CNN Student News 2012-06-05

(CNN Student News) -- June 5, 2012

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Ms. Sova`s (inaudible) class from Langdon (ph) Area High School in Langdon (ph), North Dakota.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Carl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Carl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Carl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Carl.

GROUP: You`re watching CNN Student News.

Go Carl!

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CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Always like to start things off on a good note. So thank to Ms. Sova`s (ph) class for giving us a few of those today. It`s Tuesday. I`m Carl Azuz and this is CNN Student News.

California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota, those are the five states holding presidential primary elections today. But an election in Wisconsin is dominating the political spotlight. It`s a recall vote involving Republican Governor Scott Walker.

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AZUZ (voice-over): He was elected two years ago. During his time in office, Governor Walker has taken steps to deal with Wisconsin`s budget problems. But the actions he`s taken have made him a controversial figure. His supporters see Walker as a hero. His critics think he should be removed from office.

That`s what led to today`s recall election. Governor Walker is running against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat. That`s who Walker beat in the governor`s election two years ago.

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AZUZ: This is the first time that a Wisconsin governor has ever faced a possible recall. Only two governors in the United States have ever been recalled. Some political analysts think what happens in Wisconsin today could foreshadow national elections later on this year.

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AZUZ (voice-over): This is the largest wildfire in the history of New Mexico. It started last month from two separate lightning strikes. Those sparked two fires that eventually merged together and the combine flames have burned across 380 square miles. For perspective, that is more than 11/2 times the size of Chicago.

Firefighters are making progress in trying to get this thing under control. As of yesterday afternoon, it was about 18 percent contained. Some residents who had to leave their homes because of the fire were being allowed to return.

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AZUZ: Well, fighting disasters like wildfires, as you know, it can be incredibly dangerous work. Two pilots were killed in Utah on Sunday when the air tanker they were flying crashed. Training centers, like the one you`re about to see in College Station, Texas, prepare emergency personnel for how to respond to natural disasters and they try to make that training as real as they possibly can.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody, please, please, where are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You by yourself?

LEE ROGERS, TEXAS TASK FORCE 1: We truly meet people every day and they are literally at the worst point in their lives. Our job is just to try to make that better.

Disaster City is one of the greatest places that anyone could ever train at in this urban search and rescue environment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s only one victim that we see, unresponsive.

LATERRANCE MAJORS, TEXAS TASK FORCE 1: You could learn something from every single person that`s here. It`s like a brotherhood when you come here, no matter where you`re from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of an anchor, with a two-wire sling, but you`ve got to get down lower.

ROGERS: For a professional rescuer, this is Disneyland.

BRIAN FREEMAN, TEXAS ENGINEERING EXTENSION SERVICE: We`re actually putting the realism in a training environment. There`s others that try to replicate this. No one has come close to what we can do here. We can change the props and the venues to recreate any disaster that we want to train the responders to.

MAJORS: Now we were breaching a panel to get to some victims, and we`re also digging through a debris pile.

STEPHANIE THOMPSON, MOULAGE ARTIST: I volunteer out here to do moulage, which is a makeup that looks like wounds. It actually gives a sense of realism for the rescuers. When you actually have a wound, there is blood, that their heartbeat starts going a little faster. It`s the "wow" factor. It makes them think a little bit harder what`s going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, if you want help, there is a command post up there by the trains. Please go there and you`ll get help a lot sooner.

THOMPSON: I can make all the wounds in the world. But if the volunteers act it out and really play the part, the rescuers not only have to deal with people asking where`s my family, where`s this, they also have to think about what kind injuries are we dealing, who`s the most injured, doing some triage and we have the volunteers really, really push them to their limits so it`s as realistic as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) listening. Please. You`ve got to help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Communication, escape routes and safety, remember all day long.

