CNN Student News with transcript Week 6, 2014

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for starting your week with ten minutes of commercial free news for the classroom. I`m Carl Azuz. And this is CNN STUDENT NEWS. First up today, a natural disaster in Indonesia. This weekend wasn`t the first time Mount Sinabung erupted. It`s been doing that on and off for months now. But it is the first time an eruption from this volcano has killed someone.

At least 15 people died on Saturday when the mountain sent plumes of ash more than a mile into the sky. Tens of thousands had recently been evacuated because of this volcano`s activity. But authorities had thought the worst was over when it hit.

Volcanos are pretty common here. Indonesia is located on what`s called the Pacific Ring of Fire. It`s a horse shoe-shape line around the Pacific Ocean. With earthquakes and volcanoes all over the place. Mount Sinabung is one of more than 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia alone.

From Indonesia we move northwest to Thailand. Elections there last week were supposed to ease some of the tensions in the country. In some areas, that didn`t work. The nation is divided over its leader. For months, thousands of demonstrators who believe their government is corrupt have been pushing for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign. At the same time, thousands of others have been supporting her. This has been going on for a few months, and there has been some violence over the issue. Hundreds have been wounded. At least ten people have died. But over the weekend, people living the demonstrations were calling for peaceful protests, and while many of those who oppose the government have refused to vote in the election, many of those who support it, had been unable to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD (inaudible)

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was meant to be their day. Voters where the pro-governmental simply demanding their right to vote.

CROWD: (yelling)

MOHSIN: Protesting outside of polling station that have closed down after an antigovernment protest.

CROWD: (inaudible)

MOHSIN: Election, election, election. We want to vote today. These people who come to cast their votes are holding up their I.D. cards, but are not being allowed into this district headquarters.

“One man, one vote. This is democracy,” this woman complains.

A short while later, they storm the building.

There was an altercation with the police. This woman rushing upstairs demanding to see the ballot boxes to cast her vote.

Eventually, these voters were convinced to file police complaint forms and go home. One of the first people who did manage to vote on Election Day was the prime minister.

Prime Minister Yingluck has come to cast her vote. She`s been insisting that this election must go ahead despite anti-government protests that didn`t want this election to go ahead and for cause for her to step down.

Those against this election boycotted it, because they believe it wouldn`t achieve their demands to cleanse Thai politics of corruption.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn`t go to vote. “I want reform before election,” this anti-government protester tells CNN. The government denies allegations of corruption. Prime Minister Yingluck insisting she will only go if people vote her out of government, saying an election is the only way forward for Thailand.

Anti-government protesters may not have been able to completely shut down Bangkok as they planned to, but they have significantly disrupted the election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Time for the “Shoutout.” Black History Month is in February, because it`s close to the birthdays of what two people? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it – Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, Mary McLeod Bethune and Thurgood Marshall, Harriet Tubman and Carter G. Woodson or Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr? You`ve got three seconds, go!

President Lincoln was born in February, and it`s believed that Frederick Douglass was too. So that`s when Black History Month is celebrated. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

As Black History Month begins in the U.S., we are bringing you some inspiring words from African American leaders. From civil rights icon, Rosa Parks. “I have learned over the years that when one`s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” From U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, “In recognized the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” The words of abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” And from civil rights leader Martin Luther King, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

AZUZ: There`s a theme to today`s “Roll Call.” See if you can catch it. First, we are running with the Spartans of Salt Middle School, they are watching from Spokane, Washington. Then we`ll pass it to the Eagles of Omar D. Blair Charter School. They are receiving CNN STUDENT NEWS in Denver, Colorado. And we touched down with the Franklin High School Warriors. The end zone is in Franklin Township in the Somerset, New Jersey.

Last night, Super Bowl XLVIII ended after we produced this show. Of course, a lot of headlines focused on that today. One of hours is also about football, but at the high school level. Isaac Lufkin is at 14-year old kicker. He has talent, he has accuracy. He has overcome extraordinary challenges. And what he doesn`t have doesn`t stop him from doing anything.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is a lot more to this kick and a lot more to Isaac Lufkin than his winning field goals.

(CHEERS)

ISAAC LUFKIN: I want to play in NFL .

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You do?

LUFKIN: Ravens.

HARLOW: You want to keep wearing purple?

LUFKIN: Yeah, purple.

HARLOW (voice over): He is still riding high from an undefeated season and the freshman football state title. He led his division in on-site kick recoveries this year. Remarkable, considering this is what Isaac goes through just to suit up.

(on camera): You don`t want anyone`s pity?

LUFKIN: No, I don`t need pity. Pity just makes me weaker.

HARLOW (voice over): He means it.

