(CNN Student News) -- January 31, 2008
Quick Guide
Super Tuesday - Hear whose White House bids are over, and learn about the importance of delegates.
Onboard Air Force One - Take a tour inside a jet that served as a former president's Air Force One.
Before We Go - Meet a 10-year-old who spends her free time helping with veterinary surgeries.
Transcript
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hi. Glad to see you've tuned in to this brand new edition of CNN Student News, your commercial-free source for news for the classroom. Hi, everyone. I'm Carl Azuz.
AZUZ: First up, we want to tell you who's out, as in out of the race for the White House. Two candidates, one Democrat and one Republican, ended their bids for the Oval Office following Tuesday's primary contests in Florida. Former Sen. John Edwards announced that he's suspending his campaign. He made the statement in New Orleans, the same spot where he launched his presidential run back in December of '06. Edwards says he doesn't have any plans right now to endorse either of the Democratic frontrunners. Over on the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani withdrew from the race on Wednesday. The former mayor of New York was counting on a win in Florida to propel his campaign forward. But after coming in a distant third, he ended his candidacy and threw his support behind John McCain.
Those two might be out of the running, but there are still four Republicans and three Democrats who are in the race for their party's nominations. And they all have their eyes set on Super Tuesday, which is just five days away. Hands down, it's the biggest day of the presidential primary season. Don Lemon explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: On Super Tuesday, 24 states coast-to-coast will hold primaries or caucuses. In the Democratic races, more than 1,600 delegates are up for grabs; for the Republicans, a tad over 1,000. To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 delegates; 1,191 are needed to secure the Republican nomination. Right now, John McCain is on top with 97 Republican delegates. Mitt Romney has 74. That number includes an estimate of unpledged delegates who can support any candidate at the convention. For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton is out front with 232, and Barack Obama has 158, when you add in their unpledged, or superdelegates, who are mostly party officials and members of Congress. Of course, all that changes on Tuesday. Some of the Super Tuesday states offering the richest prizes include California, with 370 Democratic delegates, 170 Republican; New York, with 232 Democratic delegates, 101 Republicans; and Illinois, where 153 Democratic delegates are at stake, 57 Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Promo
AZUZ: That was like being back in math class. A lot of numbers in there. If you want to look at them more closely, we've got an online interactive that delves into delegates. You can find it in the "Spotlight" section on CNNStudentNews.com, where we put links to stories that give more information on some of the topics we cover on our show.
AZUZ: We still have a few thousand delegates to get through, plus the general election in November. But once the new president is sworn in, there are some perks that come with the job, like having your own jet! The presidential ride is so famous, there was even a movie named after it. John Roberts gives us a tour of a retired Air Force One.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN REPORTER: When Ronald Reagan was president, he was considering exhibits for his presidential library. The one thing that he really wanted to put in was Special Air Mission 27000, otherwise known as Air Force One. So, let's start with the back of the plane, 'cause this is where members of the press ride. This is the press section here. I was never on the 707; rode many times on the 747. I can tell you the press section on that aircraft was quite a bit larger. The seats, even though they were first class of the day, a little bit bigger, a lot more comfortable on the new 747. This is where U.S. Air Force personnel would sit. Moving forward a little bit more, this is the president's security detail.
This is a conference area where the president could get together with members of his staff to talk about the particular policy issues that they were looking at. A lot of memorabilia, a lot of photographs, as you can see here: President Reagan with Gorbachev, one of his many visits overseas. There is just so much history associated with this aircraft. It really is a unique perspective to come in here and be able to walk around and take a look.
Now, this is Nancy Reagan's office. The first lady actually had her own office on this aircraft, a real demonstration of just how big a part of this administration Nancy Reagan really was. This is the state room; this is President Reagan's area. You can see his flight jacket: Ronald Reagan. This is where he'd sit and go over his speeches, go over the issues he needed to discuss with foreign leaders. This pulls out into a bed.
Here's the communications area -- this is so different from the 747; it's that entire top bubble in the new aircraft -- somewhat antiquated by today's standards. Don't forget, we're talking about an aircraft built in the 1970s. And right here, this is called the football. This is what contains the nuclear codes, and you had a couple of officers who were operating that area. And you can see a picture of President Reagan there. If there were ever a nuclear attack, this is the area where they would call a response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Is this legit?
GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is This Legit? A president has been inaugurated aboard Air Force One. This is true. President Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office aboard the plane on the day when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
U.S. Economy
AZUZ: Switching to a different part of the government now, the Federal Reserve is hoping to give the sagging U.S. economy a boost. The country's central bank cut a key interest rate by a half-percentage point yesterday. It's actually the second time that the Fed has cut this rate in just over a week. It affects how much interest consumers pay on their credit cards or when they borrow money to buy a house or a car.
Expelled for Kissing
AZUZ: Shifting gears a bit now, two South Carolina students are challenging a school board's decision to kick them out for the remainder of the school year. Back in October, the pair were kissing on the school bus. The lip lock violated the district's code of conduct for students, and administrators expelled the two for the rest of the academic year. The young man involved in the situation says he knew he was breaking the rules, but that he didn't think the punishment would be this extreme.
DOMINIQUE GOYNER, EXPELLED FOR KISSING: It hurt me deeply, it really did. I was shocked at what happened, because I didn't think it would go this far to the point that I would be expelled from the district.
AZUZ: The district released a statement saying that because of confidentiality concerns, they don't comment on disciplinary issues involving students. But they do stand firmly by any decisions made by administrators and the school board. The young man's lawyer says that he's planning to go to court to try and get the expulsion reversed.
Promo
AZUZ: Now, we know that one's gonna get you talking, so take your conversations to our blog! We just posted a new entry on kissing. Who wouldn't want to talk about that? CNNStudentNews.com! We've been getting hundreds of responses to another recent blog on Georgia's controversial "Learn & Earn" program. But you're slackin' on Talking Democracy! Don't act like you don't know. We want you to send us some I-Reports. Think YouTube. Think reports, songs, skits, raps, whatever, but on election-related subjects. We would hate to say you let us down.
AZUZ: And before we go today, when you were ten years old and someone told you to scrub up, it probably meant clean the dirt off your hands before dinner! But when one young lady in Washington gets washed up, it's because she's getting ready to help out with surgery! Keith Eldridge of affiliate KOMO tells us about this medical minor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH ELDRIDGE, REPORTER: Time for surgery at the South Bay Veterinary Hospital in Olympia.
COURTNEY OLIVER, CERTIFIED VETERINARY ASSISTANT: You need to get that out of there.
ELDRIDGE: Dr. Michelle Shoemaker is being assisted by Courtney Oliver, a certified veterinary assistant who just completed her college coursework. It's hard to tell which one's which with their masks on. But part way through the surgery, it's clear who's who.
OLIVER: Let me scoot my stool.
ELDRIDGE: The really tiny one is Courtney, still elementary school aged.
ELDRIDGE: So, how old are you?
OLIVER: I'm 10.
ELDRIGE: And you have a college degree?
OLIVER: Uh huh.
ELDRIGE: A 10-year-old with an online certification as a veterinarian assistant. And in 8 months, Courtney had the same certification as her adult coworkers.
OLIVER: Ah, there we go. Okay, which tube do you need?
ELDRIGE: Courtney says she knew early in life this is what she wanted to do. Dr. Shoemaker has been Courtney's mentor.
DR. MICHELLE SHOEMAKER, VETERINARIAN: She's amazing. She's a wonderful girl. Always been so bright. Very, very smart actually.
OLIVER: Dr. Shoemaker and I are like twins. We just love animals. We just wanted to do this because this is our thing.
ELDRIGE: Despite all of her qualifications and despite her college degree, Courtney can't be here by herself, she has to have her mother with her. State law says that she's just too young.
OLIVER: So we just close them? That was a really fast surgery.
ELDRIGE: But don't tell Courtney. This 10-year-old is too busy tending to the needs of these veterinary patients. In Olympia, Keith Eldridge, KOMO 4 News.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Goodbye
AZUZ: That surgical story is where we slice our way out of here. We'll see you again tomorrow to wrap up the week. Thanks for watching. I'm Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend 
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