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Outbreak of Enterovirus; Back to School Shopping Boosts Economy; Solar Panels for Rural India; Firehawks Fighting Wildfires in Southern California
Aired September 10, 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: Back to school season can mean back to school colds. We are going to tell you what to watch out for today on CNN STUDENT
NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome into the show.
On average, you can expect to get about four to six colds per year, and you`ve heard how to avoid them, wash your hands with soap. If you haven`t
done that, don`t touch your face or your food. Don`t kiss or drink after people who are sick. There`s a virus that`s been spreading in some parts
of the U.S. It`s called enterovirus. It`s common. And it`s usually not deadly, but a particular strain of enterovirus has sent hundreds of kids to
the hospital this summer. One doctor says many of the cases she`s seen are from children who have a history of breathing problems like asthma or
wheezing. So, if you have asthma, doctors say it`s important to keep taking your medication.
Other signs to watch out for in this particular strain of enterovirus include coughing, fever or getting a rash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This particular virus is called enterovirus D 68, and they are seeing it mostly in the Midwest and the
Southeast.
There are dozens and dozens of different types of enteroviruses and they cause different kinds of symptoms. Some cause respiratory symptoms, others
might cause gastrointestinal symptoms. And often an enterovirus is really no big deal. If you`ve ever had a summer cold, there`s a very good chance
that that was caused by an enterovirus. But there`s something about D68 that makes it worse. There`s something about this particular type of
enterovirus that gives much more severe symptoms that often land people in the hospitals.
For example, let`s just look at Mercy Hospital, it`s a children`s hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. They`ve had more than 400 children in the
hospital with signs of this virus. 60 of those children have ended up in intensive care, and this is the important part: that`s been in less than a
month. That`s pretty severe. Pediatricians there say they`ve never seen anything like it.
This type of enterovirus has been around since the 1960s, it`s popped up here and there in the United States and in other countries as well. They
don`t know why it`s gotten so bad this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: When your parents tell you school is expensive, here`s what they mean: five things to know about back to school shopping.
One, it actually impacts the economy. The U.S. back to school season is second only to the Christmas season for retail shopping.
Two, the cost of school supplies has skyrocketed. The National Retail Federation says it`s gone up by almost 50 percent in five years.
Three, this year American shoppers will spend over $26.5 billion on 50 million public school students. That works out to #530 per student.
Four, electronics are the most expensive back to school items, no surprise. But clothes or school uniforms account for over 200 bucks per student.
Shoes, an average of $116, and stuff like bags, books and lunchboxes add another 100 bucks a student.
Five, some parents are trying to keep their cost down. About a third say they plan to spend less this year. How? One way is by buying generic
items instead of big brands.
An ancient Egyptian mummy once had a passport. In the 1970s, scientists flew the remains of Ramesses II to France for examination. It was given a
passport that read "King Deceased." Now, that`s random.
Next story today takes us to Southeast Asia where the annual monsoon rains have brought misery and destruction. Hundreds of people have died in
flooding in India and Pakistan.
Tens of thousands have had to leave their homes, and this is in an area that`s used to wet weather in late summer. What`s making things worse this
time around, besides record amounts of rainfall, is the fact that roads and bridges have been washed out. So aid workers have trouble getting help to
the people who needed it.
Normally the monsoon has eased by early September. Heavy rainfall is still in the forecast for days to come.
India is the world`s most populated country, but about 30 percent of that population leaves below the poverty line. Twice that of the U.S. It
explains why in some areas electricity is still the way of the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In much of rural India, this is how women step out at night.
This is how children do their homework.
A fourth of India`s 1.2 billion people have no access to electricity, and in this state of Bihar, one of India`s poorest, more than 80 percent live
in darkness.
We always used to wonder what it would be like to have light, how wonderful life would be, she says.
For decades, Charnai was just another one of Bihar`s 19,000 villages without electricity. Government owned power lines stopped working decades
ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This village has everything: it has a school, it has a hospital, it has a railway station, but one thing is holding them back,
that of electricity.
UDAS: Greenpeace India along with other local nongovernmental organizations turned Charnai into a pilot project to see how power can make
a difference.
UDAS: In this village of 2200 people, 60 solar street (INAUDIBLE) have been set up, and every single household now has access to power, 24/7.
With India`s ever increasing population and insufficient resources, Greenpeace says the country needs to look at alternative energy. In July,
Charnai became energy independent.
SHIV NARAYAN YADAV, CHARNAI RESIDENT: Suddenly it feels like light has come into our lives. Our children can study easily, we can walk around
freely. We are finally happy he says. It still far from developed. The villages now have access to basic (INAUDIBLE) of modernity. The ability to
charge a mobile phones at homes, fans in temperatures that often hit 40 degrees Celsius, even computers and most of all, confidence that they are
now part of the new India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Next up today, Northern California, it`s where you`ll find Yosemite National Park. It`s also where historic drought has made conditions perfect
for wildfires. Around 100 hikers found that out this week. A wildfire that started on Sunday near the Half Dome peak in Yosemite`s wilderness
quickly scorched the equivalent of 700 football fields of land. Suddenly, dozens of hikers in the park were in need of rescue. Officials don`t know
yet what caused the fire, but the parched earth combined with whipping winds helped it spread.
One rescued hiker felt fortunate, not just to be out of danger, but for the sunset ride he got in a rescue helicopter. Those are playing in number of
important roles in disaster areas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the firehawk, one of the most powerful firefighting tools in the skies of California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Record heats, strong winds and low humidity are fueling several fires across southern California.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`ve been some 25,000 wildfires in the U.S. this year. And more than 2500 of those have been in California. Burning over
18,000 acres. As the state suffers one of the worst droughts on record, it`s leveraging crafts like this modified Blackhawk to combat would could
be a record breaking fire season.
This firehawk has a retractable hose that can suck up 1,000 gallons of water in just one minute. Its engine is optimized to withstand temperature
over 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it can hit 183 miles per hour.
Traditionally, airplanes have been a main aerial tool in this dangerous firefight. But helicopters have proven to be useful as well. The National
Guard in New York, Oregon, Nevada and Florida each operate firehawks. Besides dropping water, helicopters can touch down in mountainous terrain
and perform critical rescue missions.
Firehawks have also been used in natural disaster relief and were used in the recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: From Tuesday`s transcript page at cnnstudentnews.com, here are three of the thousands of requests we`ve got for the "Roll Call." The students
at Gwacheon Foreign Language High School are watching. It`s great to see all of you in Gwacheon, South Korea. Across the Pacific and moving inland
to St. Louis, Missouri, hello to the Panthers of Mehlville High School. And on the East Coast, in Seaford, Delaware, we`ve got the blue jays on our
roll. They are perched at Seaford Middle School.
One is a Democrat, one is a Republican both spent eight years leading the U.S. And they appeared together Monday to promote a new scholarship
program. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have grown closer since their time in office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON: We were laughing about going to restaurants and having to spend our time taking selfies with people.
GEORGE W. BUSH: At least they are still asking, you know.
BILL CLINTON: Yeah, that`s right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Still, they probably never pictured the selfie phenomenon. Kind of makes you wonder who set the precedent for that. It`s good to see their
camaraderie over it. Could you call that photosynthesis? I really wanted to plant that pun, though I`m not show it was fully developed. CNN STUDENT
NEWS returns tomorrow. I hope you`ll be watching.
END
