CNN Student News Transcript: February 19, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- February 19, 2008

Quick Guide

Deadly Game - Learn about a tragic accident that occurred during a Maryland street race.

Bush in Africa - Follow President Bush on part of his week-long tour of African nations.

Beef Recall - Get the details about the largest beef recall in American history.

Transcript

Teachers: Please preview the Beef Recall segment, as It shows graphic images of alleged animal cruelty.

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

MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hi there! Thanks for joining us for this first edition of the week of CNN Student News! I'm Monica Lloyd!

First Up: Deadly Game

LLOYD: First up, street racing. You've probably seen it in some of your favorite action movies. But in real life, it can be dangerous. Over the weekend, an illegal race in Maryland went horribly wrong killing eight people and injured several others. Police think spectators made a bad decision - trying to get a closer look at the action, not realizing a car was heading right toward them. Kathleen Koch explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN REPORTER: Memorials now line this stretch of flat, four lane road, where neighbors say the lack of traffic signals has attracted racers for more than 20 years.

PERSON ON THE STREET: Drag racing on a state highway is wrong; it's just completely wrong and it should not ever happen!

KOCH: So, why does it happen? Police say the racers are well organized, often moving from site to site and using police radios and lookouts to avoid getting caught.

CPL. CLINTON COPELAND, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE: It's something that we are working on and we continue to monitor this situation and we continue to use our resources.

KOCH: At least some neighbors agree that police are trying.

KELLY CANAVAN, NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: We do get good responses from the police, but I guess it's something that's very hard to control.

KOCH: Police say they have yet to determine if they received complaints Saturday morning, when witnesses say at least 50 people showed up to watch the races. The gruesome accident happened when some of the spectators apparently rushed onto the highway to get a better look at the passing cars.

CRYSTAL GAINES, FATHER KILLED IN ACCIDENT: Two race cars went down, the race was over and all of a sudden I looked back and saw this white thing coming, but it didn't have no lights, no nothing on it.

KOCH: That white car was this Crown Victoria. Police say the driver was not involved in the race, but plowed into the crowd, likely after being blinded by smoke from the screeching tires. The driver of the Crown Victoria has not been identified. And police so far have filed no charges in the case. People who live in the area say they hope something good will come out of this horrific scene.

VICKI JOHNSON, ACCOUNTING MANAGER, COUNTRY CARPET: If these kids want to race these cars, find a safe location that's sanctioned. Find a straight away, have it blocked off down at the track somewhere.

KELLY CANAVAN, NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Hopefully it will raise some of the racers' awareness also and they'll realize that it's not all fun and games.

ARIANA HATTON, VICTIM'S SECOND COUSIN: I hope so, it will put an end to it. Because there's no need at 3 o'clock in the morning, there's no need to race. You should be home in the bed.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, Accokeek, Maryland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Is This Legit?

CARL AZUZ: Is This Legit? Africa is the second-largest country in the world. False! Africa's the second-largest continent in the world, containing more than 50 countries! Asia's the world's largest continent.

Bush in Africa

LLOYD: President Bush has been criss-crossing Africa over the past few days, visiting hospitals and schools there. He's also been checking out how much progress has been made in the fight against AIDS and malaria. His trip started over the weekend in Benin, where U.S. aid has gone to fight poverty and AIDS. He then visited Tanzania, where he handed out bed nets to help prevent malaria. The mosquito-borne disease kills more than a million kids in the region every year. He's scheduled to be in Rwanda today, and later head to Ghana and Liberia. Ed Henry now with an update on the president's travels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED HENRY, CNN REPORTER: President Bush dancing to the beat as he was serenaded in Arusha, Tanzania; his romance with the African people continuing.

U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Our interests are combined, and our interests are now making a significant effort. And so on behalf of the United States of America we say, God bless you.

HENRY: Mr. Bush became the hugger-in-chief as he continued to tout humanitarian progress on his six-day jaunt through Africa, this time over his battle to rid the continent of malaria, which kills a child here every thirty seconds.

BUSH: It is unacceptable to people here in Africa, who see their families devastated and economies crippled. It is unacceptable to people in the United States, who believe every human life has value.

HENRY: The president announced plans to distribute more than five million bednets that prevent infected mosquitoes from biting kids.

