CNN Student News with transcript Week 5, 2014

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. Today`s commercial free coverage kicks off in Egypt. Earlier this month, Egyptians went to the polls and approved a new constitution. The government said that vote was about 98 percent in favor, two percent opposed, but here`s the hitch: many people who oppose the government and the new constitution likely didn`t vote. And there were reports of intimidation and arrests to keep them away.

It`s the latest page in a turbulent chapter for Egypt. Massive protests led to the resignation of Egypt`s longtime leader years ago, but since then, Egypt has struggled to stabilize.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is here, January 25, the three-year anniversary of the 2011 Egyptian revolution and this is where it all started. Tahrir Square. The heart of the revolution, really the heart of the Arab Spring. It`s about 1 p.m. in the afternoon. Not a lot of people here at this point. Several thousand people, lots of pictures and posters of the Army Chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, and lots of security, tanks, police, soldiers. Everyone who walked into Tahrir had to go through a metal detector. It is now two in the afternoon, and we are starting to see the first signs of antigovernment protests.

This is a small group of young demonstrators speaking out against military rule, also speaking out against the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamists. And this is what`s raising tensions today. You have supporters of the government out in Tahrir Square. Several blocks away you have interim government protesters.

Around 3 p.m. clashes are up in several Cairo neighborhoods, when antigovernment demonstrators marched towards Tahrir Square. Police quickly turned them back using tear gas. 4 p.m., the crowd in Tahrir is bigger, but nowhere near some of the square`s largest turnouts. Here, it`s the army chief who`s Egypt`s hero.

“He will keep the country safe,” says this woman. He is a good man. A strong man. IN the city of Suez 150 kilometers east of Cairo state TV reports another bomb attack, targeting a key police training academy. 16 people are injured. By 5 p.m. several pro-democracy movements tell supporters to go home, calling off planned rallies in Cairo against the military and the Muslim Brotherhood. But small pockets of clashes continue several blocks away from Tahrir Square.

“People want the fall of the regime,” protesters scream. By 7 p.m., crowds in Tahrir start to thin. State media continues its day long coverage reporting millions turning out throughout Egypt to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution.

But on state media, where the message is heavily controlled by the government, there was little mention of Egypt`s deepening political crisis, a seemingly wising insurgency that`s using more bombs, allegations of human rights violations and a country that`s still struggling to deliver the freedom, justice and democracy that many Egyptians fought for here, on this day three years ago. Reza Sayah, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: A lot of eyes will be on the U.S. stock market today. It`s one indicator of how the economy is doing, and last week, indications were not so good.

The Dow Jones industrial average saw its worst week of losses since November 2011. Several reasons for it: one corporate earnings. Several big businesses said they earned less than investors expected them to. And that caused stocks to drop. Two, the U.S. Federal Reserve, America`s Central Bank, has been helping the economy. It`s begun pulling back that help and that could hit stocks. Third reason, emerging markets. These are financial markets of countries whose smaller economies are just starting to grow. And when their economy has slowed down, there could be ripple effects.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Call it a bad case of the emerging market flu: unexpected false moving and unpredictable. This sell-off has been gathering speed for weeks, in both stocks and currencies. On Friday, the Argentine peso fell off a cliff, falling 15 percent for the week. The Turkish Brazilian and South African currencies also tumbled. Weakness in emerging markets is now spilling over into stock markets the world over.

Almost three stocks are coming off their worst week since May 2012. And with stock markets expecting to fair to cut stimulus yet again this week, less liquidity could lead to more money being yanked from emerging markets as investors take a more critical eye. And with China slowing, countries like Brazil and South Africa, that rely heavily on China`s purchasing power could be hit hard. That said, many are still prepared to take the risk.

It`s not a full blown crisis, but as cheap money from the Fed dries up emerging markets could be sneezing for much longer. Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, if you can I.D. me. I`m a word for someone who takes action and risk, I come from an old French term meaning to undertake. Today, I`m associated with someone who starts a business. I`m an entrepreneur, someone who organizes and manages a business.

AZUZ: One such entrepreneur in the African nation of Uganda has a very good problem: there is more demand coming in for what he makes than there is supply of it. We are talking about paper bag, something we all use and probably don`t think much about. But what`s started out as a simple product made on a small scale is opening up some big dreams for its founder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just 21-years old, Andrew Mupuya is the founder of YELI, the first Ugandan registered company to produce paper bags. His business is housed here in Kosakosa. A slum just outside Kampala`s bustling city center. In this small space, his employees turn out tens of thousands of paper bags. Each week, the work is done by hand. His brand stands for Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments, a project launched as a teenager in high school after learning about the hazards of plastic bags.

