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STUDENT NEWS

North Korea Sets Free American Prisoner; New Wave of Protests in Ferguson Expected; National Teen Drivers Safety Week

Aired October 22, 2014 - 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: Great to have you watching CNN STUDENT NEWS, your commercial-free source of current events for middle and high school

classrooms. I`m Carl Azuz.

We are starting this Wednesday with a headline out of North Korea. Yesterday, the secretive communist country released an American it had held

prisoner since May. Jeffrey Fowle was accused of leaving a Bible at his hotel in North Korea. The country does have some churches, but they are

operated by the government. And it`s made independent religious activity illegal, because it`s seen as a potential threat to that government`s

authority.

Fowle arrived in the U.S. territory of Guam yesterday. Two other Americans, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller are still being held prisoner in

North Korea. And the U.S. government says it`s still working to get them freed.

Across the Pacific and halfway across the U.S., Ferguson, Missouri, a town that`s been on edge since an incident on August 9. That`s when a white

police officer named Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed African- American 18-year old named Michael Brown.

Witnesses said there was some sort of scuffle between the two, but that Brown was trying to surrender to the policeman when he was shot. Police

said Brown struggled with Officer Wilson and then reached for the policeman`s gun before the shooting.

Protests started afterwards. Some peaceful, some violent. And not it`s up to a grand jury to determine whether Officer Wilson should be charged with

any wrongdoing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD (CHANTING)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the new normal in Ferguson. Protests night and day for the past 73 days. Their number one demand,

justice and to them that means the indictment and arrest of Officer Darren Wilson who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown August 9.

Tensions are high again after new details about the investigation were leaked by a federal source to "The New York Times" indicating forensic

evidence may mean potential civil rights charges are unlikely.

U.S. law enforcement sources told CNN Brown`s blood was found on the Wilson`s gun, inside Wilson`s patrol car and on his uniform.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What that does, is that tends to support any testimony that there was some kind of scuffle in the police

car, and if so, that tends to support Officer Wilson`s testimony and his justification for using deadly force.

SIDNER: Early on, Brown`s friend said there was a scuffle, but that Wilson was the aggressor.

DORIAN JOHNSON, MICHAEL BROWN`S FRIEND: He pulled up on the side of us (ph), he tried to thrust his door open, but we were so close to it that it

ricocheted off us, and it bounced back to him, and I guess that, you know, got him a little upset, as he was trying to choke my friend and he was

trying to get away, and Officer then reached out and he grabbed his - to pull him into the (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos says the forensic evidence revealed only goes so far.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Ultimately, that officer will have to come up with justification not for firing his gun the first time, but for

each and every bullet that came out of his firearm. Whether at the car or away from the car.

SIDNER: Whatever happens, police tell CNN they are preparing.

(on camera): Are you worried that there`s going to be serious violence?

SGT. BRIAN SCHELLMAN, ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE: Yeah, I mean, again, we are constantly looking at those things. I believe it was five shootings in

August .

SIDNER: During the protest.

SCHELLMAN: You know that came, yeah during the protest that came out of that, and then also to protect businesses and the property and the citizens

who live in the area.

SIDNER (voice over): Protesters also have plans.

AMY HUNTER RACIAL JUSTICE DIR., YWCA: Everybody has planning for whatever the grand jury decides. I think certainly there are lots of us that are

planning peaceful protests for should it not be indicted, certainly, there are other people that have other ideas at hand.

SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for "The Shoutout." By definition, which of these celestial objects orbits the Sun? If you think you know it, shout it

out! Is it meteorite, Moon, comet or nebula? You`ve got three seconds, go.

Moons orbit planets, meteorites fall to Earth, nebulas are clouds or stars and that leaves comets as your answer and your shoutout.

AZUZ: One such comet hurdling through our solar system is Siding Spring. It was named for the Siding Spring observatory in Australia, which

discovered it last year.

And it almost took out part of Mars on Sunday. Astronomers say it was the closest comet near mess they`ve ever recorded. Siding Spring was still 82,

000 miles away from the red planet when it passed by. So, it was close in space terms, but not close like Albuquerque in Santa Fe.

Anyway, NASA was concerned. It`s gotten no fewer than five active missions to Marks. It says its Rovers were protected by Mars`s atmosphere, but it`s

three satellites had to duck behind the Red Planet or the comets debris of dust and gas could have blasted them as it went by.

They are all OK, they were able to get pictures and info on Siding Spring and they are transferring that data to Earth as you watch this.

Today, we are bringing you five things to know about teen driving five rules of the road.

One, we are in the middle of National Teen Drivers safety week. Why is there one? Because car crashes are the leading cause of death for American

teenagers.

Two, this age group has the highest crash rate of any in the U.S. In 2012, drivers ages 18 to 20 were involved in more than 800,000 crashes. Three, a

new study by the AAA foundation for Traffic Safety found that new drivers who`ve got licenses at age 18, were more likely to have a crash with

injuries than new drivers at any other age.

Four, it suggests that graduated driver licensing laws, which limit how and when you can drive, but still gives you experience should extend the new

drivers who are 18 or older.

Five, AAA is saying that experience behind the will may matter more than age when it comes to driving safely.

AZUZ: You`ll know where we are starting today`s "Roll Call". If you can locate the city of Abidjan. Here`s a hint: it`s on the continent of

Africa. The International Community School of Abidjan is watching today. They are online in Abidjan Ivory Coast.

To the U.S. East Coast, in Wilmington, Delaware, we`ve got the highlanders of Thomas McKean High School, and out west in Greeley, Colorado, it`s the

bulldogs of University Middle School who are on today`s roll.

Median salary for an architect in the U.S. over $70,000 per year. You`ll need to have a sense of design, engineering and vision for what your

building would look like.

Meet an architect who totally lost his vision. But whose perseverance keeps his designs on new heights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS DOWNEY: On Friday, I was at work. On Saturday, I was out riding my bike. On Monday, I went in for surgery, on Wednesday I was blind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After building a successful careers in architect, 40- year old Chris Downey was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

DOWNEY: I was told that it was a little bit more involved, a little more complicated, and they anticipate it. But it went well, the next time I

woke up, the next day, my sight was starting to fail. So I was rushed back to ICU and the next time I woke up, the sight was all gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, before doctors could tell him, he was officially blind. A social worker had already stopped by.

DOWNEY: She noticed I was an architect, and say well, we can talk about career alternatives. But I was just like shocked. So, I immediately

started thinking about the work that I do and how much of it - one sort of immediately possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A can-do attitude coupled with some new tools including a special embossing printer and wax sticks.

DOWNEY: Especially as you work with, they get warm, it`s wax. So, it gets kind of conky (ph), and it sticks to paper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has helped Downey become one of the world`s few blind architects with a special sense for designing for the disabled.

DOWNEY: If I`m doing a project for people with disabilities, it`s about ability, it`s about keeping everybody moving, it`s an enabling as many

people to function to their fullest capacity possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Kind of an odd idea that makes giving a weather forecast with helping a dog get adopted. But it made for great TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit. Sit. No, Ripple is not sitting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: No, Ripple is not sitting, he`s not concerned about the weather either. The forecast, chewy with the chance of unruly. And it doesn`t let

up. The animal described as energetic got a lot more coverage and some adoption interest despite ruining his leash and the weather forecast.

I guess he couldn`t handle the pressure. Maybe the studio just wasn`t his ideal climate, maybe the weatherman couldn`t read the barcometer, one easy

prediction - having a dog on camera can unleash chaos.

I hope you`ll join us again for Thursday`s edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS.

END