STUDENT NEWS

Pope Canonizes Native American Saint; Hajj Begins

Aired October 22, 2012 - 04:00:00   ET

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: We`re a week and a half away from Halloween, the presidential election is two weeks off and you are right on time for a new week of CNN STUDENT NEWS. My name is Carl Azuz, let`s go ahead and get started.

First up, protesters in Lebanon, including one former prime minister, are speaking out against Lebanon`s current prime minister. They want him out of office. Lebanon is home to around 4 million people. It`s located in the Middle East, on the Mediterranean Sea, right next door to Syria. Some observers are concerned that the violence that`s been going in Syria could spread to Lebanon where it has already. Last Friday a car bomb went off in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Three people were killed including the country`s intelligence chief. Syria spoke out against the attack, but some Lebanese officials blame Syria for it. Yesterday, after the intelligence leaders funeral protesters fought with security forces in Beirut. The crowd threw rocks, police used tear gas to break up the protests. Several people were reportedly injured.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? Someone is officially recognized as a saint when he or she is canonized.

This is true. In the Roman Catholic Church, canonization is the act of recognizing a saint.

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AZUZ: The Roman Catholic Church recognized seven people as new saints over the weekend. The canonization ceremony included some history as well. For the first time, a Native American was named a saint. During a special mass in Saint Peter`s Square on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI and other worshippers celebrated the new saints. The pope praised Kateri Tekawitha for living a life of service. Tekawitha was a member of the Mohawk Tribe, sometimes known as Lily of the Mohawks. She converted to Catholicism and served as a nun.

This week is a special time for another world religion. It`s Hajj, one of the five main observances of Islam. Millions of Muslims participate in Hajj every year, traveling to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Fionnuala Sweeney has more on this annual tradition.

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FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Its name means "to set out for a place," and for Muslims around the world, that place is the holy city of Mecca. The Hajj has begun for millions of Muslims, with pilgrims making their way toward Islam`s most sacred site. A cube shaped building called the Kaabaa located in the Grand Mosque. For daily prayers, Muslims face this structure from any given point in the world. They are also required, if able, to make this pilgrimage at least once in their lives. And then walk seven times around the Kaabaa, counter clockwise in a ritual called the Tawaf.

IBTISAM SAYED HASSAN, EGYPTIAN PILGRIM (through translator): Islam is beautiful, and we are beautiful. We love all people, we love all countries.

SWEENEY: The Grand Mosque`s gleaming minarets soar skyward, pilgrims here cry as perform the daily prayers from these towers, calling the faithful five times a day. Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN.

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AZUZ: To our viewers who are already on Facebook, at Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews, we asked if the release of a popular videogame could distract some people from voting.

Awnna says "Maybe. Some people are so obsessed with video games that they put aside the thought of who`s running our nation."

Nicolo assumes that most people who are interested in games aren`t as interested in the presidential election."

Janie writes, "I play games, but I`m voting this year. If someone lets a game to take their right to vote away, then they are ungrateful.

Tyler doesn`t think video games will be distracting. He says most people interested in Halo aren`t old enough to vote. 

Jamie says, "Games are better than politics when the country is in dire financial crisis. You need something to lift people`s spirits and lighten the mood.

From Bridgette, "As a gamer, I get excited for releases and caught up in the game. But taking a few minutes to vote is not a difficult thing to do.

From Andrew, if a person puts a videogame before their future, then our country is in trouble. And Cambria says, "As time goes on, game releases could impact things if politics doesn`t move into a region that everyone cares deeply about.

But before we get to election day, President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Romney go head to head in person one more time. It`s debate number three, it`s in Boca Raton, Florida, it`s happening tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. Before you watch the debate either on CNN or at cnn.com/debates, Athena Jones gives us a preview of what to look for.

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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The third and final face-off between President Obama and Governor Romney will focus entirely on foreign policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No! Get out! Get out! Get out!

JONES: From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Israel, Iran and the changing Middle East.

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: The candidates will spar over America`s role in the world, the new face of terrorism and how to deal with the rising China. With polls showing the president`s advantage over Romney on foreign policy has narrowed since the summer, Mr. Obama tried to highlight one of his biggest foreign policy accomplishments at a light-hearted charity dinner in New York.

OBAMA: And Monday`s debate is a little bit different because the topic is foreign policy. Spoiler alert -- we got bin Laden. 

(laughter)

JONES: For his part, Romney could try again to bash the president for his administration`s messy response to the attack in Libya last month and link it to what he says a failed approach to the region.

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This calls into question the president`s whole policy in the Middle East. Look what`s happening in Syria, in Egypt, now in Libya.

JON ALTERMAN, CSIS, DIR., MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM: The challenge for President Obama is going to be defining the Middle East strategy going forward. I mean, he`s had some successes, he`s had some things that are still pretty murky.

JONES: Romney`s task could be bigger.

ALTERMAN: I think for Romney, there is a broad challenge, and that is how do you drill down into specific policies? The Republican Party hasn`t really figured out what a Republican foreign policy looks like after the Bush administration. I think Romney has been uneager to really delve into that.

JONES: Still, while important to many voters, foreign policy ranks far below the economy.

RYAN LIZZA, "THE NEW YORKER": If you are Mitt Romney, every second you are talking about foreign policy is wasted, which might mean that Romney tries to break out of that and tries to bring home some of the foreign policy issues to domestic economic issues.

JONES: With time running out, this is their last chance to make their case to millions of voters in a single night. Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout" goes out to Mrs. Scarborough`s "Studizens" at Independence Middle School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Rangers, Kings, Bruins and Jets all play in what professional sports league? Here we go, is it the NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL? You`ve got three seconds, go!

The only place you`ll find all four of those teams is the National Hockey League. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

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AZUZ: The thing is, you won`t see any of those teams on the ice any time soon. The National Hockey League season was supposed to start in October, 11th. The league already canceled its schedule through October 24th, and on Friday it extended that through November 1st. The issue is that the NHL has locked out its players. The two sides are trying to negotiate a new contract for how they split up the money that the league makes. So far, though, they haven`t been able to make a deal. 135 games were scheduled between October 11th and November, 1st. The last time the NHL had a lockout was in 2004, and that year it was the entire season that ended up being canceled.

We think you are going to get a kick out of this next video, but we`ve got to set the scene for you. High school football game in Spokane, Washington, two seconds left, team was down by three, coach sends in a kicker to try a field goal. No pressure, right? Now, try this: it`s a 67 yard attempt. The kick is up, but it`s got a long way to go. Watch this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He mega kicked. 

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AZUZ: Yes, he did. It`s good. 67 yards by a high school senior. The NFL record is 63 yards. The kick sent the game in overtime, and the team would go on to win by a touchdown.

And before we go, we are heading to a mountain top in China, but that`s just a jumping off point for this story. It`s an international wing suit flying competition. What`s a wing suit? That thing. It uses extra material between the arms and legs to help with flight. The competitors had to fly a certain path through a valley before popping open their parachutes. Fastest time to complete the course wins. Though flying without an airplane might seem kind of crazy, those guys probably don`t spend time nervously winging their hands about it. It suits them just fine. It`s time for us to fly away on a wing and a prayer, but CNN STUDENT NEWS will be back tomorrow with your debate coverage. I`m Carl Azuz. See you soon.

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