CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: North America, South America, Europe - we are taking you all over in today`s show. And we are starting with a trip from one Washington landmark to another. Start at the White House. You know who lives there - this week he is heading over to the U.S. Capital building except for when they are invited to make a speech to Congress. It`s a trip that presidents don`t make too often. President Obama is making it three times this week: he went to Capitol Hill yesterday and he`s scheduled to go back today and tomorrow. He`s meeting with members of Congress, House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, and he`s planning to talk about some of the big political issues facing the country: guns, immigration, the federal budget. Congress is getting ready to debate the budget, but if they want to pass one, members of the House and Senate and President Obama will all have to work together. Representative Paul Ryan, the Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee announced his budget proposal yesterday. Senate Democrats are planning to announce theirs today, and President Obama could release his budget proposal in early April.
Next up, we are heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Vatican City, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. The head of that church is the pope. And the conclave to select the new pope started yesterday. 115 cardinals, other catholic leaders from around the world have gathered at the Vatican. Yesterday, they made their way into the Sistine Chapel, and then the doors were shut behind them. The cardinals stay in isolation during the voting process.
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the cardinals come in, they will take a vow of secrecy. There will be no cell phones, no pagers, no newspapers, no messages to the outside of any sort, because it`s very important that they keep their considerations here private. Then, when it comes time for vote, each of the cardinals will get a piece of paper, which he will write upon, and say in effect , "This is my vote for the pope." He will fold his piece of paper twice, he will hold it over head and then walk right down the center aisle alone to the front where he will kneel at the altar for a moment, then he will drop his paper into a receptacle upon the altar.
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AZUZ: All right. This is how the results are announced. Black smoke from yesterday`s vote means the cardinals didn`t select the new pope. When one is elected, you`ll see white smoke.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s first "Shoutout" goes out to Mr. Jackson`s classes at Yellow Springs High School in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The Falkland Islands are located off the coast of what continent. Here we go, is it Europe, North America, Antarctica or South America. You`ve got three seconds, go.
The Falklands are in the Southern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout".
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AZUZ: The country that`s closest to the Falkland Islands is Argentina, but the Falklands are technically a British territory, and most of the people who live there want to keep it that way.
Back in 1982, nearly 1000 people were killed when Argentina and the United Kingdom fought a war over who controlled these islands. The U.K won that conflict. This week, the Falkland Islands held a referendum. Citizens had the chance to vote on whether or not they wanted to keep their political status as British territory. The results were overwhelming: more than 99 percent of the people who cast ballots voted to keep the current status. Three people, not three percent - three people voted "No."
It`s March and Women`s History Month is rolling along. Today, we are getting a sense of how women around the world are doing in fields like politics and business. What progress has been made, what areas still may need improvement. Atika Shubert breaks it down.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are approximately ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 7 billion ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... people ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... in the world
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And about
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 3.5 ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... billion
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: women and girls.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, here are the good news.
We earn more, we do more. We run countries and households alike. Our kids are healthier and so are we. But here is the bad news. An estimated 60 percent of the world`s hungry are female. More than 500 million do not know how to read or write. Seven out of ten have experienced physical or sexual violence. More than 600 million live in countries where getting beaten by your husband is not considered a crime. 117 countries have equal pay laws, but women are still paid 10 to 30 percent less than men. There are only 21 women CEOs in the Fortune 500, and less than 20 percent of the world`s political power is in the hands of women leaders.
But here`s how things could be: if a mother can read, her child is 50 percent more likely to survive past the age of five. If women were paid the same as men, gross domestic product would be up between nine and 16 percent. And those Fortune 500 companies, the ones with the highest number of women board members were 53 percent more profitable than those with the fewest women.
And after all that, consider this: women outlive men on an average of five to ten years. Ladies, the good news is in the end, we still get the last laugh. Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
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AZUZ: In the spirit of women`s history month, we want to know who your female role model is. If you`re already on Facebook, tell us at Facebook.com/CNNSTUDENTNEWS.
Teachers, you can always sound off on the feedback page at cnnstudentnews.com. Look for that in the resources box and tell us what you think about today`s show.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for a "Shoutout Extra Credit." What is a malamute? If you think you know it, then shout it out.
Is it a fish, blanket, dog or musical instrument? Put another three seconds on the blog and go.
A malamute is a type of dog, one that`s often used to pull a sled through the snow. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout Extra Credit."
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AZUZ: You probably know where we are going with this. The Iditarod, the last great race across the Alaskan wilderness began on March 2nd, and the first place musher was expected to reach the finish line either late last night or early this morning. The race is more than 1,150 miles. It crosses the southern Alaskan city of Anchorage to the coastal town of Nome. There are dozens of competitors, hundreds of sled dogs. A teacher who is racing this year first competed in 2011. This was her perspective then.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the way to Nome.
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OK, guys, it`s go time. We`re here, buddies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah! This is unbelievable!
We`ve been on the trail for about an hour and a half. We left Skwentna this morning about sevenish. Right now we are heading to Brainie Pass (ph), and the dogs are looking pretty good. I did have to drop one dog back in Skwentna.
Dropping the dog just means that you`re leaving them at the checkpoint for whatever reason that may be, whether it`s, you know, an injury, tiredness, soreness in a joint, but that`s what the vets are out there, and that`s why we`re, you know, trained to know what - how our dogs react to different situations.
All right, Oh!
It`s really cold today, probably I would say about 20 below. It`s supposed to get a lot colder.
I will have to say, my most favorite thing so far on this is not only the scenery and the terrain and everything like that, but just meeting all the people in the villages, and the biggest thing that gets me, is how awesome these dogs are. When I think, you know, I can`t go anymore, they (inaudible) up, 110 percent, 150 percent, and they just keep on going.
It`s about three in the morning, and we`re going to get ready here until leaving in the next couple of hours. By looking at my face you can see it`s a little bit swollen - windburned, sunburned. I`m really tired.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re now officially off the trail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I want to go another five, let`s go.
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AZUZ: All right. This is my favorite part of today`s show. You might think that eating a cookie or at least breaking one open is a pretty simple thing. That is, unless you make it incredibly complicated. Separating the cookie from the cream filling is not the kind of thing you should try at home, at least not when it`s being done with hatchets and power tools. These guys were contracted by the company that makes Oreos to invent replacements for the standard twist and scrape method. If you got a sweet tooth, it sounds like a challenge you can really sink your teeth into, unless it was too much pressure. We wouldn`t want anyone to suffer separation anxiety. There wasn`t a clear cut winner. I mean this Oreo challenge wasn`t all black and white. No one creamed the competition. Some ideas worked, others didn`t. I guess that`s just the way the cookie crumbles. Pun time, fun time, bye time.
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