to get back to a floating state, and then the ship will be towed to port.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): You might remember the Costa Concordia ran into rocks and then turned on its side back in January. The pictures were amazing. There were more than 4,000 people on board the ship, 32 of them were killed. The ship`s captain is facing possible criminal charges in connection with the wreck, although he claims that the rock that the ship struck wasn`t on his charts of the area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s first Shoutout goes out to Mr. Rainey`s civics classes at Lake Nona Middle School in Orlando, Florida.

Which of the Middle Eastern countries is the smallest? You know what to do. Is it Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar or United Arab Emirates? You`ve got three seconds, go.

Bahrain is the smallest of these nations. It`s only a fraction of the size of Rhode Island. That`s your Shoutout.

AZUZ (voice-over): That small nation is dealing with some major political unrest right now. Some of the recent anger is focused on a Formula 1 auto race that happened in Bahrain`s capital over the weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: This race, the Bahrain Grand Prix, was canceled twice last year because of violence surrounding protests against the government. The protesters want changes made to their country`s government. Canceling the race is estimated to have cost Bahrain hundreds of millions of dollars.

There were concerns that this year`s race might be canceled too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Opposition groups called for more protests around the race. You can see here some of what happened. Tires and trash were lit on fire, blocking some roads leading to the racetrack. Some protesters called the race a publicity stunt. They said it was being used to make Bahrain look more unified than it actually is.

Despite the protests though, the race did happen, and a Bahraini official called it a huge success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Here`s a quick quiz for you. What annual event takes place every year on April 22nd? It`s Earth Day. The tradition started back in 1970 with around 20 million Americans getting involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Now according to the Earth Day Network, more than a billion people all over the world participated in Earth Day activities. The goal? To raise awareness about environmental issues. That same year Earth Day was created, the U.S. government passed the Clean Air Act, and established the Environmental Protection Agency.

Here are some Earth Day related statistics from that agency. In 2010, each person in the United States generated nearly 41/2 pounds of solid waste, trash every day. Around 34 percent of that waste gets recycled.

Eighty-one percent of Americans switched from regular light bulbs to energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs. Seventy percent go with reusable grocery bags instead of paper or plastic and 1.2 million American homes use solar power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The 22nd is Earth Day, but all of April is Financial Literacy Month. Last week we talked to you about taxes, the fees that governments collect in order to fund the goods and services that they provide. Well, Christine Romans is going to break down where that tax money goes in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Your government took $2.3 trillion of your money in fiscal year 2011, so what are you getting for all that tax money? Well, for starters, it`s not enough. The federal government spent $3.6 trillion, meaning they had to borrow $1.3 trillion. Don`t worry, if you pay taxes, you`ll be paying the interest.

But again, where did all that money go? Let`s start with Medicare, Medicaid and the Children`s Health Insurance Program. That`s the biggest slice of the pie, the blue right here. Social Security claimed one-fifth of the total budget -- that`s yellow right up there. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cost $159 billion last year, about a fifth of the total spent on defense.

Now spending on safety net programs designed to keep Americans out of poverty actually dropped last year, and the interest on our debt, that amounted to about 6 percent. That`s the purple wedge there, six cents of every dollar.

Now the remaining 19 percent was split among infrastructure, science, medical research, education, benefits also for retired federal employees and veterans. That`s how your tax dollars are spent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for a Shoutout Extra Credit. Who is the current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security? Here we go. Is it Michael Chertoff, Kathleen Sebelius, Tom Ridge or Janet Napolitano? Rewind that clock to three seconds and go.

Janet Napolitano is the current Homeland Security Secretary, and the third person to ever hold that position. That`s your answer and that`s your Shoutout Extra Credit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Secretary Napolitano and the Homeland Security Department are responsible for keeping the U.S. safe from threats. We`re talking about things like natural disasters, terrorist attacks and cyber-threats. That`s what this next report from Rene Marsh is all about. The government is looking for help to fight online attacks, but it`s having trouble finding people who are qualified.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They`re on the front lines defending America from cyber-attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just looking for signs that the attackers are trying to gain access.

MARSH (voice over): Government and industry insiders say you`re practically guaranteed a job in cyber-security if you`ve got the right stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a lack of expertise, and there are a lot of people clamoring for people who know the Internet world, can work in this area.

MARSH: Last year the Department of Homeland Security`s cyber-unit responded to more than 106,000 cyber-attacks. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano says unless we train more cyber-experts, our economy could be the biggest casualty. She adds thousands of cyber-experts already work in the federal government, but there`s a desperate need for more.

JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We need people who are analysts, we need people who are engineers, we need people who are experienced in intelligence as it relates to the cyber-universe.

MARSH (voice over): George Washington University is on a short list of institutions answering that need. The university will launch a master`s program in cyber-security this fall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We get calls all the time from industry and government wanting to hire students and to find students who have this expertise and training. There are not enough people. We`re educating them as fast as we can.

MARSH (voice over): And design systems hackers can`t easily penetrate. Logic and a solid math, tech and science background are pluses. Kevin Mandia`s security form responds to corporate breaches, but with only 220 people on staff, their response is mostly reactive.

They can`t match the current demand, and he says stopping attacks before they happen is impossible without more qualified people in place.

KEVIN MANDIA, CYBER SECURITY EXPERT, MANDIANT CORPORATION: It takes a long time to learn how to be a cyber-security expert.

MARSH (voice over): He believes the six- to eight-year grooming process in a challenging field may be keeping people away.

