CNN Student News 俄羅斯機(jī)場(chǎng)發(fā)生爆炸

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JOSEPH, NORTH LINN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT: This is Joseph from North Linn Middle School in Troy Mills, Iowa, and this episode is going to bowl you over!

 

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks, Joseph, and thanks to all of Mr. Wheatley's students at North Linn Middle for that striking introduction to today's show. We love it and we look forward to your intro as well. I'm Carl Azuz. 10 minutes of commercial-free headlines are coming your way right now!

 

First Up: Airport Explosion

AZUZ: First up today, we're reporting on a bomb that went off at the busiest airport in Moscow, Russia. This happened yesterday around 4:30 in the afternoon local time. Russia's president called it a terrorist attack. There were reports that it was done by a suicide bomber. And when we put this show together yesterday, no one had claimed responsibility for the attack and Russian authorities hadn't named any suspects. This video that was posted on YouTube shows what the airport looked like after the bombing. You can see a lot of smoke still in the air here. Dozens of people were killed in this blast. More than 150 others were injured. One terrorism expert said that airports usually are a pretty secure location. So, for an attack like this to happen at an airport and for the result to be so devastating, he says it means that the attack was very well planned.

 

This Day in History

AZUZ: This Day in History:

January 25, 1915 -- The first transcontinental telephone call takes place between New York and San Francisco

January 25, 1924 -- The first Winter Olympics begin in France

January 25, 1961 -- President Kennedy holds the first televised U.S. presidential news conference

 

State of the Union Preview

AZUZ: Tonight, President Obama has his own televised event: the State of the Union address. And that'll be followed by the Republican response. You can watch all of it starting at 9 p.m. Eastern on CNN. The economy, likely to be a big part of tonight's speeches. Christine Romans talked to some experts about the state of some important economic indicators. Christine, what do you have for us?

 

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carl, for most families, a job and a house are probably the two most important things in economic life: you pay for your bills with one; you live in the other. So, we spoke with leading economists and weighed the recent economic reports to determine whether the state of jobs and housing is weak, improving, strong or very strong. The consensus? The state of the jobs market is improving.

 

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: Businesses are very profitable, their balance sheets are strong. It's increasingly no longer a question of can they go out and hire more. It's really a question of are they willing? And I think they will become more willing in coming months.

 

ROMANS: Economists at the National Association for Business Economics, well, they say 42% of companies plan to hire within the next six months. It's all one circle. As consumers buy more, companies make more money, and they hire more people. When hiring improves, people become more confident, and they buy more.

 

When we asked economists whether the housing market was weak, improving, strong or very strong, economists declared the housing market remains weak. Home sales and housing construction are at very low levels, and prices of homes could stabilize, at best, or maybe even fall more, at worst, throughout 2011. A record number of people have fallen behind in their bills. Last year, 3,287 people every single day lost their homes in foreclosure. Another four to five million people this year are expected to fall behind in their house payment, which means, Carl, the housing market remains weak for now.

 

AZUZ: Okay, thank you very much, Christine. The economy, of course, won't be the only theme of tonight's speeches. Kate Bolduan joins us now with a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

 

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010...

 

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Similar to his first State of the Union address, with unemployment still hovering over nine percent, President Obama in his second address will focus largely on jobs. He offered a preview of the speech in a videotaped message to supporters.

 

OBAMA: My number one focus is going to be making sure that we are competitive, that we are growing and we are creating jobs, not just now, but well into the future.

 

BOLDUAN: The president's push for jobs will be joined by another re-occurring White House theme: American innovation and competitiveness.

 

OBAMA: We're going to have to out-innovate, we're going to have to out-build, we're going to have to out-compete, we're going to have to out-educate other countries. That's our challenge.

 

BOLDUAN: To do that, Mr. Obama will likely say, requires a combination of tackling the federal deficit along with new investments in targeted areas, as he suggested last week in upstate New York.

 

OBAMA: That means spurring innovation in growing industries like clean energy manufacturing, the kind of stuff that's being done right here at this plant. Ensuring our economy isn't held back by crumbling roads and broken down infrastructure. It means educating and training our people.

