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CNN 10

Oil Drilling in the Arctic; SEALs Disciplined

Aired November 13, 2012 - 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: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. And this is CNN STUDENT NEWS. Ten minutes, no commercials, headlines from around the world coming straight to your classroom. It all starts right now.

Two weeks after the so called Super Storm Sandy hit the North Eastern U.S., there are some signs of recovery in the region. Power has been restored for millions of people, some bridges and tunnels have reopened. But signs of devastation and struggle are there too. Officials say the storm is responsible for at least 113 death in the U.S., more than 160,000 people still don`t have power. That means they are fighting the cold as the temperature drops. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the priority is to get food, shelter and clothing to these victims of the storm. Some of that is coming from relief groups and volunteers like this team from New Orleans that cooked and served thousands of meals.

Now, if you`d like to get involved, go to the spotlight section. It`s cnnstudentnews.com, and click on the "Impact Your World" link. Find out how you can make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? Saudi Arabia is the world`s largest producer of oil?

It`s true. The Middle Eastern nation is home to around one fifth of the entire world`s existing reserves of oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: But Saudi Arabia might lose that number one ranking by the end of this decade. A new report says the U.S. will be the world`s top producer of oil by the year 2020. The U.S. is going through a sort of oil boom right now, and part of that is thanks to new technology. For example, hydraulic fracturing, which is sometimes called fracking. It`s a process that involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground to cause rock formations to fracture and release oil and natural gas. It`s controversial, though. Some researchers are worried that the process could hurt the environment. That same concern, producing oil versus protecting the environment is happening up in the Arctic, where some companies are planning to drill. Miguel Marquez has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the spot where America`s oil needs meets environmental frustration and concern.

The Noble Discoverer, one of two rigs Shell is operating in the Arctic, the rigs aren`t drilling for oil, only putting in 1500 foot preparatory wells that they`ll revisit and complete next year when the real work begins.

Success here doesn`t come easy. In a setback, Shell scaled back its drilling plants this summer after a major piece of cleanup gear and oil containment dome was damaged during testing. To win drilling right, Shell has paid for and equipped its own armada of cleanup vessels. Environmentalists and some Alaskan native say, the failure is proof the Arctic is not ready for oil exploration.

(on camera): You can`t have success in a controlled environment, how can you be confident you can control it in the place like the Arctic?

PETE SLALBY, VICE PRESIDENT, SHELL ALASKA: Well, first of all, we are working on this, this is why we were testing the containment dome to begin with. We were looking at a really, say, it is a serial number one piece of equipment. So the work we are doing is really working to work all the bugs out of the problems before we bring it up to the Arctic.

MARQUEZ (voice over): But oil from the Arctic won`t come cheap and it won`t come easily. Shell has already spent $5 billion just to get to this point, and they are not entirely sure what they`ll find down there. They believe that as much as 20 percent of America`s future oil needs could be below the sea floor where I`m standing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The U.S. Navy is hoping to send a message. It punished seven of its elite Special Forces members, its Navy SEALs for releasing classified information. Now, normally, this kind of punishment would be handled privately. But not this time around. The U.S. Navy made this punishment public, because commanders wanted to let all SEALs know that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. Brian Todd now tells us what this is all about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are in their eyes, as they sprint through dangerous terrain, dodge explosions, gun down their enemies.

The new video game "Medal of Honor: Warfighter" from Electronic Arts brags that it gives you the experience of fighting with SEAL Team Six. It`s given seven real members of that team the experience of losing half their pay for two months and likely their careers. At least one of those SEALs was on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden last year. A Navy official says the seven, all active duty, have been reprimanded for giving up classified information to the makers of the game when they worked as paid consultants.

(on camera): Why do you think they gave up?

JOHN MCGUIRE, FORMER NAVY SEAL: I wasn`t part of the game, but making the game, but I heard that they might have shown their equipment that they used, and for some people that might not seem like a big deal, but you put a little piece of information here, together with another piece of information there and you can get some information to put people in harms` way.

TODD: John McGuire is a former Navy SEAL who served ten years. He says one big problem with what these SEALs did was that it was not authorized by their commanders, but the problems go beyond that.

