CNN Student News Transcript: August 25, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- August 25, 2008

Quick Guide

Weekend Headlines - Review the weekend's top news, including a decision on a Democratic running mate.

Conventional Wisdom - Examine what's at stake during this week's Democratic National Convention.

The Dead Zone - Explore the circumstances surrounding the Gulf of Mexico's growing Dead Zone.

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: We're sorry to remind you it's Monday, but we're happy you're kicking off your week with CNN Student News! From the CNN Center, I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: Weekend Headlines

AZUZ: First up, it's goodbye Beijing, as the '08 Olympics draw to a close. The head of the International Olympic Committee called this year's Games "exceptional," and said that during the two-week event, "the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world."

And all of us learned more about some of the athletes competing in Beijing, as we witnessed some amazing accomplishments. In basketball, the U.S. men's team capped an undefeated Olympic tournament with a gold medal. The team was nicknamed the "Redeem Team" after taking home bronze four years ago. The U.S. women's basketball and men's volleyball teams also added to the U.S. medal count on the final weekend of the games, both winning gold. And after all the hardware had been handed out, the U.S. stood on top in total medals, hauling in 110. The host country, China, nabbed 100 medals, and just over half of those were gold. Next stop for the Olympics: London, England, in 2012. On Sunday, a huge crowd gathered in front of Buckingham Palace to watch and celebrate as the mantle of Olympic host was passed from Beijing to London.

In the U.S., Tropical Storm Fay has weakened, but its effects are still being felt in Florida. President Bush declared a "major disaster" area in that state, and Florida's governor warned that the storm, which was downgraded to a tropical depression over the weekend, could still cause more flooding. Fay's blamed for 12 deaths in the U.S., 11 of them in Florida.

And the Democratic ticket is set. After weeks of speculation, presumptive nominee Barack Obama introduced his new running mate on Saturday: Senator Joe Biden. After an early-morning text message announcing the selection, Biden, a six-term senator from Delaware, joined Obama on stage at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, the same place where Obama declared his candidacy last year. Now that the decision's been made, let's check out some fast facts on Senator Biden.

Fast Facts

AZUZ: Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1942. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate when he was 29 years old and he's served six terms. Biden has actually run for the presidency twice himself, in 1988 and during this year's campaign. Biden currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Shoutout

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Sawl's 8th grade U.S. History classes at Pine View Middle School in Land O' Lakes, Florida! By what common nickname is Denver, Colorado, known? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it the: A) City of Brotherly Love, B) Mile High City, C) Charm City or D) Crescent City? You've got three seconds -- GO! Denver's official elevation is 5,280 feet above sea level, making it the Mile High City. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Conventional Wisdom

AZUZ: Over the next four days, the race for the White House is making a stop in the Mile High City, as the Democratic National Convention and a ton of media coverage roll into town. Next week, it'll be the Republican Party's turn in Minnesota - and of course we'll bring you that. But right now, the spotlight's on Denver and the Democrats. Joe Johns gives us a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE JOHNS, CNN REPORTER: If you thought political conventions don't really matter anymore, you'd be wrong. Yes, it's choreographed to the minute. It's a controlled love fest. But in a controlled environment like this, the candidates can make or break themselves on their salesmanship. Barack Obama may be the one with the most to gain or lose.

PETER FENN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He's introducing himself again to the American people. He's putting out his message of change, of the future versus the past. So, the eyes are gonna be, I think, on Obama, who is less well known, less well defined then is John McCain.

JOHNS: Polls show Obama needs to win over skeptical voters next week. Analysts say he needs to do that by showing them who he is and that it's safe to put him in the White House. He also needs to keep it all together with Hillary Clinton and her supporters, and that's what Democrats are talking about when they talk about unity here.

THOMAS HOLBROOKE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: Folks in the media, no disrespect intended, are going to be looking for signs of disharmony, in part because there's really not much else happening there. And you know, one of the potential stories is what if there's a big blow up with Clinton delegates?

JOHNS: And then there is that phenomenon people in politics only talk about every four years. It's called "the bounce." That's the spike in the polls a presidential candidate gets after being anointed at a political convention.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, FORMER (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Reporting for duty.

JOHNS: Professor Thomas Holbrooke of the University of Wisconsin has studied the bounce dating back to the 1960s. He predicts Obama should get one.

