(CNN Student News) -- August 15, 2012

(CNNStudentNews)--August15,2012THISISARUSHTRANSCRIPT.THISCOPYMAYNOTBEINITSFINALFORMANDMAYBEUPDATED.***CARLAZUZ,CNNANCHOR:ThisisCNNSTUDENTNEWS.We`rebringingyoutenminutesofcommercialfreeglobalheadlines,andtoday,thoseheadlinesarecomingatyoufromland,seaandair.I`mCarlAzuz.Let`sgo.We`regoingtostartintheair.FlightfromNewYorktoLondonusuallytakesaroundsevenandahalfhours.TheU.S.AirForceisworkingonatypeofvehiclethatcouldmakethattripinlessthanonehour.Yesterday,theytookthisthingoutonatestflight.Wehavethisanimationthatshowshowitwassupposedtogo.ThisplaneiscarryingtheX51AWaveRider.Youcanseeitthereunderneaththewing.TheideawasfortheWaveRidertodropofftheotherplaneandthenshowwhatit`smadefor.WaveRiderisahypersonicaircraft.Thatbasicallymeansit`sfast.4,500milesperhourfast.It`ssixtimesthespeedofsound.Thegoalforyesterday`stestwasfortheWaveRidertogothatfastfor300seconds.It`snotthevehicle`sfirsttestflight.Someofthepreviousonesdidn`tgoverywellandtheyhadtobeshutdownearly.Carshavebeendoingbetterandbetterincrashtestsforyears.Butonthisone,eightoutofthe11carmodelsthatweretested,failed.Hereiswhat`sdifferentaboutthistest:thecarishittingthebarrierwithjustaquarterofthefrontbumper.It`scalledasmalloverlapimpact,andtheInsuranceInstituteforHighwaySafety,thegroupthat`srunningthistest,saysit`sthemostdangerouskindoffrontalcarcrash.Mostofthecarcompaniesthatdidpoorlyonthistestpointedoutthattheirvehiclestillmeetallfederalsafetystandardsandthatthey`vedonewellwithothertests.Butthecompaniesalsopromisedtodobetteronthisspecifictestwithfuturemodels.Morethan60wildfiresareburningacrosspartsoftheWesternU.S.California,Oregon,Nevada,WashingtonandIdahoarealldealingwiththisrightnow.TheflamesyouareseeingherearefromapairoffiresinCalifornia.Officialssaidthosewereabout30percentcontainedonTuesday.ButinWashingtonState,oneofficialdescribedthefireconditionsasextreme.Dozensofhouseshavebeendestroyed,hundredsofpeoplehavebeentoldtoleavetheirhomes,togetawayfromtheflames.AuthoritiesareworkingtogethelpfromtheNationalGuardtofightthesefires.17months,that`showlongviolencehasbeengoingoninSyria.Itstartedoutasprotestagainstthecountry`sgovernment.PeoplewerecallingforSyria`spresidenttoleaveoffice.Butinthetimesincethen,it`seruptedintoacivilwarwithdeadlyfightingbetweenforcesfromthemilitaryandtheopposition.SomeoftherecentviolencehasbeeninthecityofAleppo.It`sthelargestcityinSyria,andBenWedemanlooksatwhatlifeislikeforsomeofthepeoplewholiveinthemiddleofabattleground.(BEGINVIDEOTAPE)BENWEDEMAN,CNNCORRESPONDENT:ThelinebetweenliveanddeathinAleppoisperilouslythin.(oncamera):Salamaleikum!(voiceover):JustoneblockawayImetHanadiwhoinsistssheandherfamilyofsixwillnotleave.(oncamera):(speakingArabic)(voiceover):Iaskedherwherethefrontlineis,butshebrushesoffthequestionsayingshehasbecomeaccustomedtotheshelling.(oncamera):(speakingArabic)(voiceover):Herson,one-andahalfyearold,AbdulHani(ph)seemsconfusedandsqueezesmyhandtightly.Atwominutewalkdownthestreetanapartmentbuildingwashitinanairstrike.Thisbuilding,orratherwhat`sleftofthisbuilding,whichreallyisn`tmuch,isinanareawhereciviliansarestillliving.And,ofcourse,amongtheruinswefoundaFrenchbook,andsomebody`sstudyingEnglish,TheLifeofWilliamShakespeare.ArocketslammedintoanotherbuildinginthenearbySikkari(ph)districtwoundingtwo,rainingrubbleintothestreet.Allthewhilegovernmenthelicoptershovermenacinglyoverhead,andjetsdroppedbombsonrebel-controlledneighborhoods.Thetrappingsofdailylifeinthiscityundersiegehavedisappeared.Eventhesimpleactofcrossingthestreetrequiredastrongheartandfastfeet;thesniper`sbulletisjustacrackaway.BenWedeman,CNN,Aleppo,Syria.(ENDVIDEOTAPE)AZUZ:Hereisalookbackatsomeeventsfromthisdayinhistory.In1914,thePanamaCanalopened,creatingapassagewayforshipsbetweentheAtlanticandPacificOceans.In1945,JapaneseEmperorHirohitotoldhispeoplethatthecountryhadsurrendered,bringinganendtoWorldWarII.In1947,thenationofIndiagaineditsindependence,ending200yearsofBritishruleovertheregion.Andin1969,theWoodstockMusicFestivalstarted.TheeventbecameaculturalsymbolformanyAmericanyouthandtheiroppositiontotheVietnamWar.EricDompierreisasenioratIshpemingHighSchoolinMichigan.Heisonthefootballteam,andhe`splayingthetryoutforthebasketballteam.He`sbeenonbothofthembefore.Buttherewasachancethathewouldn`tbeabletoplayanysportsthisyear.ErichasDownsyndrome,ageneticdisorder,andbecauseofthat,hisparentsheldhimbackinkindergarten.So,Ericturned19beforethisschoolyearstarted,andMichiganrulessaidthat19-yearoldscouldn`tplayschoolsports.ButEric`sfamilyspentyearstryingtogettherulechanged.(BEGINVIDEOCLIP)DEANDOMPIERRE,ERIC`SDAD:It`sbeenalongtwoandhalfyears,andtherewerealotoftimeswhenwedidn`tthinkwewouldevergettothisday.EvenlastDecemberwehadprettymuchgivenuponthefactthatEricwouldbeabletoplay,andwewerejustpushingforotherkidstoplay.So,really,itseemstoustobejustamiraclethatsomanypeoplecametogethertohelpEricgettoplaythisyear.(ENDVIDEOCLIP)AZUZ:Theruleisdesignedsothatolderstudentswouldn`thaveacompetitiveadvantage,butthestateathleticassociationapprovedEric`srequesttokeepplaying,andtheychangedtherule.Nowstudentswhoturn1