Cnn Student News 2010年10月11日

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz. Welcome to this Columbus Day edition of CNN Student News! We'll be talking more about Columbus Day in just a couple minutes. But first, we're reporting on a breakthrough in Chile.

First Up: Mine Breakthrough

AZUZ: And we mean that literally. A hole big enough to rescue those 33 trapped miners broke through over the weekend. It's been more than two months since a cave-in trapped the men about 2,300 feet underground. Now, if everything goes according to plan, officials say the first of them could be back up on the surface by Wednesday. Yes, that is great news to family members who've been waiting at the mine for their loved ones to be rescued.

Right now, officials are putting steel tubes inside the path that they'll use to get the miners out. Those tubes will help reinforce the hole. Now, once that's done, they're going to send down a rescue capsule with a doctor and some other emergency workers to the room where the 33 trapped miners have been staying. The doctor and the rescuers will treat the miners for medical issues and start getting them ready to go up. This animation we have for you shows what that process will look like. The miners, one at a time, will go into the rescue capsule that'll take them up and out of the mine. It's called the Phoenix and, as you can see, it's a tight fit. Just 21 inches in diameter. There's communication equipment in there so the miners can talk to the people on the surface. Officials are worried that the miners might get dizzy or get a little panicked while they're inside the capsule. So, they're trying to work on ways to help prepare the men for the trip up in the Phoenix.

Since these men were trapped, their attitude has stayed pretty positive; it seems like that is not changing. A government official told the miners that they would have to pick the order that they'd be rescued in. Listen to this: the miners would have to pick who would go up first, second, third and so on. And most of them -- maybe even all of the men -- volunteered to go last. Pretty amazing story.

North Korea

AZUZ: Next story takes you to North Korea, where the government may be signaling who will take over as leader of that country someday. Now, here in America, citizens vote for their leaders. But North Korea is a dictatorship, where one person has all the power and picks who he wants to be next in line. Alina Cho filed this report on Sunday about North Korea's politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening from Kim Il Sung Square, here in the center of Pyongyang, where tonight, the North Koreans are holding what they call a soiree, the third such event in less than 24 hours, officially marking the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of North Korea. But make no mistake, what this is, in effect, is an elaborate coming out party for the man who will be the next leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, the son of the ailing leader Kim Jong Il. And take a look behind me: it is pure pageantry. The colors, the choreography, literally thousands of dancers. Men and women dancing to North Korean propaganda music. There were fireworks earlier, as well.

And earlier in the day, right here in Kim Il Sung Square, there was also a military parade, billed as the country's largest, some 20,000 military personnel. And also, a show of North Korean military might. The hardware, if you will. The tanks, the missiles, the shoulder-fired rockets. Clearly, a show of the military strength that this country has. Remember, this is a country the size of Portugal, the size of the U.S. state of Mississippi. And yet, it still has one of the largest standing armies in the world. The media, we should mention, has been invited as guests; about 100 of us from around the world. But make no mistake, the guests of honor tonight are in the balcony: Kim Jong Il and his son, the heir apparent, Kim Jong Un. Alina Cho, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEO)

Nobel Peace Prize

AZUZ: From North Korea, we move over to China. That is where you'll find the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. The interesting part is where exactly you'll find him: in jail! Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese dissident, someone who disagrees with or speaks out against the Chinese government. He's been fighting for human rights in China for years. But the Chinese government considers Liu a criminal and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. They say he doesn't deserve a peace prize. But Liu's wife, who was able to visit him in prison and tell him that he won, said the Nobel Prize is confirmation of what her husband has fought for.

Free Downloadable Maps

AZUZ: China, North Korea, Chile. You know where you can see all of them? Your favorite Web site: CNNStudentNews.com! That is where you can find our downloadable maps of the countries. Every day, we help students pinpoint locations in the news. These maps are totally free and they're always there at CNNStudentNews.com!

Sound Check

[SOUND OF SOYUZ SPACECRAFT LAUNCH]

Soyuz Docks with ISS

AZUZ: That rocket is docked about 250 miles above the Earth's surface, where the international space station is. The Soyuz met up with the ISS over the weekend and delivered its new crew: two Russian cosmonauts and one U.S. astronaut. Took two days for the rocket to get to the space station. When it arrived -- one minute early -- NASA called the mission flawless. The three men who are taking over on the ISS will be there until March. And one of them will get a visit from some family. The astronaut's twin brother is scheduled to go up on a mission next year. And that would mark the first time that siblings have ever been in space together.

Shoutout

TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS:Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Eslick's classes at Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota! What country was Christopher Columbus sailing for when he discovered the New World? If you think you know it, shout it out! Was it: A) Spain, B) Italy, C) France or D) Great Britain? You've got three seconds -- GO! In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue on behalf of Spain. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Columbus Day

AZUZ: And it was 518 years ago this week when Mr. Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas and claimed it for Spain. The actual anniversary is October 12th, but the holiday that marks it is today! And that's why some of you are watching from home instead of from class. Americans started celebrating Columbus Day back in 1792 in New York City. It became an annual event in 1920. But it wasn't until 1971 that Columbus Day was made into a federal holiday. It was decided that Columbus Day would officially take place on the second Monday in October. That's why it doesn't always happen on the exact anniversary.

Firefighter's Last Job

AZUZ: We're introducing you today to an American hero you probably haven't heard of. His name is Captain Larry Stone, and he served as a firefighter for 30 years. Recently, Mr. Stone was driving into work for his very last shift before he retired. And what happens? He sees a house on fire! Captain Stone, always true to his job, went to help, of course! He wasn't retired yet. And it turned out, two teenagers were asleep inside the house. Captain Stone ran inside, got them out. An amazing rescue. Probably not the retirement party he had in mind, but Captain Stone had a good attitude about it. Take a listen to what he had to say.

CAPT. LARRY STONE, RETIRED ORANGE COUNTY FIREFIGHTER: Every day in the fire service, something new and different can happen and kind of just put you on your toes. I did not expect that was going to happen to me on the way to work today.

LOCAL NEWS REPORTER: Are you ready to retire now?

STONE: Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am, I am.

Before We Go

AZUZ: But something tells us that whether or not he's ready for retirement, if he were to see that same situation tomorrow, we bet Captain Stone would've done the same thing. Was a great clip. Before we retire today's show, think fast. Pumpkins: Where do they grow, ground or trees? If you've been to a pumpkin farm, you know it's on a vine, on the ground. Unless it's in Des Moines, Iowa! You are looking at a pumpkin growing in a tree! How can this happen? This is like nature's tag team. The vine just went wild; it actually grew up a tree, stretched its way down a branch and then the pumpkin grew from the vine, in the branch, in the tree.

Goodbye

AZUZ: It's unusual, but as long as the thing doesn't fall on your head when you're walking by, it's a gourd thing! And just looking at it, the sight was de-vine! Okay, it's a gourd pun. We've gotta have some fun with a gourd pun! There's another edition of CNN Student News, and it is going to be ripe for the picking tomorrow morning. Tune in then; you're gonna love it. I'm Carl Azuz. We'll see you later on.