-LRB- CNN Student News -RRB- -- October 27 , 2009 Downloadable Maps Download PDF maps related to today 's show : • Afghanistan & Pakistan • Los Angeles & San Diego • Ft. Jackson , South Carolina Transcript THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT . THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED . NATISHA LANCE , CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR : A member of the military is making history . We 'll explain how in today 's edition of CNN Student News . Hi , everyone . Carl Azuz is off this week . I 'm Natisha Lance . First Up : Afghan Crashes LANCE : First up , Pakistan and Afghanistan . The countries share a border , and they also share a common problem : threats from militant groups and terrorists like the Taliban and al Qaeda . It 's an issue facing both nations ' governments , and one that the U.S. government is concerned about as well . That 's why President Obama has been holding a series of meetings with some of his advisers . They 're reviewing the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan . Samantha Hayes has the latest on those meetings and on the violence in the region . -LRB- BEGIN VIDEO -RRB- SAMANTHA HAYES , CNN CORRESPONDENT , WASHINGTON , D.C. : Two helicopter crashes make it the deadliest day in four years for Americans in Afghanistan . While a NATO security force spokesman says enemy fire is not to blame , the loss of 14 Americans comes while President Barack Obama is considering a request to send thousands more troops to the region to fight al Qaeda . The president addressed service men and women in Jacksonville , Florida Monday , after a White House meeting with his national security team . U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA : Fourteen Americans gave their lives , and our prayers are with these service members , their civilian colleagues and the families who loved them . HAYES : The deadliest of the two crashes happened following a raid on suspected drug traffickers , and three DEA agents were among those killed . Also among the dead , three U.S. civilians , members of the embassy community . The State Department says the efforts of civilians and other nonmilitary personnel are essential to the overall mission . JACOB LEW , DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE : Improving Afghan governance , providing security , justice , jobs and services , and giving the Afghan people a meaningful alternative , as much as possible , to the Taliban 's recruiting . HAYES : Democratic Senator John Kerry , off of a recent trip to the region , addressed those efforts and the U.S. relationship with the Afghan government in a Washington speech . SEN. JOHN KERRY , -LRB- D -RRB- MASSACHUSETTS : The fact that the Afghan government has not prosecuted a single high level drug trafficker damages all of our efforts because it goes to the fundamental question of credibility . HAYES : President Obama 's White House meeting was the sixth in a series of high-level discussions about what to do in Afghanistan , as the administration awaits results from that country 's November 7th presidential runoff . For CNN Student News , I 'm Samantha Hayes . -LRB- END VIDEO -RRB- I.D. Me CNN STUDENT NEWS : See if you can I.D. Me ! I was born in 1939 in Searchlight , Nevada . I was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 , and I 'm currently the Senate Majority Leader , which means I 'm the highest ranking member of the Senate 's majority party . I 'm Harry Reid , a Democrat who is the senior senator from Nevada . Public Option LANCE : And in that role as majority leader , it 's Sen. Reid 's job to help combine health care bills from different committees into a single bill that can be presented to the entire Senate . Yesterday , Sen. Reid announced that the combined bill will include a government-run health care program ; what 's been called the public option . During his announcement , Reid also said that the bill will let individual states choose not to take part in the public option . They would have until the year 2014 to make that decision . This has been one of the most controversial issues in the debate over health care reform . Critics argue that if companies use the public option , then some people might lose the health care coverage that they currently have and are happy with . But Sen. Reid believes it 's an important part of the reform . SEN. HARRY REID , -LRB- D-NV -RRB- SENATE MAJORITY LEADER : I believe that the public option can achieve a goal of bringing meaningful reform to our broken system . It will protect consumers , keep insurers honest , ensure competition , and that 's why we intend to include it in the bill that we submitted , that will be submitted to the Senate . Tea Party Protests LANCE : Meanwhile , the Tea Party Express is back on the road , protesting issues like government involvement in health care . The Express , which is named for both the organization and its bus , launched a new tour Sunday in California with rallies in San Diego and Los Angeles , where some people actually showed up to protest the Tea Party protesters . The Express plans to hold demonstrations in dozens of