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CARL AZUZ, CNN ACNHOR: A rising rate, a tagging tourist and a rollicking roll - all coming up in today`s show.
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We`ll start with the branches of the U.S. government.
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The legislative branch, Congress, makes the laws,
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but it`s the judicial branch`s job to interpret those laws and decide if they violate the Constitution.
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U.S. Supreme Court sessions start in October.
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Over several months, the nine justices hear arguments in dozens of cases.
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They do legal research, vote on the cases and write up their opinions.
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When all of that`s finished, the Supreme Court makes its rulings public.
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Usually around this time every year.
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Athena Jones gives us a preview of the possible rulings for some of these sessions cases.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From now until the end of June, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on big issues:
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affirmative action and same sex marriage.
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TOM GOLDSTEIN, CO-FOUNDER, SCOTUS BLOG: It`s almost unimaginable, the number of things the Supreme Court is going to decide that affects all Americans in the next months.
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JONES: First up could be whether public schools can consider race when admitting students.
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Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas arguing she was rejected because she is white.
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ABIGAIL FISHER, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAINTIFF: I hope the court rules that a student`s race and ethnicity should not be considered when applying to the University of Texas.
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ONES: The school says race is one of many factors it uses to achieve diversity on campus.
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Court watchers say Anthony Kennedy could side with conservative justices to overturn or limit a major Supreme Court decision from ten years ago that allowed affirmative action.
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The justices are also dealing with another hot-button issue: same sex marriage.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the (inaudible), the marriage is between one man and one woman. And you guys don`t want to accept it.
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JONES: Considering whether California`s Proposition 8 ban is constitutional and in a second case,
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if the Defense of Marriage Act can deny same sex couple the same federal benefits as heterosexual ones.
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EDITH WINDSOR, DOMA PLAINTIFF: I think it`s going to be good.
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JONES: That case was brought by Edith Windsor,
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a New York who had to pay higher estate taxes after her wife died than someone in a heterosexual marriage would have.
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GOLDSTEIN: I think it`s likely in the Defense of Marriage Act case that the Supreme Court would invalidate the federal law that says we won`t recognize state same sex marriages.
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But in the California Proposition 8 case, the justices seem unlikely to require under the Constitution every state to recognize same sex marriage.
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The ruling may not be a huge gay rights victory at all, but I doubt it`s going to be a significant loss either.
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JONES: Another case involves the kind of genetic testing that led actress Angelina Jolie to undergo a double mastectomy.
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The court is considering whether human genes, so called products of nature, can be patented.
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Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
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AZUZ: Our next story today, there are different ways to pay for college.
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One is to take out a student loan.
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Those come with interests, the fee that you have to pay back with the loan, interest rates telling you how much that fee is.
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7 million or one third of U.S. college students who have loans have subsidized loans.
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That means that government pays some of their interest.
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Six years ago, the interest rate on federal loans was 6.8 percent, then Congress cut that in half.
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So these borrowers wouldn`t have to pay as much interest.
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But on July First, the interest rate on those subsidized loans is set to go back to where it was before.
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Congress and the president don`t want that to happen, but they can`t agree on a new plan.
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If nothing happens, the rate for these loans will automatically go up and students who have them will owe more money when they get out of school.
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When Chelesa Fearce starts college in the fall, she`ll technically be a junior.
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Her time in high school was all about achieving despite adversity.
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CHELESA FEARCE, HIGH SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN: I would just open my book in the back and just (inaudible) just told myself,
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don`t worry about that. Think about now. If you (inaudible).
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AZUZ: Most of her high school years, Chelesa and her family were homeless.
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They lived in shelters, sometimes they lived in their car.
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Chelesa stayed focused on her education.
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Her SAT score made her a star student at her school, her GPA made her valedictorian.
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And a high school graduate has some advice for anyone else who might be facing challenges.
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FEARCE: Don`t give up, do what you have to do right now so that you can have the future that you want.
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AZUZ: Chelesa`s story is great example of the power of perseverance, we want to hear yours.
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Go to our blog at cnnstudentnews.com, tell us about a time when you`ve overcome a challenge.
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We`re looking forward to your posts, but remember, we`re only looking for your first names.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s "Shoutout" goes out to Mrs. Hadel`s current world issues class at Rapid River public schools in Rapid River, Michigan.
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Which of the countries on this map is Egypt?
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Here we go. Is it A, B, C, or D?
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You`ve got three seconds, go!
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Egypt borders Libya, Sudan and the Mediterranean Sea.
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It`s been home to civilizations for thousands of years.
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That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."
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AZUZ: Earlier this month, a Chinese government official told his nation`s travelers to behave.
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Chinese tourists spend more money abroad than anyone else in the world,
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and their government wants them to give a good impression.
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At least one 15-year old didn`t get the message.
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He was on vacation touring an ancient Egyptian temple.
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By ancient I mean 3500 years old.
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And in a stone sculpture he carved his name and the words "was here."
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Of course, this isn`t the only historic monument to be defaced by graffiti, though it might be one of the oldest and the message might be one of the dumbest.
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Some of the people angriest about this are the teenager`s country men and women who`ve graffited his name all over Chinese social media in criticism.
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They young man`s parents have publicly apologized, both to the Egyptian and Chinese people saying they take responsibility and that their son has learned his lesson.
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As for the sculpture itself, it`s gotten a professional cleaning, though that didn`t entirely removed the graffiti.
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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Smartphones can do a lot of things: they can make calls, we can text, surf the Web, it can also make us a target.
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Cell-phone theft is increasing in cities around the country.
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We are not talking about somebody stealing the phone out of your bag when you`re not looking.
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We mean stealing it right out of your hand.
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Situation has some people calling for actions.
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This surveillance video shows a woman getting robbed of her cell phone while in the middle of a conversation.
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A crime so common, that type in "cell phone theft" on Youtube,
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and you`ll find tons of surveillance video of people having their phones ripped off.
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San Francisco`s police chief says in many cases users are asking for trouble.
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CHIEF GREG SUHR, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: Think if you took $300 out of the ATM machine.
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You wouldn`t walk down the block for several blocks counting the 20s.
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SIMON: The problem is becoming so rampant that it`s estimated that stolen devices cost consumers $40 billion a year.
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So pressure is mounting for cell-phone carriers and the device makers to figure out a way to deter theft.
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San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon wants to see a so-called kill switch on phones.
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GEORGE GASCON, SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY: So that when they get report it`s stolen, they could be render inoperable.
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SIMON: He accuses the industry of dragging its feet to what he calls a technological solution.
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GASCON: Every time that a phone gets stolen, we go back and we replace it for him.
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So the carrier gets to make another sale,
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the manufacturer gets to make another sale,
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and the profit just continue to be.
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SIMON: The nation`s largest carriers, though, are getting more aggressive.
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Now, participating in a new nationwide database for stolen phones to prevent them from being activated.
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But critics say it`s yet to have a meaningful impact, because stolen phones often wind up overseas and fetch more dollars.
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GASCON: The late model iPhone ranks here, just down the street from here can bring about $300.
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If it gets exported to Latin America or Asia or Africa, it can bring in as much as seven to $1000.
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SIMON: But is a kill switch even possible?
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We went to arguable the leading mobile security company in the world,
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Lookout, which makes a popular app for Smartphones.
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(on camera): The notion of just being able to render a phone useless.
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Can that happen?
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MARC ROGERS, LOOKOUT, INC.: It`s technically plausible.
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A phone is just a computer.
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If you destroy the - an operating system the phone relies on, the phone company
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SIMON: So, if it`s technically possible, why isn`t that happening?
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ROGERS: Because it`s not a very easy thing to do.
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SIMON: Now, Apple`s iPhone does have a feature that will track stolen phones and erase the data, sometimes more valuable than the phone itself.
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Lookout has a similar feature for phones using Google`s android.
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But the point, according to critics, is the entire industry needs bolder thinking.
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AZUZ: And finally, this show is going downhill in a hurry.
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But the faster, the better for these competitors.
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It`s the annual unofficial cheese roll near Gloucester, England.
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It`s not the official event because of concerns about injuries.
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Can`t think why.
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The winner is anyone who makes it down in one piece.
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They don`t chase a real wheel of cheese anymore.
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Now they use a fake, made out of foam.
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Consider it a fauxmage (ph).
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We`re planning to go on a roll with a bunch of cheesy puns, but we didn`t want to grind you down.
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Besides, cheesy pun haters are just lactose intolerant.
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Oh, well. We did the dairy best we curd, and we`ll be back to do it again tomorrow.
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I`ll see you all then.
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END