CNN Student News 美國債務(wù)前景信用下降

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CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Bringing you today's commercial-free headlines from around the globe, this is CNN Student News! Hi, everyone. I'm Carl Azuz, getting things started on this Tuesday, April 19th.

First Up: Credit Outlook

AZUZ: We've been talking about some of the economic debates involving President Obama and Congress: federal budgets, deficits, the debt ceiling. Other groups have been paying attention to those debates, too. And one group, Standard and Poor's, says because those debates have so much uncertainty associated with them, that is the reason why Standard and Poor's lowered its outlook for America's long-term debt.

Okay, what does that mean? Standard and Poor's, or S&P, is one of three main agencies that examine debt issues. It assigns ratings to governments or companies, and investors use those ratings to help decide where they want to put their money.

The U.S. has a AAA rating from S&P. That's the highest you can get and that didn't change. What S&P did change was its long-term rating -- its outlook -- for America's debt. That went from "stable" to "negative." Basically, the agency says it could be riskier to make long-term investments in the United States, and that could mean less money coming in to the government. That rating change did not go over well on Wall Street. The U.S. stock market taking a big dip right after the S&P announcement.

Texas Wildfires

AZUZ: Next up, flames burning across the state of Texas. When it comes to wildfires, the situation can change fast. That's what makes it difficult to report on them and more importantly, difficult to fight them. That's what more than 1,400 people are doing right now in Texas, trying to get these blazes under control. But nearly three weeks of super-dry weather have basically turned the ground into kindling. And wind spreads the flames around. Texas has 254 counties, and all but two have been affected by these fires. There are a variety of causes. Some of them are acts of nature, like lightning strikes. But officials say most are acts of man. Anything from stray sparks from welding a fence, to burning debris, to setting a campfire.

Is This Legit?

TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? The Gobi Desert covers part of Libya. Not legit! It's the Sahara that covers part of Libya. In fact, more than 90 percent of the country is semidesert or desert.

Libya Civil War

AZUZ: The Libyan city of Misrata isn't in the desert. It's on the other side of the country, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its port could help provide a way to get aid to people who live there, except that port's been a target of Libyan military attacks. Misrata is one of the towns under control of the rebels who are fighting against the military and who want Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi out of power. The fighting in the city has been fierce. It's hard for aid to get in. Food, water, electricity have all been hard to come by. The United Kingdom says it's working to evacuate about 5,000 people out of Misrata and to get medical help to the people who need it.

Robots Test Radiation

AZUZ: Moving from Libya to Japan, where officials now say that nearly 14,000 people were killed by last month's earthquake and tsunami. Another 14,000 or so are missing. We've reported on the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. It's not just humans working to get the situation under control. Remote-controlled robots are being used to explore the plant and test the levels of radiation inside the reactors. That's what you're seeing in these pictures. In some areas, the robots found radiation levels 90 times higher than most people are exposed to in an entire year.

New Air Traffic Controller Rules

AZUZ: On Friday, we told you about some changes happening at the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration. That agency is in charge of making sure the skies above America are safe for air travel. But some recent events have put that safety into question. Sandra Endo explains what happened and what federal officials plan to do about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When planes come in for a landing, the communication shouldn't be like this, of a pilot trying to get in touch with an air traffic controller.

UNIDENTIFIED TERMINAL RADAR APPROACH CONTROL (TRACON) AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: They're not answering the phone line, either.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: We're going to need to land.

UNIDENTIFIED TRACON CONTROLLER: Landing will be at your own risk.

ENDO: But it reportedly happened at least seven times at airports across the country since the start of the year because of controllers falling asleep on the job. But now, the FAA and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are making immediate changes to the schedules for controllers.

RAY LAHOOD, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We will not allow controllers to sleep on the job. We simply will not.

ENDO: Under the new guidelines, controllers will now have a minimum of nine hours off between shifts instead of eight. They'll no longer be able to swap shifts unless they get nine hours off in between. Controllers will not be able to work an unscheduled midnight shift following a day off. And there will be more FAA managers covering the early morning and late-night hours. The problem of fatigue has been around for years. Back in 2007, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended the schedules of air traffic controllers be revised to address the issue. Which begs the question, why wasn't more done sooner?

LAHOOD: I was not the secretary in 2007. I'm the secretary today. As soon as I learned about this, these controllers were suspended.

ENDO: Congress holds the purse strings for funding the FAA, and a key lawmaker says the issue is not the number of controllers employed, but how they're used.

REP. JOHN MICA, (R) FLORIDA: Air traffic controllers, who make on average $163,000 apiece, are professionals. But even the best professionals need some recurrent training. And with the changes in technology and procedures, we think it's important that we revisit that.

ENDO: What do you say to the flying public? Should they have confidence in this system?

LAHOOD: Absolutely. I believe that the airline industry in America is the safest in the world. But we can do better. And we will do better.

ENDO: Monday, FAA officials and the Air Traffic Controllers Union start their nationwide tour in Atlanta to talk to controllers about their concerns and to hammer home the issue of safety. Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO)

Shoutout

STAN CASE, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Ms. Teasley's students in West Wendover, Nevada! In the Jewish religion, what is the name of the traditional Passover dinner? You know what to do! Is it: A) Kashrut, B) Sukkot, C) Seder or D) Charoset? You've got three seconds -- GO! The Passover meal is called the Seder. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Passover

AZUZ: Jews worldwide are celebrating Passover right now. The holiday commemorates the ancient Israelites' freedom from slavery in Egypt. The biblical story of Passover includes ten plagues. In the last one, God killed the Egyptians' first-born males, but passed over the homes of the Israelites. Hence the name "passover."

That is part of the story that's told every year at the Seder. This one was held at the White House. The ceremonial meal includes symbolic foods and special prayers. One of the traditions of Passover is to eat unleavened bread, or matzah. It represents the idea that the ancient Israelites didn't have time to let their bread rise before they fled from Egypt.

We have a great video up on our home page that explains more of the history and customs of Passover. You can check that out in the "In Depth" section at CNNStudentNews.com.

Blog Report

AZUZ: A recent study suggested that teenagers who listen to four to five hours of music every day might be at a higher risk for depression. Here's what you had to say about that: From Michelle: "I am one of those teens who listens to hours of music per day. I believe it's helpful and doesn't relate directly to depression. Music says everything I can't." Consuela: "Listening to music is a sort of stress release. I listen to bring my attitude up because music is empowering." Shelby: "I don't think listening to music causes depression; it just expresses who you are. If you're feeling down, music can turn your attitude around." Dillon: "I believe that depressed people have issues with letting others know they're down, so they look for comfort and understanding in the music around them. Music is a crazy creation; for every mood, there are countless songs to match it." Izzie: "Music is something we all enjoy listening to and something teens can relate to. When we're feeling a certain way, we gravitate towards music that helps us enhance that feeling." And from Heather: "It's hard being a teenager in high school, and music is my escape."

Before We Go

AZUZ: Finally, it may take some of you ladies a few weeks to find the right prom dress. It took Kelli Brinkman three years! That's because she made hers completely by hand and completely out of duct tape! I guess that wasn't enough of a challenge, because Kelli decided to make her date a duct tape tux, too. Those are some slick shoes. Corsage, boutonniere? She's got those covered, too. She's been thinking about making her own prom dress since the eighth grade.

Goodbye

AZUZ: Looks like that was one idea that really stuck. And you certainly have to be impressed by her stick-to-it-tiveness. If that had been an assignment, she definitely didn't duct it. And she adhered to all the guidelines. All right, we better stop before someone tapes our mouths shut. But we hope you'll stick with us again tomorrow for more CNN Student News.