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Obama Talking about Taking Executive Action on Immigration; Spacecraft Landing on Comet Surface; Negotiating Greenhouse Gases Cuts in China; U.S. High Schoolers Study in China
Aired November 13, 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: We are kicking off Thursday`s edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS by defining lame duck Congress. This is the session between
an election last week`s midterms and when the newly elected leaders take office in January. Congress`s lame duck session began yesterday. It`s
considering bills on government funding, tax breaks, fighting Ebola in West Africa, arming rebels in Syria`s civil war. But a lot of eyes are on
President Obama.
He`s been considering taking executive action making controversial changes to U.S. immigration law, and he may act during Congress`s lame duck
session.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe that if the president continues to act on his own he`s going to poison the well. When you play with
matches, you take the risk of burning yourself. And he`s going to burn himself if he continues to get down this path. The American people made it
clear Election Day they want to get things done, and they don`t want the president acting on a unilateral basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: But while Republicans and some Democrats have urged President Obama to wait for Congress to take the lead on immigration law, he says he`s
waited long enough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: For a year, I stood back and let him work on this, he decided not to call the Senate
bill. And he couldn`t produce his own bill.
And I told him at the time, John, if you don`t it I`ve got legal authority to make improvements on the system I prefer and still prefer to see it done
through Congress, but every day that I wait, we misallocating resources, we are deporting people that shouldn`t be deported. We are not deporting
folks that are dangerous and need to be deported. So, John, I`m going to give you some time, but if you can`t get it done before the end of the
year, I`m going to have to take the steps that I can .
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Decades ago the word immigration conjured of images of boats at Ellis Island, of course, the Statue of Liberty. Today, it`s a different
story. The issue is more heated, more politicized, more complicated. Immigrants are now entering the U.S. from every corner, Miami to Seattle,
L.A. to New York, and especially along the Mexican border. We are talking more than 40 million immigrants in the United States right now, but legally
and illegally, that`s roughly 13 percent of our population, making America the number one destination on Earth for immigrants.
So, who are these new arrivals? Well, better (ph) 11 million are undocumented, the number that`s increased almost year by year since 2000.
Of those who become legal residents, you`d probably guess some of them are from Mexico. You`d be right. 14 percent. But you might be surprised to
find out the next two leading countries of birth for new U.S. residents, China and India. Those are the two most populated countries on the planet.
The high today in Roseholt, South Dakota, 17 degrees Fahrenheit, but it`s not stopping the radars. They are leading off the roll today at Roseholt
High School.
Moving west to the battle born state, we`ve got the cowboys watching its Chaparral High School. Hello, Las Vegas, Nevada. And on the Pacific
Coast, in Astoria, Oregon, we are rocking and roll calling with the Astoria Middle School Vikings.
For the first time ever a manmade spacecraft like from Earth has landed on a comet not from Earth. The announcement and celebrations from the
European Space Agency. Yesterday, scientists working on its Rosetta Mission say their probe made contact with the surface of Comet 67-P. The
probe weighs about 220 pounds, it`s equipped with several experiments that would test the surface of the comet and what happens to it as it approaches
the Sun. But this wasn`t a perfect landing. Some of the spacecraft`s landing systems didn`t properly secure it to the comet, and because it
takes a while for information to make it from the comet to Earth, scientists are hoping to find out more about the landing today.
Time for the "Shoutout."
Skillful negotiation with other people is best described as what? If you think you know it, shout it out.
Is it gerrymandering? Philanthropy? Altruism? Or diplomacy? You`ve got three seconds, go!
You often hear about the diplomacy or tactful negotiation between government officials. That`s your answer and that`s shoutout.
A lot of diplomacy between the U.S. and China this week. One result, a major agreement between the two countries` leaders on reducing greenhouse
gases, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane. Most scientists blame greenhouse gases for polluting the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
But critics say, setting limits on greenhouse gases eliminates jobs and hurts the U.S. economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Americans emit more greenhouse gases per capita than the people of any of the world`s major economies. China with
the population more than four times out of the U.S. emits more greenhouse gases than any country on Earth.
Together, they account for about 40 percent of the entire planet`s greenhouse gas pollution.
Visiting Beijing this week, a city infamous for its foul air, President Obama had high hopes.
OBAMA: I`d like to recall the Chinese saying that reflects the spirit of possibility. Nothing is too difficult as long as people have resolve.
MANN: But resolve alone may not be enough for the greenhouse gas agreement he struck with China. The deal calls for the United States to build on
efforts already under way to cut its carbon emissions with dramatic cuts by 2025. China would be permitted to keep generating more and more emissions
until 2030 when its output would be capped. Beijing would also aim to get 20 percent of its energy from zero carbon emission sources like wind or sun
by the same year.
Some environmentalists are already praising the agreement, but it won`t be an enormous challenge to both nations.
Coal, a particularly dirty fuel, is just one example of the problem. China`s exploding economy needs energy, and the country reportedly
completes a new Copeland every eight to ten days.
The U.S. relies on Copelands for more of its electricity than any other source. And it`s just elected a new Republican majority Senate whose
leader is from the co-producing state of Kentucky and opposes the new accord.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R) MINORITY LEADER: Because I read the agreement. It requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years while these
carbon emission regulations are creating havoc in my state and other states around the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: So, on everything, from international agreements to domestic debates to communicating clearly, diplomacy plays a part. It can help develop
mutual respect, even when two different sides don`t see it eye to eye. It can be learned, and one way to do that is to study abroad, gaining an
understanding about another culture by immersing yourself in it. Back to China.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The morning rush to school in Beijing. Except this school is paced with teens from Across America.
Juniors and seniors spending a full year abroad in China.
(on camera): Was it very challenging?
ANTHONY BOX, STUDYING ABROAD: In the beginning, it was extremely challenging.
MCKENZIE (voice over): Alex, and Virginia native Anthony Box is here to Master Mandarin, Chinese history and even music.
Though the two-stringed erhu is pretty tricky.
The school year abroad program allows American students to come to China and be totally immersed in the culture, but also in a way it`s teenage
diplomacy.
Both the U.S. and China hope that human interaction and understanding can help their sometimes frosty relationship. And at 17, Anthony already gets
it.
BOX: We are the new generation, so when we get older, we are going to have to deal with like all these problems and stuff. And so, it`d be really
good to (INAUDIBLE) experience the world. So we know what we have to do .
MCKENZIE: Anthony says he learns more outside of the classroom where he commutes just like any other Beijinger.
BOX: Bing`s (ph) kind of like a pancake, but without all of the other ingredients like syrup and sugar.
MCKENZIE (on camera): OK. So, this is yours - you are (INAUDIBLE) snack.
BOX: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
MCKENZIE: That is good?
BOX: Yes. It`s very good. I really like it.
MCKENZIE (voice over): He lives with the Chinese family and calls his Chinese host mother mom. Before joining the program, Wang Zhang had never
spent much time with Americans. Now, she`s hosted three. "This is close personal interaction", she says. These boys have become like my own
children.
Anthony`s life will be about China for a year. But he hopes to carry the lessons he`s learned for a lifetime.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: You`ve probably heard some people being accused of living inside a bubble. Ever wonder what the view is like? Aboard the International Space
Station, scientists recently found out: in weightlessness water just kind of balls up and floats around. So, astronauts playing with a softball size
glob of water turn on a small camera and pushed it inside. The view looked cool to them. It looks cool to us. Goldfish would be unimpressed.
I mean for us it might create ripple effects and impress viewers around the globe. But it`s really just like a fish-i-lands (ph), and what fish is a
big fin of that? It`s just bubbles in bubbles. I can put in water, though it lends itself to some pretty aquatable (ph) video. CNN STUDENT NEWS
hopes to see you Friday.
END
