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STUDENT NEWS

U.S. Fight Against ISIS Possibly Getting More Intense in 2015; Getting Flu Shots; Carving Crazy Horse Monument

Aired January 14, 2015 - 04:00:00   ET

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


CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Here with your mid-week edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. Thank you for watching. One of the biggest stories

we covered last year involved Iraq and Syria. And the rise of the ISIS terrorist group that took over about a third of those countries.

President Obama and congressional Republicans are discussing the U.S. approach to ISIS in the coming year. America is currently leading an

international coalition fighting the terrorists in the Middle East, but the U.S. role so far has been limited to airstrikes, drone strikes and advising

other troops on how to fight ISIS. Will that change? Will U.S. ground troops be deployed in direct combat, though the president has said they

wouldn`t be?

One thing experts know the answer to, the battle against ISIS won`t end this year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What will the war on ISIS look like in 2015? In a word, tough.

For one, ISIS will not be defeated in 2015, despite the U.S.-led air campaign and some more aggressive operations by Iraqi security forces on

the ground, ISIS is proven very capable of holding ground. They`ve been changing tactics to make themselves less vulnerable from the air, and

they`ve also been resorting to traditional terror attacks against Iraqi forces, Kurdish forces and against civilians as well.

Also, look for U.S. forces in 2015 to be more in harm`s way, as their numbers approach some 3,000 U.S. troops on the ground, many of them will no

longer be confined to the relatively safe areas of Kurdistan in the north and the capital Baghdad in Central Iraq. They already have 300 American

advisors at al-Assad base in the highly contested Anbar Province, and over the course of the year you`ll have many more forward deployed and training

centers around the country.

Key question in 2015, is will U.S. commanders ask the American forces be more forward deployed, perhaps as air controllers for airstrikes against

ISIS? It`s an option that U.S. commanders have said they will not take off the table.

Also, look in 2015 for Iraqi forces to take more aggressive action, particularly in attempt to retake Mosul, key northern city in Iraq, a key

stronghold for ISIS. Iraqi commanders somewhat impatient about when they should go forward with such an operation, U.S. commanders less impatient,

they are not sure that Iraqi forces are capable yet of such an ambitious operation.

The war against ISIS inside Syria looks even less hopeful. For one, the U.S. and the coalition still have not completed vetting moderate rebels to

take on ISIS on the ground there.

Two, ISIS is proven very good at changing their tactics in Syria as well to make themselves less vulnerable to the U.S.-led air campaign.

Also, ISIS opening up new fronts in the war in Syria including close to Lebanon.

From the beginning, U.S. commanders and the president have said that the war on ISIS will be measured in years, not months. That will become very

clear this year. It will become very clear that the war will extend far beyond 2015.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Quick, what`s the capital of Belgium? It`s the first stop in today`s "Roll Call." Brussels is the answer, the brigons (ph) are here

watching from the Brussels American School.

From the American South, we heard from some tigers in Gurley, Alabama. They are at Madison County High School, and in Longmont, Colorado, don`t tread

on the rattlers. Altona Middle School is wrapping up our roll.

Sitting there at your desk, what can you do to prevent the flu? One, don`t touch your eyes, mouth or nose, avoid close contact with sick people, wash

your hands. And if you are sick, the CDC says you should stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone. Unless, of course, you are going

to go see a doctor.

All tips to stay healthy in a particularly nasty flu season.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me try and settle this flu shot thing, although I`m sure it`s going to keep coming up again.

You can`t get the flu from the flu shot. It`s a dead virus, it can`t actually cause flu. Why do people feel sort of crummy afterward? It`s

because the flu vaccine is actually working, making your immune system fire up, get ready and recognize it, if it actually seize the flu, how to kill

it.

No, it`s not 100 percent fail safe. For instance, this particular year, the dominant circulating string, is something known as H3N2, but it`s

mutated just a little bit, which means that the flu vaccine that was made months ago, is not going to be quite as effective as if it hadn`t mutated

at all. But it`s still going to offer a lot of protection, so you are not going to be as sick as likely to get sick or if you do get sick, have a

shorter duration.

OK, so if you are like me, your mom probably said don`t go outside in the cold without your hat on, you are going to catch the flu. You can`t catch

the flu from just simply being outside in the cold.

