CNN Student News Transcript: December 12, 2007

December 12, 2007

Quick Guide

Ice Storm - Get a close-up of the destruction caused by a deadly ice storm.

Teen Drug Use - Examine a new report that indicates that teen drug use is down.

Terror in Algeria - Find out why the U.N.'s mission in Algeria is now uncertain.

Transcript

Teachers, you may want to preview the last segment of today's program, which addresses a deadly terrorist attack in Algeria.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz, and I welcome you to Wednesday's edition of CNN Student News.

First Up: Ice Storm

AZUZ: It's a winter wonderland in much of the nation's Midwest-- and not in a good way. We're talking ice: tree-bending, power line snapping, road-coating ice. More than 20 deaths have been blamed on the storm, mostly from driving accidents. And nearly a million homes and businesses are in the dark and they may not get power restored for 10 days. First stop: Kansas. You can see how residents have been affected there. The National Guard there is being asked to bring in generators, so folks don't have to be cold, as well as iced in. From this next video from Iowa, you can see how driving is a major hazard. Fortunately for airline travelers there, it's more snowy than icy on the runways, which means planes can still take off and land okay. The cleanup's underway in Oklahoma, too. All three of these places we've talked about are under states of emergency, which means aid is on the way.

Now you could see the effect all this has had on trees. You may think that'd be the least of many folks' worries, but there's one particular plant that officials want to save at any cost: Oklahoma City's "Survivor tree." It stands as part of a monument to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. And many want it to stand long after this storm melts away. Here's Kevin Sims of affiliate KOCO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN SIMS, KOCO: Branch by branch, Mark Bays has just one goal: Saving the Survivor tree.

MARK BAYS, OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY: We're just knocking a bit of the ice off and hopefully when the next round comes through, it won't be as bad.

SIMS: He and a group of arborists have been batting the ice off the tree since about three this morning. Each hit sends only a few small pieces to the ground. But when it comes to the sacred American elm, every ounce counts.

BAYS: But all we're doing is just trying to get those lower branches to lift up.

SIMS: Even if that means taking a beating themselves. Their faces peppered from falling ice. They're noses numb from the cold, but this tree, this ground - these people have seen worse pain before and survived in spite of it.

BAYS: If it means coming out at three o'clock in the morning during an ice storm to kind of do what we can to make sure this tree is gonna be around for a long, long time, well then that's what we're gonna do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

JOHN LORINC, CNN: Time for the Shoutout! What is Oklahoma's state tree? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) American elm, B) Sweetgum, C) Wax Myrtle or D) Redbud? D is the tree for Oklahoma! Its small flowers are actually pinkish in color. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Teen Drug Use

AZUZ: A new government report is out on teen drug use. It looked at the behavior of 8th, 10th and 12th graders across the country and concluded that prescription drug abuse has gone up a bit. That's the bad news. The good side of this, as Kate Bolduan shows us, is that use of illicit drugs, like pot and crystal meth, is on the slide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH JOHNSON: It was a day to day struggle.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN REPORTER: At 17 and 19-years-old Sarah Johnson and Justin Caulderon have battled drug addictions for years.

JUSTIN CAULDERON: I ended up getting introduced to crystal meth and I also did cocaine and ecstasy.

JOHNSON: I didn't even feel human anymore. Where I felt my like my only purpose to life was getting high.

BOLDUAN: Johnson and Caulderon now both are in recovery. They were recognized by President Bush Tuesday; part of a small group of young people to talk with the president about the state of teen drug use in America.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Today we celebrate progress against substance abuse. We also know that this work is not finished.

BOLDUAN: Citing an on-going study by the University of Michigan, Bush announced that illicit drug use among teens has reached a record low since its peak in the mid-90's.

BUSH: Since 2001, the overall use of illicit drugs by young people has dropped by 24 percent.

BOLDUAN: This trend is in line with goals the president set back in 2002, to reduce youth drug use 25 percent by this year. He credits a balance of federal, state and local anti-drug programs.

