CNN Student News with transcript Week 3, 2014

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: I hope you had a good weekend. We are glad to have you watching CNN STUDENT NEWS on this Monday, January 13. First up today, Israel is holding a memorial service for a former prime minister. Here are three things to know about Ariel Sharon. One, he was a successful army general who later led the country from 2001 to 2006. Much of his focus during that time was on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. His actions included ordering air strikes on Palestinian security forces and later holding peace talks with Palestinian leaders. Two, Sharon had the reputation of being a fearless leader who could get things done. To many Israelis he was a popular hero, to some in the Arab world he was a killer. We`ll have more on that in a moment. Three, Sharon`s leadership was cut short. He had a major stroke in 2006 that affectively ended his service as prime minister. He stayed in the coma until his death on Saturday, at age 85.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a flag-draped casket Ariel Sharon enters the Israeli Knesset, the parliament for the very last time. As the nation mourns the death of a man whose presence was felt for better or for worse in the life of every Israeli.

RUTH SCHNEIDER, ISRAELI MOURNER: He built Israel, he`s Israel. He was Israel. He was the health, the heart, everything.

WEDEMAN: Few knew that better than his old friend than his old friend and sometimes rival Shimon Peres, Israel`s 90-year old president, who was the first to pay his respects. Afterwards, thousands of well-wishers filed through to light candles, to take pictures, to ponder what his passing meant. Among them many who had fought in Israel`s long succession of wars.

YITZHAK SHMUELIELI, ISRAELI MOURNER: All his life he fight for Israel.

HAIM FREIDMAN, ISRAELI MOURNER: He was an exception in a way because he`s known as the bulldozer, because he got his way. And he made things happen. And he was well respected for that.

WEDEMAN: But on the other side of this divided land, a mirror image. In Gaza, which was under Sharon`s iron-fisted control when he headed Israel Southern Command, one man`s hero is another man`s villain.

“He was a criminal and his hands are covered in blood,” Mohamad tells us. He committed many war crimes and massacres.

WEDEMAN: Was Ariel Sharon a brave warrior and a visionary statesman or a bulldozer and a butcher? It all lies in the eyes of the beholder. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Our next story today takes to Haiti, a catastrophic earthquake struck there four years ago, on January 12. It made 15 percent of Haiti`s population homeless. And for tens of thousands life hasn`t changed much. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The Caribbean island nation that didn`t have many well-built structures or dependable services to begin with. When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit at 2010, it killed hundreds of thousands of people. It sent hundreds of thousands of survivors to camps where conditions were horrible: dirty water, dirty tents, nowhere to put garbage, gangs and corruption. Though other countries have sent hundreds of millions of dollars to help, Haiti`s problems are still so big, and its ability to recover so limited. Aid workers are hoping that the anniversary will once again focus international attention and assistance on Haiti.

For today`s CNN STUDENT NEWS “Roll Call” we are headed out west. It may no longer be wild, but you`ll still find some outlaws like the ones at Sisters Middle School in Sisters, Oregon. We`ve also elected to feature some senators: Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada. And we`ll wrap our roll in the Midwest with the Holy Rosary School Rams. They are watching from Evansville, Indiana.

The U.S. unemployment rate is one indicator of how the economy is doing: a lower rate is usually considered a good thing, because it can mean more Americans are working. But not always. Last Friday, the latest unemployment rate came out. It`s 6.7 percent. That`s the lowest it`s been in years, but it`s only based on the number of Americans looking for jobs. Those who`ve given up aren`t counted. And the jobs picture itself is not a good one. The number of jobs that the U.S. created in December is less than half the number economists had expected. Brianna Keilar explains there figures when they came out on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s the number the White House wanted, but not the way they wanted it: the nation`s unemployment rate dropping below seven percent for the first time since President Obama was elected more than five years ago. But economists say the dip is due in part to more Americans giving up looking for work. Today`s jobs report was the worst in nearly three years: just 74,000 jobs created.

DAVID WESSEL, SR. FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: Now we are back to this really frustrating situation where the economy does seem to be picking up some momentum, but it`s not leading to a lot of job creation.

KEILAR: That, some say, doesn`t help the White House argument that the economy is recovering slowly, but steadily. Though it does help the administration`s push to extend long term unemployment benefits.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” Which term best describes someone who`s chose to help settle a dispute? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: auditor, arbitrator, appraiser or assessor? You`ve got three seconds, go!

When there`s a disagreement between two people or groups, an arbitrator can be brought in to settle it. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: An arbitrator has ruled in a case concerning baseball star Alex Rodriguez, and that ruling will keep him off the field for the upcoming 2014 season. All of it. Rodriguez is one of Major League Baseball`s top five all-time homerun hitters. He`s one of its highest paid players, rocking up hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts. The third basement admitted to using illegal performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003. But he is now fighting accusations that he used them again as recently as 2012. The 38-year old player for the New York Yankees is appealing the arbitrator`s decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alex Rodriguez, a Yankee known for setting records now has one more: he has the dishonorable distinction of getting hit with the longest suspension for doping in baseball`s history. A 162 games suspension, benching him for an entire season, and potentially ending the 38-year old`s career.

This after baseball`s chief arbitrator reduced the initial 211 game suspension MLB imposed on Rodriguez for allegedly using performance- enhancing drugs. Rodriguez releasing a statement saying “The number of games sadly comes as no surprise: as the deck has been stocked against me from day one. I have been clear that I didn`t use performance-enhancing substances, and in order to prove it, I will take this fight to the federal court.”

MIKE WISE, WASHINGTON POST: My advice to Alex Rodriguez would be the same advice I gave Lance Armstrong years ago, just fess up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Major League Baseball wanted the initial suspension to stand, saying while we believe the original 2011 game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the panel, and we`ll focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game. Rodriguez went to arbitration after MLB imposed that 211 game suspension, but quickly became frustrated by the process. He spoke out on sports radio after he stormed out of the hearing last November, upset after learning baseball`s commissioner Bud Selig would not testify about allegations MLB used unethical tactics while investigating Rodriguez. In all, 13 players were suspended last year after MLB found they had used PEDs obtained from the now defunct biogenesis clinic in Florida. All suspended for 50 games, except for Milwaukee Brewers right field Ryan Braun who received a 65 game ban.

Some, but not all fans saying Rodriguez`s punishment was justified.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like how do you hand out a 162 game ban to one person and not give anything to all these other people that are doing the same thing? But yeah, I guess it is. If you talk about just A. Rod here, I think it`s too harsh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he deserves it. I don`t think there should be doping in baseball. It`s America`s (inaudible).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Still water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but it`s got to be a lot colder than that to ice up a waterfall. Case in point, this might look like a still photograph, but it`s video: the distorted polar vortex that brought last week`s frigid blast contributed to a cold crackly crust around parts of Niagara Falls. Coming like a real life scene from the movie “Frozen.” Temperatures here had dropped to negative two degrees Fahrenheit, negative 20 with the wind chill, and to think the person who captured it was just chilling.

It`s something so beautiful, it`s hard not to falls for. But folks who have seen it are like – it`s cool, but just water you`re looking at. Hope you`ll forgive us for that, watch again tomorrow with CNN STUDENT NEWS showers, more stories and more puns. I`m Carl Azuz.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. First up today on CNN STUDENT NEWS, a rare intersection of the three branches of the U.S. government. This doesn`t happen every day. At the center of this story three job appointments made by President Obama. You know from civics that for certain government jobs, the president can`t simply appoint whomever he wants. He nominates people for them. And the Senate gives the president advice and consent by deciding whether to approve his nominations. The Founding Fathers wanted to keep anyone branch of government from having too much power over the others. What`s known as checks and balances?

But what if the Senate`s not in session, and the jobs aren`t filled? Well, the president can make recess appointments, temporarily filling the jobs until the end of the following year unless the Senate decides to approve them for longer. Well, over the Senate`s holiday break from 2011 to 2012, President Obama appointed three people to the National Labor Relations Board without Senate approval. The president`s stance – these were recess appointments that he could make temporarily without advice and consent as some of this predecessors have done. But the Senate wasn`t technically in recess, it was in pro-forma, and what that means, it wasn`t passing laws or conducting official business, but it was technically in session. Formally convening and then immediately adjourning. Some senators set this up to prevent President Obama from making recess appointments.

Now, for the third branch – the judicial one. Yesterday, The Supreme Court took this up, it could decide whether President Obama`s appointments were appropriate or if they violated the constitutional principle of advice and consent. It really come down to how the high court defines the Senate`s recess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “Shoutout.” Parts per million is commonly used as a measurement of what? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: digitization, buoyancy, pollution or radiance. You`ve got three seconds, go!

When you are talking about small levels of pollution, you`re likely talking about it in terms of parts per million. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: Officials in West Virginia say as far as the certain chemicals concerned, one part per million is a low enough level that the water is safe for drinking. But after a recent chemical spill, it spiked as high as two to three parts per million, and officials put a ban on tap water for days. And the state`s largest city schools were forced to shut down, restaurants had to close, no washing dishes, no showers. Residents were told to use tap water only for flushing toilets and fighting fires. Pollution levels are now decreasing allowing some folks to start flushing out their waterlines. But they`ve had to be creative to get by without running water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the state of emergency, you do whatever it takes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Firefighters in Charleston, West Virginia come to the rescue with water, bottles of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least 600, 700 cases, probably more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lines to collect keep growing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`ll be just a minute, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 300,000 people have been forced to get by on bottled water since Thursday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God bless you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s when a chemical leak was found to have tainted the water supply. Schools are shut down, water samples are being tested around the clock for signs of improvement.

EARL RAY TOMBLIN, GOVERNOR, WEST VIRGINIA: I believe that we are at a point where we could say that we see light at the end of the tunnel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there is still no specific timeline for lifting the water use ban, it`ll happen in phases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are anxious because they don`t have certainty about what`s going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officials now believe as many as 7500 gallons of a chemical used to clean coal leaked into the water supply from a one inch hole in the underground part of a storage tank. The problem was discovered around 8:00 Thursday morning, when someone reported smelling the scent of licorice. Freedom Industries, which owns the tanks says it became aware of the leak around 10:30.

TOMBLIN: I think there should be a thorough investigation of what happened and why this incident happened at Freedom Industries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators say, it will take weeks to determine whether the leak could have somehow been prevented and just how quickly it was detected. For another day, people in West Virginia are left high and dry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The U.S. State Department is warning Americans that large scale public events like the Olympics are attractive targets for terrorists. This doesn`t mean they`ll try or successfully carry out an attack. Olympics organizers in Russia say next month events will be the safest and most secure games ever. But the U.S. officials are telling travelers to take no chances.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The State Department has issued a travel warning for people heading to Olympic Games in Sochi, barely four weeks away now. They say that they should be – (inaudible) leave their surroundings that they should be aware in the region there have been a number of terrorist attacks over the past decade or so targeting government buildings, travel hubs, schools, all sorts of buildings. But the State Department says they don`t have a specific terror threat they are aware of for the Olympics. However, Russian officials over the weekend have arrested two groups of people, one of those groups, six people, they say, were responsible for a car bombing in the region just north of Sochi a couple of weeks ago. They say that group of people admitted under questioning that they were planning to carry out another big attack. So, Russian officials say that they moved just in time to fought an attack by that group of six, and another group of five people they arrested in another region just north of Sochi again, the police there saying that they, that the five people there arrested had weapons and a homemade bomb as well containing about five pounds, 2.5 kilograms or so, high explosive TNT.

So, the security efforts in the region still high. The State Department alerting anyone traveling to the Olympics to be cautious, to look out in their surroundings. And also saying that because the medical facilities in Sochi haven`t been tested for high numbers yet, and because medical facilities in Russia, the State Department says, don`t necessarily match what people would expect in the West, they are advising people traveling to the Olympics to get medical insurance and repatriation insurance as well in case they need to be flown out to – for some medical injury. So that advice coming over the weekend from the State Department. Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Today`s “Roll Call” involves ramblers and stingers, but it has nothing to do with Georgia Tech. We are talking about the Ramblers of Lafayette High School. They are watching today from Lafayette, Georgia. And then the Stingers of Martin Behrman Charter School, they are located in New Orleans, Louisiana. And lest we forget my bulldogs, we`ve got those too. Folsom High School in Folsom, California. This part on our “Roll Call” is for you.

Susan Holcombe is a mom of resident of South Carolina and a proud Clemson graduate. Something happened recently involving her son that made her even prouder of her alma mater. He`s one of only 15 students accepted into a college program for young people with intellectual disabilities. Now, you can see how he reacted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 20-year old Rion Holcombe. Rion has Down syndrome. But he doesn`t let that hold him back, a point he made here as part of his video application to college. Clemson University knows that far too many people like Rion get left out of a college experience, so they`ve actually designed a program for students like him and just the other day Rion got a letter from Clemson. Watch the reaction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please to inform you of your acceptance into the Clemson LIFE program for the fall of 2014 beginning August 17, 2014.

RION HOLCOMBE: They say yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said yes. What do you say?

HOLCOMBE: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this! Sweatshirt says college!

