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Greek Debt Problem; The Second-Largest Country by Population to Attempt a Census; Excelling at Football

Aired October 04, 2011 - 04:00   ET

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


GROUP: From East Richland Middle School in Olney, Illinois, home of the Olney Tigers and the White Squirrels, this is CNN Student News.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take it away, Carl.

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Take it away, I will. Thanks to Ms. Tyler`s class for that iReport introduction. Today we`re talking about science, social studies, sports, technology, but we start off in Europe with economics.

The government of Greece says the country won`t meet some of its economic goals for 2012, and that can have an impact on whether or not the country gets more financial help from other European organizations.

They`ve given Greece a bailout, but the rules say that certain goals have to be met in order for Greece to get the money. So you might be thinking: so what? What does it matter if Greece runs out of money?

Well, the issue here is that economies of different countries across Europe and around the world are connected.

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AZUZ (voice-over): And what happens in one nation can impact others. So if Greece drops further into recession, it could lead to bigger problems for the global economy. One analyst says the signs may already be out there.

LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, ECONOMIC CYCLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Looking at the facts, we see that the forward-looking indicators -- not one, not two, dozens of leading indexes are falling. There`s contagion among those indexes. They`re falling in a way that we only see when a recession is underway.

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AZUZ: It is Nobel Prize week. The Nobel committee will be announcing this year`s winners in six categories. Yesterday they named the recipients of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine. These three gentlemen are sharing the prize for their work on enhancing the body`s immune system.

One of the winners, Ralph Steinman, was actually able to extend his life by using the therapy he developed, although he did pass away from cancer last Friday. His death caused some brief questions for the Nobel committee.

You see, they didn`t know that Steinman had died, and the Nobel rules say anyone who passes away before they`re announced as a winner isn`t eligible. But officials say they`re going to ignore that rule this time.

Well, we love it when you talk to us on our blog or our Facebook page. Teachers, if you want to get a Shoutout dedicated to your school, there`s only one way to make that happen: go to the "How Do I." box at cnnstudentnews.com and click on "How do I get a Shoutout?"

Send us an iReport and watch for our email reply. That`s what these next folks did.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s first Shoutout goes out to Ms. Graber`s and Mr. McKinney`s classes at Boonville High School in Boonville, Indiana.

After China, what country has the world`s second largest population? You know what to do. Is it the United States, India, Brazil or Indonesia? You`ve got three seconds, go.

They`re all in the top five, but India has the world`s second largest population. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.

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AZUZ: That population, nearly 1.2 billion people, would take a while to count that high. But that`s what India`s government is doing. They want to make sure that every person in the country is officially accounted for. Sara Sidner explains the impact this could have on millions of Indians, and why this program comes with a price.

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SARA SIDNER, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Technology has barely touched Meera Devi`s daily life. In her hut, muscle, not machines, gets the chores done. She and her family are among the millions of Indians who live in obscurity, unaccounted for on government rolls, unable to apply for government benefits.

"Right now, we don`t have an identify, so life is very difficult. We`re all very poor. So if we earn we eat. Otherwise, we get nothing," she says.

That is about to change for Meera and perhaps millions like her. At this center, Meera Devi, a woman who has never even used a computer, is coming face to face with cutting edge technology that will give her an official identify for the very first time.

Her irises and all 10 fingerprints are scanned with biometric devices. They`re uploaded and then sent to a massive server. Once this information is processed, out comes a 12-digit number for her and her only.

NANDAN NILEKANI, CHAIRMAN, UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION AUTHORITY OF INDIA: . so our goal is to get to 1 million a day. And to get to about 600 million people and us, enrolled in the system, in the next four years.

SIDNER (voice-over): And eventually all of Indian citizens. Nandan Nilekani, the man who helped usher in India`s booming outsourcing industry as CEO of Infosys was asked by the prime minister to head this new government program.

India`s Unique Identification program started just a year ago. If it succeeds, India will become the first country in the world using biometric data for identify purposes on a national scale.

NILEKANI: It`s about giving a number to help people get benefits.

SIDNER (voice-over): Devi is hoping it means access to more food.

"With this card, we`ll be able to get rations, rice, oil, wheat, sugar, all these things will be cheaper."

SIDNER: But this cutting edge technology identification system doesn`t cut it with a few critics out there, who say this program is far too expensive and far too intrusive.

SIDNER (voice-over): They worry the government could potentially use this data against its citizens. And the estimated price tag for the program adds up to about $2 per person, or about $2.4 billion. But right now, the critics are few, and the masses keep coming, many hoping the official recognition as a citizen will mean a slightly better existence -- Sara Sidner, CNN, New Delhi.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time for a Shoutout Extra Credit. What shape is a football? Here we go. Is it a rhombus, dodecahedron, icosahedron or prolate spheroid? Another three seconds on the clock -- go.

From Pop Warner to the pros, football teams play with a prolate spheroid. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout Extra Credit.

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AZUZ: Part of the reason you haven`t heard of Demias Jimerson yet is because he`s only in the 6th grade. This kid is so good at football that his league is using a sort of mercy rule to keep him from running up the score.

Here`s the deal: if Jimerson`s team has a 14-point lead, and he`s already scored three touchdowns, he`s not allowed to score any more for the game. His principal says the rule isn`t supposed to punish Jimerson. It`s meant to allow other players to get the chance to score.

Jimerson said he was shocked to hear the rule was put in place, but that he`s OK with it. He says God comes first, grades come second. We guess his touchdowns will just have to come after that, at least until he`s out of the 6th grade, and this rule no longer applies.

So when the other players can`t stop Jimerson, the rule does. Guess what though? We`re looking for your opinions on our blog at cnnstudentnews.com. One rule we want you to follow there: first names only. No classes, no last initials.

Now before we go, we`ve got a behind-the-scenes look for you at the TV industry, thanks to CNN`s Jeanne Moos. There are no cameramen in this studio. The cameras are all run by remote. But what happens when these machines have a mind of their own?

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): You never know where they`ll go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: . heavy rains across.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, what happened to camera three?

MOOS (voice-over): . especially in the old days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa, wait, whoa, wait a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: . losses against the Yankees, the Blue Jays -- uh, oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One merely gets you a motorcycle rocking chair -- oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, where is one going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: . gets you nothing (inaudible). Supposed to be over there, folks.

MOOS (voice-over): Push a wrong button, toggle the wrong way, down, boy. Down.

MOOS: Up, up, up, up, up.

MOOS (voice-over): Next thing you know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amendment One is now part of the Florida Constitution. And like it or not, local governments say.

MOOS (voice-over): Like it or not, the floor manager`s stuck on camera.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to find a way to make it work. ABC 27`s Todd Worrell (ph) (inaudible).

MOOS (voice-over): On Danish TV, the camera attacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Australian Radiation Service (speaking foreign language).

MOOS (voice-over): But if you really want to see a TV camera on a rampage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the heck`s wrong with that camera?

MOOS (voice-over): Don`t let the laugh track fool you, this really happened on New England cable TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God, it`s coming into the picture.

MOOS (voice-over): Anchors aweigh, Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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AZUZ: Of course, you know how to hide from robotic attackers. You just wear "camera-flage." Anyway, fortunately for me, that sort of thing is not very likely to happen here at CNN, unless, of course, my director decided that he didn`t like me.

All right. This isn`t that funny. You guys, you`re not kidding. OK. Listen, about to get run over for CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

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