CNN news 2013-04-05 加文本

cnn news 2013-04-05

Hi, I'm Carl Azuz. So happy to be back with you for this Tuesday edition of cnn Student News. Thanks to Natisha Lance for filling in yesterday.

First up today, a criminal mystery that officials in Texas described as shocking and uncomfortable. This weekend, Kaufman county district attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were shot and killed in their home. Two months ago, assistant prosecutor Mark Hasse was shot and killed outside thecounty courthouse.

Prosecutors like McLelland and Hasse are part of the US criminal justice system. They represent the government, in this case, the county government in criminal trials. It's their job to present evidence against the accused criminals. Authority say they don't know who's responsible for the death of the McLelland's and Hasse, but concerns that prosecutors may be targets has led to other Texas officials getting round-the-clock security. Authorities have launched this massive investigation, local police, Taxes rangers, now dozens of FBI agents, all getting involved.

Just the facts.

Autism is a general term used for a group of developmental disorders. These disorders generally affect social interaction, behavior and language. There isn't a single known cause for autism and there also isn't a cure. Officials estimate that about one out of every 88 kids has an autism disorder.

Because autism covers a spectrum of a variety of disorders, it affects people in different ways. The symptoms can range from mild to severe. April is National Autism Awareness Month and today, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day. The goal of both of these is to raise our awareness and help educate people about disorders. That's Alexis Wineman's goal as well. She was a contestant(竞争者) in this year's Miss America pageant. For her, autism is personal cause.

Miss Montana surrounded by more than 50 other beauty queens on stage, all hoping to become Miss America. But for most of her early life, Alexis Wineman spent her time alone.

I was very quiet because I couldn't say anything right. I was picked on(作弄；总是挑剔) for the various folks. I really didn't have any friends.

Her parents knew there was something wrong, but their small town of Cut Bank, Montana didn't have the resources to help them figure out what it was. And then at the age of 11, after years and years of searching for answers, a doctor finally put a name to Wineman's condition: Pervasive Development Disorder, a mild form of autism. Typically, children with autism are very intelligent, but very quiet, socially awkward, and they don't respond appropriately to interactions with other people.

I longed to really accept myself and my autism, and I realized that my autism isn't what defines me. I define what is autism.

She entered Miss Montana pageant as a way to prove to herself she can do anything she set her mind to.

I fell in love with the program. Good thing too because I won. I wasn't expecting to win but it's funny that things work out sometimes.

That win put her on the national stage in Las Vegas.

Dr. Sanjay Cupta of cnn reporting.

My name is Derek McKee. I am a high school senior at Heritage High School.

Hello.

Thank you, mam.

Thank you very much and I appreciate that hope.

And I was in this spot for a week to raise awareness for homeless youth in Denver, Colorado.

Food is definitely something a lot of people take for granted.

One night I spent the night on Skid Road on L.A. It just changed the entire outlook I had on life, but also it wanted me to give back. I'm gonna live in this spot until all of these walls are filled. There then you can't see me, so we make myself disappear, we’d also make child hunger disappear.

When young people raise the awareness about situations that we need to change in this country, it has a slightly bigger impact.

Derek is scheduled to wrap up his project today. If you are on Facebook, you can check out our Facebook page for an update once we find out if he had achieved this goal.

Things were hopping in Washington D.C. yesterday that Easter Bunny making a great entrance at the White House Easter Egg Roll.  More than 30,000 people, mostly kids were expected to be there. The First Family hosted the event. Malia and Sasha and First Lady Michelle Obama reading children's books with the crowd. President Obama presided over the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. He also stopped by the Tennessean basketball court(球场) for some game time.