(CNN Student News) -- September 22, 2005

Quick Guide

Hurricane Rita - Find out how powerful Hurricane Rita got as it whirled across the Gulf of Mexico.

Galveston's Hurricane History - Revisit the site where the deadliest hurricane in recorded U.S. history thundered ashore.

Cross Country - Pack your bags and go Cross Country with us for some national headlines.

Transcript

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

MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Student News on this Thursday, September 22nd! I'm Monica Lloyd. Whirling across the Gulf, Hurricane Rita spins to category five strength as it makes its way toward the gulf coast. Remembering one of the worst: Galveston may be in the path of Hurricane Rita, but it wouldn't be the first time the city was hammered by a hurricane. And adopting a reptile: Maybe you'd prefer something warm and fuzzy to cuddle up to, but could you get it this cheaply?

First Up: Hurricane Rita

LLOYD: As the death toll from Hurricane Katrina climbed over 1,000, Hurricane Rita roared to new strengths in the Gulf of Mexico. Like Katrina, Rita may lose some of its punch before it reaches U.S. shores. But as of last night, the storm was the fifth most intense hurricane on record and was capable of pushing an 18-foot wall of water ahead of it, blowing off roofs and leveling buildings. Chris Huntington tells us where this monster is likely to crawl ashore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN REPORTER: Hurricane Rita reached Category Five status today, with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center says the storm "is about as strong as a hurricane can get," but is expected to lose strength before hitting land. The White House has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and Texas.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: We hope and pray that hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm. But we got to be ready for the worst.

HUNTINGTON: Mandatory evacuations are under way for the 60,000 residents of Galveston near where Rita is currently projected to make landfall as early as Friday night. The governor of Texas urged people to get out now.

RICK PERRY, TEXAS GOVERNOR: Based on planning exercises and analysis most coastal areas in Texas take 33 hours to fully evacuate. Coastal Texans should not wait until late Thursday or early Friday to leave.

HUNTINGTON: In New Orleans, there is also a mandatory evacuation order. National guard and U.S. Army troops have been moved to a down town staging area...ready to help anyone who has not left the city.

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, CMDR., JOINT TASK FORCE KATRINA: I've got busses, I've got troops, I've got doctors, I've got helicopters standing by, backup troops standing by and medical capabilities across the street.

HUNTINGTON: In New Orleans, the greatest concern is the fragile condition of the recently repaired levees around Lake Ponchartrain. The Army Corps of Engineers saying only a modest amount of rain, perhaps as little as three inches, could present a real problem and potentially lead to more flooding. In New Orleans, for CNN Student News, I'm Chris Huntington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Is this Legit?

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS REPORTER: Is this legit? Katrina was the deadliest hurricane ever to strike the U.S. This one's false. Katrina was the most destructive, but the deadliest was a storm that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900, killing at least 8000 people.

Galveston's Hurricane History

LLOYD: The most intense storm to strike the U.S. was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. Which, like the Galveston storm, didn't have a specific name. That's because hurricanes weren't named until the National Hurricane Center started a list in 1953. But the 1900 Galveston storm didn't need a name to be remembered. John Zarrella gives us a glimpse of the horrors that it caused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN REPORTER: When the sun came up on September 9th, 1900 those who survived, looked out over a landscape of unimaginable devastation and death. It was the day after a hurricane that still holds the ignominious title: Deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

CASEY GREENE, HISTORIAN: People in Galveston knew that there was a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. It was reported in the Galveston County Daily News, but they didn't know where the storm would make landfall."

ZARRELLA: And, most didn't take it seriously. Historians say, what led to the Galveston disaster as much as any other factor... was an attitude.

GREENE: That's one of the reasons so many people lost their lives: Complacency.

ZARRELLA: In 1900, Galveston, Texas was stuck on itself. It was called the New York of the Gulf. There was more money in Galveston than in Newport, Rhode Island. Street cars ran along the beach. Bathhouses jutted out like sentinels in the Gulf.

ERIK LARSON, AUTHOR OF "ISAAC'S STORM: There was this great sense of hubris that America and Galveston, Galveston in particular was going places, could do no wrong.