ROGERS: We train. We train hard. We try to operate to where our guys will get to do something that they wouldn`t maybe see on the field, and they put that paint in their bucket and they know, like, whenever we do get out there on a real disaster, they can say, hey, we`ve done this before. But can we train for everything? No.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See if you can ID me. You can see me in disguise, but only around sunrise and sunset. I`m named for a Roman goddess. Some people call me Earth`s twin, and I get closer to Earth than any other planet.

I`m Venus, the second planet from the sun.

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AZUZ: And today, for about seven hours, Venus will be passing in front of the sun, at least from the perspective of us here on Earth. It`s called the transit of Venus. And if you don`t get a chance to see this today, you`re probably not going to get another one.

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AZUZ (voice-over): That`s because these transits of Venus don`t happen often. The next one won`t be until the year 2117. In the past, these events were used to help scientists understand the size of the solar system and the distance between planets.

The transit starts just after 6:00 pm Eastern time tonight, and it lasts for six hours and 40 minutes. If you plan to check it out, remember, don`t stare at the sun. You`re going to need special glasses or a telescope with a special filter.

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AZUZ: Yesterday we talked about the U.S. unemployment rate. Right now it`s 8.2 percent, but it`s a lot higher for people who were 16 to 24 years old, I am sorry to say. College graduates might be wondering what that could mean for them as they transition from the classroom to the working world. Richard Roth talks with some of this year`s graduating seniors about it.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the class of 2012, God bless them.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Graduates acknowledge they are headed out into the real world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The easiest part of life is over now.

ROTH (voice-over): If the trend continues, it`s estimated one out of two new graduates in this class will not have a job lined up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little scared, too, because I don`t have a job lined up but I`m not sure what I want to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finding a career in uncertain economic times.

ROTH (voice-over): Graduation speakers only remind the students of the unknown challenges ahead. Having a college degree does increase job prospects, though, compared to a high school graduate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I personally am optimistic. I am employed, so, yay, me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ve been waiting for this day for four years. I`m so excited, and I just can`t wait to get out there and start working.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations and God bless you.

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AZUZ: New York`s mayor wants to make it illegal for restaurants to serve sugary drinks that are larger than 16 ounces. Most of you who responded on our blog don`t agree with this.

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AZUZ (voice-over): Trenton says, "we shouldn`t have our mayors telling us what to drink; you wouldn`t want him to tell you what to wear."

Sam writes, "You are limiting somebody`s freedom of choice if you limit the size" of the drink.

And Maddi calls it "sad that the government has to control what we drink. We are slowly inching back to not being a republic."

A few folks like Ruby support the idea. "Consuming too much sugar will eventually lead to diseases and cause immense medical expenses."

And Rachel says, "Most people are making bad choices about food, so give them a push in the right direction."

Ethan thinks, "If this becomes a law, it could end up like the prohibition of alcohol, and people in New York would bootleg larger ounces into the city and sell it."

And Jayson thinks of sodas as cigarettes. "They`re not banned, but they do have a warning label on them; it should be that way with soda."

More comments are at cnnstudentnews.com.

But that is not the only blog you`ll find on our home page. "Schools of Thought" covers all things education. For example, a student who made a dress out of her homework, a look at some out of the ordinary college courses and a 21-year old who just graduated from medical school. Check all of that out at CNN.com/education.

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AZUZ: Well, before we go, we`re going to check out a pretty big recycling project --

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AZUZ (voice-over): -- if you can call it that. Here`s a hint: doesn`t have to do with the trees. A man in Oregon got his hands on the shell of an old 727 airplane and now he`s turning the thing into his dream home. It`s a long-term project. He`s been working on it for 10 years. Took out all the seats, he put in a bathroom. Now he`s building a shower to go along with it. You might think the idea is extraordinary, but --

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AZUZ: -- in truth, the house is pretty "plane." Maybe he`ll make it his vacation home, you know, a cabin in the woods. If this is the first time anyone`s ever tried to do this, does that make it a pilot project? And without a manual to guide the renovations, we guess the homeowner`s just kind of winging it.

It`s time for us to take off. Have a great. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz. We`ll see you tomorrow.

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