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	• NEWS >> ATW Week of January 10, 2008 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of January 10th, 2008… I’m Teej Jenkins. Our top story this week the race for the White House heats up TOP STORY - UNITED STATES 43 degrees, 00 minutes North 71 degrees, 27 minutes West Following his victory at the Iowa Caucuses Democratic Senator Barack Obama led the charge as candidates from both parties swarmed the mountains of New Hampshire, the site of the first presidential primary. Street corners all across the state were filled with chanting supporters of all the candidates. Pollsters are saying that young voters will play a significant role in the primary’s outcome. Polls are showing Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton in a dead heat following Obama’s victory in Iowa. On the Republican side Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee is being watched as a possible spoiler for front-runner Mitt Romney. Polls taken before Iowa showed Romney in a tie with Republican rival John McCain. Huckabee might take enough votes from Romney to push McCain in to the lead. This is just the beginning of the presidential season. Primaries are scheduled in states across the country through June. Primary (n) a preliminary election in which voters of each party nominate candidates for office. ATW Fact To become the Republican nominee for president, a candidate needs to capture a majority of 2,345 possible delegate votes. To become the Democratic nominee for president, a candidate needs to capture a majority of 4,040 possible delegate votes. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS C1 NEWSROOM In the rest of the news this week… The former Soviet republic of Georgia goes to the polls Violence follows elections in Kenya And Pakistan continues to reel following the death of Benazir Bhutto. #2 – PAKISTAN 33 degrees, 42 minutes north latitude 73 degrees, 10 minutes east longitude While investigators from Britain’s Scotland Yard continue their investigation into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month, Pakistani President Pervaz Musharraf continues to deny accusations that his government played any role in her death. Bhutto’s death sparked three days of violence, killing 58 people and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. Musharraf invited Scotland Yard to assist in Pakistan’s investigation following opposition doubt on the cause of Bhutto’s death. Initial reports claimed she died when the bomb blast slammed her head against her vehicle. Unrest following Bhutto’s death led to the postponement of elections until February 18th. Opposition leaders are denouncing the delay but promise to take part in any vote. The elections are seen as a key step in returning democracy to Pakistan after years of military rule. accusations (n) A charge of wrongdoing that is made against a person or other party. #3 - KENYA 01 degrees, 17 minutes south latitude 36 degrees, 49 minutes east longitude Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki claimed a narrow victory in presidential elections held December 27th. Opposition leaders claim Kibaki stole the elections saying the process used to tally votes was flawed. Riots following the elections resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 people and caused over 250,000 more to be displaced. Food is scarce with many stores closed and others looted. U-N relief efforts are underway as the African nation tries to recover. On Monday, opposition leader Raila Odinga called off planned national rallies. There was fear they could result in new violence. Saying he wanted to give mediation a chance, Odinga made the announcement at a news conference following a meeting with U-S representatives. process (n) a systematic series of actions directed to some end. #4 - GEORGIA 41 degrees, 43 minutes north latitude 44 degrees, 49 minutes east longitude Mikhail Saakashvili has won a second term as Georgia’s President… but his opponents are saying the ballot is fraudulent and are threatening to hold prolonged protests. The possibility of protests is ironic as mass demonstrations four years ago swept Saakashvili into office after elections then were rigged. The OSCE, or Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, are calling the elections a “triumphant step” for democracy despite a variety of violations. Opposition leaders are claiming the campaign was unfair and that widespread voting violations occurred. Russia has criticized the vote. The U-S educated Saakashvili, once praised as a supporter of democracy, surprised Western allies when he crushed anti-government demonstrations late last year, shutting down an independent television station. ironic~(adj) coincidental; unexpected. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about the New Hampshire primary we told you that a particular group may play a significant role… was it? 1. Young voters 2. Old voters 3. Middle-aged voters And the correct answer is number one, experts say young voters may play a significant role in determining a winner. OLD CLUE # 1—LOCATION – Tashkent, Uzbekistan Now its time for the answers to last week’s clues in the news. Find the location of our first clue and you get Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Voters there went to the polls in a presidential contest last month. When polls closed President Islam Karimov won another seven-year term. Critics, however, are calling the election a “sham.” Three other candidates opposed Karimov, all of them expressing their support for him. Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the election failed to meet several democratic standards. President Karimov has been in office for nearly two decades. OLD CLUE # 2— FOOTBALL CHAMPS Fill in the blanks of our next clue and you get Football Champs. The LSU Tigers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 38-24 to claim their second national collegiate championship in the last five years. Senior quarterback Matt Flynn threw for four touchdowns in the victory. Ohio State jumped off to a 10-0 lead before LSU came storming back. The Tigers took a 24-10 lead at the half and never looked back. LSU is the first two-loss champion since the inception of the Bowl Championship Series. Both their losses in the regular season came triple-overtime. OC #3 – IOWA CAUCUS Unscramble our next clue and you get Iowa Caucus. Iowa is the first test for candidates vying for their parties’ Presidential nomination. Democratic Senator Barack Obama finished first in Iowa with former Senator John Edwards finishing second. Hillary Rodham Clinton fell to third. On the Republican side former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won a surprising victory over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney despite having a much smaller campaigning budget. The defeats were setbacks for Clinton and Romney who had been the frontrunners in Iowa. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… January 10, 1946 The first General Assembly of the United Nations, comprising 51 nations, convenes at Westminster Central Hall in London, England. One week later, the U.N. Security Council met for the first time and established its rules of procedure. Today’s headquarters in New York City opened on August 21st, 1950. CHECK IT OUT INTRO Our Body: The Universe Within is a touring science exhibit that provides visitors with a very detailed look at actual human bodies. We visited the Rochester Museum and Science Center to learn more about ourselves…Check it out. CHECK IT OUT (Narrator) Debra: All of the bodies are from the Life Sciences project, in Beijing, China and they are all donated for educational purposes and atomically research…to tour the United States and abroad. In terms of bringing it to everybody, everybody not just doctors, not just hospitals for research. The average person is able to look beyond the layers of the skin and learn about your own body. We have 75 specimens and 12 full body specimens in here… actual human bodies. Life Sciences project in Beijing, along with the university work together to put together the display that you see here at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. It’s very artistically done; many people see it as an art piece. We have anatomy students come and sketch in here. It’s very respectfully done and the poses the specimens are in show the utmost of the angles. The muscle groups, for instance, are a dried plastination process. They are dried in layers so the folded out underneath layers of muscles beneath the outer layers of muscles are very beautifully done. It’s definitely art. The human body is a beautiful thing. In this case, we see beneath the level of what we normally see in sketches and drawings of the human body. It is very beautifully done and very complex, very intricate, complex. The body, as we know, is very sturdy to last for so many years… to go through the pressures that we put on our bodies. The exhibit it self has been wonderful to see, kids taking their parents, doctors coming through with friends explaining different areas of the body. People examining certain specimens who have had surgery, who wanted to know what their knee surgery involved, they wanted to know where their gallbladder was, how big it was before it was taken out. Teej: Tune in next week to see how the preservation process brings this exhibit to life. Debra Jacobson Director of Marketing and Community Affairs Rochester Museum and Science Center ISN’T IT COOL Germany’s Nuremberg Zoo announced the birth of polar bear cubs but no one has seen them yet! Zookeepers are keeping their distance in order not to disturb them. They do not even know how many have been born. The cubs are now hidden deep in caves built in the bear enclosure. . ISSUE Now that we are halfway through the school year in most school districts, many teachers have increased the homework load. They are preparing students for the year ahead and improving their study, research and work skills. Homework gives students an opportunity to extend what they know on a topic and allows for more practice. Many students and parents complain, however, that the extra work at home can sometimes cut into family life and the activities children have outside of school. Many families juggle homework, swim lessons, team activities, music lessons and more for their kids many nights per week. Sometimes the extra hour or more of homework can be added stress for everyone! Well, we’d like to know how you feel… ”Do you get too much homework?” Discuss this with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received almost five hundred responses to our issue question, “Who is your Newsmaker of the Year?” There were many news stories suggested. Some of the top vote getters included Moms and Dads, firefighters, President Bush and global warming. Many of you chose Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as your Newsmaker of the Year. Mike P. of Barneveld, Wisconsin writes, “She travels to other countries around the world to encourage peace around the world. Not many people are willing to do that.” Another event that received a lot of votes was the California wildfires. Sophie W. of Pittsford, New York writes, “The fires have destroyed many homes, thousands of acres and injured many people.” Shelby V. of Sioux Center, Iowa writes, “(I chose the) California wildfires because thousands of acres burned and may people lost everything.” The majority of you, however, chose U-S troops as your Newsmaker of the Year. Mayson C. of Brighton, New York also supports the troops and writes, “I pick them because they are protecting us.” Matt T. of Cottage Grove, Minnesota agrees and adds, “They do so much for our country and put their lives on the line.” Mariah H. of Marshfield, Wisconsin nominated a particular soldier, Mariah writes, “Matt Junglas should be the (newsmaker) of the year. He is my uncle; he is also a soldier in Iraq. He is serving our country well and I am very proud of him.” Finally, Elliot D. of Rochester, New York writes, “These men and women endure hardships of many kinds. They stand between us and harm’s way and fight to protect the freedom of countries threatened by others.” We look forward to your responses to our two latest questions: “Would you like to live on another planet?” and ”Are you overwhelmed by homework?” 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 Kenya we told you that opposition leaders wanted to give something a chance before scheduling protests. Was it? 1. Conversation 2. Negotiation 3. Mediation And the correct answer is number three, opposition leaders are willing to give mediation a chance in an effort to avoid further violence. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 52 degrees, 06 minutes north latitude 04 degrees, 18 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a fill in the blank…it is three words. First word W blank I blank E Second word H blank blank S blank Third word Blank R blank P And finally, our third clue is a Newsmaker…who is? Christopher Hill These are clues to stories we think will happen in the coming weeks. 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. For all of us here at Assignment: The World, I’m Teej Jenkins. We’ll see you again next week. © 2008 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.