CNN Student News Transcript: February 13, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- February 13, 2008

Quick Guide

The Potomac Primaries - Discover which candidates came out ahead in the "Potomac primaries."

Australia's Apology - Hear why the Australian government is apologizing to the Aborigines.

Baseball Pioneers - Learn about the groundbreaking achievements of baseball's Negro Leagues.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It's a brand new day and a brand new edition of CNN Student News, and we're glad to have you along for the ride. From the CNN Center, I'm Carl Azuz.

ID Me

MATT CHERRY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: See if you can I.D. Me! I'm a very significant American river, though I flow for only about 380 miles. I form the border between Maryland and Virginia on my way to Chesapeake Bay. You can sail me to Washington, D.C., and the home of George Washington sits on my banks! Tough one today. I'm the Potomac River, and I rise in West Virginia's Appalachian Mountains.

First Up: The Potomac Primaries

AZUZ: And we're talking about the river because it's the namesake of yesterday's presidential contests: the "Potomac primaries!" Who took part? You heard them mentioned in that I.D. Me: Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The Potomac prize for candidates: 168 delegates for the Democrats and 113 for the Republicans. Officials in the District and both states reported big voter turnout early in the day. Pat St. Claire fills us in on the results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT ST. CLAIRE, CNN REPORTER: Presidential primary day in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. And across the board, the victors are John McCain and Barack Obama. Now, with these wins under his belt, Obama has more delegates than Hillary Clinton for the first time since the Iowa caucuses.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At this moment, the cynics can no longer say that our hope is false.

ST. CLAIRE: For McCain, the clear Republican front-runner, it was a welcome reversal after weekend losses to Mike Huckabee.

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are approaching the end of the first half of this election on quite an upswing.

ST. CLAIRE: After a winless night, Huckabee vowed he'll stay in the race. As for Camp Clinton: It's already set its sites on Ohio and Texas, states with primaries coming up on March 4th.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to sweep across Texas in the next three weeks bringing our message about what we need in America.

ST. CLAIRE: As Tuesday's votes were still being counted, Clinton was at a rally in El Paso, vying for the Hispanic vote, support that will be critical for the Democratic winner there. I'm Pat St. Claire, reporting from Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And of course you can head to our Web site, CNNStudentNews.com, to get the latest results and delegate counts for both the Republican and Democratic races.

Promo

AZUZ: Now, we want to hear from you guys about the race for the White House. This month's "Talking Democracy" topic: the right to vote. Is it important? Who should have it? Get those creative wheels turning, break out your video cameras and send us your I-Reports. You can find out how at CNNStudentNews.com.

Word to the Wise

CHERRY: A Word to the Wise...

indigenous (adjective) living in a particular area; native to a certain region

source: www.dictionary.com

Australia's Apology

AZUZ: Today, the Australian government is apologizing to that country's indigenous people: the Aborigines. For decades, Aboriginal children who came from mixed racial backgrounds were taken from their families by the government. They came to be known as the "Stolen Generations." These young people often lived in harsh conditions, and their mistreatment was mostly kept a secret until about ten years ago. But as Mark Riley tells us, Australia's leaders are hoping their apology will help start the healing process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RILEY, SEVEN NEWS: The doors open on a new era in Australian politics. New faces and new responsibilities, as a Labor leader takes the Prime Minister's seat for the first time in 12 years. Another first: Parliament opens with an Aboriginal welcome to country. Outside, hundreds marched against the mistreatment of Aborigines. For some, the cry wasn't reconciliation, but retribution. There was a more subtle mention of the "Stolen Generations" inside.

ABORIGINAL GIRL: I always wonder what would have happened if they would have taken me.

RILEY: There'll be cause for real celebration among the Aboriginal people when the Parliament, for the first time, says sorry to those who were taken. The wording of that apology says sorry not once, but three times.

GRAPHIC: For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

RILEY: Sorry: A small word with a big meaning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Spoken Word

KEVIN RUDD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: The time has come, well and truly come, for all peoples of our great country, for all citizens of our great commonwealth, for all Australians, those who are indigenous and those who are not, to come together to reconcile. And together build a new future for our nation.

Baseball Pioneers

AZUZ: Yesterday, we took you on a tour of a museum exhibit that honors baseball's historic Negro Leagues. Today, Larry Smith talks with one of the museum's officials about how the league, and many of its players, defied stereotypes and expectations. And they discuss why it's important for young folks to learn about this significant part of American history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SMITH, CNN REPORTER: Why is it so important now to get these pictures, these stories, these images in front of young people?

BOB KENDRICK, NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUES MUSEUM: In this wonderful story of the Negro Leagues, they get a picture of the ugliness of segregation, what a segregated society was like. But to also see, again, the power of the human spirit. See, these men didn't cry about their social injustice. They went out and did something about it. You won't let me play with you? Then I'll create a league of my own.

SMITH: Would they be stunned to find out these weren't just players, they were very smart people?

KENDRICK: I'm sure they will. Because it is one of those little-known facts that some 40 percent of the athletes who played in the Negro Leagues were college educated men. They trained right here on black college campuses. They played the black college baseball teams and recruited a lot of their work force from those black colleges. So, they had a disproportionate number of college educated athletes, yet were the ones who were always being categorized as illiterate.

SMITH: The female baseball players. Tell me, especially, about Toni Stone. What made her so special?

KENDRICK: Number one, she was a tremendous athlete. But Toni Stone was one of three women to play professionally in the Negro Leagues in the 1950s. She was followed by Connie Morgan and then later Mamie "Peanut" Johnson. But those women were hired at a time when the Negro Leagues was losing their fan base to the Major Leagues because, now, the great black young stars followed Robinson to the Major Leagues. Guess what? Black fans followed Robinson to the Major Leagues as well. So now, they were looking for new clientele. They were trying to get women fans into the ballpark, so they hired Toni Stone. Women started flocking to those games. But you think about this: This was in the 1950s; tells you how pioneering the Negro Leagues were. This is well before Annika Sorenstam shook up the world when she teed it up in that PGA event. You had Effa Manley, who was a female owner. The Negro Leagues gave women an opportunity to do things in this country before this country gave women an opportunity to do things.

SMITH: Where do you think society's awareness of the Negro Leagues and its stories will be in 20 years, as more people pass on?

KENDRICK: We know that we are dealing with a finite piece of history, and the window of opportunity closes every time we lose one of those players or, as you mentioned, every time we lose somebody who saw them play. And so, through these traveling exhibitions, and through the work that we're doing in Kansas City to maintain the legacy and preserve it, we hope that we can create widespread access to this story for everyone to have an opportunity to not only learn the history, but I truly believe to be inspired by the courage and again the passion that these athletes showed in the face of adversity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, we're getting ready for Valentine's Day with a story about some school-sanctioned PDA. This principal's getting ready for a big old smooch with a goat! Seems like a strange couple, but it's all part of a deal she made with her elementary students. If they raised half the money for the school stage's new curtains, she agreed to lock lips with the barnyard beast. And she didn't chicken out when it came time to pucker up.

CHERYL VINCENT, PUEBLO WEST ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL: It's very wet and very furry, let me tell you. And those lips go on forever.

Uh, what exactly were you expecting? But everyone wins in the end here. The students get to laugh, the school gets the curtains and the gallant goat gets some love. And they say romance is dead.

Goodbye

AZUZ: Actually, that's what we're asking about on our blog right now. Romance, not kissing goats. So, check it out and leave us your thoughts. We'll see you again tomorrow. I'm Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend