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CNN Student News Transcript: May 29, 2009

  • Story Highlights
  • Learn about the unsettled issue of settlements in the West Bank
  • Hear how a proposed budget cut could impact California students
  • Consider how prepared some Americans are for hurricane season
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(CNN Student News) -- May 29, 2009

Quick Guide

West Bank Settlements - Learn about the unsettled issue of settlements in the West Bank.

Education Budget Cuts? - Hear how a proposed budget cut could impact California students.

Hurricane Readiness - Consider how prepared some Americans are for hurricane season.

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: Fridays are awesome! Thank you for wrapping up your week with CNN Student News. I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: West Bank Settlements

AZUZ: First up, a White House meeting between President Obama and the head of the Palestinian Authority. President Mahmoud Abbas sat down with Obama yesterday, just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did last week. They're all discussing the same topic: possibilities for a Middle East peace plan. One of the big issues: Israeli settlements in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank. Obama and Abbas want Israel to stop settlement activity, but Netanyahu has pledged to expand it. Ben Wedeman is in the region, and reports on the situation there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're right next to Ma'ale Adumim, which is the biggest Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, he's insisted, that he wants natural expansion, or growth, to occur in those settlements Which means that settlements like Ma'ale Adumim are going to get bigger and bigger. And that's something the Palestinians are completely opposed to.

Now, what you see on the other side of this valley is the town, the Palestinian town of Eizariya, known from the Bible as Bethany. Now, this town is right up against Jerusalem, in fact many people consider it part of Jerusalem, but it's separated from Jerusalem by the Israeli so-called security barrier, what the Palestinians call the apartheid separation wall. It cannot expand. It cannot have growth in the direction of Jerusalem because of the wall, and because of Ma'ale Adumim, it can't expand in that direction.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from East of Jerusalem on the occupied West Bank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

International Highlights

AZUZ: Catching up on a couple other international headlines, beginning with a series of deadly explosions in Pakistan. This took place last night in and around the city of Peshawar. At least eight people were killed in the violence and dozens of others were wounded. The attacks came one day after a suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

And parts of Honduras are recovering from a deadly earthquake. Reports yesterday evening indicated that five people had been killed and 17 others injured by the tremor. Officials say the quake, which struck early Thursday morning, registered a magnitude of 7.1. It was followed 30 minutes later by a 4.8-magnitude aftershock.

Money Word

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Here's the deal: Today's Money Word is budget. It's a financial plan that estimates income and expenses. Put that in your word bank!

Education Budget Cuts?

AZUZ: The state of California is facing a budget crisis. The state is struggling with a multi-billion dollar deficit. In a recent special election, voters cast their ballots against some plans that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger designed to help the state's budget. Now, he says California has to make some severe cuts. Dan Simon explores how one might have a big impact on students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, SAN FRANCISCO: Romell Moore grew up on the rough-and-tumble streets of Oakland, California. He says a strong grandmother kept him out of trouble.

DOROTHY MOORE, ROMELL MOORE'S GRANDMOTHER: I'm strict with him.

SIMON: When he graduates from high school next month -- he's number three in his class -- Rommel would be the first person in his family to go to college. He's been accepted at U.C. Santa Cruz.

ROMELL MOORE, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: It makes me feel good that I was doing all the right stuff and doing all the hard work to go, and maybe I can be a guidance to my young cousins and nephews that maybe they'll want to go to college, too.

SIMON: He wants to become a lawyer, but that dream could be shattered because of California's budget woes. The state facing an unprecedented deficit is looking at ways to save billions, and Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed slashing what are called Cal Grants, money that helps pay tuition for students from low income families. 200,000 students statewide could lose all or part of the Cal Grants they were counting on to pay for college this fall.

ROMELL MOORE: The whole way through school, the teachers and all that tell you as long as you get good grades and all that, the state and the system will find a way to send you to school.

SIMON: A promise that would have to be taken back if the proposed cuts happen. Without Cal Grants, Romell would lose nearly a third of the money for his $27,000 a year tuition and other expenses. Nancy Roman is the college counselor at Romell's school. She says the ripple effects would be enormous.

NANCY ROMAN, COLLEGE COUNSELOR: Our main problem is just getting students to even look at college, because in their head, already, its been ingrained that it's too expensive as well as with parents; they don't want students to apply, because, "Oh, it's too expensive," so we always talk about about Cal Grants.

