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	• NEWS >> ATW 04/10/08 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of April 10th, 2008… I’m Teej Jenkins. Our top story this week, President Bush travels to Russia. TOP STORY - RUSSIA 55 degrees, 45 minutes north 37 degrees, 35 minutes east Following the NATO Summit in Romania President Bush traveled to Russia for his twenty-eighth and probable final meeting with Russian President Valdmir Putin. Putin steps down as President of Russia on May 7th. Both leaders emphasized their personal relationship and praised each other extensively. However, they also acknowledged strong disagreements, primarily Russia’s opposition to the United State’s plan to place missile defense systems in the Czech Republic and Poland. Putin feels the defense systems are being aimed at his country. President Bush blames lingering “Cold War” feelings that are making it harder to come to an agreement. Russia also opposes the expansion on NATO nations eastward, something that President Bush has championed over Putin’s objections. President Bush met with in-coming Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as well. Medvedev says the Russian and American relationship is a key factor in international security. Both leaders pledged to continue that relationship. Cold war (n) ~the ideological conflict between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the second half of the 20th century. ATW FACT The Olympic flag contains five interconnected rings on a white background. The five rings symbolize the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from the Olympic competitions. Source: About.com INTRO REST OF THE NEWS C1 NEWSROOM In the rest of the news this week… - The International Space Station gets more supplies - Zimbabwe awaits verification of its election results - And the Olympic Torch Relay is interrupted. #2 - FRANCE 48 degrees, 52 minutes north latitude 02 degrees, 20 minutes east longitude Global Olympic-related protests against China continue to occur wherever the Olympic Torch is carried. As the Olympic Torch Relay made its way through France, protestors blocked its path in support of Tibet Independence. Despite a massive security operation, protestors holding signs saying, “Free Tibet” and “Act Fast, Tibet is dying” blocked the path of runners. About three thousand police were stationed along its route to protect the runners. Protests have occurred ever since the Olympic torch started on its 85-thousand mile path from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing, China. The Olympic games are scheduled for August 8-24. The torch relay is expected to experience protests everywhere on its 21-stop, six-continent tour before arriving on Mainland China May 4. massive (adj.) large in comparison to what is typical. #3 ZIMBABWE 33degrees, 30 minutes north 36 degrees, 18 minutes east As Zimbabwe awaits verification of election results opposition leaders are accusing President Mugabe of plotting a campaign of violence to improve his chances of winning the expected runoff. Official results of parliamentary elections show Mugabe’s ruling party losing its majority in the 210-seat parliament. If results hold, that would be the first time in Zimbabwe’s history that the ZANU-PF party has lost. In presidential voting, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai appears to be winning but not with more than 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a runoff. Tsvangirai is appealing to African leaders and the United Nations to intervene in order to “prevent chaos and dislocation.” Zimbabwe law requires a runoff election within 21 days of the initial election. Mugabe, however, is said to be considering a 90-day delay to give security forces time to settle things down. runoff (n) a final race, contest, or election to decide an earlier one that has not resulted in a decision in favor of any one competitor. #4 - FRANCE 43 degrees, 36 minutes north latitude 01 degrees, 26 minutes east longitude The International Space Station has new food, water and clothes... thanks to an unmanned cargo ship. Controllers at a European Space Agency center in Toulouse, France operate the “Jules Verne”, a robotic cargo ship. U-S and Russian scientists monitored the operation. Twice, flight controllers brought Jules Verne close to the space station…before successfully linking up late last week more than 200 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. unmanned (adj.) not manned. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about President Bush’s visit to Russia, we told you he blamed what sort of feelings for the disagreement on missile defense systems. Was it? 1. hard feelings 2. Cold War feelings 3. sad feelings And the correct answer is number two, President Bush is blaming lingering “cold war” feelings for difficulties in coming to an agreement. OLD CLUE # 1—LOCATION – BUCHAREST, ROMANIA Now its time for the answers to last week’s clues in the news. Find the location of our first clue and find yourself in Bucharest, Romania. This was the location of last week’s NATO Summit where Albania and Croatia became the two newest members of the organization. Georgia and the Ukraine did not fair so well. They were denied membership due to Russia’s staunch disapproval of their inclusion. Other countries like France and Germany, who feared their acceptance would provoke Russia and ruin NATO relations with Moscow, strengthened Russia’s stance on the issue. OLD CLUE # 2- BUSH TRAVELS Fill in the blanks of our next clue and you get Bush Travels. President Bush traveled to Kiev, Ukraine and Zagreb, Croatia during his visit to Europe, which centered on the NATO Summit. He stopped in the Ukraine before the summit to reinforce his support of the nation’s NATO membership. After the summit, he made his way to Croatia to celebrate their acceptance into the Organization. This was the first visit of a US President to Croatia in twelve years and is a clear sign that the West is now embracing the once distrusted nation. OC #3 – FINAL FOUR Unscramble the letters of our third clue and you get Final Four. The Kansas Jayhawks became the 2008 National Champions of NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball in a thrilling win over the Memphis Tigers. After being down by 9 points with 2:12 left in the game, Mario Chalmers nailed a miraculous three pointer with only 2.1 seconds left. That shot pushed the game into overtime where Kansas took over, ending the game with a 75-68 victory. On Tuesday, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers and the Stanford Cardinal battle for the NCAA Women’s championship. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY April 7, 1954... President Eisenhower coins one of the most famous Cold War phrases… saying the fall of Indochina to communists might create a “domino” effect in Southeast Asia. The “domino-theory” will influence U-S thinking in Vietnam for the next decade. CHECK IT OUT INTRO This week we visit the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park to meet a little creature with a big appetite for bugs. Check It Out! CHECK IT OUT HEDGEHOG Carrie Szwed, Education Curator, New York State Zoo at Thompson Park (Carrie) The hedgehog is actually native to Africa. This is an African pygmy hedgehog and they live in hot, dry areas in Africa. They're used to very warm climates. They usually live 10, 11, 12 years in captivity. In the wild, if they make it that long, they're very lucky. Usually they don't live more than a few years in the wild. In Africa, their main predators would be wild dogs or hyenas or possibly larger snakes and their only defense mechanism is to really just kind of roll themselves up into a ball and those spines, when they spike them out, it helps protect them from predators. They've got a very soft underside, but they protect that by rolling up into the ball. (Narration) The hedgehog isn't always the prey. It has a big appetite and many little creatures know this prickly, little animal as quite the predator. (Carrie) Hedgehogs like to eat mostly insects. We call them insectivores because their main diet is insects. Although we also try to feed them fruits and vegetables, eggs sometimes. Just to vary up his diet and make sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs. As far as their senses go, their eyesight isn't all that great. Its actually their sense of smell that usually leads them to their prey, which is insects. So you see, he has a very big nose and he picks up lots of scents. Probably scents that we can't even pick up as human beings. So that’s usually how they find their insect prey. (Narration) Their diet of bugs gives them a full stomach and the nutrients they need to be healthy, but it also helps their entire ecosystem stay in balance. (Carrie) Because it is an insectivore, he actually helps keep insect populations in check, as do hedgehogs that live in Europe that visit people's gardens on a regular basis. So, they’re really good to have around, they're part of the food chain and they're major insect eaters. ISN’T IT COOL It’s the earliest known gold jewelry ever found in the Americas. Archeologists in Peru found this 4,000-year-old necklace in a burial site near Lake Titicaca. There is no evidence as to how it was made but a gold nugget appears to have been flattened in a mortar and pestle. ISSUE More and more parents are taking their children to etiquette lessons… to teach their children proper manners at the dinner table and good social interaction. They say times have changed and that with more and more dinners being eaten on the run, kids today do not learn proper manners. So they are turning to etiquette professionals to teach their children not to slurp their soup and how to use the proper utensil. But some feel that teaching young children in this manner is not appropriate. They say young children need to learn these skills from parents and teachers. Others worry that adding etiquette classes to an already busy schedule deprives children of playtime. Well, we would like to know what you think… “Should children be taught proper etiquette?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received almost three hundred responses to our issue question: “Do you think life is possible on other planets?” The majority of you, 50 percent say no, life on other planets is not possible. 46 percent think it could be possible. 4 percent are undecided. Many of you feel life on another planet cannot be dismissed. Daviesha H. of Eau Claire, Wisconsin writes, “The universe is so big, there should be other planets even if they aren’t in our solar system.” Emily G. of York, New York agrees and adds, “Just because you can’t see or don’t believe doesn’t mean life is not there.” And Derek H. of Spearfish, South Dakota writes, “If there are ice caps on Mars, why can’t there be life on it?” Many of you, however, feel there are just too many things that have to be right for life to exist on another planet. Katherine T. of Ticonderoga, New York writes, “Scientists may have found water… but that doesn’t mean other planets can provide our other basic needs like food and air.” Chase S. of Mt. Solon, Virginia adds, “Far out into space is soooo cold. Too close to the sun is too hot. And there is no air!” Luke J. of Brandon, Wisconsin agrees and writes, “The Earth is the perfect distance from the sun… none of the other planets in our solar system are in this zone.” Patrick Y. of Lebanon, New Hampshire adds, “Earth is the only planet that can provide heat and light and support plants and animals.” Finally, Hannah V. of New Hope, Virginia offers, “I don’t think life can live on other planets in our galaxy… (but) maybe there’s another galaxy.” We look forward to your responses to our two latest questions “Should Senator Hillary Clinton bow out of the race for the Democratic nomination?” and “Should children be taught proper etiquette?” 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 Olympic Torch Relay we told you the relay began where? Was it? 1. Beijing, China 2. Paris, France 3. Ancient Olympia And the correct answer is number three, the Olympic Torch Relay always begins in Ancient Olympia in Greece. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 27 degrees, 43 minutes north latitude 85 degrees, 19 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a fill in the blank…it is two words. First word W blank R blank D Second word B blank N blank And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter… it is two words. 7-G E T N M E I G 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. Next week is our Spring Break so we’ll see you again in two weeks. © 2008 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.