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	• NEWS >> ATW May 10, 2007 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of May 10th, I’m Teej Jenkins... Our top story this week…an historic meeting that could have positive consequences in Iraq. 1—EGYPT 30 degrees, 03 minutes north 31 degrees, 15 minutes east Top diplomats from around the Middle East, Iran, the U-S, the United Nations, and other countries met late last week in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. The two day meeting ended with mixed results for Iraq. Arab neighbors promised to stop foreign militants from joining the insurgency in Iraq. In return, those mostly Sunni pressed Iraq for greater participation by Sunnis in Iraq's Shiite-led government. Despite urging from the Iraqis, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not hold talks with her counterpart from Iran. Iraq feels that the differences between the US and Iran continue to fuel chaos within Iraq. The US and Iran havent had formal diplomatic relations since the late 1970s. The meeting ended with Britain pledging to increase its financial aid to Iraq. Counterpart (n) one that has the same functions and characteristics as another ATW Fact The National Weather Service now uses the Enhanced Fujita Scale of EF to measure tornadoes. Ranked by wind speed and structural damage, an EF 0 would be as fast as 85 miles per hour while a tornado ranked at EF 5 would have winds in excess of 200 miles per hour INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --a royal visitor comes to mark an historic beginning... ---investigators search for clues in a fatal crash... ---and a town in Kansas all but disappears. #2—KANSAS TORNADO 39 degrees, 03 minutes north 95 degrees, 41 minutes west Several areas of the Midwest are still reeling from waves of tornadoes that touched down earlier this week. Particularly hard hit was Greensburg, Kansas. City Administrator Steve Hewitt estimates that 95 per cent of the town was destroyed. The massive damage includes city hall, the high school and junior high, the water tower,and most of the commercial district. And while 8 people in the area died, emergency officials say the toll could have been far worse. The Weather Service was able to give a twenty minute warning to Greensburg, much more than is usual. Most of the town's 14-hundred residents were able to evacuate to safety. The tornado that hit Greensburg is rated as the most powerful with a base more than a mile across and with winds of more than 200 miles per hour. Numerous other tornadoes were reported in a band ranging Oklahoma to South Dakota. Warning (n) intimation, threat or sign of impending danger #3—QUEEN VISITS AMERICA UNITED STATES 38 degrees, 15 minutes north 85 degrees, 46 minutes west Britain's Queen Elizabeth the second and her husband, Prince Philip, are back home after a six day trip to the United States. They arrived late last week to mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. The Queen ate lunch and toured Williamsburg while her husband toured the major US Navy base in nearby Norfolk. While in Virginia, they also extended their sympathies to the families of the victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech. The queen was last in America in 1991 when the first President Bush was in office. She ended this visit at a state dinner at the White House with the current President Bush. Sympathies (n) feelings or expressions of pity or sorrow for the distress of another #4— —KENYAN AIR CRASH KENYA 01 DEGREES, 17 MINUTES SOUTH 36 DEGREES, 49 MINUTES EAST Machetes and chainsaws were needed to help clear the way to the site of a crashed Kenya Airways jetliner. The aircraft had just taken off from Douala Airport in Cameroon when it issued a distress call. Soon after, it went down in a thick mangrove forest with 105 passengers and 9 crew members aboard. Experts say its unlikely that anyone survived the crash but finding out took days. Heavy rains and the dense forest hampered both finding the site and getting to it. Kenya Airways is considered one of the safest airlines in Africa. The plane that crashed was only 6 months old. Distress (n) being in need of immediate assistance POP QUIZ #1 In our story about tornadoes, in which state did we tell you the worst damage occurred? Was it Oklahoma South Dakota Kansas And the answer is number 3. Greensburg, the town all but leveled, is in Kansas. OLD CLUE # 1—FRENCH ELECTION Time now for answers to last week’s Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Paris, the capital of France. Voters there went to the polls for the second time in as many weeks to choose a new president. The runoff election was won by Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative who won by a comfortable margin over Socialist Segolene Royal. Sarkozy's victory was met by sometimes violent demonstrations. He has an ambitious agenda set out for his first 100 days in office that includes encouraging people to work longer and crack down on criminals. He has also indicated that his victory would mean warmer relations between France and the U-S. OLD CLUE # 2— REPUBLICANS DEBATE Unscramble our second clue and you got Republicans debate. Ten men hope to be their party's candidate to replace fellow Republican President George Bush. They met in California late last week for their first debate. Former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain are the acknowledged front runners in the crowded field. Most of the candidates dismissed calls by Democrats to pull US troops out of Iraq but some of the Republicans were openly critical of the way the war is being handled. OLD CLUE # 3—KENTUCKY DERBY And finally, fill in the blanks on our third clue and you got Kentucky Derby. Britain's Queen Elizabeth was among the more than 150-thousand people on hand to see the 133rd Kentucky Derby. They all saw a 2-year old colt named Street Sense come from behind 18 other horses and cross the muddy finish line in just over two minutes. The so called “run for the roses” is the first and oldest leg of horse racing's triple crown. The Preakness Stakes will be run two weeks from now in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes is run three weeks after that in New York. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… May 10th, 1775, 83 men under the command of Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold cross Lake Champlain to surprise and capture British held Fort Ticonderoga. The cannons surrendered there would eventually help General George Washington drive the British from their occupation of Boston. ATW FEATURE When you’re trying to decide what you want to do when you grow up it’s a good idea to find something that you love doing. Wyatt Doremus found a group of people that love what they do… working with animals. Check it out. ATW FEATURE Wyatt: Hawk Creek Wildlife Center in East Aurora NY is a home to a variety of wild animals. Their focus is on giving these creatures a quality of life by rehabilitating the injured, giving shelter to the abandoned and breeding a species who’s population has dwindled. All these animals are here for different reasons and they all have different needs, but they do have one thing in common. Each creature needs love and attention. The folks at Hawk Creek are dedicated to these animals. Although their work is difficult, they know it’s where they are meant to be. Mark: I kind of think that I didn't have a choice to be here. It was my path in life so its not something I really think about or question. I just know that its the thing for me. Its definately not always easy when you work with animals in rehab and breeding. There’s a lot of death, a lot of failure, a lot of frustration because you see man's impact on the animals so you kind of get frustrated when you see the same injury happening over and over again and it can preventable. But when you work with animals there’s also just such a powerful energy and at the end of the day you're left with well I couldn't save everything, but I helped this one. This is Fernando. He's an Andean condor. They're considered the largest flying bird in the world. He actually has a great story because he was part of the reintroduction program in South America. He was captive bred in the US and put under foster parents in South America and they actually turned on him and rejected him and ripped him into lots of pieces. So, as a tiny vulcher he had 150 stitches in his body. Wyatt: Fernando has made quite a recovery but his injuries have left him unable to be released and he's not alone. Many of the birds at Hawk Creek have been injured or abused and can't be returned to the wild. Wyatt: Hawk Creek's rehabilitaion efforts have led them down another path, breeding barn owls for release into the wild. Mark: Barn owls used to be found all over the world. They used to be found in every continent except Antarctica and then because of habitat loss and pesticide poisoning, they disappeared and they are very important to us because they eat a lot of rodents and rodents like mice and rats spread disease to people, they make you sick, they destroy our food, they destroy our property. So, having barn owls around is a good thing for us. They're considered farmer's friends. Wyatt: Their efforts have paid off. Mark: I've been here since the beginning of the project and it started here in 1994, and since then we've released 161 barn owls, and we have seven more that will be released this year. Wyatt: The birds here don't just spend their days in their cages, Matt and the others work with them daily to challenge their minds and keep them healthy. Mark: Animals like to have a purpose in life. Its kind of boring to just sit in a cage so when they get a chance to fly they get a chance to be stimulated mentally, they figure out what their job is and they're very happy to do it. Wyatt: Over the years, Hawk Creek wildlife Center has helped countless animals. They give their residents a safe shelter and a reason to live. For Assignment the World, I'm Wyatt Doremus. ISN’T IT COOL MEXICO CINCO DE MAYO It’s a Mexican national holiday popular in the United States due to the large Mexican population here. In Mexico City thousands dressed as Indians and French soldiers to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the date Mexican forces were victorious over French occupational forces in 1862. In El Penon de los Banos residents dressed as Zacapoaxtlas Indians and European soldiers placed their own interpretation on the historic confrontation. MAILBAG We received nearly three hundred responses to our issue question, “Is further gun control needed?” The majority of you 52 percent say yes, further gun control is a good idea. 39 percent say no, it is not. 9 percent are undecided. Many of you feel further gun control is the wrong thing to do. Eric S. of Mt. Sidney, Virginia writes, “They are a citizen’s last defense. How many criminals would go into a bank to rob it if they knew half the people in there had guns?” Dylan B. of Cottage Grove, Minnesota thinks there should be less restrictions. Dylan writes, “Hunters will have more rules to follow. I think we already have too many restrictions.” Jacob D. of Buffalo, New York agrees and adds, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” The majority of you however feel more gun restrictions are the way to go. Emily F. of Spearfish, South Dakota writes, “Guns should only be provided to the military so nothing like the Virginia Tech shootings happens again.” Jacob W. of Barneveld, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “Every time someone buys a gun they should… verify who is buying the gun. I also think they shouldn’t sell machine guns and army type (weapons).” Hope R. of Georgetown, New York wonders, “Why should we even guns to start with? All they do is kill people or hurt them badly.” Finally, Jenna R. of Jamestown, North Dakota thinks it is simple. Jenna writes, “It will make America a lot safer. More people will be happy.” We look forward to your responses to our last question for the year: “Should school be year round?” 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 the queen, when did we tell you she last visited the United States? Was it 1981 1991 2001 And the correct answer is number 2. Queen Elizabeth II last visited the US in 1991. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 40 Degrees, 11 minutes north latitude 44 Degrees, 30 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a scrambled letter, two words First word L A R I B Second word U N M E A N T N O N C E And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, two words First word B blank A Z blank L Second word V blank S 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. © 2007 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.