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	• NEWS >> ATW February 15, 2007 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of February 15th, I’m Teej Jenkins. Our top story this week…the U-S levels new charges against Iran amidst spiraling violence in Iraq. 1—IRAQ/IRAN 33 degrees, 21 minutes north 44 degrees, 25 minutes east U-S military officials charged Iran over the weekend with having provided Shiite militants in Iraq with sophisticated roadside bombs. The officials released photographs of the armor piercing bombs that they say have killed more than 170 coalition troops. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said the US will take appropriate action to protect those troops but would not say if the US would retaliate against Iran. Some Senate Democrats were openly skeptical of the report and said any military attack on Iran would be a huge mistake. For its part, Iran called the arms charges “all lies” and claimed that the U-S wants to use Iran for a scapegoat for its mistakes in Iraq. And in Iraq, more explosions rocked central Baghdad on Monday. At least 90 people were killed at some two hundred were wounded on the year anniversary of a similarly deadly attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra. Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaeda for this latest attack. Skeptical (adj) doubting, questioning ATW Fact It wasn’t until the 1870s that an Iowa newspaper was the first to use the word “blizzard” to describe a snowstorm with high winds and low temperatures. Until then, it had only been used to describe a cannon shot or a volley from muskets. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… ----negotiators try again for peace with North Korea… --upstate New York sets a dubious record… ---and cautious optimism for a new Palestinian accord. #2—HAMAS/FATAH UNITY GOVERNMENT SAUDI ARABIA 21 DEGREES, 27 MINUTES NORTH 39 DEGREES, 49 MINUTES EAST Palestinian leaders are on the road for a series of meetings that they hope will end with the lifting of a year-long economic embargo. The key may lie with a unity deal reached late last week between the rival Fatah and Hamas factions. The deal which was brokered by Saudi Arabia sets out the guidelines for a coalition government. And while it may also stop the violence between the two groups, the deal’s most important language may be Hamas’ pledge to respect previous peace agreements with Israel. The US and many western nations put a freeze on funding to the Palestinians a year ago when Hamas won elections and formed a government. Hamas has long been in favor of the destruction of Israel. While the West has been relatively silent about the new accord, the deal has sparked celebrations in the Palestinian territories. Brokered (v) arranged, managed #3—6 PARTY TALKS CHINA 39 DEGREES, 55 MINUTES NORTH 116 DEGREES, 25 MINUTES EAST North Korea has tentatively agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor within 60 days. Diplomats from the U-S, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia met in China late last week. Early this week, negotiations ended with a draft agreement for North Korea to gradually shut down its nuclear program and to allow inspectors to monitor the process. In return, will receive a total of 100-thousand tons of fuel oil or an equivalent amount of financial aid. The deal also calls for the U-S to normalize diplomatic relations with North Korea and to remove it from the U-S’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. The deal does not address what will happen with North Korea’s stockpile of nuclear weapons. Its believed that North Korea may have as many as a dozen nuclear bombs. The agreement is the first step forward in negotiations in 2 years. Monitor (v) scrutinize or check systematically #4— —SNOWFALL HITS UPSTATE NEW YORK UNITED STATES 43 DEGREES, 27 MINUTES NORTH 76 DEGREES, 31 MINUTES WEST How high and how much is 146 inches of snow? Residents of Redfield can tell you. The upstate New York village had 12 feet two inches of snow dumped on it in the space of a week. In other communities across the area, snow plows have been working non stop to try to find new places to put the white stuff that has blocked roads, caved in roofs, and kept schools closed all of last week. The record snowfall was not responsible for any deaths in New York but at least 20 people have died in the bitter cold and slippery roads of 8 other states in the northern quarter of the nation. While the snow did finally stop for a time on Monday, more snow was predicted for Redfield and other parts of upstate New York by the weekend. The only good news: that area annually attracts avid snowmobilers and cross country skiers. Responsible (adj) being the cause or source of something POP QUIZ #1 In our story about North Korea, how many nations did we tell you are involved in negotiations? Is it 1. 6 2. 5 3. 4 And the answer is number 1. The six party talks included North and South Korea, the US, Russia, China and Japan. OLD CLUE # 1—TURKMENISTAN VOTE Time now for answers to last week’s Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Ashgabat, the capital of the central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Nearly all of the eligible voters turned out Sunday to choose a successor to the late president, Saparmurat Niyazov who died last December. Though Acting President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was the overwhelming favorite, this was the first election in Turkmenistan to offer multiple candidates. 5 other candidates, all from the same party, were also on the ballot. Some analysts called that an important step toward democracy in a country where, until now, all political opposition has been stifled. OLD CLUE # 2— SPACEWALK Unscramble our second clue and you got spacewalk. With his third spacewalk in 9 days late last week, American astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria broke the U-S record for most time walking in space. Lopez-Alegria has now spent more than 61 hours working in space though that’s still well short of Anatoly Solovyov’s overall record of more than 82 hours. Lopez-Alegria was accompanied on his latest mission by fellow American Sunita Williams who has her own set of records for spacewalking for female astronauts. OLD CLUE # 3—GRAMMY AWARDS And finally, fill in the blanks on our third clue and you got Grammy Awards. The 49th annual Grammy Awards ended late Sunday night with the Dixie Chicks as the biggest winners. Their 5 awards included Best Album of the Year. Those awards also come in the wake of controversial statements the group made about President Bush. Mary J. Blige and the Red Hot Chili Peppers each took home 3 Grammys. Other winners included Ludacris with the Best Rap Album, John Mayer with Best Pop Vocal Album, Christina Aguilera as best Female Pop Vocal performance and Carrie Underwood as Best New Artist. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… February 15th, 1932, American Eddie Eagan earns a gold medal as part of the winning bobsled team in the Lake Placid Olympics. In doing so, he becomes the firs and still only athlete to win Olympic gold in both the summer and winter games. Eagan won gold as a boxer at the 1920 summer Olympics in Antwerp. ATW FEATURE Born a slave, Frederick Douglass would escape to freedom and to become one of the most important people to ever live. We visited the Rochester Museum and Science Center to learn more about this great American. ATW FEATURE (Teej) Take a look into our rich roots and you will find a man that helped define the very meaning of the word, freedom. Frederick Douglass, an ex-slave, abolotionist, author, orator and statesman not only touched the lives of african-americans but he helped to define and shape our entire country as well. For more information, we visited his exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. This exhibit brings together a wealth of artifacts and images from Frederick Douglass's amazing life. Here we learned what drew a radical man, like Douglass, to a place like Rochester. (Bart Roselli) You have to remember that upstate New York was a hotbed of reform. It was a real radical place politically to live. This is where the Mormon church began, it is also where women's sufferage began, so it was a free thinking, kind of wide open place. (Teej) Douglass had lived and traveled all over the world giving lectures and speaking to leaders but it was here in Rochester that he spent twenty five of his most productive years. (Roselli) Those were the years that he established underground railroad connections through Rochester. They were the years that he published his North Star which was one of the most widely read human rights newspapers in the country. (Teej) A fire in his home on South Avenue would prompt Douglass to relocate to Washington, D.C. but on Feb. 20, 1895 at the age of 77, Douglass passed away due to a stroke. Friends and family saw no better tribute than to bring him back and lay him to rest here in Rochester. (Roselli) One of the greatest signs of how well he was received in Rochester is his funeral attended by thousands of people. It was an amazing outpouring for a single person. There are people fighting for human rights not just in this country but across the world and he is a model person. Frederick Douglass brought himself up from, literally, rags to become one of the most important Americans who ever lived. ISN’T IT COOL WHITE TIGERS The Buenos Aires Zoo recently presented three white Bengal Tigers to the public… the triplets born last November. White Tigers are a type of Bengal Tiger, ones born with a recessive gene that only occurs “every once in awhile” say zookeepers. Wild white tigers are rare as their color make it difficult for them to survive in the wild. Originally from Asia, the breed is in danger of extinction. ISSUE Earlier, we told you about charges that Iran is behind sophisticated bomb attacks on US forces in Iraq. President Bush and a number of other leaders in the West concerned about Iran’s continued push for nuclear power and perhaps nuclear weapons. And Iran’s current president continues to make speeches threatening the future of Israel. Columnist Paul Krugman says there is a powerful faction in the Bush administration that would like to take preemptive military action against Iran much as we did against Iraq. Proponents of such action say Iran is much more dangerous, not just to an already volatile region but to peace around the world. They argue that it is only a matter of time before Iran finally acts on its many threats. But many experts say that while Iran probably is training and equipping Iraqi insurgents, it would be far better to talk with Iran rather than strike back. They say that Iran, Syria and other countries in the region must be part of the solution to Iraq, not a further mistake. Many European nations continue to rely on diplomacy and work with Russia and Iranian allies to find a peaceful solution. And still others argue that the U-S is already dangerously over-extended militarily and is unprepared for a widening of conflicts beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.. So, what do you think? Should the US strike back against Iran? 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, “Are UFOs visiting earth?” The majority of you, 63 percent, say no they are not visiting earth. 29 percent say yes, something is visiting. 8 percent are undecided. Some of you feel we are being visited by UFOs. Jonathan P. of Garrison, North Dakota writes, “How else do you explain the weird shaped ships in the sky?” Tyler W. of Papillon, Nebraska adds, “I think UFOs are visiting earth but some people are just crazy and saying they’ve been abducted by aliens.” The majority of you, however, do not thing UFOs are real. Tori M. of Brighton, New York writes, “People are seeing unusual things and jumping to conclusions. The lights are probably something in nature that we haven't seen before and aren't scientifically explained yet.” Rosemary M. of Mequon, Wisconsin adds, “I don’t think there are UFOs because if there were, they would be called IFOs (Identified Flying Objects.)” Madeline of Moorhead, Minnesota does not believe aliens are real. Madeline writes, “Aliens are fictional characters on cartoons that look silly and are made up to scare people.” Maddi of Spearfish, South Dakota offers this explanation. “My friend and I think it is loose space junk and the lights are just the moon’s reflection.” We look forward to your responses to our two latest questions: “Should the US strike back against Iran?” and “Are you in favor of capital punishment?” We’ll put some of the more thought provoking letters and e-mails on the air. 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 upstate New York, how much snow did we tell you hit the village of Redfield? Was it 1. 126 inches 2. 136 inches 3. 146 inches And the correct answer is number 3. 12 feet, two inches of snow landed on Redfield, New York. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 52 Degrees, 30 minutes north latitude 13 Degrees, 21 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a newsmaker: MARTIN TORRIJOS And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, it is a word and a number First word D blank Y blank O N blank And the number Blank blank zero 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. © 2007 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.