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Rim Fire 13th Largest in California History; Veteran With PTSD Awarded Medal of Honor; Deaf DJ
Aired August 27, 2013 - 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: Welcome to Tuesday`s edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz, reporting from the CNN Center in Atlanta. First thing we`re talking about today is a wildfire in California that`s chewed up about 150,000 acres. That`s about the size of Chicago. The Rim fire has become the 13th largest in California`s history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICKIE WRIGHT, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: It was astounding to see the power of what I witnessed earlier. So our main objectives right now - structure protection, just making sure that we keep everyone safe and we protect that park at all costs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Vickie Wright was talking about Yosemite National Park, which has lost at least 12,000 acres to the fire. But this thing is so massive, it`s also threatening some power and water supplies in San Francisco, more than 100 miles west of the park. Thousands of firefighters have been going after this. They`d had it 7 percent contained on Sunday. It was 15 percent contained by last night. That`s like saying it was 15 percent fenced in. It will have to be 100 percent contained before it can potentially be considered controlled.
Yesterday, we also talked about Syria`s government offering access to inspectors from the United Nations. The Syrian government and rebel forces, the two sides in Syria`s civil war, have accused each other of using chemical weapons. U.N. inspectors are there to figure out if chemical weapons were used, but not to determine who might have used them. During their work yesterday, one of the inspectors` vehicle was hit by sniper fire. No reports of injuries, and the United Nations did not say who might have been responsible for the shooting. Despite that, the inspection team described Monday as a very productive day, and said it planned to keep working in Syria today. That includes interviews with witnesses, doctors, and survivors. The U.N. team also collects samples. Experts say chemical traces can be found in survivors and plants for months after an attack takes place.
U.N.`s work can have an impact on whether or not other nations take action against Syria. United Nations officials say the use of chemical weapons must be punished, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed with that statement yesterday, saying there must be accountability.
When Ty Carter was a teenager, he didn`t have a lot of friends. He joined the Marines, but was demoted and then discharged after a fight with a roommate. But yesterday, the man who once described himself as not exactly hero material, was awarded the nation`s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. Carter enlisted in the Army in 2008 and received the medal for his actions in Afghanistan. He was stationed at Combat Outpost Keating in 2009 when it was attacked by Taliban fighters. During the battle, Carter, who is now a staff sergeant, volunteered to cross through enemy fire multiple times to get supplies to other soldiers. Since returning home, Staff Sergeant Carter has struggled with PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. He`s spoken openly about it as part of what he calls the invisible wounds of war. During yesterday`s ceremony, President Obama praised Staff Sergeant Carter`s heroism, and his efforts to raise awareness about the disorder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To any of our troops or veterans who are watching and struggling, look at this man. Look at this soldier, look at this warrior. He`s as tough as they come, and if he can find the courage and the strength to not only seek help but also to speak out about it, to take care of himself and to stay strong, then so can you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: U.S. presidents keep a pretty full schedule. For example, yesterday, in addition to the ceremony for Sergeant Carter, President Obama had meetings with faith leaders and with the winners of a national debate tournament. What if you could get on the president`s schedule? If you had 5 minutes, what would you want to talk about? That`s what we asked some high school juniors and seniors for this installment of the CNN STUDENT NEWS Viewfinder.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMAYA CARR ,HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: His childhood, and how life is for him. Because he all know he runs the world, but I really want to know how he feels, if he has a diary, and like how is everyday life for him, and what stresses him out.
GRACE RYBACK, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I`d definitely talk to him about how he deals with the pressure of everything that goes around him. There`s pressure from everyone around him.
ROMA PARIKH, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: You know, it would be nice to get to know him on a personal level on a platform that isn`t I`m here, down below, and he`s up there on the stage. But also I guess I`d like to talk about the political things and just how he views things himself, but not so much as the president.
MYKEL SKINNER, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: I would more talk to him about himself, what makes him different, you know? We all hear about politics and everything, but we really don`t know who Mr. Obama is, and I`d like to get more in depth and see what makes him special.
GARLAND JONES, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I am going to ask him a lot of basketball questions, since he seems to be such an avid basketball player, and find out why he doesn`t ever pick Duke for the final four.
