CNN Student News Transcript: September 15, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- September 15, 2008

Quick Guide

Hurricane Ike - Observe the damage that Hurricane Ike caused in parts of Texas.

Struck Before - Look back at the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

No Accreditation - Discover how a Georgia school district lost its accreditation.

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: Hope you all had a great weekend! Thank you for tuning in to CNN Student News. I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: Hurricane Ike

AZUZ: First up, rescue and recovery efforts are getting started in parts of Texas in the wake of Hurricane Ike. It came ashore early Saturday morning as a Category 2 storm, pounding the state's Gulf Cost region before it moved farther inland. Rain and wind from Ike dumped massive amounts of water over the area, causing serious flooding and damage. Several deaths have already been linked to the storm, and President Bush has warned that it's "going to require time for people to recover." Sandra Endo has more on the aftermath of Ike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN REPORTER: The clean-up effort is underway after Hurricane Ike unleashed its fury over southeast Texas.

PERSON ON THE STREET: It was everything they said and more.

ENDO: Texans on Galveston Island woke up to floods and debris-strewn streets. Ike also took aim at the nation's fourth largest city further inland. In Houston, winds more than 100 miles per hour whipped through the skyline, blowing out windows, leaving these office blinds in a mangled mess, and soggy documents littering the road.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I recognize this is gonna be an event that is going to be very taxing for an extended period of time. Our first and foremost concern here is to save lives, and that's what the priority is today and tomorrow as we continue to move forward with this.

ENDO: It was a different type of rescue for this evacuee. Friday, she went into labor at the shelter she fled to, and a psychiatric doctor volunteering there helped deliver her baby in the shelter's bathroom.

DR. MARK BURNS, GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRIST: The credit goes to the mother. Just did a beautiful job with her delivery.

ENDO: Now, the state's largest ever search-and-rescue operation is underway. And cleaning crews are also beginning to canvass the streets. The federal government is vowing to help with the effort. A big problem now: millions without power in the aftermath of the storm. It could be weeks until people get their power back on, and even longer for their communities to return to normal. In Houston, I'm Sandra Endo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Word to the Wise

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: A Word to the Wise...

ignominious (adjective) to be marked as discreditable, despicable or contemptible

source: www.dictionary.com

Struck Before

AZUZ: That word could be used to describe this disaster or another one in Galveston's history, as Ike is neither the first or the worst storm to strike the Texan island. John Zarrella takes us back in time to a force that claimed 8,000 lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN REPORTER: When the sun came up on September 9th, 1900, those who survived looked out over a landscape of unimaginable devastation and death. It was the day after a hurricane that still holds the ignominious title: deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

CASEY GREENE, HISTORIAN: People in Galveston knew that there was a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. It was reported in the Galveston County Daily News. But they didn't know where the storm would make landfall.

ZARRELLA: And most didn't take it seriously. Historians say what led to the Galveston disaster as much as any other factor was an attitude.

GREENE: That's one of the reasons so many people lost their lives in the hurricane: complacency.

ZARRELLA: The hurricane unleashed on Galveston 150 mile per hour winds, a torrent of rain and a nearly 16-foot wall of water that inundated much of the island. There was no way to escape. Entire sections of the city were leveled. Entire families were washed away. Maybelle Doolin's father and his three step brothers spent hours in a rowboat pulling people from the debris-filled water. They are credited with saving two hundred lives. In Galveston that day, people survived simply by accident. Driven not to repeat history, Galvestonians built a three-mile long, 17-foot high seawall. The hope: a hurricane will never again swallow up the city. John Zarrella, CNN, Galveston, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Gas Prices

AZUZ: Back in 1900, fuel costs probably weren't a big concern around a major hurricane. You know they are today. With Ike looming late last week, drivers lined up and the gas prices climbed up. Some of you may have even spotted stations that completely ran out. While gas numbers are up, oil prices are down! Experts say when Ike caused some refineries to close temporarily, it decreased the demand for crude oil, which caused the cost to drop.

