CNN Student News Transcript: September 8, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- September 8, 2008

Quick Guide

Hurricane Ike - Observe the impact of severe weather in the Caribbean and the Carolinas.

Rockslide in Egypt - Learn about rescue efforts under way in Egypt following a recent rockslide

21st Century Medicine - Discover how technology is helping an Iraqi doctor to treat his patients.

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: Hi there. Hope you had a great weekend and that you're ready to get started with a new week of CNN Student News. From the CNN Center, I'm your host, Carl Azuz.

First Up: Hurricane Ike

AZUZ: We're starting off with severe weather today, as Hurricane Ike barrels toward the U.S. Forecasters believe this storm could be headed toward the Gulf of Mexico later this week. President Bush has declared a state of emergency in Florida because of Ike, that could free up federal funds to help out. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has taken the same precaution in his state. More than 370,000 people there still don't have power after Hurricane Gustav hit the region last week. John Lorinc has the details on the damage Ike has already caused on its march across the Caribbean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LORINC, CNN REPORTER: Another storm beating, this time from Hurricane Ike, this weekend in the Caribbean. These images were taken in Gonaives, Haiti, one of the hardest hit countries this hurricane season. The man who took these images explains what he saw.

JOEL TRIMBLE, SURVIVED IKE: The damage is very severe. The water in places was over ten feet. It took out all the roads.

LORINC: In Turks and Caicos, officials report up to fifty percent of homes on Grand Turk have been destroyed or lost their roofs. In the Florida Keys, officials say that although current forecasts show the impact from Ike to the area is likely to be minimal, officials have proceeded with a precautionary mandatory evacuation for the area, as conditions could change.

JIM SCHOLL, CITY MANAGER, KEY WEST: We understand the inconvenience to the residents, to the tourists, to the businesses, but this one is just too close, folks.

LORINC: Forecasters do fear Ike will re-intensify once it crosses Cuba and enters the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall along the Gulf Coast sometime later this upcoming week. It's so far, too early to tell decisively where that landfall could be. For CNN Student News, I'm John Lorinc.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Hanna's Aftermath

AZUZ: As Ike looms ahead, the threat from Hanna seems to be finished. It came ashore as a tropical storm over the weekend, dumping rain across the Carolinas and Virginia before it finally moved up the Eastern seaboard. Emergency officials say no states have expressed any damage that they couldn't handle on their own. Stephanie Elam reports on the aftermath of the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN REPORTER: In the middle of the night, Tropical Storm Hanna made landfall, bringing strong winds and rain, but leaving little disruption in her wake. Businesses along the Carolina coastline are resuming operations, eager to make up some revenue before the warm summer days come to an end.

VICKIE HAWKE, MANAGER, SURFSIDE SUITES: It did affect the business but, of course, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be because most people are still coming back in today.

ELAM: Still, Hanna had enough force to cause some significant flooding in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is coursing quickly up the Eastern seaboard. While it looks like Hurricane Ike will miss this area, North Carolina's governor says officials are still keeping an eye on that brewing storm.

MICHAEL EASLEY, N.C. GOVERNOR: I don't want people worried about that right now. But I do want them to know that we're worried about it and we're preparing for it.

ELAM: For now, there are plenty of people happy to take advantage of Hanna's lingering wind.

MICHAEL RAGAZZO, SURFER: A good surfing day can be waist-high, and this is well over head-high.

ELAM: The surfers were out early in the morning, thrilled to hit the waves even if they hit back.

CONOR BUCKLEY, SURFER: The wave just crashed, hit me off my board, and I guess the wave was so powerful as it brought it down, it just snapped it right in half.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! When does the Atlantic hurricane season officially end? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) September 30, B) October 31, C) November 30 or D) December 31? You've got three seconds -- GO! Hurricane season technically lasts from June 1 to November 30, but storms sometimes form outside of those dates. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Promo

AZUZ: Now you know when hurricanes are most likely to form, but do you know how these storms develop, or what factors make them gain or lose intensity? Our One-Sheet gives you some of the answers and our Learning Activity sends students on a multimedia scavenger hunt for others. Check out both resources at CNNStudentNews.com!