ANDREW MUPUYA, YELI, FOUNDER: (inaudible) ecofriendly (inaudible) easily decompose. The if you (inaudible) they can easily decompose. But plastic bags take too long. So, that`s the difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uganda and other East African countries have attempted to ban plastic bags to curb environmental damage. They are still used in the country, and often collect in heaps on the side of the road.

But Andrew believes, Ugandans will eventually choose paper over plastic. He even plans to build a recycling operation.

MUPUYA: My plan is to recycle paper, because it is cost-effective and (inaudible) an environment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For now, he gets his paper from Kenya.

MUPUYA: We`ve made and then we cut it. Each team members specializes in one step of the process. One of the biggest challenges Andrew`s startup faces right now is supply and demand. He is getting too many orders, and his team cannot keep up. MUPUYA: I`m only able to supply 40 percent of the demands I have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a problem, he says, most clients understand, and a push for Andrew to keep thinking big.

MUPUYA: So, I believe it is (inaudible) start.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” What`s the most popular professional sport in the U.S.? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: football, baseball, soccer or auto racing? We`ve got three seconds, go!

The recent survey by Harris Poll indicates pro football is (inaudible) America`s favorite sport? That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: And by more than a field goal, 35 percent of American adults who follow pro sports said football was number one. In second place, baseball with 14 percentage points followed by college football, autoracing and man`s pro basketball. What`s yours? If you are on Facebook, we`re at Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews. If you`re on Twitter, we are at cnnstudentnews.

Time to take attendance. Here is who is watching in today`s class on the CNN STUDENT NEWS, “Roll Call,” we`ve got the Champions, it can`t be them. They are at Caesar Chavez High School in Lavine, Arizona. To Ashland, Kansas, now – where the Bluejays are online, hello to the students of Ashland High School. And we wrap things up with the Wild Cats over in Hilliard, Ohio. Glad to see you at Hilliard Davidson High School.

Today`s last segment is brought to you by Hawaii`s Kilauea volcano. If that sounds like a vacation advertisement, it`s not. You don`t want to lounge along a lake of lava. The Kilauea volcano is one of the most active in the world, it` been continually erupting since 1983. And it`s lava lake is rising inside the crater. Though it`s not expected to boil over anytime soon. It`s got about 165 feet to go before that could happen.

Still, there is a lot to love about that video. It`s great look at some mighty mountain molt and melt. And you could say, it rocks that there is no crater view, and of course, it`s nice to see without commercial interruption. CNN STUDENT NEWS returns tomorrow.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: It`s Tuesday, January 28 when American politics play a starring role in prime time. From article two, section three of the U.S. Constitution, “The president shall from time to time give Congress information of the state of the union. It doesn`t say when, it doesn`t say how. It could be in a letter like President Jefferson sent to Congress. It could be on the radio like President Coolidge first delivered in 1923. First time on TV, it was with President Truman in 1947, first time online, President George W. Bush in 2002. President Obama gives his annual message tonight at 9 P.M. Eastern. However you see it, and the official response to it. You`ll see more tradition than constitutional requirement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s a report card and it`s a prognostication. It is the president saying this is what I would like to do in the coming year. The State of the Union is essentially a homework assignment from the framers of the Constitution to every president who has lived ever since. The Constitution tells them that they periodically must tell Congress how the country is doing if a president wants to lean hard to one side, or hard to the other side. Then, you might see more political purpose in the State of the Union, although often it`s just a general sense of let`s move this direction.

The whole thing is a huge pageant. The president comes walking in escorted by members of the House and Senate, the sergeant of arms announces him and everybody stands and cheers. And there`s quite a crowd there. Everyone has assigned seating. Right behind the president you will find the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. And the president of the Senate, which will be the vice president of the United States. And then the two parties generally, generally stay on their side of the aisle although recently they`ve started seating with each other to suggest that they can get along a little bit better than most of us think.

You typically have the Supreme Court there, the Joint Chiefs of Stuff where they are representing the military, and the first lady will also be there, usually with some sort of special guest in recent years that will illustrate some point the president is making.

One of the coolest parts of the presidential address is always the missing cabinet member and fearing out who it`s going to be. One member of the cabinet always has to be somewhere else in case something terrible happened, so presumably you could have the Secretary of Agriculture seating somewhere thinking about hog (ph) futures, and suddenly he is the president of the United States, which would be a huge shock to him.

