Fridays are awesome. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. Ten minutes of commercial free current
events. I`m Carl Azuz. I`m at the
CNN Center in Atlanta. The U.S. president is at a meeting across the Atlantic, in Wales.
It`s part of the United Kingdom, it`s where a summit of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization is taking place. Most of NATO`s 28 member countries are European. The U.S.
and Canada are also part of it, and the coalition has a lot to talk about. In fact, British
Prime Minister David Cameron says this is a crucial time in NATO`s history.
One of that these leaders will be watching a peace plan for the war-torn nation of Ukraine.
It`s expected to take effect today, between Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian forces
that are fighting them. There are doubts about whether it will hold. Another topic involves
the barbaric terrorist group we`d been reporting on since we came back.
The battle against ISIS is, of course, a major topic on NATO`s agenda and leaders within
the organization will have to carve out time to focus on that threat, diverting some attention
away from Ukraine`s confrontation with Russia.
ISIS is now a critical concern, Britain, which is hosting the NATO gathering.
We now need to strengthen our powers to fill specific gaps in our armory.
The British are taking the lead in imposing new travel restrictions. Now, other NATO states
including the U.S. are looking at their own threats of Western jihadists traveling to
and from ISIS battlefields.
And President Obama will be seeking more support from top allies inside and outside of NATO
to deal with the ISIS threat. Something he says is critical to forming his overall ISIS
strategy, but the major subject on NATO`s agenda will be Ukraine. NATO recently released
what dubbed photographic evidence of Russian military activity inside eastern Ukraine.
Russia has denied that, but NATO secretary General isn`t buying it. He`s proposing the
creation of a rapid reaction security force that can quickly respond to Russian aggression.
President Obama and other leaders at the summit to offer a robust offensive NATO`s article
5 that states the alliance must come to the defense of any NATO country that is under
attack. That will come as some comfort to smaller NATO countries like the Baltic States
that are growing increasingly worried about Russia`s intentions.
And finally, there`s Afghanistan where NATO has played a key role since the beginning
of that war. Just as the United States is anxiously watching the outcome of Afghanistan`s
recent election, NATO members states are wondering what their mission will be there after the
year ends. Both of the candidates in the contested vote in Afghanistan have said they`ll sign
an agreement allowing U.S. troops to remain there past 2014, but at this point, nothing
is certain.
Is this legit? In the U.S., the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
This is legit. States and communities may require a higher minimum wage, but this is
the absolute minimum wage set by the federal government.
Fast food workers have become a loud voice in the debate over a federal minimum wage
increase.
Over the last 18 months, you`ve probably seen images on the web, in newspapers, and on TV
of strikes in cities across the country. Workers are asking for $15 an hour.
They even took their fight to McDonald`s corporate doorstep at the company`s annual meeting.
But are these protests making a difference? So far, fast food companies aren`t doling
out major pay hikes. In 2013, the average pay for a food prep and service worker in
restaurants was $8.74 per hour, or about $18,000 a year. The president has made their plight
a priority.
And that`s why it`s well past the time to raise a minimum wage that in real terms right
now .
is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office.
You might have seen some of the protests yesterday. Fast food workers walking out of Burger King,
KFC, McDonald`s and Wendy`s demanding higher wages. The poverty line in the U.S. is $23,000
per year for a family of four.
The president and supporters of a federal minimum wage increase say if you raise that
wage, you`ll bring more Americans out of poverty.
But opponents of this increases say they`d force businesses, especially small ones to
take a significant hit in their profits that they`d have to lay off workers to make ends
meet.
They could raise their prices, but critics say if they do that too much, they`ll have
fewer customers and less need for workers. So, fewer jobs other way.
That`s why it`s so hard to lawmakers to agree on how to address this issue of wages.
Cnnstudentnews.com. You know, you can watch "The Daily Show" here, make your "Roll Call"
request here, but check it: you can watch every show we do here. If you click on our
archive, you can find all the shows we`ve produced this school year and many from last
school year. All of them are cost-free, all of them are commercial free. It`s all at cnnstudentnews.com.
With more than 14 million people, Guatemala is Central America`s most populated country.
In the 20th century, it was ripped apart by civil war for 36 years. The effects are still
there, more than half the population lives in poverty. Crime in some areas is rampant.
The CNN Hero is working to change that.
My country`s violent history has created a very violent present. Gangs are everywhere,
kids are exposed to drugs, to violence and to the lack of opportunities for them to improve
their lives.
I was a teacher in the same community that I grew up. My students were dealing with the
problems that I was dealing 20 years ago.
I wanted to change that. The best thing for me to do was open my house doors and bring
them here.
Eight years later, I`m still running the program in my family house.
We provide classes so they can find own passions.
We give them a decent plate of food.
Children are powerful, just they don`t know about yet, so I created a safe place for them
to realize that they actually can change bad aspects in their lives and their community.
In
violent country, the only weapon we can have, it`s love.
I still believe that we can change this country. I see potential in kids` dreams and ideas.
The other one is in charge of writing - history in Guatemala.
From yesterday`s transcript page, at cnnstudentnews.com, here three of the Southerns of "Roll Call"
request we received. From Bentley School in New Lennox, Illinois, we hear the roar of
the lions today. From Stevenson Middle School and Westland in Michigan, the Saints are marching
in. And out west from Meteetse High School in Meteetse, Wyoming, there are taking the
bull by the horns - the long horns.
Not sure if any of them had a first day back like this, though. At Nickolei (ph) High School
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, school officials rolled out the red carpet for returning students.
By rolling out the red carpet for returning students. It`s a tradition of the school,
the former welcome back includes the cheers of the faculty, the hope that students would
feel like stars as they started a new year of their education.
Some students might razzy (ph) the idea, but a rat carpet welcome can set the tony for
an award of year (ph), and in an Academy of Academics, if it increases enthusiasm by just
one Grammy. It`s something other schools might want to emulate.
Acting on behalf of CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz.