Cnn Student News 2010年10月26日

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GAGE ALLEN, IREPORTER: I only have one purpose. That's it, besides doing my homework. It's to introduce Carl Azuz. Take it away, Carl!

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Thank you, Gage. We appreciate your introduction today. I am Carl Azuz. I'm back! And whether you are watching us on HLN, online or on iTunes, we thank you for checking out CNN Student News.

First Up: Midterm Elections Countdown

AZUZ: It is Tuesday, October 26th, and the countdown is on to next week's midterm elections. Candidates are focusing on some of the same big issues that we heard about back in 2008: the economy, health care, immigration, education. The laws that cover how the government deals with those issues are written by Congress, as you've studied in government class. And in this midterm, all of the 435 voting seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election. Plus, more than a third of the U.S. Senate. With one week to go before the big day, we are getting down to the wire on this. And Megan Hughes has a report for us on how the efforts are going and some predictions for Election Day. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

MEGAN HUGHES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With a week to go, both parties are pulling out the big guns. President Obama will raise money for Democrats in Rhode Island. First lady Michelle Obama will campaign with Democrats in Washington state and California. And we're hearing Palin power may head back to Delaware to push for Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell.

And the debates are hot. The head of the Democratic National Committee is predicting Democrats will keep control of Congress, and party strategists say polls are moving in the Democrats' favor as we get closer to Election Day.

HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The Republicans have not closed this deal in so many races. There's more toss-up races than there's ever been. And there are a lot of these races, what people aren't focusing on, are the third party candidates.

HUGHES: The Republican leadership is forecasting the party will take the House and the Senate, and GOP strategists say voters have heard the party's message.

ED ROLLINS, GOP STRATEGIST: I think they see the Republican Party in this election as the party of change. We'll see that a week from tomorrow.

HUGHES: Republicans need to pick up 39 House seats to take control; some analysts estimate that as many as 90 seats currently held by Democrats are in play. It is less likely they'll have enough wins to take over in the Senate. In Washington, Megan Hughes for CNN Student News.

(END VIDEO)

Web Promo

AZUZ: If you want to learn more about the midterm elections -- and we know you do -- you need to check out CNN Politics' Election Center! The basics, the issues, the polls: You will find it all. Plus, you can learn about the elections happening right in your home town! And we've made it very easy for you to find it. You just go to our home page; that's CNNStudentNews.com. Look for the Spotlight section and click on that Election Center.

Shoutout

JOHN LISK, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mrs. McKay's 7th grade language arts classes at Glenview Middle School in East Moline, Illinois! What scale measures the intensity of tornadoes? You know what to do! Is it the: A) Richter Scale, B) Enhanced Fujita Scale, C) Saffir-Simpson Scale or D) Pentatonic Scale? You've got three seconds -- GO! The Enhanced Fujita Scale is the one that's associated with tornadoes. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Texas Tornado

AZUZ: So, what that scale does is estimate a tornado's wind speeds based on how much damage the tornado causes. An EF, or Enhanced Fujita 1, for example, might turn over a mobile home. An EF 3 will turn over a train. An EF 4 will level a house. So, what does one of these storms look like up close?

ERIC MEYERS, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR, NAVARRO COUNTY, TEXAS: We are in a tornado! We are in the tornado!

AZUZ: Look at this video. You just saw the roof just getting ripped off the building. This is from Texas on Sunday. At least one tornado ripping through part of the state. There were reports of other possible twisters in the area. The storms destroying some houses. At one point, they flipped over an 18-wheeler. Thankfully, there were only reports of minor injuries.

What's the Word?

TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: What's the Word?

a Spanish term for a nap or quick rest in the afternoon

SIESTA

That's the word!

Siesta Competition

AZUZ: Siestas have been a tradition in Spain for a very long time. The idea that taking a nap after lunch would help you avoid the hottest part of the day, and it could help get your energy back up. We know that some of you have wanted to take siestas in class. We know that many of you have.

But some folks have actually turned siestas into a contest. Yes, competitive sleeping! You don't want to snooze on this event. Actually, you do. Organizers set it up at a mall in Madrid. The idea was for people to see how much sleep they could get in 20 minutes. Extra points for snoring. It sounds kinda funny, but the group behind the contest is serious about siestas. It says this part of Spanish culture is disappearing, and Al Goodman explains why.

