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CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Not every rescue worker in Japan is human. We've got a report coming up about rescue dogs and how they carry out their unique work. I'm Carl Azuz. CNN Student News starts right now!
AZUZ: First up, a U.S. commander says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is not following the rules of a cease-fire. This commander says Gadhafi's forces are attacking civilians, and protecting those civilians is one goal of the U.S.-led coalition that's operating in and around Libya right now. Yesterday, there were reports about Libyan forces attacking civilians in the city of Misrata. Officials at a hospital there say that over the last few days, dozens of people have been killed in the violence. The coalition has been launching air strikes on strategic targets inside of Libya. And the U.S. commander says Colonel Gadhafi's air force has been diminished to the point where it won't have a negative impact on those coalition air strikes. One of those aircraft, a U.S. fighter jet, crashed in Libya yesterday. You can see the wreckage in this video. Both crew members are all right; they ejected safely. One was picked up by rebels, who took care of him. They are now in U.S. hands. The military says the jet had equipment malfunction.
Political Unrest
AZUZ: Things are getting more tense in the nearby country of Yemen. Protesters there have been calling for the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down. President Saleh made an offer to the people who are against him. He said he would step down, but at the beginning of next year. The opposition rejected that offer. That want Saleh out now. The protests have gotten violent at times, with government crackdowns leading to dozens of deaths. Because of that, some officials in President Saleh's government are now supporting the opposition.
And this was the scene at the Interior Ministry building in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Tuesday. This fire broke out after a protest at the building earlier in the day. The protest was peaceful. People were calling for higher wages. They denied setting the fire, which was put out in less than an hour.
AZUZ: The power is back on at part of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Yesterday, technicians got the power running at one of the reactor's control rooms. That could be a big step toward getting the plant's cooling systems working again, something that is needed. But officials say some of the reactors suffered more damage than they thought and will take more time to repair. Now, while engineers deal with that, rescue workers are still trying to find survivors of the massive earthquake in Japan. Brian Todd gives us an inside look at the unique role that some of those workers play.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With an energetic, hardwired bust, Atticus charges into the rubble, bouncing around a fallen roof. He's focused on one thing: finding a living, breathing human amid the sprawling wreckage of the tsunami. It might seem an unfair request of a German shepherd, but Atticus and more than a dozen other dogs working with U.S. and British rescue teams here are more than equal to it.
How important are these dogs to these operations?
ROB FURNISS, BRITISH CANINE SEARCH SPECIALIST: Very. There's a lot of technical gear. Obviously, the listening devices, the cameras. There's all that stuff, all that stuff for locating people. But at the end of the day, you can't beat a dog for hitting the scent of a human being.
TODD: Like most canine specialists, Rob Furnace has a tight bond with his Border Collie Byron.
FURNISS: Good boy!
TODD: The dogs are so highly trained, they're able to block out the scent of a deceased person and pick up only on someone who's alive. Their success rate is impressive. These teams pulled more than a dozen survivors safely from the rubble in Haiti, in no small part due to teammates like this German shepherd named Wracker. But keeping them sharp involves some creativity.
The team just had to do a drill with Wracker because they haven't found anyone alive in a few days. They've just had one of their own team members hide in this place, out of sight, just out of any sensory perception for Wracker. Sent Wracker in there to see if they could find that team member. That's how they keep the dogs sharp if they haven't found anyone in a few days.
You stare in amazement as they run full speed, jump, land and bounce off objects that are so jagged and uneven that most people couldn't even attempt it. But they're not invincible.
Did he give you any kind of a signal or did you just see the blood?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I just saw blood.
TODD: Tomo, a German shepherd, snagged something in his paw. A little field surgery and he's back in the game. Later on, Wracker needs more work to stitch up a wound. Never during either incident do we hear one whimper from either dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy!
TODD: Traveling, sleeping, eating and playing with their handlers is part of the routine. Their communication is so instinctive that they sometimes understand each other just by making eye contact. We didn't witness them finding survivors in Japan, but the dogs serve another purpose for those who've lost everything.
ELIZABETH KREITLER, FAIRFAX CANINE SEARCH SPECIALIST: Having the dog and seeing the times that the people in Haiti or something would enjoy a little solace from the dog, that's also part of their job and helpful to everybody, to teammates and myself alike.
TODD: All of these dogs actually live with their handlers, who are heavily involved in their training. That helps solidify the bond between them and helps them get through these long deployments a long way from home. Brian Todd, CNN, Unosumai, Japan.
(END VIDEO)
Shoutout
TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mrs. Golebiewski's social studies classes at Northridge Middle School in Middlebury, Indiana! The word "vernal" refers to what season? You know what to do! Is it: A) Winter, B) Spring, C) Summer or D) Fall? You've got three seconds -- GO! Vernal comes from the Latin word for spring. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!
Winter in Spring
AZUZ: The vernal equinox occurs when day and night are equal lengths, and this happened Sunday night. That event marks the official start of spring. But depending on where you live, it does not mean you should start packing up your snow gear just yet. A winter storm brought snow and rain to California on Monday, leaving thousands of homes without power and closed some schools and roads. Every road into California's Yosemite National Park was closed after storms dumped three-and-a-half feet of snow throughout the park. And in New Jersey, on the East Coast, some people spent the first full day of spring clearing sidewalks instead of hitting golf balls.
Miami Outdoor Gyms
AZUZ: As you might expect, the weather's a little warmer down in Miami, Florida. Officials there are hoping some new outdoor facilities will let Floridians do more than just have fun in the sun. They want people to work out -- outside! Men's Health Magazine recently named Miami as America's fattest city. Now, that is a reputation that city officials want to shed, so they're installing these outdoor gyms in order to encourage people to get out and get in shape. If you can't afford a memership? No problem! These outdoor facilities are totally free. And as you can see, some fitness fanatics are already putting them to good use.
Blog Promo
AZUZ: But what we're curious about is this: Do you think it'll work? Some of the people in that video, you could tell it wasn't their first time at a gym. But do you think these outdoor facilities would encourage folks who wouldn't normally work out to hit the equipment if it's outside? Head to our blog at CNNStudentNews.com and weigh in with your thoughts.
AZUZ: An undefeated senior season. A two-time All-American. A national champion. Anthony Robles is definitely an impressive athlete. He's also an inspiration. Robles was born without a right leg. He's never let that hold him back. He adapted his wrestling style, building the strength and size of his upper body into more than other wrestlers in his weight class. That style helped him win a national title recently. Robles says everyone faces some kind of adversity. The key is to stay focused.
ANTHONY ROBLES, NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPION: Everybody has their own obstacles in their life, whether it be physical, mental, the outside world. Whatever it is, everybody experiences their own obstacles, and it's about just looking beyond that, and really just focusing on your goals and going after them.
Before We Go
AZUZ: Good insight. Before we go today, there's a shuttle mission we're talking to you about that's never going to get off the ground. But it's not supposed to. About 2,000 employees at NASA's Kennedy Space Center got together to form this human shuttle in the parking lot. It's a tribute to the space program, which is going away. Probably cost a lot less than an actual shuttle. It took about an hour. We sped the thing up so you could see how it all came together. It's impressive that they found a spot to pull this off.
Goodbye
AZUZ: But if there's anything NASA's good at, it's finding space. We hope that you'll find space for CNN Student News tomorrow, when we return. We will look forward to launching into more commercial-free headlines then. Bye bye now.