MARSH: To bridge the gap, Napolitano has been traveling to universities to talk to students about the opportunities available. She`s also been working with universities to set a curriculum that will meet the department`s needs -- Rene Marsh, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: All right. We`re going high class for today`s "Before We Go" report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Caviar is a culinary delicacy, a sign of sophisticated fine dining or a chance to see how fast you can shovel a pound of it down your throat. A restaurant in Moscow hosted this speed- eating competition. Instead of savoring the salted fish eggs -- that`s what caviar is -- the winner gulped down his pile of caviar in just under 90 second. He took home about $340 and more caviar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: That sounds like an "egg-cellent" prize. There`s a strategy to this kind of eating competition. It`s almost like a medical procedure. You have to approach it like a "sturgeon." There`s no gloating over the competitors you beat though, because there`s just no reason to rub salt in their wounds.

If you`re hungry for more headlines -- and puns -- we`re going to dish up another round tomorrow. See you "spoon."

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END

STUDENT NEWS

Missile Test Reactions; Discovery Space Shuttle Retired

Aired April 20, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: We said it yesterday: Fridays are awesome, and that`s especially true for the students at All Saints Cathedral School in the Virgin Islands, who got this week`s social media question right. I`m Carl Azuz. Let`s go.

First up, two rocket launches with two very different reactions. We`ve talked about North Korea`s failed launch last week. Yesterday India ran a successful test of a long-range missile. Other nations, including the United States, criticized North Korea for its launch. But other than some mild disapproval from China, no one said much about India`s missile test.

The difference? India is an ally of the U.S. and it has a better reputation in the international community than North Korea does. Jim Clancy has more on India`s test.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Agni-V missile blasted through the clouds from an island off India`s east coast early Thursday, heading skyward on what India called a successful first flight. The Agni, which means "fire" in Hindi, can carry a 1-ton nuclear warhead and is believed to have a range of 5,000 kilometers, putting major Chinese cities, including Beijing, within striking distance.

India`s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, calls the launch a major milestone.

Manmohan Singh, India`s prime minister: The successful launch of Agni-V missile is a tribute to the sophistications and commitment to national causes on the part of India`s scientific and technological community.

CLANCY (voice-over): The launch was flagged in advance, but India did not attract the kind of international criticism that North Korea received for its failed rocket test last week. The launch puts India in a very small club of countries.

Only the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S. -- along with Israel -- are believed to have such long-range weapons. Indian leaders say the missile is meant as a deterrent only.

PALIAM RAJO, INDIAN JR DEFENSE MINISTER: As we all know, I mean, there are -- we live in a very challenging neighborhood, so I think the weapons capabilities that the nation can build are of vital importance.

CLANCY (voice-over): Analysts say they believe the launch puts India`s nuclear armed neighbors -- namely China and Pakistan -- on notice. Chinese officials acknowledged the launch, but downplayed any sense of rivalry between the two nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: A tragic and shocking event at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, happened exactly 13 years ago today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Two students carrying guns and bombs went into the school and opened fire. They killed 13 people and wounded 23 others. The gunmen then took their own lives.

A memorial for the victims of that attack at Columbine opened in a park near the school in 2007, this shooting made school safety a nationwide priority and it led to programs and policies that aimed to stop future attacks before they happened.

Today also marks the two-year anniversary of this explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Eleven of the 126 people who worked on the rig were killed. The explosion led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history, more than 200 million gallons of oil leaked out into the water. Some of it washed up on Gulf Coast shores. It took 85 days to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf, and nearly four months to completely seal the underwater oil well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT SUMMITT, BASKETBALL COACH: I have loved my work at the University of Tennessee. It has been awesome. And I can say for almost four decades it has been a privilege to make an impact on the lives of 161 women who have worn the orange.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Legendary women`s basketball coach Pat Summitt, who has won more games than any college basketball coach, is stepping down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): The former University of Tennessee head coach made this announcement yesterday, eight months after announcing she has early onset Alzheimer`s disease. She got some unexpected news right before her retirement speech.

President Obama announced that Summitt will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That is the highest civilian honor given out by the U.S. government.

Discovery officially belongs to the Smithsonian now. The space shuttle rolled into its new home yesterday for this official induction ceremony. It was accompanied by former astronauts, including John Glenn, one of America`s first astronauts, who also flew a mission on Discovery. He talked about what lies ahead for the retired shuttle.

JOHN GLENN, FORMER ASTRONAUT: Today Discovery takes on a new mission, less dynamic perhaps, but nonetheless important. It will be on display, not only as a testament to events of our time, but also as an inspiration to future generations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Earlier this week we reported on a solar flare on the surface of the sun. Scientists said it was just a medium-sized flare. What does that mean? We wanted to give you some perspective on what that`s all about. Chad Myers is going to help us out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: To give you an idea, because I have a different colored image behind me, just to kind of give you a sense of scale, the sun, right here, that would be the size of the Earth.

You could put 20 Earths or so inside just that circle, where the explosion occurred. So the size, the -- an enormous size of the sun is something to imagine, but when you put the Earth into context, you realize how big that explosion really was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s time for the Shoutout. Which of these U.S. military aircraft is a cargo plane? If you think you know it, then shout it out. Is it a B-52, C-5, F-18 or T-6? You`ve got three seconds, go.

The letters help give it away. C stands for cargo, so the right choice here is the C-5. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: But the C-5 isn`t just a cargo plane. It is one of the largest aircraft in the world and it`s the only one that can transport any of the U.S. Army`s combat equipment. Now I can talk to you all day about how massive this thing is, but you`re going to get a better sense of its size by taking a look inside one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I`m coming to you from Robins Air Force Base. I want to take a moment to show you something incredible. This is the C-5. It`s America`s largest military aircraft. Right behind me you see the ladder. It goes up some 11 steps, all the way into the aircraft. The flight deck on the top, three stories off the ground.

