CNN Student News Transcript: April 30, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- April 30, 2008

Quick Guide

Rev. Wright Controversy - Consider the impact of a controversial pastor on the presidential election.

Tornadoes Tear Virginia - View some of the damage caused by powerful tornadoes that struck Virginia.

Paying for College - Hear some tips on what to look for when you're shopping for student loans.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It's the end of April, but the start of a new day of CNN Student News. Glad to have you with us. From the CNN Center, I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: Rev. Wright Controversy

AZUZ: First up, history and controversy in the race for the White House. Barack Obama isn't the first African-American to run for president, but he is the first to make it this far in the campaign. His long-time spiritual leader, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, is drawing some fire for comments about the African-American community and about America. Obama has known Rev. Wright since law school, he says that's about 20 years. But when Wright made some controversial statements earlier this year, the candidate distanced himself from the reverend and gave a speech on race relations. This week, the reverend is back on center stage. Obama says he's "outraged" by comments Pastor Wright made at two events, and Obama wants people to know that he doesn't agree with the statements.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to make absolutely clear that I do not subscribe to the views that he expressed. I believe they are wrong. I think they are destructive, and to the extent he continues to speak out, I do not expect those views to be attributed to me.

AZUZ: Now this is interesting: About a year ago, Rev. Wright actually predicted that Sen. Obama might distance himself from the pastor. Now that it's happening, some political analysts are wondering how this issue will impact the presidential campaign. But Wright says this controversy isn't about politics, and it's not even about him; he believes it's about race. Carol Costello has more on the outspoken reverend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, OBAMA'S FORMER PASTOR: If you think I'm going to let you talk about my mama...

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN REPORTER: Some still find the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's fiery rhetoric difficult to understand, despite his "Make It Right" tour.

WRIGHT: Understand that? Capiche?

COSTELLO: He's traveled from Chicago to Detroit to Virginia, trying to make America understand he's been taken out of context. But for some white voters, the damage is done.

ROSE MARIE MCVETY, PHOENIX, AZ: To me, he sounds like he is very pro- African-American and kind of against the white establishment.

COSTELLO: But is he? Wright says such criticism misses the point.

WRIGHT: This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. This is an attack on the black church, launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition.

COSTELLO: Wright says, ultimately, that tradition teaches "reconciliation," despite controversial phrases he's used, like "[expletive deleted] America" and American "terrorism begets terrorism." It's a sentiment echoed by black clergy of many faiths.

FREDERICK HAYNES, PASTOR, BAPTIST CHURCH: He did a wonderful job of educating and transforming an attack on the African-American church, on our particular prophetic preaching tradition.

DR. BARBARA REYNOLDS, HOWARD SCHOOL OF DIVINITY: He's not an angry lunatic. But he's a theological scholar that says America has urgent concerns.

COSTELLO: And many black voters agree. He does speak for black religious America, in words that some white voters may find ugly, but that are familiar to African-Americans.

MARIAN FORD, VOTER: As far as I'm concerned, it's not anything that I haven't heard before all my entire life. These are words that I've always heard, and you hear it more strongly in the pulpit because that's where we had to get our information from.

COSTELLO: But others we talked with think Wright doesn't speak for them. They say his rhetoric is outdated; it's as if he's still speaking in the era that gave voice to Black Power.

EVALYN BILLUPS: I think he's saying things that are hurtful to his cause, because I think he's living in the old days. This is a new generation now. We're getting old. We should let Obama come in here and help out young people.

JEROME SHELTON, VOTER: I think he's speaking from his own personal experience by growing up a black American. I like what he's saying, you know. I wish he continues saying what he's saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Spoken Word

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not gonna be a referee. I have made my position very clear on this issue, and that I do not believe that Senator Obama shares Reverend Wright's extremist statements or views, whichever they be.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives; we have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend. Everyone will have to decide these matters for themselves. They are obviously very personal matters, but I was asked what I would do if he were my pastor, and I said I think the choice would be clear for me.

Promo

AZUZ: Ok, we've heard from voters on both sides of the Rev. Wright issue, and we've heard from all three White House hopefuls. But now we want to hear from you! Does Sen. Obama's association with Rev. Wright affect your opinion of the candidate? Should it? Head to our blog at CNNStudentNews.com and leave us your thoughts.

Tornadoes Tear Virginia

AZUZ: Switching gears now, some parts of Virginia are recovering after a half-dozen tornadoes swept across the state this week. According to officials, the severe weather injured more than 200 people and led the governor to declare a state of emergency. Incredibly, there were no reports of any fatalities following the storms. Sandra Endo has more on the damage caused by the twisters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN REPORTER: A driver captured this funnel cloud forming before it swept through Suffolk, but some residents say they never saw it coming.

