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Tribute gala honors CNN Heroes

NEW YORK (CNN) — An Ecuadoran lawyer leading a landmark environmental lawsuit, a U.S. expatriate who encourages attendance at rural African schools and a Ugandan missionary who runs a boarding school for girls abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army were given special recognition at CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute Thursday night.

Actor Jimmy Smits, talk show host Tyra Banks and actress Kyra Sedgwick presented the honors to Fighting for Justice finalist Pablo Fajardo, Championing Children finalist Steve Peifer and Community Crusader finalist Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe.

Also honored was a Seattle, Washington, man who founded a clinic in his native Kenya. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta presented the honor to Medical Marvel finalist Peter Kithene.

A blue ribbon panel of 15 eminent personalities selected Fajardo, Peifer, Nyirumbe and Kithene for special recognition among three finalists in each category.

Fajardo grew up in the Amazon and started working at the age of 14 to support his younger siblings. As he labored on a plantation and in the oil fields, he attended night school to get a high school education. For six years, he woke at 3:30 a.m. to study law, and now in his first case, he is up against the oil industry.

Peifer and his family moved to Kenya eight years ago. A former Oracle software manager, he was struck by the chronic poverty and he believed educating local children could help change that. He devised an inexpensive way for schools to provide meals to hungry students and he also builds school computer centers. The result: Attendance is on the rise.

Nyirumbe reached out to young girls who had been kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army and had been forced to become soldiers and concubines. Hundreds responded and enrolled in her boarding school, where she teaches them tailoring, catering and business administration and helps rehabilitate them.

Kithene lost his parents when he was 12 and he knew then the best thing he could do for his family was to get an education. Kithene, now pursuing a graduate degree in Health Administration, has founded an organization that brings medical care to poor rural Kenyans.

CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, is airing live globally on CNN/U.S., CNN International and CNN en Espanol from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

CNN also is honoring the legacy of Christopher and Dana Reeve and their foundation with the inaugural CNN Heroes’ Hero Award.

The award, being presented during the show, was created to recognize individuals who devoted their lives to helping others and whose names have become synonymous with their causes.

The Reeve foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy.

The couple formed the foundation after a 1995 horse-riding accident left Christopher Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. Reeve died in 2004, and Dana Reeve died two years later after complications from lung cancer.

Festivities began at 8 p.m. on Headline News with a one-hour red-carpet show live from outside the museum as celebrity performers and presenters arrived.

The two-hour gala features performances from Grammy Award winners Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow and Norah Jones, and acclaimed performer-producer Wyclef Jean.

The show is focusing the spotlight on the 18 CNN Heroes finalists selected from more than 7,000 nominations submitted by viewers in 80 countries.

The finalists — three each in six categories of cause-related work — have been featured in stories airing on Anderson Cooper 360 during the past two weeks.

The CNN Heroes categories are:

Championing Children: extraordinary commitment to the welfare of young people

Community Crusader: creating solutions to a local problem or social issue

Defending the Planet: innovative efforts to preserve and protect the environment

Fighting for Justice: advancing the cause of civil or equal rights

Medical Marvel: dedication to the enhancement of human health

Young Wonder: outstanding achievement by a person under the age of 18

In addition to the viewer-nominated CNN Heroes, the show will honor the most popular CNN Hero profiled on air and online between May 1 and September 30, as chosen in a viewers’ choice poll conducted on CNN.com.

Everyday Superheroes — remarkable people recognized by CNN for their spontaneous acts of courage in the face of danger — also are being recognized at the show.

These include Wesley Autrey, who jumped onto New York subway tracks to save the life of a student, and John Smeaton, a baggage handler who thwarted a terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport in Scotland. The show is also paying tribute to the numerous heroes who saved lives during the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech.

We’re honored to shine the spotlight on some of the world’s lesser known heroes with the help of an esteemed panel of individuals, who are universally recognized for their talents and humanitarian initiatives, said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide.

During the show, Blige — Queen of Hip-Hop Soul — is giving the first live performance of a song from her forthcoming album, Growing Pains, while singer-songwriter Crow is previewing her 2008 album, Detours, with a live performance of one of her new songs.