BUSH: Under this five-year, $1.2 billion program, we're working with 15 African countries to cut malaria-related deaths by half.

HENRY: Mr. Bush's efforts have made this one of the few spots in the world where his popularity gives him a chance to make the case his legacy should be more than the Iraq war. But, there are still plenty of troublespots here in Africa, especially Kenya, where the president dispatched Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday amid pressure for the White House to do more to end the post-election strife in Nairobi, Rice declared the crisis must end soon.

SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: There needs to be agreement that the parties are going to allow electoral truth to be found, which means that a commission that can look into what happened in the elections, which was clearly not a good day for Kenyan democracy.

HENRY: After three nights here in Dar es Salaam, on Tuesday the president goes to Rwanda, which tragically dealt with its own genocide in 1994. So the president is likely to get more questions about why the U.S. is not doing more right now about what Mr. Bush himself has called genocide in Darfur. Ed Henry, CNN, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

AZUZ: Time for the Shoutout! What kind of animal does the word "bovine" describe? A) Horse, B) Pig, C) Goat or D) Cow? You've got three seconds -- GO! The answer is D) Cow. Equine describes horses; porcine describes pigs; caprine describes goats and bovine describes cows. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Beef Recall

LLOYD: Teachers, please preview this next story. It shows graphic images of alleged animal cruelty. A California processing plant is involved in the biggest beef recall in American history, we're talking enough meat to make two hamburgers for everyone in the country! Judy Echavez reports on what happened and whether there's anything for us to worry about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY ECHAVEZ, WPLG REPORTER: This disturbing video shot by an undercover humane society investigator tells a frightening story. The Humane Society says it shows workers at this Chino, California meat packing plant abusing what are called downer cows; cattle no longer able to stand, cows not supposed to be slaughtered for their meat.

MICHAEL MARKARIAN, EXEC V.P. THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: The slaughter plant workers would kick them, jab them in the eye, ram them with the blades of a forklift and do anything they could to try to get these poor creatures to stand up so they could put them into the kill box.

ECHAVEZ: The Agriculture Department says the cattle were being processed for human consumption, a huge concern for USDA food safety inspectors. Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing is pulling 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef. The company supplied beef to some fast food chains and the federal school lunch program in some states. The secretary of agriculture issued a statement saying, "I am dismayed at the in-humane handling of cattle that has resulted in the violation of food safety regulations at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company. This action is necessary because plant procedures violated USDA regulations.

MICHAEL MARKARIAN, EXEC V.P. THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: Because these "downer cattle" are more likely to carry mad-cow disease, salmonella, e-coli - it's a food safety risk as well as a humane handling issue.

ECHAVEZ: The USDA says it has found no cases of illness related to the meat and stressed the risk to people is quote "remote." Hallmark/Westland did not return CNN's phone calls. But on their Web site, the company posted a statement:

(GRAPHIC) STEVE MENDELL, PRESIDENT, WESTLAND MEAT CO./HALLMARK MEAT PACKING: I want to reassure our customers and consumers that our company has met the highest standards for harvesting and processing meat under the federal meat inspection act.

ECHAVEZ: The recall affects beef products dating back two years. Two former employees are now being charged with animal cruelty. USDA is continuing to investigate. Judy Echavez, CNN Chino, California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

LLOYD: Check out our web site for a list of all the recalled products. We're at CNNStudentNews.com. And, if you think there might be some recalled meat in your fridge, you'll need to know how to properly dispose of it. Log on to the USDA's Web site: USDA.gov. We've put a link to it from our Web site as well.

Before We Go

LLOYD: And, before we say va-moose, we have pictures of a moose on the loose in Salt Lake City, Utah. Wildlife experts say this baby moose had been seen wandering around the same neighborhood, not once, but twice over the past week or so. They say it probably ventured down from its snow-packed mountain home because it was really hungry. Wildlife officials ended up shooting it with a tranquilizer, then transferring it to a less-snowy part of the mountain, where he'll meet up with a moose herd.

Goodbye

LLOYD: Believe it or not, dozens of moose have gotten lost in Utah neighborhoods since the start of the year. But now it's our turn to get lost. Don't worry though. We plan on finding our way back here tomorrow, as usual and we hope you do the same. Thanks for watching and have a great day. I'm Monica Lloyd. E-mail to a friend