CNN Student News with transcript Nov 17, 2014: G-20 Summit Countries Want to Improve Global Economy; Protesters Come to Guerrero Demanding to Find 43 Missing Students; Omega Blocks` Meaning for Weather; New AP History Framework Labeled as Nor Promoting Patriotism
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hope you had a great weekend. And thank you for starting a new week with CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz.
First up, Australia, the country and continent just wrapped up hosting the G-20 summit. G-20 is short for group of 20. It`s membership includes the biggest advanced and emerging economies in the world. Its delegates represent two thirds of the world`s population, and 85 percent of its gross domestic product. That factors in in an agreement made at this year`s G- 20. The thousands of delegates attending pledged to try to improve the global economy. How? By spending money. Governments investing in new projects for their countries.
The leaders hope to create millions of jobs by doing it, but an agreement is not the same as action. So, it remains to be seen if everyone follows through.
From the South Pacific, we are moving to Mexico. This is a country that has struggled with corruption in its government judges and police. In the city of Iguala the mayor has been charged as the probable mastermind in the disappearance of 43 students. They joined the political protest and were captured by police on September 26. No sign of them since. Authorities say police turned them over to a gang that later killed them. Some don`t believe it.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Guerrero, they are known for some of the most explosive demonstrations.
The fire department has just arrived, but guess what? Not only are the cars burning, but the inside of the building is also burning.
All this in support of the search for 43 missing students. Lunging at police. A CNN camera catches protesters taking an officer captive during a tag of war over a bridge. He was later released. The protesters are members of a teachers` union from all over the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.
When night falls, a stark contrast.
Soft spoken people enjoying time with friends and family. The protesters granted CNN rare access inside their tent city in the main square of Guerrero`s capital. They shut down city hall and moved in days after the 43 students were missing. It`s been more than a month.
The announcement more than a week ago by Mexico`s attorney general let three drug gang members confess to killing the students only made the protesters more angry.
To date, no DNA evidence has been presented. They don`t plan to go anywhere until the students are found. Even raising their own flag in the city square.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Cold weather, it`s about to blast the U.S. again from the plain states to the southeast. It will mean colder than normal temperatures until this weekend. We`ve defined a lot of related terms lately. Bomb cyclone, polar vortex, jet stream. Here`s another factor that`s blocking things up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You see the Greek letter Omega on fraternities, sororities. We use the word Omega a lot. But what in weather is an Omega block? If temperatures are normal all over the country, it`s called zonal flow. The jet stream way up in the sky, 35-40,000 feet, go straight across the country. That`s when everyone`s normal.
There`s not many normal days. When you get a block in the atmosphere, it`s like a road block, it`s like having to drive around something. And this road block we call the Omega block because it looks like the Greek letter Omega. It`s when the jet stream wants to go straight across, but has to get turned hard and up to the north, and then back down to the south. And when that happens, it can stay there for weeks. And that`s the rub. It doesn`t move.
Typically, Omega blocs don`t create blizzards. They create cold outbreaks. If you are under the Omega block, you are going to be very warm. It just depends on where you are in that shape.
A lot of weather patterns get blamed on climate change. This is not part of climate change. This is a block in the atmosphere that happens all the time. It`s been happening for thousands of years.
And typically, as the jet stream moves across the country, either from West to East or where you live, you will see that the weather changes. It gets warm, it gets cold, it gets warm, it gets cold. But when this block happens right in the middle of the country, any country that`s when the weather doesn`t change. You can be 105. So you have to protect your crops, you have to protect yourself. Make sure you drink a lot of water.
Or you can be 25 degrees below zero. And you have to make sure that you are protected, the pets are protected. Check on the elderly. Make sure your phone is working (INAUDIBLE
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AZUZ: If you are planning to take the SAT or any advanced placement, AP classes, you`ll be studying in curriculum, determined by the College Board.
It`s a non-profit group whose goals include preparing U.S. high school students for college.
It`s made some changes to its AP U.S. history curriculum, which critics say focus too much on social controversies and the dark side of American history, and not enough on positive aspects of it.
For instance, it doesn`t mention people like Ben Franklin and Martin Luther King Jr. Supporters of this changes say they are not telling kids what to think or teaches what to teach. Sara Ganim explores the conversations taking place at local school boards across the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch me, OK, because we are going to get ready for activity today.
SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: American history is full of pitched battles, far over ideas and freedoms and actions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love how enthusiastic you are about learning, because the material I`m having you read is really challenging you guys in the best kind of way.
GANIM: A new framework introduced by the College Board for teaching AP U.S. history is causing controversy across the country, spurred by conservatives who fear it doesn`t promote patriotism.
In Jefferson County, Colorado the course is under attack by some members of the school board. They feel it doesn`t emphasize key parts of American history like the Founding Fathers and religious influences.
KEN WITT, OPPOSES NEW FRAMEWORK: You know, there`s a national dialogue around AP U.S. history, and a lot of concerns have been raised about the balance in that new curriculum.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was insulted.
