CNN News:2013年cnn學(xué)生新聞回顧

Fridays are awesome. This one, though, is a little bitter sweet because it is our last show of 2013. We`re going to look back at some of the stories we covered this year, but first up, we`ve got a congressional compromise. We are talking about a budget, a plan for how the U.S. government will spend money. The House of Representatives passed it last week. The Senate passed it this week. And when President Obama signs it, which he said he will, it will become law.

Over the past several years, any budget talks have been tense: the Republicans and Democrats compromised to come up with this plan. Several members of both parties are happy with some of what`s in the budget deal or what`s not. Some pointed out that the budget will reduce some military benefits. Others criticized it for not including an extension for unemployment benefits. But one Senator said, that`s how things go when the Senate and the House are controlled by different parties. He said, "Nothing is going to be perfect in this world. It`s called compromise."

This budget plan does outline government spending through 2015. It loosens some spending restrictions that were in place, and it cancels some cuts that affected different government programs. Plus, this deal makes it unlikely for there to be another government shutdown like the one that happened earlier this year.

Target is the second biggest merchandise retail chain in the country. But Target became the target of a security breach, and it could affect 40 million people. The breach involved data from credit cards and debit cards. If you shopped at a Target store between November 27 and December 15, you might be affected. This is only if you shopped in a brick and mortar store, so online sales not involved. Target hasn`t said how its systems were hacked, but it did say that the issue that allowed the breach has been identified and resolved. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating. That agency is responsible for protecting the country`s financial framework and payment systems. If you think you might have been affected by this or if you are ever affected by stolen credit card information, there are some ways to protect yourself. Check your statements and look for charges you don`t recognize. Call your credit card company and bank and let them know what has happened. And if you need to, replace your card and get a new pin number.

AZUZ: You know from watching our show, the news isn`t always so somber. One uplifting example, Chad Pregracke. He`s CNN`s hero of the year who`s led around 70,000 volunteers to clean up millions of pounds of garbage from America`s rivers. Listen to what he said he`d do with the $250,000 he was awarded by CNN.

CHAD PREGRACKE, CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: You know, I`ve met so many great people today, the other heroes. And like I`m really moved by other stories, all the things they do around the world. And like the $250 grand, I`m just going to give 10 grand to each of them because they are awesome. So, yeah!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: There`s also Savannah Day. 14 years old, she recently had to have brain surgery, which meant she`d be in the hospital over Christmas. Savannah decided to collect toys for the other kids who`d be there with her. Her goal was 500 toys. She collected 4,000.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH DAY, STUDENT: The reason why I wanted to do this was to set a cheer reaction, so when the kids get out of the hospital, they would do something nice for somebody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Savannah came through her surgery OK, and she`s now recovering.

And you could call this guy the kindest king of Dairy Queen. Joey Prusak saw a blind customer drop a $20 bill and a woman behind him pick up the money and pocket it. Prusak asked her to leave the store, then he gave the blind man $20 out of his own pocket. Prusak became the community hero once this story got out.

You knew we wouldn`t go without having a little holiday fun. So, let`s start with some penguins in Santa suits. It`s the exact opposite of old Saint Nic in the tuxedo. Of course, penguins couldn`t actually chill with Santa, they are polar opposites. So, you just have to look at these little guys, shake your head and wonder what`ll they think of next?

How about a gingerbread house that`s the size of an actual house. This thing is more than 39,000 cubic feet. Yes, that`s a record. And the confectionary accouterments accounts for nearly 36 million calories. That will hit the sweet spot and must have cost a lot of dough.

A deer, a reindeer? This huge hoofer (ph) used to be a horse, then someone added antlers and the Rudolph red nose. It`s set up with the sleigh where people can leave blankets to donate to the homeless, which makes the project especially endeering. We wouldn`t want to miss the chance before we dasher away to say thank you. Thanks for watching CNN STUDENT NEWS, for interacting with us on social media, sending in tons of "Roll Call" requests, sending us "I-Reports" and mostly, for being the most awesome audience we could ask for. CNN STUDENT NEWS will be back in January. For now, we wish you a merry Christmas, happy and safe holidays and a very happy New Year.