CNN Student news 14/01/2013

Transcript: 

 CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: For month, the National Hockey League season has been on ice. Now, teams are ready to get back on the ice. Details of the deal are coming up. My name is Carl Azuz. And we welcome you to the brand new week of CNN STUDENT NEWS.
The first story we are talking about today is in Northern Ireland. Protests have been going on there for about a week now. The ones yesterday in the northern Irish capital of Belfast. They started out peacefully, but some of them turn violent later on. There is a lot of history behind these protests, and it starts with geography. Here is Northern Ireland. What`s interesting is that it`s not actually part of the republic of Ireland, it`s part of the United Kingdom, and that`s what`s behind this tension. Nationalists, who are mostly Catholic, think Northern Ireland should be part of the Republic of Ireland. Unionists or Loyalists who are mostly Protestants, wanted to stay part of the United Kingdom. The conflict between those two groups led to decades of violence, more than 3,000 people were killed before a peace deal was signed in 1998. The protests happening now are connected to a decision regarding the British flag. In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, the flag used to fly over City Hall every day of the year. Last month, local officials decided to limit that to 18 days per year. Unionists weren`t happy about that, they`ve been protesting in front of City Hall and another spots around Northern Ireland, in some cases protesters have fought with police officers. They`ve thrown concrete blocks, bricks, even gasoline bombs at police. Officers have responded by using water cannons to break up the protests. Some Protestants and Catholics have also been fighting with each other.
We are staying in Europe for our next story, which takes us from Northern Ireland down to Italy. One year ago yesterday a cruise ship ran aground off the Italian Coast. A lot of you remember this. There were 3200 passengers on board the Costa Concordia. There were another 1,000 crew members and 32 people on that ship lost their lives in the accident. Family members of the victims and some of the people who survived the wreck gathered for memorial service on the anniversary. Large boulder with the victims` names was lowered into the sea, and relatives tossed writs and notes into the water. This is what the Costa Concordia looks like now - it`s still on its side in the water. Crews are working to salvage the ship, to get the thing upright and towed in the port. Those efforts are taking longer that expected, and officials say it could take until this September.
Next up, we are heading to the capital of China, Beijing. Experts say that city has something in common with Los Angeles: smog. This gray haze is hanging in the air, making things hard to see. Yesterday, the smog levels in Beijing hit record levels, the numbers off the charts. Authorities warn people there to stay inside. Last year nearly 700 flights were canceled at Beijing airports because of haze and smog. Officials in China say that the air quality in the capital has gotten better since Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics, but residents say the pollution levels have gotten worse.
Back in the U.S. Two sides of the country experience very different kinds of weather this weekend . On one coast you had freeze warnings, on the other you had people walking around in shorts. You might expect the warmer temperatures to be out west. No, not the case here. It was 30 degrees below normal in some spots there. Overnight low in Los Angeles 38 degrees, a freeze warning in Phoenix, Arizona. But then you move over to the East, and some cities had temperatures that were 30 degrees above normal. In Washington D.C., the high on Saturday was 62, here in Atlanta, 76.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s first "Shoutout" goes out to Mr. Hudson`s classes at Central High School in King and Queen Country, Virginia. Which of these teams is not part of the National Hockey League`s original six? Here we go, is it the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers or Toronto Maple Leafs. We`ve got three seconds, go.
The Bruins, Rangers and Maple Leafs are part of the original six along with the Black Hawks, Canadiens and Red Wings. The Flyers didn`t join the league until 1967. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."
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AZUZ: Ice hockey fans are circling January 19th on their calendars. That is when the NHL season will officially and finally start. The league had been under a lockout since September while owners and players negotiated a new contract. They agreed on a deal around the week ago, so the players are back on the ice. Training camps opened yesterday, the first games of the season will be on Saturday. There will be fewer games, as you might expect. Instead of each team playing 82 games, they`ll each play 48. And the regular season will end in late April. The last time the NHL had a labor dispute like this one, eight years ago the entire season ended up getting canceled.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you gotten you flu shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.,
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven`t. My mom wanted me to get it yesterday, actually, and I haven`t gotten it, so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, madam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I didn`t even think about it. I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I have never had the flu shot before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I haven`t.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I`m actually concerned. I think I should get it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. My mom told me to get it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you gotten the flu shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never. I don`t think it makes any difference.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I got the flu shot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got the flu shot. For the first time ever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t want to end up in the situation where I had the flu and had to miss time from work, so. I felt it was a good idea to take a flu shot.
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AZUZ: Officials from the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimate that about 37 percent of Americans got the flu vaccine by mid-November. They say that`s about on track to where it was last year. One expert with the CDC says the only thing that`s predictable about the flu is that it`s unpredictable. There had been more cases reported earlier in this flu season than you might normally see. The spread of the flu seems to have slowed down in some areas around the U.S. , but on the other hand, there are 47 states that have reported wide spread flu activity. It doesn`t reflect how severe the flu is, just how far it`s spread, but some places like New York state and the city of Boston have declared public health emergencies because of the flu.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s time for a "Shoutout Extra Credit" "Radiance" and "Rosebud" are code names for which pair of sisters? You know what to do, is it Malia and Sasha Obama, Tia and Tamera Mowry, Jenna Hager and Barbara Bush or Serena and Venus Williams. Put another three seconds on the clock and go.
"Radiance" and "Rosebud" are the U.S. Secret Service code names of Malia and Sasha Obama. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout Extra Credit."
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AZUZ: There are some perks when you part of the first family, you get your own code name, that`s kind of cool. You get to live in the White House. But when your father is the president, it can also mean a lot of attention on you. Malia Obama is around the age of a lot of you, and we`d like you to think about what your were like four years ago, how you`ve changed over that time and now what it would be like to do that in a public eye.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Mr. President.
(AUDIENCE)
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AZUZ: All right, before we go today, we`ve got a super story out of St. Petersburg, Florida. Kids at a Children`s Hospital there got a big surprise. They looked out of their windows last week. Check it out: Spiderman looking back in at them. The wall crawler wasn`t just hanging around, he was washing windows. The regular window washing crew wore spidy outfits. Kids got a huge kick out of this, and the slew of Spiderman enjoyed getting to make the patient`s day. In fact, it seemed like everyone was awashed with excitement. You know how Spiderman watched the CNN STUDENT NEWS? On the Web. And we hope you will too when we come back tomorrow. I`m Carl Azuz, have a great day.
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CNN Student News- 19/12/1012 [Video]

