CNN Student News February 22, 2013

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ONYEKA OKEKE, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I`m Onyeka.

JULIAN NELUMS, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: And I`m Julian.

OKEKE: We go to South (inaudible) High School.

NELUMS: And you`re watching CNN STUDENT NEWS.

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AZUZ: Usually on CNN STUDENT NEWS we say how Fridays are awesome. For a lot of the U.S., this Friday is frozen. You expect snow and cold temperatures in the winter. What makes this storm different, is that it`s huge. Around 60 million people — we`re talking 20 percent of the entire U.S. population potentially effected by this. Governors and mayors have declared states of emergency. The area that`s being hit is roughly the same size as Mexico, and the storm`s bringing some unusual weather. You probably haven`t seen or heard that too often, it`s called thunder snow. And you need the right ingredients for it to happen. Cold air on top of warm air with moist air close to the ground. This massive winter storm is causing trouble problems like what CNN`s Ted Rowlands ran into outside Kansas City.

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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The freeways here are a mess. An absolute mess. I was stuck on I-29 for about an hour and a half just dead still, I`ve gone on 35, I-70, all of it mess. And though biggest part is not only visibility, but the snow accumulation is just — it`s piling up, and people are getting stuck, spinning out, there`s trucks all over the road, there are (inaudible) a couple of medical emergencies, which, of course, have made it very difficult that the snow makes it very difficult for first responders to get to those people and (inaudible) is they warn people do not drive in this conditions. There`s a reason why. This storm is a whopper.

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AZUZ: There might be a silver lining here. Some of the states getting hit have been dealing with the terrible drought. So when all this snow melts, the water could help relieve some of those drought issues.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can I.D. me. I`m a country that borders 14 others. I`m the fourth largest nation in land area. I have the world`s second largest economy, and when it comes to population, I`m number one. I`m China. And my most populated city is Shanghai.

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AZUZ: An American online security companies say Shanghai is home to a group of the world`s most effective computer hackers. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says Chin is one of the biggest sources for cyber attacks against the United States. When you picture a hacker, you might think of one person, like a lone wolf type, hammering away at a keyboard in the dark room somewhere. The American firm says this group of hackers in Shanghai is connected to the Chinese government.

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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s clear that this installation of buildings is closely watched by the People`s Liberation Army, and allegation is that they`re working in conjunction with civilian hackers. As we got closer to take a look, we got in trouble.

Keep driving. Drive away. Drive away. Drive away.

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AZUZ: World of espionage is moved online. It`s where cyber spies can get access to all kinds of sensitive information. Hackers might be able to access electricity grid or telecommunications networks. This Shanghai group is accused of stealing technology blueprints and sensitive business plans. Chinese officials deny any connection to hacking. They say they`re the victim of cyber attacks, mostly from the U.S.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s “Shoutout” goes out to Mrs. Bosco`s American history classes at St. Barnabas Episcopal School in DeLand, Florida.

What amendment to the U.S. Constitution discusses the right to bear arms? Here we go now. Is it the 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, 5th Amendment or 10th Amendment?

You`ve got three seconds, go!

Those words show up in the 2nd Amendment. That`s your answer and that`s your “Shoutout.”

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AZUZ: You often hear the 2nd Amendment mentioned alongside the issue of guns in America. Yesterday, a little more than two months after a school in Connecticut, Vice President Joe Biden traveled there to promote stricter gun control, new restrictions on who can buy guns and what guns can be bought. People who support gun rights including the National Rifle Association say new restrictions aren`t going to help stop gun violence, and may violate the 2nd Amendment. So, why exactly is there so much debate over this?

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JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The 2nd Amendment may be the single most mysterious part of the Constitution. It`s an ungrammatical sentence, it refers to militias, which don`t even exist anymore. And it`s been the subject of an intense, intense controversy.

The 2nd Amendment has two parts, the first part talks about state militias. It says that state militias are a necessary part of national defense. And the second part refers to the right to keep and bear arms.

The question of how the two relate is something people are still debating.

Militias were effectively how the United States raised armies in the early days of the Republic. There were essentially more or less volunteer forces of young men who fought for their states and fought for the country in what we call militias.

Starting about 20 years ago, a lot of conservatives, especially in the National Rifle Association started to say, look, the 2nd Amendment has been misinterpreted by the courts. It is not just about state militias, it`s about individuals rights to keep and bear arms. And the National Rifle Association, academics associated with it, other academics started writing and arguing for an individual right to keep and bear arms.

This question about what the 2nd Amendment means, has one final arbiter. And that`s the Supreme Court of the United States. In 2008, the Supreme Court said there was an individual right to keep and bear a handgun in your home. Justice Scalia`s opinion in the 2008 Heller case said also the government can regulate dangerous and unusual weapons. But what`s a dangerous and unusual weapon? We don`t really know. Is it an assault weapon? May be. Is it tank? I think it`s safe to say yes. I don`t think the Supreme Court is going back at this point. The court isn`t going to make it 180 degree turn on the 2nd Amendment, but they could certainly confine the right to keep and bear arms.

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AZUZ: Well, ready or not, prom season`s around the corner. Onyeka and Julian who introduced today`s show are ready. He recently asked her to dance flash-mob style. Julian and 19 classmates choreographed a routine to a One Direction song “One Thing.” They did it in only four rehearsals. We talked to the best friends about that moment, but first, we want you to check out how the group pulled off the surprise in the Youtube video that has thousands of views.

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OKEKE: I should have known, like all the (inaudible) around me — but I had no idea. I was totally surprised.

NELUMS: Every time I watched it, I`m still kind of like in awe that it all went down. And I kind of like my stomach and like jumps — oh, my gosh, we did this, and it went perfectly.

OKEKE: I was like why are they dancing, and why are they pointing at me and then I started seeing more and more of my friends coming up, and I was like oh, where is Julian? And that is when I kind of got the clue.

NELUMS: I was just listening to everything happening, I was like oh my gosh, (inaudible) soon, so my heart was just pounding and pounding. I was like I get to get this right.

OKEKE: Well, yeah, actually — I think we got up in the moment that he didn`t ask me right there. Like later on, he had to (inaudible) oh, yes, I forgot to ask you, we go and I already said yes in my mind, so. It was yes.

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AZUZ: Thumbs up is right. Now, I wasn`t that creative, but maybe you were, you heard about somebody`s fancy prom date request. Tell us the coolest way to ask someone to prom, those of you on Facebook can go to Facebook.com/snnstudentnews to do it. Teachers, we are not leaving you out. We want to hear from you, too. Tell us what you think about today`s show. Log on to snnstudentnews.com to do that.

Our last segment today is about a one trick pony, but it`s a really good trick. Mariska the Mare is a master lock picker, she doesn`t just let herself out of the barn, she opens the doors for all the other horses, too. Except her mom. Probably, payback for all those lectures about leaving the barn door open. Mariska opens doors, she opens gates, she opens coolers. Her owner finally latched on the idea to show off the skills on Youtube. Did the video go viral? Oh, that was just a lock! We just hope Mariska doesn`t forget how to do this escape act, because that`d be a shame to see her stall out. And Mariska, you need to be nice to your mother, you two should really try for a stable relationship. Have a great weekend, everyone.