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CLAIRE BALDACCI, CNN STUDENT NEWS IREPORTER: Hi, I'm Claire. I might not be Carl Azuz, but this is an exciting edition of CNN Student News.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Well, I am Carl Azuz, and we thank Claire for her intro and look forward to yours! Welcome to today's program on this Wednesday, October 20th!
First Up: Pentagon Shooting
AZUZ: Investigators are looking into all possibilities as to why someone started shooting at the Pentagon early on Tuesday morning. Just before 5am, Pentagon police and some construction workers in the area heard at least five shots fired. Bullet parts were found on the south side of the building, but no one was hurt. That part of the Pentagon was empty at the time, and the windows are bulletproof. Here, you see part of Interstate 395 shut down, officers fanning out in the investigation. The road runs along the south side of the Pentagon. A police director says they're not sure who fired the shots, though they probably came from a rifle. Officials think this was just a random thing that happened. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Defense Department.
More Information Required
AZUZ: While we're on the subject of security, the holiday season's coming up. And airline travelers might notice something different when they buy their tickets: they'll have to give some extra info, like their birth dates, before they can print up their boarding passes. It's part of "Secure Flight" -- it's a new government plan to increase security in the skies. Jeanne Meserve shows us who's looking at the extra info we provide and what Secure Flight is supposed to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: At a secure location, shown exclusively to CNN, computers and analysts search out known terrorists trying to board airplanes.
PAUL LEYH, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Ultimately we're going to be looking at 2.1 to 2.2 million records a day that go through the system.
MESERVE: The program, called Secure Flight, matches passenger information against government watchlists. Known terrorists on the no fly list won't get a boarding pass. Those on the so-called selectee list will get extra screening. When you buy a plane ticket now, you have to put in your name just the way it appears on your government ID, your gender, and your date of birth. That additional information will help the government determine who is a known terrorist and who is not. And prevent screwups, like misidentifying the late Senator Ted Kennedy as a possible terrorist. It should also close gaps, like the one exposed when Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, nearly escaped because an airline hadn't updated its no fly list.
(END VIDEO)
AZUZ: But of course, Secure Flight isn't perfect. An aviation security expert says it'll only look at the names of known terrorists. The problem is, terrorist attacks aren't always attempted by people the U.S. government is familiar with. So even if this new system had been in place nine years ago, it still wouldn't have caught Mohammed Atta, one of the September 11th hijackers.
Shoutout
CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Blessing's social studies classes at Union County High School in Liberty, Indiana! Which country has the most Internet users? Is it: A) China, B) India, C) U.S., or D) South Korea? Three seconds, and GO! China has both the world's largest population and the highest number of people online. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
The World Online
AZUZ: But worldwide, two billion people -- about 30 percent of the planet's population -- are expected to be online by the end of 2010. And in just the last five years, the number of people online worldwide has doubled! The International Telecommunication Union came out with this report. It also looks at the gap between developed countries and poorer countries. For example, in Europe, roughly 65 percent of people are online. In Africa, it's fewer than 10 percent. The International Telecommunication Union is an agency of the United Nations. It says that the key to continued growth-- getting more people online --is speed: Access to broadband Internet. Though 30 percent of the world will be online by year's end, it estimates, only 8 percent will have broadband access.
They Steal, You Pay
AZUZ: Thieves are costing us honest shoppers. Britain's center for retail research says the average American family is shelling out an extra 423 bucks this year. And this is why: In 2010, stores will have lost an estimated 40 billion dollars in merchandise to thieves. So they're spending more on security to protect their stuff. When their costs go up, so do ours, because they have to charge more to keep making profits. It's not quite as bad as it was last year, but Americans are still paying more on average than the rest of the world does for this sort of thing. And the report says the biggest problem isn't shoplifting or employee theft -- it's organized crime, when a group of people steals large amounts of jeans or baby food, for example, and then resells that at a profit.
Shoutout Extra Credit
CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for a Shoutout Extra Credit! Which story made headlines exactly six months ago? Was it: A) Oil rig explodes in Gulf, B) 33 miners trapped in Chile, C) Last U.S. shuttle mission launches, or D) Last U.S. combat brigade leaves Iraq? Ready-set-GO! On April 20th, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout Extra Credit!