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Rion! A college education is the good stuff and you are going to get it. Now, remember .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s still stunned .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, he is. And so are so many who are going to hear this story, because why, when you think Down syndrome, you think limitations. But now you see that limits are only what you make them, and Rion is proving that on the very grand scale. Congratulations!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Way to go Clemson, for a program like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Teachers, please visit us at cnnstudentnews.com, if you are already here, stay a while, we have a podcast, a transcript of each day`s show, daily discussion questions, all available from our front page and all for free. You can see every show we produce this school year by clicking on our archive. It`s all commercial free. It`s all at cnnstudentnews.com.

Mosaic – noun, a decoration made by putting a whole bunch of smaller pieces together. But there`s something fishy about this one. It`s made of sushi. More than 100 sushi chefs, say that three times fast, rolled up their sleeves and their lunch. They covered more than 400 square feet in an event in Hong Kong to set a Guinness world record for largest sushi mosaic. More than 20,000 pieces, and to keep it all fresh, they did this in a really cool skating rink.

Of course, some fingers like the food were raw from all the effort, but what a raw accomplishment! Those chefs were on the roll, putting their sushi skills to the taste, getting in to swim of a record setting succulence all to the tuna international recognition. I`m Carl Azuz. And I`ll sushi you tomorrow.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to ten minutes of commercial-free news for the classroom. I`m Carl Azuz.

First up, compromise in the U.S. Congress. Negotiators from the House and Senate have proposed the bill for how the government will spend money. Three things about this budget, one, it`s huge. $1.1 trillion, trillion with a t, that is more than the government takes in and it would fund the government through the end of September. Two, it`s not a done deal. A House vote is expected today, a Senate one later this week, and the president would have to sign it. Three, it reportedly contains no earth- shaking changes. It gives government workers a small pay raise, it could speed up security screenings for some airplane passengers. It would get rid of a government law banning certain light bulbs. Beyond that, this bill would send America`s national and international spending priorities in the months ahead.

An American working in Russia was recently kicked out of the country. Russia says he broke the law by staying illegally for five days in November. His case was heard in court, he was fined and he was ordered to leave, which he did in December. He`s banned from Russian for five years.

These kinds of expulsions are common, according to the Russian government. The country says more than 500,000 people from other nations have been asked to stay out of Russia for breaking the rules. But the American, a journalist named David Satter says he didn`t. He thinks it was because he was critical of the Russian government. The country`s constitution does guarantee the freedom of the mass media and it makes censorship illegal, but when CNN`s John Vause recently interviews Satter he said it was probably his speech that got him kicked out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SATTER, JOURNALIST: I really don`t have any theories – I`ve been writing about Russia for many years. I`ve always been critical of the Putin regime, this is nothing new. It may well be that for reasons of their own, they finally found that criticism to be more than they wanted to put up with. But there is actually quite a lot to criticize, so if you are going to report honestly from Russia, you almost have to be critical.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, how did this all play out? How were you told? How did you find out?

SATTER: Well, I was in Kiev, actually, I had to go there to exchange one visa for another and I was told to call a diplomat in the Ukrainian – well, in the Russian embassy in Kiev, in Ukraine. I called that diplomat and he said he had a statement to read to me, and the statement was that the competent organs, which is an expression that`s used describe the FSB, the Security Service, have decided that my presence on the territory of the Russian federation is undesirable and I`m refused entry into the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Just before we get you up to speed on more stories from around the world, we`re going to take a quick trip across the U.S. for today CNN STUDENT NEWS “Roll Call.” We start on the East Coast giving waves to the braves of Socastee High School. They are in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Long live the royals, the hello fit for a king to the students of Watertown-Mayer High School. They are in Watertown, Minnesota. And we`ll wrap up on the prowl with the Parkside intermediate panthers. They are stocking the “Roll Call” from San Bruno, California.

OK, as promised, we are going global. Pope Francis recently addressed the civil war in Syria, which has been going on since 2011. He`s calling for a cease-fire there, and turning his attention to Africa as well. Fred Pleitgen covers that story while CNN reporters from Asia to South America get you up to speed on news drawing worldwide attention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was the first time that Pope Francis addressed the Vatican diplomatic corps and he touched on many issues that are at hand for the Catholic Church. First and foremost is the conflict in Syria where he really has two issues on its agenda, the one is protecting civilians in Syria, and the other one is specifically protecting Christians there. Now, he called for an end to the violence in Syria and he said that it`s, quote, “unacceptable” for civilians to be targeted, especially children. Some of the other issues that were also on the pope`s agenda is the situation in many African countries, and he also said that the world needs to come together to end things like human trafficking and exploitation.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The World Cup is being played in 12 different stadiums across the country. Some 3.6 million fans are expected. You can imagine what that`s doing to airline prices. They are simply skyrocketing. Well, now the government has threatened to allow foreign airlines to come in and operate domestic flights. Now, it`s not clear if that`s even feasible, but it has pushed domestic airlines to start offering a lot more flights and bring down those prices themselves.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of people have turned out to protest against the current government. They are trying to bring the capital to a standstill, blocking seven major interchanges around the city of Bangkok. Now, they want to see the current government ousted. They say they are corrupt and they`ve had enough of them. The government responded by calling an election on February 2, but that hasn`t satisfied people here. They want to see political reform.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember those terrifying scenes in James Cameron`s “Titanic” of the ship sinking well. Soon you could be relieving that in China. An obscure company has announced plans to build a theme park where they will build a Titanic replica with U.S. designers, so you can relive the sinking experience. And $165 million that might seem an idea that will sink, but this film is extremely popular in China, so perhaps it`s worth floating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the “The Shoutout”. In football, who is referred to as the 12th man? If you think you know it, shout it out. Is it the referees? Fans? Coach? Or kicker? You`ve got three seconds, go!

