CNN Student News Transcript: May 7, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- May 7, 2008

Quick Guide

America Votes 2008 - Learn the results of the Indiana and North Carolina presidential primaries.

Talking Democracy - Discover why a random sampling is an important aspect of an opinion poll.

Devastation in Myanmar - See what life is like for a family whose house was leveled by Cyclone Nargis.

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: Thanks for joining us for CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.

First Up: America Votes 2008

AZUZ: First up, the political spotlight shines on Indiana and North Carolina, as the Hoosier and Tar Heel states hold presidential primaries. John McCain won enough delegates to wrap up the Republican Party's nomination a couple months ago, so he's looking toward the general election in November. But Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are still fighting it out to see who will face off against McCain. Sandra Endo tells us how the Democratic candidates fared in yesterday's contests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN REPORTER: It's a split victory between the democrats. North Carolina goes to Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton picks up Indiana.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not too long ago my opponent made a prediction. He said I'd probably win Pennsylvania, he would win North Carolina and Indiana would be the tie breaker. Tonight we've come from behind, we've broken the tie and thanks to you it's full speed on to the White House.

ENDO: Clinton closed the gap in the days leading up to Indiana's primary and came out on top. Her campaign argues she can win the big states. Obama needed a win in Indiana to try to knock her out of the race.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, there are those who were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this election. But today, what North Carolina decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington, D.C.

ENDO: Voters in both states turned out in droves to sound off on this historic race. Putting the economy as their number one concern.

INDIANA VOTER: The economy is really tough in Indiana right now. A lot of people don't have jobs, I feel lucky to have one, but who knows how long it's going to last.

ENDO: Next it's on to West Virginia where the Democrats face off next week. In Indianapolis, Sandra Endo for CNN Student News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: And of course, you can head online to CNN.com to get the latest primary results.

Is this legit?

NINETTE SOSA, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this Legit? North Carolina and Indiana were both in the original 13 American colonies. This one is not legit! North Carolina was an original colony, but not Indiana. The Hoosier State joined the union in 1816.

Talking Democracy

AZUZ: It's usually pretty easy to tell who won a presidential primary or election afterwards: just look at the results. But how do you size up the candidates before the contest? The answer there is polls! Exit polls, opinion polls, straw polls. There's even a poll of polls. As it turns out, if you want the results to be accurate, your survey needs to be random. Keating Holland explains what we mean in this primer on polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: Pollsters sometimes say that conducting a poll is like cooking soup. That's because chefs don't need to drink an entire pot of soup to find out if it needs more salt; they just taste a spoonful or two. Pollsters typically interview about a thousand people, even though there are almost 300 million living in the U.S. But if you choose those thousand people carefully, you can tell as much about the whole country as a chef can tell about a pot of soup just from a spoonful.

The key is to make sure everyone in the United States has an equal chance of being selected for a poll. That's where the telephone comes into play. Nearly every person in the U.S. has a telephone, and every telephone has its own number. So, if we use a computer to generate random telephone numbers, a process known as random-digit dialling, we're off to a good start. A thousand randomly chosen Americans really can tell us a lot about how the whole country feels.

Ever wish you could get paid for talking on the telephone? That's what these people do. Trained interviewers from Opinion Researcher Corporation take those randomly generated telephone numbers and call them. What do they know about the person on the other end of the phone? Nothing at all, at least at the start of the interview. Remember, those phone numbers are chosen at random, so the interviewers don't know whether they are calling Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives, old or young, rich or poor.

At the end of the interview? That's another story. We'll know a lot about them personally: their gender, their education, where they live, and we'll know their views on politics and the major issues of the day: gas prices, Iraq, terrorism and immigration.