SIMON: Romell has this message for lawmakers making the touch choices.

ROMELL MOORE: By helping me go to school they won't have another person on welfare just taking state money to survive. They'll have another person working, making money for the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

RAMSAY: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Koczot's Social Studies classes at Broad Creek Middle School in Newport, North Carolina! How are tropical depressions identified? Is it by: A) Female names, B) Male names, C) Numbers or D) Letters? You've got three seconds -- GO! Tropical depressions are assigned numbers; they don't get names until they become tropical storms. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Hurricane Readiness

AZUZ: We already have our first of the year. Tropical Depression One formed off the eastern U.S. coast yesterday. Forecasters don't expect it to be much of a threat. Of course, when these storms increase in intensity, they can become hurricanes, and as we've seen in recent years, some can cause serious damage. John Zarrella looks at how prepared we are as hurricane season begins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Galveston: Rebuilding the seawall continues after Hurricane Ike. New Orleans: The fortified levees are inspected. Alabama: Rehearsal for a massive coastal evacuation. Days before the start of hurricane season, preseason drills and preparations are nearly complete. You've been paying attention, right? Surely, you've heard the chorus of warnings. The U.S. Commerce Secretary.

GARY LOCKE, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Public awareness and public preparedness are the best defenses against a hurricane. And that defense is more important than ever.

ZARRELLA: The New Orleans mayor.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, (D) NEW ORLEANS: Each citizen must have a personal evacuation and recovery plan that accounts for your entire family.

ZARRELLA: The Hurricane Specialist.

JACK BEVIN, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Plan now. Know what to do, so you'll be ready when the storm threatens.

ZARRELLA: With so much drums beating, everyone living in hurricane-prone communities is ready, right? Well, no. Not hardly. A new Mason-Dixon poll sponsored by the National Hurricane Survival Initiative found most people surveyed from Maine to Texas have done little to get ready, despite recent big ones: Katrina, Rita and, last year, Ike. 83% of the 1,100 people surveyed have taken no steps to make their homes stronger. 66% have no hurricane survival kits; basics like food and water for three days. 53% don't know if their insurance policy covers hurricane damage. Every year, surveys find hurricane apathy pretty much unchanged, no matter how bad the season was. Sociologists chalk it up to human nature: procrastinate. Emergency managers say the "uh oh" factor will kick in when.

CHUCK LANZA, BROWARD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER: I saw people really do when the big ones are coming, they get prepared.

ZARRELLA: But this year, emergency managers fear because of the economy, many people can't afford to stock up.

LANZA: We'd like people to set aside a little bit of money and buy a little bit of the supplies that they need now, and a little bit more every week as they get the money.

ZARRELLA: If they just can't, experts say now's the time to come up with a plan to evacuate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Off the Beaten Path

AZUZ: And finally today, we're taking a look at some stories from the lighter side of news. So, prepare your taste buds for a tempting trip off the beaten path.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: He definitely ain't the world's fastest coffee server.

MIKE KEEN, BARISTA: You better never be a hurry when you're in here.

AZUZ: But if you don't need your espresso express-o, impress your senses with a picture-perfect latte! Mike Keen is an artist and a barista at the same time. And if you're into image and taste, you won't mind if this takes a latt-e time. For a different flavor...

ALISON GROS, TEACHER: I made the deal, and I'm just gonna have to accept the consequences.

AZUZ: But for most of us, this would be a deal breaker: worms for lunch. The New Orleans fourth grade teacher promised her students that she'd have grubs for grub if they grubbed up good grades. They did their part, so bon appetit! On the menu:

ELISE RONE, ENTOMOLOGIST: The mealworms are grubs that turn into beatles.

AZUZ: Well, they would have, if they could've wormed their way out of this. Some students even stepped up to the table! But if the worms' woes seem in bad taste, they still make for one good segment. And who can argue with a fudge dessert? At least, until you find out it's filled with crickets. I guess there'll be no chirping on this trip Off the Beaten Path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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Goodbye

AZUZ: From earthworm entrees to an insect ending? That whole meal sounds like one big gag. Time to bug out for the weekend. Hope you have a great one.

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