There are 11 players on the field. The 12th man is the collective term for the fans cheering them on. That`s your answer and that`s your “Shoutout.”

AZUZ: What difference can the 12th man make? Ask Seattle Seahawks` fans. They`ve recently caused small earthquakes with their cheering. It inspires the home team, it complicates things for the visiting one. It`s harder to call and hear plays with the 12th man making serious noise. But the way some teams are releasing playoff tickets has opposing teams` fans calling for a penalty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For football fans searching for face value tickets for this weekend`s NFL playoff games, the hunt is complicated not by cash, but by zip codes. The Seattle Seahawks said geographic limits on who can buy tickets to their games restricting sales to only the Pacific Northwest. 49`ers fans cried foul.

DERRICK WIENKE, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: It`s important to show our support, to show out – you know, how loud we can be up there as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Californians will have to resort to secondary markets like Stubhub or the NFL ticket exchange, where prices have skyrocketed into the thousands. The Seahawks aren`t the only ones executing this scheme, the Denver Bronco`s restricted AFC Championship ticket sales to billing addresses in the Rocky Mountain region, which means New England Patriots fans are pretty upset.

DAMON HALL: I don`t think it should be allowed, but whatever advantage they can do, they would.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Restricting ticket sales to locals could protect the teams` 12th man, of course, a reference to the fans whose big noise rattles the stadium and could rattle the opponent. The Seahawks say the restriction has nothing to do with overzealous fans. Their statement to CNN reads in part, “The reason wasn`t to limit residents of California, it was to stop large ticket brokerages from manipulating the onsale purchases through ticket master and inflating the price on the secondary market.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The bottom line is that these teams are companies. They have obligations to maximize their profit. So whatever went into their decision, it must benefit them in some way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: A Brooklyn high school teacher wanted to better relate to his students. So we broke out his dancing shoes or whatever shoes he wore to class. Now it starts out pretty good. A little (inaudible) fancy footwork, but then .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, the teacher`s .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Two words, win and mill – OK, that`s one compound word, I guess. But the compound get down captured on camera and posted on YouTube won over the whole cafeteria and won the day. That`ll ensure he gets a perfect attendance. For dancing teacher of the year the guy`s shoeing (ph). Students obviously love the break and the unique spin on the teachable moment. We`re going to put on our CNN student shoes again tomorrow and hope you step up for the show. I`m Carl Azuz.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz.

The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says the terrorist attack on Americans in Libya could have been prevented. Here`s the background on that. September 11th, 2012, the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked and burned. Four Americans were killed, including an ambassador named Chris Stevens. A bipartisan Senate committee just released a report that says there were warnings that security at the American compound was weakening, and then Americans were at risk. It blames the U.S. State Department and the CIA for not doing enough to protect Americans there. But it also said there was no specific threat that an attack was going to happen.

The Obama administration initially said the attack was a reaction to an anti-Muslim film made in the U.S. It later reclassified the incident as a terrorist attack. In response to the Senate report, the State Department says it`s taken steps to increase security for American diplomats overseas, and that it`s working to minimize the risk they face.

On Libya`s eastern border, Egypt, the country had a revolution in 2011 when its longtime leader Hosni Mubarak resigned after widespread riots. Since then, though, Egypt has struggled to get back on its feet politically. The military took control last summer, and the new constitution that Egyptians are currently voting on, would give the military more power. Are the elections fair?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A long, long line outside this polling station as Egyptians vote in a constitutional referendum. But more is at stake than just a new social contract. The interim government`s legitimacy, too, is on the line. The country is voting for the first time since last July, when the military ousted former Muslim brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi from the presidency. Since then, a bitterly divided Egypt has seen hundreds die in clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters.