LUFKIN: I don`t like people helping me because, you know, it makes me feel like I can`t do it. I drop my backpack and someone helps me pick it up. I drop it again I pick it back up, because if I can`t do it, no one else is going to be able to do it sooner or later.

LORI LUFKIN, ISAAC`S MOTHER: For me, I see him put on his football jersey and I am just filled with pride. Because he is my little football star.

HARLOW: There is no question Isaac has overcome an unimaginable challenge, moving beyond the arms he was born without to the perseverance born within.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isaac Lufkin …

ROBERT PALAZZO: As soon as he walked in, I pointed and said, you are our plays kicker.

HARLOW: His potential was immediately obvious to classical high school athletic director Bob Palazzo.

PALAZZO: I would not be the guy who would want to tell him he couldn`t do something. Put it that way.

HARLOW (on camera): What does he do for his teammates?

PALAZZO: I think he gives them hope. I mean you see a guy with no arms, strap up and put a helmet on and launch himself into a violent pile, you know, and get up and smile.

HARLOW (voice over): Palazzo calls Isaac`s knack for accuracy a skill that`s tough to teach.

His determination was clear from the beginning. This is Isaac learning how to dress himself.

LUFKIN: Don`t give up.

LORI LUFKIN, ISAAC LUFKIN`S MOTHER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Don`t give up.

LORI LUFKIN: Don`t give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here you go.

LORI LUFKIN: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very good!

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Here he is throwing a football as a toddler with his shoulder.

LORI LUFKIN: He never gave up. It wasn`t easy for him. But he never gave up.

HARLOW (voice over): He has learned how to do remarkable things with his feet. Eating ice-cream, playing the keyboard. Even video games. As a child, Isaac navigated the world with his toes. Now, in high school, he has also learned to use his chin, shoulder and what he calls his stuff.

(on camera): What do you think you have done for your football team this year?

LUFKIN: Now, they can`t be lazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Absolutely great story there. This next one may not be if you want winter to be over. Punxsutawney Phil predicts there will be six more weeks of winter. Yesterday was Groundhog Day. It`s like this old school way of predicting the weather. Legend says that if a groundhog wakes up from hibernating and sees his shadow in the sun, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow, but though he`s probably America`s most famous groundhog, he is often wrong about the forecast. His counterpart in Georgia, General Beauregard Lee didn`t his shadow predicting spring is just around the corner.

With basketball season in full swing, we`ve seen half courts, shots full, court shots, trick shots. Here`s a spin on that. Or should we say, flip? Ashlee Arnau made a front flip half court shot last year that went viral. Then last month, she did it again, caught on camera for this YouTube video. Ashlee is a cheerleader at William Carey University in Mississippi. She`s even taught a Harlem Globetrotter her trick shot. So she`s got a bright future if she can keep her feet off the ground. You can hear the crowd flip out and spring to applause. She doesn`t seem flip about the flip, and as far as future success where it goes well. The ball is her court. Will it take another shot tomorrow? And hope you`re watching when we do.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: It`s time for CNN STUDENT NEWS. It`s cost free and commercial free. It`s Tuesday, February 4 and man, it has been a bad year so far for the U.S. stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is just that. An average of major U.S. stocks. It includes Chevron, McDonald`s, Home Depot, Walmart. It`s one indicator of how the U.S. economy is doing, and yesterday, it took a plunge: the Dow closed 326 points lower than it opened yesterday morning. That`s after a month of overall losses. For 2014, the average is down seven percent. There are several likely reasons for this, from company earnings that were less that investors had hoped they would be to volatility or instability in some of the world`s smaller economies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a volatile week on Wall Street. The major averages all ended suddenly in the red partly thanks to mixed earnings. Big name companies like Amazon, Chevron and MasterCard, all disappointed investors with their report cards. But the major drag came from worries about emerging markets.

Wall Street is concerned the liquidity crunch in places like India, Turkey and Argentina could affect corporate profits here. And if American companies are not making enough money, they won`t grow, invest and hire. The week`s volatility was especially notable in the Dow. It alternately rose then fell in all five sessions.

Some of the frustration was also tied to the latest Federal Reserve meeting. As expected, the Fed would choose economic stimulus by another $10 billion per month, but investors won and policy makers and somewhere, at least, addressed the turmoil in emerging markets. Now the fact that the Central Bank didn`t even acknowledge it in its policy statement was a disappointment to Wall Street.

The meeting did knock the last with Ben Bernanke at the helm. The now former chairman`s term expired on Friday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And the new leader of the Federal Reserve was sworn in yesterday. It`s Janet Yellen, the first woman to chair the Central Bank of the U.S. President Obama nominated her in October. The U.S. Senate gave advice and consent as the U.S. Constitution says it should. And senators voted 56 to 26 to confirm Yellen last month.