But sometimes, we ask them their views on other topics. Want to know which Star Wars character Americans like the best? Answer: Harrison Ford's character Han Solo. Want to know whether Americans think Paris Hilton has been naughty or nice? Answer: Naughty, of course. Want to know how Americans feel about the Queen of England? Well, they like her, they really like her. Want to know what Americans think of polls? Well, many are skeptical about their accuracy. But 61% say the country would be better off if politicians followed the views of public opinion polls more closely. Keating Holland, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: So, when did this random political polling get started, and how do you figure out the margin of error? You'll find both answers in our One-Sheet. Then, you can put your polling powers to the test with our Learning Activity. It challenges students to create their own public opinion polls. Check out both resources at CNNStudentNews.com!

And while you're there, send us some iReports! Polling is this month's topic for "Talking Democracy," and we want you to do the talking. Maybe poll your class or community on issues of importance. We know you're busy, but get those video cameras and get creative. And don't forget to get your parents' permission. You might just get on CNN Student News!

Fast Facts

SOSA: Time for some Fast Facts! Myanmar is located in southeastern Asia, and it borders India, China and Thailand. The country used to be known as Burma, and it gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. A military junta, or council, took control of the government around 20 years ago and changed the country's name to Myanmar. According to the United Nations, Myanmar is among the 20 poorest countries in the world.

Devastation in Myanmar

AZUZ: If you've been watching our show this week, you know Myanmar is struggling through the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. It's the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country in recorded history. The government-run radio station says more than 22,000 people were killed and more than 40,000 are still missing. According to the U.N., up to one million people could be homeless. The destruction is overwhelming. In part of one city, 369 houses were standing before the storm. Now, only four remain. Dan Rivers has more on the devastation caused by the cyclone and the harsh conditions that one family of survivors is facing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN RIVERS, CNN REPORTER: This family is typical of those who have survived Cyclone Nargis. They're living in what remains of their house. But as you can see, it has been completely destroyed. A lot of their possessions got swept away. They have some food. You can see they have some eggs and rice that have been handed out by people in the town, but not very much. They say it will allow them to eat for a few days. But just have a look at the level of destruction over here. This is typical right across this region we've driven through. Bogalay district is one of the hardest hit. There is talk of 10,000 people having been killed in this district. And many of these houses are made of this very flimsy material, which is no match for Cyclone Nargis.

We have passed quite a lot of army convoys coming down here. Obviously, the authorities are doing what they can. The Red Cross has been out here as well. But generally, every single house that we've passed pretty much has been like this, I guess, for the past 30 kilometers; just total destruction. Almost 100 percent of the houses completely flattened. The weather system is pretty bad as well. There have been some pretty heavy rainstorms. So, it's just miserable for these people to survive under a bit of tarpaulin and gather what food they can. Dan Rivers, CNN, southern Myanmar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Impact Your World

AZUZ: Many countries and organizations are already working to get aid to the victims of the cyclone. But a growing number of individuals are taking part in the relief efforts, too, and you can join them. Log on to CNN.com/impact to find out what you can do to help and how you can impact your world.

Teacher Appreciation

AZUZ: And now a note on the teachers who've impacted your world. This is Teacher Appreciation Week, and we asked on our blog, "Who was your best teacher ever?" Sara wrote, "My fav teach of all time was Mrs. Walsh. She sparked my love of reading and I've never forgotten it." Nick noted his favorite teacher was Miss Allen, saying, "If you got a problem, you can talk to her about it. She makes you understand math." Wish I'd been in that class! "Weef" gave credit to his sister: "She taught me most of my English-speaking skills," he wrote, adding that she showed him how to be a good person in life. And a lot of you wrote in about a Mr. Noirot; sorry if I mispronounced that. He's credited with making students want to stay in school, thinking outside the box and "widening hoops of knowledge." And two people wrote in that their favorite teacher is "potatoes." I just thought that was funny. This blog's still up at CNNStudentNews.com, so if you keep commenting, we'll keep posting!

Goodbye

AZUZ: We're out of time for today. But we'll be back tomorrow with more CNN Student News. See you then.