CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks for checking out this Tuesday edition of CNN Student News. I'm Carl Azuz. In the path: Mexico hunkers down for Hurricane Dean, as the catastrophic storm moves past Jamaica for the Yucatan Peninsula. On the campus: As Virginia Tech begins a new year of classes, the university honors those killed in a shooting there last spring. And out of the water: You might think it's tough to swim laps for an hour, but we'll introduce you to a man who swam all day.

AZUZ: First up today, Jamaicans are cleaning up in the wake of Hurricane Dean. This powerful storm has been roaring through the Caribbean since late last week, and it battered the island nation over the weekend. The Jamaican government declared a state of emergency late Sunday, but officials say there were no serious injuries in the capital city of Kingston. Susan Candiotti reports from Jamaica on the aftermath of the storm.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN REPORTER: Jamaica may have been spared a direct hit, but Dean dealt an especially punishing blow to the southern part of the island.

At sunup, the capital city of Kingston already at work trying to clear debris from streets; here, unblocking a road to the airport where disaster relief teams will bring in help as needed. Authorities say landslides occurred in mostly rural areas, but so far no deaths are reported. Sustained winds of 114 miles per hour peeled back roofs. In Montego Bay and Ocho Rios to the north, less widespread damage.

Throughout Jamaica a curfew remains in effect. So even though everyone is out and about, the stores are not allowed to re-open as yet. It doesn't mean that people aren't walking around to see how everyone faired after the storm, to exchange stories. But some street vendors are back at work.

CANDIOTTI: Did you have enough supplies to get by?

WOMAN ON THE STREET: Yes. Yes, I had enough supplies. I come home and I go shopping at the supermarket and I was well prepared.

MAN ON THE STREET: It blew my roof off, blew it clean off.

CANDIOTTI: In Montego Bay, tourists unable to evacuate before the storm lined up at the airport to get on the first planes out. This couple here to see their son get married. The wedding was Friday; then came Dean.

MOTHER OF THE GROOM: Once it started it wasn't a big deal. We played cards and had some drinks. I mean, you know, made a party of it.

FATHER OF THE GROOM: Lit some candles when the electricity went off. That was it.

CANDIOTTI: Five thousand people filled shelters. Electricity shut down before the storm remains out on the island with no estimates on when power will be restored. Susan Candiotti, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

AZUZ: As Hurricane Dean moved past Jamaica, it bared down on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where the massive storm was expected to make landfall today. Forecasters predicted Dean would strengthen by the time it reached land, and that it did, spinning into a Category 5 hurricane last night, with winds greater than 155 miles per hour. Residents in the region stocked up on supplies and boarded up homes. Classes were put on hold while schools were turned into shelters, and the Mexican government evacuated thousands of people from high-risk areas.

AZUZ: A Word to the Wise...

plea bargain (noun) an agreement in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge and a prosecutor agrees to drop a more serious charge

Source: www.dictionary.com

Vick Plea Deal

AZUZ: It looks like NFL star Michael Vick may be headed to prison. The 27-year-old Atlanta Falcons quarterback has finally reached a plea bargain with federal prosecutors. Three co-defendants already got plea deals. They say Vick was the money man in an illegal dogfighting operation and helped kill dogs that weren't performing. Now Vick's agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in the case to avoid more serious charges. Still unclear: how this will affect Vick's NFL career.

AZUZ: Class is back in session at Virginia Tech. A tragic shooting took place on the campus four months ago, but university officials say a record number of freshman are enrolled there this fall. Reggie Aqui has more on the start of the school's new year.

REGGIE AQUI: The rituals are mostly the same as any other year, any other campus. But here, on the field where students play intramural sports, there's this: The university unveiled a permanent memorial to remember the 32 students and faculty members killed in the Virginia Tech massacre. Four months after the shootings, students are back for a new school year. But the memories from this past spring are still fresh for Erin Sheehan.

ERIN SHEEHAN: I still do have some post-traumatic stress symptoms every day. Even being in my new dorm, when I hear a loud noise or something unexpected, I'll peer out through a little hole in my door to make sure everything is okay.

