CNN Student News Transcript: April 8, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- April 8, 2008

Quick Guide

Fanning the Flame - Hear China's response to protests along the Olympic flame's path.

Getting Grounded - Discover how rising fuel costs are impacting the airline industry.

Tween Angels - See how some young people are raising awareness about cyber-bullying.

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, and we're ready to go with a brand new edition of CNN Student News. Thanks so much for spending part of your Tuesday with us.

First Up: Fanning the Flame

LLOYD: First up, we're following the Olympic flame as it winds its way to the Summer Games in Beijing. As we showed you yesterday, it's not an easy road. Protesters are popping up all along the path of the torch. They're angry with some of China's political policies. But Chinese officials say the games shouldn't be political, and they think these demonstrations are violating the Olympic Charter. Kitty Pilgrim has more details on the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN REPORTER: A banner to protest China's human rights record unfurled atop the Golden Gate bridge on Monday. Three protestors climbed the bridge. The Olympic torch arrives Wednesday in San Francisco. In Paris, almost half of the torch relay was canceled after ten miles; the torch was driven by bus to its final destination, the route chaotic. And twice, authorities extinguished the torch itself, re-igniting it from a small lantern in the bus which carried the original flame from Greece.

The International Olympic Committee bearing criticism for picking China as the venue for the 2008 Summer Games. IOC president Jacques Rogge grim-faced and declining to respond to journalists in France. In London, the 31-mile route fraught with clashes; 36 people arrested on Saturday, many demonstrators chanting "Free Tibet." The 130-day journey will go through 23 cities and thoughout China in advance of the August 8th opening ceremony.

From the very start of the lighting ceremony in Greece, protestors have denounced China's opression of human rights, its crackdown on Tibet and Chinese support of the Sudanese government for its role in the atrocities of Darfur. World leaders are under increasing pressure to boycott the games or at least the opening ceremony, rather than appear to condone China's repressive communist regime. Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! In what year did the first modern Olympics take place? If you think you know the answer, shout it out! Is it: A) 1860, B) 1896, C) 1920 or D) 1948? You've got three seconds -- GO! After a break of more than 1,500 years, the first modern Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece! The city also played host to the 2004 Summer Games. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Promo

LLOYD: That was one of the first stops on this year's torch relay. The flame began it's journey in Greece, and it'll end up in Beijing for the Games. But where all is it visiting along the way? We've got an interactive map that lets you follow the flame around the globe. Check it out in the Spotlight section on CNNStudentNews.com!

Spoken Word

SAM SHELTON, 1996 OLYMPIC FLAME CREATOR: In the past, literally wars have ceased for a week or two while people, the countries came together to have the Olympics. So it's really, the Olympics is designed and the whole concept is to be a nonpolitical event. It's unfortunate that it has been politicized.

Post Office Recycling

LLOYD: Ok, things to do at the post office: send packages, buy stamps, apply for a passport, recycle? Yup, the U.S. Postal Service is going green! At about 1,500 locations around the country, you can recycle old cell phones, MP3 players, all sorts of small electronics for free. And if the test program goes well, the plan might go national later this year.

Princess Diana

LLOYD: And in Great Britain, a jury ruled the 1997 death of Princess Diana was an unlawful killing. They say negligent driving and pursuing paparazzi were at fault for the wreck that ended her life. The jury also found that not wearing a seat belt contributed to Diana's death. But criminal charges aren't likely. The fatal accident took place in France, outside the British court's jurisdiction.

A Word the Wise

AZUZ: A Word to the Wise...

jurisdiction (noun) the power to interpret and apply the law; also, the territory in which that power is exercised

source: www.dictionary.com

Getting Grounded

LLOYD: The report card is out on U.S. air travel, And AirTran, Jet Blue and Southwest took the top spots. But overall, the results weren't so great. In fact, one expert called 2007 "the worst year ever" for U.S. carriers: canceled flights, up; lost bags, up; customer complaints, way up. Alina Cho fills us in on some of the problems facing the country's airlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA CHO, CNN. REPORTER: It really comes down to jet fuel prices. If you think about it, just as we're paying more to fill up our cars, on a much larger scale, the airlines are paying more to fill up their planes. Jet fuel prices are up a whopping 200 percent over last year, and that's affecting everyone's bottom line. Talk about going up, up and away! Jet fuel prices are sky high and climbing, a tough combination, especially for low cost airlines.

