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STUDENT NEWS

Outbreak of Violence in Egypt; Parts of Mexico Brace for Hurricane Jova

Aired October 11, 2011 - 04:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


GROUP: (Inaudible) Brown Middle School in Hillsboro, Oregon, and this is CNN Student News. Hi, Carl.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi to the students of Brown Middle School, and hello to all of our viewers around the world. Broadcasting from the CNN Newsroom, I`m Carl Azuz. Our first story today takes us to Egypt.

The North African nation is dealing with violence worse than it has seen in months. Dozens of people were killed over the weekend, hundreds more were injured.

All of this happened in fighting between army forces and Coptic Christians. This is an ancient branch of Christianity. Its members make up about 9 percent of Egypt`s population. Coptic Christians and the Muslims who support them.

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AZUZ (voice-over): . have been holding protests like this one. They`re demanding that the Egyptian military offer equal protection for their places of worship. Egypt`s prime minister wants to investigate what started the fighting over the weekend.

He says the violence has brought the country back to the level of tension it had before its political revolution earlier this year. The prime minister said, quote, "Instead of going forward, we`ve found ourselves scrambling for security."

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AZUZ: Well, parts of Mexico are bracing for a hurricane that`s expected to make landfall today. Jova is the name of the storm. It was bearing down on Mexico`s west coast yesterday, and it had strengthened into a category 3 hurricane. Some experts thought this thing might get stronger before it hits land.

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AZUZ (voice-over): So emergency officials were rushing to get ready before the storm. They opened shelters. They distributed food and supplies. The area that Jova is expected to hit is a vacation spot. But a lot of tourists have cleared out ahead of the potential danger. Authorities have warned boaters to watch out for heavy rain, wind and waves.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s first Shoutout goes out to Mr. Toijala`s global issues class at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua, Wisconsin.

A fleet refers to a group of what? You know what to do. Is it bison, ships, pumpkins or trees? You`ve got three seconds, go.

A fleet is a group of ships, usually under the same command. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

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AZUZ: And Fleet Week is a celebration that honors the U.S. military`s nautical services. The event takes place in different cities, and San Francisco`s Fleet Week just wrapped up. It included a parade of ships, as military vessels sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the San Francisco Bay. But this year`s Fleet Week also made spectators look up.

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AZUZ (voice-over): That is because a big theme of the week was the 100th birthday of naval aviation, and shows like this one -- this is awesome, look at this -- from the Navy`s Blue Angels flight team, wowed the crowds who came out for the event. People also had the opportunity to take tours of some of the ships that were part of Fleet Week. This is the 30th year that San Francisco has hosted the event.

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AZUZ: The "Occupy Wall Street" movement started online. A website asked people to flood New York financial district for a few months. Now the grassroots campaign has expanded with protests in different cities and on college campuses. There are a lot of different ideas about what exactly people are protesting. Mary Snow talks with a few folks about why they are there.

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MARY SNOW, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): As protesters started week three of their "Occupy Wall Street" movement, 73-year-old Alla Heretz decided it was time she joined them. The retired grandmother from New Jersey says she`s frustrated with seeing jobs shipped overseas.

ALLA HERETZ, PROTESTER: Yes, I`m worried about my son, about my grandchildren, about my neighbors. I just worry about decent people who want to work and can`t get a job.

SNOW (voice-over): That worry also brought Jim Mortimer to Zuccotti Park for the first time. He has four grandchildren.

JIM MORTIMER, PROTESTER: I`m retired. I get Social Security. I get a pension. And you know, maybe when they get to be my age, they`ll have the same thing. But the way it looks now, they might not even have a job.

SNOW (voice-over): While there`s no singular message among this group, 43-year-old Buddy Bolton says the lack of jobs prompted him to come here Thursday and spend the night. He says he lost his creative design job a year ago, and spent his savings on surgery.

BUDDY BOLTON, PROTESTER: My personal situation is so bad, that I felt like I wanted to be amongst other people going through the same thing. And so that`s why I came. And I came to support and to, you know, get -- help get the message out that this is a "shame on America."

SNOW (voice-over): Eighty-six-year-old Harvey Hafter, a World War II veteran, is also a newcomer. He is a long-time union member and lobbyist.