BUSH: The most encouraging rate relates to the use of methamphetamine, which has plummeted by an impressive 64 percent.

BOLDUAN: A promising statistic that suggests Sarah and Justin aren't the only teens turning their lives around.

JOHNSON: I'm not a drug addict today, I'm a person. I'm a human being trying to live life.

BOLDUAN: President Bush also said, while funding can come from Washington the real leadership needs to start with grassroots efforts from parents and role models. In Washington, I'm Kate Bolduan for CNN Student News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Baggy Pants Banned

AZUZ: Moving along now, you can probably look around the class or the cafeteria and see whose pants are saggin' and baggin'. He won't be able to do this for long in Atlanta, though. The city's school board voted Monday night to ban baggy pants that show students' underwear. It'll be up to principals to say how low is too low. And punishment could be anything from a warning-- "pull up your pants!"... To a hearing in front of a student panel!

ID Me

LORINC, CNN: See if you can ID Me! I'm the second-largest country in Africa. You'll find me between Morocco and Tunisia. My capital's name, Algiers, sounds a lot like my own. That last clue helped you out -- this country is Algeria, bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Terror in Algeria

AZUZ: Teachers, you may want to preview this next story. Dozens are dead, and two areas of Algiers are in rubble, a day after a pair of apparent car bombs went off in the Algerian capital. One of the attacks targeted the headquarters of the United Nations, which actually has a mission there to bring help to the Algerian people. Now, of course, the future of that mission is uncertain. Paula Newton shows us the damage in the North African nation and tells us who's suspected of these attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN REPORTER: The targets: high-profile, the bombs: high impact; Both hit within minutes of each other this morning, one targeting Algeria's Supreme Court and its Constitutional Council that oversees elections, the other: United Nations buildings in Algiers. Tragically, a bus filled with people took the full force of one the bombs. Within seconds, there was panic in the streets, electric and phone lines were down. The injured filled up hospitals, still stunned by the magnitude of the blasts. This man was headed to his office. As soon as I sat down he says, the walls started to cave in. This is the kind of attack the Algerian government fears most; mass causalities, in the heart of the capital. Algeria's interior minister saw the devastation for himself, and said: "What we do know for certain now he says, is that these were car bombs. And here at the U.N. location it seems the car was driven by a suicide bomber."

NEWTON: A few hours later, a claim of responsibility on the Internet by al Qaeda's North African arm, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Also on that Web site, pictures of the two men it said carried out the attacks. There is now a deep sense of loss and dread here as Algeria stubbornly remains on the frontline of a destabilizing terror campaign. This spring, militants released this stunning video, a step by step show and tell of how suicide bombers prepared for another devastating attack that killed 33 people in Algiers on April 11. It is also the handiwork of Al Qaeda, determined to create an Islamic state in North Africa; now infused with hundreds of battle-hardened Algerian guerilla fighters and emboldened by its branding and tactics. Counterterrorism chiefs throughout Europe worry they are also poised for attacks in their countries.

TRANSLATION SPANISH SECURITY CHIEF: Let's not forget that Europe is receiving masses of immigration from these these countries. And it is clear that in these countries there are great deficiencies in terms of their states' structures.

NEWTON: As a new wave of fear now grips Algeria, there seems little defense against this small, but determined brand of terrorists. Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: Just knowing that Algeria is Africa's second-largest nation gives you a clue to where to label it on our CNN Student News map of Africa. You can find free maps of the world at the bottom of our home page, CNNStudentNews.com. Download them today and see how geographically gifted you are!

Before We Go

AZUZ: And before we go, have you ever been accused of something you didn't do? Say for example, this helicopter hangar in Philadelphia just gets flooded with foam and you're the kid who's blamed for pressing a button that says, "don't hit button"? Well, a 10-year-old is now off the hook. He was initially blamed for making this mess by mashing an emergency button. But, turns out a portable heat source used for cooking, somehow set off the fire extinguishers.

Goodbye

AZUZ: That extinguishes this edition of CNN Student News. See you tomorrow, online or on TV. I'm Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend