Fighting in Syria; Michael Bloomberg Wants to Ban Large Sodas
Aired June 1, 2012
- 04:00:00 ET
UNIDENTIFIED
FEMALE: We`re the Carr (ph) Middle School Idea (ph) Students -- @blatant: something bad
that is done in an open or very obvious way Syrian officials
have blamed armed terrorists for the violence that`s been raging in the country
for more than a year now. Rima Maktabi looks at the different groups involved
in the fighting. @sweeping:
all-embracing @regime: a
government or system of running a country; the way something is run; rule of food,
exercise or beauty @atrocity: very
cruel @splash: disturb
the water in a noisy way @pulmonary: related to lung @amputee: people without arm or leg It was
frustrating, it really was. As I got older and bigger and stronger, then that
started to show, and my dad said, "Be patient. Be patient. It will
come." @whip: leather rope
for hitting people or animal @canine: relating
to dogs
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- from Pascagoula, Mississippi --
GROUP: And this is CNN Student News.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flying back to you, Carl.
CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: We hope it`s "plane" to see how
much we enjoy your iReport introductions. I am Carl Azuz. It`s Friday. This is
CNN Student News.
First up today, we`re heading to the Middle East.
Syria`s government has wrapped up an investigation into last weekend`s massacre
in the city of Houla. The government report says terrorists are responsible for
killing more than 100 civilians there. But an American official says the report
is, quote, "a blatant lie."
RIMA MAKTABI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let`s take a look at the Syrian
population. The sweeping majority of Syrians are Sunni, ruled by an
Alawite minority for more than 40 years.
The Alawites are an Islamic sect, an offshoot of Muslim Shia that believes in the divinity of Ali, the
prophet Mohammed`s cousin. They comprise around 16 percent of the population
and occupy higher ranks in security and intelligence.
President Bashar al-Assad and his family are Alawites. As for the players in
Syria, there are two obvious conflicting groups. The Syrian army and government
forces defending the Bashar al-Assad regime and the Free
Syrian Army, a group made up largely of army defectors supporting the uprising.
Yet the bloodiest atrocities are done on the hands of paramilitary
forces. On the Syrian government`s side, there are the shabiha, described as a
group of armed thugs, many of them Alawites with no official
position in the military command structure.
@thug: violent person; criminal
The shabiha are widely blamed for committing the bulk of the killings at Houla
and across Syria.
On the opposition side, there are numerous armed groups of Sunni extremists.
Their aim is to bring down the Assad regime. To an Arab world that has grown
accustomed to sectarian wars, these images of the Houla massacre could prove to be the
point of no return for the regime and its enemies.
AZUZ: A U.S. federal appeals court says a national law is unconstitutional. The
law is called DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. It defines marriage as
exclusively being between a man and a woman.
AZUZ (voice-over): This case has to do with federal benefits. Can the U.S.
government deny those to same-sex couples who live in states where they can
legally marry?
According to this ruling, the appeals court says no. Same-sex marriage is legal
in six states right now. Others have approved laws or state constitutional
amendments banning same-sex marriage. The appeals court said the controversial
issue could ultimately end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
BEN TINKER, SENIOR PRODUCER, CNN MEDICAL: There are about 230 calories in a
16-ounce soda, which means about 460 in a 32-ounce. But more importantly, about
40 grams of sugar in here, 50 grams of sugar in here.
Research has shown that rapidly digested sugar, like the sugar in soda, can
actually lead to some really, really crazy changes in your body`s metabolism,
which can lead to some pretty serious illnesses like diabetes, stroke, heart
disease, even cancer in some cases, according to some researchers.
AZUZ: So that`s part of the reason why New York City officials are proposing a
ban on large sodas and other sugary drinks.
AZUZ (voice-over): If this thing is approved, restaurants and food carts in the
city wouldn`t be able to serve so-called sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces.
And if they did serve those, they could be fined. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says
it`s a health issue.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: For the government to make the
decision that that should not include something else, that the experts all tell
you is very detrimental to your health, that is contributing to the number one
public health issue remaining in this city and in this country, that`s getting
worse. It`s not unreasonable.
AZUZ: But some restaurant and drink industry officials are strongly against
this. Critics are calling the proposed ban misguided, among other things. And
opinions from some New Yorkers are mixed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I
don`t really feel he`s entitled to someone else`s opinion about what they
should drink, how large it should be or how small it should be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just poison. It`s full of sugar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I mean, it`s up to the parents. It`s up to the
individual. If you want to drink that stuff, so be it.
AZUZ (voice-over): We`re guessing you guys are going to have some opinions on
this, and we want to hear them. Our blog at cnnstudentnews.com is the place to
share them. Log on, let us know what you think.
AZUZ: The founder of Space X calls this a grand slam. He`s talking about his
company`s historic mission to the International Space Station.