AQUI: April 16th, Sheehan fell to the floor and played dead inside a Norris Hall classroom as Seung Hui Cho opened fire.

SHEEHAN: He went around the room shooting everyone.

AQUI: Sheehan wasn't injured. But the names of her German class teacher and four of her classmates are now etched in limestone.

PRES. CHARLES STEGER: You have broken our hearts, but you have not broken our spirit.

AQUI: In addition to the memorial, there are less obvious changes:

NIKKI GIOVANNI: We can immediately text message if there is a problem. The classroom doors now all have locks that can be locked on the inside. The dorms are being locked down 24 hours a day. It's a new day and it's a beautiful day here in the Blue Ridge mountains.

AQUI: As students and faculty members get back to class, we're told another group is wrapping up its work. The governor appointed an independent panel to look into the shootings and the aftermath of the shootings, and that panel could release its findings at the end of the week. In Blacksburg, Virginia, I'm Reggie Aqui, CNN Student News.

AZUZ: Our new Web site, CNNStudentNews.com, has a lot of new features. Today, we're highlighting our blog, "From A to Z," with me! You'll find the link in the middle of our page, and we hope you'll take a moment to comment as well. The address: CNNStudentNews.com.

AZUZ: When you hear about improvements in technology, it's usually about devices getting smaller. But not TV's. Bigger screens, better image. That's what counts when you're watching your favorite shows. Well a group of scientists in California has built a giant new screen that's 100 times more detailed than anything you've ever seen. Chris Lawrence fills us in on the big picture.

CHRIS LAWRENCE: Picture Disney's hit movie "Cars" on a screen 23 feet long and 9 feet high. Two-hundred million pixels, the images 100 times sharper than the best High Def TV. On a normal screen, zoom in, you lose the context; zoom out, you lose detail.

STEPHEN JENKS: So the intent of the HiPer Wall was to show the big picture and detail at the same time.

LAWRENCE: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, roads were flooded and blocked by debris. Maps were useless. But HiPer Wall gives a detailed, down-to-the-street look at the entire Gulf Coast.

JENKS: So this could help first responders figure out where to go and where the roads are impassable.

LAWRENCE: Scientists at UC Irvine are using HiPer Wall to map earthquakes in South America and study patients suffering from depression.

DR. JIM FALLON: You really see different things. Patterns come out that you wouldn't see on a small scale and at one level of resolution.

LAWRENCE: Within minutes, they're discovering genes and brain patterns that took months to find.

FALLON: This not only saves a lot of time, but it saves suffering of people.

LAWRENCE: And more good news:

JENKS: There's no reason this can't be in someone's living room in 10 or 15 years.

LAWRENCE: New technology will eliminate those edges that split up the screens. Picture an unobstructed wallpaper display that constantly changes your view. How about an aerial shot of the Empire State building? Or if you live in landlocked middle America, an ocean view of Australia?

JENKS: We'll be able to make huge rolls of this stuff that you'll be able to put on your wall, and have many tens or hundreds of mexapixels at home.

LAWRENCE: I look at this and see Super Bowl. Officials see it as a way to help people after a natural disaster. Remember all the trouble first responders had getting help to people right after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans? Well, they can take a look at this and see a detailed view to say, "Ok, that street is flooded, that street is blocked." But you also get the big picture to be able to say, "Ok, we're going to bring that aid through that neighborhood and down through that road." Helping the first responders to get help quickly to the people who need it most. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Irvine, California.

AZUZ: Is this legit? In New York, Manhattan is an island. Totally true! The island of Manhattan is surrounded by the East, Harlem and Hudson rivers.

AZUZ: Before we go, we've got a story out of Manhattan, where one man made a big splash for charity. Marcos Diaz went for a swim last Saturday. He jumped in the Hudson River and didn't come out of the water for more than 22 hours! He circled the island of Manhattan twice during his 60-mile maritime marathon. The goal was to raise money for kids with cancer. Diaz battled asthma during his own childhood by, you guessed it, swimming.

AZUZ: And that's where today's show hops out of the pool. We'll see you tomorrow for a new day of CNN Student News. Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Carl Azuz.