CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: To kick off this Thursday edition of CNN Student News, we're heading out to Oklahoma to hear from the Speech and Debate Team at Claremore High.
MEMBERS, CLAREMORE HIGH SPEECH & DEBATE TEAM: There's no debate about it. Carl Azuz is our homeboy! Take it away, Carl.
First Up: New al Qaeda #1
AZUZ: First up, we have some details on the new leader of the al Qaeda terrorist organization. This is the group founded by Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda is responsible for attacks around the world, including the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. Bin Laden -- on the left -- was killed earlier this month. The man on the right is Saif al-Adel. A source says that al-Adel has been named al Qaeda's new leader. He was once an Egyptian special forces officer, and he's been involved with al Qaeda for a long time. That same source says al-Adel is only a temporary leader. A man named Ayman al-Zawahiri is expected to eventually be named the long-term head of al Qaeda. Al-Zawahiri was bin Laden's second-in-command.
Syria Sanctions
AZUZ: The United States is imposing new sanctions -- penalties -- on the nation of Syria. President Obama signed off on the executive order yesterday. They take direct aim at this man, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and several other Syrian officials are included in this too. The sanctions block their access to any property or possessions that are either in the U.S. or controlled by Americans. U.S. officials say the goal of that is to get Syria to stop cracking down on political protesters in the Middle Eastern nation. Reports say that hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between protesters and Syrian forces.
Severe Flooding
AZUZ: As the water rises in parts of the southern U.S., some people are clearing out their homes and heading for higher ground. Others are trying to get those homes higher. This house is going up on stilts to try and avoid the floods. It's right in the path of the intentional flooding that's coming from spillways that have been opened. CNN's Rob Marciano asked one resident about living in a spot under threat of floods.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People say, "Well, they live outside the floodwall, you know, I shouldn't feel sympathetic to them."
MARIO GROSS, MORGAN CITY RESIDENT: Well yeah, some people say that 'cause we chose to live here. But we chose to live here 'cause it's not, it's hard to find riverfront property, you know, and it's pristine, you know. I loved growing up here. A lot of childhood experiences. And I love it.
Tornado Recovery
AZUZ: All right now, just a couple states over, in Alabama, people are recovering from deadly tornadoes that ripped across that state in late April. More than 200 people were killed there. And this satellite image from NASA shows the impact of one of those tornadoes that hit the town of Tuscaloosa. That diagonal blue strip across the middle of your screen, that's the path of the tornado. The pink in this picture shows vegetation; plants, trees. But in the tornado's path, nothing. The twister ripped it all out of the ground as it barreled through. Tuscaloosa is where the University of Alabama is located. A freshman at that school is using Facebook to organize a relief effort for victims of this storm. Check out his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
JAMES O'DWYER, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STUDENT: My name is James O'Dwyer and I'm a freshman at the University of Alabama. We survived the tornado and we're trying to do all we can right now organizing a relief effort for those who lost everything they had.
When the tornado hit, I was in my dorm room actually. When we went down there the next morning, there were people still coming out of the rubble just kind of wandering with whatever they had on their back. It looked like a bomb went off. You look at these people and it just seems like our duty to help out as much as we can.
I sent out a Facebook message, texted some friends and said, "Hey guys, if you've got extra stuff, bring it to my house and we'll get it to Tuscaloosa." We filled up a 12- to 15-foot painter's van full of stuff, and I was like, this could be big. We could keep doing this.
LANI NICHOLS, TOOMER'S FOR TUSCALOOSA: Somebody contacted me and said, "There's a guy named James working in Alpharetta and a lady named Tina with an 18-wheeler." So, we started talking and helped coordinating a majority of the efforts in this area.
O'DWYER: We filled up an 18-wheeler, and so once that happened, and people kept saying where can we help more, where can we help later, we said we'll get them back.
UNKNOWN: Drop off to the tornado.
UNKNOWN: Just a quick right.
O'DWYER: So, what we're trying to do now, everything that we get here and we're taking it up to Haleyville, Alabama and using that as a distribution point.
UNKNOWN: Here's more kids' toys, puzzles and stuff that they can play with.
