05.09.2011
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: They were with former President George W. Bush on one of the most fateful mornings in U.S. history. Where are they today? You're gonna find out in this Monday edition of CNN Student News! I'm Carl Azuz. Let's go.
AZUZ: First up, the Mississippi River is going up, and experts think it could come close to a record. The National Weather Service predicts that the river's waters will crest -- reach their highest point -- just after midnight on Tuesday. Officials predict a water level of 48 feet; that's just short of the record set back in 1937.
Of course, the problem with the river being so high is that all that water has to go somewhere. Right now, it's flooding parts of several states in the Midwest and Southeast. You see them on this map: Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. This is what things looked like in parts of Tennessee over the weekend. Hundreds of people have been told to leave their homes, especially if they live in low-lying areas. One mayor said he's asking residents to be calm and helpful as his community prepares for what could be a "large-scale disaster."
Unemployment Report
AZUZ: The unemployment rate looks at the number of people who don't have a job, but who are actively looking for one. That's why some economists say it can actually be a good thing when the unemployment rate goes up, like it did last month, from 8.8 percent to 9 percent. Their argument is if the rate goes up, it means unemployed people who weren't looking for a job feel more encouraged that they might find one, so they start looking. Other economists disagree. They point to the fact that the percentage of working Americans -- the number of people who were already in the workforce -- went down last month. That might indicate that the unemployment rate went up because people lost their jobs.
Navy Ship Dedication
AZUZ: A new ship has a new name: the U.S.S. Michael Murphy. It's a destroyer, a type of ship in the U.S. Navy, and it's named in honor of Lieutenant Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the war in Afghanistan. The ship was christened by Lieutenant Murphy's mother on Saturday. It would have been Michael Murphy's 35th birthday. He was killed in 2005 when his team was ambushed by Taliban fighters. Lieutenant Murphy sacrificed his own life to call for help for his teammates. During the ceremony on Saturday, his father said that the ship "embodies the spirits of Michael and his teammates."
AZUZ: The SEALs, the elite Navy special operations group that Lieutenant Murphy was part of, carried out the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan just over a week ago. Bin Laden, you remember, was the man behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That led to the war in Afghanistan. His death brought back memories for some students in Sarasota, Florida. Martin Savidge explains the connection.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The event was famously interrupted, as now high school junior Lenard Rivers remembers.
LENARD RIVERS, STUDENT: Someone came in, and then all of a sudden we just had to stop reading to him. Then he told us he had to leave.
SAVIDGE: Mariah Williams, now on the high school track team, was also there.
MARIAH WILLIAMS, STUDENT: It was like a bunch of confusion and people scared and stuff.
SAVIDGE: It was the moment the president was told the news of 9/11. Ever since, these students have had a unique connection to the life and death of Osama bin Laden. For Chantal Guerrero, that front seat to history had a profound effect.
CHANTAL GUERRERO, SARASOTA MILITARY ACADEMY [SINGING]: Oh, say can you see...[SPEAKING] It helped me realize and be a little bit more serious and learn how to deal with certain things more first-hand at a younger age.
SAVIDGE: Her mother noticed the change almost immediately, a daughter growing up faster than most.
ANGELINE GUERRERO, MOTHER: She's an achiever. And I really think it has to do because of the impact that had on those kids that were there. I think they just see the world differently.
SAVIDGE: Today, Chantal is an honor student at Sarasota Military Academy and a regular visitor to Ground Zero. For all three students, the news of Sunday night came as another complete surprise.
WILLIAMS: I was just really shocked because I didn't expect them to catch him at all, because it's already been 10 years. So, who would think that they would catch him after 10 years?
SAVIDGE: Rivers says both events have taught him something about life.
RIVERS: I know that anything can happen at any moment, and how things can change real quick.
SAVIDGE: Guerrero says the end of bin Laden does nothing to change her connection to that terrible day.
GUERRERO: It's still really meaningful because I was there that day and I did see. I was kind of there for a part of history, so obviously I'm always going to remember it.
SAVIDGE: The students say that the death of bin Laden doesn't really end the story, more like closes a chapter. Instead, they say that the story will continue to be written through the rest of their lives. In Sarasota, I'm Martin Savidge.
(END VIDEO)
What's the Word?
BARBARA HALL, CNN STUDENT NEWS: What's the Word?
It's an adjective that means devoted to a particular religious faith.
SECTARIAN
That's the word!
Clashes in Egypt
AZUZ: Sectarian violence in Egypt over the weekend is being blamed for causing at least 12 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The majority of Egyptians, around 90 percent, are Muslim. But around nine percent of the country's population is made up of Coptic Christians. And members of that group are asking the international community to give protection for Egypt's Christian population. Officials said the violence this weekend started over a rumor that a Christian woman who converted to Islam was being held inside a church against her will. The tension between Egypt's Muslims and Coptic Christians has been rising in recent months. There have been several reports of violence between the two groups.
Shoutout
TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mrs. Tripp's social studies classes at Kennedy Middle School in Aiken, South Carolina! What makes up most of the cost of gasoline in the U.S.? You know what to do! Is it: A) Refining, B) Oil, C) Taxes or D) Marketing? You've got three seconds -- GO! For every dollar you spend on gas, 68 cents goes to the cost of crude oil. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
AZUZ: You drivers know it: Right now, people are spending a lot of their dollars for gas. One survey that came out yesterday said the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded hit four dollars on Friday. It's not a record, but it's close. Ali Velshi is gonna take a closer look at all that goes into that cost and how events around the world affect what we pay at the pump.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Most of it is how much oil costs. And then there is an expense for marketing and distribution of that gas, for refining of the gas. A little margin that goes to the retailer, and then a chunk that goes to the states and the federal government. So, gas is made up of a lot of things. Most of those proportions have not been increasing. The only part of the price of a gallon of gas that's been increasing is the cost of crude oil, which has been going up for over a year now.
The price of oil is a commodity. Part of it is supply and demand, and the other part of it is speculation. Some people think there's a better investment in oil than in other things. So, they trade, they buy oil, oil futures. Not because they'll ever need oil, but because they can make money off of it.
Oil is priced the same way no matter where it is in the world. There is one price, whether you get it from Canada or you get it from Saudi Arabia or you get it from Russia or you get it from Kazakhstan. Oil is priced at a market price. The world determines how much you're gonna pay for oil. So, when there is unrest, the concept, the psychology that says we may have problems getting oil is enough to start moving the price of oil higher and higher.
In most cases, the gas station or the retailer is free to set their own prices, but generally, there are lots of gas stations around. So, they've got to set a price that people will come to them and buy gas at. If there is a gas station across the road that's $3.75, and if you're selling it for $3.89, you are not going to get customers. Now, there are always examples of gas stations that are a one-off. There was one in Orlando which, interestingly, is right on the way to the airport after you have been at Disney or one of the theme parks. And they were charging over $5 because once you get there, you realize you've gotta fill up your tank before you give your rental car back. That's kind of an example of gouging.
(END VIDEO)
Before We Go
AZUZ: You might have heard someone describe a boat way back in the day as a "sea-faring vessel." These are not what they were talking about. But the racers in this rugged regatta are still gonna try. It's an annual tradition at Stony Brook University in New York. But the boats can only be built out of household items, so we're talking cardboard, duct tape, glue and string. The rules of the race are strict, and this is one event that doesn't avoid punishment.
Goodbye
AZUZ: After all, everyone who takes part gets a paddling. Organizers give out prizes for the best looking ship, so you better show up with an oar-riginal design, or else you'll be drowning in sorrow. Yeah, that's what I'm talking aboat! Back tomorrow to float some more puns by you. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.