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CNN 10
Terror Attack in Afghanistan; Statue of Liberty Turns 125
Aired October 31, 2011 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GROUP: We`re from Garner, Iowa. You`re now watching CNN Student News with Carl Azuz.
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Big thanks to the students and teachers at Garner Hayfield Middle School. That was one seriously great introduction, so we do appreciate it. I`m Carl Azuz. Let`s get to today`s headlines.
First up, we`re talking about a deadly attack that happened in Afghanistan over the weekend. More than a dozen people were killed, including nine Americans. Four of them were U.S. troops. According to officials, two British civilians, a Canadian soldier, a citizen of Kosovo and four Afghans also died in this attack.
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AZUZ (voice-over): It all happened in the city of Kabul -- that`s the capital of Afghanistan. A suicide bomber drove his car into an armored bus that was part of a convoy from NATO. The Taliban said it was responsible for this attack. The Taliban is the militant group that ruled most of Afghanistan before the U.S. led the invasion that kicked the Taliban out of power in 2001.
The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan called Saturday`s attack " a shock," but he also showed determination, saying, quote, "We are not going to let these guys win."
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AZUZ: In the U.S., parts of the East Coast are dealing with the impact of a major snowstorm that hit over the weekend. You might expect this kind of thing in January, not in October.
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AZUZ (voice-over): The early winter weather dumped snow from Maryland and Pennsylvania up into New York, New Jersey and farther northeast. Some spots got more than nine inches of snow in less than a day, and this storm is being blamed for several deaths.
Millions of people had their power knocked out. Travelers were stranded when flights were canceled, airports closed. An iReporter shot this video of a tree that fell under the weight of the snow.
Big problem in some areas was that since the leaves hadn`t fallen yet, trees accumulated more snow. They took on even more weight than they normally might, and that weighed them down, weighed them even more, causing them to crash.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See if you can ID me. I`m an island that`s part of New York state. I was the first stop for millions of immigrants coming to America. I`m part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, but I`m not Liberty Island.
I`m nearby Ellis Island, and I`m sometimes called "America`s Golden Door."
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AZUZ: When those millions of immigrants came to Ellis Island, they were greeted by the Statue of Liberty. We mentioned last Friday that it was Lady Liberty`s 125th birthday. She`s due for some improvements. But Emily Schmidt explains that even though the statue might change, what it symbolizes stands the test of time.
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EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): When a statue stands watch for 125 years, sometimes things come full circle, like these words, said by President Grover Cleveland at the dedication in 1886, and repeated again Friday.
KEN SALAZAR, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: We will care for her. We will celebrate her. And we, the people of the United States, will continue to perfect her in both word and in deed.
SCHMIDT (voice-over): At 305 feet, one inch in the air, the statue`s tower of copper and gold leaf is a testament to liberty and opportunity. Nearly 12 million immigrants passed her to get to Ellis Island.
SALAZAR: . so help me God.
CROWD: So help me God.
SALAZAR: Congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
SCHMIDT (voice-over): One twenty-five more became U.S. citizens in New York on her birthday.
ANATOLLY GRYSCHCHENKO: And for me, it`s just a personal achievement that I`ve been dreaming for years and years, and I am extremely excited to be here. And I cannot wait to take that oath.
SCHMIDT (voice-over): The statue is due for $27 million in upgrades next year, including safety improvements and an elevator so anyone can reach the observation deck. And everyone is in for a new view.
BRIAN CURY, CEO EARTH CAM: Lady Liberty is our statue, our icon, and I think people will see it in the perspective they`ve never seen before.
SCHMIDT (voice-over): These five webcams unveiled Friday will live stream pictures, including the first views from the torch since it closed to visitors in 1916. That torch still burns more fiercely than even 125 birthday candles, a continuing beacon to the world. I`m Emily Schmidt reporting.
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AZUZ: Not happy news for you basketball fans. The NBA season was supposed to start tomorrow. Not going to happen. The league and team owners have locked out the players. And the NBA already canceled its first two weeks of the season.
Friday the league announced that it was scrapping all of its games for the month of November.
