Great to have you kicking off the week. In the month of February with CNN STUDENT NEWS.
My name is Carl Azuz. We`ve got ten minutes of current events lined up for you, but no
commercials. Our show starts in the Middle East with a bit of history.
Israel is an ally of the United States. The mostly Jewish country was founded in 1948,
many Arabs in the region opposed Israel. In the wars that followed, Israel defeated the
Arabs. The tensions between Israel and its neighbors, which include the country of Lebanon
have been simmering ever since.
All right, present day. There is a militant Islamic group in Lebanon named Hezbollah.
It opposes Israel and the West. Israel and the U.S. consider Hezbollah a terrorist group.
A recent flare up between Israel and Hezbollah made headlines around the world.
No, it doesn`t take much to start a war in this corner of the world. The latest spark
ignited right where Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet. Borders are contested, planned, still
disputed. So, when violence flares, everyone braces for the worst.
This time, the Israeli military says Hezbollah launched five antitank missiles at an Israeli
military convoy, traveling into disputed Shebaa farm area. Two Israeli soldiers were killed,
and Israel immediately responded with artillery strikes. The Spanish U.N. peacekeeper was
killed in a crossfire.
The Hezbollah attack was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike carried out on a Hezbollah
convoy near Quneitra in Syria a few weeks ago. An Iranian general and the son of a Hezbollah
commander were among others that were killed.
It`s not the first time this has happened. In 2006, Hezbollah killed eight soldiers in
a cross border raid, capturing two bodies. That sparked a summer war that killed more
than 1,000 people.
But this time, it seems, tensions quickly defused. Hezbollah is already embroiled in
Syria, and Israel`s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has elections (INAUDIBLE) in March.
So, it seems that this time, nobody wants a war.
Still, in the midst of the recent violence between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel put its
army on high alert near its border with Lebanon, and it reportedly moved a very advanced missile
system in the place. In fact, it`s probably more accurate to say, it`s an antimissile
system. It`s something that`s seen a lot of views in the nation surrounded by groups that
oppose it.
Deployment of Iron Dome missile system is usually a signal that Israel is getting ready
for trouble.
The Iron Dome is a very sophisticated radar system. When a rocket is launched into Israel,
the radar tracks its trajectory, calculates an impact point and launches a missile to
shoot it down. The manufacturers of the Iron Dome system say, it`s the fastest and most
reliable system of its kind. It can launch a missile and shoot down a rocket within 15
seconds, and that allows Israelis to leave a relatively normal life during a very volatile
time.
Iron Dome was very useful in operation "Protective Edge." They say they struck down 90 percent
of the more than 1,000 rockets that were launched from Gaza into Israel.
The United States is the primary funder of the Israeli-made Iron Dome system, and it
doesn`t come cheap. Each interceptor missile costs at least $62,000, and each battery costs
about $50,000. Together the United States and Israel have spent over $1 billion on the
system. Deploying ten Iron Dome batteries. But the architects of the system and the Israelis
say the cost is well worth it, when you consider what has been saved in terms of property damage,
economic impact and most importantly, lives. When those air sirens sound indicating an
incoming missile, by and large Israelis are glad they have the Iron Dome to protect them.
Faking attendance. Today, we are rolling from a city in central Arkansas to the capital
of Kenya. Hello, Searcy in the natural state, or the land of opportunity, it`s the lions
leading today at Searcy High School.
On Lake Saint Clair in southeast Michigan we got the Taurus (ph) watching. Great to
see you in Anchor Bay Middle School North, and in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, we are
happy to be part of your day, shoutout to all the students of West Nairobi School.
California`s seeing what officials consider a large outbreak of measles, the large is
relative. When we produced the show, there`s been 91 confirmed cases statewide since the
outbreak in December. But the U.S. averages 60 cases per year nationwide.
Most of California`s cases are linked to an outbreak at Disneyland. It`s possible to get
the disease even with the vaccination, though that`s less likely. Measles aren`t usually
deadly, they are incredibly contagious.
We all know that if you are on something like a plane, or a bus, or a train, and somebody
near you were to sneeze, and they had measles, you have a real chance of being exposed to
the measles virus. But a study from MIT last year found it`s actually much worse than that.
If I were seated on a plane like this, and somebody way in the back sneezed, the truth
is, that virus now could travel in sort of the invisible crowds of micro droplets all
the way up to where I`m seated here.
And what`s more, despite the fact that planes have a lot of systems to filter the air, if
the virus stays in the air, it could be viable for two hours, if it lands in the backs of
armrests or in chairs, the same thing. And that`s a real problem, because if you are
not safe against this disease, you have a 90 percent chance of getting it just by being
in the same place.
Because it is a highly infectious disease.
In the U.S., black history months arrives every February, commemorates the achievements
and contributions of African Americans and the idea started in 1926 with Dr. Carter G.
Woodson. He was a historian who believed that knowing their past would help African Americans
build the better future. He picked February because it was the birth months of both abolitionist
Frederick Douglas and President Abraham Lincoln.
The civil rights movement contributed to black history month awareness and popularity. This
year, there`s a significant anniversary. It`s been 55 years since demonstrators marched
from Selma, Alabama to the capital of Montgomery. They wanted fair access to the polls so they
could vote, but it wasn`t until their third march that they were allowed to reach the
end.
I was standing up there and (INAUDIBLE) running.
Black people were beaten .
Tear gas.
Domes (ph) were hit. And I just turned around, see it all (ph) and wondered why they were
beating them so. And that just can - I couldn`t understand.
I just don`t see how anybody can say that a man can fight in Vietnam, but he can`t vote
in the post office.
We are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying
we ain`t going let nobody turn us around.
Last Wednesday`s forecast for the Grand Canyon, cloudy with the chance of awesome. We are
not talking about the sky, we are talking about what happened in the canyon itself.
It was invaded by fog. This was caused by a temperature inversion, a relatively rare
condition with cold air on the ground and warm air hovering over it. It trapped clouds
in the canyon for a little while, and then like a blanket being pulled off, it disappeared
in about half an hour.
So they were gone, but not forgotten, well, maybe they became like a cloudy memory, where
there was once this canyon of information, but the details got misty.
I`m Carl Azuz. It`s been a grand ten minutes. But we have to roll out till tomorrow. I hope
to see you then.