Inside it is just amazing. I mean, take a look at how big this thing is. This plane is so huge, you could actually transport another plane inside of it, or tanks or Humvees. To give you more of an idea in a civilian way, it`s about two-thirds the length of a football field.

Believe it or not, there`s more than one floor. On this deck, you`ve got plenty of room. In fact, this place, this area could be outfitted with plenty of chairs to seat 75 service members.

No surprise at all that even the flight deck is tremendous. In fact, you could sit six people here very comfortably, including Capt. Ryan White, who happens to work on this aircraft. Can you give us a few pointers of some amazing facts of this plane?

CAPT. RYAN WHITE, USAF: Well, just due to the sheer size, like you said, it has over 100 miles of wiring throughout all the aircraft. And then also a fun fact about the aircraft is that you can fly the Wright Brothers` first flyers` flight within the cargo bay itself.

WOLF: Well, I hope you enjoyed that quick tour of an amazing aircraft, the C-5 -- Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Robins Air Force Base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Teacher Appreciation Week is just a few weeks away, and we`re giving you the chance to give your teachers a shoutout on our show. We`re looking for your iReports, just you in front of a camera, talking about your favorite or most inspirational teacher. Here`s one we got last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACKENZIE (PH): My name is Mackenzie (ph) from Bryan Middle School in Bryan, Ohio. I would have to say my favorite teacher is Ms. Cox, because she doesn`t hold anything against you and she`s very caring and always gives you candy.

I love you, Ms. Cox.

AZUZ (voice-over): Perfect! You can send us your Teacher Appreciation Week iReports by going to the "Spotlight" section on our home page. Remember, no music, keep it to 15 seconds or less. The deadline to get these in is one week from today. So get to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Finally, we`re heading to a youth hockey tournament in Texas, but it`s probably not like one --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): -- you`ve seen before. This is sled hockey. The players are between six and 13, and they all have some kind of disability. Some don`t have the use of their legs. Others can`t use their arms. But it`s not keeping them off the ice. A tournament official said, quote, "It`s not your disability that makes you who you are, it`s your abilities and what you do with them."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: See, it`s not all crazy animals and eating competitions in our "Before We Go" segment. Sometimes we close on "an ice" story. The puck stops here for now. Have a great weekend. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

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END

STUDENT NEWS

Tax Day in the U.S.

Aired April 17, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Carl, this is English class from South Korea.

SAM (PH): I am Sam (ph).

DUNONG (PH): I am Dunong (ph).

NISO (PH): I`m Niso (ph).

MIGNON (PH): I`m Mignon (ph), and I`m teaching English to these kids as a volunteer.

DALE (PH): I`m Dale (ph).

HANNAH (PH): I`m Hannah (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is --

GROUP: CNN Student News.

(APPLAUSE)

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: An introduction from halfway around the world -- awesome. Thank you to those students and thanks to all of you for spending part of your Tuesday with CNN Student News.

First up, today is the annual April deadline for Americans to file their taxes. All right. You hear about taxes all the time. There are different kinds of them, but they`re all basically fees that governments collect in order to pay for the goods and services that governments provide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Federal, state, local governments can set different taxes for different things. For example, most of you have probably paid a sales tax. That`s extra money you pay when you buy something. If you have a job and notice that your paycheck is less than you expected, that might be because of what was taken out for income taxes.

The federal government and most states charge a fee on the money people earn. That`s what today`s deadline is all about. Every year, people have to file their income tax returns, which lists what they earned and what taxes they`ve already paid. Normally, that has to be done by April 15th. That was a Sunday this year, so people were given an extra two days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: You might be wondering what the government uses tax money for or when all this started. That`s part of what Lizzie O`Leary is going to explain in this breakdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZZIE O`LEARY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you don`t pay your taxes, the IRS will eventually find you. We know a lot of people get hauled into court for their back taxes.

About one-fifth of it goes to defense. About one-fifth goes to Social Security. Another fifth goes to health care, and a little less than that goes to veterans.

We had an income tax during the Civil War. Then it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895. Then the income tax came back in 1913, and that sets up the modern income tax as we know it today.

One of the reasons that historians think we pay in the spring was at one point, taxes were levied, mostly on the rich, and the rich started to get out of town for the summer in the spring. So the government wanted to collect taxes in the spring before rich people skipped town.

We have a very complicated tax structure, and a lot of it has grown up because interest groups have asked for certain things as our tax laws have been rewritten. The last time it got a full rewrite was back in 1986. Ever since then, most lawmakers have been talking about how complicated the tax code is, but no one`s rewritten it.

There are all sorts of battles about the tax code. Some people have proposed flat taxes, a national sales tax, whether the rich should pay more in taxes. Probably the biggest battle is whether tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 should expire or be made permanent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Mr. McConnell`s English class at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School in Los Angeles, California. Riyadh is the capital of what country? You know what to do. Is it Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Oman? You`ve got three seconds, go.

Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia. It`s also the country`s most populated city. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): An area around that Middle Eastern capital was plunged into darkness last Friday by a massive sandstorm that hit Saudi Arabia. A CNN iReporter took this video of the storm. You can get a sense for how far it stretches.

The iReporter said he`s never seen a sandstorm this big before. Behind him -- you see it right there -- totally clear, but then there`s this giant cloud rushing forward on the other side. He said when the storm did finally reach where he was, it was a total blackout. He jumped in his car as the sand passed over, and said the vehicle shook for two straight minutes from the power of the storm.

Our next story takes us from Saudi Arabia up to Syria. We reported yesterday on renewed violence in that country after a temporary truce last Thursday. That was the deadline for a cease-fire and a peace plan put together by a United Nations representative.

U.N. observers are in Syria right now. They`re there to monitor the situation, see if a cease-fire can last. Yesterday both sides, government and opposition forces, reported fighting. The opposition said the government was launching attacks on Syrian cities. The government blamed the violence on armed terrorists, a claim it`s made many times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? in baseball scoring, the letter K represents a strikeout.

Yep. A forward K means the batter struck out swinging. A backward one means the batter was called out on strikes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Well, some Major Leaguers want to use their Ks to help strike out modern-day slavery. It`s part of a campaign called Free to Play, and you don`t have to be a pro to get involved. All you have to do is follow your favorite player`s stats. Mark McKay has more details on how this works.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spring is in the air, and baseball is back. But before these players get on the field, some are hoping to fight an off-the-field problem, helping children who have fallen victim to slavery and human trafficking.

JEREMY AFFELDT, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS PITCHER: This is an opportunity for us as ball players to join together as one unit as a team to come together and to support something that`s very, very important, especially for people who dream. And when kids get trafficked and some of that kills their dreams, we`ve been provided tons of opportunities to dream, that`s how we`ve accomplished our dream.

MCKAY: Jeremy Affeldt, the San Francisco Giants pitcher, is one of the most vocal athletes helping to fight slavery. Last year, for every strikeout he pitched, Affeldt donated $250 to Not for Sale`s Free to Play campaign, which funds athletic programs for children who have been trafficked or exploited.

Last year, Affeldt convinced his friend, Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals, to take up the cause. Now more than 17 players have joined the fight, from pitchers to position players, on at least nine different teams.

PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT, ARIZONA DIAMONBACKS FIRST BASEMAN: To be honest, I didn`t even know it was an issue in the world. And glad that, you know, people are out there trying to help kids and people all over the world.

JOSH COLLMENTER, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS PITCHER: It`s definitely something that I wanted to make sure I did, was be able to give back to the community and be a role model and help out where you can.

MCKAY (voice-over): And it`s not just players who can help. Not for Sale has launched a Facebook app, allowing baseball fans to create their own fantasy team to raise money.

DAVE BATSTONE, FOUNDER, NOT FOR SALE: A fan can chose a team for their favorite team, their favorite player, their favorite stat and pledge 50 cents, a dime, it doesn`t matter what the money is, but they can participate. That`s going to raise this program to another level.

MCKAY (voice-over): Fans can donate based on any player`s achievements, even if that player is not himself pledging.

BATSTONE: It really creates this community around we love baseball and we`re going to use it in a way that I sure that all kids around the world are free to play.

MCKAY (voice-over): Mark McKay, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Speaking your mind came up last Wednesday, when we reported on controversial comments made by Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Chris wrote, "In `A League of Their Own,` Tom Hanks said, `There`s no crying in baseball.` Evidently there`s no freedom of speech, either. The suspension is a pitiful attempt to avoid an economic boycott and sets a terrible precedent."

Jody says, "It`s one thing to speak your mind. It`s another to hurt someone`s feelings. It`s not illegal, but that doesn`t mean it`s right"

Ruben called Guillen`s comments "kinda disrespectful for the people who left Cuba for freedom in America. Plus Guillen`s a baseball manager. He shouldn`t be worried about Castro, but about his baseball team."

Alexus thinks, "People need to keep their comments to themselves. Even though it`s right to speak your mind, some things just can`t be said because it can come out the wrong way."

And from Amy, "You should say what you want. But when you`re in the public eye and say something that`s going to offend people, you should be prepared to have less people like you."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Before we go, I hope they have some extra wide spaces in the student parking lot, because these guys are going to need a little more room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): It`s Auburndale, Wisconsin`s "Bring Your Tractor to School" Day. The tradition begins with a parade, then a stop at the local elementary school. It raises awareness about tractor safety, and lets the riders celebrate their region`s farming heritage. This is the fifth year for the event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And it`s obviously able to "a-tractor" draw some attention. We`re pretty sure that next year you can expect a "reap-eat" performance, since this "farm" of fun is so popular. I planted this story on CNN`s education blog, "Schools of Thought," so you can "seed" it there. We plowed through all our time for today. We`ll put together another crop of headlines tomorrow. Whoo! CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

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END

STUDENT NEWS

Cease-Fire in Syria?; North Korea`s Rocket Test

Aired April 13, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is (inaudible) class at John (Inaudible) Middle School.

GROUP: Welcome to CNN Student News.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take it away, Carl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Thanks to Ms. Bailey`s (ph) class for that introduction You know we always think Friday`s are awesome, although you friggatriskaidekaphobics might disagree about this particular Friday. Today CNN Student News is taking you all over the world. We start in the Middle East.

Different groups from around the world have been pushing for an end to the violence in Syria. Yesterday, that seemed to happen, even if it was only for a short time. The sound of artillery fire has been daily event in many Syrian cities. Part of a peace plan set a Thursday deadline for the cease-fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): And listen to this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

AZUZ (voice-over): What you don`t hear is artillery fire, no explosions. This YouTube video does show a tank in the middle of the city, but there doesn`t seem to be any fighting going on, at least for a few moments.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was a critical moment for ending the violence in Syria. But he also said the world was watching with what he called skeptical eyes, since the Syrian government hasn`t kept several promises it`s made in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The window for a North Korean rocket launch is open. The nation announced last month that the launch could happen any time between yesterday and Monday. We`ve reported on the tensions surrounding this rocket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): North Korea says it`s using it to launch a weather satellite into orbit. But other countries, like the U.S. and South Korea think the launch is just a cover for North Korea to test a ballistic missile.

Tom Foreman explains how experts might be able to learn what this rocket is for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Intelligence analysts and rocket scientists all around the world have watched very closely the development of this rocket. They know that there has been input from the Russians and from the Chinese in terms of the technology used. They know that the North Koreans have also played with that a good bit.

