CNN 2011-02-18

Hey, I'm Carl Azuz, this is CNN Student News! Today's show is dedicated 1 to Mrs. Klapperich's students in Cannon 2 Falls, Minnesota. Thank you for your "likes" at Facebook.com/CNNStudentNews. Let's get today's show started!

Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain. If you've been watching the news the past several weeks, you know what these countries have in common: political unrest. People speaking out against their governments, calling for changes. What's happening in that part of the world could certainly have an impact on other countries around the globe. During a speech yesterday, President Obama talked about the role that the U.S. might play.

What happens in each of these countries will be determined 3 by the citizens of those countries. We do want to make sure that transitions do not degenerate 4 into chaos 5 and violence. That's not just good for us, that's good for those countries.

We're seeing some of these same themes with these protests. They're often organized with social media. The focus is on government leaders or policies that have been in place for a long time. But the situations are unique. And Jill Dougherty is going to show us how the U.S. has been involved so far.

Is this what the Obama administration hopes could be the next people's revolution? Iranian police clash with demonstrators on the streets of Tehran, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton connects the dots with Egypt's revolution.

We wish the opposition 6 and the brave people in the streets across cities in Iran, you know, the same opportunity that they saw their Egyptian counterparts seize in the last week.

As Iranian police round up activists 7, the State Department begins tweeting encouraging messages in the Farsi language, telling Iranians we want to join in your conversation. Just days after a revolution toppled Egypt's longtime ruler, Hosni Mubarak, unrest is rippling 8 through the region, and the U.S. is trying to figure out how to handle it. In Algeria, protesters clash with security forces and the State Department proclaims their support for the universal rights of the Algerian people, adding, these rights apply on the internet.

The government of Syria puts a blogger on trial for espionage 9; the State Department calls for her freedom. In Jordan, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint 10 Chiefs of Staff and a top State Department official meet with King Abdullah II to show support for the new government he swore in following anti-government protests. Yet nothing is settled in Egypt. Trying to muster 11 international support, President Obama has been speed-dialing fellow leaders in Great Britain, Jordan and Turkey to help keep pressure on the Egyptian military to turn a revolution into a real democracy. Secretary Clinton called the Egyptian foreign minister and her counterparts in eight other countries. The tide of democracy opens opportunities, officials say, but a former CIA director says this is not a stack of dominoes.

The challenge is how does one manage that during the transition period so that you don't see some of the more radical 12 and, unfortunately, those are generally the best organized groups, seizing control, capturing the revolution and taking it into a direction that's very dark.

The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian 13 honor that's given out by the U.S. government. In a ceremony yesterday at the White House, President Obama gave out 15 of them, describing this year's recipients 14 as "the best of who we are and who we aspire 15 to be." That includes former President George H.W. Bush, America's 41st president, whose career of public service spanned 70 years. Georgia congressman 16 and civil rights leader John Lewis, as well as German Chancellor 17 Angela Merkel were also given Medals of Freedom. But it wasn't just politicians. Artists, like the famous poet Maya Angelou, whom the president's sister is named after, along with cellist 18 Yo-Yo Ma and artist Jasper Johns were honored at the ceremony. Sports legends Bill Russell and Stan Musial were also among the Medal of Freedom honorees.