ZARRELLA: In a matter of hours, on a steamy Saturday in September, that notion was splintered into a million pieces. The hurricane unleashed on Galveston 150 mile per hour winds, a torrent of rain and a nearly 16 foot wall of water that inundated much of the island. There was no way to escape. Entire sections of the city were leveled. Entire families were washed away. One in six Galvestonians died, about 8 thousand. Everywhere there was death, dying and those literally clinging to life.

MAYBELLE DOOLIN, FATHER SURVIVED THE 1900 GALVESTON HURRICANE: Some of them were on rooftops. Some of them were in trees. Some of them were hanging on to logs and stuff in the water.

ZARRELLA: Maybelle Doolin's father and his three step brothers spent hours in a row boat pulling people from the debris filled water. They are credited with saving two hundred lives. In Galveston that day, people survived simply by accident. And for them the passing of the storm brought new nightmares. Nearly everyone lost family members and friends. With so many dead, disposing of the bodies became ghoulish.

LARSON: If you can imagine walking out your back door and where you ordinarily see somebody's yard, kids playing and houses and the streets and all that stuff, what you would most likely have seen is a pile in which your neighbors where at that very moment being incinerated.

ZARRELLA: This film showing crews digging through piles of debris looking for bodies was shot two weeks after the storm. The search continued for months. Driven not to repeat history, Galvestonians built a three mile long, 17 foot high seawall. The hope: A hurricane will never again swallow up the city. John Zarrella, CNN, Galveston, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Word to the Wise

AZUZ: A Word to the Wise...

pygmy: (noun or adjective) a person or thing that is very small for its kind

Source:

Cross Country

LLOYD: Pygmy owls are pretty small birds that measure around six inches long. They typically weigh between 2.2 and 2.6 ounces. Some conservationists recently weighed in on whether they should be considered endangered; Deanna Morawski explains why and looks at some other headlines in her trek "Cross Country."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANNA MORAWSKI, CNN STUDENT NEWS REPORTER: The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote today on Judge John Roberts - President Bush's nominee for chief justice of the United States. A ranking Democrat on the committee says he will support Roberts.

SEN. PAT LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: Is a "no" vote the easier, more popular one? Of course, for me it is, especially with my constituency. But in my judgment, in my experience, but especially in my conscience, I find it is better in this nomination to vote yes than no.

MORAWSKI: There are two spots to fill on the high court, following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the pending retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. A bipartisan group of senators has offered the president a list of names to fill the second... But President Bush has not yet named a nominee.

The National Transportation Safety Board has proposed banning teenagers and other new drivers from using cell phones. It says inexperience on the road combined with being distracted is a "recipe for disaster." Highway crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds. According to a recent study... Washington, DC, North Carolina, and Mississippi top the list of the country's deadliest locations for teen driving.

In Arizona, a debate has taken flight over the status of pygmy owls. The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the bird from the endangered species list, saying it's no longer threatened. Experts say the owls are flourishing elsewhere.

ROY JOHNSON/BIOLOGIST: Contrary to the claim that there are only 20 pygmy owls left, the actual number of pygmy owls in Arizona is unknown, but certainly many more than 20. In addition, it is a common bird in Mexico a few kilometers from the international border.

MORAWSKI: But some residents claim the decision was made to help corporate developers, who stand to benefit from fewer building restrictions. That's the news cross-country...For CNN Student News, I'm Deanna Morawski.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

LLOYD: If you're looking for a transcript of each of our programs, look no further than You can also revisit shows that aired earlier in the week. Just click on the "Watch Today's Show" link, and then select "Browse Education Video."

Before We Go

LLOYD: Before we go... You could say it makes up for its lack of personality, with its ease of recapture. For if this guy ever ran away from you, we're betting you could catch up. Now maybe it won't wag or purr when you pet it, and you might get bored when it hibernates for six months of the year. But if that's okay and you don't require a warm-blooded pet, than this desert tortoise may be for you. These low-maintenance herbivores are up for free adoption at an Arizona museum.

Goodbye

LLOYD: And they can outlive you, which would truly make them pets to die for! That kills all our time on Student News. I'm Monica Lloyd.

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