HARVEY HAFTER, PROTESTER: I get kind of emotional, because I spent my whole life fighting these forces. And it`s like a 10-headed snake. You cut one head off, and another one grows back. They`re insidious, totally.

SNOW: When you say they.?

HAFTER: The Wall Street crowd, the bankers.

SNOW (voice-over): By midday, some still remained in their sleeping bags. The curious looked in from the outside. More unions are showing support, but some union workers are skeptical, say, like Rob Chester.

ROB CHESTER, UNION WORKER: They`re unorganized and they`re just trying -- I don`t know what point they`re trying to make. I think where they need to march is they need to march on Washington. I don`t know what they`re doing here.

SNOW (voice-over): Some of the older people we spoke with say they do plan on returning to the protests, and say they hope to contribute in some way -- Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

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AZUZ (voice-over): Some events on this day in history that were all out of this world, in 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo space mission, launched. The crew sent back the first TV broadcast from orbit.

In 1984, Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space. She was part of three shuttle missions during her time at NASA.

And in 2000, Discovery`s liftoff marked the 100th mission in the space shuttle program. That program ended earlier this year.

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AZUZ: Well, it`s just the second week of October, so might seem a little early to start talking about the holidays. Not so for retail stores. This is when they start considering hiring more employees to help handle the increase in shoppers.

Athena Jones looks at how the state of the U.S. economy could impact holiday hiring this year.

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ATHENA JONES, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): At Christine Finnie`s gift shop in Manassas, Virginia, business has been picking up.

CHRISTINE FINNIE, RETAIL SHOP OWNER: Things are looking up. I expect things are going to continue to improve, and I do expect that this Christmas will be better than last year`s.

JONES (voice-over): The retail industry has outperformed others, adding jobs at a time when many sectors are struggling. Retailers nationwide expect holiday sales to rise about 3 percent this year, and plan to hire up to 500,000 seasonal employees in November and December. That`s roughly the same amount as last year, even though the economy still faces tough headwinds.

ELLEN DAVIS, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Unemployment, consumer confidence, the stock market, the housing market, the debt crisis -- all of those factors are continuing to swirl as the holiday season unfolds, and that`s going to dampen spending.

JONES (voice-over): The National Retail Federation says stores will use strong sales promotions and keep inventory levels low in the face of this consumer uncertainty. Hiring plans among the big retailers vary.

Macy`s said it plans to hire 78,000 temporary workers, a 4 percent increase over last year. And Kohl`s Department Store says its holiday hires should top 40,000, up 5 percent.

Meanwhile, Toys `r` Us plans to hire at least 40,000 extra employees this holiday season, in line with previous years, while Best Buy plans to hire just 18,000 holiday workers, compared to 29,000 last year, a drop of 38 percent. Holiday sales are important, not just for hiring, but for the overall economy.

DAVIS: Our industry supports 42 million American jobs. We send trillions of dollars into the economy throughout the year, and $466 billion of that just in November and December.

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AZUZ: With summer in the rear-view, you might consider some alternative ways to maintain your tan. As you can see, I`ve given up on mine. But for most California teenagers, tanning beds -- listen to this -- tanning beds are no longer an option. The state just passed a law banning tanning beds for anyone who`s between 14 and 18 years old.

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AZUZ (voice-over): This is the first time an entire state has passed this kind of restriction. Previously, teens could use a bed if they had their parents` permission, but some lawmakers were concerned about the health effects.

Studies have shown a link between ultraviolet tanning beds and increased risks for skin cancer. The tanning industry says the ban on tanning beds will unfairly hurt their business. Other options, like spray tans, those are still allowed.

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AZUZ: Before we go, getting leaves out of your pool? No big deal.

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AZUZ (voice-over): Getting a moose out? Different story. This guy "hoofed" it into someone`s back yard in New Hampshire, and decided to go for a dip. The only problem, he couldn`t figure out how to get out.

Police, firefighters, wildlife officials -- they all showed up. It eventually took nine guys to get the animal back on dry land. At least he got in some good exercise, though.

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AZUZ: . because when you`re waiting for a rescue, just treading water, you might as well make the "moost" of it. That`s right. New camera shot, same old puns.

We`ll be back tomorrow to "dive" into more headlines. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

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