homework - Murder Rates Are Up!

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
New York City (9/30/2010) - Shootings and murders are on the rise in New York City.
According to NYPD statistics, 386 people have been killed so far this year -- a 13 percent increase from the same period last year.


The trend is particularly troubling in certain neighborhoods like the North Bronx, where the murder rate is up 46 percent.


Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the rise comes a year after the city recorded the lowest number of murders since the NYPD began keeping track in 1963.


Although the overall crime rate is down 1.5 percent citywide, most felony categories are up -- including a 13.5 percent jump in rapes citywide.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. How many people were killed this year?
4. What percent has the murder rate risen in the North Bronx?
5. When did the city begin to record the murder rate?
6. What percent has the murder rate risen in the whole city?


Info and video from NY1

homework - Fire Tornado

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
Hawaii (August 27, 2010) - They’re called fire tornadoes. Or fire whirls. Or fire devils.


They’re a rarely-seen phenomenon that can be catastrophic.


This fire tornado was recorded in late August by a firefighter with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.


Fire tornadoes occur when intense heat causes air to rise and combine with whirling eddies of air. It consists of a core, and an invisible pocket of rotating air.


Because of the intense heat, the rotating air, mixed with gases from burning vegetation, can increase dramatically in intensity—lifting smoke, debris and embers high into the air.


Fire tornadoes can spew embers thousands of feet in the air—allowing wildfires to spread quickly.


The Hawaii firefighters were battling a 1400 acre fire on the southern slope of Mauna Kea volcano.


This whirl is too dangerous to try and fight.


In the video, this fire whirl started with a narrow column of fire in the center of a small dust tornado. Then the tornado gets bigger, and the fire grows. In the end of the video, the fire sort of ‘explodes’ to be much larger and more dangerous. As the fire truck drives away you can see the enormity of the fire.


Questions:
1) Where did this story take place?
2) When did this story take place?
3) Who recorded the video?
4) When do fire tornadoes occur?
5) How many acres did the fire burn?
6) What is another name for a fire tornado?


Info and video from National Geographic. Pic from technologycribb.files.wordpress.com

homework - Spray-on Tshirt

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
London (9/16/2010) The attractive spray-on material was developed by Manuel Torres, a Spanish fashion designer, and Paul Luckham, a chemical Engineer at Imperial College London. Together they built the start-up company Fabrican for their product. The material is sprayed on from either a high pressure spray gun or a can. It consists of short fibers, a polymer (the glue that binds it together), and a solvent to keep it in a liquid form in the can.


When the spray-on material hits the surface of your skin, the solvent evaporates, and the material “cures.” You simply spray on a layer, making it as thick as you'd like, then spray on additional colors and coats. When you're done, you can peel it off or wear it as is.


The material wrinkles just like any other shirt is washable; comes in wool, linen, or acrylic; and comes a large variety of colors. The spray can also be used to make other garments like scarfs, or trousers—but it's very cold when it's sprayed on, so you may think twice about that.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What are the names of the 2 guys that invented the spray-on T-shirt?
4. What is the name of their company?
5. How does the spray-on T-shirt work?
6. Would you use this product? Why or why not?


Info from The Guardian and PCworld.com

Homework - Drug Take-Back Day

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
New York City (9/25/2010) - New Yorkers looking to clean out their medicine cabinets in a safe way were given the opportunity Saturday by taking part in the first-ever National Drug Take-Back Day.


For the first time ever, residents could turn in prescription drugs that have expired or are no longer needed at 120 locations across the five boroughs, Westchester and Long Island. Prescription drugs are drugs given to people by a doctor.


Officials with the New York City Police Department and Drug Enforcement Agency collected the medications to make sure they are disposed of correctly.


Officers say eliminating the unwanted drugs prevents them from being stolen, abused or taken by accident.


"I bet lots of people have years old drugs just doing nothing, and what if kids ate them," said one participant.


Agents and prosecutors say that is part of the problem. Some kids do ingest the medicines – and not always by accident. Sixty-two percent of teenagers who use drugs for recreation get them from someone's home.


"Clearly we need to look in our medicine cabinets and get rid of those drugs that might be attractive to teens looking to bring them to what they call ‘pharm parties,’ where everybody brings their prescription pills and everybody shares them, sometimes with deadly results,” said Bridget Brennan, an NYC special narcotics prosecutor.


Officials say the take-back is also safer than flushing expired medicine down the drain, as evidence now shows discarded prescription drugs can seep into the environment.


Questions:
1) Where did this story take place?
2) When did this story take place?
3) What is Drug Take Back day?
4) How many places could you drop off your old prescription drugs?
5) What are prescription drugs?
6) What is a 'pharm party"?
7) Why is it dangerous to leave old prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet?


Info and video from NY1

homework - Students held back

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
New york City (9/23/2010) - Many more New York City students were held back from going to the next grade this year, said the Department of Education.