She has worked at the Federal Reserve for more than a decade, and she specializes in the economics of unemployment. But Yellen`s also expected to continue the policies of her predecessor, Ben Bernanke. And critics who didn`t agree with those policies may also disagree with Yellen`s.

In today`s “Roll Call” we are sailing up the East Coast with some mascots you`d find off the East Coast. Talking about the Barracudas of Miami, Florida. They are hunting the waters near Coral Reef Senior High School. Now, too far from the Georgia Coast we found the Herons of Brantley County Middle School. They are watching from the Hunta (ph). And we`ll drop anchor in Yorktown, Virginia, because there are Clippers there. They are docked at Grafton High School.

Immigration, one big issue the U.S. government`s expected to debate this year. There are more than 11.5 million people living in the U.S. illegally. For years, the debate centered on what to do about that, does the country work to deport more of them, does it give them legal status allowing them to keep living in the U.S., but with some limitations. Or does it give them a path to full citizenship, and the rights and privileges that come with it. Compromises needed to pass any law and there are some mixed messages in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let`s talk about areas where you might be able to make some progress.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yeah.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an interview with CNN`s Jake Tapper President Obama set off a flurry of headlines when he appeared to signal he`s open to a possible deal on immigration reform that didn`t include a path to citizenship. He said he`s encouraged by signs House Speaker John Boehner maybe willing to allow undocumented immigrant to remain in the U.S.

OBAMA: If the speaker proposes something that says right away, folks aren`t being deported, families aren`t being separated. We`re able to attract top young students to provide the skills or start business here and then there is the regular process of citizenship, I`m not sure how wide the divide ends up being. That`s why I don`t want to prejudge it.

MCPIKE: At the same time, Boehner showed some give.

JOHN BOEHNER (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: These problems have been around for at least the last 15 years. It`s been turned into a political football. I think it`s unfair.

So, I think it`s time to deal with it.

MCPIKE: The question, is there common ground in finding a way for undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States and legally without full citizenship.

This past week, House Republicans circulating their principles for reform insisting undocumented immigrants not get a special pathway to citizenship, but allowing them to live legally in the United States after admitting faults, paying fees and back taxes and passing background checks.

Liberal Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi backed (ph), saying legal status isn`t enough .

NANCY PELOSI: Good afternoon.

MCPIKE: Continuing to insist on a path to full citizenship. The White House responded that the president wasn`t backing down, that citizenship remains one of his key principles, but suggested the two sides were getting closer.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don`t think it would be a surprise that their principles might differ to some degree from the president`s but the fact is, what those principles represent is significant evolution in the positive direction from where they were.

MCPIKE: Erin McPike, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” Which of these Winter Olympic events is oldest? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it – Alpine skiing, luge, ski jumping or snowboarding? You`ve got three seconds, go!

In the first Winter Olympics in 1924, ski jumping was the only one of these events to be held. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: Other events in the 1924 Winter Olympics, curling, figure skating, bobsleigh. Norway took home most of the medals. Norway has the most Winter Olympics medals of any country ever. But it`s never won a women`s Olympic ski jumping event. No one has, because until now, it didn`t exist. So, you could call the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, a jumping off point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice in run position. She`s super balanced, super

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Jessica Jerome the feeling of a perfect jump is like nothing else.

JESSICA JEROME: It`s effortless and it`s clean, and you just flow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jessica`s incredible Olympic journey started with these jump at the age of seven.

ANNOUNCER: Number 48, Jessica Jerome. First .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good jump, Jesse.

BARB JEROME, JESSICA`S MOTHER: She came home one day and announced that she wanted to ski jump, and I had no idea what she was talking about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within a few years, Jessica and a few of her friends from Park City, Utah were competing hitting jumps at 60 plus miles per hour, right alongside the boys.

JESSICA JEROME, OLYMPIC SKI JUMPER: We jumped with our hair tucked back, and you couldn`t tell the difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was decided that women would only be able to compete against each other.

JESSICA JEROME: Which was great for us, because we had our own – we wanted our own competitions, but then they would say, well, you just don`t have the depth that the guys have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The women could compete, but no Olympics and no official support.

BARB JEROME: They guys were sponsored by the U.S. ski team, they had a substantial budget, compared to what the girls – the girls had nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they kept jumping and the former mayor of Salt Lake City who had firsthand experience with the Olympics got involved.

DEE DEE CORRDINI, PRESIDENT OF WOMEN`S SKI JUMPING USA: This is discrimination, plain and simple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for decades the International Olympic Committee disagreed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A sport must be widely practiced around the world. This is not the case for women`s ski jumping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jessica and teammate Lindsey Van and 13 girls from five different countries decided to take on the IOC in court. They filed suit demanding that women jumpers be included in the Vancouver Olympics. It turned out to be another heartbreaking defeat.

