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(CNN Student News) -- March 24, 2008
Quick Guide
Cheney in Mideast - Learn about Vice President Dick Cheney's trip to the Middle East.
Saved by a Levee - See how one Missouri town was saved from recent severe flooding.
Box Office Economics - Discover how the box office performs during tough economic times.
Transcript
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. I'm Monica Lloyd. Welcome to a new week of CNN Student News.
LLOYD: First up, Vice President Dick Cheney makes a stop in Israel during a trip to the Middle East. He was there to talk about a peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians, something President Bush helped negotiate last year. During the visit, Cheney said that an end to the conflict between the two groups would have "limitless value." But he also recognized that it will take a huge effort from both sides. Atika Shubert has more on the trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN REPORTER: U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is seen by many here as a friend of Israel. It certainly showed when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday night.
DICK CHENEY, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: America's commitment to Israel's security is enduring and unshakable, as is our commitment to Israel's right to defend itself always against terrorism, rocket attacks and other threats from forces dedicated to Israel's destruction. The United States will never pressure Israel to take steps that threaten its security.
SHUBERT: But on Sunday afternoon, his message to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was one of goodwill, as well as a warning.
CHENEY: A difficult but immutable truth must continue to be told: Terror and rockets do not merely kill innocent civilians. They also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people.
SHUBERT: Rocket attacks from Gaza militants into Israeli towns. Israel responds with airstrikes into the militants' Gaza neighborhoods. That cycle of violence hit a peak early this month when an Israeli offensive killed more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza, threatening to derail the peace process altogether. Cheney's visit is supposed to get negotiations back on track to meet the end-of-the-year deadline set by U.S. President George Bush. Israeli and Palestinian leaders are back at the negotiating table, but little progress has been made. The most controversial issues of Jerusalem and the borders of a Palestinian state have yet to be discussed.
And a huge problem remains: Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza. After 5 days of talks in Yemen, attempts to broker a power sharing agreement between Hamas and the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas failed, but both sides agreed to meet again in two weeks. For now, there is a lull in the violence in and around Gaza that has allowed talks to continue, even though progress is slow. Cheney is just one part of increasing U.S. pressure for a peace deal. Next week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also due for a visit. Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Shoutout
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! What is the largest religion in the world? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Islam, B) Buddhism, C) Christianity or D) Hinduism? You've got three seconds -- GO! The CIA estimates that about 33 percent of the world's people are Christians, followed by Muslims at about 21 percent, Hindus at 13 percent and Buddhists at almost six percent. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
Easter Wrap
LLOYD: And many of those Christians celebrated the Easter holiday this weekend. Pope Benedict XVI led services at the Vatican in Rome in front of a crowd of thousands. The religious leader spoke out against violence and injustice in his annual Easter message. And this sunrise service at Arlington National Cemetery was just one of the events held around the U.S. to commemorate the holiday. Easter is considered the most important day on the Christian calendar, and its origins go back to the start of the religion.
LLOYD: All right, we want to revisit a story from last week, when heavy rains caused major flooding across parts of the U.S. Midwest. Over the weekend, some of the rivers that overflowed started going back down. But the severe weather left homes and businesses under water across the region. Reggie Aqui shows us how one town managed to stay almost completely dry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REGGIE AQUI, CNN REPORTER: They live and work just a few feet away from this: the Meramec River, the same river that flooded a couple hundred Missouri homes in neighboring towns and caused a thousand people to flee to shelters. It should have done the same to nearby Valley Park, Missouri, including Bill Kulhmann's Boat Propeller Repair, flooded so many times before.
BILL KUHLMANN, SHOPKEEPER: In 1994, the water level was up here at 37.4.
AQUI: But the shop is dry, as is the entire downtown. The only thing stopping this water from getting into your town is what we are standing on.
CHIEF CHARLES WILKER, VALLEY PARK FIRE AND RESCUE: This levee.
AQUI: How high is this levee?
WILKER: It's 43 feet.
AQUI: And how high did the water get up?
WILKER: 38.7 feet.
AQUI: Man, that is close.
WILKER: It's real close.
AQUI: The difference between a flooded town and a dry one?
MAYOR JEFFREY WHITTEAKER, VALLEY PARK: $50 million.
