CNN news 2010-11-20
Hey there, everybody, and welcome to this extra engaging edition of CNN Student News. That will make more sense in a few minutes. I'm Ben Tinker, filling in for Carl, who's at an anti-bullying conference. More on that when he gets back. Meantime, let's get started with the headlines. And we begin today at the White House.
“Today, therefore, marks the first time in nearly forty years that the recipient of the Medal of Honor for an ongoing conflict has been able to come to the White House and accept this recognition in person.”
And that's how we start today's program, with the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor in more than 30 years. Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta earned the medal because of his heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2007. He helped fight off the enemy and rescue a fellow soldier after they were attacked. Giunta says he wants the medal to be a symbol of dedicated service to the armed forces.
“This is truly an incredible experience. But although I'm the one standing here wearing this medal right now, I want to make it be known that this represents all service members from all branches that have been in Afghanistan since 2001, Iraq since 2003; who were there yesterday, are there today, and will go again tomorrow.”
Up next, a congressional committee says New York Democratic Representative Charlie Rangel is guilty of violating some house ethics rules. Yesterday, the committee announced that there was "clear and convincing" evidence of guilt on 11 of the 12 charges that Rangel was facing. Representative Rangel has been serving in Congress for nearly 40 years. In fact, he was re-elected to another term just this month. He says he's not being treated fairly. Now, the committee will recommend a sentence for Rangel. It could be anything from a fine up to an expulsion from Congress.
Questions about the cholera outbreak in Haiti have triggered violence in the Caribbean nation. Protesters fought with authorities on Monday. At least one person was killed. There was gunfire in the towns where these riots happened, and people set fires at the entrances to these towns. It seems like this all started because of rumors that a group of peacekeepers may have started the outbreak. The United Nations says those rumors are completely false.