GANIM: Teachers like Stephanie Rossi (ph) say the College Board framework is just that, a framework. It doesn`t dictate everything taught. And she says teachers would never ignore history.
Objections to the College Board`s new framework first showed up in a conservative group Op-Ed. It caught the attention of the Texas State school board and the wording from a resolution there was copied to a RNC talking points memo. It reads “the framework presents a biased and inaccurate view of many important events in American history.” Those exact words made their way into school board resolutions in North Carolina and Nebraska.
Also, criticizing the new framework and when Jefferson County, Colorado school board picked up the issue, one member proposed that teaching materials “promote citizenship, patriotism and respect for authority.”
In Jefferson County, students protested, accusing the school board of censorship. The College Board also responded firmly, saying “content such as the Founding Fathers and the civil rights movement is considered essential.” “In the face of these attacks, AP teachers and students, our member institutions, and the American people can rest assured: the College Board will not compromise the integrity of the Advanced Placement Program.”
JILL FELLMAN, FAVORS NEW FRAMEWORK: In my opinion, we have to teach the good, the bad, the ugly. We need to make sure that our kids understand what it means to be an American.
WITT: We were elected by significant margins because Jefferson County has a population that believes that reform in education is needed.
GANIM: The conservatives prevailed and a committee is being formed to review AP U.S. history.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be it therefore ordered and enacted .
GANIM: In Stephani Rossi`s class, the real lesson for students this year may be in civics as much as in AP U.S. history. Sara Ganim, CNN, Golden, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: On Friday`s transcript page at cnnstudentnews.com here are three of the schools that requested a mention on our show: in the grain (ph) state we`ve got the rip tides washing – I mean watching from Rye New Hampshire, Rye Junior High School. It`s only natural to call it the natural state next Des Arc Arkansas. It`s home for the Eagle at Des Arc High School. And nearby in the Sunflower State of Kansas at Washburn Rural High School, how about the Junior Blues? They are online at Washburn Rural High School.
Some Guinness world records are hilarious. They don`t just certify the fastest 100 meter hurdles, they do it for someone wearing swim fins. Well, this certainly fits them all: the fastest 100 meters on all fours. Doesn`t look as cool as when animals do it.
High school records for this sprint on two feet hover around ten seconds. On four, the Guinness world record was set at 15.86 seconds, but there`s no clock on the silliness scale.
Four reasons why that was great: took a combo, a fancy footwork and handy- handy work. The competition has serious legs. It was four on the floor, all hands on deck. And no matter who won, it was the fittest, yo. Got to give him a hand.
I`m Carl Azuz at CNN STUDENT NEWS. We`ve got to run.
CNN Student News Nov 18, 2014: Obama Talks About Possibility of Deployment U.S. Troops to Middle East; Investigating Who Shot Malaysian Airplane Over Ukraine; NFL under Investigation for Illegal Use of Painkillers; Corporations Influencing Elections; Apprenticeship Program Help Students Avoid College Costs
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. I`m Carl Azuz. This Tuesday on commercial free CNN STUDENT NEWS we are starting in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria.
The ISIS terrorist group controls about a third of Iraq and Syria. It released a message over the weekend, that it had murdered another American.
Peter Kassig was a 26-year old U.S. medical worker and former Army ranger. He was helping victims of Syria`s civil war when ISIS captured him in Syria more than a year ago.
President Obama called Kassig`s murder pure evil.
He`s repeatedly said the U.S. wouldn`t send combat ground troops to fight ISIS, but some U.S. military advisors have said that might be necessary and in the worst case scenario the president may change his stance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There are always circumstances in which the United States might need to deploy U.S. ground troops. If we discovered that ISIL had gone possession of a nuclear weapon and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands then yes, you can anticipate that not only would Chairman Dempsey recommend me sending U.S. ground troops to get that weapon out of their hands, but I would order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Four months after a plane carrying 298 people crashed in Ukraine, wreckage is being removed from the crash site, and in international investigation has started.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was traveling from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was over Eastern Ukraine when it was shot down on July 17. Everyone on board was killed. The U.S. and other Western nations blamed rebels who favor Russia and they are fighting Ukraine for independence. The rebels themselves and the nation of Russia say Ukrainian forces shut down the plane. Investigators hope to find out who is right.
It kind of makes sense that you`d find cowboys and cowgirls in the American west. So, that`s where we are starting today in Prineville, Oregon. It`s great to have you watching at Crook Towny High School. Now, north. It`s a first time we`ve called in a school in Michigan`s Upper Peninsula at
Hancock Central High School. The bulldogs are in Hancock. And we`ll wrap things up today in Bonaire, Georgia. We`ve got the Jaguars on the roll at Bonaire Middle School.
