CNN news 2014-03-05 加文本

cnn news 2014-03-05

CARL AZUZ, cnn ANCHOR: It`s the third day of the third month of 2014. Happy you taking ten minutes for cnn STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. It was a tumultuous weekend in Ukraine. We`ve told you about protests in the capital Kiev that led to the ouster of Ukraine`s president last month. Most of those protesters want their country to have closer ties with Europe, but many Ukrainians, like their ousted president, want closer ties with Russia. And one region where support for Russia is strong is Crimea. It`s in southern Ukraine. It`s where most residents identify themselves as Russian, and it`s where what we assume to be Russian troops came in the Ukraine over the weekend and took control of the Crimean peninsula, according to the U.S.

The troops surrounded three Ukrainian military bases. There wasn`t any combat, but the U.S. calls this an active Russian aggression and says Russia is breaking international law by sending troops to Ukraine. Russia says there is no open confrontation here, but that it has the right to defend its people and interests in Ukraine.

Time for "The Shoutout." What`s the most populated state in the U.S.? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it Florida, Texas, New York or California? You`ve got three seconds, go!

With around 38 million residents, California is far and away the most populated state in the U.S. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

It`s been the season of extremes for residents of southern California. While other parts of the country were shivering under snow, ice and bitter cold, areas near Los Angeles have been parched by drought. Windy dry conditions fostered the spread of wild fires, and when rain finally came from a recent storm system, there wasn`t much vegetation left to soak it up. So that meant mudslides. Thankfully, no death have been reported because of the rain and mudslides, but the drought has been so bad that the storms barely made a dent in water levels. Much of the rain is streaming back out to sea and water reservoirs are still at minimum levels. Even a forecast for more rain isn`t good news for some folks.

KYUNG LAH, cnn CORRESPONDENT: It happened in minutes. Fire scorched land couldn`t hold the rain, so mud poured down from the Glendore (ph) foothills below.

RYAN FRIEND, RESIDENT: It`s (INAUDIBLE). It`s bad. It looks - I mean it`s bad. It hasn`t been this bad in a long time. It wasn`t like this 20 minutes ago.

LAH: They are getting out while they can.

(on camera): But you are not taking anything with you, just grabbing your dog?

MARIO VASQUEZ, RESIDENT: No, we got my laptop. I don`t need too much, too many things. Everything is going to be fine. It`s all replaceable.

LAH (voice over): Just a couple of inches of rain and you can see the effects here when the ground, which is burned by the fire can`t hold all of this and something you`ll notice - the debris it shows - it`s been scarred by wildfire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to make some friends to help get you out. OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

LAH: 1,000 homes are under a mandatory evacuation order. Because they sit below these scorched hills. Two months ago, it was wildfire. Today, mud into their pools and backyards. California has been in drought for months. The sudden rain caught some by surprise.

Two people were found stranded in a tree trying to escape the rising water of the Los Angeles River. Take a closer look. It`s not just people, but there are two dogs. You can see the rescuers, the Los Angeles firefighters as they carefully move the frightened animals out of the tree one by one to the nearby rescue boat.

And there`s more rain coming. Just bad news for Kim and Dennis Kralik. They chose not to listen to the mandatory evacuation order. Their one road in and out too covered in mud to drive.

(on camera): Because you can`t get out.

KIM KRALIK, RESIDENT: No, not right now. Until they clear this, we`re stuck here.

LAH: What has Mother Nature been like the last couple of months for you?

KIM KRALIK: We had fire, droughts and now torrential rain.

DENNIS KRALIK, RESIDENT: Winds.

KIM KRALIK: Yeah, pretty much everything.

DENNIS KRALIK, RESIDENT: Yeah, we`ve hit all four elements at this point. I think we are done at this point with any more crazy storms.

AZUZ: There may not be much we could do about the weather, but we do a pretty good job of keeping track of it. And NASA has teamed up with Japan`s Aerospace exploration agency to launch a satellite that will track rain and snow. It`s called the Global Precipitation Measurement Co- observatory. And if that sounds like an advanced name, it`s a pretty advanced satellite. It`s designed to circle the earth every hour and a half, observe where it`s raining and send that info back to scientists every three hours. It can tell the difference between rain, ice and snowfall, and the different amounts of each. And it will help researches keep track of the global climate and its water cycle. This is not a cheap project. The satellite cost NASA $933 million. It`s designed to last at least three years.