It`s a crucial vote. A strong “yes” turnout would translate into support for General Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, the man behind the coup and his interim government.

KHALED DAWOUD, CONSTITUTION PARTY SPOKESMAN: Right now the new regime is seeking popular support and they get high turnouts, they get bigger numbers supporting the draft constitution. I think they can claim from now onwards that they do have reasonable popular support good enough to make them go on with the rest of the roadmap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those voting weren`t shy to show their love for Egypt` stop general and a constitution.

“Egypt`s Muslims and Christians alongside the army are one hand, and we`ll never part,” says this lawyer.

“Egyptians vote today to show they`re completely against the former regime, and they welcome the roadmap,” says this student.

Dissenting voices on the other hand have been quashed through intimidation and arrest.

DAWOUD: The scary part is that opposition is no longer tolerated, I mean even for a political party.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: To the Southern Hemisphere now where folks are in the midst of summer, and it`s a doozy in a parts of Australia. We are talking temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius, that`s 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It`s spiking to 115 in some places. Might be OK if you are at the pool, but on the court of the Australian Open, that`s taking place in Melbourne on Australia`s southeast coast, water bottles are melting, tennis players are getting burned feet. One Canadian fainted during his opening match. The dangers of this hot, dry conditions are extending to where there is no tennis court or players in site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMELIA MULCAHY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A five day record-breaking heat wave has left the southeast of Australia (inaudible). Scorching temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius have been forecast for the next few days, too. Putting emergency services on high load. In South Australia, more than 26,000 lightning strikes were records, sparking dozens of blazes that are still raging today. A fire in Brokli (ph), an hour out of Adelaide, destroyed a home and left a woman in hospital with serious burns. Support aircraft from around the country have been sent to help fight the fires, hot, dry and windy conditions are a big concern.

GREG NETTLESON, COUNTRY FIRE SERVICE: We`re going to an escalating pattern, with increased winds over the next couple of days. And for us safety is absolutely critical.

MULCAHY: In major cities, Pat Levine (ph) told to (inaudible) blackouts as the sustained use of air conditioners put the strain on power companies. A change is expected to come through over the weekend and temperatures are predicted to drop by almost 20 degrees, but for now everyone`s trying to keep cold the best way they can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can I.D. me. I`m a company that provides a service, an electronic one. If you want to get on the Internet, you`ll need me. Some of my well-known examples include AOL, Comcast and Verizon. I`m an Internet service provider, or ISP. For a fee, I`ll help you get online.

AZUZ: Once you pay that fee, usually a monthly one, your ISP lets you go wherever you want online. The Federal Communications Commission, part of the U.S. government, had a rule that said, ISPs cannot discriminate against Web content. That means, they can`t make some sites fast to encourage you to use them and some slow to keep you off them.

The concept is called net neutrality. But a federal court has struck down the FCC rule. It said the FCC didn`t have the authority to make it. The FCC can rewrite its rules in the future. And for now, your Internet experience isn`t likely to change.

But some are concerned how it could.

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Net neutrality means that every side on the Internet should be equally accessible, no matter whether you`re going to Amazon or YouTube or Facebook, your Internet Service Provider is supposed to offer you free and equal access to all those sites. But Tuesday`s ruling changes that. Let`s see these video streaming services, like YouTube and Netflix as an example. Some that sites like YouTube could cut a deal with your Internet Service Provider to allow you to access it faster and to slow access to other streaming sites like Netflix. But that`s just one possibility. Net neutrality advocates say that these ruling could also allow Internet Service Providers to slow everything, and then charge you extra to allow faster access to a particular site, like Amazon. If you don`t like the sound of all this, well, that`s some bad news for you. These net neutrality rules have never applied to mobile devices. Mobile Internet Providers in the U.S. do not have to provide free and equal access to everything on the Net. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.

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AZUZ: Sticking with the Internet theme here. Internet Company Google is getting more powerful by the day. Its latest purchase could give a great access to your home. Nest is a brand of smart thermostat. It learns when and how you want your temperature adjusted. Google just bought that company, in addition to a rapidly growing list of others. Why?

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DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Google bought Nest, a company that makes thermostats and smoke detectors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For more than $3 billion.

GOLDMAN: So, why is Google interested in buying a company like that? Well, Google is trying to take over your connected life. Google in 2011 created android at home, a platform that allows all of your connected devices to talk to one another. So, that means that your connected oven- running android can talk to your smoke detector, also running android. So, that when you have your oven at 500 degrees, it doesn`t just automatically set your smoke alarm off. They are talking to one another.