But it does raise the question, why are there so many more flu cases in the winter months? You are likely to stay indoors more. So, if one person is

sick, more people are likely to get sick.

The sun is lower in the sky, and as a result, you have less Vitamin D actually being produced in your body. Your immune system starts to get

suppressed a little bit.

You are more likely to get sick with the flu.

Winter months tend to be lower humidity. Viruses like the flu virus they like lower humidity. They are likely to live longer.

So, your mom may have been right: I mean look, moms are always right, but maybe not for the reasons you originally thought.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Volcanoes, they are a blast. There are about 1500 volcanoes on earth that could be active one day, and that`s not counting the ones on the

ocean floor. But scientists say only 50 to 60 volcanoes actually erupt in a given year. Now, that`s random, right?

All right, Crazy Horse was the name of a Sioux Indian chief. He was probably born around 1840 in what`s now South Dakota. He was a determined

warrior who fought to preserve Native Americans way of life and fought against his people`s relocation to reservations.

Crazy Horse participated in an ambush of dozens of U.S. soldiers in 1866. He helped defeat George Armstrong Custer at the battle of Little Bighorn.

Crazy Horse became almost mythical in his resistance to white expansion. He was killed in a scuffle with U.S. soldiers after surrendering to them in

1877. Today, his legacy is being carved out in stone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is truly dedication in stone. This project really has its roots back in 1939, that`s when a sculptor from

Massachusetts by the name of Korczak Ziolkowski came here to the Black Hills of South Dakota to work on Mount Rushmore. Not too long after that,

Chief Standing Bear invited the sculptor to work on a mountainous tribute to the Native American Indian honoring their culture, their traditions,

their heritage and their heroes.

In 1947, Ziolkowski made good on that and began the Crazy Horse Memorial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) built those stairs off the mountain, and Dad would say whenever you dropped your hammer, she was right there to pick

it up.

ELAM: At one point in this you are getting help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they had ten children .

But we are in a lot of help, we are not alone.

JEFF HERMANSON, MOUNTAIN WORKER: I started 35 years ago, but I`ve actually worked on the mountain 27.

I have had the opportunity to at least see the face done, and Korczak, you know, did all this work without being able to see that.

ELAM: So, right now we are walking on what will be Crazy Horse`s arm out to his pointing finger, and when you come up here, they tell you to not

turn around, and so you are far enough out. So that you can really get that true impression of Crazy Horse`s face. It is nearly 90 feet tall. So

I`m going to turn around and take a look at it, and Wow, it`s pretty impressive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My lands are where my dad lie buried. And that`s what this mountain is representing.

ELAM: And that`s an (INAUDIBLE), too.

MONIQUE ZIOLKOWSKI, CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL: White trader asked Indian - Crazy Horse where you land is now, to (INAUDIBLE), and he pointed over his

horse and said, my land.

However, my dad lied buried.

ELAM: That was a spiteful question, wasn`t it? And so, he - he answered like, this is where I`m from.

This is where my people are.

MONIQUE ZIOLKOWSKI: Yeah.

ELAM: It has so much meaning to you.

MONIQUE ZIOLKOWSKI: Yeah.

ELAM: When all is set and done, it will be 600 and 41 feet long, and 563 feet tall. Just up the road as Mount Rushmore, those four presidents`

heads are 60 feet tall each. Together, they would feet in just Crazy Horse`s head.

Do you have any idea how long this is going to take?

MONIQUE ZIOLKOWSKI: By the time I`m an old lady, it should look pretty good.

And you are not being a smart .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: When we say dog sled, you`d probably think (INAUDIBLE) or the call of the wild, anything with huskies pulling someone onboard a sled.

Not here. Stella the bulldog puppy isn`t pulling anyone. She is taking herself for a ride. Things get off to a bit of a slow start, but hey,

she`s only five months old. Pretty soon, she really starts sliding. They only thing she needs work on is at the end. Except for the fence at the

bottom of the hill, there is just snow stopping here. Someone say, allowing her to hit the posts was in defense a bull (ph), but she was

bullish, dog legend and doggedly dog turning to hot dog down to a dogcisively and Cradock bull on dog taking. It`s all day on hill when you

go to the dogs. For CNN STUDENT NEWS, I`m Carl Azuz.

END