CNN 2011-04-10

It's Thursday, I'm Carl Azuz, this is CNN Student News. Today we going to talk about race that's out of this world. At least it's trying to get there. First up, we headed to Japan.

Officials are talking about sort of victory for workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The damaged one we've been talking about. Engineers have been fighting for nearly four weeks to keep the plant's nuclear reactors 1 from overheating. But they ran into another problem when radioactive water started leaking out into the ocean. Here, you can see the leak and the water flowing out of it.

That's the 'before' shot. Here's the 'after', no more leak. Workers were able to seal it up yesterday with a chemical compound they're calling glass.' The radiation levels in the water near the Fukushima Daiichi plant were already going down. But government officials say just because they were able to plug that leak doesn't mean they can be optimistic. They're worried about other leaks that might show up in other spots around the plant.

A quick update for you on Haiti's presidential election. Michel Martelly, you see right here, was declared the winner of the recent run-off election with more than 67% of the vote. Martelly has never been a politician before, he's a singer. But one analyst 2 said he represents the change that many Haitians have been calling for.

In Washington D.C, the clock is ticking down to midnight on Friday. Congress has until then to come up some sort of budget deal, either a new budget or extending the deadline for one. And if they don't, we are set for a government shutdown (n.). That doesn't mean that every part of the government turns off its lights. But if you're planning a trip to a national park or ***. Sorry, they'll be closed.

Government officials also say paychecks would stop for U.S. military forces, including troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Around 800,000 government employees would be in that same boat. They'd be asked to stay home and wouldn't get paid. Again, all of this is an 'if'. Congressional leaders are trying to work on a compromise and avoid a shutdown. But the two sides aren't holding back about their frustrations 3.

Republicans refuse to take yes for answer. Every time we agree to meet in the middle, they move where the middle is.

Now we're gonna allow the Senate nor the White House to put us in a box where we have to make a choice between two bad options.

For you don't have your driver's licenses 4 yet, you probably can't wait for the day when you get one. But your wallet, as all of the driversknow, might disagree. The cost of driving is going up. And some of the things make up that cost might not be what you would expecteven reallythink about. Karen Cafa explains how that adds up.

Every time you fill up the tank, there's bad reminder 5, if you want to hit the road, it'll cost you. Higher gas prices might be the most obvious cost of owning (and) operating a car, but they're not the only numbers creeping upward. AAA's annual study of driving costs found that, on average, getting you where you need to go costs 3.4% more than last year. That's based on 15,000miles of driving the average standard ***, 58.5 cents per or total just under per year.

The biggest increase is the cost of tires up more than 15%, largely due to a rise in the cost of raw materials. Fuel costs up 8.6%. And depreciation 6, the loss of your car's value that starts as soon as you drive off the dealer's lot up to 4.9%. A cost that many consumers don't think about because it doesn't have a price tag. That the greatest cost. It's something that you can willing to shop for cars that have low depreciation and save yourself considerably 7.

The cost of insurance dropped on average for good drivers, as did maintenance. That's especially good news since regular maintenance can prevent pricy repairs down the road.

A lot of people might be inclined to save. Maybe not change oil or the tires, but just taking care of your car (are) can really make it last longer.

Maintenance also keep your car more efficient, maybe even saving you a little gas.