CNN Student News Transcript: June 4, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- June 4, 2008

Quick Guide

America Votes 2008 - Discover the results of a historic day in U.S. presidential politics.

2007-08 Your Top Stories - Learn what images from two natural disasters stood out to our viewers.

Walk for Hunger - Hear how a "Walk the World" program is helping to fight global hunger.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: The presidential primaries are over, but today's edition of CNN Student News is just getting started. Hello, everyone. I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: America Votes 2008

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While this primary was long, I am so proud we stayed the course together.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can say with confidence that the primary season is over and the general election campaign has begun.

AZUZ: First up, America reaches the end of primary season and turns the page to the general election. Voters in South Dakota and Montana headed to the polls yesterday, casting their ballots in the country's final inter-party contests. It ended up being a historic day for American politics, and the stage is now set for November's election-day showdown. Elizabeth Manresa has the latest on the race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Tonight, I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America.

ELIZABETH MANRESA, CNN REPORTER: After 16 months on the primary trail, Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination, making him the first African-American to represent a major party in a campaign for the White House. Before a roaring crowd of supporters in Minnesota, Obama tipped his hat to Hillary Clinton and to his many supporters.

OBAMA: I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign, through the good days and the bad.

MANRESA: The victory brings to a close one of the most explosive races in history. Even before the results were in from the final contests in South Dakota and Montana, Obama got a boost from several superdelegates. But voters in South Dakota put him over the top. Surrounded by her family in the state she represents, Senator Clinton stopped short of conceding.

CLINTON: I will be making no decisions tonight.

MANRESA: But said she has the Democratic party's best interest at heart.

CLINTON: I am commited to uniting our party, so we move forward.

MANRESA: Acknowledging the hard-fought race between his Democratic opponents, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain said he'll be ready to face Obama in the fall campaign.

MCCAIN: Pundits and party elders have declared that Senator Obama will be my opponent. He will be a formidable one, but I'm ready for the challenge.

MANRESA: And the challenge is certainly on. Barack Obama mentioned McCain several times in his victory speech tonight, saying he's ready to debate the senator from Arizona. In Washington, I'm Elizabeth Manresa for CNN Student News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: If you want to dive further into the details of yesterday's contests, head to our Web site. We've got exit polling data from South Dakota and Montana, and county-by-county voting breakdowns from the two states. You'll find it all in the Spotlight section on CNNStudentNews.com.

Shoutout

NINETTE SOSA, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! What country is highlighted on this map? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Bangladesh, B) Bhutan, C) Myanmar or D) Nepal? You've got three seconds -- GO! On this map, you can "C" that we're highlighting Myanmar, a country that's spent a lot of time in the spotlight recently. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout.

2007-08 Your Top Stories

AZUZ: A natural disaster is what's brought so much attention to Myanmar. Early last month, a deadly cyclone slammed into the Asian country. And less than two weeks later, one of Myanmar's neighbors, China, was rocked by a devastating earthquake. The events caused massive amounts of damage and drew the attention of the entire world, and your comments on our blog. Many of you said these disasters were the most memorable stories of the school year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: What stood out to Sara, who wrote into our blog, was the cyclone that struck Myanmar on May 4th. Mike said he hadn't seen natural disaster damage like that in a long time, and neither had we. Tens of thousands dead, up to a million homeless, and the country's government was hesitant at first to let some groups in to help. It's easy to see why Alice, Katy and Ms. Deis' students couldn't forget images like these. And Mrs. Klaver said her students there were divided on their most memorable news stories between the typhoon in Myanmar and the earthquake in China.

In some areas, not much was left standing by the magnitude-7.9 tremor that struck on May 12th. Smriti and Kimi described the event as "simply horrific;" Shane called it a "castrophe;" and Yvonne said it scared her to see all the collapsed buildings. But there was an element to this story that really seemed to affect you: the Chinese wedding photographer who captured earthquake history. Vanessa liked that the couples were available for these pictures, despite the tragedy. And Sara, Andrea and Jasmine said they were happy that all the people in the photos made it out safely. We thank all of you for writing in to share your most memorable headlines with us. Our blog is always up, if you'd like to comment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: And if you want to help, we've got a way for you to do that, too. Organizations are working to get aid to the victims of these natural disasters, but China and Myanmar still need assistance. To find out how you can take part in the relief efforts, go to CNN.com/impact and learn how you can impact your world.

