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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We haven`t finished everything we set out to do in 2008, but you know that every single day that I set foot in that office, I am thinking about you. I am fighting for your families. And with your help, I`ve been keeping the commitments that I made.
MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Obama campaign is slipping, because it can`t find an agenda to help the American families. But our campaign is growing into a movement across this country that says we`re going to get America back, we`re going to get America strong, we`re going to provide for our families.
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CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Powerful words from the candidates. Today we`re going to look at their campaigns` big push with less than two weeks to go until election day. I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS.
Visiting four states might sound like a full vacation. You pack up your car, spend a few days in each spot. If you`re a presidential candidate, that`s not a one-week trip. You do that in a day. From now through November 6th, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will be all over the country. This is what former Governor Mitt Romney`s day looked like yesterday -- moving around the state of Ohio, visiting campaign rallies in three different cities. So Thursday in Ohio, on Tuesday he was in Colorado, Iowa on Wednesday, plus visits to Nevada, Florida and Virginia were scheduled for this week as well. President Obama just wrapped up a campaign trip that took him to eight states in 48 hours. Wednesday, he went to Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and California. On Thursday, he started the day in Florida, and then hit Virginia, Illinois and Ohio before heading back to the White House in Washington.
That stop in Illinois was a quick one but a historic one. The president went to Chicago to cast his ballot early. It`s the first time that a U.S. president has used early voting.
You might have noticed the candidates are visiting a lot of the same states. Those are what`s known as battleground states or swing states. Political experts say it`s not certain which candidate will win those states on election day, which is why the candidates are likely to spend a lot of time campaigning there.
Next up today, we have an update for you on Malala Yousafzai. The teenager was shot by the Taliban for demanding education rights for girls in her home country of Pakistan. Malala was moved to the United Kingdom for medical treatment. She has a long recovery ahead of her, but doctors say she is making progress. She`s in stable condition, and can communicate with hospital staff by writing notes. Malala hasn`t been with her parents since she was moved to the U.K. That changed yesterday. Her mom and dad, he`s the one speaking here, they flew to the United Kingdom from Pakistan to be with their daughter. Pakistani police have identified this man, Atta Ulla Khan (ph), as the main suspect in Malala`s shooting. Yesterday, he was still out there. Six other men had been arrested in connection with the attack, though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See if you can ID me. I`m a U.S. national monument that`s more than 300 feet tall and weighs more than 150 tons. I was a gift from France. In one hand, I`m holding a tablet, and in the other, I`m holding a torch.
I`m the Statue of Liberty, and Sunday is my 126th birthday.
AZUZ: The day after its 125th birthday, the statue was closed for repairs, set to open back up on Sunday. Zoraida Sambolin joined a few wounded warriors, U.S. military veterans who were injured in combat, for a sneak preview of some of the monument`s upgrades.
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ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Statute of Liberty`s crown and interior have been closed for a year, but for retired Marine Corps Larry Hughes, it`s seemingly been longer. That`s because the observation level of this iconic symbol of freedom was not wheelchair accessible until today.
LARRY HUGHES, VETERAN: Amazing.
SAMBOLIN: Hughes, a Vietnam vet, is taking the inaugural ride in a newly installed elevator to the statue`s observation deck.
HUGHES: Just to be here was something that never really entered into my mind, because something I hate to be turned down, I hate to be rejected. So I`m no longer being rejected. I`m being here.
SAMBOLIN: The new elevator is just part of a year-long, $30 million renovation that also includes upgrading stairwells and making safety improvements. The end result -- a more accessible Lady Liberty that will allow an additional 26,000 visitors each year a chance to enjoy her spectacular views.
KIRK BAUER, VIETNAM VETERAN: When these adaptions are made, it opens up tremendous opportunities for all of us.
SAMBOLIN: Among the first to see the new renovations, two generations of severely wounded warriors. I joined Kirk Bauer, who lost his leg in Vietnam, and Jesse Acosta, who suffered injuries to his hip from a roadside bomb in Iraq, on the 146-step climb to the top.
So you stuck your head out of?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crown.