What Google is trying to do is to make all of the different things that you own .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alarm clocks, thermostats, dishwashers, et cetera.

GOLDMAN: To talk to one another. This isn`t the first time that Google has gotten into something that seemingly is beyond the scope of search. They are involved in space mining, weather balloons, Google Glass, they are involved in robotics now and they are even involved in driverless cars. But all of these things are part of Google trying to foresee where tech is going.

The interesting thing with all of this is Google has to keep privacy in mind. Now, if Google really knows everything about you, well, then it has to do a really good job of protecting that information. Google has got to play it safe here, but if they play it smart, this is potentially a billion or a multiple billion dollar opportunity for them.

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AZUZ: Some of unique mascots take their place in today`s “Roll Call.” We`ve got the Battle Mountain Long Horns, which sounds awesome. They are viewing us Battle Mountain, Nevada.

Over in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, check out the Sandpits (ph). They are tuning in from Clyde Boyd Middle School. Last but not least, we are saying hello to the Quakers. Salem High School in Salem, Ohio. Thank you all for watching.

It`s hard to be the buzzer beater before we go. But this young man named Easton did it. A four court shot, it was captured on camera and posted on YouTube, and as you can see by the score, it won the game. But the story gets better. Later on, Easton was reenacting how he did it for a local news group. On his first try – bam! Three more points posted on the news and a YouTube. For the 13-year old he`s got to be one of the most famous 8-graders in Minnesota. News of this has been a bit of a globe trotter. It spread north, south, east and west. Of court, his accomplishment has netted a lot of attention, but two full court shots, the person who recorded them both times must have been a basket case. I`m Carl Azuz. And I`ll take a shot at more puns tomorrow.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Fridays are awesome. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. More than 80 presidents of American colleges and universities were at the White House yesterday. The reason – President Obama wants more low-income students to go to college. And he`s looking for these college leaders` help. The White House says that for families who earn some of the lowest incomes, nine percent of students get a bachelors` degree by age 25. For families earning some of the highest incomes, it`s 54 percent. The president says low-income students get less help preparing for tests and figuring out how and where to apply for college. And the U.S. government believes the best way for Americans to maximize their earning potential is to get a college degree.

That may not be true across the board, though. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, purchasing agents, people who buy machinery or equipment for businesses, can earn around $60,000 a year without a college degree. Computer network specialists who need an associate`s degree, but necessarily a bachelor`s can also earn around 60 grand. On the job training and some form of higher learning factor in the both examples.

Five years ago this week, a passenger jet took off from New York City, headed for North Carolina. It had 155 people on board. Three minutes after takeoff, it hit a flock of geese causing a loss of engine power. It landed on the Hudson River. It skidded to a stop and the plane stayed afloat in icy water, long enough for everyone on board to get off safely. Is it any wonder why this was called “The Miracle on the Hudson?”

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A U.S. Airways plane, you see it right there, it`s in the Hudson River. It`s an Airbus A320.

CHELSEY “SULLY” SULLENBERGER, “MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON” PILOT: Five years ago this afternoon, 155 people faced sudden unexpected challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden, the captain came on and said “Embrace for impact”, and that`s when we knew we were going down.

SULLENBERGER: But landing in the Hudson only solved the first and biggest problem of the day. We then had to find a way to get 155 people out of the Hudson River to safety on a day when the air temperature was 21 degrees, the water was 38.

The first New York Waterway Ferry, we know from watching the surveillance tapes, arrived alongside Flight 1549, less than four minutes after we`d stopped in the Hudson. By the time I left the aircraft, I have to see the evacuation was complete, as the last person off the aircraft – the aircraft was surrounded by rescue vessels and the rescue of everyone aboard was well underway.

We have much to be thankful for. Much was saved that day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter`s name is Kayleigh Elizabeth Wenslin (ph). She is in bed right now, and when I get home, I want to take my nose and put it behind her ear and a little warm body and give her best kiss from daddy because I`m alive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the facts. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. His birth name was Michael Luther King Jr. the American civil rights leader published six books. He also wrote sermons and lectures. He was the first African American to become “Time” Magazine`s Man of the Year. And in 1964 Dr. King became the youngest person at the time to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The holiday named after him falls on the third Monday in January. We`ll have more coverage after the MLK holiday on Tuesday.