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz. Today, on CNN STUDENT NEWS we begin by continuing our coverage of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. And we are looking at the way to help those affected by this tragedy begin to heal.

A healing process will be a long one for many people in Newtown. But slowly, some of the first signs of normalcy are returning. Students started going back to school yesterday. Teacher groups said the classes would discuss the shooting in age-appropriate ways trying to help students make sense of it. Class was not back in session of the students and teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary. They won`t go back until January, and when they do, they`ll be at a different building about eight miles away. On Monday, we covered the shooting in depth. You can find that show on our home page or at the CNN schools of thought blog. Teachers, that`s also where you`ll find the post that shares some tools to help discuss the story with your students. Gary Tuchman now looks at how some specially trained animals are taking part of the healing process.
 

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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nine golden retrievers on the march making their way into a recreation center in Newtown, Connecticut for an emotional rescue to help comfort the children who survived the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary and other children in town. Therapeutic canines were sponsored and trained by Lutheran Church Charities transported in a van for a 900 mile ride from Illinois.

(on camera): And what is a comfort dog?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A comfort dog is one who brings comfort to other people when they are suffering or hurting or bring happiness to people, it helps people process the grief they ...

TUCHMAN: So they are specially trained?

TIM HETZNER, LUTHERAN CHURCH CHARITIES: They are specially trained. These are all trained service dogs. So we don`t use them with disabled, but we use that training, and then we train them additionally to work with all different age groups and people.

To some people, and we`ve seen this with children, it brings a sense of calmness in the time of confusion for them during this period. To some, it helps them process their grief, so they are crying, and they hug the dog and to some children now come up, and they walk away happy.

Do you know that Luther is incapable of being mean? Luther is a friendly dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, Katon loves dogs.

TUCHMAN: When does training begin to be a comfort dog?

HETZNER: Five and a half weeks, we buy puppies at five and a half weeks and turn them upside down in how their temperament is and from that point on, we ...

TUCHMAN: But you turn them upside down, so if they are turned upside down and they flail, they can`t be a comfort dog.

HETZNER: Right. Our initial screening is if they can be relaxed in that position, then we start the next process, which is a trainer that works with them one on one for the next eight months to a year.

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AZUZ: We`ve been asking on our blog, what you think can be done to keep kids safer at school. Amira says, "Schools should have more security guards with better training and more available defense resources for the trained security personnel." Ian suggests, "Limiting access points for perpetrators and educating students on what needs to be done in case the worst happens." From Kal, campuses could be surrounded by fences that can be climbed as easily as chain-linked fences.

Jack thinks the best course of action is to have at least to or more staff in a school with guns to protect themselves and the kids.

