CNN news 2011-03-24
Today's show goes out to Law Enforcement Officer Memorial High in Florida and North Kansas City High in Missouri. It's great seeing some of your students at the CNN Center recently! Today on CNN Student News, a match made in the wireless world: We're gonna tell you what it is and look at its impact on the U.S. stock market.The civil war in Libya is first up today, starting with an update on four journalists from the New York Times. These journalists were reported to be captured last week by forces loyal to Libya's government. Well, the journalists have been released. Yesterday, they arrived safely in the neighboring country of Tunisia.
The head of U.S. forces in Libya says that the military operation -- currently led by the U.S. and involving several other countries -- made "very effective" progress Monday. The operation's goal is to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and to protect that country's civilians from the fighting. The military operation doesn't have 100 percent support, though. Several nations have criticized it. So has the Arab League, a group that represents Arab nations, including Libya. The league says it is in support of a no-fly zone, but says what's happening in Libya -- the coalition air strikes -- is not what was intended.
At the center of all of what's going on is Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. He's been in charge of Libya for 42 years, and he's had a rocky relationship with the Western world. He supported terrorism in the 1970s and '80s. Then, he tried to improve relations with the West in the late '90s. But he spoke out against the West again in 2008 and 2009. U.S. officials say Gadhafi is not a target of the coalition. One commander said it's possible that the current mission could be accomplished without Gadhafi being removed from power. However, on Monday, part of Colonel Gadhafi's compound in the capital city of Tripoli was hit by a coalition air strike. The compound has a number of buildings. Officials say this air strike only took out command-and-control facilities. Nic Robertson was on the scene after the attack and gives us this tour of the damage.