We are sending out warm wishes on our “Roll Call” today because it`s going to schools in cold climates. Starting in Darby, Montana with the Tigers. They are tuned in at Darby High School. We`ll gallop just one state southeast to where the Mustangs are watching from Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, South Dakota. And their geographic neighbors include the sabors (ph). Glad to have you online at Shakopee High School in Shakopee, Minnesota.

Next up, an event for Car Buffs, the Detroit auto show. It started back in 1907, showcasing 33 vehicles. The one going on now has more than 500. Auto shows allow car makers to show off. They want to make drivers want to buy their cars. They want to make the media want to cover their cars. It`s all about driving up excitement about a brand. Not everything shown here will actually go on sale, some are just concept cars. They might strut some style ideas or tout new technology. And the buzz that generates, how people respond, can give manufacturers ideas about whether to put a concept into production.

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PETER VALDES-DAPENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Once thing you know is covered on the Detroit auto show, there`ll be at least a few really cool concept cars. Toyota, for instance, rolled out the FT1. This is the car that could become the next Toyota Supra. It`s got the long head and the short deck, very reminiscent of that car. For now, though, you can only drive it in a videogame. It`s got no real engine.

Then there`s Kia with the GT for a steer. This is a two plus two. It means it got small back seats, powered by a 350 horse power turbocharge four cylinder engine. Then, Volkswagen, Audi and Volvo all came out with cool crossover concepts. The BW dune is a 210 horse power, BW Beatle has been jacked up, two extra inches for getting over those rough spots. The Audi (inaudible) Shooting Brake and the Volvo XC Coupe are both plug-in hybrid, concept crossovers. Volvo`s got nice 21 inch rims, while the Audi`s got two electric motors for extra performance. It can go zero to 60 in about 4.5 seconds.

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AZUZ: Twin sisters Tracy and Lanny Barnes compete in a biathlon. It`s a physically demanding sport that combines cross-country skiing with precision shooting. Last weekend they were both trying out for spots in the U.S. Olympic biathlon team. Tracy qualified, Lanny finished one spot behind her, just missing her chance to be in the Olympics. But she had a cold. She was off her game. And Tracy decided that she would bow out, give her own slot up on the team so that Lanny would be chosen for the Olympics.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s just get right to it, Tracy. You make your spot. Just take us through how this idea got in your head and why you decided it was just – you had to do it.

TRACY BARNES, OLYMPIC HOPEFUL: Yes, so our Olympic trials, Lanny got sick, you know. When you are at that level, you need to be 100 percent. Otherwise, it`s not going to work out. So, you know, once I found out she was getting sick, the idea kind of started going through my head that, you know, she`s not going to make it. This would be the end for her. So, that`s when the idea kind of started that maybe I can do something to help her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it could also be the end for you, it could be the end of your Olympic dreams. What was – when was the moment that you decided I really need to do this, and how did you tell her?

TRACY BARNES: Yes. So, I think I decided before the last race of the Olympic trials that, you know, I had a good idea that I make the team based of my results, and so after the race, after the team was announced, you know, we went hiking in the mountains, and I, you know, I told her I`ve got something to tell you. And I told her about it. And she obviously protested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lanny, how hard was it to say yes? I mean this is the offer of a lifetime, but it`s almost too much to bear?

LANNY BARNES, OLYMPIC HOPEFUL: Yeah. I had hard time accepting it that, you know, she was willing to do something this amazing for me. You know, the – it`s just – it`s hard to put into words, you know. What this means to me and the fact that she`s willing to give up her dreams so that – that I can live mine.

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AZUZ: In the Russian capital of Moscow, about a thousand miles north of where Lanny will be competing, the government wants subway riders to get in the Olympic spirit and in shape. You could pay 30 rubles, about a buck, for a metro ticket. Or you could do 30 squats, and CNN reporter Phil Black found out for some folks that`s easier said than done.

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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. It is a bitterly cold Moscow day. What could possibly go wrong? A very popular one, I`ve noticed has been, here we go. The superman. It`s not counting. It`s also the squatting chicken. I`ve seen that a bit. That`s popular.

Pretty easy, also I thought.

59, 60.

“Esche raz,” the man said, one more time.

(voice over): And knowingly, he was right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 29.

BLACK: No, it`s .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s why you need to do it all over again.

BLACK (voice over): Everyone else seemed to be much happier with the experience. They told us they`d like to see more of the machines. And think it`s a great way to build Olympic spirit.

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AZUZ: Not to mention your quadriceps. The idea could help folks get a leg up on saving money if they don`t tend on getting injured. But of course, their hamstrings attached. This train is leaving the station. Please remember, no show on Monday. We`ll be back Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Have a great weekend, you all.