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AZUZ (voice-over): The two sides -- we`re talking about the owners and players -- they`ve been negotiating. They`re working on how to split up the money that the league makes. And they`re trying to agree on rules for players` salaries. There are reports they`re close to an agreement on some things, but not on others.
Last week, NBA Commissioner David Stern said, quote, "There`s no deal on anything unless there`s a deal on everything."
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AZUZ: NASA plans to spend some time studying the weather and how it changes, but not from down here on Earth. The agency wants to take a view from above.
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AZUZ (voice-over): And that`s what this is for. It`s a new weather satellite that launched early Friday morning, cost $1.5 billion, and it`s designed to spend the next five years collecting information on short-term and long-term climate change. So it`s going to be looking at oceans, clouds, ice, and it will do all of that from around 500 miles above the planet`s surface.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today`s first Shoutout goes out to Mr. Collins and Ms. Ward`s social studies classes at Mahtomedi Middle School in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.
What is the fear of houses called? Here we go. Is it domatophobia, claustrophobia, kenophobia or chirophobia? Three seconds to scare up an answer. Go.
Domatophobia is the fear of houses or being stuck in a house. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.
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AZUZ: All right. So for regular houses, maybe not so much. But it is natural to experience domatophobia around this time of year with so many haunted houses popping up. A lot of folks don`t want to get stuck in one of those.
The dark domiciles are a Halloween tradition, but when Rob Marciano visited one recently, he found out that some haunted houses are a year- round industry, and he got some first-hand experience in their sophisticated scare tactics. Check this out.
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ROB MARCIANO, CNN REPORTER: I always enjoy meeting new friends at Halloween, and this is some of the creatures at the Netherworld Haunted House -- hi, guys. Do you mind if I take a look inside? I`ll take that as a yes.
Here, friend. Here, friend.
I`m here with Ben Armstrong, one of the owners of Netherworld.
Ben, this place is massive. It`s got to be a year-round operation.
BEN ARMSTRONG, CO-OWNER, NETHERWORLD: Oh, yes. We work on this thing absolutely all year long. We conceptualize it, we work on all the creatures and then we begin construction as early as February. But what we`re going to do now, though, we`re going to make you into one of the creatures. We`re going to transform you into a monster that even your mother would be proud of.
MARCIANO: I feel pretty, I feel pretty.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: OK. I`m all zombied up. I`m teaming up with the Nightmare King. We`re going to go scare some kids.
So this is our spot, right here, Nightmare King?
NIGHTMARE KING: Yes, this is it, my friend.
MARCIANO: All right. What`s the -- what`s the call? What`s the game plan?
NIGHTMARE KING: If you want to (inaudible), you use the fog to your advantage. Just come up through the fog, give the illusion you`re a dead man rising from the grave.
MARCIANO: Yes, I love it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
MARCIANO: Just got my first scream.
Every night, they line up around the block at haunted houses like these across America, bringing an estimated $300 million a year.
ARMSTRONG: The haunted house industry has changed dramatically in the last 15 to 20 years. So you really need to deck it all out in 360. Everything`s got to be good. And the technology is increasing.
We have, like I said, a lot of animatronics, sophisticated characters that move. We use a lot of projections. We use a lot of illusions. So we`re constantly upping the ante to give the customer more than just a guy jumping out and scaring them, although that is the core of what we do.
MARCIANO: Well, that is sensory overload. Working on haunted houses is an adrenaline rush. But outside, I get back to my day job.
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AZUZ: All right. It is October 31st, so we`re keeping with the Halloween theme here. We had asked you to send in iReports with your creative pumpkin carvings.
AZUZ (voice-over): Bailey from Illinois chewed it over, and came up with this awesome idea. I loved it, Bailey.
Manuel from California used his skills to honor his Future Farmers of America chapter.
And Madeline in North Carolina went the decorative route, and showed her love for CNN Student News.
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AZUZ: Great work from all three of them. They did it out of the "gourdness" of their own hearts. Whoo! Thanks to everyone who sent us iReports. We hope you all have a very safe and happy Halloween. For CNN Student Ooohhs, I`m Carl Azuz.
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