Quick Guide & Transcript: Tornadoes roar through Southeast, We review the week's headlines
POSTED: 0551 GMT (1351 HKT), March 2, 2007
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(CNN Student News) -- March 2, 2007

Quick Guide
Severe Storms - Survey the damage left behind after a series of deadly twisters tore through the Southeast.

Spoken Word - Discover the difference between a watch and a warning as far as tornadoes are concerned.

Week in Review - Look back at the week's headlines, including a story described as the "drop heard 'round the world."

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

Teachers: Please preview today's First Up story, as it discusses student casualties at a school due to severe weather.

DANIELLE ELIAS, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: A tornado descends on a town in Alabama, tearing through a school and spinning busses like toys. See it through the eyes of a student who was there. A stock market sell-off left some traders scratching their heads, and others scratching their ledgers, with losses. Discover what caused the Dow to take a dip. And a last-second toss takes one student from the court, to the spotlight. Find out whose camera was rolling, when he sent the ball sailing.

First Up: Severe Storms

ELIAS: Teachers, we encourage you to preview our first story today-- It's about a natural disaster that struck the southeast, causing several deaths at an Alabama high school. Tornadoes can hit without much warning. One minute, the sky gets dark... The next, sirens go off. One resident of Enterprise, Alabama says that's how she knew to take cover yesterday afternoon. Jamie McIntyre surveys the nearby school, that took a direct hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: It was fast. It was powerful. And it took aim at Enterprise High School.

CALEB, STUDENT, ENTERPRISE HIGH SCHOOL: You see stuff like this on the news all the time and you don't really know what's going to happen and it's -- it's pretty bad. I don't really know how to describe it.

BOB PHAYERS, ENTERPRISE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS: We ask that you continue to pray for our students and for their parents and for our community. To my knowledge, we have not had a storm this severe in several decades, if ever before.

MCINTYRE: The deadly tornado ripped up the football field, flipped over cars, and tore off the roof of the auditorium where inside students were huddled for safety.

MAN: One was pinned waist down. That one girl, the other girl come out, she was unconsious -- and then there was a guy that was in there -- they pulled him out about 30 minutes ago. I mean, when I left there about 15 minutes ago, they were working on the girl. And she's pinned, the whole wall's collapsed on her.

MCINTYRE: Some didn't make it out alive. On the scene, panic and chaos as frantic parents searched for their children. Some found them. Others did whatever they could to help.

MCINTYRE: and did you say you helped carry some of the bodies out?

JOE SINCLAIR, SURVIVOR: Two little girls.

MCINTYRE: Two little girls. Any idea how old they were?

JOE SINCLAIR, SURVIVOR: One looked about 12. It's a high school, so -- The other one looked about 16. It was disturbing.

MCINTYRE: Elsewhere in Enterprise, more destruction.

MCINTYRE: What happened when the tornado came through?

MAN: I put my children and I in the closet and I covered our heads with the blanket and we just held on until it was over.

MCINTYRE: Witnesses say before the twister hit, alarms went off, warning people to take cover. Now some are asking if the deaths at enterprise high school could have been prevented.

SINCLAIR: There was plenty of warning. All the schools thoughout Alabama had dismissals at 12:30. And I don't know why they kept these kids in school.

MCINTYRE: Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Enterprise, Alabama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Spoken Word

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN REPORTER: Real quickly for you, it may be Meteorology 101, but just quickly remind everybody the difference between watch and warning so they know what to do.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A watch lasts 5, 6 maybe 8 hours. Not usually 8, but it can and it's going to cover an entire state. If we say or if your local weather guy says there is a tornado watch for Georgia, well that's not all that important yet, but what they're saying is that there's the potential for something to develop in one of the storms that's already developing that could cause it to rotate. We have a lot of big-time rotation today. Some of those storms may contain tornadoes. So, you've got a lot of mays and buts and ifs all there but when you get the warning, When you hear I'm warning you, or this is a warning for the storm, it's only going to be for maybe 35, maybe 45 minutes. It's going to be for a county or a series of counties especially if you're in a tri-county area. But, that's going to only be for a little bit. That means a tornado has been indicated on Dopplar Radar or somebody's actually out there and they have seen that tornado on the ground. That's the only two ways you'll get a warning.