ED FANCHER, SURVIVED TORNADO: Just before we stepped out, someone yelled, "It's coming." I said, "What's coming?" A tornado. The ceiling was falling, the walls were caving in, the metal was bending, everything was just coming apart in pieces.

ENDO: Roofs ripped from homes; some of them destroyed. Three tornadoes tore through southeastern Virginia Monday, causing people to scramble for cover.

MAN ON THE STREET: My husband told me to get down. He saw the debris flying. He saw the debris coming, and he said get down.

ENDO: Crumpled cars and a multi-car pile up. The twisters uprooted trees and downed power lines in a stretch spanning from Suffolk to East Norfolk. Officials, promising they're doing what they can to make sure residents are safe.

CHIEF MARK OUTLAW, SUFFOLK FIRE DEPARTMENT: The team today, again, with the dogs, has not located anything that... It's just torn up lumber and torn up houses, and that's what we are hoping for.

ENDO: Suffolk's mayor was shocked, but thankful no one was killed.

LINDA JOHNSON, MAYOR OF SUFFOLK, VA: This was just out of the blue, and the people were very, very surprised. Not something we see here very often. In my 44 years of living here, I have never seen anything like this.

ENDO: Now, a search and rescue effort is almost complete in this area. Now, residents are focused on recovery. In Suffolk, Virginia, I'm Sandra Endo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Word to the Wise

NINETTE SOSA, CNN STUDENT NEWS: A Word to the Wise...

defer (verb) to delay or put off

source: www.dictionary.com

Paying for College

AZUZ: Around this time of year, some high school seniors might be deferring their college acceptance. Some might want to take time off of school. But others might not be able to afford college. Paying for college can be tough, and it could get tougher for people counting on student loans. Gerri Willis has some advice on financing your learning with lending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, college admissions letters are finally in the mail, but paying for college could be harder than ever this year. Major changes in college lending have made it more difficult for students to get loans. And with spill-over from the subprime mortgage crisis causing funding for loans to dry up, 55 lenders have dropped out of the federal student loan program just this past month. But there are some steps that students and parents can take in order to secure a good loan. Try for federal loans first; they have the smallest fees and the lowest interest rates and allow students to defer payment until after college. Look into these before you look into private loans. Make sure you shop around for the best possible interest rates and incentives. You don't have to stick with your school's preferred lender list. Use your school's financial aid officers. They can guide students on everything from the interest rates on loans to whether or not you'll need a cosigner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: Some good info there. Before we go, some amateur Sherlock Holmeses are trying to put together the clues after an accidental discovery at a school in Utah. You see, the principal uncovered a mystery that was buried on the campus years ago. Angie Larson of affiliate KTVX digs up the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGIE LARSEN, KTVX REPORTER Two years ago, a car crashes into the flagpole at Sandy Elementary. In the rubble, a copper tube is discovered. The pipe isn't opened; rather, it sits in storage. That is, until last week.

SANDRA DAHL-HOULIHAN, PRINCIPAL: I'm a new principal this year. And we're just cleaning house and looking through things, and look at this thing. Is that amazing? And there's nothing on the outside saying, "Open this," or would it ever be opened. If someone hadn't hit our flagpole, this would still be out there for who knows how long.

LARSEN: Principal Sandra Dahl-Houlihan opens the pipe, and inside is an old scroll.

DAHL-HOULIHAN: The top reads Sandy Community Memorial, and then we've got a list of all these names. I don't know who these people are, but I think it's very very exciting. Then we made the connection with the Sandy Community Memorial, that it matched the plaque on the front of the flagpole. We are CSI Sandy.

LARSEN: The flagpole plaque is a dedication to soldiers. It is dated 1953, the end of the Korean War. It is only an assumption that the plaque and scroll are from the same year. Honorary detectives from the community are now voicing their own theories.

DAHL-HOULIHAN: This is hilarious. Someone told us that these are the infamous Salt Sea Scrolls scribed by Mark Hoffman. So, I think that's great. Also, perhaps this scroll was meant to be a curse on Sandy Elementary School. You know, like the Red Sox jersey that was recently dug up at Yankee Stadium.

LARSEN: Who buried the scroll? When? Why? The case is still unsolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Goodbye

AZUZ: That secretive story is where we scroll off the page. But we'll see you again tomorrow. Have an awesome day! I'm Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend