Cnn Student News 2010年9月29日

AZUZ: And some would say if you haven't heard of the Grand Ole Opry, you're not a true country fan. It's the name of a radio show that kind of introduced America to country music. And of course, the Grand Ole Opry is also the name of the building where those shows take place. The Opry stage has been home to some of the biggest names in country. But for the past 5 months, that stage hasn't been home to anyone. Back in May, severe floods hit Nashville, causing more than a billion dollars in damage. The water that you see over my shoulder here went 2 feet above the Opry's stage. But last night, the Opry had a grand reopening. Superstars like Trace Adkins, Martina McBride and Brad Paisley all took the stage as part of the "Country Comes Home" concert. One thing they made sure to keep during the repairs process: that famous circle in the middle of the stage. That's been around since the Grand Ole Opry first started.

Los Angeles Heat Wave

AZUZ: Los Angeles, California set a new record this week, but not one that too many people are happy about there. It is the hottest temperature ever for the city: 113 degrees. L.A. hit that mark around noon on Monday. The heat wave is coming from hot air that's moving from nearby mountains through Southern California. The high temperatures put pressure on the city's electric grid. In order to try and fight that, officials are asking residents not to use certain appliances -- and yes, unfortunately for many of them, that includes air conditioners -- they're asked not to use even those during the hottest part of the day.

Rocket Booster Moved

AZUZ: What you're looking at here is the external fuel tank for the last space shuttle flight. It's kind of like a gas tank for the shuttle, but it goes on the outside of it. And the thing is gigantic! It's more than 150 feet long. It holds more than half a million gallons of fuel, and it uses all of that up in just over eight minutes. But that's what it takes to launch four-and-a-half million pounds of shuttle into space. This one will help launch the shuttle Endeavour when it takes off next February for the 134th and final space shuttle mission.

Shoutout

JOHN LISK, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Ties, gauges and spikes are most commonly associated with what? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Boating, B) Flying, C) Motorcycles or D) Railroads? You've got three seconds -- GO! Ties, gauges and spikes are most commonly associated with railroads. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

AZUZ: Well, for many of you, seeing a train probably doesn't seem like that big a deal. They've been rolling around the U.S. since the 1820s. But for people in Afghanistan, it's a different story. Trains aren't brand new there; the country has had them before. But there hasn't been a functioning railroad in decades. That is, until now. Ivan Watson tracks down what it could mean for Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A sight not seen in Afghanistan in nearly a century: a locomotive rolling down the tracks. This nearly completed railroad, a symbol of hope for a country suffering through 30 years of war.

SHAKRULLAH: This good news. And this connect Afghanistan to world. And I want to, that train, for all provinces of Afghanistan.

WATSON: The last time Afghanistan had a railroad was in downtown Kabul in the 1920s. Today, this rusty little locomotive is all that's left.

You want to travel where?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. (INAUDIBLE) by this train.

WATSON: Due to poverty, isolation and conflict, Afghanistan skipped the age of railroads. Afghans went from riding horseback to traveling by car, and relying on trucks to ship goods down a dangerous network of roads. But the 75 kilometer-long railroad in northern Afghanistan could revolutionize transport in this landlocked country. This new railroad is part of an effort to build a new trade corridor from central Asia to southeast Asia, across the war-torn country of Afghanistan. If they succeed in extending the railroad, it makes shipping cheaper and safer and more energy efficient than traveling by truck. Investors say railroads will be essential if Afghanistan is ever to tap into vast deposits of mineral resources.

CRAIG STEFFENSAN, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: The mining sector here is potentially huge. And whether it's iron ore, or copper, or coal, and there are markets across the region that are desperately seeking to import these materials from Afghanistan.

WATSON: It is heavily guarded by armies of police protecting this latest train project from becoming yet another sad exhibit in Afghanistan's museum of tragic history. Ivan Watson, CNN, Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO)

AZUZ: You hear this all the time. You hear it from your parents, your teachers; many of you have heard it in health class. You've heard it from us here at CNN Student News. You know we are supposed to eat more fruits and vegetables. Can be hard to do. Last week, I asked some students at Atlanta's Grady High School whether they care if they're eating something healthy or not. They suggested that what we tend to eat is whatever we're brought up eating. So, someone who eats chicken nuggets a lot as a kid tends to want more of those as they get older. And kids who snack on vegetables tend to prefer those instead. Listen to how their families influenced their food choices.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

AZUZ: What kinds of foods do you eat at home?

CHRIS EVANS, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: I just eat what my mom cooks.

NOOR CHAUDHRY, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: Pakistani food at home from scratch.

KOYA SIEBIE, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: My mom has recently packed my lunches for me.

DR. MARILYN HUGHES, DIRECTOR OF NUTRITION SERVICES, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: With my children, it became, in essence, of following what they saw parents do, looking at what was in the refrigerator, limiting the choices that I provided in our home.

AZUZ: How has your family influenced the nutrition choices you make?

ANNA FULLER, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: My mother, obesity kind of runs in our family, and she also has both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis. And so, being overweight increases the chance of us getting that.

CARMEN BOOKER, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: My grandfather had a stroke, and he has heart problems, and he's a full diabetic. We took him in, and he lives with us now, so we have to take care of him. We changed our whole eating diet.

FULLER: We actually eat a lot of organic food at my house. And when you first start off eating it, you really don't notice a difference. But after awhile, once you taste something that's not organic, you can really taste the difference.

BOOKER: My grandfather can't have too much sugar, so we use like an all-natural sweetener, and we go to the farmer's market like every month.

FULLER: What you eat now really affects it later. You might not know it now, but in the long run, it'll catch up with you.

(END VIDEO)

Promo

AZUZ: All right, check this out. We know that some of you want to get on our show. We want you to be on our show, and I don't mean in blog comments; we want to see you! We've got a way to make it happen. And if you wanna know how, you're gonna have to tune in to tomorrow's program. I know that's sort of a cop out. It's what we call a "tease." We're gonna explain everything to you then.

Before We Go

AZUZ: Well, a couple weeks ago, I was at a Braves game that went 12 innings. It felt like a very long game; I think it was over four hours. They've got nothing on these folks. 120 straight hours of softball: That's the goal. They started playing last Friday, and they're scheduled to finish today. Players switch off who's on the diamond and who's sleeping in the dugout, 'cause somebody's gotta get some sleep! But the rule, the big rule here is that no one is allowed to leave the field or else this group won't get the record.

Goodbye

AZUZ: We just hope no one wanders off. That would be a huge error. Just steal some shuteye between innings, maybe? Besides, based on that video, it looks like everyone's having a ball. Man, our puns here have been going crazy. I owe a lot of credit to that to our writer, Jordan. He's going ahead and just cranking them out all the time. We hap-pun to enjoy them. But we're gonna leave right now before someone cries foul. We'll catch up, back with you tomorrow. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.