John writes, "The only reasonable solution is to have stricter gun control: not a single American needs an automatic weapon unless it`s government issued." Macey says, "Too many people have guns and use them for the wrong reason." In Nick`s opinion, a change in gun laws wouldn`t solve the problem: "We need to focus on mental instabilities in children." Heather also says, "We need more attention brought to mental health care to prevent things like this from happening. CNN is looking for your "I- Reports." If your class or school is taking action to honor Newtown, Connecticut, head to ireport.com and upload your photos in our Newtown assignment.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? There are mountains on the Moon. Yes, the Moon has mountains, craters, even seas, although scientists don`t think there`s water in them.

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AZUZ: One of these mountains is named for Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and on Monday, that spot was the final stop for a pair of probes, a pair of spacecraft that have been checking out the Moon. Ebb and Flow were about the size of a washer and dryer, before they crashed landing into that mountain, their mission was to orbit the Moon and map it out. Scientists were hoping to learn more about its surface and how it might have formed. Researchers say they got a lot of great information from Ebb and Flow. They think it could take years to analyze all of it. NASA officials say the twin probes were intentionally sent into that mountain on Monday because they didn`t have enough fuel or altitude to keep going with the mission.

The group of men you are seeing here are part of a TV crew for NBC. One of them is Richard Engel, the network`s chief foreign correspondent. The crew was kidnapped by masked armed men when it crossed the border into Syria to report on that country`s civil war. During the five days they were held, Engel said the crew was blindfolded and repeatedly threatened. They were eventually freed and taken out of Syria on Tuesday. And it`s been difficult for journalists to report on Syria`s civil war, because the Syrian government has severely limited their access inside the country. When journalists do choose to report from inside Syria, they are potentially putting themselves in harm`s way.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout" goes out to Mr. Linser`s classes at Bellevue High School in Bellevue Washington. Which of these ancient civilizations leave in what`s now North and Central America? Here we go, was it the Sumarians, Phoenicians, Maya or Vikings? You`ve got three seconds, go!

They Maya lives in parts of what are now Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

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AZUZ: You might have studies the Maya in your history classes, you might have even discussed them outside of school, there is this rumor that`s been going around about the end of the world. Now, the theory says that could happen later on this week, because that is when the Mayan calendar ends, but Nick Parker caught up with some modern day Maya about the reality.

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NICK PARKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lario Kancha (ph) is a priest, his people`s calendar ends in a matter of days.

"It`s considered the closure of the great cycle of Mayan time," he says. But, of course, the next cycle begins the following day. For the Mayans, it`s not the end of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can`t get to the airport.

PARKER: Doomsday scenes from movies like "2012" have helped create a different myth. So, where does it come from? The Mayan civilization began in several countries from around 2,000 B.C. The story behind the infamous date begins in ancient sites like Chichen Itza where Mayans created calendars.

ALFREDO BARRERA, MEXIAN GOVERNMENT ARCHEOLOGIST: The Mayas were astronomers, when they go into the tower in the upper part, they can make observations, they relate the astronomic records with the agriculture, with the economy.

PARKER: Temples are designed to channel sunlight, and the number of panels correspond to years.

When academics translated inscriptions in the 19th century, they discovered that Mayans counted 394 years cycles, known as baktuns and many say the significant 14th baktun expires this Winter Solstice, December, the 21st. Others say, it actually ends on the 23rd.

This carving made in 700 A.D. Ignited furious debate. Monument Six, as it`s known, was discovered at the site of Tortuguero and predicts a major event at the end of this 13th baktun.

BARRERA: We don`t have prophecy or inscriptions related with the finish of the world or prophecies, it`s only a mention of a data, but it doesn`t mention more about, because description is not complete.

PARKER: He blames online speculation and ignorant writing for the Doomsday belief. But the data is certainly open to interpretation. Santiago Pando lives outside Mexico City and is a filmmaker.

"There is a big sun, which is going to align with the other suns in others galaxies," he says. "This means, there will be an enormous quantity of light, and this will give us a wider view of reality."

Many in Mayan countries will mark the day as a celebration, as others around the word fear something more sinister. Nick Parker, CNN, Yucatan, Mexico.

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AZUZ: Some superstitious folks might think it`s bad luck to let a black cat cross their path, but the students at this crosswalk probably disagree with that, because this black cat seems to be all about safety. It`s name is Sable, he is 15 years old, his owner says he makes it part of his daily routine to heat the street right before the bell rings. The crossing guards think of him as part of a team, he even has his own safety vest, and he doesn`t charge for his services.

And maybe one day he`ll call the tab he`s been running. For now, he just seems to have a vested interest in keeping the street safe for the kitties. That`s all the time we have for today. We will hope to cross paths again tomorrow when CNN STUDENT NEWS returns. Bye now.

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