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CROWD: We`re (INAUDIBLE) North Carolina. And you`re watching CNN STUDENT NEWS.
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CARL AZUZ, HOST: Thanks to those News Charter (ph) students for getting things started, and thanks to all of you for wrapping up your week with CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. First up today, parts of Texas are recovering from severe weather they hit on Wednesday. The National Weather Service says at least ten tornadoes touched down in the area. The U.S. gets more tornadoes per year than any other country. These storms can show up any time, but the peak months are April, May and June. The ones that hit North Texas killed at least six people. Rescue crews were searching for others who were missing yesterday. Officials say the victims were in this neighborhood, most of the homes there were destroyed, you can see some foundations where the buildings are just completely gone, and some of the homes that are standing like these ones still got massive damage. Recovery efforts could take a while. If you`re looking for a way to help out, go to the resources box at cnnstudentnews.com and click the "Impact Your World Link."
Following up now in a couple of government stories. Earlier this week, we reported on a scandal involving the IRS. The agency admitted that when groups from the Teat Party Movement and other conservative groups applied for a tax exempt status, their applications were targeted for extra review. It was basically political bias. You can get all the details on what happened in the transcript from Monday`s show. The acting commissioner of the IRS was forced to resign this week because of the scandal. The reaction from across Washington, outrage.
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SEN. RAND PAUL (R ) KENTUCKY: Whether you`re a Republican or a Democrat or Independent in this country, to take the abuse of a $3.8 trillion government, the power of that government and to use it to stifle opposition is profoundly un-American.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It shouldn`t matter what political stride you`re from, the fact of the matter is that the IRS has to operate with absolute integrity. The government generally has to conduct itself in a way that is true to the public trust, that`s especially true for the IRS. It`s inexcusable and Americans are right to be angry about it.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R ) HOUSE SPEAKER: There are laws in place to prevent this type of abuse.
My question isn`t about who`s going to resign, my question is who`s going to jail over this scandal.
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AZUZ: The other follow-up is about a terrorist attack against the U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya last year. Four Americans were killed including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. There`s been a lot of criticism about how President Obama`s administration responded.
Wednesday, the White House released more than 100 pages of emails about that response. The communications between the White House, CIA and State Department show how the administration developed its talking points. That`s the information the government would share publicly. Representative Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee explained why Congress is holding hearings about Benghazi.
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REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R ) CALIFORNIA: Our solemn responsibility is to hold government accountable to taxpayers. Because taxpayers have a right to know what they get from their government.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s first "Shoutout" goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Heller`s academic enrichment classes at Westminster High School in Westminster, Colorado.
What U.S. holiday is being celebrated tomorrow? Here we go. Is it Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Arbor Day of Flag Day. You`ve got three seconds, go.
Armed Forces Day falls on the third Saturday in May. That`s tomorrow. And that`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."
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AZUZ: You`re probably not as familiar with Armed Forces Day, as you`re with Memorial Day or Veterans Day. But the holiday celebrated this Saturday dates back to 1949 when it was announced to honor all branches of the U.S. military. In honor of Armed Forces Day, we`re drumming up some military trivia.
First, the oldest and largest branch. You`ll probably guess it`s the Army, but did you know that it dates back to June of 1775? That`s year before the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Navy was also established that year on October 13th, and on November 10th, 1775, the Marine Corps was born. All three of these groups would fight in a Revolutionary War. The U.S. Coast Guard came along in 1790, but not as the Coast Guard. It was called the Revenue Marine Service, and it was created by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The Coast Guard got its current name in 1915. The youngest branch is the Air Force, of course, you couldn`t get that one off the ground without planes, but even after those did take flight and start their military service, they were part of the Army until 1947.
People always talk about prom as a night to remember. For a group of high school students from Davy, Florida, theirs is a night they`ll probably never forget.
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ASHLEY WOLF, HIGH SCHOL SENIOR: We were in a limo and we`re all dancing and having a good time, decide (ph) to go to prom, and then all of a sudden the bus slams on its breaks. I was the first to think, call 911, so I stepped to the side and called 911. I was calm.
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AZUZ: Staying calm will be impressive enough, considering this is why the driver slammed on the breaks. A van had swerved, wrecked and flipped on its side right in front of them. The limo driver and 20 students got out, jumped in the action helping rescue the five adults and two kids in the van. Police and firefighters showed up a few minutes later, and everyone from the van was taken into hospital.
As for the students, after going through all that, they went on to their senior prom, they were a little disheveled, but still determined to be there.
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WOLF: And we all made it, we`re just happy to know that we all alive when we enjoyed that night.
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AZUZ: Seniors, we want to hear from you. What are you planning to do after graduation? Work, higher education, serve in the military? Tell us in our quick poll. It`s on the blog, it`s cnnstudentnews.com
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout Extra Credit" goes out to Mrs. Essex social studies classes at the Christian Academy of Lawrenceburg at Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.
On what type of vehicle would you find a derailleur? You know what to do? Is it on a train, bicycle, roller coaster or zeppelin? Put another three seconds on the clock and go.
On bikes, the derailleur moves a chain in order to shift gears. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout Extra Credit."
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AZUZ: When I was in school, my very first car was a bike. But I couldn`t fix a rear derailleur and students in the oasis bike workshop probably can`t either at first, but when they`re finished, they know their way around every inch of the vehicle, and they ride away with much more than wheels.
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DAN FURBISH: How many guys of you have a friend who has like a flat tire? His bike has just been sitting around and you guys could probably help him out with that. Yeah? I bet you can.
I`m Dan Furbish, I`m the coordinator of the Oasis Bike Workshop in Nashville, Tennessee.
This is a six-week workshop, that the students signed up for, we work with middle school and high school students. On the first class, the student will come in here and pick out a bike. Whether or not it`s a full complete bike, an older bike or a brand new bike, it doesn`t need any work, they`re going to strip the whole thing down on the frame and start rebuilding it from scratch.
In the process of rebuilding, seeing all the working parts of the bike, when they finished this program, they`re going to know how to fix it. And we have them pledged that they are going to take all these skills that they`ve gained over the past six weeks and take them back to the neighborhoods and help out their friends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s my first bike taken apart and (inaudible) back together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They give us character, leadership.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My friends may have a little trouble, but you know what, I can be there and say, you know what? A few months (inaudible) at the bike shop actually did this. So I can actually help you.
FURBISH: These bikes are really a tool for freedom, especially for a lot of the homeless teens that we work with, they really need bicycles to get around on interview for jobs and a lot of them were taking classes at different schools around town. So these bikes are like - they`re price possession, they really need this. The hope is, that - that the teens will come in here, build the bike and really use it as like a tool for empowerment to explore beyond the neighborhoods and communities. The more they know about their city, the more they`re going to want to get back to it.
I can`t imagine the more like tangible concrete example of something that is like - gives your freedom and is really empowering for a kid.
Especially if it`s something they put together themselves and build.
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AZUZ: When you`re dealing with several things at the same time, sometimes it`s called juggling. When the things you`re doing at the same time are juggling and jogging, it`s called joggling. At least that`s what Ivan Shlepenbach (ph) called it. We`ll take his word for it since he is the one doing it. The college freshman is in training to juggle his way through half marathon this weekend. Three balls, 13.1 miles, and after the race, some may forget about Ivan. But it shouldn`t take much to remind them, a little jog will do it.
I just hope Ivan doesn`t get tripped up by some simple mistake. It`ll be awful if he drops the ball and overshadowed his amazing fit. Even if that happens, I`m sure, he will take it all in stride. We reach today`s finish line. Have a great weekend, you all.