(CNN Student News) May-02 , 2011

Transcript THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM BUSINESS, ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY (B.E.S.T.) ACADEMY: Welcome to CNN Student News at B.E.S.T. Academy Middle School. UNIDENTIFIED MALE B.E.S.T. STUDENT: Today, we are very glad and appreciative of the teachers who are striving to make us the best and prepare us for a promising and productive future. GROUP: And remember, we are accepting no excuses in our journey to be the B.E.S.T. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks to the students at B.E.S.T. Academy for getting things started today as CNN Student News kicks off Teacher Appreciation Week. I'm Carl Azuz. Let's get to it.

First Up: Libya Civil War

AZUZ: First up, the Libyan military is increasing its attacks on rebel forces, and at least one witness says it's "like revenge." This comes after a NATO airstrike reportedly killed part of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's family. Gadhafi has controlled Libya for 42 years. Rebels want him out of power; they're fighting against his government and military. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is leading an international operation to protect Libya's citizens. Libyan authorities say one of Colonel Gadhafi's sons and three of his grandchildren were killed in Sunday's airstrike. Government officials say Moammar Gadhafi and his wife were in the house when it was targeted, but that they're all right. NATO says it doesn't target individuals, just military-related locations. NATO commanders added that they regret any loss of life during Libya's ongoing civil war.

Pope Beatification
AZUZ: The late Pope John Paul II can now be called "blessed," which means he's one step away from becoming a saint. The pope -- the position -- serves as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. And John Paul II served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005. In the Catholic faith, in order to be beatified -- that's when you're declared as "blessed" -- a person has to be credited with performing a miracle. Becoming a saint requires two miracles. Some people have been critical of how John Paul II handled some issues in the Catholic Church while he was pope. But more than a million people came out to the Vatican on Sunday for the beatification ceremony led by the current pope, Benedict XVI. John Paul performed more than 1,300 beatification ceremonies while he was pope, a very popular pope to this day.

Royal Wedding

(CNN Student News) May-02 , 2011 AZUZ: Their names are still William and Kate, but from now on, you can call them the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Those are the titles that Britain's Prince William and Catherine Middleton were given after their royal wedding last Friday. It was not what you'd call a small ceremony. The couple tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in front of family and friends. But people around the world tuned in to watch, and huge crowds showed up in London for a chance to see the bride and groom. They will be going on a honeymoon, although they aren't saying where. But they're not leaving for a while. After a quiet weekend, Prince William was headed back to his job as a search and rescue pilot.

Sound Check
WALTER MADDOX, MAYOR OF TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA: My heart's broken. There's no way you can walk on these streets where I have grown up, and the 93,000 citizens that I represent, and see the pain in their eyes, the look of what has happened to us. This has clearly been a dark hour for me personally, and for our city. But I am confident. I believe that we will come out of this stronger, and a new day will dawn for the city of Tuscaloosa.

Alabama Aftermath
AZUZ: The mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His city was hit hard by severe weather and tornadoes that whipped across the southern U.S. last week. Churches across the state of Alabama held a day of prayer yesterday for the victims and survivors. Authorities say more than 330 people were killed across six states; that made it the second deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history. President Obama went to see some of the damage in Tuscaloosa on Friday. He declared major disasters in parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. That declaration will give money to help with the recovery efforts. Weather anchor Reynolds Wolf was also in Tuscaloosa. He gives us a closer look at what the president saw. REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: This is Alabama. It's my home state, the heart of Dixie, and after suffering the worst tornado in its history, this place will never quite be the same. When it comes to damage, it's so incredibly random. One house will have a wall completely ripped away, part of a roof. This one, on the other side of these trees, was actually lifted up and pushed completely off its foundation. And then right across the street on this side there's nothing there. Unreal. Now, before the twisters struck, this truck was in perfect condition. But after experiencing winds, possibly as high as 300 miles per hour, this vehicle has been reduced to rubble. And since this story began, we've been down countless streets, been in many neighborhoods, and still, we're seeing the same stuff. Near and far, there's just destruction. From houses to trees, just devastation. Here in Tuscaloosa though, things are slowly getting back to normal. You look across McFarland Boulevard and you see some construction crews trying to put things back together. All around them, plenty of damage. But things like that can get fixed. For the people who lost loved ones, though, life will never be the same.

