I want to thank those St. Jude's students for introducing today's show. Thanks to all of you for sticking with us for the next 10 minutes. I'm Carl Azuz, welcome to CNN Student News.
First up, tension on the Korean peninsula, and part of it has to do with the possibility of an upcoming nuclear test. North Korea has held two of these controversial tests before. Now South Korean officials say the north is getting ready to run another one. U.S. officials agreed with that information, although North Korea hasn't said anything about a nuclear test.
What the north is talking about is a separate rocket launch, scheduled for later this week. CNN's Stan Grant was invited to get an up-close look at the rocket. He explains why there's some controversy surrounding this launch, too.
This is what North Korea has been keeping hidden from the world, not any more. A long-range rocket, 30 meters long or nearly 100 feet, that much of the world suspects will launch the next phase of the reclusive country's missile program.
North Korea insists there is nothing to fear. Not a missile test, but in fact, a satellite launch for scientific research. To prove it, they've taken an unprecedented step,opening up the launch site to the eyes of the international media.
For Pyongyang, this also represents a propaganda coup. In the year the country celebrates their 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il-sung.
"This is a spiritual moment as the North Korean people struggle to open the gate to a prosperous and powerful future," this man says. But the United States and its allies see it very differently, a country still technically at war, taking yet another step closer to perfecting a missile that, experts say, could reach American shores.
I am very disturbed.
He can deny that? deny that it's that it's
Look for yourselves with your own eyes, then you can judge whether it's a ballistic missile or whether it's a launch vehicle to put a satellite into orbit to show that, that's why we have invited you to this launch site.
So we certainly get the grand tour, today shown all around the site, the control center, even the actual satellite that will be launched into space on the rocket. One independent European analyst visiting the site says he sees nothing to be concerned about, but
I don't know what they want to do in future, but today what we see is a space launcher.
An update for you now on a neighborhood watch shooting in Florida. In February, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader.Police say Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after the teenager attacked him. We have a video in the "Spotlight" section of our home page with more details on the shooting.
A special prosecutor has been investigating this case. She had three options of possible action: she could charge George Zimmerman with a crime; she could clear him of any wrongdoing or she could send the case to the grand jury. That's a group that hears evidence and testimony from witnesses and decides whether a case should go to trial.
We found out yesterday that option three won't happen. This special prosecutor says she won't use a grand jury. She added that the decision doesn't mean things are final. The investigation will go on.
This story has been an emotional one. It's led to protests across the country, like this one in Sanford, Florida, where the shooting happened. The story's also left people with a lot of questions, including you.
We asked what was on your mind, what questions you had when you heard about this story.
Alyssa asks, "Why do the government, media, civil rights activists and citizens . jump to conclusions so quickly about what happened without actually knowing all the facts?"
Ritika asks, "Could a teenager really be dangerous to a man who has a weapon?"
From Mark, "What would have happened if their races were different -- would there still be protests or news coverage?"
And from Shaina, "Why is this type of incident just now being brought to people's attention? Things like this happen all the time; does America care or know about those other incidents?"
A lot of things unanswered at this point. We're going to bring you news updates as we get them.
Meantime, if you want to share your thoughts, cnnstudentnews.com.