News broke yesterday afternoon concerning the deadly Ebola virus. It`s where we start
this Wednesday edition of our show.
The hemorrhagic fever has made it to U.S. shores. When we talked about this before,
it was when Americans were diagnosed with the deadly disease in West Africa where the
outbreak is and then brought to the U.S. for treatment.
Not this time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a patient being treated
at a hospital in Dallas, Texas, is the first diagnosed in the U.S. with the hemorrhagic
fever. The patient had recently traveled to West Africa and developed Ebola symptoms after
getting home.
In August, CNN`s doctor Sanjay Gupta traveled to the CDC`s command center for Ebola.
This is the CDC`s Emergency Operation Center. Think of it as the nerve center of its response
to the Ebola outbreak. Just a few minutes after I walked in, phones and BlackBerries
started buzzing everywhere.
While we were here, the activation of - just went up to level one. Just in the last couple
of minutes. What does it mean?
What that means is just more people and more resourced dedicated to the response.
In that room, you could feel like quiet determination and a sense of urgency.
Let me give you a little bit of an idea of how this all works. What you are looking at
is what the CDC looks at. A map of the world, trying to figure out what infectious disease
are happening and where they are happening. As you might imagine, a lot of focus on Ebola
right now. They are tracking that as well, real time. They`ve been doing it since March,
take a look in here, this jumped out of me. Mid-May, they thought things were basically
under control, but then look what happens in the beginning of June. Everything takes
off.
This is our Emergency Operation Center, or EOC as we call it.
Dr. Stephan Monroe is helping lead the CDC`s Ebola response. Not an easy task at all.
Was there mistakes made? I mean is there a reason why this outbreak is worse than any
outbreak in history?
The initial event, the lightning strike, if you will, was right in this corner between
three countries in a very remote part of each of those countries.
The original mission of the U.S. Secret Service stopped counterfeit currency. It`s broadened
quite a bit since 1865, and an incident involving the government agency was the focus of a hearing
yesterday.
Five things to know about this, starting with security at the White House. There are five
rings of that. Surveillance officers patrolling the outside fence, officers in guard boots,
attack dogs to run down intruders, SWAT teams that can swarm if needed and uniformed guards
at the doors.
That brings us to the second point, Secret Service officials say Omar Gonzales, a 42-year
old veteran of the Iraq war got by all of the outside security measures on September
19. He allegedly jumped the fence and ran across the lawn to the door of the executive
mansion.
He reportedly overpowered a Secret Service agent and got deep inside the White House
before he was tackled and subdued by off-duty officers inside the building.
Gonzales was carrying a knife, President Obama had left the White House a few minutes beforehand.
Third point, originally, the Secret Service praised its officers for showing "tremendous
restraint during the incident." At a hearing yesterday, one congressman said restraint
isn`t what`s needed.
If you project witness, it invites attack. We want to see overwhelming force. It a would
be intruder cannot be stopped by a dog or intercepted by a person, perhaps more lethal
forces necessary, and I want those Secret Service agents and officers to know, at least
this member of Congress has their back. Don`t let somebody get close to the president. Don`t
let somebody get close to his family. Don`t let them get into White House ever.
Fourth point, the president says he has full confidence in the Secret Service`s ability
to prevent this in the future. Its director appeared in front of a congressional committee
yesterday.
It`s clear that our security plan wasn`t properly executed. This is unacceptable and I take
full responsibility, and I will make sure that it does not happen again.
Fifth point, this is not the first breach of security at the White House. There are
fence jumpers every year, an invited civilian couple once crashed a state dinner. Gunshots
hit the building, damaging it in 2011, but the agency has protected the president from
an untold number of incidents, and Director Pierson says she`ll bring it up to a level
of performance that matches its vital mission.
Police and government officials in Hong Kong have told thousands of protesters to go home.
They haven`t. They want China`s government to completely stay out of an upcoming election.
It won`t. The result, a standoff. Hong Kong is not independent. Officially, it`s a special
administrative region of China. China promised in the past not to impose its communist economic
policies on Hong Kong`s free market economy. But Hong Kong`s chief executive, its highest
civil leader was selected by a committee loyal to China and China announced last month that
it would only allow candidates it approves to run in Hong Kong`s 2017 election.
There are lots of people here occupying downtown Hong Kong, a virtual sea of humanity, that`s
been chanting slogans like resign, that`s directed against the chief executive, the
top official in Hong Kong ?Y Leung, who is a particular target of anger here. And the
other demand that people make again and again and again, is what they call universal suffrage.
They want true, free and fair elections in 2017 when they are projected to be elections.
The signs up, the banners, up. A call for this true democracy, you end this crowd is
overwhelmingly young. The young people around me saying they are 20, 21, 22 years old for
the most part. University students who are boycotting score until their demands for more
democratic system here in Hong Kong are met, and it`s important to note that the government
here in Hong Kong and the Chinese central government have all declared that these protests
are illegal and by that definition, all of these people here are effectively criminals,
but that`s not really forcing - that`s not really changing the moral of this enormous
crowd of people standing up and demanding democratic rights.
Miami, Florida, is more than just an awesome city. It`s where we kick of today`s CNN STUDENT
NEWS "Roll Call." Florida Christian School is watching, and we are glad to see the Patriots
this first day in October.
Jumping up north to New Hampshire, David R. Cawley Middle School is on our roll, the hawks
are circling over Hooksett.
And we are headed to Iowa to check in with Abraham Lincoln High School. We are welcoming
the links of Council Bluffs.
Thank you all for watching.
Not all good jobs require a four-year college degree. Surveyors and electrical technicians,
for instance, can earn $55,000 a year or more.
Dental hygienist, which may have a two year associate`s degree, can make upwards of $70,000.
If you do go to college, though, not all majors mean money. New research says lifetime earnings
of people with drama or psychology majors are near the lowest. Earnings of those with
engineering majors are highest, around $2 million total before retirement.
Our diving well at the University of Georgia. I think it was around 17 feet. I thought that
was deep. This one`s the deepest man-made pool ever.
It`s located at an Italian hotel. It plunges 42 meters about 138 feet into the deep blue.
Why? The hotel hopes it will attract scuba divers and free divers and it will keep them
pretty comfortable. But 1.1 million gallons of water are heated by thermal springs. It`s
so deep, it`s got a viewing tunnel. Of course, being viewed could put pressure on the divers
themselves, that they hesitate viewers could ask what are you waiting for?
They can feel like they are into deep before they are in the deep. Thankfully, showing
off isn`t their H two only reason for taking the plunge. CNN STUDENT NEWS survey is again
tomorrow. No need to hold your breath.