CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. And this is CNN STUDENT NEWS. We hope you enjoy the long weekend. Our first story today is about infrastructure, the fundamental systems that service city, state or country. So, things like power plants, roads and bridges. Part of this bridge in Washington State collapsed last week when a tractor trailer with an oversized load hit an overhead part of the bridge. Several vehicles fell into the water, rescue crews showed up to help the victims, three people were injured. Officials estimate that it`s going to cost $15 million to fix the bridge. It`s part of important shipping route between the U.S. and Canada. Nearly $14 billion in cargo crosses that bridge every year. Authorities are hoping to have a temporary bridge up next month, and a permanent bridge up in September.
In other parts of the country, people have been struggling through different forms of severe weather. In San Antonio, Texas, huge amounts of rain over the weekend led the flash floods. At least three people were killed, thousands of people lost their power and dozens of streets were closed because of it. San Antonio`s fire chief said that on Saturday, in 15 hours 250 water-related calls came in.
Up in the Northeast it looked more like winter than spring. This is late May, Vermont seemed to get some of the worst of this. Up to 7.5 inches of snow fell in some parts of the state, one concern there is about the snowfall weighing down trees and branches. That can increase the chance of them falling on power lines.
See, if you can I.D. me.
I`m an American organization that was founded in 1910. Since then, I`ve had more than 100 million members. My highest rank is Eagle, and my motto is "Be Prepared.
I`m the Boy Scouts of America. And I`m aimed to build the character, values and fitness of young people.
Next year, there is going to be a change to a boy scouts membership policy, Starting on January 1st , the organization will allow young people who are openly gay to join.
Last week, the group`s national council voted for the change. They also decided to maintain the current policy of not allowing gay adult leaders. The reaction openly gay youth joining the scouts has been mixed. He is what a former scout leader and a former Eagle scout had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG BOURKE, FORMER BOY SCOUT LEADER: This is a victory for scouting, this is a victory for gay youth, the youth would no longer have to hide in the closets when they are participating in their scout activities and with their troops. So, it gives freedom to and acceptance to gay youth in the scouting program. It`s historic.
BLAINE FREIDLINE, FORMER EAGLE SCOUT: I can`t in good conscience represent the scouts anymore. Because of the abandonment that I see of the basic values, the transcendent God-given Bible based about (inaudible) that the Scouts have been based on for over century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
AZUZ: In Moore, Oklahoma, graduations ceremonies happened as planned on Saturday. The town is recovering from last week`s devastating tornado, which was on the minds of the graduates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re damaged, but we survived. We`re hurt, but we`re resilient. We`re graduating, but we`re not done with our successes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: One middle schooler in Moore is being called a hero for what he did during the storm. Nick Valencia explains it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As he walked through the rubble of his now leveled school, 13-year old Delanelas (ph) was bewildered.
DYLAN ELLIS: See, look at this - that`s destroyed.
VALENCIA: It was the first time he had been back since the tornado struck.
ELLIS: I don`t know how we survived this.
VALENCIA: He remembers taking shelter in the middle school locker room.
ELLIS : Right through here, in this door.
VALENCIA: He remembers being surrounded by the cries and screams of 50 children.
No one was killed when the tornado destroyed Highland East Middle School, but this wasn`t just a miracle.
DIANE LEE, 7TH GRADER: Isn`t the choir room gone?
ELLIS: Yeah, the choir room is gone.
VALENCIA: Quietly standing next to him is his 12-year old classmate, 7th grader Diane Lee. On Monday, Dylan probably saved her life.
(on camera): Did you feel like you were going to get sucked away?
LEE: Yeah, I felt like the wind around me is like on circles and everything and the ground wasn`t underneath me anymore.
And he held on to my hand and jumped on to (inaudible) me.
ELLIS: I see her start to go up, I jumped on her, lay on her and then grabbed on to the bottom of these lockers that (inaudible) inside the ground, and then once it`s over, I pushed her out of the way and then all the debris start to hit me.
VALENCIA (on camera): How did you think so fast, how did you know to do what you did?
ELLIS: I just started for her as my family. What would I do if they started to go up. I didn`t think, just did it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Memorial Day is an American tradition dating back to the U.S. Civil War. And for the country`s veterans and their families yesterday was a deeply reverent time, a time to remember those they`ve known who`ve died serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
President Obama asked for Americans to do more than remember fallen troops on Memorial Day, he encouraged people to care for their relatives and to help the country`s living veterans. This is the president`s traditional replaying at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
CNN caught up with a serviceman who works there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) Hutch!
