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The destruction of Ivory, the danger of melanoma,
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and the debate over voting booth selfies are three of the stories we're covering today.
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I'm Carl Azuz. We'll start in Kenya.
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It took 10 days for officials there to build the 12 actual ivory towers that are now burning.
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They are both priceless and worthless.
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The piles of tusks from 8,000 elephants, the horns for more than 340 rhinos, exotic animal skins,
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sandalwood bark, it's all being intentionally burn in the largest torching of illegal wildlife products ever.
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Kenya's president says his country has lost as many as 70 percent of its elephants.
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Poaching, the illegal killing of animals, claims the life of an elephant every 15 minutes
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and a record number of rhinos were poached last year.
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Critics say destroying these materials will actually increase their value
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on the black market and increase poaching.
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But supporters say it hasn't in the past and that the burns as symbolic as it is destructive.
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The fire is crackling loudly, you can feel the warmth from far away, and the smoke is quickly filling the air.
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In some parts of the world, this would be considered ludicrous.
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In fact, there's been a lot of controversy surrounding this burn -- 105 tons of ivory,
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1.35 tons of rhino horn literally going up in smoke.
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That's an estimated black market value of $172 million. Now, no more.
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Kenya's message to the world, this ivory is worthless.
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It has no value unless on a live animal.
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It's not the first burn in Kenya's history.
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Kenya first began burning ivory in 1989 and initially saw good results.
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Experts attribute the scourge in poaching
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to Asia's voraciously growing appetite for ivory, particularly in China.
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This is the biggest ivory burn in the world's history.
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It's left 12 piles of contraband, like these, blackened with smoke,
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in a fire due to last for more than a week.
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But Kenyans hope this will change perceptions forever. Robyn Kriel, CNN, Nairobi National Park, Kenya.
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Next up, chaos in the Middle Eastern nation of Iraq.
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The ISIS terrorist group, which controls large parts of land there,
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says it's responsible for a pair of suicide bombings on Sunday.
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They happened in a city in southern Iraq where at least 11 people died
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and more than a dozen others were wounded.
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And a day beforehand, in the nation's capital,
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there was a rush of hundreds of angry protesters inside Baghdad's Green Zone.
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This is a four square mile heavily fortified area of government buildings and international embassies.
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The protesters ransacked parts of Iraq's parliament building before Iraqi security forces regained control.
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A controversial Iraqi religious leader had stirred up the crowd on Saturday,
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criticizing Iraq's politicians and calling them corrupt.
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The nation has been struggling with political problems, in addition to terrorism and instability.
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U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry
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have traveled there recently to push more stability in Iraq,
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expressed support for its leaders and encouraged them to work together.
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Health officials say that a 70-year-old man in Puerto Rico recently died from complications of the Zika virus.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control, it's the first time that a Zika infection
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has contributed to someone's death in the U.S. or its territories.
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The man had contracted, then mostly recovered from Zika.
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But within a few days, he developed a bleeding disorder associated with the virus and that led to his death.
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Brazil, where the Olympics are being held in August has been hardest hit by Zika cases,
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so South Korea has designed special suits for its athletes.
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They'll be wearing long pants and blazers for the opening and closing ceremonies
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and their track suits will have insect repellant built in, a sign of the times as the games get closer.
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Zika, a virus unheard of 70 years ago, is exploding around the planet,
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creating what the World Health Organization calls a global health emergency.
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Common symptoms include fever, rash, headaches and red eyes -- if there are any symptoms at all.
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Four out of five people who get Zika don't even know it.
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Zika is spread primarily by the female Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
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She's called the roach of the mosquito world, due to her crafty ways of hiding and breeding inside homes,
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making her hard to find and eliminate.
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Zika is also been linked to Guillain-Barre, a rare auto immune disorder that can lead to paralysis.
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But what makes Zika really scary is an alarming connection between the virus and microcephaly.
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That's a neurological disorder where babies are born with small heads and small brains,
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with severe developmental issues, even death.
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Some countries are so concerned. They are warning women not to get pregnant.
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While in the United States,
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CDC officials are telling pregnant women not to travel to any of the countries where Zika is circulating.
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Scientists are working around the clock to attack the virus.
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But as of yet, there's no vaccine, or medicine to treat Zika.
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So, protect yourself by using and reapplying insect repellant,
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wearing thick long sleeve shorts and pants,
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and staying inside in screened air-conditioning rooms and areas where Zika is active.
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And be sure to remove any standing water where mosquitoes can breathe.
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Our producers choose "Roll Call" schools from CNNStudentNews.com,
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making one request a day without spamming is the way to go.
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P.E. McGibbon Public School commented on Friday's transcript.
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It's in Sarnia, Ontario, in the nation of Canada. We also heard from Buckner Alternative High School.
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Shout-out to our viewers in La Grange, Kentucky.
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And finally from Western Kentucky, please welcome the Warriors.
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Weston Middle School rounds out our roll. Melanoma Monday doesn't really have a good ring to it,
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and that's the point. It's the start of Melanoma Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month.
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This is an awareness campaign by the American Academy of Dermatology.
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It goes on every year in May to get people's attention about skin cancer.
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The organization says one in five Americans will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime.
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The event aims to tell people, particularly those who spent time in the sun what to watch out for.
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Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
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A melanoma is a cancer that begins in the skin cells.
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The face and the neck are common areas for melanomas to appear.
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For men also, the chest and the back, for women, the legs.
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Exposure to U.V. lights such as the sun causes most melanomas.
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When melanoma is caught early, it's almost always curable.
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In fact, when you look at people where melanoma was caught early,
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five years later, 97 percent of them are still alive.
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But when melanoma is caught late, it is extremely deadly.
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When you look at melanomas that are stage four, that's the most advanced,
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five years later, only 15 percent to 20 percent of those people are still alive.
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Unfortunately, melanoma is particularly likely to spread to the brain.
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When you look at people with stage four melanoma, 60 percent of those patients will develop brain tumors.
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There are various treatments for melanoma.
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It can include surgery, radiation chemotherapy and the use of targeted, newer cancer drugs.
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Now, some melanomas can't be prevented, but some can.
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So, the most important thing is to stay out of the sun as much as you can,
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and if you are in the sun, cover up with clothing or with sunscreen. And certainly, don't use tanning beds.
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The American Cancer Society recommends that you check your body once a month.
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Look for moles, look for new moles, and also for changes in moles that already you have.
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Should American voters be allowed to take selfies in the voting booth?
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Snapchat is now out of a few different groups fighting against bans on ballot box selfies.
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There's no federal law about this,
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but most states don't allow voters to show their marked ballot, which indicate whom they voted for.
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In Pennsylvania and Indiana, you could go to jail for voting booth pictures.
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In Vermont, you can take selfies, but not share them.
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In Oregon and Wyoming, there are no laws against this.
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Snapchat says that ballot box selfies are part of free speech and that they're just a way that voters,
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especially young voters, engaged in the political process.
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Critics say selfies threatened the secret ballot, where your vote is private and free from outside influences.
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They're also concerned about corrupt political groups paying people to vote
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and then requiring ballot box selfies as proof.
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From our "don't try this at home or really anywhere" files, a low altitude parachuting competition in China.
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Competitors had about three seconds from the time they jump to do a few stunts like back flips and twist,
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and then open their chutes.
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Skydivers came from around the world to do this and waiting for them at the bottom,
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of the gorge below, was a floating platform with the bull's eye they aim for.
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Thankfully, people were able to open up to shoot debris, to spread and share their canopies,
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floats we're seeing in air and water, touchdowns and end zones made to order.
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CNN STUDENT NEWS wishes all of you happy landings.