Since the 1960s, the opposition has also issued a response. That is someone selected by the opposing party to stand up and refute what the president said or say, perhaps, we have different ideas about how the government should be conducting itself and where we should be going in the coming year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” What animal is associated with the Chinese New Year that begins this Friday? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: the dragon, monkey, ox, or horse? You`ve got three seconds, go!

The Chinese New Year beginning on January, 31, will kick off the year of the horse. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: Chinese New Year usually falls between January, 21 and February 20th on the Gregorian calendar. Celebrations traditionally last for 15 days, it is the most important social festival for the world`s most populated country.

And because time with family is central to it, you can imagine what traveling is like when it seems like everyone is trying to get home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lunar New Year, it`s China`s biggest holiday, and for many the only opportunity to reunite with that families during the year.

That means hundreds of millions of people are on the move. On Monday, Shanghai`s train station was packed with travelers living the city for rural provinces.

According to China`s state news agency nearly 7 million travel by train each day over the past weekend.

LU ZHENGTING, TRAVELLING TO SHANGDONG PROVINCE (through translator): Everyone like us is eager to go back home for a reunion dinner, and a good Lunar New Year with their parents. People like us wouldn`t feel good if we cannot get home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With a busy travel period reaching its peak, many were still scrambling for a ticket home. This map from China`s Baidu search engine highlights busy travel routes for what`s considered to be the world`s largest annual mass migration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The NCAA, the National Collegian Athletic Association oversees many sports to the U.S. college level. Players in these sports may get scholarships, they may get exposure, they may get picked up by a pro-team. They don`t get paid. The NCAA is a not for profit organization, and it gives a lot of money back to schools, but because it also takes in huge revenues, the debate over paying players is getting louder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For most sport fans, Ed O`Bannon is the UCLA NVP who almost 20 years ago won a college basketball national championship. It was a night and a feeling he says he`ll never forget.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing?

ED O`BANNON, FORMER UCLA BASKETBALL PLAYER: All right, see you .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, O`Bannon sells cars at a Toyota dealership in Henderson, Nevada and helps coach his son`s high school basketball team.

O`BANNON: Get in there!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is also the plaintiff in a multibillion dollar lawsuit that could change college sports forever.

O`BANNON: I want to write a wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O`Bannon thinks division one, football and basketball players who help bring in millions, should be paid. He filed a suite in 2009 after seeing himself in a videogame. Since then, his case has picked up so much momentum that many believe the NCAA may eventually be forced to come up with a way to compensate players. Opponents say if you do that, you`re going to lose fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on camera): How much of this is about you making money?

O`BANNON: None, whatsoever. Me personally? No, I don`t care to make anything. I never got in to this to make money. Things need to change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): O`Bannon acknowledges college athletes are getting paid in the form of scholarships, but he argues they are pushed to win, not to graduate.

O`BANNON: A lot of guys don`t have anything to show for their effort when they go to school, because they put everything into their particular craft, and once it`s done, life kind of chews them up and spits them out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ed O`Bannon from UCLA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O`Bannon was drafted after college by the New Jersey Nets and signed a $3.9 million contract, while his NBA career turned out to be short, he says the money he saved helped him transition back into the real world, something many college athletes struggle with.

O`BANNON: My basketball career was a lot of fun, but this here is more impactful, and I`m very proud to be a part of it. I`m not going to ruin college sports. College sports is changing. The rules need to change. The game is evolving, the players are evolving, the rules need to also – there`s need to do the same.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people disagree with that, O`Bannon, including the NCAA that issued a statement to us, a lengthy one, which basically pointed out that “430,000 students athletes are funded each year by the NCAA and 96 percent of the money they make goes back to the schools. They say as a membership organization, our members do not support the professionalization of college athletes as it would destroy the model of athletics that provides abundant opportunities, both on and off the field to hundreds of thousands of student athletes. Each year the NCAA will continue to preserve the collegian model and defend against factually and legally unfounded claims. The Ed O`Bannon lawsuit is scheduled to take place this summer, and a lot of people will be watching.

The states on today`s CNN STUDENT NEWS “Roll Call”. 48, 49 and 50. Arizona is the 48th state, the Kings of Kofa High School get our first mention. They are watching in Yuma, Arizona. In the 49 state, say hello to the Cougars of Eek School. They are in Alaska. And in Hawaii, the 50 state admitted to the union we want to recognize the students of Punahou School who are checking out CNN STUDENT NEWS from Honolulu.

