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New Budget Bill Proposed; American Journalist Sent out of Russia; Pope Francis`s Address to Protect the Syrian Civil Population; Mass Protests in Bangkok
Aired January 15, 2014 - 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 ten minutes of commercial-free news for the classroom. I`m Carl Azuz.
First up, compromise in the U.S. Congress. Negotiators from the House and Senate have proposed the bill for how the government will spend money. Three things about this budget, one, it`s huge. $1.1 trillion, trillion with a t, that is more than the government takes in and it would fund the government through the end of September. Two, it`s not a done deal. A House vote is expected today, a Senate one later this week, and the president would have to sign it. Three, it reportedly contains no earth- shaking changes. It gives government workers a small pay raise, it could speed up security screenings for some airplane passengers. It would get rid of a government law banning certain light bulbs. Beyond that, this bill would send America`s national and international spending priorities in the months ahead.
An American working in Russia was recently kicked out of the country. Russia says he broke the law by staying illegally for five days in November. His case was heard in court, he was fined and he was ordered to leave, which he did in December. He`s banned from Russian for five years.
These kinds of expulsions are common, according to the Russian government. The country says more than 500,000 people from other nations have been asked to stay out of Russia for breaking the rules. But the American, a journalist named David Satter says he didn`t. He thinks it was because he was critical of the Russian government. The country`s constitution does guarantee the freedom of the mass media and it makes censorship illegal, but when CNN`s John Vause recently interviews Satter he said it was probably his speech that got him kicked out.
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DAVID SATTER, JOURNALIST: I really don`t have any theories - I`ve been writing about Russia for many years. I`ve always been critical of the Putin regime, this is nothing new. It may well be that for reasons of their own, they finally found that criticism to be more than they wanted to put up with. But there is actually quite a lot to criticize, so if you are going to report honestly from Russia, you almost have to be critical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, how did this all play out? How were you told? How did you find out?
SATTER: Well, I was in Kiev, actually, I had to go there to exchange one visa for another and I was told to call a diplomat in the Ukrainian - well, in the Russian embassy in Kiev, in Ukraine. I called that diplomat and he said he had a statement to read to me, and the statement was that the competent organs, which is an expression that`s used describe the FSB, the Security Service, have decided that my presence on the territory of the Russian federation is undesirable and I`m refused entry into the country.
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AZUZ: Just before we get you up to speed on more stories from around the world, we`re going to take a quick trip across the U.S. for today CNN STUDENT NEWS "Roll Call." We start on the East Coast giving waves to the braves of Socastee High School. They are in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Long live the royals, the hello fit for a king to the students of Watertown-Mayer High School. They are in Watertown, Minnesota. And we`ll wrap up on the prowl with the Parkside intermediate panthers. They are stocking the "Roll Call" from San Bruno, California.
OK, as promised, we are going global. Pope Francis recently addressed the civil war in Syria, which has been going on since 2011. He`s calling for a cease-fire there, and turning his attention to Africa as well. Fred Pleitgen covers that story while CNN reporters from Asia to South America get you up to speed on news drawing worldwide attention.
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FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was the first time that Pope Francis addressed the Vatican diplomatic corps and he touched on many issues that are at hand for the Catholic Church. First and foremost is the conflict in Syria where he really has two issues on its agenda, the one is protecting civilians in Syria, and the other one is specifically protecting Christians there. Now, he called for an end to the violence in Syria and he said that it`s, quote, "unacceptable" for civilians to be targeted, especially children. Some of the other issues that were also on the pope`s agenda is the situation in many African countries, and he also said that the world needs to come together to end things like human trafficking and exploitation.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The World Cup is being played in 12 different stadiums across the country. Some 3.6 million fans are expected. You can imagine what that`s doing to airline prices. They are simply skyrocketing. Well, now the government has threatened to allow foreign airlines to come in and operate domestic flights. Now, it`s not clear if that`s even feasible, but it has pushed domestic airlines to start offering a lot more flights and bring down those prices themselves.
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of people have turned out to protest against the current government. They are trying to bring the capital to a standstill, blocking seven major interchanges around the city of Bangkok. Now, they want to see the current government ousted. They say they are corrupt and they`ve had enough of them. The government responded by calling an election on February 2, but that hasn`t satisfied people here. They want to see political reform.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember those terrifying scenes in James Cameron`s "Titanic" of the ship sinking well. Soon you could be relieving that in China. An obscure company has announced plans to build a theme park where they will build a Titanic replica with U.S. designers, so you can relive the sinking experience. And $165 million that might seem an idea that will sink, but this film is extremely popular in China, so perhaps it`s worth floating.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the "The Shoutout". In football, who is referred to as the 12th man? If you think you know it, shout it out. Is it the referees? Fans? Coach? Or kicker? You`ve got three seconds, go!
There are 11 players on the field. The 12th man is the collective term for the fans cheering them on. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."
AZUZ: What difference can the 12th man make? Ask Seattle Seahawks` fans. They`ve recently caused small earthquakes with their cheering. It inspires the home team, it complicates things for the visiting one. It`s harder to call and hear plays with the 12th man making serious noise. But the way some teams are releasing playoff tickets has opposing teams` fans calling for a penalty.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For football fans searching for face value tickets for this weekend`s NFL playoff games, the hunt is complicated not by cash, but by zip codes. The Seattle Seahawks said geographic limits on who can buy tickets to their games restricting sales to only the Pacific Northwest. 49`ers fans cried foul.
DERRICK WIENKE, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: It`s important to show our support, to show out - you know, how loud we can be up there as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Californians will have to resort to secondary markets like Stubhub or the NFL ticket exchange, where prices have skyrocketed into the thousands. The Seahawks aren`t the only ones executing this scheme, the Denver Bronco`s restricted AFC Championship ticket sales to billing addresses in the Rocky Mountain region, which means New England Patriots fans are pretty upset.
DAMON HALL: I don`t think it should be allowed, but whatever advantage they can do, they would.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Restricting ticket sales to locals could protect the teams` 12th man, of course, a reference to the fans whose big noise rattles the stadium and could rattle the opponent. The Seahawks say the restriction has nothing to do with overzealous fans. Their statement to CNN reads in part, "The reason wasn`t to limit residents of California, it was to stop large ticket brokerages from manipulating the onsale purchases through ticket master and inflating the price on the secondary market.
DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The bottom line is that these teams are companies. They have obligations to maximize their profit. So whatever went into their decision, it must benefit them in some way.
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AZUZ: A Brooklyn high school teacher wanted to better relate to his students. So we broke out his dancing shoes or whatever shoes he wore to class. Now it starts out pretty good. A little (inaudible) fancy footwork, but then .
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, the teacher`s .
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AZUZ: Two words, win and mill - OK, that`s one compound word, I guess. But the compound get down captured on camera and posted on YouTube won over the whole cafeteria and won the day. That`ll ensure he gets a perfect attendance. For dancing teacher of the year the guy`s shoeing (ph). Students obviously love the break and the unique spin on the teachable moment. We`re going to put on our CNN student shoes again tomorrow and hope you step up for the show. I`m Carl Azuz.
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