MARILYN PRIMOVIC, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I would bring up the whole debt situation, because that`s going to affect our generation the most. All the bills that are being passed are affecting - are going to affect the debt that our generation is going to have to find a way to pay off, and I am concerned about how we`re going to do that.
NICK MUSEY, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: You know, just give me a 5-minute spiel on how you think you would use our generation to connect back to the global community, because before, you know, in the `80s, in the `70s, we were number one in everything, but now in 2013, in the 21st century, we have become detached from the world. So I think, I want to know how he would use our generation to become more connected to the world again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s time for the shoutout. What famous composer wrote the musical work "Ode to Joy?" If you think you know it, then shout it out. Was it Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or Handel? You`ve got 3 seconds, go.
This is "Ode to Joy," and it`s part of Beethoven`s 9th Symphony. That is your answer and that`s your shoutout.
AZUZ: By the time Beethoven composed the 9th Symphony, he had become deaf. Stories say he sawed the legs off his piano so he could feel the vibrations of the different notes through the floor.
Robbie Wilde does not play the piano. He makes music in a similar way, using senses other than his hearing, and as Sarah Hoye shows us, this DJ does not miss a beat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s New York Fashion Week, and DJ Robbie Wilde is busy working the exclusive Project Runway designer reunion party. Wilde lives in the world of rhythm and bass. He just can`t hear it. Ear infections as a child left Wilde completely deaf in his right ear, and with only 20 percent hearing in his left.
Did you ever feel sorry for yourself?
ROBBIE WILDE, DJ: Never, no. Sometimes I would even forget sometimes myself.
HOYE: Although hearing is the most important sense in a DJ`s life, Wilde was determined to make it. He got his first shot to perform at his father`s restaurant nearly a decade ago. And hasn`t looked back since.
WILDE: I still consider it as a hobby. I really do love it. Like, I don`t see it as a job, you know? And that`s the best part, if you love something, you don`t consider it as a job, you know, you are happy to go to work.
HOYE: Wild went to DJ school to learn the art of turntablism. And also relies on his computer to see the music and feels the vibration, relatively. He`s dubbed "that deaf DJ" by club goers and promoters, and it`s a moniker even he uses, but Wilde says it`s more than just about his deafness.
WILDE: I don`t want you to see me as a deaf DJ or a deaf kid trying to DJ. I want you to see me as a great DJ that happens to be deaf, you know? Because I don`t want sympathy. I don`t want, oh, let`s give him a gig because, you know, he`s hearing impaired.
HOYE: His skills got noticed by HP and earned him a spot on the commercial, thrusting him onto the world stage.
WILDE: It does not matter that I can`t hear the music.
DANIELLE JONES, HEWLETT PACKARD: That he`s doing it through touch, without being able to hear the music, is a wonderful story.
HOYE: Besides, some things are better left unheard, he says.
WILDE: There is a lot of sounds out in the world you don`t want to hear. I like it muffled. It`s, you know, I like who I am, I`m proud of who I am.
HOYE: When he`s not DJ`ing, Wilde is in the studio producing music.
What is your message for those who are trying to chase a dream just like you?
WILDE: Honestly, never give up.
HOYE: Sarah Hoye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my. It`s time for the CNN STUDENT NEWS roll call. Where are we heading first? Lafayette, Louisiana. Home of the Lions from Lafayette High. Hope you`re having a great day there. Then it`s up to Konawa high school in Konawa, Oklahoma. The Tigers are watching CNN STUDENT NEWS. And our bears are Grizzlies, the Granger Grizzlies from Rutledge, Tennessee. Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, roll call.
Colorado State University just wrapped up its welcome week for first-year students. Definitely a warm welcome for this guy. Three chances to make a half-court shot. Only needed one. So what did he win, besides a YouTube video and the apparent adulation of his fellow freshmen? He got free tuition for a year. So five seconds of work in exchange for an entire year`s college costs, I`d say it was a pretty good net gain. Only one student got a shot, so anyone else who was hoping for a chance at this year`s free ride was simply reduced tuition. It`s going to wrap things up for today. For CNN STUDENT NEWS, I`m Carl Azuz.
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