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	• NEWS >> ATW November 4, 2004 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of November 4th, 2004. I’m Elissa Orlando. In our top story this week…Americans turn out in record numbers to choose a President. 1—PRES. ELECTION White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was among the first to say his boss, President George Bush, had won re-election. Democrats, including Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, promised to fight for every vote. 24 hours after polls opened across the country, votes were still being counted in many states. As many experts had predicted, results were close enough in Ohio to force a second look. Ohio was one of less than a dozen states thought to be key to winning this year’s elections. Those so called swing states held important blocks of Electoral College votes. A total of 270 electoral votes are needed to win the Presidency. By Wednesday morning, President Bush led both the popular and the electoral vote but by slim margins. Those results echoed polls going into the election that showed Bush and Senator John Kerry in a virtual tie. It also brought back memories of the Presidential race in 2000 when the President won a very close race with then Vice President Al Gore. Expert (n) a person with a high degree of knowledge of a certain subject ATW FACT Prior to this election, 4 Presidential candidates won the popular vote only to lose in the Electoral College or House of Representatives. Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, Samuel Tilden and Al Gore lost respectively in 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --the other results of Election 20-04.. -doctors try to determine what ails Yassir Arafat.. -and Europe takes an historic step. #2—ELECTION PT. 2 The other story of this year’s election is the record turnout of American voters. As many as 121-million voters went to the polls, numbers that rival the percentage that chose the race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960. Voters in some districts had to wait hours to cast their ballot. After the controversial vote in 2000, efforts in many states had been made to update the voting process. Despite that, new electronic means of voting failed in some areas including Virginia where electronic methods gave way to old fashioned paper ballots. And it will be mid November before all votes will be counted. Provisional and absentee ballots are not counted until 11 days after Election Day. Most races should be final well before that including that of Barack Obama, the successful Democratic Senatorial candidate from Illinois. He will be part of a Congress that in both the Senate and the House increased the number of Republicans. There will also be more states with Republican governors. Absentee (adj) pertaining to one that is absent, not in residence. #3—ARAFAT AILING A mysterious illness and an uncertain future. That’s what swirls around Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat who remains in a French military hospital southwest of Paris. Arafat was brought there late last week after suffering a dramatic downturn in health. The P-L-O leader had suffered for two weeks with what was thought to be the flu but doctors have since only been able to rule out leukemia. Supporters in France and back home in the West Bank have joined together to support Arafat. Their peaceful demonstrations were in stark contrast to the 16 year old Palestinian boy who killed himself and three other people with a bomb in an Israeli market Monday. Arafat condemned the act and called on all Palestinians to avoid harming any Israeli citiziens. Flu or influenza (n) an acute infectious viral disease causing fever and muscular pain #4— —EU CONSTITUTION 25 nations are now one step closer to being one. Leaders from 25 European countries were in Rome last Friday to sign the first constitution for the European Union. The signing in Rome came after 28 months of often heated debate. The constitution would simplify voting rules and put an end to decision gridlock among an increasingly larger organization, The E-U will welcome a half dozen new members in the next few years. But the constitution is anything but a sure thing. Each member country must now give its approval. At least 9 E-U nations plan to put the matter to a public vote or referendum. If even one country votes against the treaty, the constitution will be stopped in its tracks. Gridlock (n) A complete lack of movement or progress resulting in a backup or stagnation: POP QUIZ #1 In our story about Yasser Arafat, where did we tell you he went for specialized treatment? Was it 1. Israel 2. Egypt 3. France And the answer is number 3. The Palestinian leader is being treated at a French military hospital near Paris. OLD CLUE #1—UKRAINE PRESIDENT Its time now for the answers to our Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Voters went to the polls throughout the former Soviet republic this weekend to elect a Prime Minister. Those voters will get a second chance November 21st after two men ended up virtually tied. Current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was slightly ahead of liberal opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko but not enough to get the 50 per cent required for a victory. An estimated 75 per cent of eligible voters went to the polls. Election monitors disagreed on whether there was any fraud or voting irregularities. Ukraine is a nation of 48 million people that is roughly the size of Texas. The vote taken this weekend was seen by western powers as a key test of democracy in Ukraine. OLD CLUE #2—ARIEL SHARON Our second clue was newsmaker Ariel Sharon. Israel’s Prime Minister took another important step this week in his plan to evacuate all Jewish settlers from the Palestinian lands of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Knesset or Israeli Parliament approved the plan last week by a vote of 67 to 45. Sharon called it the most important vote of his political life. The plan calls for a phased pullout of 21 Gaza settlements and 4 in the West Bank. Those would begin next May and be complete no late than the end of 2005. This week, Sharon brought a bill before legislators that would compensate all settlers who are being relocated for the value of their homes and property. OLD CLUE #3—WORLD SERIES And finally, fill in the blanks on our third clue and you got World Series. An estimated 3 million people turned out Saturday to celebrate the world champion Boston Red Sox. It was a parade that had been a long time in coming. This was Boston’s 6th World Series victory but the first since 1918. The team won an historic 8 games in a row, eliminating the New York Yankees and then the St. Louis Cardinals. Outfielder Manny Ramirez was named the Most Valuable Player. One other team knows something about waiting for a chance to celebrate. The Chicago Cubs last won the World Series in 1908. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history…November 5th, 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested in Rochester, New York for attempting to vote in the presidential election. After later being found guilty essentially without a trial, she was fined 100 dollars. It was a fine she would never pay. ATW FEATURE DRACULA Halloween’s over but tourists in Transylvania are keeping the legend of one horror movie icon alive. Wyatt Doremus Checks it Out! ATW FEATURE DRACULA IMMORTALIZED IN NUMEROUS MOVIES LEGEND HAS IT THAT COUNT DRACULA, ALSO KNOWN AS VLAD THE IMPALER, WAS A BLOODTHIRTY RULER WHO TERRORIZED THE PEOPLE OF 15TH CENTURY TRANSYLVANIA. SOME SAY HE WAS A VAMPIRE BUT LOCAL PEOPLE INSIST HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AS A KIND LEADER WHO LOVED HIS PEOPLE. TRANSYLVANIA IS NOW PART OF ROMANIA AND THE DRACULA MYTH IS A MONEY-MAKER FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES. TOURISTS ARE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR PROOF OF “COUNT DRACULA’S” THIRST FOR BLOOD. CG: Mariela Grancea, Dracula tour guide “They are looking for Dracula the vampire, for torture chambers. We have many, many visitors…many visitors. Sometimes…its very hard to convince people about the truth.” THE HISTORICAL COUNT DRACULA WAS KILLED AFTER THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TOOK OVER MODERN DAY ROMANIA. THERE HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT THE IMAGE OF THE ROMANIAN PRINCE. BUT FOR MANY… DRACULA WILL REMAIN THE BLOOD-THIRSTY VAMPIRE THAT ROAMS THE NIGHT. FOR ATW, I’M WYATT DOREMUS. ISN’T IT COOL SPACE TITAN Saturn’s planet-sized moon Titan may be geologically alive! Recent radar photographs show a region known as “Si-Si the Cat” as terrain in shades of black and white. The dark shades are characteristic of a signal bouncing off a very smooth surface like a liquid. Cassini reached Saturn this summer on a 3.3 billion dollar mission to study the planet’s system for the next four years. ISSUE One of the few things both Presidential candidates agreed on during this year’s campaign was that there was no need to bring back a military draft. Army officials continue to deny Internet rumors that a secret plan to reinstate the draft is already underway. In fact, those officials say there are many reasons why they don’t want a draft. The current all-volunteer army is full of men and women who want to be there, are more likely to stay more than the minimum tour of duty, are better educated and more disciplined. They say there are other ways to recruit the 30 to 40-thousand more troops that will be needed to fulfill American commitments. But those in favor of a draft say it’s the only way to ensure that everyone, not just the poor and minorities, is required to serve. They also contend that the U-S faces many other potential conflicts in the world and that American troops are already over committed in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, what do you think? “Should the US reinstate a military draft? Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received over four hundred responses to our issue question…”Should the U.S. open the Arctic Refuge for oil drilling?” The majority of you, sixty two percent say no the Arctic Refuge should not be opened for oil drilling. Twenty four percent say yes, it should. Fourteen percent are undecided. Many of you feel relying on foreign oil is too dangerous. Jonathan M. of Mequon, Wisconsin writes, “I do not like depending on other countries for something so important to our nation. It puts us in a situation where we no longer have control.” Andrew C. of Denison, Iowa agrees and adds, “(The) U.S. shouldn’t have to rely on other countries for oil. With modern technology it is safe to drill.” Jessica R. of Grottoes, Virginia writes, “Using… technology will allow companies to pinpoint oil reserves. It will also limit the damage to the environment.” The majority of you, however, feel protecting the environment is more important than finding oil. Ryan T. of Kohler, Wisconsin writes, “We might kill or ruin other natural resources in the process. We should research other options to use in place of oil.” Steve L. of Walker, Michigan adds, “It will not lower gas prices. We will lose more than we will gain.” Tamara T. of Fairfield, Virginia agrees and writes, “Our reserves will only lower (our) dependency by 2%. This is not enough to justify the damage to wildlife and the environment.” Finally, Dana C. of Rochester, New York writes, “A lot of people enjoy being around nature. I would not want my home destroyed just for people to save money.” We look forward to receiving your responses to our issue questions: “Would you want to live on the space station?” and “Should the US reinstate a military draft?” Don’t forget, you can review both sides of this week's issue question by watching Assignment: The World on the Web. Just go to atwonline.org and click on get ATW streamed. And follow the directions. You can also respond to the issue questions review the top stories and read the latest news. If you would like to receive an Assignment: The World Press card, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You may write to us here at Assignment: The World, Post Office Box three-zero-zero-twenty-one, Rochester, New York… one-4-6-zero-3… or you may contact us at the A-T-W website at http://atwonline.org. We also read e-mail at atw@wxxi.org. POP QUIZ #2 In our story about the Red Sox, which team did we tell you has been waiting even longer for a World Series victory? Was it The Yankees The Cubs The White Sox And the correct answer is number two. The Chicago Cubs last won a World Series in 1908. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 34 Degrees, 31 minutes north latitude 69 Degrees, 12 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a newsmaker: WILLIAM REHNQUIST And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, two words: First word… A blank A blank A T Second word… H blank A blank T H These are clues to stories we think will happen in the coming week. You can find the answers on radio and television newscasts and in newspapers and newsmagazines. We’ll reveal the answers on next week’s show. Good luck! GOOD-BYE And that’s it for this week’s show. From all of us here at Assignment: The World, I’m Elissa Orlando. We’ll see you next week. © 2004 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.