After their games on Sunday, several NFL teams were visited by agents of the U.S. drug enforcement administration. It`s mission is to enforce the nation`s drug laws. And it`s investigating the NFL because hundreds of former players say they were given pills without prescriptions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN MCFAYDEN, HLN SPORTS CORRESPONDENTS: The DEA agents targeted teen medical staffs looking for a legal prescription: drugs. The 49ers and Buccaneers were inspected, and the Super Bowl champion Seahawks were also reportedly visited by DEA agents.
This is all part of an ongoing investigation into potential violations of the controlled substances act. The searches were done without warrants, and no one is expected to be arrested. The reasoning for the inspection`s team from a lawsuit filed in May by more than 1,000 retired NFL players who claim they were illegally given painkillers to keep them on the field.
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AZUZ: In the 20 century, a number of federal election campaign laws were passed to the U.S. The intent, to limit the ability of wealthy people or organizations to use money to influence an election.
But four years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that political spending is a form of political speech, that it`s protected by the First Amendment and that the government cannot regulate it. There are still some rules. For instance, corporations cannot directly work with the campaigns themselves.
In April, Democrats were accused of using Twitter to break that rule. They are not the only political party under the microscope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS MOODY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, in 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that (INAUDIBLE) corporations or unions could spend as much as they want on political speech to influence election, as long as they didn`t coordinate directly with the campaigns or the campaign committees. Smart liars have been trying to find ways to send signals between campaigns and these outside groups that are all spending money for the same goal, and that is to get someone elected.
Outside groups, including American Crossroads and the American Action Network collaborated with the National Republican Congressional Committee in order to share pulling data.
So, because campaigns cannot coordinate officially with outside groups, what these groups did, they set up public Twitter accounts that no one knows about in order to post polling data and polling numbers in a secret code that you can only read if you had the formula. And they would post this polling data on these Twitter accounts. One of these accounts was named after Bruno Gianelli (ph), which is the name of a fictional character on the show West Wing. He argued in favor of using soft money to pedal issue campaigns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is – I tried to influence the outcome of the election. So you can`t use soft money, period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zip doodah (ph) Sam.
MOODY: Here`s an example tweet. It says, cana 48/36-50/17-30/30-NA-10, slash 28, slash 14, dash 21. What does that mean? Right? We guess possibly that California is the state and the number at the end, 21 is the district and then the polling in the middle is the top line numbers.
After I`ve got win to this, I emailed a spokesperson for NRCC and the other groups and literally minutes after I sent the email, all of the accounts were deleted.
We`ve exposed a couple of these Twitter accounts, but there`s nothing stopping other campaigns or outside groups from doing this in the future.
So, as long as these groups continue to hide their information in plain sight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for “The Shoutout.” Including room and board, what`s the average sticker price to attend an in-state public college? If you think you know it, shout it out!
Is it $7,000 a year? $9,000 a year, $12,000 or $19,000. You`ve got three seconds, go.
According to the College Board, tuition and room and board combined were just under $19,000 per year. That`s your answer and that`s your “Shoutout.”
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Significantly more expensive if you attended out of state or private school, but what`s key here is sticker price. The College Board says most students won`t pay that. They`ll get grants, financial aid and scholarships to help with the cost.
Still, college is tens of thousands of dollars, and all this week, we are looking at ways that students can keep those costs down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 19-year old Alex Bowles is paid to attend college. And he is paid to be here, too.
ALEX BOWLES, THIRD-YEAR APPRENTICE: My bigger thing in high school, I was really kind of worried about, even if I go to a four-year college, I`m not going to be able to pay for it. I don`t want to be in debt my entire life, you know, and then I kind of heard about the program and I was like, free college.
ROMANS: Alex is one of 51 participants in apprenticeship 2000. A program funded by North Carolina manufacturing companies that provides a technical education and a job to qualified students.
Ameritech is one of the corporate partners looking to fill high-skilled manufacturing jobs.
(on camera): I hear so much from executives: they can`t find skilled labor. They look at a place like this, they can`t get the people to fill those jobs. You found a solution in apprenticeships.
STEVEN ROTMAN, PRESIDENT, AMERITECH: We have. And we`ve been very successful at it.
ROMANS: That`s a real investment for you.
ROTMAN: Huge investment for a small company.
ROMANS (voice over): Supported by paying for their tuition at Central Piedmont Community College and providing them with a weekly paycheck.
(on camera): The typical age of a manufacturing worker in this country is like 56 years old. I mean if you are complaining about a lack of skilled labor, you have to be investing on the front end.
CHRIS PAYNTER, CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE: These are very rigorous programs. They require a high level of math, the high level of physics, but in addition to those theoretical topics, a lot of hands-on experience to working with the machinery, working in the labs, working with their instructors to master the craft of these high tech fields.
ROMANS: They`ve got a job on the other end.
PAYNTER: Right. They have a job waiting for them when they finish the associate`s degree in mechatronics after four years. They study part time, and they work part time as well.
ROMANS: A 24-year old coming through this program now had a couple of years on the floor. How much money are they making?
PAYNTER: They are in the 50 or 60,000 a year range. They have full paid health insurance, they have a 401(k) program.
ROMANS: And no student debt?
PAYNTER: They have vacation paid.
ROMANS: And no student debt.
(voice over): Managing a job and an education leaves little room for the social aspect of a typical four-year on campus experience. But the financial benefits give the apprentices an advantage over their peers.
(on camera): Most kids are going through school thinking how am I going to borrow more money? You can buy a car.
PAYNTER: Oh, yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
PAYNTER: Actually, what I`m doing is, I`m trying to actually save up for a house, so – I can move out and be on my own, which not a lot of 21-year olds can say, oh yeah, I got this house. The more you look into it, you`re like oh man, this is so much more than just a ticket through college. This is like the life. This is a career you can build off of.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Lot of church services last about an hour with the sermon included. Not this one. A pastor in Florida was going for the Guinness world record for longest speech ever. And after 53 hours and 18 minutes and around 45 combined sermons, he got it. 31-year old Zack Zender (ph) was only allowed a five minute break every hour. And he didn`t just take home a record, he raised money for a group that helps people overcome drug addictions.
One thing no one needed to shout when they got the record: speech: he was never at a loss for words, gave everyone something to talk about and left lesser speakers speechless even as he went sleepless. I`m Carl Azuz and I`ll talk back at you tomorrow.
CNN Student News Nov 19, 2014: Terrorists Attack Synagogue in Jerusalem; How Dangerous is Terrorism for People in U.S.?; Japan`s Recession Can Affect Global Economy; Coding Seminar as Alternative to College Degree; Hovering Board Invented
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: A terrorist attack in the city of Jerusalem. That`s where we start this midweek addition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. Thanks for watching.
Two Palestinian attackers with a variety of weapons entered a synagogue early Tuesday. They killed four Jewish worshippers before police arrived and killed the two attackers. One police officer was injured and later died.
This was the deadliest terrorist attack in Jerusalem since 2008. The city is holy to three major world religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
And Jerusalem status is a major point of dispute between Israel and Palestinian Arabs. After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuahu called for national unity against the terrorists and against the Palestinian leaders who he says spread lies about Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the attack. But when you see news like this it`s disturbing. Where else could this happen?
Here is some perspective from CNN`s national security correspondent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I realize we come at you almost every day with a new terrorist threat or an update on an old terrorist threat and I understand how that could be overwhelming. So, I want to talk to you the way I talk to friends and family about what they should truly be concerned about and what they shouldn`t worry about so much, what shouldn`t keep them up at night.
Consistently, U.S. intelligence officials and counterterror officials tell me that the two main groups to be worried about are AQAP, this is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group that`s very skilled and is attempted to get explosive devices onto airplanes. You remember the underwear bomber in 2009. They are still trying and they have a master bomb maker who is very skilled at hiding explosives in things like personal electronic devices.
The other group is the Khorasan group, which we just begin to hear about this year. This is an offshoot from al Qaeda, a number of senior al Qaeda leaders who are now basing themselves in Syria, and according to U.S. intelligence, plotting attacks on the U.S. that may be in the final stages.
Those are the two main groups and again, like AQAP, their goal is to get explosive devices onto airplanes, possibly bound for the U.S.
We`ve talked a lot about ISIS, and ISIS does potentially pose a threat to the U.S. mainland, because it`s done such a good job of attracting foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq and the worry is that those foreign fighters will go home some day and make – carry out terror attacks when they go home, but the best information now is that ISIS is more focused on the fight in Syria and Iraq, so that`s a threat that we may have to face some day, but that is not acute today.
Now, beyond AQAP and the Khorasan group, I`m told that the most likely terror attacks to happen on the homeland are so called lone wolves attacks, these are people who are inspired by extremist propaganda and carry out an attack on their own, perhaps with no communication whatsoever with the group back home, whether it`s a Khorasan group or al Qaeda. It makes them harder to track, but it also limits the kinds of attacks that they could carry out, how ambitious they can be, how dangerous they can be. Now, together what this gives the intelligence community to face is a terrorist threat that`s more dispersed, bigger number of groups, more spread out. And therefore more difficult to track, but possibly less ambitions in their attacks than al Qaeda was with particularly the attacks on 9/11.
To help you sleep at night, I do want to end on a statistic. This is the total number of terror deaths of Americans on U.S. soil going back to 2009.
As you can see, in the single digits except for 2009. That was the attack at Fort Hood in Texas.
And I will show you these numbers: this is a number of deaths from lightning strikes in the U.S., also going back to 2009. Three or four times as many every year than terror attacks and then here deaths from car accidents, many hundreds or even thousands of times more than terror attacks.
It`s not to say it`s not a serious threat, terrorism, but statistically, you are very unlikely to be hurt in the terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can I.D. me. I`m an island nation that stretches about 1500 miles. You`ll find me in the Pacific Ocean east of the Korean Peninsula. With more than 37 million people my capital is also the world`s most popular city, Tokyo.