But they don`t know a whole lot of other things about this rocket, other than the general shape and the possible capability. Last one, the Unha-2, is about 100 feet tall. This one seems to be taller than that a bit, 176,000 pounds in weight roughly. And the payload, boy, this is a big guess here, anywhere from 200 to 1,400 pounds, maybe a lot more.

It`s hard to say, because there`s so many specifics we don`t know about this. We do know that when it lifts off, there will be an awful lot of things to watch as it blasts up into space, things that will give intelligence services a sense of how well it`s performing.

For example, do the boosters drop off as they should in the drop zones indicated by North Korea? And beyond that how does this thing fly once it gets into space? They will look at the color of the flames coming out of the back. This will give them an idea of exactly what kind of fuel is being burned, how effectively it`s being burned.

They`ll look at the trajectory of the flight. Is it flying more like a satellite launching missile, or is it flying more like a ballistic missile? There are differences in the direction which they fly. They`ll also look at the telemetry, all of the information coming out of this as it flies.

That won`t only be professional services looking at it, but all sorts of amateurs around the world, in Australia and South America, keeping track of that, seeing what they can figure out. And the overall performance, is it acting like a well-disciplined, well-constructed rocket as it flies 17,000 miles an hour, 300 miles in the air, and tries to launch this little satellite right here, which is really the focus of it all.

When you think about it, because that little satellite is actually a very low performance piece of technology as far as we know, kind of like Telstar was back in 1962. The big question is: would you put all of that technology to work just to launch this? That`s what intelligence analysts think is the big question.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Mr. Butler`s civics classes at Ben Gamla Charter School in Plantation, Florida. The Ring of Fire is located around which ocean? You know what to do. Is it the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean or Pacific Ocean? You`ve got three seconds, go.

The perimeter of the Pacific Ocean is where you`ll find the Ring of Fire, although it`s shaped more like a horseshoe than a ring. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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AZUZ (voice-over): The Ring of Fire is a huge area of seismic activity. In fact, around 90 percent of all the world`s earthquakes happen inside that region. That includes the powerful quake that hit Indonesia on Wednesday. Had a magnitude of 8.6. It was followed by a shock that was an 8.2. No immediate reports of any major damage, but that wasn`t the only activity in the Ring of Fire.

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AZUZ: Early the next morning, a pair of earthquakes hit off the coast of Mexico. They weren`t as powerful as the ones in Indonesia. They registered with magnitudes of 6.9 and 6.2.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): We`re jumping from the Pacific Ocean over to the Gulf of Mexico now, where representatives from the Royal Dutch Shell Oil company say a sheen of oil has been spotted out in the water. The company says the sheen covers about 10 square miles.

That estimate would mean it`s equivalent to around 6 barrels of oil. Shell said activated an oil response ship to come out and deal with the sheen. The Coast Guard is trying to figure out who`s responsible.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can ID me. I was founded in 1846. I`m where you`d find George Washington`s uniform, the Star-Spangled Banner and Kermit the Frog.

With 19 museums, I`m the world`s largest museum and research complex.

I`m the Smithsonian, and many of my museums are located on the National Mall.

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AZUZ: The Smithsonian`s National Museum of American History has a new exhibit called "American Stories." The museum`s curator says it uses well- known and less familiar stories to tell the tale of America, from the Pilgrims to the present day.

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AZUZ (voice-over): Visitors can see some iconic cultural items, like Dorothy`s ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz." Kermit the Frog is part of this exhibit as well. And you`re about to see the boxing gloves worn by Muhammad Ali.

Technology also plays a big role in our society and a big role in the "American Stories" exhibit. The curator says her hope is that visitors realize they are part of America`s history, too.

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AZUZ (voice-over): You`ve read about a lot of that stuff in your history textbooks. In fact, much of what we learn throughout life comes from books. So in the spirit of National Library Week, we`re asking what your favorite book is and why. Do you even read for fun in your free time? If so, put that book down for just a second, and talk to us on our blog at cnnstudentnews.com.

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AZUZ: In the "Spotlight" section on our home page, you`ll see a link for CNN Heroes. It`s where you can nominate someone whom you think is making a difference in his or her community. Dr. Benjamin LaBrot doesn`t work in just one community. He`s found a way to affect lives all over. And the work he`s doing is why he`s one of this year`s CNN Heroes.

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DR. BENJAMIN LABROT, MEDICAL MARVEL: My name is Dr. Benjamin LaBrot. I don`t have a private medical practice. I make no salary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ben, you want to take her? This is Ingrid (ph).

LABROT: I started an organization called Floating Doctors to use a ship to bring health care to communities that have fallen through the cracks and denied access to health care.

Floating Doctors has a 76-foot 100-ton ship that we refurbished from a completely derelict hull, and we use that to transport all of our supplies. Since we set sail about 21/2 years ago, our mission has been continuous. We were two months in Haiti. We transited to Honduras. And we`ve been working in Panama for about the last eight months.

(Speaking Spanish.)

In the last two years, we`ve treated nearly 13,000 people in three countries.

OK, we`re on our way. We should be there in, like, 15 minutes.

I`ll find patients who have never seen a doctor before in their lives.

That was about as good a result on that ultrasound as we could possibly hope.

Typical community is usually living with no electricity, with no running water, with no sewage, essentially living with none of the basic requirements as we understand it.

We`ve built schools. We`ve done community projects. We`ve provided health education for thousands of patients.

Floating Doctors is an all-volunteer organization. Nobody gets paid. All of our medical supplies are donated. I had to postpone many aspects of my own personal life. I don`t have a home somewhere. I had to give up a lot, but I gained everything.

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AZUZ: When it comes to blowing up balloons, there`s the easy way --

-- and there`s the hard way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one.