SAMBOLIN: The crown. What do you think, is this what you expected?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic. Actually, it`s more tight than I thought looking up, but it is just an incredible view.
SAMBOLIN: The renovation was full of challenges. Because of the statue`s location and because they had to do it all without drilling into any part of the historic structure.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Mr. Martin`s (ph) American government classes at Minden high school in Minden, Nebraska. What is the name of the computer coding system that uses zeros and ones? Here we go. Is it binary, HTML, Linux or Metacarpal? You`ve got 3 seconds, go.
Binary means made of two parts, and binary code is made up of two things, zeros and ones. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.
AZUZ: If you translate the word "hi" to Spanish, it`s ola. To German, it`s hallo. To binary, it`s 0110100011101001. I had to practice that. Seems kind of complicated, but it also could be more lucrative. It could pay you more down the road. Laurie Segall looks at the coding in the classroom.
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NAQUAL ROBINSON, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Another I and an equal sign and an I plus one.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like gibberish. You like this better than Italian?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
SEGALL: Better than French? It`s computer code, and it may be more valuable than any other language high school students study.
HENRY FERSKO, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: That`s where you have the most jobs right now, I would say, in technology and stuff.
SEGALL: Becoming a lawyer or a doctor is now passe. With unemployment for 20- to 24-year-olds at 12.4 percent, the hot job now? Tech entrepreneur.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So how do you call the function?
SEGALL: But to join the club, you`ve got to speak the language not many are fluent in -- programming.
Do you think this is increasingly important for college students and for the job market for people to learn these kind of skills?
KLANA LOWERY, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Of course, of course, because new technology is being like built every day. You`ve got iPhones, you got all that type of stuff. So it`s like, you can use this stuff to actually help you understand it.
SEGALL: Salaries for people with coding skills are high. Entry-level software engineers at companies like Google and Facebook pay in the six figures.
Now, over a 40-year career, the engineering major can make over $1 million more than the average college grad, so it`s definitely a job that pays, and one where these tech skills are necessary. But the problem is, computer science software engineering firms can`t find enough skilled workers. Enter Codecademie, an online company that teaches the average Joe the most basic programming skills. Now they created a curriculum specifically for schools.
ZACH SIMS, FOUNDER, CODECADEMY: There`s not enough teacher training for teachers who are interested in learning to become computer science and programming teachers, either.
SEGALL: Teacher Courtney Ginsberg decided to learn coding at the Codecademie web site. Now she`s using it to help her students get prepped for the job market.
COURTNEY GINSBERG, TEACHER: It`s getting harder and harder for my students to get even the after-school jobs they got a few years ago when I started teaching.
SEGALL: Codecademie says it`s in nearly 2,000 schools now, another step towards building the strength of America`s tech labor force. And for kids today who have an iPhone in hand and spend a lot of time on apps, the idea of building one for a living does not sound bad. They grew up on Facebook and paid attention to the story.
RANDI ZUCKERBERG, FOUNDER AND CEO, ZUCKERBERG MEDIA: I think we`ve just seen so many really cool success stories of young people who, you know, came to Silicon Valley with a dream and hit it really big. I think we`re also in a very interesting economic time in this country, and people are more open to taking risks and trying something new.
SEGALL: Do you think you have the next Mark Zuckerberg in your class?
GINSBERG: That would be amazing.
SEGALL: Laurie Segall, CNNMoney, New York.
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AZUZ: High school kicker Anthony Storego (ph) hasn`t missed a field goal this year, and he didn`t miss this one, either. The difference? The kick in this Youtube video was a game winner that happened with just 21 seconds left on the clock. That`s a tough situation, but Anthony is used to overcoming adversity. He lived in nearly a dozen foster homes growing up, and Anthony suffers from autism. But on the football field, he`s just another one of the guys. Well, except for when he hit that game winner last Friday. Then, as his quarterback put it, Anthony was the man. And if he keeps up his streak of perfection, he`ll definitely give his team a leg up on the competition. We`re running out of football puns. Sooner or later, we`re just going to have to punt, but there`s no time left on the clock for us, so have a great weekend. See you later.
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