I`m Japan, and I have the third largest economy on earth.
AZUZ: That`s why it matters, that Japan`s economy has slipped into a recession. It`s so large that experts say it could slow down the global economy. The technical definition for a recession has to do with gross domestic product. When a nation`s GDP decreases for two quarters in a row, it`s in recession. Japan has an incredible amount of national debt. It`s more than twice the size of its economy.
To increase the government`s revenue, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had planned to increase the national sales tax next year, but this week he delayed those plans because a previous increase in sales tax kept people from spending money. That was another drag on Japan`s economy. Decreasing wages and aging population, and weak demand for goods and services are also helping keep Japan`s economy from growing.
We are snowbmobiling our way across the American north on today`s roll call. In West Allis, Wisconsin, we are recognizing the wild cats of Frank Lloyd Wright Intermediate School. Good to see you.
One state west, in a town of Eagan, Minnesota, hello to the panthers. They are watching at Black Hawk Middle School.
And in Billings, the biggest city in Montana, we`ve got the golden bears wrapping things up, shoutout to Billings West High School.
We`ve talked about how four year college degrees aren`t for everyone, and they don`t all pay off. According to salary.com, degrees in psychology, fine arts and yes, communications, don`t always give you a good return on a college investment. Degrees in tougher fields like chemical engineering can mean a better job with better pay, but few degrees are cheap, so we are continuing our serious on affording higher education by looking at skills specific programs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are so excited to present you today our new travel app.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s graduation day at Dev Boot Camp, the end of a 19 week program that turned these students into one of the hottest commodities in the current economy: coders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so today, it will be (INAUDIBLE) these ideas that they don`t …
ROMANS: For so many years it was the four-year degree, but a lot of people are saying, wait, I need something more. General studies, four years isn`t going to give you an edge in this tech base (INAUDIBLE).
JON STOWE, PRESIDENT DEV BOOTCAMP: If you are going to college to get a job, majority of students graduating from college either wish they attended a different program .
ROMANS (on camera): Right.
STOWE: Or wished that they had an additional skill set.
ALEX UNG, STUDENT, DEV BOOTCAMP: The traditional four year system, while I really value the social experiences that I have there, didn`t necessarily .
ROMANS: You say social, you didn`t say academic.
UNG: I feel pretty independent (ph) by it. And that was kind of a gap that Dev Bootcamp was here to fill, was to (INAUDIBLE) with the skillset.
The things that we pack into 19 weeks here, things you might learn in like two or three or four years in university.
ROMANS: At $40,000 a year.
UNG: Yeah, $40,000 a year.
ROMANS: You think this is a good value?
UNG: 100 percent. The majority of people graduate with jobs that pay on average like 90K or so, for a $12,000 tuition, I think that`s worth it.
ROMANS (voice over): As student loan debt in America surpasses $1.2 trillion, and millennials account for 40 percent of the nation`s unemployed, skills specific programs like Dev Bootcamp are becoming popular alternatives and add-ons to higher education.
(on camera): Let`s talk about the investment. You know, it`s an investment of time, it`s an investment of money. And we are talking about a cohort that has already invested probably a lot of money in an education. How is this different?
COURTENEY ERVIN, INSTRUCTOR, DEV BOOTCAMP: We really focus on outcomes, and we focus on students being able to find careers when they finish this.
It`s very, very clear that when you finish this program, the goal is to be able to be a junior web developer. And we get you to that point very quickly, and it`s really clear what you should do next, and how you can get there.
UNG: My friends from college, the majority of them are unemployed, we all (INAUDIBLE). I have (INAUDIBLE). I don`t know anyone without any debt, personally.
KARINA CARMONA, STUDENT, DEV BOOTCAMP: I want to take charge of my own education.
I knew that if I graduate with a CS degree at university, I would not know any web development.
ROMANS: You wanted really just focusing on this.
CARMONA: Yeah. And this is what I want to do. So, why I waste my time? Right now, a degree is kind of like a high school diploma. A portfolio means a lot more. If I can show an employer I can build this, and I can do this, then I think that`ll, you know, land (ph) me the job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: OK. A company called Hendo claims it`s invented a hoverboard, a real actual board that hovers while you stand on it. Who better to test one out than skateboarding legend Tony Hawk? He recently took a hoverboard for a spin, and a spin, and a spin. He`d showed off both at similarities to and differences from a wheeled skateboard. One big difference is the price. While a traditional board costs around $80 complete, the hoverboard is 10,000, which could leave your head spinning, but if you are bored of your board, you have more than room in board, and you want a board that soars over boards and over floors, a board that hovers covers, floors over witched hovers, could leave other boarders flawed with their boards a board the floor. I`m Carl Azuz. It`s time to air out.