AQUI: Mayor Jeffrey Whitteaker describes a 26-year endeavor. Even with a major federal grant, this $50 million levy is still, by far, the most expensive project in the small town's history. Without it...
WHITTEAKER: City Hall would be under water. School district, the community would just be paralyzed.
AQUI: It all came in just the nick of time. The levy project was still being tweaked as recently as one year ago.
WILKER: Blue collar town.
AQUI: It's been a nerve wracking couple of days for the city's fire chief, pacing the levy wall. But it appears the $50 million investment paid off.
WILKER: In the last 30 hours I've had about 3 hours worth of sleep.
AQUI: When are you going to get back to sleep?
WILKER: In about 15 minutes.
AQUI: And now, you can see the cover of the St. Louis paper, the Sunday Post Dispatch. It says "A Sigh of Relief." But we need to put this in context for you. Sure, this town may have been saved, but there are still some concerns about the other towns that are down river from here that haven't been hit, towns like Arnold. And of course concerns for the hundreds of people who still haven't been able to make it back to their homes to see what the damage is there. So far, we don't even have a good estimate of how much this is all going to cost in the end. Remember, Missouri was the hardest hit. Now, we're talking about five people just in this state alone that are dead because of these rising waters. Back to you, guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Word to the Wise
AZUZ: A Word to the Wise...
revenue (noun) the income generated by a given source
source: www.wordcentral.com
LLOYD: If you've been following the news recently, you've probably heard that the economy is struggling a little bit. Gas prices are up; food costs, too. But one industry is still raking in the revenues. You might have even donated some dollars to it over the weekend: the movies! Brooke Anderson looks at how the box office performs in tough economic times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: This is a challenging time for our economy.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN REPORTER: A challenging time indeed. But there is one business that generally thrives during times of economic strife.
HORTON HEARS A WHO: Nothin' wrong with this, Morton. Nothin' wrong with this.
ANDERSON: The movies!
JOHN FITHIAN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THEATRE OWNERS: People continue to come to the cinemas even during challenging economic times.
ANDERSON: Last weekend, moviegoers shelled out $45 million to see "Horton Hears a Who," propelling the animated comedy to the year's best opening so far.
HORTON HEARS A WHO: You realize that if you tell anybody, they'd think you were crazy.
ANDERSON: Paul Degarabedian, from box office tracker Media By Numbers, says revenues are four percent higher than last year, and could rise with summer fare like "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones."
PAUL DEGARABEDIAN, BOX OFFICE EXPERT: People need an escape, and going to the movies is a fairly inexpensive way to get out of the house.
ANDERSON: Box office revenues actually increased during five of the last seven recessions, according to government statistics.
FITHIAN: Movie cinemas have done very well during recessionary times.
ANDERSON: The Great Depression of the 1930s, when movies like "Frankenstein" and "King Kong" made their debut, witnessed a cinematic boom.
DEGARABEDIAN: There were about 70 million people going to the movies a week. That's like 8 times more than the number of people who go to the movies today.
ANDERSON: Today, people have countless more entertainment choices. But according to the National Association of Theater Owners, movies are still among the most affordable options, at an average ticket price of $6.88.
PERSON ON THE STREET: I'm paying, I'm paying.
ANDERSON: Some people we interviewed are eager to catch their next film, despite belt-tightening.
PERSON ON THE STREET: I cut back on the haircut. I cut back on some eatin'. But the movies, I can't do it.
PERSON ON THE STREET: I really love movies. So no, the economy's probably not going to affect my judgment too much.
ANDERSON: Others are hesitant. A poll conducted by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation shows 75 percent of respondents have cut back on leisure activities, including movies, restaurants or travel, or have postponed major purchases.
PERSON ON THE STREET: My money's going more toward bills at this point. Anything I do for entertainment, it has to be either really, really cheap or free.
ANDERSON: During this economic downturn, Hollywood hopes moviegoers continue to pay the price of admission. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Before We Go
LLOYD: And finally, let's end this show with a bang. That used to be a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It closed its doors in 2000. And now those doors, along with the windows, walls, pretty much everything, are gone forever. But out of all this smoke will eventually come ice. The building was brought down to make way for a new arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Goodbye
LLOYD: That's where we skate on out of here. Have a great day, everyone. I'm Monica Lloyd. E-mail to a friend 
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