When we asked for your top stories of the school year, many of you suggested some items from the lighter side of news. Those are coming up later this week, but we haven't made the final picks yet. So, if you want to shout out your favorite funny moment, you know where to go: right to our blog at CNNStudentNews.com!

Spoken Word

RICK WAGONER, GM CHAIRMAN AND CEO: The national average price of gasoline is now almost $4 a gallon for the first time ever. These higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior and rapidly, significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix. We at GM don't think this is a spike or a temporary shift; we believe that it is by and large permanent.

GM Drops Trucks

AZUZ: That's why GM is closing up shop at three SUV and pickup plants and stopping production of a line of trucks at a fourth factory. The company announced the plans yesterday and said it may sell off its Hummer brand of vehicles, as well. GM added that it's going to increase production of some of its more fuel-efficient cars and will start work on a so-called plug-in hybrid that's due to premiere by the end of 2010.

Walk for Hunger

AZUZ: Hunger and malnutrition are the number one risks to health worldwide. According to the U.N.'s World Food Program, many of the world's hungry are young people. Last weekend, more than 250,000 folks did something about it: They walked, and raised enough money to help feed 2 million children. Alphonso Van Marsh has more on this global effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WINNI RAPP: So, who can see the balloons? Who sees the end?

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN REPORTER: Winni Rapp, his wife and kids are walking for the world's hungry children. Donations from this charity stroll go towards fighting one ugly statistic: that worldwide, walk organizers say, every six seconds, a child dies of hunger; a statistic, Rapp says, most people have never heard of.

RAPP: Buy newspapers this morning. You pick ten newspapers or so, and the headlines you get is, I don't know: plane crashed in wherever, politics, elections and so on and so on. I bet you there wouldn't be anything in the papers this morning that talks about that sort of topic. So, anything that raises awareness -- and that's a good opportunity now -- I think really helps.

VAN MARSH: The United Nations' World Food Program organized the walk. It says an increasing imbalance between demand for food and food supply is pushing food prices higher. Rising oil prices and a weaker dollar are making matters worse.

JOSETTE SHEERAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: For people making less than a dollar a day, there is nowhere to retreat. And so what we are seeing is that in places where people were not desperate before, more people hungry, more people cutting out vital parts of their diet, including some going to one meal a day.

VAN MARSH: The annual Walk the World 5K has funded meal programs for millions of school children. Well, while this may seem like a local news event, it is truly global in scope, with walks like this one taking place in dozens and dozens of countries around the world. During one 24-hour period this past weekend, from Cairo to Rome,Tokyo to Jakarta, walkers in more than 200 cities walked to raise money and awareness.

NICK WELLS, TNT, WALK SPONSOR: Yes, of course, times are tough. And we are in this credit crunch and people are probably feeling the pinch. But they can feed themselves, can't they? And that's not the case in Tasmania and Malawi. In other countries like that, it's a different scale.

VAN MARSH: A scale the Rapps might not have to worry about, but one they want reduced. Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Windsor, England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: And finally, some folks are lucky enough to be immortalized on stone, some on film, and some of us on cotton. I can add my name to that last category now, thanks to Mrs. Bentz's students at Moorhead Senior High in Moorhead, Minnesota. They screened my mug onto t-shirts to show their support for our show, and of course gave a shoutout to my love for Fridays. So, is this legit? More than 60 students once walked around school wearing my face as a fashion statement. Now you know, that's totally true.

Goodbye

AZUZ: Just like Fridays, those shirts are awesome, and I certainly appreciate it. Whether you're wearing my face or watching it -- heaven help us all -- we'll hope to see you again tomorrow. I'm Carl Azuz.