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CNN 10
Wave of Violence Spreading Across Middle East; Romney`s, Obama`s Economic Plans Compared
Aired September 14, 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: Fridays might not be as awesome as discovering a new species, but we still like them, and we`re glad you`re spending part of yours with CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. Let`s go.
A wave of anger and violence is spreading across Northern Africa and the Middle East. Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, some of the protests have been small, some have been large. The biggest have been in countries we`re highlighting on this map. Egypt where one of the first protests happened this week. Libya where four Americans were killed during an attack at a U.S. facility on Tuesday, and Yemen where protests broke out at the U.S. embassy on Thursday. Those demonstrations turned violent in Yemen. Dozens of people were injured after protesters fought with security forces when police tried to break up the crowd. There was similar fighting in Egypt yesterday. Protesters there threw rocks and other dangerous items at police who used tear gas to try to keep the angry crowd away from the U.S. embassy there. The anger started because of an online anti-Muslim film that ridiculed the Prophet Muhammad. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the video disgusting and reprehensible, but she added that "there is no justification for responding to this video with violence."
In Chicago, stand-off between the teachers union and school board officials might be coming to an end. Yesterday the two sides started sounding more optimistic about their negotiations. Teachers walked off the job on the picket lines on Monday. That meant 350,000 Chicago students were out of school. We`ve been reporting on the strike and its impact throughout the week on our show. We`ve also been covering it on CNN`s education blog, "Schools of thought". You can check that out at cnn.com/education. And read different prospective on the strike.
We heard another one when we talked with the Chicago parent this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NINO RODRIGUEZ, IREPORTER: Hi, my name is Nino Rodriguez. I submitted an iReport photo of my children being taught at my home, and my kids at the table. There is a big strike in Chicago that`s affecting children.
We are always doing stuff at home. You know, keeping them away from the computer, keeping them away from television and movies, which is what they want to run to first. So, we know, we are always right on it from the beginning. You know, they must, you know, either do writing, reading or something like that.
Overall, you know, we just want to get back in class, because they were only in class for five days. Four days, because they had Labor Day off.
And other, you know, it`s like back in summer, which it cuts on a lot of instructions and a lot of school time.
Keep reading, keep writing and keep, you know, keep your mind ability, because that`s the only thing you have, and that`s the only thing to control other forces outside. They are always going to try to influence you, but if you have a strong mind, that`s always going to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: At about six months, if you are looking for a certain size soda of sugary drink you won`t find it in New York restaurants. The city has banned anything larger than 16 ounces. The New York Board of Health approved the ban yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg who proposed the idea said it`s a way to fight obesity and to encourage people to live healthier lifestyles. Critiques, including restaurant and soda companies called the ban misguided and arbitrary. Now, we blogged about the story back in May when Mayor Bloomberg first proposed the idea. Kelly said, it`s a great idea. She said a change isn`t bad when the health of our children and future generations will be healthier. Leanne said, it comes down to personal decisions. "I don`t think the government should make people`s decisions for them about how much to eat or drink."
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I`m Jonathan Mann with this political jargon buster. You`ve probably heard of "spin" like a spin doctor, or spin loom, but where did the term come from? According to the late William Safire of the "New York Times", spin comes from 1950 slang "to deceive" or "to spin a yarn." Safire attributed the first political usage of spin to a 1984 "Times" editorial on a presidential debate, and the Website word spy says, "to spin" is to "convey information or cast another person`s remarks or actions in a biased or slanted way so as to favorably influence public opinion." Spin.
AZUZ: It is not spin, when we say that the U.S. economy is one of the biggest issues on the minds of American voters. Earlier this week, we examined the country`s weak economic recovery. The Federal Reserve, the nation`s central bank, announced new plans yesterday to try to boost the economy. This is the third time the Fed is trying this approach. And some critiques argue it isn`t really that helpful. What about the presidential candidates? Christine Romans looks at their plans to create new jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over eight percent unemployment, 5 million without work for six months or longer, more than 8 million only working part time. If there is one thing Mitt Romney and Barack Obama can agree on, the economy and more specifically, the jobs crisis in America is the issue of this race. Mitt Romney`s philosophy let the private sector create new jobs. President Obama agrees, but thinks the federal government must play a larger role by investing in programs that may pay off in the future.
MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs.
ROMANS: Romney advisors also claim their plans will add another 7 million jobs over the decade.
ROMNEY: The government doesn`t create jobs. It`s the private sector that creates jobs.
ROMANS: So, what`s in this Romney plan? Fist, Romney wants to overhaul the tax code by cutting marginal tax rates 20 percent across the board. He argues that people have more money in their pockets to buy things, in turn more jobs will be created to meat the demand for those goods and services.
Romney also claims that regulations cost private business about $1.75 trillion a year. He plans to reform the regulatory system to make sure it balances the benefit to society with this cost of business. Finally, by balancing the budget, Romney plans to inject confidence into the business environment. However, capping federal spending, it means hundreds of thousands fewer government jobs at the federal state and local levels.
Supporters of Romney`s plan say it will create 12 million jobs conservatively, but no president has accomplished it in a single term since the data was first collected in the 1940s. Now, for President Obama`s plans to get more Americans back to work.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010, and that`s why I`m calling for a new jobs bill tonight.
ROMANS: Well, that jobs bill never panned out. And neither did the $477 billion effort he promoted last year, both essentially blocked by Congress.
So, what does Mr. Obama want to do moving forward? Similar to what he`s proposed in the past.
OBAMA: We need to create more jobs faster. We need to fill the hole left by this recession faster, we need to come out at this crisis stronger.
ROMANS: He wants to create jobs in manufacturing and green energy through tax incentives and investment. More spending on infrastructure. The president signed more than $100 billion transportation bill in July, extends mostly current programs through 2014. And the president also proposed spending $35 billion for school, police and fire department payrolls along with another 130 billion to shore up state budgets. This was in his failed jobs plan last year. Yet to be seen if he`s reelected, whether those plans would have more success than they`ve had in the last three years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: On this day in history in 1901, U.S. President William McKinley died eight days after being shot in Buffalo, New York. In 1975, Elizabeth Ann Seton became the first American to be named a saint by the Catholic search.
In 1984, Joseph Kittinger began a transatlantic balloon journey. He landed four days later, the first person to make the trip solo.
And in 1994, Major League Baseball cancelled the rest of a season because of the players` strike. It was the first time in 90 years that a season ended without a World Series.
At beginning of today`s show, I mentioned the discovery of a new species. It`s a monkey, the scientists say they found in a forest, in African nation the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here it is -- apparently, it`s pretty well known to local hunters, but it was totally unknown to the outside world. That is until a group of scientists stumbled across it. Then they spent three years running all sorts of tests, making sure this really is a new species. It`s just the second time in nearly 30 years that a new monkey species has been discovered.
Is this legit? Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, all celebrate their independence on the same day?
This is true. It`s tomorrow. It`s part of the reason why September 15th, this is start of Hispanic heritage month. Our full coverage kicks off on Monday, on CNN STUDENT NEWS.
We don`t know if they had a fight before the camera started recording them, but this dog and fish really seem excited. They kiss and make up. You might have heard the guy say, dude, that is hilarious. There they are, just some innocent interspecies smooching, although it must be so awkward to have a camera follow you on your first date. When the repetitive pecking paused the platonic pair swim synchronized circles together, it might have been the first time they met, but they are obviously got along pretty well. They should get together again, but maybe on a dog`s home turf. I know, you might think it could be dangerous for the fish, but we are sure, they`ll make out just fine.
It`s perfect story to close out the week. So that we can seal it with a kiss. Have a great weekend.
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