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	• NEWS >> ATW April 27, 2006 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of April 27th, I’m Teej Jenkins. Our top story this week…Iraq takes an important step toward a new government. 1—IRAQ UPDATE IRAQ 33 DEGREES, 21 MINUTES NORTH 44 DEGREES, 25 MINUTES EAST Jawad al-Maliki has one month to assemble a new government to present to the Iraqi parliament. Al-Maliki is Iraq’s prime minister designate. A choice made only after four months of political wrangling and the refusal of the former prime minister to step aside. Al-Maliki must form a cabinet that represents all of Iraq’s often warring factions: Sunnis, Shias, Kurds and secularists. Experts say that if compromises can be made, it could finally lead to a lessening of the violence that continues to claim lives. More than 60 American soldiers have died in April, making it the deadliest month thus far this year. Dozens of Iraqis have also been killed. And elsewhere in Iraq, the trial of former president Saddam Hussein will resume in mid May when the defense finally argues its side of his case. Hussein and several co-defendants are accused in the deaths of 148 Shia villagers in 1982. . Cabinet (n) appointed body of advisors ATW Fact Nepal is a country roughly the size of Arkansas that sits between China and India. Its 28 million residents live beneath 8 of the world’s ten tallest mountains including Mt. Everest. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --Violence gives way to celebrations in Nepal… --Gas prices continue to climb across the U-S… --and there will be a round two in search of a mayor for New Orleans #2—NEW ORLEANS ELECTION UNITED STATES 29 DEGREES, 57 MINUTES NORTH 90 DEGREES, 05 MINUTES WEST 22 candidates were on the ballot Saturday, vying for the right to lead New Orleans out of the disaster left by Hurricane Katrina. Incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin had a comfortable lead with 38 per cent of the vote but that was not enough to prevent a runoff election on May 20th. He’ll face Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu who got 29 per cent of the vote. Though New Orleans has just under 300-thousand registered voters, many of those are still living outside of the city. More than 20-thousand votes were cast by mail, by fax or at satellite voting stations around the state. Whichever candidate wins, he will have to make tough, almost certainly unpopular decisions about where and what to rebuild in New Orleans. Those decisions will be made on the eve of hurricane season which starts June first. Runoff (n) extra competition held to break a tie #3—NEPAL TROUBLES NEPAL 27 DEGREES, 43 MINUTES NORTH 85 DEGREES, 19 MINUTES EAST Protests gave way to celebrations Monday in Nepal. Streets filled quickly with people cheering the decision of King Gyanendra to reinstate his country’s parliament by weeks’ end. The king seized power 14 months ago, claiming it was corrupt and unable to control Maoist terrorists. An alliance of seven political parties began protests three weeks ago, demonstrations that became increasingly more violent. The king issued a shoot to kill order against anyone violating curfews. His step back was welcomed by a number of foreign governments. In a royal proclamation, he said “sovereignty of Nepal remains in the Nepali people. Reinstate (v) restore to a previous state or condition #4— —GAS PRICES UNITED STATES 34 DEGREES, 03 MINUTES NORTH 118 DEGREES, 15 MINUTES WEST The leaders of the House and Senate are asking President Bush to look into possible price gouging by the major oil companies. Gas prices went up nearly 25 cents per gallon over the past two weeks and most analysts say it will go even higher. They blame a variety of causes. Those include uncertainty over what will happen in Iran, rebel activity in Nigeria, and the costs involved in blending ethanol into gasoline. Whatever the reason. The price of a barrel of crude oil is nearing an all time high. President Bush says there’s little he can do to immediately affect the increase and predicted even higher prices during the summer driving season. Ethanol (n) clean-burning, high-octane fuel that is produced from renewable sources. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about New Orleans, which candidate did we tell you got the most votes? Was it 1. Mitch Landrieu 2. Ron Forman 3. Ray Nagin And the answer is number 3. Incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin led all candidates with 38 per cent of the vote. OLD CLUE # 1—THAI ELECTIONS It’s now time for the answer to our Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Bangkok, Thailand. Voters there will be going to the polls yet again this coming weekend. More than a dozen seats in the Thai parliament remain open after the main opposition parties boycotted the latest round of voting. The boycott and the constitutional crisis it has brought began earlier this month. Despite winning 56 per cent of the vote, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was forced to step down after one third of voters cast abstentions or “no votes”. The Thai parliament cannot meet or form a government until all of its seats are filled. OLD CLUE # 2—HU JINTAO Our second clue was a newsmaker, Chinese President Hu Jintao. He met with U-S President George Bush at the White House last week to discuss a wide variety of issues. Those included economic reforms, human rights abuses, the buildup of the Chinese military and nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea. The two leaders ended their meetings with no specific agreements. President Jintao was reportedly angered by the appearance of a protestor who interrupted a public ceremony by shouting pleas for an end to persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual sect. The protestor gained access to the event with press credentials. OLD CLUE # 3—EARTH DAY And finally, fill in the blanks of our third clue and you got Earth Day. Senator Gaylord Nelson is credited with organizing the first Earth Day in 1971 in the United States. It has since been observed around the world with a variety of activities, all of which focus on the need for conserving natural resources and the environment. This year, organizers hoped to begin a three-year campaign to make the public aware of the dangers of climate change or global warming. They hope to convince consumers to start using a number of more energy efficient appliances and to take steps to buy organic and recycled products. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… April 29th, 1854, Ashmun Institute is charted by the Pennsylvania legislature. Later renamed Lincoln University, it was the first institution of higher learning for African Americans. Its current school year will end with a record enrollment of more than 2000 students. ATW FEATURE Justin Richard has an unusual job. He gets up every morning and spends most of his day in the water, working with a Beluga whale. Check it Out! ATW FEATURE This is only one of only two Beluga contact programs in the entire United States. Mystic is the only place east of the Mississippi that you can get this close to a Beluga Whale at a zoo or aquarium. The Beluga Whale that we used in our program today was Kela. All three of our whales are trained to work in our contact program but Kela is the one that we used today. She is eleven feet long and she weights 1100 pounds. By having many positive interactions with the animal, you form a positive, trusted relationship with them, just as you would with your dog or any other pet you have. They learn to trust you and that you are not going to do anything to harm them. All of our training is done through positive reinforcement. There is never any punishment for the animals. What we are looking for is to provide them with the best chance to be successful in the session. One of the things we try to do is to make every session stimulating and different for them. So they can be excited to take part in that program. Its all under the voluntary cooperation of the animal, we cannot force them to do anything, they are much bigger than we are. They are very intelligent animals, they get a lot out of our techniques. And they also, we can teach them to get a lot out of the interaction with their trainers. That is important as well. Beluga whales are an arctic species, they are found off the coast of Russia, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Norway sometimes. A beluga whale would make a terrible pet for several reasons. One is that, they are protected by law. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 makes it illegal to approach, harass, and attempt to feed or interfere with the immediate environment of any marine mammal including belugas. Kela is a very playful Beluga whale and especially seems to respond positively to spitting at our guests. (laughs) ISN’T IT COOL JAPAN AROMA VISION In an attempt to boost sagging box office sales a Japanese company is offering “aroma premium seats” at selected movies. By synchronizing scent generators during seven scenes of “The New World” several Japanese theaters are mixing different herbs and oils to create aromas that, hopefully, enhance the key on-screen elements. ISSUE In a recent editorial, one of the founders of the environmental activist group, Greenpeace called nuclear power “the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change.” Patrick Moore says environmentalists have to change the way they look at nuclear energy. He says it’s the only large-scale, cost effective energy source that can reduce emissions while satisfying a growing demand for power. Moore also contends that the nuclear industry can now provide that power safely. The promise of plentiful, cheap and pollution free power has re-started interest worldwide, with China, the US and Canada among the nations planning to build or upgrade nuclear facilities. But Propel Software C-E-O Steve Kirsch is among those who say there are still many reasons to fear nuclear energy. He says the safer a reactor is, the more costly it is to build. Kirsch says American nuclear plants store their waste above ground, making that vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Kirsch also argues that we cannot ignore the lessons of the accident at Chernobyl in what is now Russia. . Kirsch says there are no guarantees against another accident. So, what do you think? “Should U-S turn more to nuclear power?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received over two hundred responses to our issue question, “Should records set during the steroid era be recognized?” The majority of you forty six percent say no, the records set should not be recognized. Forty four percent say yes, they should. Ten percent are undecided. Many of you feel that unless you know for sure that someone used steroids, how can you not recognize their records. Heidi of Gayville, South Dakota writes, “They should let the records stand until proven guilty.” Ryan H. of Waynesboro, Virginia agrees and adds, “You can’t go back and see who was using steroids and who wasn’t. So (the records) should all be recognized.” Sam R. of Keene, New Hampshire thinks the records should be recognized with one condition. Sam writes, “I would add a star next to the people who were caught using steroids.” The majority of you, however, think the records set during the steroid era should not be recognized. Derek D. of Hartford, Wisconsin writes, “If one person cheats, then they will think it is ok. Some athletes don’t take steroids, (they) follow the rules and (they) don’t stand a chance of winning.” Donna P. of Rockford, Michigan adds, “It is not something that we want future generations (to think) is okay.” Sam W. of Alma, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “If you cheat on a test, you get a zero. So if you cheat in baseball, your records should be erased.” Some athletes are claiming that they may have taken steroids without knowing it. But Josh T. of Mequon, Wisconsin says that doesn’t matter. Josh writes, “It doesn’t matter if you took steroids willingly or not, using performance enhancing drugs is cheating.” And finally, David T. of Oneonta, New York feels that using illegal drugs makes all the records invalid. David writes, “They used an illegal drug to enhance their abilities so technically they did not set any records.” We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest questions: “Should the US turn more to nuclear power?” and “Should schools have strict dress codes for teachers and students” 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 gas prices, how much did we tell you they have risen recently? Is it 1. 25 cents per gallon 2. 50 cents per gallon 3. 1.00 per gallon And the correct answer is number one. Over the past two weeks, gas prices have risen nearly 25 cents per gallon. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 4 Degrees, 15 minutes south latitude 15 Degrees, 14 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a scrambled letter, it is two words First word A I L T I N A Second word A M A N T R I P L E And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, it also is two words First word N blank L Second word D blank A blank T 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 Teej Jenkins. We’ll see you again next week. © 2006 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.