AZUZ (voice-over): This is the hard way. It`s called a Rube Goldberg machine, something that does a simple task in a hugely complicated way. These students at Purdue University broke their own world record with this 300-step machine. Bet you didn`t know you could peel an apple, make a burger, change a light bulb and sharpen a pencil, all on the way to blowing up a balloon.

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AZUZ: Setting a new world record may inflate those students` egos, but it`s also earned them a place in pop culture history. All right. Quick congratulations to the students at Jan Gingelwright (ph) Junior High, who got this week`s social media trivia question right. How did they accomplish that simple task? With a long series of steps.

First, they watched the video question. Then they figured out the answer. They typed up that answer, told us their school and city name, and then after that, we checked to make sure they were right. We confirmed their information, (inaudible) --

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STUDENT NEWS

George Zimmerman Charged

Aired April 12, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz and welcome to CNN Student News. We have a bit of breaking news leading off today`s show, news out of Florida that happened right as we were producing this show last night.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey announced that George Zimmerman has been charged with murder in the second degree. Zimmerman is the neighborhood watch leader who shot and killed Trayvon Martin back in February. He told police he acted in self-defense.

Prosecutors say Zimmerman turned himself in to authorities yesterday, and you can get more details on the shooting and the special prosecutor`s announcement by going to the "Spotlight" section at cnnstudentnews.com.

Once again, for you, though, George Zimmerman being charged with murder in the second degree in connection with the death of Trayvon Martin. The rest of today`s edition of CNN Student News starts right now.

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AZUZ: A massive earthquake followed the threat of a tsunami for people in Indonesia. That combination could bring up tragic memories. In 2004, there was an earthquake off the Indonesian coast, and that triggered a tsunami, this giant wall of water. It killed more than 200,000 people --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): -- was absolutely catastrophic for the region. Well, yesterday, there was another major quake. This one had a magnitude of 8.6. It hit the same area, off the coast of the island of Sumatra. There was also a powerful aftershock a couple hours later.

Some residents were told to evacuate to get to higher ground, where they would be safer. Officials put out a tsunami watch, but they canceled that later in the day. Unlike the massive devastation of eight years before, there were no immediate reports of deaths or destruction from this quake.

We`ve been talking to you recently about this. It was a ship that was washed away by the tsunami that hit Japan last year. It was thought to be lost until it showed up off the coast of Canada. The thing was still intact.

It was part of this giant field of debris that the tsunami washed out into the Pacific Ocean. You see it moving across the Pacific in this simulation on your screen now.

Over the course of a year, this ship drifted all the way across the Pacific. The Japanese ship gradually drifted into U.S. waters. It was drifting at about a mile per hour, and heading toward fishing areas in the Gulf of Alaska. That`s when the U.S. Coast Guard decided to sink it. Officials said the Japanese vessel posed a threat to other ships in the area. They also said it might be an environmental hazard.

So late last week, the Coast Guard opened fire with cannons on this ship. They blew holes in its side. What`s interesting is it took more than four hours for it to sink.

On April 12th, back in 1861, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. That marked the beginning of the U.S. Civil War. In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest-serving president in U.S. history, died a few months into his fourth term in office.

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space. His historic journey lasted just under two hours. And 20 years after that, in 1981, NASA launched the space shuttle program. The vehicle was Columbia; the program lasted for 30 years.

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AZUZ: April is National Autism Awareness Month. The goal is to educate people about this medical disorder and about issues in the autism community.

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AZUZ (voice-over): Autism is actually a series of developmental disorders. They usually appear before someone turns three years old. The symptoms are different from person to person, but all autism disorders affect the ability to communicate and to interact with others.

Last month, a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that about one out of every 88 of the 8-year-old children it surveyed has autism. These disorders are about five times more common among boys than among girls.

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AZUZ: While autism is often diagnosed in childhood, is a lifelong disorder, there`s no cure for it, and for adults with autism, finding a job can be a very difficult struggle. Gena Somra reports on one business that`s trying to help.

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GENA SOMRA, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Tom Pinchbeck never dreamed he`d turn his family rose farm into an employment center for people with autism.

After fierce international competition forced him to close the farm started by his great-grandfather, a family friend worried about his own autistic son`s future, helped reshaped Pinchbeck`s legacy. Now Pinchbeck is working with the non-profit group, Ability Beyond Disability to put a dent in the staggering 88 percent unemployment rate among Americans with autism.

JOAN VOLPE, VICE PRESIDENT, ABILITY BEYOND DISABILITY: He likes for folks to come into our program, learn the skills that they need to learn and let us help them place them in their community where they live and find a job and hopefully a career.

SOMRA (voice-over): Will Swartzell, a 19-year old with autism, is one of Rose`s employees. He and his mother, Sondra, say potential employers should put aside stereotypes that may prevent them from hiring those with autism.

WILL SWARTZELL, ROSES FOR AUTISM EMPLOYEE: I believe that autism only -- for me, it tells me that I learn a certain way that the majority doesn`t really, you know, is used to learning.

SOMRA (voice-over): With the help of a few charitable grants, Roses for Autism is now helping young adults with autism improve their lives, and Pinchbeck`s rose farm is also back, producing close to 1 million flowers per year -- Gena Somra, CNN, Gilford, Connecticut.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Ms. Chaney`s government class at Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat in Quinhagak, Alaska. Which branch of the U.S. military was established most recently. Here we go. Is it the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps? You`ve got three seconds, go.

The United States Air Force was established as its own branch of the military in 1947. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

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AZUZ: Members of the Air Force don`t just serve in the sky. In fact, today, we`re talking about a group of airmen that does most of its work on the ground. It`s a specialty unit. It`s credited with saving hundreds of lives. Reynolds Wolf caught up with some of them recently and learned how they unleash their unique skills.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Robins Air Force Base in Georgia is home to some 7,000 airmen, six of them are among the most deployed and most vital in the military.