CNN Student News Nov 20, 2014: Monstrous Snowfall in Buffalo, New York; Pros and Cons for Building Keystone XL Pipeline; Working for College While Studying; World Can Run out of Chocolate; New Baby Giraffe in Zoo
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz. And welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. First up this Thursday, November 20th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: This is an historic event, I believe when all is set and done, this snowfall may break also – it`s a record, and that`s saying something in western New York and in Buffalo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: That`s because average snowfall in Buffalo, New York is about 94 inches per year. The city`s gotten 72 inches since Tuesday, and has caused emergencies. At least six deaths in region have been blamed on this winter storm. It`s monstrous. People were trapped in cars, firehouses were turned into shelters. Residents aren`t even allowed to drive in south Buffalo where rescuers are using 18 snowmobiles to answer emergency calls.
Buffalo is located on Lake Erie. It often sees lake effect snow when cold air passes over warmer water, picks up moisture from the lake and dumps snow on Erie`s east or south of the lake.
Buffalo is not the only shivering city. Every U.S. state saw freezing temperatures this week and arctic air brought snow to half of them.
There`s a pipeline network that moves tons of crude oil from Canada to the U.S.
It`s called the Keystone pipeline system. It stretches about 3800 miles in all, and there`s one piece of the project that hasn`t been completed. It`s called the Keystone XL pipeline, and a company named TransCanada needs U.S. approval to finish it.
That approval has been stalled in the U.S. government. It passed last week in the Republican controlled House of Representatives, but it failed this week by one vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate. It`s likely to come up again next year when the new Congress starts.
Polls have indicated most Americans support the pipeline, but what`s blocking its completion?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Keystone XL pipeline extension would stretch about 1200 miles, most of it in the United States, from Alberta, Canada down to Nebraska. There are lots of pipelines out there, some of which would connect with this, so why all the fuss about this extension?
First of all, the environment. Opponents say that they fear that this will spoil the landscape. If there`s a spill that can contaminate ground water, hurt humans and animals, and they say this is dirty oil, a type of oil that when it`s burned produced more greenhouse gases.
Supporters say the company that wants this, TransCanada has already promised much more robust safety measures that rail shipments are rising already to bring this oil in, and the rail shipments are riskier than the pipeline would be.
Second issue, jobs. Supporters like to cite a study that says somewhere around 42,000 jobs or more would benefit from this pipeline. That includes not only people who work on it, but people in restaurants and hotels, and supply houses, but opponents say that`s all temporary, that`s for one or two years while this thing is built. In the end, maybe only 50 permanent jobs coming out of this.
So, that raises the real question: why would you want to build this thing at all? It`s only 36 inches across, doesn`t really make a difference.
Supporters say yes, it does. It means about 830,000 barrels of oil a day coming into the United States from a secure ally reducing our dependence on overseas oil from places like Venezuela or the Middle East.
Whereas opponents say look, it is just not worth it. For all those various reasons they`ve already cited, even as supporters continue to say look, it`s time after all this debate to dig the trenches and to get this pipe into the ground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Nerd is an interesting word. Dictionaries define it as either meaning a stupid or a smart person. It was likely first used in 1950, in the Dr. Seuss` book “If I Ran the Zoo.” I`ll sail to Ka-troo and bring back an It-Kutch a Preep and a Proo, a Nerkle, a Nerd and a Seersucker too.” Kind of nerdy for knowing that. It`s random.
New report in our series on affording the cost of college: federal work study jobs can give you the chance to work part-time while you are in school, but a school has to participate in the government program, and not all students qualify for it. Private school, in particular, is expensive.
Sticker price including room and board for the average U.S. private college, more than $42,000 per year.
But at Blackburn College in Illinois, it`s just under $24,000 per year. The price comes down when students work at it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some universities are starting to look like resorts with pricy amenities like SPAs rock walls and swimming pools, and they are passing along the bill to students. Tuition expenses have risen more than 1200 percent since 1978, but Blackburn College in Illinois is keeping tuition cost low. Thanks to a little thrift.
Blackburn College is expanding. It has a $2.5 million renovation project. But a novel way to pay for it. Student work crews.
You can see where students for years have been literally laying the bricks.
HEATHER BIGARD, BLACKBURN COLLEGE: We do maintain a pretty lean organizational stuffing structure, and that is done with the expectation that we do use students to supplement those labor needs.
ROMANS: And it`s not just construction jobs. 90 percent of the student body works ten hours per week on campus. In everything from gardening to security to administrative positions. IN exchange, they get tuition credit.
(on camera): But you see the parents who say, oh, I don`t want my kid to go to school to work. I don`t want them to be distracted. I want them to go to spend four years to learn.
BIGARD: We do have that. We do have parents that question that piece of it, and what we explain to them, that this is an enhancement, this is an enhancement to their overall portfolio that will make them more marketable upon graduation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, guys, can you grab me 431? Sophomore Joha Esparaza manages Blackburn`s moto vehicle fleet.
