CNN news 2015-03-01 加文本

cnn news 2015-03-01

CARL AZUZ, HOST: Fridays are awesome. We`re wrapping up the last week of February here on cnn STUDENT NEWS and we won`t see you again until

next month.

I`m Carl Azuz.

First up today is the deadline for Congress and the president to agree on funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This includes

roughly 200,000 people -- Border Patrol and Customs officers, Secret Service agents, TSA screeners at airports, plus their managers and

administrators.

Without funding, many of these people wouldn`t get paid, at least not until the funding is restored. But they`ll still be required to work for

the safety of the country. So most Americans wouldn`t immediately notice the effects of the shutdown.

So what`s the sticking point?

Some Republican lawmakers say that funding the department is tied to President Obama`s executive order on immigration. That was done last year

without Congress` approval and it allows millions of people who were in the U.S. illegally to stay and get work permits.

The president wants that order to stand. Some lawmakers don`t. Something has got to give if the Department of Homeland Security is to get

funding by today`s deadline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): What is net neutrality?

It has nothing to do with a volleyball or a tennis court. The net refers to the Internet, something that`s become as necessary as water and

power for most of us. The neutrality part is about keeping the net the way it is today.

It`s a set of rules the FCC approved in 2010 to prevent speed traps on the information superhighway. In other words, speeding up access to some

sites and slowing down access to others, or blocking certain sites entirely.

So are these rules a bad thing?

It depends who you ask. The companies that deliver your Internet, like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T, have spent millions in lobbying money to

get rid of net neutrality, arguing that having the government micromanage their business is not good for them or their consumers.

On the other side are Internet giants like Facebook and Google, streaming services like Netflix and President Obama. They all argue the

Internet is a public good and should be regulated like one. They also say that companies that own the pipelines can play favorites.

For example, a content provider like Netflix is in direct competition with Comcast, which owns NBC Universal and controls access to the Internet

for more than 20 million customers.

You can imagine a scenario where NBC might want to speed up streams of its shows and slow down streams of its rival, Netflix.

Now, Netflix can afford to pay for a fast lane. They make $4 billion a year. But the next Netflix, some awesome start-up can`t.