Gulf Coast Tour

ELIAS: In another storm-struck part of the world, "times are changing for the better." Those were President Bush's words, as he toured the Gulf Coast Thursday. More than 1800 people died when Hurricane Katrina tore into Mississippi and Louisiana in August 2005. The president has made more than 12 trips to the area since then. But critics say it's taken too long to rebuild. Here's what the president says about that:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Part of the reason I've come down is to tell the people on the Gulf Coast that we still think about them in Washington, and that we listen to the governor when he speaks. The other reason I've come down is that I want the taxpayers of the United States to see firsthand what their money has done to help revitalize a series of communities that were literally wiped out because of a major storm. This is a hopeful day. There's obviously a lot more work to be done. You can see vacant lots where there's gonna be new building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN: Time for the Shoutout! Which of these states does NOT border the Gulf of Mexico? You know what to do! Is it: A) Texas B) Mississippi C) Alabama D) Georgia? You've got three seconds--GO! Though Georgia has an Atlantic coast, the Peach State does not border the Gulf of Mexico! That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Computer Virus

ELIAS: It looks like a computer virus is the reason why we were offline yesterday, so we sincerely apologize if you missed us. Turner Broadcasting System, which includes CNN, confirmed a virus hit its systems Thursday. Officials aren't sure yet, but they think the problem is a new version of "Rinbot"-- A virus that attacks anti-virus software made by a company called Symantec. If Rinbot spreads, companies nationwide could be affected like we were.

Week in Review

ELIAS: Speaking of computers, Wall Street had an electronic hiccup of its own this week -- but it wasn't a virus. A computer glitch made what was a bad day for stocks seem even worse. We told you earlier this week, how the Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index that keeps track of 30 top stocks. Carl Azuz recaps what happened in the Dow, and the world, in our Week in Review.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ, CNN: A crowd of students, a blast, and tragedy: Dozens were killed and wounded on Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University. It recalled the horrors of January 16th, when coordinated car and suicide bombings killed 70 civilians at the same school. This week's attack came less than 24 hours after Iraqi officials said a security crackdown, was getting results. CNN reporters in the Iraqi capital say there have seen a decrease in religious violence, thanks to the deployment of U.S. troops in certain areas. But the insurgency shows little sign of letting up.

AZUZ: Getting a driver's license may get tougher in the days ahead, but the government says it's all in the name of national security. The Real ID law goes into effect next year. It requires people who want licenses to give states proof of citizenship or legal residency. But checking that proof could hit states in their pocketbooks. And that's partly why 24 states oppose Real ID.

DAVID QUAM, NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION: It's verification that not even the federal government can complete for its own employees.

AZUZ: However, the government says the program would make it harder for potential terrorists -- or criminals -- to get IDs, and that now's the time to put the law in place.

AZUZ: It's a precarious position for any housing community: being perched over a crusty cliff. The ground gave way in a San Francisco neighborhood Tuesday night, sending mud and boulders into buildings below. An environmental engineer blamed it on the rain. He says the recent heavy downpours filled cracks in the rock, and when the pressure builds up, the rock breaks down.

NICK SITAR, ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER: And every time we get a good rainy season, we will see more of these slides.

AZUZ: More than a hundred residents have had to leave their homes.

AZUZ: You could've called it the "drop" heard 'round the world. A decline in Chinese and European markets hit the U.S. on Tuesday, contributing to a stock selloff that left the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 416 points. A computer glitch didn't help: When heavy trading clogged the system, it appeared at one point that U.S. stocks lost 200 points in a matter of moments. That wasn't the case, of course, and Wall Street looked better the next day, with investors buying back enough to raise the Dow 52 points. And that's our final point, in this Week in Review. I'm Carl Azuz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

ELIAS: Our free Newsquiz covers more than our top stories of the week. We also test your student's knowledge on topics like art. For example, can they name the cubist artist of two paintings that were recently stolen from a Paris apartment? Here's a headstart for your class: It's Pablo Picasso. For nine more questions, head to CNN.com/Education!

Before We Go

ELIAS: Before we go...We bet you're sitting near someone right now who regularly tosses scratch paper into the trash, saying "he shoots, he scores!" Here's what that looks like when it really happens on the court! A 7th grader's mom sent us this video. It shows her son sinking a full-court -- not half court --shot at the end of the first quarter in a local game. Getting that on tape has gotta be worth more than the three points! We're told they celebrated with a little ice cream. Nice way to top off a "sweet" shot!

Goodbye

ELIAS: We'll see you next week, when CNN Student News returns.