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President Obama Seeking NATO Support in Dealing with ISIS Threat; Fighting for Increase of Minimum Wage; CNN Hero Juan Pablo Huentes
Aired September 05, 2014 - 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: Fridays are awesome. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. Ten minutes of commercial free current events. I`m Carl Azuz. I`m at the
CNN Center in Atlanta. The U.S. president is at a meeting across the Atlantic, in Wales. It`s part of the United Kingdom, it`s where a summit
of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is taking place. Most of NATO`s 28 member countries are European. The U.S. and Canada are also part
of it, and the coalition has a lot to talk about. In fact, British Prime Minister David Cameron says this is a crucial time in NATO`s history.
One of that these leaders will be watching a peace plan for the war-torn nation of Ukraine. It`s expected to take effect today, between Ukrainian
troops and the pro-Russian forces that are fighting them. There are doubts about whether it will hold. Another topic involves the barbaric terrorist
group we`d been reporting on since we came back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The battle against ISIS is, of course, a major topic on NATO`s agenda and leaders within the organization will have
to carve out time to focus on that threat, diverting some attention away from Ukraine`s confrontation with Russia.
ISIS is now a critical concern, Britain, which is hosting the NATO gathering.
DAVID CAMERON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We now need to strengthen our powers to fill specific gaps in our armory.
ACOSTA: The British are taking the lead in imposing new travel restrictions. Now, other NATO states including the U.S. are looking at
their own threats of Western jihadists traveling to and from ISIS battlefields.
And President Obama will be seeking more support from top allies inside and outside of NATO to deal with the ISIS threat. Something he says is
critical to forming his overall ISIS strategy, but the major subject on NATO`s agenda will be Ukraine. NATO recently released what dubbed
photographic evidence of Russian military activity inside eastern Ukraine.
Russia has denied that, but NATO secretary General isn`t buying it. He`s proposing the creation of a rapid reaction security force that can quickly
respond to Russian aggression.
President Obama and other leaders at the summit to offer a robust offensive NATO`s article 5 that states the alliance must come to the defense of any
NATO country that is under attack. That will come as some comfort to smaller NATO countries like the Baltic States that are growing increasingly
worried about Russia`s intentions.
And finally, there`s Afghanistan where NATO has played a key role since the beginning of that war. Just as the United States is anxiously watching the
outcome of Afghanistan`s recent election, NATO members states are wondering what their mission will be there after the year ends. Both of the
candidates in the contested vote in Afghanistan have said they`ll sign an agreement allowing U.S. troops to remain there past 2014, but at this
point, nothing is certain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? In the U.S., the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
This is legit. States and communities may require a higher minimum wage, but this is the absolute minimum wage set by the federal government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fast food workers have become a loud voice in the debate over a federal minimum wage increase.
Over the last 18 months, you`ve probably seen images on the web, in newspapers, and on TV of strikes in cities across the country. Workers are
asking for $15 an hour.
They even took their fight to McDonald`s corporate doorstep at the company`s annual meeting.
But are these protests making a difference? So far, fast food companies aren`t doling out major pay hikes. In 2013, the average pay for a food
prep and service worker in restaurants was $8.74 per hour, or about $18,000 a year. The president has made their plight a priority.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And that`s why it`s well past the time to raise a minimum wage that in real terms right
now .
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: . is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office.
(END VIDEOTAPE) AZUZ: You might have seen some of the protests yesterday. Fast food workers walking out of Burger King, KFC, McDonald`s and Wendy`s demanding
higher wages. The poverty line in the U.S. is $23,000 per year for a family of four.
The president and supporters of a federal minimum wage increase say if you raise that wage, you`ll bring more Americans out of poverty.
But opponents of this increases say they`d force businesses, especially small ones to take a significant hit in their profits that they`d have to
lay off workers to make ends meet.
They could raise their prices, but critics say if they do that too much, they`ll have fewer customers and less need for workers. So, fewer jobs
other way.
That`s why it`s so hard to lawmakers to agree on how to address this issue of wages.
Cnnstudentnews.com. You know, you can watch "The Daily Show" here, make your "Roll Call" request here, but check it: you can watch every show we
do here. If you click on our archive, you can find all the shows we`ve produced this school year and many from last school year. All of them are
cost-free, all of them are commercial free. It`s all at cnnstudentnews.com.
With more than 14 million people, Guatemala is Central America`s most populated country. In the 20th century, it was ripped apart by civil war
for 36 years. The effects are still there, more than half the population lives in poverty. Crime in some areas is rampant. The CNN Hero is working
to change that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUAN PABLO ROMERO FUENTES, CNN HERO: My country`s violent history has created a very violent present. Gangs are everywhere, kids are exposed to
drugs, to violence and to the lack of opportunities for them to improve their lives.
I was a teacher in the same community that I grew up. My students were dealing with the problems that I was dealing 20 years ago.
I wanted to change that. The best thing for me to do was open my house doors and bring them here.
Eight years later, I`m still running the program in my family house.
speaking Spanish
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN (speaking Spanish)
FUENTES: We provide classes so they can find own passions.
We give them a decent plate of food.
(APPLAUSE)
FUENTES: Children are powerful, just they don`t know about yet, so I created a safe place for them to realize that they actually can change bad
aspects in their lives and their community.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY (speaking Spanish).
(APPLAUSE)
FUENTES: In violent country, the only weapon we can have, it`s love.
I still believe that we can change this country. I see potential in kids` dreams and ideas. The other one is in charge of writing - history in
Guatemala.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: From yesterday`s transcript page, at cnnstudentnews.com, here three of the Southerns of "Roll Call" request we received. From Bentley School
in New Lennox, Illinois, we hear the roar of the lions today. From Stevenson Middle School and Westland in Michigan, the Saints are marching
in. And out west from Meteetse High School in Meteetse, Wyoming, there are taking the bull by the horns - the long horns.
Not sure if any of them had a first day back like this, though. At Nickolei (ph) High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, school officials rolled
out the red carpet for returning students. By rolling out the red carpet for returning students. It`s a tradition of the school, the former welcome
back includes the cheers of the faculty, the hope that students would feel like stars as they started a new year of their education.
Some students might razzy (ph) the idea, but a rat carpet welcome can set the tony for an award of year (ph), and in an Academy of Academics, if it
increases enthusiasm by just one Grammy. It`s something other schools might want to emulate.
Acting on behalf of CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz.
END