JESSICA JEROME: There was a lot of times when I wasn`t sure I wanted to jump anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jessica says watching the Vancouver Olympics felt like seeing a party that she wasn`t invited to. And she was getting tired of fighting.

JESSICA JEROME: I didn`t like having to be an advocate for the sport. I would have rather been an athlete.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alan Alborn, a three time Olympic ski jumper, was one of the skeptics.

ALAN ALBORN, HEAD COACH: I would be the first to say, I was very narrow- minded when the women first started fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But now he`s a believer and he`ll coach the first ever U.S. women`s Olympic ski jumping team at Sochi.

CORRDINI: To see these athletes finally achieve their dreams is just fabulous.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

AZUZ: Before we go, we are going to show you a snowman from Indiana. Now, you might be thinking, Dude, it`s been a cold winter, what`s the big deal? Here`s the big deal! It`s 18 feet tall. It has rakes for arms, lamps for eyes and a traffic cone for its nose. It`s a traffic stopper. Two brothers built this brobding naggy (ph) in behemoth using a wheel barrow and a 20foot ladder. It took them a few days` work to stack up and their motto for the project makes perfect sense: go big or go home. Of course, they were home, so they kind of had both.

There are no plans to make it any bigger as of Yeti. Some neighbors might find the thought of that abominable like our puns. You know how they stuck those three pieces – they just iglooed them together. And now all stop, because I can feel your cold stares. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN STUDENT NEWS.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Technology is the theme this Wednesday on CNN STUDENT NEWS. Thank you for watching. We`ve got reports involving Internet connectivity and Internet behemoth safety for travelers. We want to get to it as soon as we can dig out from all of this snow. Well, not in Atlanta. But the U.S. Midwest and Northeast are getting are one-two punch this week. Sounds familiar? They`ve had a wicked winter. This time around, some Northeast streets could be under ice. Last year, the Farmer`s Almanac had predicted a bitterly cold winter for the region, and a major storm right around the time of the Super Bowl. Looks like they`ve got it right. Preparations for it might have taken a toll on other parts of the Northeast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Millions along the East Coast are digging out of Monday`s record breaking snowstorm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snow is coming down faster than we can plough it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winter storm transforming New York Central Park into a winter wonderland in just hours, setting a new daily record of eight inches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I`m ready for the summer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For thousands of travelers heading home from Sunday Super Bowl, the airports were anything, but a wonderland. And more than 2,000 flights canceled on Monday due to the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re trying to get to Chicago. My flights are a couple of hours delayed. We are just hoping it will actually take off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parts of New Jersey pummeled with nine inches, forcing Governor Christie to issue a state of emergency. Central New Jersey officials blaming the Super Bowl for impacting their ability to battle the snow.

ROBERT BIANCO, SUPERINTENDENT FOR PUBLIC WORKS, MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY: Most of the salt in this general area has been going towards the middle (ph) lands for the Super Bowl. The local municipalities in the counties have been struggling to get it. And this has been going on since the middle of December.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new winter storm will pack a one two punch into Wednesday. With heavy snow and ice forecast in more than two dozen states. Kansas City bracing for ten inches of snow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The Obama administration believes that for American students to compete with other students around the world, they need to have the same technology as students in some other countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Technology can help. It`s a tool. It`s just one more tool. So, today the average school has about the same Internet bandwidth as the average American home. But it serves 200 times as a many people. Only around 30 percent of our students have true high speed Internet in the classroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The president asked for and got commitments from companies like Verizon, Apple, AT&T, Microsoft and Sprint. They promise to give or discount millions of dollars-worth of services and devices to students. The government is also putting $2 billion toward high speed Internet in schools. The White House says the money is already set aside and it won`t add to the deficit.

Not everyone agrees that all electronic technologies good for students. Some experts are concerned about its potential effects on younger kids` attention spans.

Staying online? Facebook turned ten years old yesterday. At Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews, we are asking what you think of that. Carol is surprised it`s lasted this long and still thrives. Abel or Abel says that`s pretty old for Internet age and it shows how fast time is going. One out of every six people in the world uses Facebook. And Facebook knows a lot about its users. How old you are, where you live, go to school or work and what you like. The things you`re talking about with your friends, the things you share with them and what you click on. It`s incredibly valuable information. Facebook makes 19 percent of its money by selling ads, and your info helps it to do that.

How else has Facebook changed their lives?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOUG GROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Facebook is turning ten years old and it really is an unprecedented story in sort of Internet history as well as social media history. To tell the story, you can start with one number, 1.2 billion. That`s how many active monthly users Facebook has. Compare that to Twitter that has 250 million and you literally can take (inaudible) user base at almost a billion more. That`s how many you have for Facebook. And that really plays a party on why it`s changed so many people`s lives.

