CNN students news 2011-01-03

(CNNStudentNews)--January3,2011DownloadPDFmapsrelatedtotoday'sshow:TranscriptTHISISARUSHTRANSCRIPT.THISCOPYMAYNOTBEINITSFINALFORMANDMAYBEUPDATED.CARLAZUZ,CNNSTUDENTNEWSANCHOR:We'reback!I'mCarlAzuz.ThisisCNNStudentNews!Itismyprivilegetowishyouaveryhappynewyear.Welcometoourfirstshowof2011!Wehave10minutesofcommercial-freeheadlinesreadyforyou;theystartrightnow!FirstUp:LameDuckVotesAZUZ:Now,beforewewentonbreak,wetalkedaboutthestatusofthreeproposalsbeingconsideredbytheU.S.Congress.There'sbeenactiononallthreeofthem.First,thetaxcutdeal.ThiswasthecompromisethatPresidentObamaandRepublicanleadershadworkedouttoextendasetoftaxcutsfortwoyears.ThatpassedinboththeHouseandtheSenate,soeverybody'staxesaregoingtostayrightwheretheyareforthenexttwoyears.Next,Don'tAsk,Don'tTell.That'sthepolicythatbannedgaysandlesbiansfromservingopenlyintheU.S.military.It'sbeeninplacesince1993,butCongressvotedtooverturnthepolicy,whichmeanseventually,gaysandlesbianswillbeabletoserveopenly.Finally,START,atreatybetweentheUnitedStatesandRussiathatwouldlimithowmanynuclearweaponseachcountrycanhave.TheSenatehastoapprovethesekindsoftreaties,anditdid.Allofthiswasdoneduringwhat'scalledalameducksession.That'swhatyoucallthetimebetweenanelectionandwhenthosepeoplewhowereelectedtakeoffice.2011ChallengesAZUZ:Thelameducksessionisnowover;thenewCongressgetstoworkthisweek.EdHenrygivesusapreviewofwhatthey'regoingtobeworkingonandhowmuchdebatewemighthavetolookforwardto.(BEGINVIDEO)EDHENRY,CNNSENIORWHITEHOUSECORRESPONDENT:Tohearthepresidenttellit,bickeringwiththeRepublicansisso2010.BARACKOBAMA,PRESIDENTOFTHEUNITEDSTATES:Alotoffolksinthistownpredictedthatafterthemidtermelections,Washingtonwouldbeheadedformorepartisanshipandmoregridlock.Andinstead,thishasbeenaseasonofprogress.That'samessagethatIwilltaketoheartintheNewYear,andIhopemyDemocraticandRepublicanfriendswilldothesame.HENRY:ButwiththeRepublicanJohnBoehnertakingthespeaker'sgavel,thatrosyscenariowillbetestedimmediatelyin2011,becausebothpartieswillnowhavetoagreeonalong-termbudgetafterkickingthecandowntheroadonallthosespendingcutstheTeaPartywasdemandingandthepresident'sowndebtpanelwasproposingtonoavail.OBAMA:Iexpectwe'llhavearobustdebateaboutthiswhenwereturnfromtheholidays.Thedebatethatwillhavetoansweranincreasinglyurgentquestion,andthatishowdowecutspendingthatwedon'tneedwhilestillmakinginvestmentsthatwedoneed.HENRY:Withthefederalcashregistertappedout,itwillbeespeciallydifficulttotacklethepresident'sbiggestchallengeofall.OBAMA:Mysingularfocusoverthenexttwoyearsisnotrescuingtheeconomyfrompotentialdisaster,butratherjump-startingtheeconomysothatweactuallystartmakingadentintheunemploymentrate.HENRY:Mr.Obamaalsomayfaceresistancetohiseconomicplansfrombothliberalsstillsmartingfromthetaxdealhejustcutandconservativesdeterminedtorepealhishealthreformlaw.Anindependant-mindedRepublicanindependentisurgingbothsidestogivethenewbalanceofpowerachance.SEN.LISAMURKOWSKI,(R)ALASKA:Let'sfigureouthowwedealwithsomeofthesevery,verydifficultissues,whetherit'staxpolicyorwhetherit'sgoingtobewhatwe'regoingtobedoingonspending.We'vegotenoughthatweneedtodothatwedon'tneedtogetweighteddowninthepartisanpolitics.HENRY:MusictotheearsofWhiteHouseaidestryingtohammerthemessagethatRepublicansnowhavearesponsibilitytogovern.(ENDVIDEO)IsThisLegit?STANCASE,CNNSTUDENTNEWS:Isthislegit?TheU.S.governmenttakesacensusofthecountry'spopulationeveryfiveyears.Notlegit!Itisevery10yearsthatthegovernmentcountshowmanypeopleliveintheU.S.CensusResultsAZUZ:Thecensusismandated--thatmeansit'sordered--bytheU.S.Constitution.Thefirstcensushappenedin1790.Andbackthen,theU.S.populationwasjustunder4million.Today,it'smorethan308million.That'saccordingtothecensusthatwastakenlastyear.From2000to2010,thecountry'spopulationincreasedduringthattimeby9.7percent.Thatisactuallythesmallestincreasesincethe1930sandtheGreatDepression.PartofwhatthecensusdoesisdeterminehowmanyseatsthatstatesgetintheU.S.HouseofRepresentatives.Ifastate'spopulationgoesup,itcouldgetmoreseats.Ifitgoesdown,itcouldloseseats.Basedonlastyear'scensus,eightstateswillgainmembersintheHouse,andtenstateswilllosemembers.WildWeatherAZUZ:ThepastcoupleofweekshaveseensomeprettysevereweatherallaroundtheUnitedStates.We'veseenheavywindandrainoutinCalifornia;snowandiceinthewesternU.S.andupperPlains;and,asyoumighthaveheard,ablizzardinthenortheast.Somepartsoftheregiongotuptothreefeetofsnow.Thatwasterribleformanyairports,causingalotoftraveldelays.Thereweresomeneighborhoodsthatwerecoveredinsnowfordays.Eventually,clean-upcrewsmadeitouttohelpclearthingsoff.ThoughinNewYork,thereweresomecomplaintsthatthoseeffortstookwaytoolong.Meanwhile,adifferentkindofstormrippeditswayacrosspartsoftheMidwest.SamanthaHayeshasthedetailsonthatforusrightnow.(BEGINVIDEO)SAMANTHAHAYES,CNNCORRESPONDENT,WASHINGTON,D.C.:InWashingtonCounty,Arkansas,neighborssortthroughthewreckageoftheircommunity.Justhoursearlier,atornadorippedthroughthisareajustwestofFayetteville.NATHANLAWRENCE,STORMVICTIM:Mywholehousestartedshaking,thewindowsbustedout,andthenitwasgone.Justlikethat,itwasgone.HAY