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U.N. Security Council Unanimously Votes for Tougher North Korea Sanctions; Senator Paul`s Filibuster

Aired March 08, 2013 - 04:00   ET

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


TOMMY ANDRES, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone, I`m Tommy Andres. I`m a correspondent with CNN Radio, but today, I am filling in for Carl and hanging out with you for this Friday edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS.

First up, news from the United Nations Security Council. The group voted yesterday for stronger punishments against North Korea. It is a reaction to that country`s latest rocket launches and nuclear tests. There has been a lot of tension between North Korea and other countries over its nuclear program, so that Security Council vote may not seem surprising. What is interesting is that it was unanimous. China, one of North Korea`s strongest allies, voted in favor of the punishments. These punishments are designed to change a country`s potentially threatening behavior. Sometimes they work. Other times, they don`t really have much impact.

You may have heard about filibusters in social studies class. We`ve talked about them before on our show. They are a way for a U.S. senator to block or delay a vote. On Wednesday, we actually saw one. Here is what happened.

John Brennan is President Obama`s nominee to run the CIA. But the Senate makes the final call, and Brennan is a controversial pick because of his connection to the use of drones. He`s been an adviser to the president on homeland security and counter-terrorism issues. He is a big supporter of using unmanned aircraft. The president has been criticized for his position on drones, including the possibility that they could be used to target Americans who pose a threat to the United States. Senator Rand Paul wants more answers about the president`s drone policies. On Wednesday, he used a filibuster to try and push for those answers.

The way it works is that when you get control of the Senate floor, you don`t give it up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL, R-KY.: I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan`s nomination for the CIA. I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak for as long as it takes.

Has America the beautiful become Alice`s Wonderland? "No, no, said the queen, sentence first, verdict afterwards. Stuff of nonsense, Alice said loudly. The idea of having the sentence first? Hold your tongue, said the queen, turning purple. I won`t, said Alice. Release the drones, said the queen, as she shouted at the top of her voice." Lewis Carroll is fiction, right?

I have allowed the president to pick his political appointees, but I will not sit quietly and let him shred the Constitution. I cannot sit at my desk quietly and let the president says that he will kill Americans on American soil who are not actively attacking the country. Which has previously brought a challenge in federal court, to the legality of the authorization to target.

I would go for another 12 hours to try to break Strom Thurmond`s record, but I`ve discovered that there are some limits to filibustering, and I`m going to have to go take care of one of those in a few minutes here.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: I thank you very much for the forbearance, and I yield the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator from Illinois.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDRES: Senator Paul has gotten some support and some criticism for his filibuster. He also says he`s gotten a response from the White House. Yesterday, John Brennan was confirmed as the next CIA director.

Next up, authorities at this cat haven sanctuary are going to investigate a tragic accident that happened at a California facility. On Wednesday, an intern who worked with the animals there was mauled and killed by one of the sanctuary`s African lions. It`s just one example we`ve seen recently of the potential risks when humans and creatures enter each other`s habitats. When two park workers in Florida accidentally disturbed a hive, they were swarmed by tens of thousands of Africanized honey bees. That species is very aggressive, especially if bothered. The men were stung nearly 100 times each.

Thousands of sharks swimming offshore force some South Florida beaches to close. Experts say the sharks aren`t after people, but going in the water means you`re entering their habitat, and in a case of mistaken identity, if a shark thinks the person is a smaller fish, could lead to problems. And these iReport images from Israel show things going in the opposite direction. All those black specs, they are locusts and they are migrating north in search of food. And when they come across farmland, areas where farmers are growing fruits and vegetables, the insects can attack the crops and leave them decimated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? The idea for an International Women`s Day was suggested at a conference in 1910. It`s true. One year later, more than a million people went to International Women`s Day rallies.

ANDRES: For 100 years, International Women`s Day has been celebrated on March 8th, today. The international celebration eventually led to the creation of Women`s History Month in the U.S. This year`s month-long theme is about honoring women in STEM fields. We`re talking about science, technology, engineering and math. And women like these.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Jane Goodall was 22, she was invited to visit her friend`s farm in Africa. When she arrived, she was asked to study a group of chimpanzees. That`s how she began a career of studying and writing about chimps that`s helped the scientific community learn tremendous amounts about the behavior of these animals and about their natural habitat.

As a child, May Jamieson loved to read about science, especially astronomy. She went on to earn a degree in chemical engineering and become a medical doctor. But eventually, Jamieson returned to her love of astronomy and applied for the science program. On September 12, 1992, she flew aboard the Shuttle Endeavour as the first African-American woman in space.

A book called "The Sands of Mars" inspired Donna Lee Shirley`s curiosity about the Red Planet. Shirley earned bachelor`s and masters degrees in aerospace engineering and came to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1966 to work on the first unmanned mission to Mars. Thirty years later, she was managing the Mars exploration program when the Pathfinder and Sojourner rovers successfully explored the Red Planet`s surface.

In the late `80s and early `90s, Danica McKellar starred on the TV show, "The Wonder Years." What many fans may not know is that McKellar later graduated from UCLA with a degree in mathematics. She even helped write a math theorem that`s named for her. McKellar has also written books about girls and math, saying that she`s combining her love of entertainment and math to make the subject more entertaining.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Mrs. Slossom`s (ph) U.S. history classes at Gennessee Valley (ph) Central school in Belmont, New York. Which U.S. president moved the start of daylight savings time from April to March? Was it Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush? You`ve got 3 seconds, go.

The earlier start began in 2007 under President George W. Bush. The reason was kind of the same idea why daylight savings time originally started. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: It puzzles the daylights out of some people. Why have daylight savings time if daylight is just going to get longer anyway as the Northern Hemisphere approaches summer? Well, for one thing, it`s the law. Before 1966, states had different times and dates for springing forward and falling back. The Uniform Time Act was passed to get them all synched up. But unlike many other laws, if states don`t want to participate, they don`t have to. Most of the state of Arizona, as well as Hawaii, don`t. So if you go there, they`ll tell you what time it is. The idea is a lot older than the `60s, though. Ben Franklin apparently had enough time on his hands to propose saving daylight, and several countries took him up on it. Well, they did about 130 years later. World War I was on, so daylight saving time was used to help save electricity. With the sun up later, people didn`t need to turn lights on until later. It stopped nationally after the war, and stayed that way until Congress got around to setting times for it. But today, daylight saving time is sleepy time for many Americans, especially Monday morning after springing ahead. The Better Sleep Council says people struggle and slog around in bad moods. SleepBetter.org says America loses hundreds of millions of dollars because workers aren`t as productive until they get used to it. They`re not saying we should get rid of daylight saving time, but this sheds light on why some sleepy people might want to.

Carl Azuz, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDRES: Before we go, we`re going to get in a little snowboarding story. Bet you didn`t think I meant this. That`s Eden Grace (ph) on the board. When this video was shot, she wasn`t even 2 years old. And this wasn`t even close to her first time on a snowboard. Her parents say she`s been going up the mountain since she was six weeks old. She learned to shred before she could walk. If she`s already this talented at 2, by the time she gets older, there`s snow telling how good she`ll be.

Time for us to pack it in. Remember to set your clocks ahead this weekend, and teachers, remember to share your feedback about today`s show on our home page. I`m Tommy Andres. Have a great weekend.

END