This year number really is part of the story. Facebook has allowed people in the way they`ve never been able to before to reach people from parts of their lives they thought were totally gone. To find people from elementary school, high school, college, find old teachers, find old friends they never thought they`d meet again. Sure, MySpace was out there first, sure, Friendster was around first, but this isn`t just your college and young adults and high school students. This is everybody. This is your aunt, your uncle, your grandma. So, the ability to find and connect with people on Facebook is something we`ve never seen in Internet history.

You just think about the things we do differently because of Facebook now. Birth announcements, wedding announcements, pictures of the kids – things like that. Even in the era of email, you`d have to sort of make your lists, send these things out. Now, you can really with one click sort of make these major life announcement to everybody you care about – to your family, your friends – they are all there. If you are a Web-enabled person in 2014, odds are you have a Facebook account, and that means we can find each other in ways that we never could have considered before, even in the Internet age.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” Where would you find a flywheel, pitman arm and a crank case? If you think you know it, shout it out! Are they in a sewing machine, loom, wireless controller or automobile? You`ve got three seconds, go!

Anyone who`s ridden in the school bus has experience with these – they are all auto parts. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: Something else that could be coming soon to a vehicle near you. More technology. The kind that could help your car talk to others around it. Unlike some proposed cars of the futures it would not actually do the driving for you. But it could warn you about what other drivers are doing. The U.S. government may require this feature in the future, but it would add to the cost of the car.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Warning. Vehicle breaking ahead.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s the vehicle of the future, cars that talk to the driver and each other. The federal government wants it on the road soon, pushing for technology that would warn drivers of danger coming from any direction.

ANNOUNCER: Coming along. The light is green. Everything looks fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all of a sudden, we get that warning that says, you know, look out.

MARSH: It`s called vehicle to vehicle technology. Cars would send wireless message to each other within about 300 yard radius. Communicating information like speed, direction and GPS position ten times per second.

ANTHONY FOXX, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION. When cars share this information, they can account for all the vehicles around them. Which means they are able to identify possible crashes.

MARSH: The technology sees around corners, over hills and through other vehicle. So let`s just say, five cars ahead of me, the driver slams on the brakes. Well, that car sends my car a message giving me enough time to react.

33,000 Americans are killed and 2.3 million injured in car crashes every year. The Department of Transportation predicts, talking cars could prevent up to 80 percent of crashes involving sober drivers.

Five major car companies have been working with DoT on developing and testing the technology. 3,000 cars in Ann Arbor, Michigan are already using it as part of the government pilot test. Sometime after 2016, the federal government hopes your car will be able to communicate with you.

Well, the DoT hopes to propose the rule by 2016, but it will still need the public to weigh in before anything is finalized. The bottom line is, it`s a lengthy process to get something like this mandated.

Now, as for privacy, the government says that data sent between cars doesn`t record personal information, so your privacy should not be compromised. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: On our “Roll Call”, worldwide Wednesday is when we recognize some of the international schools using our show. So, without further ado, hello to the students of Spangdahlem Middle School. They are online watching CNN STUDENT NEWS in Spangdahlem, Germany.

Over to South America, to Dourados City, Brazil. Shoutout to our viewers at Escola, Biegas (ph).

And across the Pacific, we`re happy to see you in Miyazaki City, Japan. It`s the home of our friends at Miyazaki or Miya High School.

Landing today`s show at the culmination of mechanic capability, the A-packs of advancement and technology, the paper airplane. But not just any 8.5 by 11 origami. This thing is made out of manila (ph) folders, built to scale, detailed to perfection you can almost feel the turbulence, you all. It`s four feet long. It took a 22 year old aviation enthusiasts, about 400 manila folders and 10,000 hours to folge (ph). Should we say build?

It won`t actually fly, so we`ve got the idea, we`ll get off the ground with others. That thing is intricate, from the nose to detail. Though it`s monochromatic, it`s still a great looking runway model, no, it`s lightweight, it still tips the scale and thanks to those images, we could show it to you for free without any pay per view charges. I`m Carl Azuz and I`m taking off.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers around the world. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN STUDENT NEWS. Millions have access to this show, but 3 billion people worldwide will be watching the 22 Winter Olympics. They start tomorrow in Sochi, Russia. Is the city ready? Journalists have been arriving from all over, some have found that their accommodations, hotel rooms aren`t ready. As of yesterday, construction was still going on in Olympic park. But Russian officials say everything will be set on February 7.

Here`s something in place. The Olympics torch. It traveled almost 25,000 miles from the bottom of the world`s deepest lake to the International Space Station before arriving in Sochi Wednesday night. It`s more than 600,000 miles from the American heartland to Sochi, Russia, but that doesn`t mean we can`t give a tour of the Olympic city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s lucky there`s a giant Olympic rings to greet you as you walk out of the door at Sochi airport. If it wasn`t for the athletes you`d be forgiven for thinking you`ve landed in the wrong place.

