CNN news 2012-01-14 加文本

cnn news 2012-01-14

CARL AZUZ, HOST, cnn STUDENT NEWS: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz and this is cnn Student News. In a little while, we`re going to talk about a milestone for the U.S. debt. But first up today, we`re heading to the Middle East.

Violence is a daily part of life in some regions of Syria. Protesters have been fighting with government forces there for months. The protesters want Syrian president Bashar al-Assad out of power. The government has cracked down on the protesters. There are reports that thousands of people have been killed.

AZUZ (voice-over): It`s been hard for cnn to confirm those reports because Syria wasn`t letting international journalists into the country. That changed yesterday. A cnn crew was allowed into Syria. It saw protests and rallies like these. Some of the rallies were against President al-Assad, but others were supporting him.

Nic Robertson said what he witnessed was a country that is deeply divided.

NIC ROBERTSON, cnn REPORTER (voice-over): Passions were very high. People were very angry. They were very afraid. A lot of people were coming and showing what they said were bullet wounds, birdshot wounds as well as some people showed us where they said they had been shot by forces loyal to the government.

Yet, at the same time in the center of Damascus today, we`ve seen large pro-government rallies, people telling us that they love President Bashar al-Assad. What is happening here is this country is dividing. It`s polarizing. People are believing -- are believing opposite things.

Some believe that the president is the right man for the country. There are others that don`t. They`re not talking to each other. And this is really leading to a much more divided country than it was even a few months ago.

AZUZ: Iran says it is enriching uranium as part of its controversial nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes, like its medical needs. But other countries, including the United States, believe Iran could be making nuclear weapons. And the tension has isolated Iran from some other countries.

And the

AZUZ (voice-over): But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is getting some international support during a trip to Latin America, starting in Venezuela. Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez come from different cultures, but both are at odds with the United States.

President Chavez welcomed President Ahmadinejad in a ceremony yesterday. But one Venezuelan politician called the Iranian leader`s visit an embarrassment for Venezuela.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s the word? It`s the total value of all goods and services that a country produces in a year. Gross domestic product or GDP -- that`s the word.

AZUZ: And that doesn`t just mean what the government produces. The gross domestic product includes all of the goods and services that private companies sell, too. Right now, the U.S. GDP is around $15.3 trillion. And that is about where the country`s debt is.

AZUZ (voice-over): This is the milestone we mentioned at the start of today`s show. America`s debt, the money that the federal government owes, is right around that $15.3 trillion mark.

Some experts say the fact that debt and GDP are at the same level shows how important it is for the American government to deal with its financial problems.

AZUZ: Next up, we`re heading back out on the presidential campaign trail. Last week, Iowa held caucuses, these public meetings where Republican voters announced their presidential preferences. The state in the spotlight today is New Hampshire. It`s holding a primary, where voters each cast a single private ballot.

AZUZ (voice-over):

The Republican candidates -- you`re seeing many of them here -- they`ve been out trying to rally support. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has had a big lead in the polls in New Hampshire.

He has kind of a home field advantage since he was governor of the state right next door. But other candidates can use a strong showing in New Hampshire to get some momentum going into the next primary contest.

AZUZ: Many Americans are walking in a winter-less wonderland. Snowplows in Iowa don`t have enough snow to plow. Lake Erie hasn`t frozen yet. Chicago is seeing one of its least snowy winters ever. Many meteorologists blame something called La Nina. That`s a weather pattern that starts in the Pacific Ocean, and they`re saying that`s the reason why it`s been sort of a warm, snowless winter in many places.

There are some exceptions to the rule, as you`re going to see in today`s "Before We Go" segment, but over in Vermont, Keith McGilvery of affiliate WCAX shows us how some snow-starved ski slopes are struggling.