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Now, the siesta has been under threat for a long time because Spain's lifestyle has really changed. It's not the old Spain where everything shuts down for two or three hours in the middle of the day, especially not in the big cities. And that shopping center is a perfect example of that. Stores are open, so people may still get a couple of hours for lunch, but they don't have time to go back home in the big cities. So what do they do? They go out shopping, they might go back to work early. And so, this is why these people are trying to get the message across, "Let's not be too much like the rest of Europe, work, work, work, work, work. Let's try to preserve that Spanish tradition, the siesta."

Facebook Photo

AZUZ: Our next story today is about one student who did something that a lot of you have probably done. She was at a party, someone took a picture, she put it on her Facebook page. But when school administrators saw the picture, they suspended her from the cheerleading squad. Jack Shea of affiliate WJW gives us both sides of this story.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JACK SHEA, WJW REPORTER: Cheerleading has been a part of Bree Vargo's life since she was in the second grade. But on Tuesday, the 16-year-old junior was suspended from the cheerleading squad at Cardinal High School for the final two games of the football season.

BREE VARGO: I just cried, I just bawled. I didn't even know what to do, I just sat there and cried. I didn't even know what to say. I wanted to leave school. I didn't want to be there.

SHEA: It was this Facebook photo taken at a wedding reception for Bree Vargo's older sister on October 2nd that got her suspended. Someone sent it to the school along with a note about the bottle of beer under Bree's mouth.

BREE VARGO: I was like, "That's not mine. I didn't drink there, my parents were there, it was at my sister's wedding." They said, "It's in your possession." I said, "That's the girl next to me." They said, "Well, you're, like, suspended."

SUSAN VARGO, BREE'S MOTHER: Hold your plastic glass of pop, and I'm Jonelle with the beer.

SHEA: Bree and her mother say the photo is misleading. They maintain out of the view of the camera, the woman standing next to Bree is holding the bottle of beer.

SUSAN VARGO: We do not condone or allow underage drinking. We had a deputy sheriff on duty at the wedding. It was a beautiful, wonderful, joyous occasion, and now they've desecrated that with this.

SHEA: Bree Vargo's parents are angry because school officials met with their daughter without their permission and without them being present. And it was during that meeting with the Cardinal principal, dean of students and athletic director, that school officials say she admitted that she had a beer in her hand at one point.

PAUL YOCUM, CARDINAL LOCAL SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: We have guidelines in our athletic policy which says either the possession of or the use of drugs, alcohol and so on, and if you're found to be in possession or using that, you're suspended for, it's either three games or two weeks, whichever is less.

SHEA: Bree Vargo's mother says her daughter's story should serve as a cautionary tale about the danger of posting photos on social networks.

SUSAN VARGO: Everybody knows that what you put on Facebook is there for the world to see. Why would I, I've looked at those pictures hundreds of times after my daughter got married. Why would I allow that to be on there if I honestly thought that it was my daughter drinking?

(END VIDEO)

Blog Promo

AZUZ: We know you've got something to say about this. Love to cover stories like this on our blog. This is a place for you to share your opinion and a place for us to get your thoughts on questions like this one: How do you decide what is okay to put online? Can't wait to see what you have to say. CNNStudentNews.com is the site. Want you to know something, though: It's first names only if you want your comment published! So, if you give us any other information, like your class or your initials or something, they won't publish it at all. And I know these people; they're tough.

Before We Go

AZUZ: All right, last story. Before we go, what is the hardest basketball shot you can think of. Maybe half court? How about from up there? This guy's gonna give it a one-handed heave. Nails it. Yeah, I think I'd probably go nuts about that, too. You wanna see this again? Ground angle this time. Still good. Maybe that wasn't enough of a challenge, so let's try this backwards, over his head. And boom goes the dynamite. All right, one more time from the ground, just so you don't think it's a camera trick. Unbelievable every time. They didn't try it from outside the stadium.

Goodbye

AZUZ: But if you ask, I bet they'd be willing to give it a shot. Either way, it netted them some very well-deserved attention, which is probably what they were courting in the first place. We are going to bounce back tomorrow with more CNN Student News. I'm Carl Azuz. Looking forward to seeing you guys then.