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	• NEWS >> ATW September 18, 2007 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of September 18th, I’m Teej Jenkins. Our top story this week… President Bush announces plans to reduce the number of troops in Iraq. TOP STORY- TROOP WITHDRAWALS Following the recommendation of General David Petraeus, President Bush announced last week the approval of a plan to reduce the number of troops in Iraq from 20 brigades to 15 by July of next year. While announcing the troop withdrawal the President reaffirmed the need for a continued U.S. military presence. The White House continues to stress that Iraqi leaders have gained little ground on key military and political goals. They say that the US engagement in Iraq will last beyond President Bush’s term in office but that there is hope for further withdrawals before he leaves office. Meanwhile, there were protests both against and for the war efforts in Washington D.C. Thousands of protestors marched from the White House to Congress this weekend calling for an end to the Iraq War. Chanting “what do we want? Troops out. When do we want it? Now”, the protestors marched to the Capitol Lawn where some lay down with signs to represent soldiers killed in Iraq. At least 150 people were arrested. A few blocks away nearly a thousand-war supporters gathered near the Washington Monument to show their support for the war and troops. They lined both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue to confront the anti-war protestors as they marched by. engagement (n) an encounter, conflict, or battle: We have had two very costly engagements with the enemy this week alone. ATW Fact Japan is an island country in East Asia located in the Pacific Ocean. The characters that make up its name mean “sun-origin” which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the “Land of the Rising Sun.” INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… n Wildfires in California continue to burn n Greece holds parliamentary elections n And Japan prepares for a new Prime Minister #2—JAPAN PRIME MINISTER Following a year of scandal and an electoral defeat Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation. Abe said he was stepping down to pave the way for ruling and opposition parties to work together to continue to fight terrorism. The resignation marked a rapid fall from power for the prime minister. Abe came into office last year with ambitious plans to repair relations with Japan’s neighbors and bolster its role in international and military affairs. Abe instructed party leaders to immediately begin the process to find a new prime minister. Yasuo Fukada and Taro Aso quickly expressed their interest in becoming Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party candidate. Resignation (n) a formal statement, document, etc., stating that one gives up an office, position, etc. #3—GREECE ELECTIONS Celebrations ran through the night as Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis won in Greece’s Parliamentary elections Sunday. While claiming victory Karamanlis will have a slimmer majority in Greece’s parliament. The Prime Minister overcame widespread anger over forest fires that claimed more than 65 people, financial scandal as well as a right-wing challenge to win a second four-year term. Thousands of supporters filled the streets of Athens, honking horns, chanting and waving party flags as Karamanlis waved to supporters. The Prime Minister made an official statement thanking voters for their confidence. Right-wing (n) that part of a political or social organization advocating a conservative or reactionary position: The union's right wing favored a moderate course of action. #4— —WILDFIRES Firefighters in California continue to battle wildfires raging through San Bernardino and Sand Diego counties over the weekend. Thousands of residents have been evacuated as firefighters struggle to contain the 18,000-acre fire burning in the San Bernardino National Forest. The fire was pushed by 20 mile-an-hour winds through the dense, dry bush. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency clearing the way for state government assistance with costs related to the fire. Firefighters were aided by helicopters and airplanes equipped to dump thousands of gallons of water at a time. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. evacuated (v) to remove (persons or things) from a place, as a dangerous place or disaster area, for reasons of safety or protection: to evacuate the inhabitants of towns in the path of a fire. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about the proposed troop withdrawal in Iraq, we told the number of brigades there would be reduced to: 1. 18 2. 25 3. 15 And the correct answer is number three, President Bush said he would reduce the number of brigades from 20 to 15. OLD CLUE # 1—LOCATION – Find the location of our first clue and you get Jerusalem, Israel where Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government failed to vote on a release of Palestinian prisoners. Olmert had suggested the release would occur in a good faith gesture intended to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas is the leader of the moderate Fatah movement. It's rival party, Hamas, took over the Gaza Strip last June. Israeli tanks entered the northern Gaza Strip in an effort to root out rocket launchers. Olmert's government has been under pressure to respond to Palestinian rocket attacks into southern Israel. OLD CLUE # 2—CONDOLEEZA RICE Discover the role of our Newsmaker Condoleeza Rice and you find out that she is the Secretary of State for the United States. Ms. Rice became Secretary of State in 2005. Prior to that she was President Bush’s National Security Advisor. Ms. Rice is visiting Israel this week, where she will hold meetings with both the Israeli Government as well as the Palestinian Authority. Discussions between the two continue with hopes of advancing the development of peace negotiations and a possible two-state solution. OC #3 – RAMADAN BEGINS Last week we offered a fill-in-the-blank clue and inadvertently included one too many blanks. Many of you brought it to our attention. We apologize for the error. Fill in the correct number blanks and you get Ramadan Begins. Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar and is observed every year in the fall. Muslims around the world began celebrations last week through traditions of fasting and prayer. Islamic leaders in many communities are using this time to educate people on the true meaning of Islam, a religion practiced by more than a billion people around the world. Their message... that despite the belief by some that Islam is a faith of armed militants and terrorism, it is a religion of peace and harmony THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… September 22, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, setting a date for the freedom of more than 3 million black slaves in the United States and recasting the Civil War as a fight against slavery. CHECK IT OUT INTRO Have you ever wondered just how much sugar is in your average soft drink? You’re about to learn, check it out. CHECK IT OUT (Teej) Water is a key element to maintaining good health. It helps to deliver the oxygen and nutrients that you need to survive. (Sue) Kids should have 8-8oz. glasses of water, if they’re into sports or activities where they are sweating a lot they need to drink additional fluids. They can count milk and juice as fluid as well (Teej) These days bottled water is really popular. So lets add it up that way. The average bottle has 16 oz. or two servings. So if you have four bottles of water, you've reached your goal. Now, not all drinks do the same job as water. Some drinks, especially soda are bad for you. (Sue) They are very high in calories , we call empty calories they have no nutritional value, they just have a lot of sugar in them in the form of high fructose corn syrup. And they have acid in them , both the sugar and the acid are really bad for their teeth, with the obesity epidemic and we’re seeing so many children overweight, drinking soda is just one additional thing that can promote that weight gain (Teej) The proof is right on the bottle. (Sue) When we look at the label a little bit closer, how many calories are in it? (Meghan) 280 (Sue) And how many grams of sugar? (Meghan) 76 grams (Sue) Theres 76 grams of sugar in it. So if you divide 76 by four, thats how many teaspoons you have, that gives you 19 teaspoons, so Meghan, lets show the kids what that looks like. (Meghan) Now thats alot of sugar. (Teej) Now there are healthier ways to curb your sweet tooth. (Sue) We're ging to show you how to make a healthy fruit smoothie. This is in place of regular soda or other sweet stuff. Whats great about this is it has yogurt, fruit, juice, which are all really good for you. The first ingredient is two cups of non fat yogurt. The next is four ounces of berry juice. A banana. A half a cup of frozen beries and today we have strawberries. You can just pour that all in. And the last thing is just to add some ice. So were going to just put in a cup of ice and the ice makes it nice and thick, so does the yogurt. So were going to put the cover on tight, and again always have your parents around when using equipment like this. And thats it, you have a beautiful fruit smoothie. Thats really good. (Teej) Now this smoothie is a healthy snack, but it won't replace water. Drinking eight glas ISN’T IT COOL Two British men are trying to become the first to travel from Pole to Pole by manpower, all to raise awareness of Global Warming. Ron Guantlett and James Hooper will ski, sail and cycle their way the 22-thousand mile route from the North to South Pole. Five months into their challenge, they are just less than half way. ISSUE Some are calling for the government and the next President to require that everyone in the United States make a commitment to national service. Previous President’s have started up volunteer organizations. Franklin Roosevelt started the Civilian Conservation Corps and John Kennedy started up the Peace Corp. Many feel it is time for a new President to step up to the plate. They say there are plenty of people in every community that could use a helping hand and a national requirement to serve your country will help people across the country. Others, however, say it shouldn’t be the government’s role to require people to volunteer. And that it isn’t even necessary what with polls showing volunteerism at an all-time high. Since 9/11 Americans have been eager to help out and that shows in the number of volunteers active in hospitals, schools and other organizations across the country. They say the decision to volunteer should be an individual decision and not a national requirement. We would like to know what you think? “Does the United States need a national service requirement?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We look forward to your responses to our two latest questions: “Would you like to be President of the United States?” and “Does the United States need a national service requirement?” 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 Japanese Prime Minister we told you he announced his: 1. coronation 2. election 3. resignation And the correct answer is number three, the Prime Minister of Japan announced his resignation, stepping down from office. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 12 degrees, 03 minutes north latitude 24 degrees, 53 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a scrambled letter clue..it is two words. First Word R I A N Second word A C I N S S N T O ? And finally, our third clue is a newsmaker. Who is? Michael Mukasey 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.