6 Months Later
AZUZ: Well, it was more than three months before the oil spill that followed was finally sealed up. It was the worst spill in American history. We remember a lot of you writing in our blog that your hearts went out to the families affected and to the animals affected. I remember a lot of you talking about that. And what you might not have heard too much about was the rescue of marine animals. Thanks to Rob Marciano, you're going to hear about it right this second.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: I first visited bird rehab centers back in mid-June. There was frantic shuffling of rescued pelicans, cleaning oiled feathers, medically treating the sick, and feeding the weak. It's a different scene now.
It already smells better in here.
Over 800 rescued birds moved through this facility and more than 2000 were treated from Louisiana to Florida during the last six months.
DANENE BIRTELL, FACILITY MANAGER, TRI-STATE BIRD RESCUE: The fact that it's empty is a huge sign of success and makes us very happy.
MARCIANO: So, this is where there were birds very recently?
RHONDA MURGATROYD, WILDLIFE COORDINATOR, DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSE: This morning. This morning, the birds were released out of here.
MARCIANO: That's huge. The last of the BP-affected birds finally returned to the wild.
MURGATROYD: When they go out, and I see them fly out of those kennels, that's when you see me smile, that's when I'm happiest.
MARCIANO: I know the feeling, four months ago I got to release some pelicans in Texas.
Absolutely spectacular!
MARCIANO: But the sober fact remains, over 6,000 birds were found dead since the spill and other animals are still fighting for their lives.
God, look at the size of that turtle. Come on, Big Momma.
Big momma tips the scales at 220.
Want some shrimp?.
This wounded loggerhead is one of 21 turtles still recovering at the Insitute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi.
This is one of the Kemp's Ridley affected by the oil spill. And it's important that every couple of days, couple of weeks, couple of months, depending on how sick the animal is to get a check on their blood to see how the oil is affecting them.
MARCIANO: Marine vets check his heart and lungs too. This guy is recovering from swallowing a fishing hook. Likely forced from his normal habitat by the oil slick.
DR. CONNIE L. CLEMONS-CHEVIS, VETERINARIAN, INSTITUTE FOR MARINE MAMMAL STUDIES: Back in the tank he goes!
MARCIANO: But not back into the wild. Not yet.
DR. MOBY SOLANGI, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR MARINE MAMMAL STUDIES: We have to over-winter them, keep them in optimal temperatures, and make sure they are exercised, they are treated properly so that when they are released, they can goand fend for themselves.
MARCIANO: So for now it's kiddie time in the pool.
KELLY FOLKEDAHL, EDUCATIONAL COORDINATOR, INSTITUTE FOR MARINE MAMMAL STUDIES: Right there, perfect. Let him go!
MARCIANO: A safe training spot so that one day they will get back into the Gulf.
(END VIDEO)
iPhone in Space!
AZUZ: ...kids counting down an iPhone's journey into space. Their father, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, put the phone in a take-out box and then hooked it up to a weather balloon and let the thing go. And man, it went: 19 miles up -- about 100,000 feet -- showing the curve of the earth, the darkness of space. When the balloon finally burst, the phone fell back down to Earth, its fall cushioned by a parachute. Amazingly, it landed only 30 miles from the launch site. And the phone's GPS told the father where to find it!
Before We Go
AZUZ: Part of the reason we like that story so much is because it's accessible to us. A lot of us have smartphones or phones with video, and we could probably acquire a weather balloon somehow. The only thing is, it can get kind-of expensive having to get a new phone if the GPS doesn't work out. Hard to top a story like that in a "Before We Go" segment, but we're gonna try. This comes close. Visiting team -- they're the ones in white -- they were down seven points. Less than two seconds to go in the game, so this was it. They got the kickoff, and then they started passing around the ball. They passed it around and around. One guy fumbled it there, you saw; another one picked it up. And they just kept it going. Now, whenever you think this play is over, it's not. And though you see the other team rushing the field, the visitors kept the play going; they took the ball, ran it all the way to the end zone.
Goodbye
AZUZ: And then they went for two points and wound up winning the game. It was a rare example of advancement, from a lateral move. And we're gonna punt it back to you for now, taking a hike until tomorrow. But fill those bleachers again, because Thursday's show will be head and shoulder-pads above the competition. I'm Carl Azuz; we're looking forward to seeing you soon! Bye now.