Three miles separating us from today` finish line. Race number, check, running shoes, check, gorilla suite? Check out this 5K in Austin, Texas. It may look like folks here just mocking around, but it`s all fur a good cause. They are raising money to help endangered mountain gorillas in Africa. They are believed to be fewer than 900 of those left, so you can see why some generous joggers just go bananas at the chance to help. They look like they had a gorilla good time. It`s a primate way to get in shape, and if you thought they were just suiting up because it suited them, well, things aren`t always as they seem (ph). We`ll see you Wednesday on CNN STUDENT NEWS.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. As you can see, I`m not in our studio. Winter storm that sucked the American South this week, has frozen over roads, it`s canceled flights and yes, it kept me out of our studio, but we`ve still got you covered.

Last night, big in night in the U.S. politics. In yesterday show, we told you all about the president`s annual State of the Union address. The history, the tradition, the constitutional mandate. Teachers, you can find that in our show archive at cnnstudentnews.com. It all previewed the speech that President Obama gave last night, and as expected, he spent a lot of time focused on what he calls “Income inequality.” “Basically, the difference in earnings between Americans. He also discussed the gridlock in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have really been higher. And those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely botched. Inequality has deepened. Upper mobility has stalled. The cold out fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone to get ahead. And too many still aren`t working at all.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So, our job is reverse this trends. It won`t happen right away, and we won`t agree on everything. But what I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class and built new ladder of opportunity into the middle class. Some require congressional action, and I`m eager to work with all of you. But America doesn`t stand still and neither will I. So, wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation take span opportunity for more American families, that`s what I`m going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Right after the president`s speech, it`s traditional for the opposing political party, in this case, the Republican Party, to officially respond to the president. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers from Washington got the job. She focused on a lot of the same topics as the president, but with different approaches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, (R) WASHINGTON: Tonight, the president made more promises that sound good, but won`t actually solve the problems facing Americans. We want you to have a better life. The president wants that, too. But we part ways when it comes to how to make that happen.

So, tonight, I`d like to share more hopeful Republican vision, one that empowers you, not the government. It`s one that champions free markets and trust people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you. It helps working families rise above the limits of poverty and protects our most vulnerable, and it`s one where Washington plays by the same rules that you do. It`s a vision that is fair and offers the promise of a better future for every American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: State of the Union address and the opposing response are great ways for politicians to make their cases to the American people. They get to speak on TV, online, throughout the media without anyone interrupting them or refuting something they said. At least, at the moment they are saying it. But there is a lot that goes into crafting these speeches. You know that saying, you can`t please all of the people all of the time? That`s sort of what a State of the Union address tries to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: “The world will little note nor long remember what we say here.” That was not true when Lincoln said it about his Gettysburg Address. It is true about most State of the Union speeches. Which is not to say they are nothing. They are a moment on the grandest (inaudible) pulpit of all, and in primetime, baby .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President of the United States!

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are priceless in terms of being able to communicate your message and your agenda.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These speeches have become the product of a cast of thousands and a nightmare for speechwriters. Government agencies weigh in on programs they want mentioned to elevate their status.

State Department and Pentagon types usually shortchange, push for more word count. Political operatives shake out troublesome verbiage. We are told that president, a wordsmith in his own right is heavily involved in writing and editing.

The key to success is no one in your audience, and that is not of these people, lawmakers and the House Chamber, they are pretty much window- dressing. CNN commentator Stephanie Cutter watched the process during the Clinton and Obama years.

STEPHANIE CUTTER, CNN CROSSFIRE HOST: Whoever is standing up and clapping, that`s great. Whoever is sitting in their seat refusing to clap, that`s great too.

OBAMA: Fellow Americans.

CUTTER: You`re not talking to the people in the room. You`re talking to people sitting on their coaches at home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also helpful, if not too kitschy, props. President Reagan once brought along 43 pounds worth of federal budget.

NEWT GINGRICH, CNN CROSSFIRE HOST: It was talking about the need to shrink government and so forth. It was very vivid demonstration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Except for historians and the occasionally curious, State of the Union speeches, as Lincoln might say, are not long remembered, but certain phrases endure, capturing a moment in time.