Rockslide in Egypt

AZUZ: Next, we're heading across the Atlantic to Northern Africa, where rescue efforts are under way in Egypt. Officials say more than 30 people were killed, another 50 injured when this powerful rockslide slammed into a village there over the weekend. Rosemary Church has the details on the recovery efforts taking place outside the capital city of Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN REPORTER: Rescue teams frantically search through the devastated remains of a shantytown east of Cairo, where massive boulders weighing some 70 tons rained down on the village early in the morning while people still slept. The Egyptian army is sending in heavy-lift equipment to help the rescue teams, but people here expect the death toll to rise, and some are frustrated with the pace of recovery efforts.

MAN ON THE STREET (TRANSLATED): At least 60 houses were affected, multiply that by four, five or seven people per house, that is a lot of people. Everybody, all these people are just standing around. They should be drilling to find a way to get in and rescue the people still alive underneath these rocks.

CHURCH: Poor infrastructure and building materials mean that these homes don't stand a chance against the might of the tumbling rocks. This is not the first time that a rockslide has hit this area. In 1993, at least 30 people were killed in an almost identical disaster. But for now, the residents of this shantytown pick through what's left of their homes to salvage their belongings, or wait to discover the fate of their missing loved ones. Rosemary Church, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

21st Century Medicine

AZUZ: Turning to Iraq, where a medical practice is getting some 21st century assistance. We go online to game, shop or talk with friends. One doctor is using the Internet to get second opinions from colleagues overseas, and he says it's providing his patients with the best care possible. Arwa Damon tells us about the benefits of telemedicine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN REPORTER: Seven-year-old Anya has leukemia. Doctors in Iraq suspect its a type of lymphoma, but are not confident in the results of their pathological lab.

DOCTOR: She has a type of lymphoma, we suspect lymphoblastic lymphoma.

DAMON: But even though Iraq lacks the medical resources, Anya will be getting help from top notch doctors in Italy thanks to telemedicine.

DR. ANNA MARIA TESTE, HEMATOLOGIST: We agree with the treatment you already started.

DAMON: In 2003, Italian doctor Dr. Anna Maria Teste came to Baghdad and spent time working with Iraqi doctors.

DR. MAZIN AL-JADIRY, PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGIST: She shared the suffering from the hot weather, from the poor water supply, and from the bad service in the hospital.

DAMON: But the security situation prevented her from continuing her work on the ground in Iraq.

TESTE: I thought I could not stop this work.

DAMON: By the end of 2004, the telemedicine program was born. Now, a group of Italian doctors donate their time, and a lab in Rome analyzes ten specimens per month for free.

DOCTOR: It gives us more confidence with the results of our pathologist, and we give proper treatment to the patient.

DAMON: Dr. Al-Jadiry says he and his colleagues treated over 150 patients using telemedicine and says they've saved dozens of lives. But it's not just the patients who benefit from the arrangement.

AL-JADIRY: This gave us very strong moral support, because in spite of the bombing, in spite of the risk of assassination and the risk of kidnapping, in spite of we feel that there is nobody listening to us, we feel through the telemedicine link that there are people who want to help us from afar.

DAMON: Help within Iraq is hard to come by. Decades of sanctions and the U.S.-led invasion destroyed its medical infrastructure. Many of Dr. Al-Jadiry's peers fled the violence, but he decided to stay.

AL-JADIRY: We have the power to work, but we don't have the updated practice, and we don't have the new technology in the medical field.

DAMON: For now at least, they have telemedicine, giving patients like Anya the best they can get. Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Your Blog Comments

AZUZ: And finally today, hundreds of you commented on the puns at the end of our show. Now majority rules, so I'm sorry to say they're staying in! Steven says, "As a 17-year-old senior in high school, I feel that there is not enough comedy in the news nowadays. I believe that you should definitely keep them." Nick writes, "Keep the puns, Carl. Sure they may be corny and somewhat annoying, but that is what makes the show unique." Thanks a lot, Nick. Lauryn says, "Our entire school loves the puns, and trust me, you don't want a thousand angry middle school students on your hands." I certainly do not. Austin says, "The puns are the cheese to my macaroni. Please don't take away my cheese." Rhiannon notes that without the puns, they'd have one sad history class, probably flooding their brand new school with tears! M. McClay writes 12 of his students said keep the puns; fourteen said get rid of them. Only 12 students are now passing the class. And Eddie offered up his own suggestions, like making a "cheesy pun about quesadillas."

Goodbye

AZUZ: He also wrote you could avoid going to a pancake house by saying it gives you the "crepes." We'll be back tomorrow to begin a new era of pun-ishment. I'm Carl Azuz.