 

BOLDUAN: But more government spending will be a tough sell, as the president is facing a very different political landscape this time around. Republicans are now in control of the House and have a stronger minority in Senate.

 

REP. ERIC CANTOR, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Washington investment means more spending, and right now, more spending is anathema to where most American are right now.

(END VIDEO)

 

Shoutout

TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Brother Pat's senior honors civics class at E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux, Louisiana! What two teams will play for the NFL title this year? Is it the: A) Packers and Jets, B) Bears and Steelers, C) Jets and Bears or D) Steelers and Packers? Three seconds on the clock -- GO! The Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers will face off in the Super Bowl. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

 

A Korean Hero

AZUZ: One of the players in the big game is gonna be Hines Ward. He's a wide receiver and someone who has a lot of fans; not just in the U.S., but halfway around the world as well. Mr. Ward is using his popularity and his personal background to try to make life better for some kids in South Korea. Paula Hancocks catches us up on the details.

 

(BEGIN VIDEO)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hines Ward is a hero in South Korea, less for throwing an American football and more for breaking down biracial discrimination. The NFL player has an American father and a Korean mother. His visit to South Korea four years ago, his first since he was a baby, captivated the nation .The sporting superstar met with biracial children, sparking an internal debate on how to stop ethnic prejudice.

 

HINES WARD, PITTSBURGH STEELERS: We can't change the past, but in the present day and the future, maybe if I can provide hope and inspiration to make Korea an even better place than it already is, then I'll be more than excited.

 

HANCOCKS: Almost 99% of people here in South Korea are Korean. It's still very rare to have parents of two different races. So by visiting here, and also by setting up a foundation which helps biracial children, Hines Ward is widely credited as having changed the prejudices of a nation. This is the Rainbow Choir. Nearly every child is biracial; many of them say they have experienced some kind of prejudice at school. This sixth grader is Chinese-Korean and remembers Ward's visit. She says...

 

LEE JI-MIN, CHINESE-KOREAN [TRANSLATED]: His parents are from different cultures and he was very nice to me. He's in the same situation as me, which makes me like him even more.

 

HANCOCKS: This boy tells me...

 

KIM SEUNG-JIN, JAPANESE-KOREAN [TRANSLATED]: Hines Ward is cool and strong.

 

HANCOCKS: Kim Seong-Hoi started the choir and opened the Center for Multicultural Korea after being inspired by the NFL star. He says...

 

KIM SEONG-HOI, HEAD OF RAINBOW CHOIR [TRANSLATED]: South Korea can only grow if it learns how to live with more foreign people in the country, with people not all of the same bloodline.

 

HANCOCKS: So, while American football is not popular in South Korea, Hines Ward definitely is. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul, South Korea.

(END VIDEO)

 

Facebook Promo

AZUZ: Hines Ward is looking out for those kids, and you know I am always looking out for you. I had this great idea to give away Wednesday's Shoutout answer. But my boss said "no go on the show." So, maybe you could check out at, let's say, Facebook.com/CNNStudentNews. Let's say this afternoon. Let's say in a new video. And if you like this idea, click "like" at the top of our Facebook page. I'll see what I can do for you.

 

Before We Go

AZUZ: Well, the graphic over my shoulder has changed, and you know what that means. The saying goes that a dog is a man's best friend. So why would you want to do this to her?! Strap the dog into your parachute and jump off a mountain? Something tells me she might not be your best friend after that. But Kui -- that's the name of the dog -- Kui doesn't seem to mind. Normally, she waits on the ground while her owner goes paragliding. But this time, the 60 pound pooch went along for the ride.

 

Goodbye

AZUZ: Of course, everyone landed safely, so we can be glide this story has a happy ending. But imagine if they took two dogs. Then, we could make a pun about a pair... uh, shoot. It looks like we're out of time. Don't forget to watch CNN's State of the Union coverage, 9 p.m. tonight on CNN. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz. Bye bye!