Jean and Jones are performing a duet and first live performance of a new track from Jean’s new album, Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, being released this month.

Executive producer for Thursday night’s event is Joel Gallen, who helmed telethon events supporting victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

Gallen won a Peabody Award for America: A Tribute to Heroes and has been nominated for several Emmy awards throughout his career.

From May 1 through September 30, CNN has featured everyday heroes across its television networks, digital services and at CNN.com/Heroes, encouraging viewers to submit and nominate local heroes they deem deserving of recognition. E-mail to a friend

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CNN Student News Transcript: December 7, 2007

(CNN Student News) — December 7, 2007

Quick Guide

Mall Tragedy - Discover some of the security measures in place at a mall in Israel.

Religion Politics - Examine the role of religion in the current U.S. presidential campaign.

Day of Infamy - Mark the anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: You’ve made it to Friday with CNN Student News, and we’re glad to have you with us as we wrap up the week. Hi, everyone. I’m Carl Azuz.

First Up: Mall Tragedy

AZUZ: First up, residents in Omaha, Nebraska, are still coming to grips with Wednesday’s shooting at the Westroads shopping mall. Police are working to gather information on the gunman, who authorities say opened fire in a department store, killing eight people before turning the gun on himself. Five others were wounded in the attack. The incident is raising questions about security at malls in America. Kelli Arena tells us about a shopping center in Israel and the safety measures being taken there to prevent a similar kind of attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This mall in Jerusalem may look like many in the United States, but just try getting inside.

GIDEON AVRAMI, MALL SECURITY DIRECTOR: The major check is done here. And in the case something goes wrong, it will be out of the mall and not inside.

ARENA: The security is intense. Gideon Avrami, who is in charge of keeping shoppers safe, says there are armed guards patrolling the perimeter.

AVRAMI: One of the guys puts a binocular, watches the mountains around, the businesses around, mostly to be seen.

ARENA: Cars coming in to the parking lot are searched and shoppers go through metal detectors. Gil Kerlikowski, Seattle’s police chief, and the group of U.S. law enforcement officials that he traveled to Israel with got an up-close look at the security measures. Here, the private sector works hand-in-hand with Israeli police, a relationship Kerlikowski says should be emulated with businesses in his area.

CHIEF GIL KERLIKOWSKI, SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: I think I need to do a much better job embracing them and going out to them, not waiting for them to knock on my door.

ARENA: Heavy security is just part of the offensive; intelligence gathering is equally important.

AVRAMI: Once there is knowledge or intelligence about suicide bombing, it goes from the Israeli security services immediately to the police. From the police, it goes immediately to the private sector. When I am saying about immediately, I am saying about minutes.

ARENA: The fight against terrorism encompasses nearly every facet of Israeli life, something experts here do not believe the U.S. is ready for. Kelli Arena, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Religion Politics

AZUZ: There’s a saying that if you don’t want to start an argument, don’t talk about religion and politics. But that’s what one presidential candidate was doing yesterday. Mitt Romney is hoping to become the first Mormon president of the United States. Yesterday, he gave a speech at former President George H.W. Bush’s presidential library in Texas. Romney talked about his view on the role of religion in America and the role that he thinks it should play in picking a presidential candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A person should not be elected because of his faith, nor should he be rejected because of his faith. Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: OK, the U.S. has never had a Mormon president. But there have been 11 Episcopalians elected to lead the country. It’s one of ten different denominations that have been represented in the White House, and three presidents didn’t practice any specific denomination. So, just how important is a candidate’s faith to voters? Jill Dougherty looks at the role of religion in today’s politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN REPORTER: The first Mormon in U.S. history to hold that post. Some Americans say, Who cares?

PERSON ON THE STREET: I don’t think religion has a place in politics. Separation of church and state is a founding principle, I believe.

DOUGHERTY: The Constitution of the United States enshrines separation of church and state: no government-established religion; freedom for everyone to practice their own brand of faith, or no faith. But in today’s America, even presidential debates feature question on the Bible.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Does that mean you believe every word?

ROMNEY: You know… yes, I believe it’s the word of God; the Bible is the word of God.

DOUGHERTY: Up to now, Mitt Romney has tried to avoid direct comment on his Mormon religion, even though more than any other candidate — Republican or Democrat — he’s viewed as very religious, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

PERSON ON THE STREET: I think the fact that he has a faith, and he has a faith-actioned life, is even more salient to me than his values are important for this country.

DOUGHERTY: That usually is a big plus among the crucial voting block of evangelical Christians, who comprise 30% of all Republican voters and have particular strength in election primary states. The problem for Romney, according to the poll, is that more than one-in-three evangelical Republicans have reservations about voting for a Mormon, a much higher level than voters overall.

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, as it’s formally called, was founded in rural New York in 1820, when Joseph Smith, believed by the church to be a prophet of God, said he found golden plates buried by ancient Israelites who once lived in America. Early practices now long forbidden, like polygamy, still affect the church’s image. Yet it’s now the sixth largest denomination in the U.S. and is growing internationally. Some evangelicals, however, consider the Mormon church a cult.

ROMNEY: I care very deeply about the values.

DOUGHERTY: As Mitt Romney delivered his speech on faith, he followed in the footsteps of another presidential candidate: John F. Kennedy.

JOHN F. KENNEDY, U.S. PRESIDENT, SEPTEMBER 12, 1960: I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic party’s candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic.

DOUGHERTY: Kennedy said he believed in a president whose religious views were his own private affair. But the political landscape in the U.S. has shifted dramatically since 1960. Now, even Democrats must walk a fine line, trying to avoid alienating the so-called values voters.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think your faith guides you every day; certainly mine does.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Faith can inform what we do.

DOUGHERTY: Romney claims he is not running for pastor in chief. But this is the election primary season, where the faithful play a crucial role. And Mitt Romney is on a crusade for every faith voter he can find. Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: James Brown was called the Hardest Working Man in Show Business. But many people never knew the complicated person behind the legendary on-stage performer. CNN Special Investigations Unit looks at the life and legacy of the musical icon. The program airs on CNN this coming Monday, and you can find our free curriculum guide at CNNStudentNews.com.

Shoutout

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today’s Shoutout goes out to Mr. Larson’s History classes at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee! In what year did Hawaii become a U.S. state? If you think you know it, shout it out. Was it: A) 1867, B) 1903, C) 1959 or D) 1976? You’ve got three seconds — GO! Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959! That’s your answer and that’s your Shoutout!

Day of Infamy

AZUZ: Hawaii is also home to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Navy group’s headquarters have actually been located there since 1941, more than 15 years before Hawaii even became a state! The fleet consists of about 200 ships and nearly a quarter-million sailors and Marines. It moved into its base at Pearl Harbor in February of ‘41. And 10 months later, the base became the site of a turning point in the history of America and the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL: Our great Pacific outpost in the Hawaiian islands is ruthlessly bombed.

AZUZ: Walk up to any American who was alive that day, say December 7th, 1941, and there’s a good chance you’ll hear the reply: a date which will live in infamy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day, only one congressman dissented when the U.S. declared war.

UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL: Our loss in warships and planes was high.

AZUZ: The assault came as a complete surprise, and that was part of the Japanese plan executed just before 8 o’clock that Sunday morning. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans, sank several U.S. battleships and destroyed more than 180 aircraft. A Japanese admiral hoped the attack would make the U.S. want peace, allowing Japan to expand in the Pacific. The effect was the opposite.

UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL: Overnight, this nation was united in an all-out determination to avenge the hideous assault on American lives and property.

AZUZ: The battle cry at the time: Remember Pearl Harbor. 66 years later, Americans still remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Goodbye

AZUZ: And as we say goodbye for today, we leave you with images of the National Christmas Tree lighting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Have a great weekend, everyone. I’m Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend

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Newsquiz: Week of December 3

(CNN Student News) — December 6, 2007

Fill in the blank - The following sentences relate to events that were covered this week on CNN Student News. See if you can identify the person, place or thing that is missing from each sentence. Write your answers in the space provided.

Click here for a PDF version of this Newsquiz.