cities over the next several weeks . One of the group 's main goals is the push for less government involvement , and these rallies also aim to give people who feel that way an opportunity to express their views . CHRIS KEAYS , TEA PARTY PROTESTER : We need to get back to the days when we were responsible and we assumed the responsibility of ourselves and our families , and the government is not a part of my daily life . I really resent the government taking up so much of my time that I 'm down here having to protest right now . New Jobs Outlook LANCE : And some potentially good news for the U.S. economy : A new survey indicates that companies are planning to hire more employees in the very near future . The report from the National Association of Business Economics says for the first time since the recession started nearly two years ago , the number of employers planning to hire workers over the next six months is higher than the number of jobs that are expected to be cut during that same time . The country 's current unemployment rate is 9.8 percent . That 's the highest the statistic has been in more than a quarter century . Shoutout TOMEKA JONES , CNN STUDENT NEWS : Time for the Shoutout ! What base is home to the U.S. Army 's Drill Sergeant School ? If you think you know it , shout it out ! Is it : A -RRB- Fort Bragg , B -RRB- Fort Hood , C -RRB- Fort Jackson or D -RRB- Fort Knox ? You 've got three seconds -- GO ! You 'll find the Army 's Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson , South Carolina . That 's your answer and that 's your Shoutout ! Top Drill Sergeant LANCE : Drill sergeants are responsible for training tens of thousands of soldiers every year . And the head of the Drill Sergeant School , its commandant , is responsible for training them . The current commandant broke new ground when she took over the position last month because she 's the first she to head up the school . Jason Carroll introduces us to this trailblazing soldier . -LRB- BEGIN VIDEO -RRB- JASON CARROLL , CNN CORRESPONDENT : Historically , this is the image of the military drill sergeant : a tough guy . That was then ; this is now . At 48 , Command Sergeant Major Teresa King is the first woman to lead the Army 's Drill Sergeant Training School . What are you looking for ? I mean , because it all pretty much looks like everybody 's exercising to me . CMD . SGT. MAJOR TERESA KING : I 'm looking for attention to detail , conformance . CARROLL : Before sunrise at Ft. Jackson , South Carolina , King readies her drill instructor candidates for a rigorous run . What 's wrong with that ? KING : That 's too big , Top . You need to break it up . UNIDENTIFIED MALE : Fall out ! CARROLL : She leads by example . King runs the five-mile course from the front of the pack , outperforming men half her age . STAFF SGT. LERON DELANEY , U.S. ARMY : She 's older than me , so if I fall out and she 's still running , I feel bad . CARROLL : Extinguishing those who think a woman ca n't be commandant . SGT. 1ST CLASS MICHAEL CHILDS , U.S. ARMY : We 've got to stay on top of our game even more than we used to with her , because she 's that sharp . CARROLL : King says she wakes up some mornings still shocked she is commandant . KING : I had never considered it , although I 've been in training for about seven years . But I never considered it , the Drill Sergeant School . CARROLL : King 's first Army job some 30 years ago was postal clerk , but her hero , General George Patton , inspired her . KING : I saw that he had the respect of his men . And I saw he was resolute . CARROLL : King eventually rose through the ranks , excelling at training infantry men and paratroopers alike . KING : I 'm doing what I 've always done . It 's just now , people are paying attention to it . CARROLL : And to her opinions . The military prohibits women from serving in front line combat roles . King trains men for combat and thinks it 's time to train qualified women . KING : I think if they can do it , they should be allowed to do it . CARROLL : The reality : Women make up 14 percent of active soldiers in the Army . Some women question how many others will follow in King 's footsteps . OPERATIONS SGT. ANGELA ANDREWS , U.S. ARMY : I would n't say it opens the door , but it may crack it somewhat . CARROLL : King says she will continue to lead by example . KING : I have vision . And I believe I can cause people to do some things that they thought they never could do . -LRB- END VIDEO -RRB- Before We Go AZUZ : Before we go , some science projects can balloon out of control . Which was the whole point of this experiment in Indiana . College students filled this high altitude balloon with helium and then let it fly away . The thing actually climbed 90,000 feet before ... awww . Looks like their bubble burst . Actually , they knew it would . The cameras and sensors inside the balloon gently parachuted back to the ground . So in the end , the experiment was a total success . Goodbye AZUZ : Just do n't tell that to the students . We would n't want them to get an inflated ego . That 's all the time we have for today . For CNN Student News , I 'm Natisha Lance .