Sochi isn`t your normal Winter Olympic venue. The sun is blazing down this beautiful wide boulevards. You can see why it`s known as the Russian Riviera. Just have a look at this beach.

This beach (inaudible) in snowboots – in the suitcase down here at the coastal plaza, which will play host to the figure skating, the hockey and the curling. It`s bright sunshine all the way for the next few days. But .

Look at this – we have snow and lots of it. 40 kilometers inland and up in the mountains. That really is the beauty of this place. Temperatures here this week are well below zero.

Athletes are arriving day by day and getting in the last minute practice and preparations. The downhill course is being described as tricky, while changes have been made to the snowboard slope start course after Norwegian medal contender Torstein Horgmo crushed and broke his collar bone.

President Putin didn`t need his visit this weekend to convince him of Sochi. The area has long been a favorite skiing of his, but now it`s over to the athletes for the real verdict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Yesterday, about a million U.S. homes and businesses were without power, and more than a third of the country`s population from the Midwest to the Northeast is hunkering down in cold snow ice or all three. It`s easier to show you what some of that looks like, with snow piling higher in places like Kansas City, Missouri, as the storm froze its way east. But you can`t really see the cold. Not like folks in (inaudible) Montana are feeling it. In high temperatures of three degrees below zero. This weather is also having an economic impact.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out of business because of a broken water pipe.

KENNETH MCGILL, CONTRACTOR: Found water just all over the place, and .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is hard to imagine anyone more upset about this winter than the owner of Rozal`s Italian Cuchina in Chicago`s Little Italy.

MCGILL: He was literally crying. When I spoke to him on the phone he was literally crying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The harsh unrelenting snow and freezing temperatures have four cities across the country to shell out thousands in overtime pay to plow streets and now many areas are running low on road salt, forcing crews to cut back or pay three times the regular price for the other white stuff, now in short supply.

TOM BRIER, GENERAL MANAGER, ICE MELT CHICAGO: Price have skyrocketed because of – really because of the lack of supply.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several industries are feeling the effects of this winter. Airlines have lost an estimated quarter of a billion dollars according to analyst. Poor auto sales in the Midwest, South and East are being blamed on the weather along with some lower retail sales.

Even restaurants without broken water pipes are getting hit.

At Gyro-Mena in Chicago`s Greek Town the owner says his business goes way down.

DEAN MARKELOS, GYRO-MENA OWNER: Hey, 11.87.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During heavy snow or freezing cold.

MARKELOS: I might see about a 40 percent decrease in my carry-out sales. Now, we deliver. So I see an increase overall about a 25 percent hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, not a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Consumers are also feeling the effects.

JACK GORDON, ASHLAND TIRE AND AUTO: You hit that pile – and the wheel bottoms out, and you get a nice dent in a wheel like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business in Ashland Tire and Auto in Chicago has never been better.

(on camera): Good for you, guys. But do you feel bad for some of the customers?

GORDON: Absolutely. Because we are human still.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The CVS pharmacy chain is getting out of the cigarette business. The company announced yesterday it will stop selling tobacco products at the more than 7600 pharmacies it owns. From the company`s CEO, “Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health.” “Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose.”

CVS hopes other companies will follow its example, but the decision will cost CVS about $2 billion in early revenue, and critics point out that the pharmacy still sells sugary drinks, candy and alcohol and doesn`t plan to get rid of them. Cigarette smoking in the U.S. isn`t as widespread as it used to be. The percentage of smokers has dropped from 42 percent in 1965 to 19 percent today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” What time is it? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it, 7:45, 9, 11:22?

AZUZ: OK, OK. It depends on when and where and maybe even how you`re watching CNN STUDENT NEWS.

Time keeping is not an exact science. I thought my watch was pretty darn accurate at keeping time, but the tiny bit that it loses here and there is unacceptable for the U.S. military. So, it`s taking the time to track time down to the atom, in an effort to address the problem of time loss.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Pentagon is looking for a solution. This high tech lab of lasers and mirrors measures the movement of atoms. 429 trillion atomic vibrations add up to just one second.

STEPHANIE TOMPKINS, DARPA CHIEF OF STAFF: That vibration is sort of a smallest unit of time that we can actually measure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their goal is to make the most precise clock in the world, currently the source for precision time is GPS satellite, which contain atomic clocks used to synchronize clocks on the ground. But the Pentagon worries the satellites could be jammed, so the want an even more accurate alternative. Your wristwatch loses a second every 30 days. Clocks on GPS satellites lose a second every 30,000 years. This program is aimed at building the clock that wouldn`t lose a second for a billion years.

Synchronizing time has always been vital for soldiers, but now it`s more important than ever.

