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North Korea Says It`s in State of War with South Korea; Teachers, School Administrators Charged in Connection with Cheating Scandal in Atlanta

Aired April 01, 2013 - 04:00   ET

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

NATISHA LANCE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. It`s April 1 and Carl is off today. No fooling. I`m Natisha Lance. We`re going to start things off with a country that`s been in the news a lot recently - North Korea. The North says it`s in the state of war with South Korea and there`s no actual fighting going on. North Korea is also threatening to attack the United States. The U.S. says it takes the threat seriously, but American and South Korean officials say, this kind of thing isn`t new for North Korea. This weekend, the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula was very different, depending on where you live.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The dogs of war howled from North Koreans television screen Saturday as martial music and mass rallies were the only choice if you were lucky enough to own a TV. A few times the broadcast switched street site, to sample what was on the minds of Pyongyang`s patriots. "We can`t take it anymore", said this man, "We cannot step back. It`s now time to show the jerks a real taste. I`m holding my two fists hard.

"Kim Jong-un says if the war breaks out, we should mercilessly crush our enemies," this woman said, crush them so they wouldn`t even be able to sign the surrender papers.

In fierce tones, TV anchors repeated warnings that country`s forces were on the highest alert. The video onslaught takes viewers around the globe, smashing America with its fist. Hammering home the message that from Kim Jong-un on down, this is a country where everyone yearns to be armed and dangerous.

Meantime, here in the South Korean capital, it is a completely different scene. People can see their past, their history. They are looking to a brighter future, one that does not include war.

YOO SEON-JOO, SEOUL RESIDENT (through translator): I don`t think there will be a war. Currently, North Korea just raised up their military alertness. South Korean people are not even interested.

OH SAE-YOUNG, SEOUL RESIDENT (through translator): If they wanted to attack, they would have attacked already. North Korea is just threatening.

CLANCY: The colorful changing of the guard ceremony at the gates of Seoul`s Daksegun (ph) Palace drew a chair of tourists as well. Undaunted by the dire media forecast. On one peninsula this Sunday, two entirely, different views of what lies ahead. Across the North, images of a nation on the desperate brink of war, in the South, people preparing to go to work Monday morning. Jim Clancy, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LANCE: Coming back over to the U.S. now, 35 teachers and school administrators have been charged with crimes connected to a massive school cheating scandal here in Atlanta, Georgia. The teachers and administrators are accused of cheating on standardized tests. They allegedly gave students the right answers, or even changed answers on the students` exams. The investigation started because some of the tests results were suspicious. Based on statistics, the school scores improved too much. Now, why would teachers and school officials want to cheat? Well, one possibility is money. Better test scores could equal better performance reviews and bonuses for some officials. And some teachers claim that they were threatened if they didn`t cheat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. NATHAN DEAL, GEORGIA: Testing and results and targets being reached became more important than actual learning on the part of children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE: Some students actually helped exposed the alleged cheating, one told the investigators that when she was in the 5th grade, her teacher offered her the answers for a standardized test. The students says she tried to say no, that she wanted to take the test on her own. Her mother and the state investigators say the students are the victims of the scandal.

(BEGINV VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTINA COLLINS, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENT: I have a 15-year old now who is behind in achieving her goal of becoming what she wants to be when she graduates.

The district`s former superintendent was one of the 35 people charged last Friday. She denies any involvement in cheating, and the new superintendent says 95 percent of the district`s employees weren`t involved in the scandal. Now, we want to give you guys a chance to talk about this on our blog. What do you think the impact of the story would be for students, for teachers, for the community? Share your thoughts, cnnstudents.com.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE: Christianity is the world`s largest religion, and Easter is considered the most important time of the year for Christians. Services and ceremonies around the world yesterday marked the day that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. President Obama and the first family went to an Easter service at a church that`s right across the street from the White House. St. Johns Episcopal Church is sometimes known as the church of the presidents. And worshipers gathered in St. Peter`s Square for Easter mass. It was the first for Pope Francis since he took that title. His sermon included the call for peace in parts of the world that are currently suffering because of violence.

58 percent of Americans planned to attend Easter Sunday church services this year, but the numbers go far beyond the religious aspects of the day. 17.2 - that`s how many billions of dollars were estimated to be spent on Easter in the U.S. That`s a bit more than 145 bucks for every American who celebrates Easter. 180 million, that`s the number of eggs purchased to die and decorate. Six - that`s how many minutes it takes to make a marshmallow peep. 88, the percentage of American parents who make Easter baskets for their children, and 76 percent of chocolate bunny eaters say they start by devouring the ears. Yeah. You heard it here first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout" goes out to Mr. Keating`s and Mr. Jordan`s PACE students at West Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada. The island of Madagascar is located off the coast of what continent? You know what to do, is it South America, Africa, Asia, or North America? You`ve got three seconds, go!

Madagascar, the world`s fourth largest island is in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE: Because of its location, Madagascar has one of the world`s most diverse ecologies. 90 percent of the island`s plant species don`t exist anywhere else, but right now many of those plants are being attacked. About half the island is being overrun by swarms of locust. You want to see what that looks like? The locust, and there are billions of them, aren`t targeting people, at least not directly. They are eating up all the crops, which means less food for people and less food for animals, too. Officials are worried that this can turn into a humanitarian crisis. They`re asking the United Nations and other countries for help.

So you might not think anything from your science class would make a good viral video? You would be wrong. Especially if your class is called the splash lab, the scientists and students working on stuff there do pretty simple stuff: they skip rocks, they break eggs. So it might not seem like that much on the surface, but when you capture it all in superslow motion there`s a whole lot more to see. John Holinghurse (ph) from our affiliate KSL dives into the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who says science can`t be cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is just playing (ph), isn`t it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or just plain fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eggs of fun. Good time of year for it, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether it`s spinning eggs in superslow motion or skipping stuff across the water, these walks are getting a kick out of science and sharing it on Youtube. But each skip can be slowed down for scientific analysis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the rock comes down into the water, it creates this cavity, which it rides on the pitch angle creates a lifting force, which causes it to rise up again.

This is one of my favorite parts, watch this here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They put high speed cameras to work, capturing a brief instant of time, stretching a second or two of a spinning egg into any eternity. The secret of the spinning egg is that milk sometimes colored with dye, mysteriously climbs up the egg and flings streams of droplets around the kitchen or the lab.

(on camera): It`s very cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn`t that cool? ` UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you advanced the cause of science by seeing this in slow motion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean in some ways, yes. I mean we`ve figured out a set of mathematical equations that explain exactly what`s happening and I think that`s an advance for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken Langley (ph) is doing his entire master`s thesis on the spinning egg and its ability to pump milk uphill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah you could definitely (inaudible) to design a pump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this high tech vision of child`s play - skipping rocks across the water, involves research that`s actually funded by the U.S. Navy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s an idea that we`ve had for a long time to understand better how objects behave when they skip on the surface of the water, whether it`s going to be a weapon or not, is not up to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for those of us who would cry over spilled milk if we had to write an equation about it, even we can enjoy the results - very cool splashes revealing the secret world of the very, very slow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LANCE: What an eggselent story. A skeptic might thing those experiments aren`t all they are cracked up to be. But then slow and behold, the yolks on you. Before we skip out of her, I remind you, the teachers, you can share your feedback on today`s show on our home page. I`m Natisha Lance . Have a great day.

END