Lyndon Baines Johnson January 8, 1964: This administration today, here and now declares unconditional war on poverty in America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Richard Nixon, January 30, 1974: One year of Watergate is enough.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bill Clinton, January 23, 1996: The air of big government is over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And George W. Bush, January 29, 2002: States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an Axis of Evil.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are like mile markers in the nation`s history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: All right, so the reasons I`m not in our studio. Yesterday, a headline at cnn.com read “The Deep South Gets a Deep Freeze.” It wasn`t only the south, as Midwesterners know well. Yesterday, about 140 million people, more than 40 percent of the U.S. population was under some sort of winter weather advisory, but southern states don`t have the resources to deal with unusual accumulations of snow, so states of emergency were declared. Thousands of flights were cancelled in the region. In Atlanta, many students were stranded at school when their parents got stranded in traffic on the way to pick them up.

Forecasts in some areas were for considerably less snow than they actually got. That took its toll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: States that don`t usually see snow, are seeing it, and it might be pretty, but for many it`s a headache. Look at these pictures from Jackson, Mississippi. Roads are snow covered, and what few snowplows they do have, were out trying to clear the mess as quickly as possible. But for some, it wasn`t fast enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started sliding and, you know, once I started sliding I couldn`t control it.

In Alabama, much of the same. Near whiteout conditions brought traffic to a standstill. This was the scene in Birmingham. In Atlanta when the snow started to fall, people rushed to get home, but found nothing but gridlock on the streets. It wasn`t much better for air travel. Thousands of flights were canceled, not just in Atlanta, but across much of the south. Even the slightest accumulation leads to serious issues. Thousands of students in Hoover, Alabama are spending the night in area schools after road conditions deteriorated. Alabama`s governor urged parents to remain calm.

In Georgia, conditions kept students on gridlock school buses for hours, while hundreds waited at schools for their parents.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Next up today, anyone who wants to become an Olympian, knows about sacrifice, knows about overcoming odds, knows about doing everything possible to realize that dream, and maybe help inspire others along the way. Julia Clukey has taken all of that to extreme. Set a kind of parallels to sport she competes in, the luge, which you could say takes sledding to the extreme.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As she jumps into her sled, Julia Clukey has one focus. Getting down that track as fast as possible.

Clukey says her life experiences helped give her perspective, which is on the track.

JULIA CLUKEY, OLYMPIC ALTERNATIVE: I think anytime something happens to you, you have to decide, to feel, decide what you`re going to do to get there and then stick to the plan every day.

I was diagnosed with Arnold-Chiari syndrome shortly after the 2010 Winter Olympics games.

GUPTA: Chiari has a disorder, in which the fluid around her brain doesn`t circulate properly.

CLUKEY: A lot of the symptoms that I was having were severe headaches and pressure, you know, in the lower part of my skull, and a lot of problems with the right side of my body.

GUPTA: For her, surgery was the only option.

CLUKEY: They go in and they removed a little under a centimeter of my skull bone to create access for the spinal fluid to flow freely.

GUPTA: She didn`t let that stop her, though. Just 14 months later, she was back on the sled.

CLUKEY: I never lost sight of where I wanted to be after my surgery and that was back competing in the sport of luge.

GUPTA: While Clukey fell short of making her second Olympics by just a fraction of a second, she`s staying sharp as the team`s first alternate.

CLUKEY: I wake everyday knowing that I`m training for something I love.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Man, with efforts like that, even without making the Olympic team, there is no way that Julia could luge her sense of accomplishment. We told you her story was great. So you can`t say we misled you. It puts today`s show on ice, but we`ll slide back with more news and puns in the days ahead. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN STUDENT NEWS.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: From the snowed over suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, I`m Carl Azuz. And this is CNN STUDENT NEWS. First up today, this. A line of freezing rain, sleet and snow has shut down parts of the South from Louisiana to North Carolina. Several people have died in the winter blast, and dozens have been injured, many of them in traffic accidents. States of emergency were declared in Alabama and Georgia. And the National Guard was called in both states to help people stranded on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First priority was look for people that were stranded, you know, hadn`t had any food or water and to bring that to them you know if we could – if they need to go to a shelter, we try to find out what the closest one was for them, direct them there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: City of Atlanta, Georgia is known for having bad traffic on a good day. So, when the snow hit, shutting down surface roads and interstates, stranding students for hours on buses and commuters overnight in their cars, some were wondering whom to blame. Georgia`s governor mentioned the forecast, which called for significantly less snow than many places actually got. Atlanta`s mayor said it was worsened when schools, businesses and government agencies all told workers to go home at the same time. He said better coordination is needed. Whatever or whoever was responsible, the roads were rife with racks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snowmageddon in a major city, and auto graveyard on the interstate, semitrucks jackknifed, cars abandoned by the hundreds, other struggling.