TOMPKINS: You`ve got all of these high speed aircraft, you have precision- guided munitions, you have cameras and sensors and radars, and are all operating simultaneously. You have to actually do that synchronization much more precisely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, if GPS goes down, troops will face new dangers.

TOMPKINS: If you were to lose a couple of billionths of a second your positioning starts to get off by about a meter. You lose a few more billionths of a second, and now you`re starting to get off by several meters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And your life won`t be so smooth either. GPS time is in everything from power grids to your cell phone to the ATM you use to get cash. Without precision time, that ATM would eventually stop.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: I heard it through the great vine – it`s horses around today`s “Roll Call”. We`re settling out first in Grapevine, Texas with the Mustangs of Great Wine High School. Up in Nebraska, we are barking up the right tree. Hello to the North Platte High School Bulldogs in North Platte. And in New York State, Union Springs to be specific, watch out for the wolves of Union Spring Central High School.

Sliding into our last story today, a Minnesota family is in the Winter Olympics spirit, and not just because they live in Minnesota. They have a luge in their backyard, and it`s no tiny track. It runs the length of 1.5 football fields, and it takes 45 seconds to get from top to bottom. The man who owns it says it started simply as a wall to protect the garden, but that the idea just snowballed from there. For keeping kids occupied on snow days, this thing is on the right track. It`s helping neighborhood families twist and shout. It`s sled locals to spend more time outside. In short, there is just no way they can luge. One thing I can count on for those of you who like the puns – a deluge. We`ll always be successful. We`ll see you tomorrow on CNN STUDENT NEWS.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Fridays are awesome. You`ve landed on our February 7 edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. At the opening of today`s show we are talking about opening ceremonies in Sochi, Russia for the 22 Olympics Winter Games. They are happening today, more than 6,000 Olympians plus more than 1600 Paralympians competing. 7500 people can fit into Olympic Park alone, but thanks to the magic of television, 3 billion will be able to watch worldwide.

There are some security concerns. The latest warning from the U.S. was that explosive materials could be hidden in cosmetics. Yesterday, the U.S. banned all gels, liquids and powders in carry-on luggage on flights between the U.S. and Russia. But Russian authorities are saying the games will be secure, and that with other issues worked out, everybody will be focused on excellence in sport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, if you can I.D. me. You`ll find me below the equator in South America. I`m the second most populated city in Brazil. Translated from Portuguese, my name means “River of January.” I`m Rio de Janeiro, the most visited city in South America.

AZUZ: It`s about to get more visitors. Later this year, Rio de Janeiro is scheduled to host a FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting event on the planet. And in 2016, the Summer Olympics Game will be there. The city`s more than 400 years old. It has some of the most beautiful sculpture and scenery in the world. It`s used to crowds of tourists. But one thing that will help this city of history is a monitoring center of the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A breathtakingly beautiful city that clings to the Brazilian coast. Rio de Janeiro is not always the easiest place to live. 6.32 million people, precarious housing and a series of major events, from a Pope`s visit to the 26 Olympics are pushing the limits of the city`s infrastructure. But here, in the heart of Rio, an ultramodern operations center, may give officials a leg up. A giant wall of screens streams video from roads, subways and weather satellites. Employees in white jumpsuits quietly tackle crisis after crisis.

Pope Francis`s visit last July was a major test. The director tells us he slept just three hours a day.

PEDRO JUNQUEIRA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF OPERATIONS: When the pope was here, all of us – we had to arrive here before he left home. And we could only leave after he arrived home.

DARLINGTON: A pioneering system designed by IBM at the behest of Rio`s mayor, the center integrates data from 30 different agencies.

TERESA NASCIMENTO, IBM SMART CITY SOLUTIONS: We`re now trying to replicate in other places that could help cities, you know, to manage their daily operations.

DARLINGTON: Inaugurated at the end of 2010, the nerve center sounds the alarm when mudslides threatened hillside favelas and reroutes traffic when accidents block roads.

The center is going to face a big challenge during the World Cup when they have to try and get teams and fans to the stadium and yet keep the city running.

EDUARDO PAES, MAYOR, RIO DE JANEIRO: We are not as modern as London or Tokyo or Hong Kong or New York. But in our stage, technologies being more helpful in Rio than it`s in New York, it`s in London, it`s in Tokyo, it`s in Hong Kong.

DARLINGTON: Of course, no other city has both the World Cup and the Olympics on the horizon, presenting a major challenge for this new technology. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: From South America, we are sailing to the Korean Peninsula. North and South Korea have been divided since 1953 when fighting ended in the Korean War. In South Korea, a republic, people are free to travel. In North Korea, a communist state, the government has to approve travel, and many families separated in the war have been kept separate since.