Like Azak, a 5-year-old German shepherd -- yes, he`s a dog, but he`s also considered an airman.

STAFF SGT. ROCKY FOREMAN, USAF: They`re not people, obviously, but they, you know, they`re almost like that for us. They`re our partners, so that`s how we look at them.

WOLF (voice-over): Staff Sgt. Rocky Foreman is Azak`s handler.

FOREMAN: (Inaudible) my dog (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand.

FOREMAN: Get out of here! Oh!

WOLF (voice-over): He says there`s a lot more to his job than just holding a leash.

WOLF: What is his specific role?

FOREMAN: Well, he can find certain types of explosive or narcotics. He is also a patrol certified dog, so that means he can do the bite work, the escort, the detention and apprehension of suspects.

Get it, boy. Get it, boy. Azak, get him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo! Get your dog. Get your dog. Get your dog off me.

FOREMAN: Whoa, buddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your dog.

FOREMAN: Azak, out.

And they can save lives, just like soldiers and airmen can. They can stop the whole line of patrol before you even get to a detonation or a hazardous area, due to their detection sense. That`s when you would halt everything and basically you would -- whoever`s with you, that`s how many lives you saved because of his nose.

WOLF (voice-over): It`s estimated these dogs save an average of 150 lives each.

LT. COL. TOM MORSE, COMMANDER, 78TH SECURITY FORCES SQUADRON: The dogs don`t know that they`re being heroes. They`re just doing what they think is right between their relationship that they have with their handler and themselves.

WOLF (voice-over): That partnership is critical to their success.

MORSE: It`s extremely that we do find the right handler with the right dog. The better the relationship, the better the detection capability, the better the capability they`re going to be having when they`re going out there and doing any kind of mission.

WOLF: How do they decompress? How do they separate themselves from a very violent, from a very frightening situation?

MORSE: They have some downtime, where they`re able to go and relax. And it might be just that handler having time with the dog, petting it, playing with it a bit more. And then they go out and do the mission again. It becomes routine, and it becomes something that the dog looks forward to.

WOLF (voice-over): Staff Sgt. Foreman is relying on that relationship.

FOREMAN: Azak, out. Sit.

WOLF (voice-over): The two will head overseas in a matter of weeks.

WOLF: Do you feel confident when you`re deployed, having this guy with you?

FOREMAN: I feel completely confident with him by my side overseas. We`re good to go.

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AZUZ: I`d be confident with him, too. And you know, dogs aren`t the only animals we`ve seen used in the military. We had a report recently about how dolphins are used to detect mines underwater. Always cool to see animals serving in our armed forces.

Well, before we go today, there is a new reason to think twice about texting while walking. This 400-pound black bear was wandering around the California neighborhood recently. The news helicopter tracking him had the perfect view for what`s coming up.

There`s a guy walking, looking down at his phone. Then he looks up -- there he goes. Takes off. Can you imagine, texting while walking, looking up and having a bear? A lot of people just walk into street signs. You can`t blame the guy for turning tail. He was actually texting to tell his boss he was going to be late because of some commotion outside his home. He was right.

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AZUZ: Should have just showed him the video of the close encounter though, because that would have put the story into context. Luckily, the man was a runner, so he was able to get away, but just "bearly." We hope you enjoy the rest of your Thursday. We will be back tomorrow with more CNN Student News, possibly more puns if you`re lucky. I`ll see you later. I`m Carl Azuz.

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STUDENT NEWS

North Korea`s Upcoming Nuclear Test

Aired April 10, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GROUP: Welcome. We are the seventh grade at St. Jude`s School in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania. And you`re watching CNN Student News, where the news sticks with you.

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CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: I want to thank those St. Jude`s students for introducing today`s show. Thanks to all of you for sticking with us for the next 10 minutes. I`m Carl Azuz, welcome to CNN Student News.

First up, tension on the Korean peninsula, and part of it has to do with the possibility of an upcoming nuclear test. North Korea has held two of these controversial tests before. Now South Korean officials say the north is getting ready to run another one. U.S. officials agreed with that information, although North Korea hasn`t said anything about a nuclear test.

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AZUZ (voice-over): What the north is talking about is a separate rocket launch, scheduled for later this week. CNN`s Stan Grant was invited to get an up-close look at the rocket. He explains why there`s some controversy surrounding this launch, too.

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STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what North Korea has been keeping hidden from the world, not any more. A long-range rocket, 30 meters long or nearly 100 feet, that much of the world suspects will launch the next phase of the reclusive country`s missile program.

North Korea insists there is nothing to fear. Not a missile test, but in fact, a satellite launch for scientific research. To prove it, they`ve taken an unprecedented step, opening up the launch site to the eyes of the international media.

For Pyongyang, this also represents a propaganda coup. In the year the country celebrates their 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il-sung.

"This is a spiritual moment as the North Korean people struggle to open the gate to a prosperous and powerful future," this man says. But the United States and its allies see it very differently, a country still technically at war, taking yet another step closer to perfecting a missile that, experts say, could reach American shores.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am very disturbed.

GRANT: He can deny that? (Inaudible) deny that it`s -- that it`s --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Look for yourselves with your own eyes, then you can judge whether it`s a ballistic missile or whether it`s a launch vehicle to put a satellite into orbit to show that, that`s why we have invited you to this launch site.

GRANT (voice-over): So we certainly get the grand tour, today shown all around the site, the control center, even the actual satellite that will be launched into space on the rocket. One independent European analyst visiting the site says he sees nothing to be concerned about, but - -

CHRISTIAN LARDIER, SPACE ANALYST: I don`t know what they want to do in future, but today what we see is a space launcher.

