CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Some of this food can end up on your plate, but how much of it could eventually end up in the trash? The answer might surprise you. I`m Carl Azuz, CNN STUDENT NEWS starts right now.
First up today, though, 1,118 as of yesterday, that`s how many cases of West Nile virus have been reported in the United States this year. West Nile first shot up in the U.S. in 1999. And this year`s outbreak, is now the largest ever in this country. 38 states have reported West Nile infections, 41 people have died from the disease. West Nile is spread by mosquitoes. But officials say most mosquitoes don`t carry the virus, and most people who are bit by the mosquitoes that do have it, don`t get sick. There are some things you could do to help prevent it, though. For example, dressing in long pants and long sleeves and using mosquito repellant, specifically ones with the ingredient "deet". Doctors say, if you do develop symptoms of West Nile virus, like unusually severe headaches or confusion, you should see a doctor immediately.
Police officials in the city of Chicago are looking for ways to lower the city`s homicide rate. Overall, crime is down in Chicago, but the number of murders is up. More than 340 people have been murdered this year. For one night Ted Rowlands joined police on patrol in one of Chicago`s deadliest neighborhoods. Take a look at what he saw.
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LEO SCHMITZ, COMMANDER OF THE 007 ENGLEWOOD DISTRICT: There is a couple of places I want to check out.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s a Friday night on the streets of Chicago, in the Englewood neighborhood. Joe Paterson and Leo Schmitz have been cops here for 26 years.
SCHMITZ: (inaudible) on these blocks, what you do is you scan everything. And when they see that you are a policeman after doing something wrong you`ve got a gun, they start moving away and running.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gunshots fired ...
ROWLANDS: As we ride along, we hear constant reports of shots fired over the radio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... person with a gun ...
ROWLANDS: A call comes in, that gets their attention.
SCHMITZ: 64th and Loomis (ph). Shots fired, that`s one block away from the police station.
ROWLANDS: It`s also near a park where in the morning there is a community event planned.
SCHMITZ: Someone with a gun there, we know we`ve got people over that are setting up.
ROWLANDS: When we arrive, there is no sign of the person with the gun, and there is no time to linger. We leave as quickly as we arrive because there is another call just a few blocks away.
SCHMITZ: Man with a gun on 6444 Bishop.
ROWLANDS: Several officers are there when we arrive, there is a man in custody, and this gun, which was found in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are still working still. But that`s the name of the game and that`s how we -- we stopped the next shooting.
ROWLANDS: This year the homicide rate in Chicago is up about 30 percent, which is not what first year police superintendent Garry McCarthy envisioned would happen when he took the job.
GARY MCCARTHY, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE: It`s playing out not as well as I anticipated. We expected to make much greater gains by this point.
ROWLANDS: Chicago`s overall crime rate is actually down ten percent from last year. And like other cities, the murder problem here is concentrated in a few specific areas.
MCCARHTY: The entire city suffers when that violence happens. And this idea of not in my backyard is not OK, we have to make the entire safe.
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AZUZ: Back to the question we asked at the beginning of today`s show. How much of our food will end up in the trash. The answer -- 40 percent. And I`m not just talking about here in this cafeteria, that`s across the entire United States. According to a new report, 40 percent of the food in the country is never eaten, it adds up to $165 billions a year in wasted food. The report says this waste happens along the entire food supply chain, on farms and warehouses, at grocery stores, and especially, at home. It`s like a family buying 24 boxes of cereal every month and then just throwing them away. Some explanations for the waste, Americans buy more than they can eat, restaurants serve more, bigger portion sizes, and grocery stores overstock fresh produce. We want to get your take on this story, we`ve got a link to it on our Facebook page. If you are already on Facebook, go check it out at Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews. Let us know your reaction and what you think can be done about it.
