CNN news 2012-06-05 加文本

cnn news 2012-06-05

CARL AZUZ, HOST, cnn STUDENT NEWS: We hope it`s "plane" to see how much we enjoy your iReport introductions. I am Carl Azuz. It`s Friday. This is cnn Student News.

First up today, we`re heading to the Middle East.

Syria`s government has wrapped up an investigation into last weekend`s massacre in the city of Houla. The government report says terrorists are responsible for killing more than 100 civilians there. But an American official says the report is, quote, "a blatant lie."

Syrian officials have blamed armed terrorists for the violence that`s been raging in the country for more than a year now. Rima Maktabi looks at the different groups involved in the fighting.

RIMA MAKTABI, cnn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let`s take a look at the Syrian population. The sweeping majority of Syrians are Sunni, ruled by an Alawite minority for more than 40 years.

The Alawites are an Islamic sect, an offshoot of Muslim Shia that believes in the divinity of Ali, the prophet Mohammed`s cousin. They comprise around 16 percent of the population and occupy higher ranks in security and intelligence.

President Bashar al-Assad and his family are Alawites. As for the players in Syria, there are two obvious conflicting groups. The Syrian army and government forces defending the Bashar al-Assad regime and the Free Syrian Army, a group made up largely of army defectors supporting the uprising.

Yet the bloodiest atrocities are done on the hands of paramilitary forces. On the Syrian government`s side, there are the shabiha, described as a group of armed thugs, many of them Alawites with no official position in the military command structure.

The shabiha are widely blamed for committing the bulk of the killings at Houla and across Syria.

On the opposition side, there are numerous armed groups of Sunni extremists. Their aim is to bring down the Assad regime. To an Arab world that has grown accustomed to sectarian wars, these images of the Houla massacre could prove to be the point of no return for the regime and its enemies.

AZUZ: A U.S. federal appeals court says a national law is unconstitutional. The law is called DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. It defines marriage as exclusively being between a man and a woman.

AZUZ (voice-over): This case has to do with federal benefits. Can the U.S. government deny those to same-sex couples who live in states where they can legally marry?

According to this ruling, the appeals court says no. Same-sex marriage is legal in six states right now. Others have approved laws or state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. The appeals court said the controversial issue could ultimately end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

BEN TINKER, SENIOR PRODUCER, cnn MEDICAL: There are about 230 calories in a 16-ounce soda, which means about 460 in a 32-ounce. But more importantly, about 40 grams of sugar in here, 50 grams of sugar in here.

Research has shown that rapidly digested sugar, like the sugar in soda, can actually lead to some really, really crazy changes in your body`s metabolism, which can lead to some pretty serious illnesses like diabetes, stroke, heart disease, even cancer in some cases, according to some researchers.

AZUZ: So that`s part of the reason why New York City officials are proposing a ban on large sodas and other sugary drinks.

AZUZ (voice-over): If this thing is approved, restaurants and food carts in the city wouldn`t be able to serve so-called sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. And if they did serve those, they could be fined. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it`s a health issue.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: For the government to make the decision that that should not include something else, that the experts all tell you is very detrimental to your health, that is contributing to the number one public health issue remaining in this city and in this country, that`s getting worse. It`s not unreasonable.

AZUZ: But some restaurant and drink industry officials are strongly against this. Critics are calling the proposed ban misguided, among other things. And opinions from some New Yorkers are mixed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t really feel he`s entitled to someone else`s opinion about what they should drink, how large it should be or how small it should be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just poison. It`s full of sugar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I mean, it`s up to the parents. It`s up to the individual. If you want to drink that stuff, so be it.

AZUZ (voice-over): We`re guessing you guys are going to have some opinions on this, and we want to hear them. Our blog at cnnstudentnews.com is the place to share them. Log on, let us know what you think.

AZUZ: The founder of Space X calls this a grand slam. He`s talking about his company`s historic mission to the International Space Station.