(CNN Student News) May-02 , 2011

Shuttle Launch Delay

AZUZ: This is not where Endeavour is supposed to be right now. The shuttle was supposed to launch last Friday. NASA called that off because of concerns about the heating system. Next possibility was today, but that's off too. A power problem is what's causing the other delay. The Endeavour crew and support staff were allowed to go home. Officials haven't set a new launch date, but they say it won't be any earlier than next Sunday, May 8th.

Shoutout
STAN CASE, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mrs. Boswell's class at Moreland Ridge Middle School in Blue Springs, Missouri! What is this person operating? You know what to do! Is it a: A) Jib, B) Steadicam, C) TelePrompTer or D) Boom mic? You've got three seconds -- GO! This is a Steadicam, which helps eliminate shaking for hand-held cameras. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Career Connections
AZUZ: We're putting the Steadicam in focus today because our Career Connections segment is back! Our own Tomeka Jones is here to give you the scoop. Tomeka? TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Well, the title pretty much speaks for itself! We're trying to help you connect with careers that interest you. Carl, what gave you the desire to become an anchor? AZUZ: Uh, I was a better talker than listener. JONES: Well, CNN's Matt Lingerfelt knew he wanted to be a professional cameraman from the time he was young, like middle-high school age. He learned a lot from the work of Garrett Brown, who invented the Steadicam in the 1970s. And now, he's following in Brown's footsteps. MATT LINGERFELT, CNN STEADICAM OPERATOR: A good operator makes Steadicam look good. RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: The breakdown is a monumental shutdown. LINGERFELT: Steadicam was originally designed for film. Basically, it's a vest that has an arm that comes around. And I attach this arm that has springs loaded into it. The camera attaches to it. The springs take out all the load of the camera and me walking around, so it balances it out; makes it nice and smooth. We have two minutes until we are live. Right now, we're in the middle of a break and I'm getting time cues in my ear from master control. UNIDENTIFIED CNN DIRECTOR: Her mic. Go Matt. Cue. FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You are at the international desk, where we bring you the world up to the minute. UNIDENTIFIED CNN DIRECTOR: Go Matt. Roll them.

(CNN Student News) May-02 , 2011 LINGERFELT: So, the director is telling me, "Matt, I need this shot." And then he'll explain whatever shot it is, either the anchor at a wall or I'm doing a bump shot. And all a bump shot is is just a beauty shot of the studio. UNIDENTIFIED CNN DIRECTOR: Go! Standby to bump everything down, please. LINGERFELT: Well, that's what happens when the president takes over: our shot gets killed. No big deal; happens every day. The best advice I was given is to volunteer and always ask questions if you don't understand what something is.

Before We Go
AZUZ: Well, you heard Matt Lingerfelt, a friend of mine, talk about directors a lot. You can watch our Career Connections segment on directors at CNNStudentNews.com! Well, we hope you saved enough room for today's Before We Go segment, because it is gonna leave you stuffed. Between the tomato, cucumber, lettuce and bread, you're looking at a five pound burger! And more than three pounds of that is meat. A restaurant in China offers its diners a challenge: if they can get it down in 2 hours, the burger's free. Free food versus massive heartburn?

Goodbye
AZUZ: There's a debate you can really sink your teeth into. And you knew it could only show up in our beef-fore we go segment. There's an a-bun-dance of puns we could make about this story, but we've already eaten up all of our time. Just one more thing: This show goes out to our friends at A.C. Reynolds Middle School in Asheville, North Carolina. We appreciate your stopping by CNN last week!