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AZUZ: An update for you now on a neighborhood watch shooting in Florida. In February, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader. Police say Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after the teenager attacked him. We have a video in the "Spotlight" section of our home page with more details on the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): A special prosecutor has been investigating this case. She had three options of possible action: she could charge George Zimmerman with a crime; she could clear him of any wrongdoing or she could send the case to the grand jury. That`s a group that hears evidence and testimony from witnesses and decides whether a case should go to trial.

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AZUZ: We found out yesterday that option three won`t happen. This special prosecutor says she won`t use a grand jury. She added that the decision doesn`t mean things are final. The investigation will go on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): This story has been an emotional one. It`s led to protests across the country, like this one in Sanford, Florida, where the shooting happened. The story`s also left people with a lot of questions, including you.

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AZUZ: We asked what was on your mind, what questions you had when you heard about this story.

Alyssa asks, "Why do the government, media, civil rights activists and citizens . jump to conclusions so quickly about what happened without actually knowing all the facts?"

Ritika asks, "Could a teenager really be dangerous to a man who has a weapon?"

From Mark, "What would have happened if their races were different -- would there still be protests or news coverage?"

And from Shaina, "Why is this type of incident just now being brought to people`s attention? Things like this happen all the time; does America care or know about those other incidents?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: A lot of things unanswered at this point. We`re going to bring you news updates as we get them.

Meantime, if you want to share your thoughts, cnnstudentnews.com.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? You have to be at least 45 years old to be a U.S. president.

Nope, not true. The Constitution says U.S. citizens who are at least 35 are eligible to be president.

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AZUZ: U.S. president, 35; U.S. House of Representatives, 25; Prince George`s County, Maryland, School Board, 18. Different levels of government have different age requirements that are set by the U.S. Constitution or state and local governments. Athena Jones caught up with a group of candidates for that Maryland school board who are hoping that their age will pay off at the polls.

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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Edward Burroughs, Raaheela Ahmed and David Murray. These fresh-faced college students spent primary day at the polls, not just voting, but campaigning for seats of their own on the school board in Prince George`s County, Maryland.

In fact, 19-year-old Edward Burroughs is defending his seat. He`s fighting to protect his former classmates from steep budget cuts.

EDWARD BURROUGHS, SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE: At the polls last week we had early voting. There were several people who came up and said, you know, "I didn`t vote for you last time because you were too young. But I`ve seen you on the board. I`ve seen you in action, and you`re doing a great job. So you have my vote."

JONES (voice-over): Burroughs got 67 percent of the vote Tuesday. David Murray, who`s 20, wants schools to do a better job preparing students for life after high school.

DAVID MURRAY, SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE: Well, you know, our county is lagging behind our peers. We`re persistently at the bottom in terms of student achievement. And I want students to have the same opportunity to go to college and to be successful in the workforce.

JONES (voice-over): At just 18, Raaheela Ahmed is the youngest. She attended the county`s public schools for 13 years.

RAAHEELA AHMED, SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE: What do I bring? I bring a knowledge of the schools. I bring a knowledge of the system and what goes on in the schools, and I think that that is something that can be a very good asset to the board.

JONES (voice-over): All three won their primaries, and are gearing up for the November election. Because they graduated recently, they say they know what students and teachers need. Some of their opponents say their youth could be a problem.

ANDRE NOTTINGHAM, SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE: We have a $1.6 billion budget. So that`s a $1.6 billion business enterprise. We need folks with experience management.

ZABRINA EPPS, SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE: I think my opponent is a very bright young man. He`s in college himself. He`s come through the process. But I think that there`s something to be said for having experience.

JONES (voice-over): But these candidates have a message for people who think they`re too young.

BURROUGHS: With my age comes new ideas, new energy and they`re looking for hands-on, energetic members of the board, who are willing to move the system forward.

MURRAY: We`ve got to be willing to look at things differently.

JONES (voice-over): Athena Jones, CNN, Upper Marlborough, Maryland.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Ms. Gazda`s American government class at Harland High School in Hartland, Michigan.

What article of clothing is presented to the winner of the Masters golf tournament? Is it a gold jacket, checkered pants, green jacket or argyle socks? You`ve got three seconds, go.

A Masters victory earns you a green jacket that you have to return the next year. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Well, the man now wearing that green jacket is Bubba Watson. He won this year`s Masters tournament in a sudden death playoff on Sunday. It was just the fourth career victory for Watson --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): -- and he`s not what you might call a traditional golfer. He doesn`t have a coach. He came up with his own swing. He`s told reporters that he`s not a big fan of practice. So how did Watson end up taking home the green jacket? He says a big part of it was believing in his natural abilities.

BUBBA WATSON, 2012 MASTERS CHAMPION: Going back to my childhood, going back to my wife, what my wife said to me, what my mom said to me, just put my head down -- and I`ve done this before; my caddy`s told me all the time, he said, "You`re a good golfer. You`re here for a reason. You can do this. You`ve hit all these shots before. You just have to do it in this moment."

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AZUZ: Well, before we go, we have the latest installment of an annual Easter tradition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): It`s San Francisco`s Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race. Dozens of adults speeding downhill on toys with plastic wheels -- the phrase "organized chaos" definitely applies here. They even got a celebrity to show up for this year`s event. Really aren`t any rules here. And you don`t have to worry about practicing to cruise around on a toy trike, because after all --

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AZUZ: -- the whole race is pretty much a crash course. The road, of course, plays a big part in determining the winner. But as you could see in the video, it grades on a curve. Never get tired of puns. But right now we`re spinning our wheels, so we`ll come up with more for you tomorrow, and we`ll see you then. `Bye.

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