Over a thousand accidents were reported in the city of Atlanta and the greater area. Look at these school buses, children stranded inside them, nearly 100 children were stuck on buses until about midnight. Other kids had to sleep at their schools. Good Samaritans tried to free cars that had been stuck for hours. Trucker Greg Schroeder (ph) had been stuck in his truck for 23 hours when he spoke to CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve seen hundreds of accidents. I`m not stuck on anything, I just – there is nowhere to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All from a snowfall of at most 3.5 inches and a lair of ice so slippery these kids could play hockey on it.

Atlanta`s mayor admits the government was partly to blame, because schools and government offices let people out at about the same time businesses shut down in the early afternoon on Tuesday.

(on camera): Is that how it really escalates so quickly? Everyone hitting the road at the same time.

PROF. SAMER HAMDAR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: It does. Practically, if everybody is hitting the road at the same time your demand on the transportation metro could be so high that the corresponding capacity or supply of your network will not be able to handle such a demand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): In Atlanta, that led to people taking 12, 14 hours of longer to get home. In these situations, one traffic expert says, drivers become distracted by stressful conditions, trying to stay warm, take care of children in the vehicle. They often don`t obey traffic laws at those moments, he says, and at many place a simple lack of driving skill is a huge factor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Since 2011, we`ve been reporting on the Civil war in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria. It`s complicated, involving forces that want to protect the Syrian government, rebels who want that government out of power and terrorists trying to get their own foothold in Syria. We don`t know when this will end, but we did get a look inside Aleppo, an ancient city, Syria`s largest city, a city that`s been at the heart of the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREREDIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Takeoff from a Damascus airfield. The Syrian government packed about 20 journalists into a plane and didn`t tell us where we were going. But we soon found out it was Aleppo, one of the most dangerous places in Syria.

(on camera): The airport in Aleppo has been closed for many months, and the folks were operating these planes, that were apparently the first civilian flight that`s going to land there since it was closed. Not exactly sure that`s a good thing, but we hope it goes well.

(voice over): Local officials seemed as relieved as us, after we landed safely. They sent a welcoming party including the governor of Aleppo. His main focus, the negotiations between the Syrian regime and the opposition in Geneva.

GOV. MOHAMMED WAHID AL AKKAD, ALEPPO SYRIA (through translator): What we want from Geneva is to stop foreign money, fighters and weapons coming into Syria, he says.

We, as Syrians, can reconcile with each other and make our own government to rebuild our country.

PLEITGEN: The Assad regime wants to show it`s winning in Aleppo. But we weren`t sure how spontaneous these shows of support for the regime actually were, as we toured areas recently recaptured by the Syrian army. Soldiers say they have rebels on the defensive, but the going is tough.

“Al Qaeda were the worst people to fight against,” this soldier says, “They are Islamists, they see us as infidels and they want to kill us.”

The situation in Aleppo is remarkable: the city is one of the worst affected by the civil war and yet the streets in some districts are packed, shops well stock.

But only a few blocks away, destruction is clearly visible. And heavy fighting continues to rage as we saw when we visited a regime sniper position.

The government is very keen to show us the gains that it`s made here in Aleppo, but Aleppo still is very much a divided city. If you look over the skyline, and you are at a very high vantage point, everything to this area here is government controlled, but everything that is to the left of that is in the hands of rebel forces.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Time for the “Shoutout.” The rangers are a special operations unit, associated with what branch of the U.S. military? If you think you know it, shout it out? Is it the Army, the Navy, the Air Force or the Marines? You`ve got three seconds, go.

U.S. Army Rangers are tough soldiers who are especially trained in close combat. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

During Tuesday night`s State of the Union address there was something that everyone, Republicans and Democrats could agree on. It`s that Cory Remsburg is a hero. He is 30 years old, a U.S. Army ranger who joined the service on his 18th birthday. He`s one of many heroes from the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and just by attending the presidential address, Sergeant First Class Remsburg brought the U.S. government to its feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: “My recovery has not been easy,” he says. Nothing in life that`s worth anything is easy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perhaps the loudest applause delivered during the State of the Union went not to the president, but to this man, Army Ranger Cory Remsburg.