CARY SCHLENKE, VOLUNTEER: It's amazing what's transpired in a few days after a Facebook event. It was great to see a young boy organize all of this.
O'DWYER: It's unreal to see these people who, their living rooms have been sheered off and there's trees down and on their roof. To me, actually giving them food, giving them water, giving them supplies that we've collected has been the most rewarding part. It's definitely changed my life.
(END VIDEO)
Impact Your World
AZUZ: Those students are making a difference, and you can too. On our home page, CNNStudentNews.com, go to the Spotlight section and click on "Impact Your World." The tornadoes in Alabama, the flooding along the Mississippi River. You'll find ways to help the victims of these disasters.
Endeavour's Mission
AZUZ: Space shuttle Endeavour is making its last endeavor to space. And so far, so good. The shuttle, which took off on Monday, arrived at the international space station early yesterday morning. You can see Endeavour docking with the ISS here. A little more than an hour later, the hatches were opened and the space station's crew greeted the new arrivals from the Endeavour. Its next mission is the next-to-last one for the entire U.S. space shuttle program. And this is the vehicle that will get to close things out: Atlantis, rolling out of its hangar and over to the vehicle assembly building. It's scheduled to launch in late June.
Is This Legit?
TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? Plumber, auto mechanic and electrician are examples of white-collar jobs. Not legit! These are blue-collar jobs, where workers do manual labor.
War on Dirty Jobs?
AZUZ: You might know Mike Rowe. He's not a blue-collar worker; he just plays one on TV. Hosts a show that's all about the kinds of jobs we might not think much about, but that we all rely on. The problem is -- according to Mr. Rowe -- is that fewer people want those jobs. Christine Romans shows us how this host is trying to change people's minds, starting in Washington, D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know him as the host of "Dirty Jobs"...
MIKE ROWE, HOST OF "DIRTY JOBS": My name's Mike Rowe, and that's my job.
ROMANS: Where he catches snakes...
ROWE: I'm being bit by a snake!
ROMANS: Cleans up tar...
ROWE: I'm just doing some glopping
ROMANS: And deals with a lot of dirt.
ROWE: Whooo, now we're all dirty!
ROMANS: And now, Mike's taking on an issue he says he's learned from the people who deal with all our dirt.
ROWE: We've got this great rift in between blue and white collar. I would just say that our society is waged in a sort of cold war on work.
ROMANS: A war on a specific type of work: skilled labor. As our work force shifted to more white-collar jobs and the definition of a "good job" changed, lucrative skilled labor careers, such as plumbers, electricians and machinists, have seen their image suffer.
ROWE: There's a category of work though, in our work force, that's critical. And those jobs have come to feel like, call it vocational consolation prizes. We are simply not celebrating their contribution. That's why you have a skills gap right now, at the same time as you have unemployment.
ROMANS: According to the Department of Labor, skilled labor like plumbers and steam fitters will see a 16% increase in the number of jobs available by 2018. Skilled construction workers a 19% bump. The problem: finding workers with the right qualifications to fill the jobs, and an aging workforce that will retire soon.
ROWE: All my other suits are made out of rubber.
ROMANS: This problem brought Mike all the way to Capitol Hill, where he testified in front of the Senate Commerce Committee about the skilled labor crisis.
ROWE: We need a national PR campaign for skilled labor, like a big one. Something that addresses the widening skills gap head on and reconnects our country with the most important part of our workforce
ROMANS: They are the "dirty jobs." And while not glamorous, they are essential to keep the country running.
ROWE: It's not about, "Oh no, the poor tradesman." They're gonna be fine; they're gonna be great! In fact, it's the rest of us, who rely on their work. We're gonna take it in the neck.
(END VIDEO)
Before We Go
AZUZ: Before we go, journalists need to be prepared for a lot of situations. For example, local reporter Tara Morgan, giving a report from a barn when a camel decides it wants some camera time. No problem, until it goes for a chunk of her hair! That has to be distracting. Just to reiterate. Friendly camel -- all right. Hungry camel -- not all right! With that one chomp, the camel sealed its fate in show business.
Goodbye
AZUZ: You know how it goes: hair today, gone tomorrow. CNN Student News will be back tomorrow to close out the week. We will see you then. Have a great one.