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STUDENT NEWS

Mountain Everest Still Attracts Alpinists; Boston Marathon Memorial Preserved in City Archives; Student Saved Pennies to Pay His Tuition

Aired April 21, 2014 - 04:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN STUDENT NEWS. Thank you for starting off your week with us. International news take center stage first up. Yesterday, followers of the world`s largest religion celebrated Easter Sunday. It`s the most significant day in the Christian calendar. Christians believe Easter is when Jesus Christ rose from the dead having fulfilled the Bible`s prophecies of the Messiah. From Vatican City, headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, Christianity is largest denomination. Pope Francis called for people to work toward peace, to end world hunger and to help others out of poverty.

Next report today takes us to Yemen. Al Qaeda terrorists recently had a large meeting in the Middle Eastern nation, and suspected drones attacked terrorists over the weekend. The U.S. is believed to have participated, though American officials won`t confirm that. A Yemeni official says at least 12 al Qaeda members were killed on Sunday, ten others on Saturday, though that attack also killed three civilians.

We are also visiting Nepal, home of the world`s tallest mountain. An avalanche rushed down Mount Everest on Friday. It killed 13 people, mostly Sherpas preparing the way for the spring climbing season. Three people are still missing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everest. The name is synonymous with challenge and all too often, with death.

Friday`s avalanche is the single deadliest incident on Everest in history. Despite the danger, the icy peak that rises more than 29,000 feet into the heavens, still tantalizes adventurers who come for any number of reasons. The guides or Sherpas are often the victims, paving the way, carrying supplies and taking real risks for what are lucrative wages in Nepal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only the money that I`m after right now, but even my - from my inner heart, I always wanted to be on the top.

TAPPER: The audacy (ph) has been the subject of countless documentaries.

And feature film such as "Into Thin Air" based on John Krakauer`s bestseller about the 1996 tragedy that left eight climbers dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The dramatic scenes perhaps adding to the galore that has turned the dangerous mountain into a tourist destination. But as the altitude increases, reality sits in.

JOE PRATT, MOUNTAINEER: You can breathe for a while, you are sort of losing ground as you do without oxygen.

TAPPER: In 2012, American Joe Pratt struggled with the lack of oxygen at such a high elevation, though he survived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anyone who climbed Mount Everest and survives is lucky.

JAKE TAPPER: 344 foreign climbers have been given permission to climb Mount Everest this year, along with an estimated 400 sherpas to guide them home safely. One can only hope that they all come back. Jack Tapper, CNN, Washington.

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AZUZ: The 2014 Boston Marathon is today, it`s been a little more than year since a terrorist attack occurred at the finish line of the 201 event. It`s not the only tragedy Americans are remembering this time of year. The deadly raid on a religious compound in Waco, Texas, the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, the attack on Columbine High School in Colorado, the shooting at Virginia Tech. All of these events occurred in mid-April. It`s a time when millions of Americans reflect on loss, survival, recovery and life. That`s what`s behind the project to preserve part of Boston`s history. And outpouring a public sympathy and support for the city as being catalogues, so it can be remembered.

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MARTA GRILLY, CITY OF BOSTON ARCHIVES: Marathon day is a day when people from all over the world come together in our city to celebrate life. And I think this memorial reflected that feeling.

It is our job to document Boston`s history, but generally we are documenting things that happened like 100 years ago. This is a very different experience for the City Archives. We are documenting history that we personally experience.

And marathon items start in this fey down here. And they come all the way through this fey. After the bombing, Boston`s history document Boston`s history document Boylston Street was, of course, a crime scene, and metal barriers were put up, and people began leaving things.

Flowers, stuffed animals, cards - the city hall contacted the city archives and they recognized that this was a memorial and needed to be saved.

Then memorial finally came down on June 25th. We have taken steps to preserve things, so that they are not rotting or deteriorating, which is very important first step. We are still working on getting everything catalogued.

(on camera): This is a section of chain "May God bless us all with peace."

SAMANTHA JOSEPH, IRON MOUNTAIN: It is so organic in how it grew, the t- shirts, teddy bears, candles.

GRILLY: The memorial when it existed was an incredibly emotionally powerful place. The Boston marathon and Patriot`s Day is a really special day to Bostonians. It`s a celebration of life. It`s a celebration of our city.

JOSEPH: And even though it`s hard to look at the items, we really believe that when people were putting their personal items in Copley Square they were trying to send the message of love to the city.

GRILLY: The bombings are part of Boston`s history. And we need to preserve that history, but the outpouring of love and support that happened, this memorial, is also part of our history. And we need to remember that.

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AZUZ: It`s time for the CNN STUDENT NEWS "Roll Call." We are going up the eastern seaboard today, starting in the palmetto state. The wildcats are watching from Charleston, South Carolina. We found them at West Ashley High School. Galloping north to the Garden State, because the Colts of Cumberland Regional High School in Seaboard, New Jersey are online and on the roll. And the green mountain state runs out our roll with the Lakers of Colchester High School. They are making a splash in Colchester, Vermont.

For financial literacy month we`ve been focused on monetary terms that many of you, college-bound high school students will need to know. Today, the world is tuition. This is the cost of a college education. Not the total cost. It doesn`t include room and board, but it`s basically what you pay to attend classes and earn that degree. Tuition can vary tremendously from school to school.

For a four-year public college or university, average sticker price for tuition is about $9,000 a year. At private schools, you are looking at around $30,000. To help others understand what it`s like to pay that tuition, an Oklahoma college student came up with an idea that clearly make sense.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch your feet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a heavy load, yet, a weight lifted. 500 pounds of penny. And 24-year old Andrew Magbee earned every single bit of it.

ANDREW MAGBEE, STUDENT: I collected aluminum cans, and I turned them in for scrap metal, and I - I started a little sandwich shop, I mowed lawns, I painted houses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, he turned every dollar, every dime into $97,400 pennies. That`s $974 bucks. His final tuition payment. A significant moment he says that was priceless.

MAGBEE: And it`s the idea that pennies add up and being frugal counts, and working hard counts.

Take it up, so I can skew this underneath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Magbee said he did all of this, too, to set an example for students who come behind him.

MAGBEE: Encourage them to think through the process of financing their education, how they are going to do it and what they are going to pursue to make that happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making sure that his last payment for college counted for something right down to the last penny.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for "The Shoutout." The top speed record of what currently stands at about 150 miles per hour? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it a rollercoaster, baseball pitch, cheetah or blimp? You`ve got three seconds, go!

The fastest thing on this list is the rollercoaster, one of which has been clocked at over 149 miles per hour. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.

AZUZ: And that was in the United Arab Emirates. But it seems that rollercoasters designers are always trying to set a new bar. This one is not about speed. It`s about going the distance. More than 4100 feet, the longest distance for an inverted coaster. That`s the kind where the seats hang below the track. Hold on tight. The right time for Benchie (ph) is a screaming 2.5 minutes. Top speed, 68 miles per hour. It costs Kings Island $24 million to build. There were surely twists and turns along the way, but they kept the project on track and built something that holds the record from coast to coaster. The first riders called it a scream. They say it`s railly faun, even if it throws you for a loop. So, if you have nerves of steel, the Benchie will test your metal.

I`m Carl Azuz, racing away from CNN STUDENT NEWS.

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