OBAMA: Cory is here tonight. And like the Army he loves, like the America he serves, Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg never gives up and he does not quit.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His story of bravery and recovery is both incredible and inspiring. Remsburg led a squad in Afghanistan back in 2009. It was his tenth deployment overseas. On October 1, he and his fellow soldiers successful battled off insurgents on the outskirts of Kandahar. But on their way back to base, they would trigger a 500 pound roadside bomb. One of his soldiers, 24-year old Sergeant Robert Sanchez, was killed. Remsburg was tossed into the air by the blast. His head smashed in by shrapnel, the wound still visible today. He was in the coma for three months. President Obama first met Remsburg in the hospital in 2009, visiting several times in his years of recovery. And his recovery is nothing short of miraculous.

OBAMA: Even now, Cory is still blind in one eye, still struggles on his left side, but slowly, steadily with the support of caregivers like his dad Craig and the community around him, Cory has grown stronger. Day by day, he`s learned to speak again and stand again and walk again. And he`s working toward the day when he can serve his country again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: It`s time for the CNN STUDENT NEWS, “Roll Call”. We are starting with the Cherokees of Morgan Township Middle High School. They are watching from Valparaiso, Indiana. Next, we`ve got some Broncos, but not from Denver. These are online in Florence, Arizona, hello to Poston Butte High School. And in Alabama, we are waiving to the Eagles of East Lawrence High School. Thank you all for watching.

Before we go, we can make snowballs, snow forts, snow men, but check out these snow rollers. This natural phenomenon was caught on camera in Columbus, Ohio. It`s shaped by the hands of the wind. Basically, a strong breeze bumps up against the chunk of snow, starts it rolling and leaves it curled up in someone`s yard. You can call them snow rolls, snow rollers or snow donuts, they all sound delicious, and there`s snowthing unnatural about them.

OK, I`m going to be honest. I`m running out of snow puns, just a thought of bore makes me freeze up, makes my mind melt. It`s nothing to ball about, but some warmer weather would help us (inaudible) some new ideas. I`m Carl Azuz. And we`re forecasting more news and puns tomorrow.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to commercial free CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. Attorney General Eric Holder says the U.S. government will seek the death penalty against the man accused of the 2013 Boston Marathon terrorist attacks. Officials say Dzokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan are responsible for killing four people and injuring hundreds of others. Tamerlan was later killed in the confrontation with police. Dzokhar is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to all 30 charges against him. The government`s announcement doesn`t necessarily mean he`ll get the death penalty.

Well, as you can see, I`m back in our studio here at CNN, a few days after a snow and ice storm shut down Atlanta and many of its surface streets and interstates. The effects of that remain all over the road. Abandoned cars` wracks everywhere. I passed this tangled traffic mess on my way into work today. A coworker recorded the video. It stretched the length of several football fields. Yesterday, Georgia`s Governor Nathan Deal apologized to everyone who`d been stranded over the past few days. He took responsibility for Georgia not preparing early enough to avoid these consequences.

It wasn`t just roads, though. Thousands of flights were canceled in the southeast. There is a lot of rescheduling and cleanup under way today.

We don`t have anything like this in the U.S. In fact, only one country in the worlds sees such a massive humid migration on this scale. China during the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Horse starts today. It`s celebrated in several countries. The festival in China lasts until February 14. It will include religious ceremonies, parades, shopping, horse raisers. And above and beyond all of that, time with family. It`s central to the Lunar New Year. One news writer put it like this: it`s like everyone in the country has a family reunion all at the same time. And China`s not only the world`s most populated country with 1.3 billion people, it`s a large country as well, the fourth largest in the world. To show you what traveling is like, when 7 million people are doing that each day leading up to the festival, one of our reporters tagged along.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zhou Xia`s (ph) journey from Beijing begins at night.

ZHOU XIA, MIGRANT WORKER: I`m feeling great now, because I`m going home, she says. And I often only go home once a year.

MCKENZIE: Like millions of migrant workers in China, she`s rushing to catch a train home before the New Year. And we are rushing with her.

So, they say every journey starts with the single step, and this is very true. We are heading around the thousand kilometers away to Anhui province the part of a great migration of people in China.

Zhou works two jobs as a maid, and her husband is a foreman. Together, they earn around $1200 a month. It`s enough to keep them far from home. Chinese will take a staggering 3.4 billion trips over the month-long spring festival period. It`s the largest annual migration on the planet. And it makes for a tight squeeze.

“I bet you, you`ve never experienced anything like this before,” laughs Zhou.

Trying to get on this train. Jampacked, because everyone has the stuff they are taking home to their relatives, and there are so many people here, and we all have to squeeze on the same train.

This year, online sales to Anhui sold out in seconds. So, Zhou got tickets to the first stop, hoping the conductor wouldn`t throw them off. With standing room ticket, we march past the sleeper carriage to our spot outside the washrooms for the next ten hours.

