THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're seniors at Tulare Union High School, and you're watching....
ENTIRE GROUP: ...CNN Student News! Woo!
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Want to thank my seniors for that very energetic introduction. I'm Carl Azuz. This is CNN Student News. And in our penultimate program of 2010, we present some perspectives on privacy. But first though, we're headed to Washington, D.C.
AZUZ: 81 yays; 19 nays. So, the tax cut plan passes in the U.S. Senate. This is the compromise that President Obama and Republican leaders came up with that would extend a series of tax cuts for another two years. Yesterday, the Senate approved the plan which would cost more than $850 billion. Now though, it has to go through the House of Representatives. Some of the Democratic members there aren't happy with parts of this plan, so this is not a something that is set in stone.
Oil Spill Lawsuit
AZUZ: The U.S. government is filing a lawsuit over this year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The suit is aimed at BP and eight other companies who were involved in the spill. When he made the announcement yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder said "we intend to hold them fully accountable for their violations of the law." The lawsuit, which accuses the companies of failing to prevent or control the spill, is one of nearly 80 suits that are all being combined together.
CEO Meeting
AZUZ: And a meeting brings together politics and big business. President Obama got together yesterday with the heads of 20 of America's biggest companies, including Google, American Express and PepsiCo. Here, you can see the president walking to the meeting at Blair House just across the street from the White House. He said the goal was to find ways to boost the economy and increase hiring. The group talked about energy, taxes and trade with other countries. One CEO who was at the meeting said he hoped it would provide the opportunity to figure out some plans to help the economy.
Shoutout
JOHN LISK, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Which of these ships was involved in the Boston Tea Party? If you think you know it, shout it out! Was it the: A) Dartmouth, B) Merrimack, C) Mayflower or D) Pinafore? You've got three seconds -- GO! The Dartmouth was one of the ships involved in the Boston Tea Party. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
Boston Tea Party Anniversary
AZUZ: That famous protest happened 237 years ago today. A group of colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans, went on ships in Boston Harbor, and dumped hundreds of chests of tea overboard. What they were protesting against was the British Tea Act. Remember, the American colonies were controlled by Great Britain back then. Some colonists were angry about the taxes being created by the British government. The British parliament was furious about the Boston Tea Party and set up more laws in Boston. All of this helped to eventually lead to the American Revolution.
Shoutout Extra Credit
MICHELLE WRIGHT, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for a Shoutout Extra Credit! Who is the founder of Facebook? You know what to do! Is it: A) Bill Gates, B) Shawn Fanning, C) Steve Jobs or D) Mark Zuckerberg? Another three seconds on the clock -- GO! Zuckerberg started the social networking site when he was a student at Harvard University. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout Extra Credit!
AZUZ: That was back in 2003. In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg is TIME Magazine's person of the year. TIME is owned by Time Warner, the same company that owns CNN. Other people who were considered for this year's award: the Chilean miners, the Tea Party movement, and the founder of WikiLeaks. TIME said that it chose Zuckerberg because his social networking site has had a huge impact on how we communicate and do business. The magazine pointed out that Facebook has linked one-twelfth of the entire world into a single network. If Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country on the planet.
What You Share Online?
AZUZ: Nearly half of all Americans have a Facebook account. We know a lot of you do. When you post something online, even if it's meant to be private, there's a good chance it can end up being public. I talked with some Atlanta-area teens and their parents recently about how much privacy they expect to have when they log on.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
AZUZ: As far as phones go, and sharing your numbers, how many of you expect your numbers to remain private? And have you ever gotten a text or a call from a number you didn't recognize?
GROUP: Yes
ADAM VRTIS, STUDENT: But that's normally from someone that's given my number to someone else, not that I approved it. So, never mind, hand goes down!
KATHERINE THORNBURGH, STUDENT: I tell my friends not to give away my phone number, but it still happens.
AZUZ: These suburban Atlanta teenagers may want their phone number to be private, but I found their expectations were very different when it comes to the internet.
Do you expect what you post online to be private?
VRTIS: No, I don't.
AZUZ: Why not?
VRTIS: Everyone sees it, the internet. It's the world wide web; everyone can get to it. I'm pretty careful about what I put on it.
HANNAH GALT, STUDENT: I know nothing's really private.
AZUZ: So, how does that affect what you post on Facebook?
GALT: I don't say anything that I don't want anyone to hear.
AZUZ: It's a caution instilled by their parents.
How much privacy do you give him on Facebook?
LORI VRTIS, PARENT: Very little. If they do want privacy, they can get a journal, they can write in it, keep it in their desk drawer. I will never read it. But when you're posting something that everyone can look at, I'm going to look at it also.
KAREN THORNBURGH, PARENT: Anything you're willing to put out there in a written form, be willing to stand up in front of the whole high school and announce this.
ARIA GALT, PARENT: Well, I teach in a school, so we deal with a lot of these issues each day. And so, I sometimes talk about situations that I've encountered at work and hoping that maybe something would be learned from those as well.
AZUZ: And while all three students said they'd texted something they wished they could take back, they were far more reserved in their internet behavior, largely because of their parents' involvement.
JOE VRTIS, PARENT: Professing the ignorance of it and not monitoring it, I think you're setting yourself up for failure as a parent. I think the kids definitely need guidance.
(END VIDEO)
AZUZ: It's time for another edition of Career Connections. Our own Tomeka Jones joins me here. Tomeka, I hear you're focusing on the investigative side of journalism today.
TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: That's right, Carl. Amber Lyon is an investigative reporter and correspondent for CNN. Before she started working here, she moved to Central America to help improve herself as a journalist. Amber credits her mother for helping her decide what career path she wanted to take. And she says she's successful because she has a passion for journalism and knew she couldn't fail at it.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The reason I love being a journalist is that you can really make a huge difference in society. A video, I say, can say a million words.
General assignment is more you do the breaking news, the quick-turn stories that feed the daily news. They're very important. You'll find a lot more general assignment reporters than you ever will investigative reporters.
Investigative is more like, we find one issue and maybe spend sometimes an entire year looking into it and getting down to the bottom of it. It's more documentary style.
One thing you'll have to learn in news more than anything is that, how can you make your story different, how can you get the public's attention?
My whole goal with Backpack Reporters is to be able to bring them on stories with us. Let them experience the story, kind of, we're going to be taking a journey and I'm going to bring you with me. So, with the backpack, I look at it as, okay, I'm going to throw on my backpack and come with me; we're going to go on a journey to find the story. And I just try to make it really intimate with viewers so that they can connect to it.
A lesson to everybody, whether you're a journalist or any other type of career, is be willing to take risks. Because if you're truly passionate about it, follow your passion and success will follow, and it will pay off in the end.
(END VIDEO)
Promo
AZUZ: We've been making Career Connections all semester. Now, we want to hear from you. Students, go to our blog at CNNStudentNews.com. Tell us what careers have sparked your interest. And teachers, check out the CNN Teachers' Lounge and share how you address careers in your classrooms. The blog, the Teachers' Lounge: they're both at CNNStudentNews.com!
Before We Go
AZUZ: Before we go, we've got a tail that takes a long time to tell. Say, 25 years. That's how long Misty here has been around. That would make her 175 in dog years. And if the folks at the record books can confirm that, she will officially be the oldest dog in the world. Misty's owner has to provide the proof, and that includes the seven years before he adopted her.
Goodbye
AZUZ: You know, the part of her life that he mist-y. Hey, at least we didn't make a joke about an old dog needing to walk with a cane-ine. Or about Misty being the mutt of a bunch of jokes? We'll roll over and try again tomorrow. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.