CNN news 2012-05-10 加文本
cnn news 2012-05-10
CARL AZUZ, HOST, cnn STUDENT NEWS: Teacher Appreciation Week rolls on. It`s Tuesday, May 8th, and we thank you for spending part of it with cnn Student News from the cnn Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I`m Carl Azuz.
First up, we`re looking at some connections between economic issues and political elections. Yesterday we talked about France and Greece. One country, France, elected a new president over the weekend. The other, Greece, voted for a shift of power in its parliament. But the election results from those two nations have something in common.
AZUZ (voice-over): In both countries there was a backlash against austerity measures. That`s when a government tries to cut spending or increase taxes to try to reduce its debt. Some European officials are pushing in the opposite direction.
AZUZ: They want to create policies that promote economic growth. Investors around the world are watching how all this breaks down, because what happens in Europe can have an impact around the world.
AZUZ (voice-over): In Russia, Vladimir Putin is the new president -- again. He led the country for eight years before term limits forced him to step down in 2008. Since then, he`s been Russia`s prime minister. He won back the president`s office in a recent election.
During Putin`s first time in office, Russian presidents served four- year terms. Changes to the constitution have increased that to six years. So if Putin serves two terms again, he could be in power until 2024. Putin was sworn in on Monday in front of a crowd of about 2,000 people.
Some Russians don`t want Putin back in of course, though. There were accusations of fraud in the presidential election, and there were protests against the Russian leader yesterday. More than 100 people were arrested.
Some protesters got into fights with police officers over the weekend. More than 250 people were arrested during those demonstrations.
AZUZ: Want to hear your school mentioned on cnn Student News? You know you do. One way is through our social media question of the week.
AZUZ (voice-over): If you`re already on Facebook, keep an eye on our official Facebook page. It`s Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews. It`s where we will post the weekly social media video. Get that question right, and you might get a mention on our show. Like last week`s winner, Henfield (ph) High in Pennsylvania, congratulations to them.
AZUZ: Indiana, West Virginia and North Carolina are holding primary elections today. We`ve talked a lot about presidential primaries, but voters are also casting their ballots in local and state elections. In North Carolina, today`s primary includes a controversial proposal to amend the state`s constitution. Randi Kaye explains what it`s all about.
RANDI KAYE, cnn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Tuesday, North Carolina voters will be making a big decision at the polls, the decision to change the state`s constitution. Amendment One would make marriage between one man and one woman the only recognized domestic legal union in the state.
TATE REP. PAUL STAM (R), NORTH CAROLINA: The reason we have to put it in our state constitution is that half a dozen other states have, by judicial fiat, had a handful of judges change the laws of those states.
KAYE (voice-over): It`s something several other states have done. But Amendment One goes a step further. Not only would it ban same-sex marriage, which is already illegal in North Carolina, it would also invalidate all civil unions and domestic partnerships.
REV. WILLIAM BARBER, PRES, North Carolina NAACP: This is a bad law, because it will hurt heterosexual families because it does not recognize any other domestic union.
KAYE (voice-over): The measure raises all kinds of legal questions and is causing a heap of controversy in the state.
BARBER: It will hurt children. It will hurt those that need the protections in domestic violence issues.
KAYE (voice-over): Both sides are spending millions to convince voters to come to their side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote for the Marriage Protection Amendment.
KAYE (voice-over): One of the leading voices against the amendment is the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, hitting airwaves with ads like this one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amendment One will take away my daughter`s health insurance. And that`s extremely unfair.
KAYE (voice-over): Recent polling shows the amendment is likely to pass Tuesday. But critics warn that if voters approve the measure, it will set a dangerous precedent.