1. On December 1, former South African President __________ hosted the fifth 46664 concert, calling for action in the fight against AIDS.

*

*

2. The U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay is located on the Caribbean island of __________.

*

*

3. A U.S. citizen’s right to petition for relief against unlawful detention is known as __________.

*

*

4. British citizen __________ recently reappeared in London five years after he was thought to have drowned at sea.

*

*

5. Voters in the country of ________ rejected a constitutional referendum that would have abolished term limits.

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*

6. Former U.S. President ________ described the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor as a date which will live in infamy.

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*

7. A supermarket chain in the nation of ________ attempted to break the record for the world’s largest bingo game.

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*

8. British teacher ________ was freed from a Sudanese prison after being pardoned by the country’s president. *

*

9. A new National Intelligence Estimate concluded that the country of __________ suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003.

*

*

10. Parts of the __________ region of the United States suffered severe flooding following two back-to-back storms.

*

* E-mail to a friend

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Chief: Shooter left store, came back with assault rifle

OMAHA, Nebraska (CNN) — The man who killed eight people and then himself at a Nebraska mall Wednesday came into the store and looked around before leaving and returning with an assault rifle, Omaha’s police chief said Thursday.

Mall security officers noticed Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Bellevue, Nebraska, briefly enter the Von Maur department store at Omaha’s Westroads Mall, Chief Thomas Warren said.

Hawkins left the store and returned six minutes later concealing something — presumably the AK-47 assault rifle used in the rampage — under a hooded sweatshirt, Warren said.

Hawkins turned right, took an elevator to the third floor and immediately started shooting in the store’s customer service area, Warren said. Watch officials detail the rampage

Six store employees and two customers were fatally wounded before Hawkins turned the gun on himself, the chief said. The five women and three men who died ranged in age from 24 to 66, he said.

Five other people were injured, and two of them were in critical condition, hospital officials said.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman ordered that flags throughout the state be lowered to half-staff through Sunday.

The mall was expected to remain closed at least through Thursday, the store longer. Company President Jim Von Maur said grief counseling would be provided for employees and their families. A memorial fund is in the works, he said.

Warren said Hawkins apparently chose his victims randomly and spoke little or not at all while firing about 30 rounds.

The shootings sent panicked holiday shoppers fleeing for cover.

It was just so loud, and then it was silence, said witness Jennifer Kramer, who hid inside a circular clothing rack. I was scared to death he’d be walking around looking for someone else. Watch how Kramer and her mother hid

Hawkins lived with a friend’s family. The mother, Debra Maruca Kovac, said she found a suicide note after getting a phone call from Hawkins about 1 p.m., just minutes before the shootings. Watch her describe their last conversation

He basically said how sorry he was for everything, Maruca Kovac said of the note. He didn’t want to be a burden to people and that he was a piece of s— all of his life and that now he’d be famous.

She said he told her he’d just been fired from his job at a McDonald’s restaurant.

I said, ‘Come home and we’ll talk about it,’ she recounted. He said, ‘It’s too late.’ He said he’d left a note explaining everything.

She said Hawkins was a friend of her sons who reminded me of a pound puppy that nobody wanted. He came to live with her family about a year and a half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of some issues with his stepmother.

The governor said Hawkins had been a ward of the state for about four years, but he did not specify in what capacity. The state’s custody was terminated in August of 2006, Heineman said. He did not provide any further details.

Maruca Kovac described Hawkins as well-behaved, although he had a lot of emotional problems, obviously.

She told the Omaha World-Herald that Hawkins showed her an assault rifle the night before the rampage, but because of his mild demeanor she wasn’t alarmed.

Police believe Hawkins stole the AK-47 from his stepfather’s home, Warren said. They are trying to trace the weapon and determine whether the stepfather owned it legally, he added.

The shootings began about 1:42 p.m. (2:42 p.m. ET).

Seven people were found dead at the scene by officers who arrived six minutes later; two others died at Creighton University Medical Center, said Fire Chief Robert Dahlquist.

Warren said Hawkins’ body and the rifle were found on the store’s third floor.

