CNN Students news 2011-05-10

(CNNStudentNews)--May10,2011DownloadPDFmapsrelatedtotoday'sshow:TranscriptTHISISARUSHTRANSCRIPT.THISCOPYMAYNOTBEINITSFINALFORMANDMAYBEUPDATED.CARLAZUZ,CNNSTUDENTNEWSANCHOR:Hello,everyone!ThisTuesdayonCNNStudentNews,we'retakingyouunderthebigtop.First,though,we'reheadeddownthemightyMississippi.FirstUp:FloodWatersRisingAZUZ:ThatwouldbetheMississippiRiver,whichiscausingfloodsupanddownitspaththroughtheUnitedStates.Wanttotakeyoudowntherivernowtocheckoutsomeofwhat'sbeengoingon.We'regonnastartinsouthernIllinois,inthecityofCairo.Youseeitrightthereonyourscreen.Floodingwasthreateningtowipeouttheentiretown.TheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineerscameupwiththisplantohelpCairoandsomeothercommunitiesnearby.AndthatbringsusdownintoMissouri.WhattheCorpsdidwasintentionallyblowupalevee,abarrierthat'sdesignedtoactuallypreventflooding.ThathelpedthetownsupinIllinois,butitpurposelyfloodedsomepartsofMissouri,somefarms.Andalotofpeople,especiallyfarmers,angrywiththisplan.Onefarmersaidshefeltlikeshewassufferingforsomebodyelse.ThefloodinghasfollowedtheMississippi'spaththroughArkansasanddownintoLouisiana,asyouseehere.Yesterday,engineersopenedaspillwaynorthofthecityofNewOrleans.Thegoalhereistohelpeasethepressureontheriver,hopefullylowerthefloodlevels,keepthewaterawayfromNewOrleans.Butjusttogetanideaofhowmuchwaterwe'retalkingabout,acommanderwiththeArmyCorpsofEngineersofferedananalogy.Hesaidthewaterthat'srushingthroughtheMississippirightnow,inonesecond,couldfillupanareathesizeofafootballfield44feetdeep.We'realsoseeingfloodinginstatesthattheMississippibranchesoffto,likeTennessee.HollyFirferhasmoreonthesituationthere.(BEGINVIDEO)HOLLYFIRFER,CNNNATIONALCORRESPONDENT:Tennessee'slargestcityisinthecrosshairs.Memphisnowhasthemosthigh-riskpopulationforflooding,accordingtotheArmyCorpsofEngineers.OnTuesday,authoritiesexpecttheMississippitocrestat48feetoutsidethecity,lessthanafootshyoftherecordlevelsetin1937.WiththeMississippiswollenbyamonthofabnormallyhighrainfall,itstributariesareoverflowing,withnowherefortheirwatertoflow.Atleast1,100homesandtrailersinandaroundMemphishavebeenevacuated.400residentsofShelbyCountyarecurrentlyinshelters.OnSunday,officialswentdoortodoortoalertothersthattheymayalsoneedtoleavetheirhomes.ThemayorofMemphisisconfidentthatallthosewhoneedtoescapetherisingwaterswillbeevacuated.MAYORACWHARTON,MEMPHIS,TENNESSEE:We'llgetthemout.Someareholdingouttothelastminute,butwethinkintheendthey'regoingtocomeonout.FIRFER:OfficialssaywhilethereisgreatpressureontheleveesaroundMemphis,theyarecurrentlyperformingasexpected.(ENDVIDEO)IsThisLegit?TOMEKAJONES,CNNSTUDENTNEWS:Isthislegit?TheUnitedStatesandChinahavetheworld'slargesteconomies.Legit!Thatmeansthesecountrieshavealotofinfluencewhenitcomestoglobalfinances.EconomicTalksAZUZ:Well,theglobaleconomyisoneofthebigissuesaheadasrepresentativesfromtheU.S.andChinameetinWashingtonthisweek.Thisisthethirdsetofmeetingsbetweenthetwogovernments.Lastweek,oneChineseeconomicofficialsaid,Tobefrank,wehavedifferentviewsthatmakediscussionnecessary.SomeofthosedifferentviewshavetodowiththeeconomicpoliciesoftheU.S.andChina.Sincethey'retheworld'sbiggesteconomies,whateachcountrydoes--itseconomicpractices,thedecisionsitmakes--canhaveaprettybigimpactontheothernation.Someothersubjectsarelikelytocomeupduringthemeetings.Thatincludeshumanrights,concernsaboutNorthKorea'snuclearprogram,andtheU.S.andChinaworkingtogethertofightterrorism.ReactorsAZUZ:MovingtoJapan,whereofficialsareshuttingdownanuclearpowerplant.NottheFukushimaDaiichiplant,theonewe'vetalkedaboutsinceJapan'searthquakeandtsunamiinMarch.No,theonewe'retalkingabouttodayistheHamaokaplant.Theownerannouncedit'sbeingshutdownafterJapan'sprimeministerwarnedthatHamaokawasvulnerabletonaturaldisasters,liketheonesthatdamagedtheFukushimaplant.Hamaoka'sownersayssafetyishiscompany'sfirstpriority.Meanwhile,workerswentbackinsideoneofthereactorsattheFukushimaplantyesterday.Theywerecheckingonaventilationsystemthatwasinstalledlastweek.Thesystemisfilteringoutradioactivesubstancessothatengineerscangoinandshutdownthereactor.ShoutoutMATTCHERRY,CNNSTUDENTNEWS:Today'sShoutoutgoesouttoMissAbromitis'classattheSarahRawsonSmithSchoolinAtlanta,Georgia!Whatisthescientificnameforafearofheights?Herewego!Isit:A)Agoraphobia,B)Aurophobia,C)AcrophobiaorD)Arachnophobia?You'vegotthreeseconds--GO!Fearofheightsisacrophobia,fromtherootwordacro,whichmeansheight.That'syouranswerandthat'syourShoutout!GammaPhiCircusAZUZ:That'salsowherewegetthewordacrobat,liketightropewalkersandtrapezeartists;thekindoffolksyou'dseeinacircus.TedRowlandsvisitedaschoolinIllinoiswherestudentscantraintobepartoftheshow.It'snotclowncollege.It'saregularuniversitywherethepersonsittingnexttoyouinChemistry101couldbedouble-majoringinCircusStudies.(BEGINVIDEO)UNIDENTIFIEDMALE:Isouridentitygoingtobecomemoreexternalthanithasbeeninternal?TEDROWLANDS,CNNCORRESPONDENT:SarahBowdenisasophomoreatIllinoisStateUniversity.UNIDENTIFIEDMALE:Boysandgirls,childrenofallages.ROWLANDS:Sheisalsoacircusperformer.SarahispartofIllinoisState'sGammaPhiCircus,aschool-sponsoredcircust