SPEC. NATE CHARTIER, TOMB SENTINEL: It`s an honor of being able to work in Arlington Cemetery. There is some days where you just get that like hair raising on the back of you neck filling that like - this is just right, that is just perfect, that you wouldn`t want to work anywhere else for the rest of your life.
Everyone to work on each other`s uniforms evenly. To have somebody else around you taping you off, make sure there is no lint, debris or anything in there.
May not look as good or may not look uniformed to the other soldiers on the plaza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your pants. (inaudible) your pants.
CHARTIER: The reason why some of us may have certain things going out the door is because it just worked for us during training, to kind of calm us down before we go out the door.
One of those things, it just gives you motivation, like, hey, I`m going to crush this guard change. This guard change is going to be amazing.
(CROSSTALK)
CHARTIER: You have the sun hitting the plaza, and then with it being so bright it bounces off and hits you back. And it just feels like the temperature is even warmer than it is, if you`re in your regular clothes. You have thousands of soldiers that died for our country. I look at it as not just three unknown soldiers that I`m guarding, I`m guarding the 3,000 plus soldiers that gave their life for this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The city of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, relies on tourism for 65 percent of its economy. A big tourist draw there is the boardwalk, and that was slammed by Superstorm Sandy last fall. Town has been working to rebuild it in time for summer. Poppy Harlow looks at how they are doing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The games are back on in Seaside Heights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was back. It`s back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not back ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 100 percent, but we`re back.
HARLOW: And the people who came back liked what they saw.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it`s great. It`s really good to see everything back to where it used to be almost closed to where it used to be.
HARLOW: Almost because the rebuilding continues, nearly seven months after Sandy tore up much of the Jersey Shore. Vincent Storino`s family owns Casino Pier. Before Sandy, it held 38 rides. Now, this.
(on camera): How much progress have you guys made?
VINCENT STORINO, MANAGING MEMBER, CASINO BEACH PIER: We made tremendous progress. In three months, we`ve done what should be - what should take three years.
HARLOW (voice over): It hasn`t come cheap.
(on camera): A million?
STORINO: It`s millions.
HARLOW: Tens of millions?
STORINO: I would say tens of millions.
HARLOW (voice over): The new boardwalk alone cost nearly $8 million.
MAYOR BILL AKERS, SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY: We did what he had to do to get the doors open, to let people notice Seaside Heights is open, but there is so many more things we got to do.
HARLOW: Like more benches and lights, but Mayor Bill Akers is satisfied.
AKERS: You can walk the board, walk north to south, and it seems like we got a few people up here today enjoying it.
HARLOW: A few people less than a typical Memorial Day weekend.
CHARLIE DRAPER, MANAGER ADRENALINE PIERCING TATTOO: I would say we were doing about half of what we did last year.
HARLOW: But that hasn`t dampened spirits.
DRAPER: I mean look around, you can`t - couldn`t ask for a better weather. Couldn`t ask for more people. This is great.
STEVE WHALEN, OWNER, LUCKY LEO`S ARCADE: This is the golden ghost (ph), Lucky Leo`s. We knew it was going to be slow, but just the idea that we are here, and that truly is the remarkable thing.
(on camera): What (inaudible) to ring in 100 years?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I guess we`re doing the same thing that they did back 100 years ago. They needed to build a boardwalk, we`re belting (inaudible) it.
HARLOW (voice over): Poppy Harlow, CNN, Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: If you`re driving from West Point, New York to Dallas, Texas, it would take you about 24 hours. Doing it on foot takes 27 days. That`s exactly what these folks are doing, they are part of an event called "Carry the Load." It`s a 2,000-mile relay through 12 states designed to honor fallen U.S. Service men and women and their families. Participants carry the American flag and walk in honor of friends of family they`ve lost. The event wrapped up yesterday, Memorial Day in Dallas, and that`s how we wrap up today`s show.
We`re going to close to the end of the school year. Our last show is on Friday, June, 7, we`ll be back to relay more stories to you tomorrow, though. I`m Carl Azuz. Have a wonderful day.