Another study we are talking about today, about 1000 American teenagers were asked about smoking, drinking or drug use during the school day. The report found that about 17 percent of American teenagers are doing this, and 86 percent say they know someone who does. The survey out of Columbia University cited several influences on whether students ages 12 to 17 drink, smoke or do drugs. One is digital peer pressure. 75 percent say they are encouraged to try smoking or drugs when they see pictures of others doing it on social media. Parents factored in, too. Students who said their parents would be really upset with them for smoking or drugs were significantly less likely to try it, and those who regularly go to religious services are also less likely to drink or try tobacco or drugs.
You just never know what you`re going to find in the attic. A man in Chattanooga, Tennessee was going through some old boxes from this father. He came across an audio reel labeled "Dr. King Interview: December 21st, 1960." It turns out, his dad had interviewed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. about the civil rights movement. We have a clip from that recording for you right now. You`re going to hear Dr. King answer a question about the impact of the civil rights movement.
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DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR: I`m convinced that when the history books are written in the future years, historians will have to record this movement as one of the greatest epics of our heritage. I think the movement represents struggle on the highest level of dignity and discipline.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s time for the "Shoutout." Aviophobia is the fear of what? If you think you know it, then shout it out! Is it birds, heights, flying or audio/video technology? You`ve got three seconds. Go! Aviophobia is the fear of flying, specifically in an airplane or aircraft. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."
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AZUZ: Joe Thompson started flying when he was three months old. And now that he is 11, he`s been hit with the severe case of aviophobia. That`s a problem, because Joe and his parents live in the United Arab Emirates, and they were supposed to move back to the United Kingdom in July. Schams Elwazer explains how the situation has led the family to consider some globe trotting plans.
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SCHAMS ELWAZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On a scorching August afternoon, 11-year old Joe Thomson only has his dad to practice rugby with. All his friends have gone home for the summer holidays. But when Joe tried flying home to the U.K. six weeks ago, a sudden fear of flying paralyzed him at the airport.
JOE THOMPSON, AFRAID OF FLYING: Everything just went horrible for me. My -- I just went into body lockdown. My -- I kept on crying, I sat down, I couldn`t move. I just couldn`t do it.
ELWAZER: He`s tried flying home four times already, and once even made it as far as the flight cabin. Joe`s father, Tony, says the phobia came out of the blue, and that Joe had always loved flying. He says hypnotherapy, psychiatric consults, and even a sedative injection failed to get his son on board.
TONY THOMPSON, JOE`S FATHER: And this reaction was, come on, let`s -- we`ll get out, get on the plane, you`ll be fine. But then I realize no, it was far more serious than this.
ELWAZER: Even more serious, is how to get Joe home now. The trouble for Joe and his father, is that they leave here, in the oasis city of Al- Ain in the middle of the desert of the United Arab Emirates, and London is 3500 miles that way.
The challenge has been finding an alternative to the 8 hour flight that takes them across the Middle East by land and sea, while avoiding the deadly conflict areas.
TONY THOMPSON: Through Baghdad, through Syria, through Aleppo, and into Turkey, but clearly that`s not going to happen.
ELWAZER: The maritime option is to sail around the Arabian Peninsula, through the pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea, up through the Suez Canal, past the Egyptian hotspot of Sinai, then onto Turkey and Europe.
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AZUZ: Joe`s father came up with some alternative routes, but Joe`s anxiety and fear have gotten worse, and his father has said he doesn`t want to put his son through all this. So for now, they are going to stay put in the UAE in hope to get back to the U.K. sometime in the future.
Well, before we go today, Vic Kleman loves rollercoasters. He spend plenty of time making sure. This one, the Jack Rabbit is his favorite, and by Vick`s estimate he`s ridden it around 4700 times. This past Sunday was Vick`s 80th birthday, so he asked the amusement park for a special gift, riding the Jack Rabbit 80 times in a row. The birthday boy said he had fun, but he`s already looking ahead 20 years to 100 rides in a row. So at that point, would it be fair to say he is over the hill? Can we say that? 80 rides in a row, he`s definitely on a roll, or coast to something. Enjoy the rest of your Thursday with CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz.
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