Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
Egypt Continues Cracks Down on Morsy Supporters; Firefighters Battle Massive Wildfire in Idaho; Back to School in Tornado-Ravaged Moore, Oklahoma
Aired August 19, 2013 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Whether it`s your first day of the school year or your first day back from the weekend, thank you so much for spending part of it with CNN STUDENT NEWS. My name is Carl Azuz. We start today with the latest developments in Egypt. The country has been in the news recently because of fighting between government forces and people who support Mohammed Morsy. He is the former president who was forced out of power this summer. Large groups of Morsy supporters have been hiding inside this mosque in Cairo, Egypt`s capital. On Saturday, security forces raided the mosque and arrested hundreds of people. Morsy`s supporters say the Egyptian government and the military are responsible for starting the violence that`s led to hundreds of deaths. Egyptian officials say terrorists are to blame for the chaos in their country.
In the northwestern part of the U.S., hundreds of firefighters are battling a huge wildfire in Idaho. Over the weekend, an I-reporter captured these photos of the flames. On Saturday, the fire had spread across nearly 93,000 acres. To think of that, it`s roughly the same area as 93,000 football fields. Authorities say strong winds and dry conditions are only feeding the flames. More than 2,200 homes are under evacuation orders. Brianna Keilar has more on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came up here earlier, and the tears started to come and the heart started to race.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A desperate fight to save lives and property. The so-called Beaver Creek fire is now threatening to destroy neighborhoods, vacation homes, and ski areas in Ketchum and Sun Valley, Idaho.
Residents are being told to get their essential belongings and pets, and get out now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom prompted me to come down, and I didn`t think it was a big deal. And then coming south, I realized I am glad not to be up north.
KEILAR: While some people are speeding out of town, others are watching the fire from a nearby hillside. Robert Cole (ph) has lived in the area for the past 15 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve seen a lot of disasters in my lifetime, you know, like tornadoes down in Oklahoma where I come from, but never any fires that threatened my home like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s unbelievable, man.
KEILAR: Jack Dees (ph), a local insurance agent, is getting phone calls from his clients. They want to know where the fire is headed and what`s being done to stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody kind of from out of town wants to know what`s going on. They`ve got more people helping them, which I think makes them feel a little bit better at a time like this, which is pretty nerve- wracking.
KEILAR: The wildfire was sparked by lightning on August 7, and today, hundreds of local and national firefighters are using everything at their disposal to contain the blaze, which is turning out to be unpredictable and dangerous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: About three months ago, the city of Moore, Oklahoma was hit by an EF5 tornado. 24 people were killed. Two elementary schools completely destroyed, and 24 other schools were damaged. Last Friday was the first day of the new school year in Moore. Nick Valencia caught up with the students and teachers to talk about what it was like to start back there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There a lot of emotions when it`s time to go back to school, especially when part of that school is not there anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look at that. That is destroyed. I don`t know how we survived this.
VALENCIA: I first met Dylan Ellis nearly three months ago, in the days immediately following the EF-5 tornado that wrecked Moore, Oklahoma and left 24 people dead. The word hero got thrown around a lot during those days, but Ellis really was nothing short of one.
DYLAN ELLIS, STUDENT: I see her start to go up. I jump on her, lay on her, and then grab on to the bottom of these lockers that were in the ground.
VALENCIA: Like most of the students who survived the tornado, Ellis had a lot of time over the summer to think about what happened. Excited, nervous, anxious, those are just some of the feelings he said he has had about starting eighth grade, and after everything that happened, he says he is just ready for things to be back to normal again.
WAYNEL MAYES, FIRST GRADE TEACHER: It is going to be a process to get it back, but it`s going to eventually get the way it was before.
VALENCIA: First grade teacher Wayne Lamaze wishes it was that easy. Her school, Briarwood Elementary (ph), took a direct hit for the tornado. She laid on her students and even played music to them as the debris rained down on them.
MAYES: You heard of children that don`t want to go to school, the ones that I had last year, I saw them this summer, and they would tell me, I don`t want to go to school, Ms. Mayes. That breaks my heart, you know, because they kind of lost their innocence.
VALENCIA: And as she welcomes new students to their temporary buildings this year, she says the most difficult part for her will be making them feel that they are safe.