ROMANS: They call your generation debt. Does it worry you at all?
JOHN ESPARAZA, SOPHOMORE, BLACKBURN COLLEGE: By the decisions that I`ve made with school, not really, because going to Blackburn I know I`m saving a lot of money. I came for the work program because I felt that with baseball and school and a job I wouldn`t have time to get distracted by videogames, or going out to parties. I actually went to (INAUDIBLE) University. They had big pools, nice buildings, newer dorms, but it was kind of a distraction. I`m here for an education.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Our transcript page at cnnstudentnews.com is the place we look for your “Roll Call” requests. We got one all the way from Yokosuka yesterday.
It`s a seaport in Japan where you`ll find the Yokosuka Naval Base and where we are glad to be part of the day at Nile C. Kinnick High School. Mannford, Oklahoma is next. Mannford Middle School is there. And the pirates are watching today. And we`ll wrap things up in Doral, Florida. We`ve got the firebirds. They are at Doral Academy Preparatory School.
Quick, what`s one food you can`t leave without? Well, there is no one food we can`t leave without. But there`s a food that enlivens a love for eating among those eaters who love it that you probably never think would run out: chocolate. A new report indicates there could be a shortage on the horizon. Will it lead to an achocalypse?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first problem is us. According to “The Washington Post” world citizens consumed all of the cocoa produced last year, and then consumed and additional 70,000 metric tons. Yes, tons from our reserves. There are a whole bunch of new chocoholics in India and China who want to partake as well.
Chocolate giants Mars Incorporated, maker of M&Ms, Snickers and Three Musketeers is among the chocolate makers who have predicted that if we continue to gorge ourselves at the current rate, demand for chocolate will outpace supply by 2 million metric tons by 2030.
Now, the international cocoa organization is downplaying these projections calling them very overstated.
MARK SCHATZKER, FOOD WRITER, BLOOMBERG: Everyone else I talked to said, good luck with that. There really are reasons to be concerned. As the world population gets bigger, and emerging markets continue to grow and gain wealth, they are eating chocolate, and we are running out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it`s not all our fault or that of our appetite. The second threat to our beloved cocoa bean is nature. Droughts and a crop decimating disease called frosty pod (ph) have left supplies low.
So, what is a chocoholic consumer to expect? Well, higher prices and less flavor for starters.
As growers start to grow new more productive variety, we are going to end up doing the chocolate what we`ve done to tomatoes, what we`ve done to chicken, what we`ve done to strawberries. We are going to turn into carryboard (ph), and that is the scariest thing of all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Before we go, he`s 6 foot 8 and 186 pounds. But he`s just a baby. We are talking about Buttercup. He`s the giraffe on the right. At four days old, he`d never been outside. You are seeing him take his first steps out of the barn at the Santa Barbara Zoo. He`s feeling the wind for the first time. Hearing the birds for the first time. And though he may look a little awkward, he seems pretty comfortable in his adventure. Seems like a pretty giraffable guy, not afraid to stick his neck out, explore new heights, hoof it around the habitat. It`s no tall tale that from head to tail Buttercup`s buttered up viewers at the zoo. CNN STUDENT NEWS hopes to see you Friday.
CNN Student News Nov 21, 2014: bama Announces Executive Order on Immigration; What Is Lake Effect Snow?; Creating Legal Base for Using Drones
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Fridays are awesome! I`m Carl Azuz for CNN STUDENT NEWS. Ten minutes of current events, zero minutes of commercials. A lot to cover today starting with last night`s announcement of a controversial executive action. This is a policy set by the president without the consent of Congress. It can be challenged in court, it can be changed by another president. The one that President Obama announced last night has to do with immigration. There are more than 11 million people who live in the U.S. illegally. The president`s action would allow 5 million of them, mostly the parents of children who were born in the U.S. to stay in the U.S. without the threat of being deported. The action allows them to stay for three years as long as they pass background checks and pay any taxes they owe.
The action is limited, it cannot allow undocumented immigrants to stay permanently. It cannot provide a way for them to become U.S. citizens. It cannot give them access to government benefits or healthcare programs. That would all require Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I`m describing is accountability, a common sense middle ground approach. If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you a criminal, you`ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Republicans and Democrats agree that U.S. immigration policy needs to be changed. They don`t agree on how to do that. Republican and some Democratic lawmakers have urged the president to go through Congress to make changes to immigration law. The White House says it`s because the House of Representatives hadn`t acted on immigration that the president did.
Before the speech, House Speaker John Boehner said President Obama was going too far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: Instead of working together to fix our broken immigration system, the president says he`s acting on his own.
That`s just not how a democracy works. The president have said before that he`s not king and he`s not an emperor. But he`s sure acting like one. And he`s doing another time when the American people want nothing more than for us to walk together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: White House officials say the president`s plan is similar to other actions ordered by other presidents including Republicans, but no executive action has even involved these many people before.
Part of my role is to call the roles, so let`s roll our call of the roll call. Pawnee City Public School, it`s in Nebraska, the Indians are watching today in Pawnee City. In the West Virginian capital, the Capital High School Cougars are online. Hello, to Charleston, West Virginia and one state east of West Virginia, in Virginia, in Quantico Middle High School we`ve got the Warriors of Quantico.
A 38-year old resident of Buffalo, New York says she`s lived there her whole life and never seen anything like this: people have been trapped in their houses, roofs have started to splinter and collapse, snow plows aren`t even running. Authorities are using dump trucks to haul snow away.
Buffalo gets an average of around 94 inches of snow per year, that`s almost 8 feet per year. The city could see that this week alone.
Since it`s hard for residents to get around, here`s a view from the air taken by a drone. Rescuers are having to walk around snowdrifts to get people to hospitals. At least ten people have died in the storm.
Sunday`s NFL game near Buffalo was canceled, and even though it`s supposed to warm up and rain there this weekend, that could mean flooding.
What caused all of this?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Lake effect snow is one of the coolest things on the planet. I grew up in Buffalo, New York, and lake effect snow is just a way of life. When the water is not frozen yet, so still on the fall, it can happen in the spring after the lake thaws, but typically it`s in the fall. The water is warm, 45 degrees and the air is ten. And that difference when that air goes across the lake, the steam from the lake gets up into the cloud cover, gets up into the clouds and enhance the snow, and it turns into a snow machine like you would see at a ski resort.
Lake effect snow can happen anywhere in the world, if there`s cold air coming over an unfrozen warm body of water. By the time that air hits land whether it`s France or Buffalo, you can get heavy lake effect snow coming in from any direction as long as that wind is blowing across a lake or an ocean.
Lake effect snow comes down very fast. Three to five inches per hour. When you are trying to shovel that much snow so quickly, you have to almost keep going to keep up with it, but that`s the heart attack snow that we talk about: it`s heavy and you have to throw it over your shoulder to get it over the top of the pile at snow that`s already there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The media activists and police are keeping a close eye on Ferguson, Missouri. A grand jury`s decision could come today on whether to charge a 28-year old white police officer named Darren Wilson in the shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year old named Michael Brown. The incident on August 9 spite racial tensions in Ferguson. Some witnesses say Brown was trying to surrender to the officer when he was shot. Police have said Brown assaulted the officer before he was shot.
Many protesters want Officer Wilson charged with murder. If the grand jury doesn`t think there`s enough evidenced to do that, city officials are concerned that protests would turn violent.
Missouri`s governor has declared a state of emergency as a precaution. The National Guard has been called in and police say they are prepared to both protect lawful people and arrest criminals.
If you have a model airplane, you don`t need permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly it. As long as you are using it for recreation. But let`s say you have a drone, and you want to use it for commercial or business reasons. That needs to go through the FAA regardless of where you are or how high you fly it.
The laws, though, are still being written.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY CEVALLOS, ATTORNEY: Technology always outpaces the law, and the law will always struggle to catch up to technology. And when it comes to drones, those little flying devices, while we are still waiting on regulations regarding commercial use. And we`d better hurry, because in just a few years, these things are going to be buzzing around everywhere. That`s why as a lawyer, I`m getting into the drone law business.
Just think about the liability alone. What if your drone crashes into somebody on the street? What if your drone crashes into another drone?
And who should be allowed to even fly these drones? What if your driver`s license is suspended? Can we really trust you with a flying device, if we can`t even trust you with a car?
Think about aviation law? How close should a drone be allowed to an airport? How about an office building? What if you own an airplane? Do you really want a drone doing a flyby? And think about the law of trespassing. In the past, the question of whether or not someone could fly a camera over your home was academic. Now, we build fences on the ground. How would we bill fences over our property? But perhaps the biggest change will be in the area of criminal law.
As it is, police can only watch your home using technologies that are available to the general public. So, the high tech stuff is usually out.
But with drones, if everybody has them, how can you possibly argue that the police can`t use them?
At the end of the day, drones are going to be big business for everybody: lawyers and consumers and manufacturers. And really, it won`t cost all that much. Just our sense of privacy.
The tallest rollercoaster in the world is Kingda Ka at a Six Flags in New Jersey. It reaches 456 feet into the sky. A new ride in Orlando, Florida aims to beat that by almost 80 feet. It`s called the skyscraper. Set to open in 2017, it`s a tower that the cars drive up, then spiral down all around it. Will it go upside down? Yes. Will it go fast? Yes. Will it take up a lot of space? Not really, unless you count it`s 535 foot tall height. Well, someone say it`s for the birds. But if you are for acrobatic interactives overstatic, you will scrape up to the sky at the height of scraper`s high. Would this rolling coasting roller coaster twisting tracking record boaster could exceed your need for speed, were eagles there to fly. Acrofobics don`t apply. On track off the rails, that`s your Friday edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS.
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