AZUZ (voice-over): The parachutes you see are attached to the Space X Dragon
capsule. It splashed back down in the Pacific Ocean yesterday. Space X
has a $1.6 billion contract from NASA to send at least 12 flights to the ISS.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Ms. Olson`s current events
and history classes at South Middle School in Liberal, Kansas.
Which of these words means "existing from birth?" You know what to
do. Is it pulmonary, congenital, acute or pathogenic? You`ve got three seconds, go.
@pathogenic: organism can cause disease
Something that is congenital has existed since birth. That`s your answer, and
that`s your Shoutout.
AZUZ: Dylan Coleman is a congenital amputee. He was born
without one of his hands. But he and his family never let that hold back
Dylan`s desire to be an athlete. His father wasn`t there when Dylan hit his
first college home run, but he was there for the second. Here`s their story.
JEFFREY COLEMAN, DILLON`S DAD: So we found out about 41/2 -- about halfway
through my wife`s pregnancy. The ultrasound technician hadn`t seen any bones in
the left hand. It was very difficult to process that next day. We did a lot of
crying and trying to figure out how we were going to raise this child.
One thing we felt strongly about, and that was that there would be no doubt,
that he wasn`t going to have any limits.
DILLON COLEMAN, CONGENITAL AMPUTEE: I touched a baseball before I can even
remember it. You know, from the point I could grip something, it wasn`t a
rattle, it was a baseball.
J. COLEMAN (voice-over): By the time he was 11/2, he was swinging the bat a
little bit. He couldn`t even hold the bat well when he was 4 and 5 years old,
it was so heavy for him.
J. COLEMAN: That`s out of here.
We were pretty confident he`d be able to play. I didn`t know to what level, but
I had confidence it would be a long way.
J. COLEMAN (voice-over): And Pete Gray played -- you know, he was a position
player. With Dillon having a lot more on his left arm than Pete Gray had, Pete
Gray with the elbow, I said, "He can do it."
D. COLEMAN: The biggest challenges were not only getting people to believe that
I could play, but convincing myself that I could.
And those small details of the game, like switching the glove off a ground ball and strengthening my arm enough to make it a seamless
effort, knowing you put your mind hard enough to something and knowing that
kids who you knew didn`t have as much talent as you or didn`t put their mind to
it.
@the grove off: in earnest
@seamless: continue without stopping
J. COLEMAN: As he became stronger, his swing became more and more powerful and
just quicker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has as much whip in terms of swing
mechanics as any guy I`ve ever coached, and it`s just obviously because his --
that hand is so dominant now.
Attaboy.
D. COLEMAN: After hitting one home run, I was really disappointed he couldn`t
see it. I was determined to show him something.
J. COLEMAN: I`m standing right behind the dugout, right behind the backstop,
and all of a sudden, he hits the shot, and I`m thinking, oh, my goodness, that
has a shot. And the ball goes out -- I felt like I was dreaming.
D. COLEMAN: (Inaudible) my dad raised me from a small kid and told me I could
do anything I put my mind to, to finally see it, I knew it must have been
emotional for him, probably even more emotional than it was for me.
J. COLEMAN: It was like all the culmination of everything we`ve gone through,
all the hitting we took, all the baseball playing we played when he was little.
I`ve been very proud, just proud.
D. COLEMAN: I`m just so thankful that God`s given me the opportunity to play
and just for everything he`s given me.
AZUZ: Back in April, we reported on Eric Dompierre. He`s a high school junior
who`s on his school`s football and basketball teams, but Eric wasn`t going to
be able to play his senior year.
AZUZ (voice-over): That`s because he`s 19 years old. A rule says that`s too old
to play high school sports.
Eric was held back in elementary school because he has Down syndrome, a genetic
disorder. His school district asked if there could be an exception to the age
rule for Eric, and yesterday, the state athletic association said yes. Some
technical things have to happen to make it official, but it looks like Eric
Dompierre will be on the team for his senior year.
AZUZ: And finally today, we`re remaking a classic animated movie.
AZUZ (voice-over): It`s "Lady and the Tramp-oline." The dog`s never
going to be able to jump as high as the woman, but that didn`t stop him from
trying. They`re even timing their jumps together for a second. It doesn`t last
long. Seems kind of cruel not to let the dog jump onto the trampoline, too. The
canine doesn`t seem to mind, though. It`s
possible that it --
AZUZ: -- just can`t "tail" the difference, though we wouldn`t want to
leap to any conclusions.
It`s time for us to bounce. Before we do, a quick congratulations to this
week`s social media winners, Mike Moses (ph) Middle School in Texas. I`m Carl
Azuz. Have a great summer if this is your last day; a great weekend otherwise. We`ll see you
next week.