MAYES: A thunderstorm might scare me, but there is so much love in the world, and that`s what we are going to teach the children, too, that`s the strength that we have to draw on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s time for the shoutout. During an NFL play, what unit has a total of seven people on the field? If you think you know it, then shout it out. Is it the offense, defense, special teams or officials? You`ve got 3 seconds, go.
The referee leads a team of seven on-field officials during an NFL game. That is your answer and that`s your shoutout.
AZUZ: NFL officials include an umpire, a linesman, a field judge. But it`s one job where you do not usually see women. There are no full-time female NFL referees. That may soon change. In Friday`s pre-season game between the New Orleans Saints and the Oakland Raiders, the line judge was a 39-year-old mother of three. Sarah Thomas says she did not start out to break a gender barrier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH THOMAS, AUDITIONING TO BE NFL REFEREE: Collectively, we`re one when we`re on that field, and we are all out there trying to strive for the same reasons, same goals, to work the perfect game. So the fact that I`m female, you know, I can`t change that. I`m just - I am out here as an official.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Thomas has been officiating college-level games for seven years. She`s auditioning for the NFL. A league executive says they are just looking for the best officials, regardless of gender, and an NFL safety says as long as she is making the right calls, she`ll be hated just like the rest of them.
The NBA is the only American pro sports league that`s had female refs. It hired Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer in 1997.
How would this affect the NFL? This is what we`re talking about on today`s blog. It is at cnnstudentnews.com. You must be 13 or older to comment.
Another sports story. Major League Baseball is considering instant replay. Another sports story. Major League Baseball is considering instant replay. Like that.
Right now, only certainly home run calls are reviewable. The expanded replay system would cover more calls, but not all of them. And managers will only get three challenges per game. One in the first six innings, two more after that. Supporters say this could help speed up the game. They say the average replay review takes less time that when a manager argues a call. Some owners aren`t so sure about that. And owners still have to vote on the expanded replay proposal. It would have to be approved by the players and umpires, too.
If expanded replay goes into effect, it will mean changes for announcers, as well. Their work can affect people`s view of the game. Dr. Sanjay Gupta met one minor league announcer who is hoping to make a broader impact.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It`s Wednesday night at the ballpark in Syracuse, New York. Up in the press box, calling the game, Jason Benetti, the voice of the Syracuse Chiefs. Although he has a loyal following, few would recognize him off the field.
JASON BENETTI, SYRACUSE CHIEF`S ANNOUNCER: I like that people are surprised.
GUPTA: Benetti has a mild form of cerebral palsy. He`s lived with the stares and glares that come with being different. But he`s overcome that. He`s wicked smart. And he`s got degrees in journalism and law, and Benetti knows his condition is something to be proud of, as he says. And now does television as well radio.
BENETTI: If my look is an issue for somebody on television, great. I`m going to change your mind.
GUPTA: Benetti realizes he`s also an inspiration to young people who have disabilities. This month, he hosted a group of campers with CHAT, that is an organization that helps children who cannot speak use advanced technology to communicate.
BENETTI: It`s fantastic. I love seeing the light bulb go off for people, because many light bulbs have gone off for me.
GUPTA: Eventually, Benetti would like to write more, but, for now, live is full of locker rooms, player interviews, and books of stats. And for Benetti, he`d have it no other way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: CNN STUDENT NEWS roll call. It`s a new segment, gives us a chance to involve more schools than ever in our show. Maybe yours can be one. There are two ways to be considered for a mention. If you are on social media, go to our FaceBook page at FaceBook.com/cnnstudentnews. Or on Twitter, you can send us a tweet @cnnstudentnews. Tell us your school name, mascot, city and state. Or teachers, you can send us an email. The link for that is on our home page. You have to be a teacher or a student who`s 13 or older to request a mention on the roll call.
Before we go, we`ve got a demolition disappearing act. This building is on a California college campus. Now you see it, now you don`t. Magic trick was all smoke and mirrors. Well, all smoke. About 460 pounds of explosives as well. The demolition was described as a man-made earthquake. Researchers plan to study it to learn what might happen when a real earthquake hits the area. Depending on what they learn, the results should be ground breaking. Yeah, we admit, that was bad, but don`t blame us. Earthquake puns are really no one`s fault.
I`m Carl Azuz. Have a great day.
END