HOLBROOKE: So, this convention gives him the chance to drive home the message, the mess of the last 8 years, the message about him as an alternative, the agent of change. And because he's behind where we would expect him to be in the polls right now, I expect him to get a more substantial bump than he would, let's say, if he were running at 55, 56% in the polls.

JOHNS: For McCain, the challenge is to separate himself from the Bush administration without alienating Bush supporters. But that convention is still more than a week away, and we know what they say about a day in politics. Joe Johns, CNN, Denver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: Find out exactly what goes on during one of these political conventions. Our Learning Activity challenges students to research the roles and responsibilities of convention delegates. And we want to hear your thoughts on these big political bashes. So, send us an iReport and tell us what you think. It's all part of "Talking Democracy," and it's all at CNNStudentNews.com.

I.D. Me

RAMSAY: See if you can I.D. me! I'm a chemical element that's colorless, odorless, and tasteless. I'm the most plentiful element in the Earth's atmosphere, making up about 78 percent of the planet's air, by volume. My atomic number is 7. I'm nitrogen, and I was discovered in the late 1700s.

The Dead Zone

AZUZ: It's not just in the air. Nitrogen is a part of all living matter. Animals get it from what they eat, and plants get it from the soil. Farmers help those plants grow by using fertilizer. Guess what that contains? Because of severe weather over the summer, the fertilizer that a lot of farmers use for crops in the Midwest is actually causing problems for some fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. What? Allan Chernoff explores the region's Dead Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN REPORTER: Louisiana fisherman Terry Pizani looks across the water with a sense of loss. What used to be the best fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico, he says, are barren.

TERRY PIZANI, FISHERMAN: You don't see nothing. You usually see bait fish on the water. You don't see no bait fish, nothing. Nothing's there. I don't have no kind of testing material to test the water, but I know something's wrong.

CHERNOFF: This is the test. 35 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, oceanographers sample water deep below. This sensor measures the oxygen levels in the water. The deeper it goes, the less oxygen it finds, and in this part of the Gulf of Mexico, there's virtually none at the bottom.

LORA PRIDE, LOUISIANA UNIVERSITIES MARINE CONSORTIUM: We're not finding enough oxygen to support life, aquatic life.

CHERNOFF: The Dead Zone: a vast portion of the Gulf of Mexico's sea bed that loses most of its oxygen. It forms every summer, but this year it's especially large: 8,000 square miles, nearly as big as New Jersey! Scientists say the cause is hundreds of miles up the Mississippi. Farmers across the Midwest use tons of nitrogen and phosphorous to fertilize corn, allowing them to satisfy growing demand from ethanol factories and developing countries. This summer's flooding caused much of the fertilizer to run off into rivers that flow into the Mississippi.

NANCY RABALAIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOUISIANA UNIVERSITIES MARINE CONSORTIUM: The size of the low oxygen zone has increased in proportion to these nutrients reaching the Gulf.

CHERNOFF: The fertilizer flowing into the Gulf triggers an overgrowth of microscopic algae.

PRIDE: These things will fall to the bottom, and as they decompose they consume oxygen.

CHERNOFF: The lack of oxygen causes bottom dwellers -- fish and shrimp -- to swim away in search of oxygen. Clams, crabs, starfish and other slow moving sea life suffocate. To find lots of shrimp, fishermen like Terry now have to travel far, to the edge of the Dead Zone, an expensive proposition with the cost of diesel fuel still high. So, many boats are idle, others are staying away from their home port in Grand Isle, Louisiana, a disaster for seafood processor Dean Blanchard, who buys shrimp from fishermen. With demand for corn growing, experts say the Dead Zone could expand in coming years, an environmental hazard that threatens Louisiana's seafood industry. Alan Chernoff, CNN, in the Gulf of Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, we're gonna bug you with a little more political coverage. And they're off in the roach race for the White House! These prognosticating pests are crawling their way toward victory in the 15th Roach Derby. It's an annual event, and a nasty one. But when an election year rolls around, the creepy critters represent candidates. John McCain's insect impersonator emerged victorious, sprinting down the track in less than five seconds.

Goodbye

AZUZ: Of course, the organizers are from a pest management company, so he might have just been trying to run away. That's what we're doing. We'll see you tomorrow. I'm Carl Azuz.