Russia Plane Crash

AZUZ: Over in Russia, officials are investigating a plane crash that took place in the city of Perm this weekend. All 88 people on board the flight from Moscow were killed when it caught fire and crashed early Sunday morning. Authorities are looking into the exact cause of the accident. They say the most likely explanation was "a technical breakdown."

California Train Crash

AZUZ: Officials with Metrolink say "human error" is to blame for a deadly train crash that took place near Los Angeles on Friday. Twenty-five people were killed and more than 130 injured in the head-on collision between a commuter train and a freight train. A Metrolink spokeswoman says the accident happened when an engineer failed to stop for a red signal.

Is this legit?

RAMSAY: Is this Legit? The first debate between presidential candidates facing off in a general election took place in 1960. Totally true! The 1960 debate between Republican Richard Nixon and Democrat John Kennedy is famously known as the first televised debate, but it also marked the first time that general election opponents ever squared off against each other.

Promo

AZUZ: Presidential debates have only been around for a few decades, but they're an important part of the election process. That's why they're our Talking Democracy topic for September. The first face-off between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama takes place later this month. We'll have a primer on presidential debates for you next week. But our One-Sheet and Learning Activity are available right now! They offer some historical background and get you ready to interpret this year's showdowns. It's all part of Talking Democracy, and it's all at CNNStudentNews.com!

No Accreditation

AZUZ: Many of you are probably planning to apply to college someday. But imagine finding out that your acceptance might get held up; not because of you, but because of your school. That's what some Georgia students are struggling with after their district recently lost its accreditation. Rusty Dornin details how it happened and how it's directly affecting one family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSTY DORNIN CNN REPORTER: Genetta Reeves has dreamed of being valedictorian at her high school since the third grade. But Reeves and more than 50,000 other students learned on September 1st the school system in Clayton County, Georgia had its accreditation revoked. That means in the eyes of many colleges and universities, the schools have no ranking; high school diplomas from Clayton County don't count.

GENETTA REEVES, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: When I first heard the news, I cried. I thought I might have to leave. Everything that I worked so hard for all might be at stake.

DORNIN: How did this happen? The agency that makes sure school districts adhere to certain standards found a deeply troubled school system. The district had everything from a squabbling school board to crumbling academic standards.

MARK ELGART, SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS: Since 2002, their school system is realizing a decline in student achievement, not an improvement.

DORNIN: After numerous complaints, the county hired a new school superintendent and the state removed four board members, but that didn't solve the problem. For Genetta Reeves and her parents, it's been an unbelievable nightmare.

VERNETTA REEVES, GENETTA'S MOM: Emotionally, it's like a roller coaster. My days and nights, all we talk about is Clayton County.

DORNIN: The Reeves just learned the college Genetta wants to attend will still accept her because of her high academic standing, but many anxious parents yanked their children out of schools. What happens next? The district must prove it is adhering to nine mandates, from ethics to academics. So far, it's only met one.

JOHN THOMPSON, CLAYTON COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: We have begun to address those issues. We will continue to address those issues.

DORNIN: The district has one year to be reinstated, or it must start from the beginning to gain accreditation, a two to three year process. If it fails, it could impact Genetta's younger brother and sister, who will enter high school next year.

VERNETTA REEVES: It's gonna impact them hard and we're gonna be in the same situation that we're in now. If we can't figure out an answer as far as which direction we're going, if we're going to remain in Clayton County, because we don't want to go through what we've been going through right now. It's too much.

DORNIN: Superintendent John Thompson says the impacts reach far beyond the classroom.

THOMPSON: The whole community, some 250,000 people that have to have education as its economical base. This whole thing has affected everyone.

DORNIN: Especially families like the Reeves, where education is priority number one. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, by definition, polar bears are white. That's what makes this guy's coat a colorful curiosity. You might have to look closely to notice it, but his fur is frosted green. He's not making a statement about the environment, although conservation is the culprit in this hue-done-it. The zoo wasn't changing out the bear's pond as often to save water. That sparked an overgrowth of algae, which led directly to the dye job.

Goodbye

AZUZ: That's what you get for going green. And we'll always give you the bear facts here on CNN Student News. Have a great day. I'm Carl Azuz.