“I don`t mind sitting here,” she says. Because I miss my children so much. I want to go home. They are my children, and it`s not like we are separated for a month or two. It`s for an entire year.

But this isn`t so much a vacation for Zhou. It`s a pilgrimage home. And for the multitude of migrants heading back, the overnight journey is often crowded, frequently uncomfortable and definitely tedious.

But it`s the destination that counts.

“Every year when I get near home, I feel so happy,” says Zhou. “But the thought of going back is so hard. I feel so sad and every time I cry.”

But for now, Zhou has three precious weeks in her village to forget about her work. To spend time with her son that she`s putting through college and to just be a mother. A family separated by necessity, but brought together by tradition. David McKenzie, CNN, Mowham (ph) Village, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” What number is represented by these Roman numerals – XLVIII? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it – 14, 36, 37 or 48? You`ve got three seconds, go!

In Roman numerals, XL is 40 and VIII is eight. So, Super Bowl XLVIII will be Super Bowl 48. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: A few more numbers associated with Super Bowl XLVIII, 1.25 billion – the number of chicken wings eaten nationwide on game day. 4 million, what it costs to air 30 second advertisement during the game. And 79,000, the capacity of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

That`s what law enforcement officials are focusing on, keeping everyone there safe. There haven`t been any specific terrorist threats concerning the Super Bowl. But police are watching everything from the transportation systems that will bring people to the game, to the tourists` sites they`ll visit while they are in the area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HARNETT, FORMER NYPD INTELLIGENCE COMMANDER: I would say arguably this is the biggest security challenge the city has ever faced.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ed Harnett, a former NYPD intelligence commander, has overseen some of the most high profile, high security moments in New York City`s history. But he says, the NYPD`s latest mission securing Super Bowl Boulevard of 13 blocks stretched in the middle of Manhattan, could be even tougher. Harnett thinks of it as New Year`s Eve going on for days with all the same challenges. Those challenges magnified now, Harnett says, following threats made on the Olympic Games in Sochi.

HARNETT: If you call before 911, a lot of these so called chatter was about a big event that would probably happen in Europe. And actually the event sadly happened here. I think law enforcement officials are mindful of that.

FIELD: A hundred law enforcement agencies are bringing in man power and resources to keep Super Bowl XLVIII safe. On Monday, the taskforce deployed officers to New Jersey home less than 20 miles away from MetLife Stadium where the game will played.

One man was arrested after a bomb squad found homemade explosive devices and guns. Now, officials say they found no link to terrorism or the Super Bowl.

(on camera): There`s been a lot of planning, there`s been a lot of preparation but what`s still keeping you up at night?

LT. COL. ED CETNAR, NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE: Nothing.

FIELD: Lieutenant Colonel Ed Cetnar of the New Jersey State Police took us inside the Super Bowl`s Command Center in a secret location, where a vast network of cameras are monitored around the clock.

CETNAR: In my career, in 27 years, this is the largest event that the New Jersey state police is undertaking. And the Super Bowl is – it`s not a holiday, but it`s an American tradition that this is huge.

FIELD: Super Bowl XLVIII has its own unique challenges. There will be events in both New Jersey and New York.

There are four nearby airports where air traffic will have to stop at times. Several event venues sit close to water. For that reason, authority studied that 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, which launched from the water.

CETNAR: And we`ve been looking at our vulnerability sites and making sure that when the 80,000 folks come in to celebrate the Super Bowl, every contingency is covered.

FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, east Rutherford, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: This Friday`s “Roll Call” has a bit of a boxing theme to it. Why? Because I`m feeling punchy. And NASCAR no (ph) hailing from James North Dakota, the blue jays are in the ring. They are representing Jamestown High School.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bison. The bison of Buffalo Grove High School are contenders in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. And roaring in from Charlotte, North Carolina, the Lyons of Hickory Grove Christian School. Lions are always the mane event. Great to see you, some of you are recently here at CNN Center.

Well, it`s been said there is a first time for everything. Like when a polar bear cub first lays eyes and paws on snow. I can hear the resounding – Oh, all the way from here. This cub was born in November along with two others, but he is the only one of his siblings who survived. Staff at the Toronto Zoo raised him indoors and nursed him by hand, which is why he might look a little bewildered at what`s supposed to be his native habitat. He`ll learn to bear it soon enough. For humans, snow can be polarizing, but once that little guy learns to love it and walk in it, his cub run (ph) over. Hope the last day of the month is a great one. We`ll see in February.