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STUDENT NEWS

Christie Wins NJ Governor Race; Governor-Elect Terry McAuliffe Wins Close Race in Virginia; Bill de Blasio Elected NYC Mayor

Aired November 7, 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: Missing masterpieces materialized in reflective relief from a lack of light. Those stories are coming up today on CNN STUDENT NEWS. But we`re starting with election results and some votes of note from Tuesday. This man, Bill de Blasio, is set to be the next mayor of the nation`s largest city, New York. He is the first Democrat elected to the mayor`s office since 1989. In Virginia, a close race for governor ended in victory for Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe. Virginia doesn`t allow governors to serve consecutive terms, so the current governor wasn`t running for reelection.

Just the opposite in New Jersey, though, Republican Governor Chris Christie was reelected Tuesday night. It was a big win, too, with the exit poll showing that Governor Christie got more votes than his opponent from voters in almost every age group. Some analysts think that display of electability, Governor Christie`s ability to get support from voters, sends a message about the next office he might run for.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One unmistakable takeaway, Chris Christie now has the premier brand in Republican politics. Look at this map. New Jersey is known as a reliably blue state in presidential politics. Well, in sweeping to landslide reelection, Chris Christie turned almost the entire map red. Electability will be his argument now, as he makes the case. He is a strong Republican contender for 2016 in the presidential race. Chris Christie can argue, I won the women`s vote, I won the men`s vote. No gender gap for me. He will also argue powerfully that not only did he carry the white vote big, but among African-Americans, even though his Democratic challenge who won the African American vote, Chris Christie, 21 percent of the African-American vote, more than double his take from four years ago. Compare that to Mitt Romney and compare that to John McCain. Chris Christie will say he can broaden the Republican base. Even more importantly, in making that argument, the electability argument, Chris Christie actually carrying the Latino vote in the state of New Jersey with the slight majority there. Again, think about Nevada, think about New Mexico, think about Florida, other presidential battleground states Latinos are critical constituency. Chris Christie will make the case I`m the more electable Republican.

If there is a dent in the electability argument, it is this: in his home state as he won a sweeping reelection voters will ask: what if you had Hillary Clinton versus Chris Christie in 2016? Well, Hillary Clinton carrying a narrow victory over Chris Christie. A bit of a dent in the electability argument. With that poll number ...

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AZUZ: After the states we covered in our first story, the ones in today`s "Roll Call" might look a little familiar. New Jersey, the Jackson Memorial High Jaguars put the Garden State on today`s mat. Virginia - how about the Wolverines from Woodgrove High in Purcellville, Virginia. And New York, specifically, the city of Hamburg and the Hamburg High Bulldogs. Thanks for watching, everybody!

Every month, the city of Greece, New York, holds a public board meeting to talk about the town`s government. Since 1999, those meetings have started with the prayer. But now, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether that policy is unconstitutional. Yesterday, the court`s nine justices heard arguments about whether or not the board meeting prayers violate the establishment clause. That`s the part of the First Amendment that says, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. In other words, government won`t endorse a specific religion. City officials in Greece say they aren`t - they say they have invited people from a wide variety of faiths to offer invocations. But the plaintiffs in this case argue that the prayers at city board meetings have been overwhelmingly Christian. During yesterday`s Supreme Court hearing, some justices discuss whether lawmakers in courts should advise faith (ph) on what to say, what language is considered religious. The Supreme Court`s ruling is expected by early next summer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: It`s time for "The Shoutout." What do Marc Chagall, Canaletto and Gustave Courbet have in common? If you think you know it, then shout it out! Are they all U.N. Secretaries General, artists, Nobel Peace Prize winners or novelists? You`ve got three seconds, go! Chagall, Canaletto and Courbet are all famous painters. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: All of those painters have works in the unique art collection. It was in Germany, but it wasn`t in the museum or in exhibit anywhere. In fact, no one saw the paintings. They were hidden away for about 70 years, and we`re not talking about just a few works of art. We are talking about more than 1300 of them. The secret stash was discovered when police raided an apartment in the city of Munich. In addition to Chagall and Courbet, officials discovered works from Picasso, Matisse, Renoir, Toulouse Lautrec and other famous artists. Some of these paintings have been considered lost or destroyed, others had never been recorded. Authorities believe, most of the art had been looted by Nazis. In the `30s and the 1940s the group confiscated thousands of artworks from galleries or private collectors. Other pieces were stolen from Jewish families during the Nazi era. The apartment where this collection was found belongs to the son of an art collector who historians say dealt with the Nazis. He claimed the works were destroyed during World War II bombings. And our historian said the paintings were in relative good condition, a little dirty, but not damaged. Experts say, the collection has a value "so high" it can`t be estimated. Fascinating stuff.

Next stop today, we are heading to Norway, for a bright idea whose time has come even if it took a century. This is a story about a place where because of the local geography, even with the son is shining, the town is in the shade. City officials came across a solution when they took some time to reflect and shed a little light on the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARI RAMOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s like flipping a switch on the Sun. A small town in Norway is getting some much needed sunshine. Thanks to 100 year old idea.

OYSTEIN HAUGAN, SUN MIRROR PROJECT MANAGER: And we take the mirror and reflect the sun down to us. So, it`s a crazy idea, but it`s funny, and I think the people like it.

RAMOS: Welcome to Rjukan, where they even start three giant mirrors on the mountainside overlooking the town. You see, Rjukan sits in a narrow valley, surrounded in all sites by mountains. From September to March, the town of about 3,000 people leaves in perpetual shade, but not anymore.

HAUGAN: It`s important to have the sun in wintertime, and in this town we didn`t have the sun six months a year in wintertime. And people up here, they are - they want to have the sun.

The idea was first proposed in 1913 by a local factory owner. But it went nowhere. A local artist reintroduced the idea recently, and now the mirrors have finally become a reality. The hi-tech mirrors are solar and wind-powered. They adjust automatically, constantly following the sun, catching its race and reflecting them down into the town square. Out of cost of nearly $850,000, some call the mirrors an expensive gimmick, but most of the town`s residents like the idea. And local officials are hoping the mirrors bring not only sunshine to the town, but put it in the spotlight for tourists as well.

Mari Ramos, CNN.

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AZUZ: Trouble for the NFL`s Miami Dolphins off the field. More details have emerged since we told you about this earlier this week. Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin are both offensive linemen for the Dolphins. Martin suddenly left the team last week, and other players including Incognito, have been accused of harassing Martin, making him pay for expensive meals, getting up from the lunch table when Martin sat down with them. "The Sun Sentinel" , a newspaper in South Florida said that Miami Dolphins` coaches reportedly asked Incognito to toughen up Martin, and that Incognito who is accused of using racial slurs against Martin, threatening him and bullying him, might have gone too far.

We haven`t heard directly from Martin. We have heard something from Incognito who`s suspended from the Dolphins` early this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHIE INCOGNITO: You know, I`m just - I`m just trying to whether the storm right now and (INAUDIBLE).

AZUZ: The NFL has launched a formal investigation into all this. Meantime, former Dolphins` running back Ricky Williams played alongside Incognito and got along with him. William says the NFL is a different type of environment than what outsiders are used to. That to play in it, you`ve got to be tougher.

RICKY WILLIAMS, FORMER MIAMI DOLPHINS RUNNING BACK: You can talk about bullying, but for me this whole idea of bullying, it makes someone a victim. And what I found with victims, victims are just usually victimizing other people. And so, like you can`t really have a victim mentality and be successful in the NFL. It just doesn`t happen.

AZUZ: On Facebook, Jonathan wrote, the only problem I find with these, is one guy was a bully to the other. And the other one was too much of a coward to stand up for himself.

We are also hearing from some of you. On our blog, Brian wrote "I think Incognito took it too far. Why would you say racist remarks and threats to your teammate?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Ricky Davis was a big Red Sox fun, but he doesn`t live in Boston. Davis is from Tennessee. And since he can`t get to the real Fenway Park without making a road trip, he built a fake Fenway on his property, where at least the outfield wall including Fenway`s famous green monster. David says, he started the project at the end of the regular season and kept working as his team made its way to the title. His wife, kids and grandkids all helped out too. So, instead of this being a tedious project, you get the whole family involved and do it the Fenway. But they had a ball. Plus, when you`re doing all the work yourself, no one can go on strike. We`re out. I`m Carl Azuz. Have a great day.

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