In the past, the two countries agreed to allow reunions. 100 people from each side were set to meet and send time together later this month, but now North Korea may be going back on that promise, because of annual military drills that South Korea holds with a North Korean rival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 100 South Koreans who were preparing to be reunited with relatives in the north, are once again in limbo this Thursday. Just one day after setting a date for family reunions of 20 to the 25 of February, North Korea is now threatening to pull out. The National Defense Commission says it doesn`t make any sense to carry out the reunions during what it calls a dangerous nuclear war practice.

Now, it`s fulfilling to the U.S.-South Korean annual military drills which starts at the end of this month. This war games have often angered the North, especially last year, although the U.S. and South Korea say they are defensive in nature. Pyongyang has called on them to be canceled, but even after today`s warnings, South Korean`s defense ministry says they will go ahead.

The family reunions are a highly emotive issue. Millions of families will split after the Korean War more than 60 years ago. Tens of thousands have applied to see family members one last time, and many of them are now in their 70s, 80s and 90s. So, time is running out. Some have passed away already without seeing their relatives for one last time.

There is a precedent for this. In September of last year, Pyongyang pulled out of planned family reunions just days before they are expected to take place. They would have been the first since 2010. Paula Hancocks, CNN Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Religious freedom was one of the subjects President Obama mentioned yesterday at the national prayer breakfast. This is the Washington tradition dating back 62 years. It brings together presidents, world leaders and guests of different faiths and political backgrounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Here as Americans, we affirm the freedoms endowed by our creator. Among them, freedom of religion. Yes, this freedom safeguards religion, allowing us to flourish as one of the most religious countries on earth. But it works the other way, too. Because religion strengthens America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: We`ve been around the world on today`s show. Now, we are going cross-country from east to west. Hail to the chiefs! We`re glad to be part of your day at West Lincoln Middle School in Lincolnton, North Carolina. In the American heartland, we`re stopping by Fredonia, Kansas, the buzz is all about the Fredonia High School yellow jackets. And out west to Wenatchee, Washington we paused to recognize the Panthers who were stocking CNN STUDENT NEWS from Wenatchee High School.

All right, it`s time to unlock some truth – the band we are reporting on today has released three CDs and counting. They`ve been on the beats by (inaudible) commercial. They are playing an event with dozens of other bands in April. And they are heavy metal. When you think of that heavy metal bands, these kids might not fit the stereotype, but that`s fine by them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins and Alec Atkins, they are quickly gaining notoriety as the heavy metal band Unlocking the Truth.

MALCOLM BRICKHOUSE, LEAD GUITARIST: People who saw us in the city, they (inaudible) home watch us on YouTube.

BLACKWELL: One of those YouTube clips went viral, with more than 1.4 million views. The trio has since been profiled by magazines and featured on shows like “Totally Biased.”

For a group of kids from Flatbush, Brooklyn, known more for hip hop and heavy metal, Unlocking the Truth rising success is breaking down barriers.

JARAD DAWKINS, DRUMMER: Us being black and heaving a heavy metal band is really tough, but then fun.

ALEC ATKINS: Heavy metal, the nail polish, the rock sing – they only see stuff like that.

BLACKWELL: With the support from their families, the boys are undeterred.

TRACEY BRICKHOUSE, FATHER/MANAGER: All three of the boys are like that. Just feel free and do what you want to do, and don`t care what other people think.

BLACKWELL: And you can hear that in their music.

BRICKHOUSE: Most my lyrics right now, are all being free.

BLACKWELL: Although the group has not graduated to singing (inaudible) just yet, it has not stopped them from gaining new fans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every single person I know that these kids are doing it.

JON GLASCOE, BASSIST, KRONOS EFFECT: As a black man and grown up listening to punk rock and heavy metal, I was almost brought to tears looking at these kids.

KIT KELLY, GUITARIST, KRONOS EFFECT: We wanted to be here. We want them to feel our energy and know that there is, you know, a lot of people out there who respect what they are doing.

BLACKWELL: What they are doing is what they love making music and just being themselves. Victor Blackwell, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Before we go, it`s a pretty famous footrace. But winners finish in less than 12 minutes. That`s because it`s all uphill. Up the stairs of the Empire State Building. 1576 steps, 86 fights of stares, and the hardest part for top competitors – it`s got to be the fact that the stairways are pretty narrow, making it hard to pass slower climbers. Fastest male runner made it in ten minutes and six seconds, fastest female, in 11 minutes 57 seconds. There is no question they got a lot of stares. Getting a sense of how fast you have to be is empirical. You make sure you`re in a healthy state and then you start endurance and strength building. Getting to the top is a tower of your achievement. You`re fighting an uphill battle, but finishing with one awesome runners high. I`m Carl Azuz, and I`m going to hoof it. Have a great weekend.