CNN news 2014-03-22 加文本

cnn news 2014-03-22

CARL AZUZ, cnn ANCHOR: Happy to have you watching on this worldwide Wednesday, March 19. I`m Carl Azuz for cnn STUDENT NEWS.

First up, the maps on your classroom wall and in your geography book may be changing. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty that makes Crimea part of Russia. His actions followed Sunday`s voting Crimea when Crimean residents overwhelmingly chose to split off from Ukraine and join Russia. The Russian leader said he wouldn`t push for any further division of Ukraine.

But the move was unacceptable to the European Union and the United States. Vice President Joe Biden called Russia`s actions "a land grab." The U.S. and E.U. have imposed sanctions, limiting the rights of certain Russian officials and they are threatening more sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

12 years ago, the U.S. Congress set up a military review. It was trying to find out if American troops who`d served in combat decades ago might have been passed over for the Medal of Honor because they were Hispanic or Jewish. The investigation found several people, including some African Americans who likely would have received the country`s highest military decoration, if not for their skin color. So, yesterday, at the White House, President Obama awarded 24 Medals of Honor, most of them for people who`d been discriminated against and had served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. The president said their courage almost defies imagination. 21 of the medals were awarded posthumously, for the three recipients who were still alive, it`s an honor decades in the making.

Tough times for General Motors. The maker of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC is recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles. It believes a flaw in an ignition switch has let to dozens of crashes, and the deaths of at least 12 people. Because this problem may date back years, and the recall was just issued last month, the company has been accused of dragging its feet in addressing the issue. And a lot of the heat is on GM`s first female leader.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s the CEO at the center of a huge auto safety nightmare. Just two months on the job, Mary Barra is heading up GM`s massive ignition switch recall. And the stakes couldn`t be higher.

JEREMY ROBINSON-LEON, CRISIS-MANAGEMENT EXPERT: It`s probably the last thing she wanted to have to deal with in her first few weeks, or her first couple of months on the job.

MARY BARRA, GM CEO: Automotive it`s kind of in my blood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barra is the first woman to head up a U.S. car company, but she`s been climbing the GM corporate ladder for over 30 years.

Barra says she became aware of the safety issues, "a few weeks ago." And says, GM ordered the recall without hesitation.

But GM`s own records show its engineers were aware of the problem as early as 2004. The company says, "The chronology shows that the process employed to examine this phenomenon, was not as robust as it should have been. And for this reason, Barra`s longtime insider status could put her in the tough spot.

PAUL LAMONICA, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, cnn MONEY: It`s going to be difficult for her to maybe distance herself from this crisis, because she can`t just come out and say, well, this was under someone else`s watch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adding to Barra`s problems, a Justice Department criminal probe into whether GM hid evidence about defects, upcoming hearings on Capitol Hill as well as law suits from victims` families and shareholders.

As Toyota found out four years ago during its massive recall for unintended vehicle acceleration, Congress likes to go for the jugular.

JAY ROCKFELLER, U.S. SENATOR: It set with me deeply, that it seems somewhere along the way public safety decreased in value, as profit margins saw it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Toyota`s market share tumbledoring (ph) its crisis as did their reputation. GM investors are clearly worried, shares have fallen more than 15 percent this year.

Crisis management experts say the quicker Barra speaks out, the better.

ROBINSON-LEON: There`s a trickle of information that keeps coming. It keeps GM in the headlines. The company will be better off getting all - as many of the facts out as it possibly can to look transparent. She has to get out there and talk to the public.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But some believe GM lawyers might hold their cards closed.

LAMONICA: The fact that the company has announced that it needs to do its own internal investigation means that there are a lot of things that they are trying to figure out. It`s premature, I think. You`re kind of just throwing Barra out to the sharks that the media can be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But if this crisis deepens, GM`s mark of excellence could be tainted for years.