CNN Students news 2011-05-11

(CNNStudentNews)--May11,2011DownloadPDFmapsrelatedtotoday'sshow:TranscriptTHISISARUSHTRANSCRIPT.THISCOPYMAYNOTBEINITSFINALFORMANDMAYBEUPDATED.CARLAZUZ,CNNSTUDENTNEWSANCHOR:Youmighthaveseenthiskindoftechnologybefore;youmighthaveevenusedityourselfathome.Buthowmuchisitworth?That'soneoftheissueswe'reexploringtodayonCNNStudentNews!FirstUp:MemphisFloodingAZUZ:Firstuptoday,somepositivenewsforpeopledealingwithfloodingfromtheMississippiRiver,finally.Theriverbegancrestingyesterday.Thatmeansitreachedwhatexpertsthinkshouldbeitshighestpoint.ButthecrestingwasonlyhappeningaroundthecityofMemphis,Tennessee.Now,officialsarefocusingtheirconcernsonLouisianaandMississippi.Theriverisn'texpectedtocrestthereuntilnextweek.Thesefloodshavesomepeoplelookingbackmorethan80years.Thisisnewsreelfootagefrom1927.Sameriver,theMississippi.Itwastheworstfloodingithadeverseen.600,000peopleforcedfromtheirhomes.Thefloodscausedtheequivalentofnearly$624millionindamages.Thoserecordfloodsledengineerstobuildasystemoflevees,thebarriersdesignedtoholdbackfloods.They'rehopingthoseleveeswillkeepthefloodinghappeningrightnowfromgettingasbadasitdidinthe1920s.BacknorthinMemphis,expertsaresayingthatwhiletherivermightnotgetanyhigher,itmightnotgetsignificantlylowerforawhile,either.RobMarciano'sonthescene,tellingusaboutthetimeframe.(BEGINVIDEO)ROBMARCIANO,AMSMETEOROLOGIST:Officially,it'scresting.That'sgoingtobethetheme,Ithink,goingforward,ishowexcruciatinglyslowthiswaterhasrisenandhowslowit'sgoingtogodown.Howmuchit'srisen,that'sindisputable,andthat'spainfulaswell.Typically,itwouldbeaboutahalfamilewide.Now,it'sthreemileswide.ThisisRiversideDrive.Shouldbejustaroad.Now,it'spartoftheriverhereacrosspartsofMemphis.We'reonthewesternedgeoftown,obviously.We'realsoatthewesternedgeofBealeStreet,whichcomesintoanintersectionwithRiversideDrive.That'sflooded.Thefamednightspotsandbluesestablishmentsalittlebitfurthereastareuntouched.Graceland,untouched.Andforthemostpart,indowntownMemphis,it'sbusinessasusual.ButyougotosomeofthesurroundingareasintheoutskirtsofthecitywherethetributariesarefeedingintotheswollenMississippi,which,really,theriverisjustnotallowinganymorewatercomingin,that'swherewe'reseeingmostoftheflooding.We'vegotover900homesthathavebeenaffectedbythisflooding.Over400peopleareinsheltersacrossthearea,andthere'sstillevacuationsthatareunderway.Andtheriverisgoingtotake,well,heck,it'sgoingtotakeafullfivedaysbeforethisriverinthisspotgoesdownjustonefoot.So,we'regoingtobeinmajorfloodstagehereforatleastaweek,ifnottwoweeks.IspokewithColonelReichling,whoisthemaninchargehereinMemphiswiththeArmyCorpsofEngineers.Hesaystheleveesareholdingupprettygood.Theyhavegotsomeweaknesses,someleaksthattheyhavehadtopatchalongtheway.Butforthemostpart,thingsaregoingaccordingtoplan.Butwhat'snotintheplanistohavethistypeofhistoricfloodupanddowntheMississippi,withthathistoricrainfallwesawfurtherupstream.Andseeingtheriversriselikethisiscertainlysomethingtowitness.Ifyou'repartoftheflood,youcertainlydon'twantanypartofthishistory-makingevent.Anditwillbetwo,threeweeksbeforethiswatergetsdownintotheGulfofMexico.(ENDVIDEO)I.D.MeMICHELLEWRIGHT,CNNSTUDENTNEWS:SeeifyoucanI.D.Me!I'mlocatedinTexasontheRioGrandeRiver.I'mthelargestbordercitybetweentheU.S.andMexico.TranslatedfromSpanish,mynamemeansthepass.I'mElPaso,andI'mjustacrosstheborderfromJuarez,Mexico.ImmigrationDebateAZUZ:ElPaso'slocationontheborderwithMexicomakesitaninterestingsettingtotalkaboutimmigration.That'swhatPresidentObamadidduringavisittotheTexascityyesterday.HewantsreforminU.S.immigrationpolicies,buthe'salsosaidhedoesn'tplantoactonhisown.HewantsCongresstobepartofthis.Immigrationisanissuethatstirsupalotofemotions,andthepresidentsaysheunderstandswhy.U.S.PRESIDENTBARACKOBAMA:Thetruthis,we'veoftenwrestledwiththepoliticsofwhoisandwhoisn'tallowedtocomeintothiscountry.Becausetheseissuestouchonwhatwebelieve,touchdeeplyonourconvictionsaboutwhoweareasapeople,aboutwhatitmeanstobeanAmerican,thesedebatesoftenelicitstrongemotions.AZUZ:Oneofthebiggestissuesinthatdebateisoverthecountry'sborderwithMexico.SomeRepublicanleaderssaytheywon'tconsiderotherimmigrationpoliciesuntilthatborderisunderbettercontrol.PresidentObamaispushingfortightersecurity,too.Butinarecentspeech,hesaidhewantstomakesurethatsecurityisfocusedmostlyoncriminals.RafaelRomoisinArizona,alongadifferentpartoftheU.S.-Mexicoborder.Hegivesusalookattheagentsresponsibleforpatrollingit.(BEGINVIDEO)UNIDENTIFIEDMALE:OK,we'vegottwoapproachingtheravineagain.Makethatthree.RAFAELROMO,CNNSENIORLATINAMERICANAFFAIRSEDITOR:Thecallcomesinandwerushtothescene.It'sdarkandtheagentsknowtheyonlyhaveminutestofindthesuspect.RUDYGARCIA,U.S.BORDERPATROLAGENT:Hejumpedthefenceand,youknow,hedidn'tstop.Hejustkeptrunning.ROMO:AgentRudyGarciafindsthemenhidingunderneathaplatforminabackyard.GARCIA:Youhavetosearcheverylittlecreviceandeverycrackbecause,youknow,theycanhideanywhere.ROMO:ThemigrantsayshecomesfromsouthernMexico.LEONZOLOPEZ,MEXICANMIGRANT[INSPANISH]:MyfamilyandpovertyinMexico...Iwantbetter.Ijustwantajobtosupportmyfamily.ROMO:Notfarfrom