GENEVIEVE BROWN, SR. EDITOR, TRAVELOCITY: Those low fares are just simply not enough to cover the high cost of fuel.

CHO: Three airlines folded under the pressure in recent weeks: ATA, Aloha and Skybus all closed up shop, leaving passengers holding their bags and looking for a way home.

SKYBUS PASSENGER: We decided to rent a car; that was our cheapest way to get back.

CHO: Bigger carriers are also feeling the pain. American, the nation's biggest, has stopped hiring. Delta is looking to cut 2,000 jobs. Continental has hinted it could follow suit. Northwest and United say they'll fly fewer planes. And then there are the extra fees. Checking more than one bag? Be ready to pay up; an extra $50 on most airlines. Want to talk to a real person on the phone or bring Fido along on your flight? You got it, pay up.

BROWN: Airlines have to become more creative about how they make money. We're now paying for things that once were included in the cost of an airline ticket.

CHO: We're paying another price too: Customer complaints shot up 60 percent last year according to new numbers from the airline quality survey. There were more delays, with one out of every four flights showing up late. Airlines trying to fill flights to capacity meant more people got bumped even though they had tickets. And luggage? Good luck finding it. The number of bags lost, also up for the year.

The airlines as an industry just returned to profitability last year after that rough period following 9/11. That makes what's happening now all the more painful. And it's painful for the passenger too. Those higher costs that the airlines are paying are most certainly being passed on to the flying public. Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Tween Angels

LLOYD: We want to talk about an issue that's probably affected all of us at some point: bullying. It's been around for hundreds, probably even thousands of years, but these days, it's gone high-tech. It's called cyber-bullying, and it can be a serious problem. Veronica De La Cruz talked with a group of young people who are working to raise awareness about the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN: I want to make a difference to make the Internet a lot safer for younger kids.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN REPORTER: 12-year-old Ryan is a cyber crime fighter. He is one of about 100 children around the country belonging to a group called Tween Angels. Their mission: to teach other children about Web safety.

PARRY AFTAB, EXEC. DIR., WIREDSAFETY.ORG: These kids are connected, and they're connected all the time. And they're connected at earlier and earlier ages.

DE LA CRUZ: Parry Aftab is the creator of the Tween Angels program, something which grew out of her original program, Teen Angels, for teenagers. I recently sat down with the kids from her Ridgewood, New Jersey, chapter.

DE LA CRUZ: What do you tell your friends when you go into schools?

RYAN: You teach them about stop, block and tell.

ROBERT: Stop what you're doing, block the person and tell a parent or guardian.

DE LA CRUZ: Show me?

TWEEN ANGELS: Stop, block and tell.

DE LA CRUZ: What else can a person do?

MELISSA: Take five.

REBECCA: It's like, so that you don't respond back and become a cyber bully yourself.

DE LA CRUZ: Almost all of you are wearing a Megan t-shirt. What does the t-shirt mean?

TWEEN ANGEL: You're honoring the pledge, the Megan Pledge.

DE LA CRUZ: They're talking about 13-year-old Megan Meier, who took her own life in 2006 after being cyber-bullied. In addition to informing kids about Megan's tragic story, the Tween Angels have created skits and cartoons. And there's an educational Web site. These kids say the reason they decided to get involved is simple.

MICHAEL: Cause you know that you're helping other people get, be protected. It's a pretty good feeling.

DE LA CRUZ: Tween Angels founder Parry Aftab says cyber-bullying is one of the greatest problems facing younger Web users. She says out of the more than 45,000 students that she's polled, 97 percent of them say the've been cyber-bullied. And of that 97 percent, only 5 percent have told their parents. Veronica De La Cruz, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

LLOYD: Before we go, we want you to meet a very special first grader. That's him right there in the middle. Alferd Williams is a little bit older than his classmates, but he's just as eager to be learning. You see, when he was born in the 1930s, he never got the chance to go to school. But Alferd promised his mother he would learn to read one day, and he's keeping his word.

Goodbye

LLOYD: Great story. And that's where we wrap things up for today. But we'll see you again tomorrow for more CNN Student News. Have a good day. I'm Monica Lloyd. E-mail to a friend