Mall employee Charissa Tatoon said a man by an escalator near her was heard saying he was calling 911. See a map of where the shooting took place

Immediately after that, the shooter shot down from the third floor and shot him on the second floor, she said.

A friend of Hawkins’ said he hadn’t thought Hawkins was capable of such violence.

He was the one guy, you know, if people would be getting in a fight he’d be trying to break it up, Shawn Saunders, who had known Hawkins for about two and a half years, told CNN. If there were arguments amongst our friends or groups, he was kind of like the calm, cool and collected one. Watch how Saunders learned Hawkins was the shooter

U.S. Army recruiters turned Hawkins down last summer when he tried to enlist, a source familiar with the situation told CNN Thursday.

The source didn’t want to be named because it’s against the rules to discuss potential recruits. The reason for his rejection was unclear.

Two recruiters said Hawkins seemed like an average teenager who said he wanted to leave Omaha and take his life in a different direction.

He said he’d had a rough time in his life and wanted to see about changing it, said Army Sgt. Edward Dust.

President Bush had visited Omaha on Wednesday before the shooting.

The president is deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha, White House press secretary Dana Perino said. His thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
found here.

Congress drops hate crime bill covering attacks on gays

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has dropped legislation that would have expanded hate crime laws to include attacks on gays after it became clear the measure wouldn’t pass the House, aides said Thursday.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, was widely supported by Democrats and even some moderate Senate Republicans. But because it was attached to a major defense policy bill that would have authorized more money for the Iraq war, many anti-war Democrats said they would oppose it.

We don’t have the votes, said one House Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because conference negotiations on the defense bill were ongoing. We’re about 40 votes short, not four or six.

The development is a blow to civil rights groups which say that broadening federal laws are necessary to address a rise in crimes motivated by hate based upon a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The military bill is the last clear chance this year for Congress to make a meaningful effort to stop hate crime violence, said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

In a joint statement issued Thursday, Kennedy and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, said they were disappointed the House refused to attempt a vote on the legislative package, even if it would have failed. Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, oversees the defense bill.

At a time when our ideals are under attack by terrorists in other lands, it is more important than ever to demonstrate that we practice what we preach, and that we are doing all we can to root out the bigotry and prejudice in our own country that leads to similar violence here at home, the senators said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said she was strongly committed to the bill and will continue to work to send it to President Bush. But, she added, it is clear that attaching the language to the (Defense Department) authorization bill would not create a successful outcome in the House.

Under current federal law, hate crimes include acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, color or national origin. Federal prosecutors have jurisdiction only if the victim is engaged in a specific federally protected activity such as voting.

Kennedy’s bill would have extended the category to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. It also would give federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate crime investigations, and allow them to step in if local authorities were unwilling or unable to act.

The measure also would have provided $10 million over the next two years to help local law enforcement officials cover the cost of hate crime prosecutions.

The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay college freshman who died after he was beaten into a coma in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming.

The Senate voted 60-39 in September to attach the bill as amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill. Nine Republicans broke ranks and sided with Democrats in support of the measure.

The House did not include similar provisions in its version of the defense bill, which it passed in May by a 397-27 vote.

While Democratic leaders said they supported the bill, the bundled package posed too high a hurdle. A substantial number of liberal House members routinely vote against the annual defense bill because of the billions it authorizes in combat operations and for programs such as missile defense.

At the same time, some conservative Democrats and Republicans said they would oppose the legislation if the hate crimes provisions were attached — either because they don’t think hate crimes laws should be changed or because they don’t think the issue should be tied to a bill for the troops.

In a private meeting on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, told Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, that if the Senate continued to insist on the hate crimes provisions, the defense legislation would fail.

Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and other Senate Democratic leaders agreed to back down to allow the defense bill to move forward.

The White House called the Senate bill unnecessary, but stopped short of issuing a veto threat.

State and local law enforcement agencies are effectively using their laws to the full extent they can, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino after the Senate vote.

House and Senate negotiators were expected to finalize an agreement on the defense bill by late Thursday afternoon. The agreement puts the measure on track to be sent to the president’s desk before lawmakers leave this month for their holiday break.
found here.