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CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: 10 minutes. No commercials. The top news of the day delivered right to your classrooms. This is CNN Student News! I'm Carl Azuz. Let's go ahead and get started.
First Up: Ash Affects Trip
AZUZ: We start things off today with a presidential visit that's actually a kind of homecoming. When he was a young boy, President Obama spent four years living in Indonesia. This week, he's back there. That country is the second stop on the president's trip to Asia. He's had two trips to Indonesia scheduled since he became president, but both of those were canceled. Looks like this one is getting cut a little short. Mount Merapi: You've heard us mention that before. It's a volcano in Indonesia that's been erupting for weeks, sending ash like you see right here, high up into the sky. Experts say volcanic ash can cause problems for jet engines. Officials don't want the president's plane, Air Force One, to get stuck on the ground, so they're cutting this visit by a few hours. And Dan Lothian reports on what the president did do during his stop in Indonesia.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It took three attempts before President Obama was finally able to visit Indonesia.
U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It's wonderful to be here.
LOTHIAN: But barely. Mount Merapi, and its ominous volcanic ash cloud, has forced officials to cut his brief trip by nearly two hours, so Air Force One can take off before air traffic is disrupted. A wreath laying ceremony was canceled, and the president's speech that will build on his address to the Muslim world in Cairo will start a little earlier than planned. Even with just a few hours on the ground, Mr. Obama took a trip down memory lane. And from where he now sits, it's a much different view.
OBAMA: When you visit a place that you spent time in as a child, as president, it's a little disorienting. I can't even see any traffic because they've blocked off all the streets.
LOTHIAN: In a joint press conference with Indonesian President Yudhoyono, Mr. Obama touched on security concerns, trade, democracy and education. But it was his personal reflections on standing in the back of a little crowded taxi, or about his half-Indonesian sister, that seemed likely to resonate with a country that's been waiting for his arrival since last year.
OBAMA: I feel great affection for the people here. The sights and the sounds and the memories all feel very familiar.
LOTHIAN: President Obama will also visit the largest mosque in Southeast Asia before heading over to the University of Indonesia to deliver his speech. Dan Lothian, CNN, Jakarta.
(END VIDEO)
Shoutout
TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's first Shoutout goes out to Mrs. Browning's world history classes at Timken Senior High School in Canton, Ohio! What U.S. political party is nicknamed the GOP? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it the: A) Democratic Party, B) Republican Party, C) Libertarian Party or D) Green Party? You've got three seconds -- GO! The GOP, or Grand Old Party, is the Republican Party. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
Transition Planning
AZUZ: And when the next Congress starts up in January, the Grand Old Party will be the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives. There's a lot to do in order to get ready to take over that majority. That is why the House Republican transition team is in high gear right about now. It's working on ways to involve new Republican members of Congress. You see them here. The transition team's also figuring out who will take on different leadership roles. That's something Democrats are looking at, too. Nancy Pelosi is the current house speaker, the top House Democrat. She says she's planning to run for minority leader when her party shifts into the minority next year.
Oil Spill Hearing
AZUZ: A complete overhaul from top to bottom. One of the chairmen of a commission that's investigating the Gulf oil spill says that -- the overhaul -- is what three companies need. BP: the company that owned the oil well. TransOcean: the company that ran the oil rig. And Halliburton: who built part of the well. This commission is holding hearings about the oil spill. And the same chairman says these are respected companies, and an official who's working with the commission says there hasn't been any evidence of "a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety." But the commission is concerned about how fast work was being done on the rig and about some procedures being changed during the operation.
Shoutout Extra Credit
JOHN LISK, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for a Shoutout Extra Credit! What country is highlighted on this map? You know what to do! Is it: A) Iraq, B) Kazakhstan, C) Afghanistan or D) Turkey? Another three seconds on the clock -- GO! The highlighted country is Afghanistan, a nation that's home to more than 29 million people. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout Extra Credit!
Breaking the Mold
AZUZ: So, when we mention Afghanistan, you might think of the war in that country between the U.S.-led coalition and the Taliban. That was the militant group that used to control Afghanistan. While the Taliban was in power, women weren't allowed to do a lot in many aspects of public life. But as Jill Dougherty shows us, women are helping to rebuild Afghanistan now.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A shocking sight for Afghans: women renovating a building. For women like Salma, working outside the home is almost impossible.
SALMA, PAINTING APPRENTICE [TRANSLATED]: I need to work. My husband cannot work. I was taking in laundry for students, washing it at home, and then I heard about this program.
DOUGHERTY: It's called Cash for Work, an American-sponsored program to help these women, most of them widows, survive.
RODNEY STUBINA, USAID: Their family members are desperate. But if we can give them a job, get food on their tables, their kids wouldn't join insurgencies.
DOUGHERTY: At this hospital in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, women learn the basics of construction work. The women start out as unskilled workers, and they earn $5 a day. And then, they can become skilled workers, and they actually earn $9 a day. That is as much as men earn for the same job, which is very rare here in Afghanistan. Eighteen-year-old Shakila uses the pay to support her family.
Was it difficult for you to think about doing a man's job?
SHAKILA, PAINTING APPRENTICE [TRANSLATED]: It's not a problem for me. If a man can do it, why can't a woman?
DOUGHERTY: This is men's work in Afghanistan for the most part. And so, when they started this program, there actually was a bit of nervousness about women doing a man's job.
STUBINA: This is a woman's hostel. The women, it's OK for them to do that kind of work here. We couldn't have them do this in the construction site outside.
DOUGHERTY: Across Afghanistan, women are in the background, hidden behind burqas they wear on the street. But empowerment projects are being replicated across the country by the U.S. Getting women into the work force is a major initiative, as it seeks to build up Afghanistan, like this program for female journalists in Herat. Lida Ahmady says that's her dream. But first, she has to convince her husband.
LIDA AHMADY, JOURNALISM STUDENT: Things in my life, for example, I will be a good mother for my child. I will be a good wife for you, and also maybe a good journalist. Now, he says OK, I will see.
DOUGHERTY: Back in Jalalabad, Salma sees a glimmer of hope for her future. She's already found some new painting jobs, which she does when men aren't present.
SALMA: I'm proud about me, and I'm doing something for my family. I'm very happy I can work like a man and go outside of my home, that I can work and get money for my family.
DOUGHERTY: And she's training her 14-year-old daughter to work with her. Jill Dougherty, CNN, Jalalabad.
(END VIDEO)
This Day in History
[ON SCREEN GRAPHIC]
November 10, 1775 -- The U.S. Marine Corps is established during the American Revolution
November 10, 1969 -- "Sesame Street," which would become the world's most watched children's show, makes its debut
November 10, 1983 -- Microsoft unveils the first Windows operating system for PCs
Web Promo
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Before We Go
AZUZ: So, there was this middle school football game in Texas, and uh, you're just gonna have to watch it. The quarterback looks kinda confused here. The center hands him the ball, and he starts walking off through the defense. Now he turns it on, taking off. No whistles; the play is live! The guy is in the end zone before most of the defense realizes what's going on. He breaks a tackle there, and then he gets into the end zone. That score tied the game! The coach who came up with the trick play called it a really slow quarterback sneak.
Goodbye
AZUZ: But we want to know what you have to say about it. Was it smart thinking, or was this trick play out of bounds? Was it a cheap shot? Tell us what you think on our blog. That's live at CNNStudentNews.com. And meantime today, we're gonna take a hike. But we will be back to tackle more headlines tomorrow. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.