This episode adds more controversy over SEALs capitalizing on their reputation. John McGuire`s got an outdoor fitness business based on his experience. He had to clear the name of that business 14 years ago with the Navy. There was a recent movie, "Act of Valor" featuring real active duty Navy SEALs, that was cleared by the Pentagon. But there was also a book written by a former SEAL who was on the bin Laden raid. The Pentagon complained about that for revealing secret information.

HARRY HUMPHRIES, FORMER NAVY SEAL: It`s gotten out of hand. There is entirely too much being discussed about a community that lives on the fact that it`s a group of folks that thrive on a concept called silent pride.

TODD: The SEALs lives are secret, their identities classified. Still, one former SEAL disputes the notion that the video game gave much away. He says raids of militants compounds have not suggested they use video games for intel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout" goes out to Ms. Litkenhus`s students at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Plainfield, Illinois.

The festival of Diwali is observed by which of these religions? Here we go, is it Taoism, Hinduism, Shintoism or Baha`I? You`ve got three seconds, go!

Diwali is a festival of lights in Hinduism, the world`s third largest religion. That`s your answer and that`s your Shoutout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Diwali is one of the most important festivals in Hinduism, it`s happening right now, starts today and lasts for five days. The word Diwali means "row of lights," and that`s what you`ll see a lot of during this celebration. Everything from small lamps to lights to giant fireworks displays. For Hindus, the Diwali festival represents the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It also marks the start of a New Year, and it`s a time when many Hindus exchange gifts and offer prayers for a successful year. ` All right. Our next report today is from Sara Hoye. It`s about a program for teenagers in Philadelphia that`s called "Cradle to Grave." It takes place at a hospital, and the people who designed the program hope that by bringing these teens there as visitors, they can teach them about the dangers of gun violence and prevent them from returning to the hospital as patients.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT CHARLES, CRADLE TO GRAVE Welcome. I work with gunshot patients. How many of you guys know somebody who`s been shot?

SARA HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Philadelphia educator Scott Charles is on a mission to save young lives. Charles and Amy Goldberg, chief trauma surgeon at Temple University Hospital, co-founded the Cradle to Grave program to help reduce gun violence in the city of brotherly love.

CHARLES: What we are going to do today is kind of take you behind the scenes, pull back the curtain and let you see what we do ...

HOYE: The Cradle to Grave program brings local high school students inside Temple`s trauma center to relive the final 15 minutes of life of a teen killed by gun violence.

CHARLES: That young boy stood over Lamont (ph) and fired ten more shots into him.

AMY GOLDBERG, CRADLE TO GRAVE: You know gun violence can kill. But I think it`s really our responsibility to prevent these kids from coming in.

HOYE: Among America`s largest cities, Philadelphia`s homicide rate is the worst. With African Americans making up 85 percent of the victims.

CHARLES: You know, statistics suggest that as a young black man, you have a greater chance of being shot and killed in Philadelphia than you would have if you were a soldier serving in the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq. That`s absurd to me.

HOYE: Since 2006, more than 7,000 students have come to the Cradle to Grave program.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I don`t want that to happen to me. Like I want to be able to live, be someone my mom wants me to be.

GOLDBERG: We want to really teach them the preciousness of life. That in an instant your life can be changed forever.

HOYE: Change they want for the better.

Sara Hoye, CNN, Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Thanksgiving is next week. And this year, we`d like to know what you are thankful for. You can comment on our blog and if you are at least 13 years old, you can tell us in person through an I-report. Now, on the I-reports, no music, just you and the camera, this is your chance to get on CNN STUDENT NEWS. Visit us at cnnstudentnews.com.

Today`s before we go segment is either incredibly cute or incredibly creepy. Actually, it might be a little bit of both. This is a slow loris, and this is how a slow loris eats a rice ball. It takes the rice ball slowly. It considers the rice ball slowly. It nibbles the rice ball slowly. Well, at least it lives up to its name. For the record, it`s holding a fork, but eating with its hand. So, no table manners. You might think loris is a made up name, but that`s why we show you videos like this, so you know what the truth is and what the lore is.

That`s going to wrap things up for us today. For CNN STUDENT NEWS, I`m Carl Azuz.

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