The DOE says when school let out for the summer in June, more than 22,000 students in third through eighth grades were not given the okay to go on to the next grade level.


Out of those 22,000 students who were sent to summer school, 50% them did not pass and had to repeat the grade in the fall. That's 11,000 students. Last year, more than 80% of the students sent to summer school were able to go on to the next grade.


On Monday night, the DOE heard from angry parents. The department explained that the standards for going to the next grade this year were higher, so that's why so many students were not allowed to move up to the next grade.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. How many students had to go to summer school in June?
4. What percentage of the students did not pass and have to repeat a grade?
5. What percentage of students passed summer school last year?
6. Why do you think that the parents are angry?


Info from NY1. Pic from localschooldirectory.com

homework - Helicopter Down!

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.

Click HERE to watch the video

Story:

Brooklyn (9/22/2010) - The New York Police Department says mechanical problems probably caused one of its helicopters to made an emergency water landing in Jamaica Bay on Wednesday afternoon.

Officials say the aircraft landed around 3:45 p.m. and was carrying a three man flight crew, two scuba divers and a trainee.

All were taken to the hospital for observation. Only one suffered minor injuries.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the helicopter is part of the NYPD's aviation fleet, and was providing security for President Barack Obama's trip to the United Nations.

Police say the crew was heading back to its base on Floyd Bennett field to refuel when the pilot heard a loud noise. The aircraft then fell about 60 feet before hitting the water.

Police say the chopper's automatic flotation devices inflated upon impact. However, the force of the landing was strong enough to smash the aircraft's windshield and bend one of its rotor blades.

The aircraft first went into service less than a year ago and is one of seven currently being used by the department, NYPD officials said.

As for the pilot, she is described as very experienced having logged more than 1,000 hours in the air.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What time did the helicopter crash?

4) How many feet did the helicopter fall?

5) How many helicopters does the NYPD have?

6) Why did the helicopter fall?

Info and story frm ny1

homework - Braylon Edwards charged with durnk driving...

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Story:

Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards has been arraigned on drunk driving charges after police pulled him over on Manhattan's West Side early Tuesday morning.
The 27-year-old football player was arrested around 5 a.m. at 34th Street and 12th Avenue.

According to the New York City Police Department, police say they smelled alcohol on Edwards' breath after pulling him over because his Range Rover had overly-tinted windows. Tests revealed that he had a blood alcohol content of .08.

Edwards was charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated and one charge of driving while impaired.

In a statement, Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum says, "We are very disappointed in Braylon’s actions this morning.... We are reviewing the information with the league and will impose the appropriate disciplinary measures."

No bail was set for Edwards and he was released on his own recognizance.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is the name of the guy that got arrested?

4) Why did he get arrested?

5) What team does he play for?

6) What street was he arrested on?

Info from NY1

Homework - No Clean Water in Bolivia...

Click HERE to watch the video.

Bolivia (9/20/2010) - In rural areas of Bolivia, people do not have access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation. This means that people simply dig a hole in the ground and use that as a toilet. This waste then tends to end up in the rivers where people go to get their drinking water. The water is full of bacteria and germs that are bad for everyone but they are especially bad for children.

Children are not fully developed and so they cannot fight the germs as well as adults can. Drinking dirty water and not washing their hands properly means that the bacteria gets inside the children and gives them a disease called diarrhoea. The diarrhoea causes the children to lose fluids, get dehydrated and then die.

All of this could be prevented if people could simply have access to clean water. In the last 15 years, UNICEF has dug 1000 wells in the ground and helped people to build ecological toilets that don't put the human waste directly into the rivers. This has helped but their are still many children that are dying in rural Bolivia.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) Why are the children in Bolivia getting sick and dying?

4) How many wells has UNICEF built in the last 15 years?

5) What disease is caused by drinking dirty water and not washing your hands properly?

6) What do you think needs to happen to solve this problem in Bolivia?

Info and video from The Guardian

homework - Iran hiker released from jail..

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Click HERE to watch the video.

Manhattan (09/19/2010) - An American hiker released from an Iranian jail after more than a year in custody told reporters in New York Sunday that she is determined to help secure the release of two friends still imprisoned there.

Sarah Shourd and her mother spoke with reporters at the Parker Meridien Hotel in Midtown Sunday after Shourd returned to the United States Sunday morning.

Shourd, her fiance, and a friend were held in Iran for more than 13 months after the government accused them of spying for the U.S.

The three crossed the Iran-Iraq boarder while hiking in 2009. (Shourd did not mention why she and her friends decided to go hiking in the middle of a warzone).

Shourd says she's not a spy and is asking the international community to petition the Iranian government for the release of her fiance and friend.

"I walked out of prison with my spirit bruised but not broken, and I am more determined than ever that Shane and Josh, God willing, insha'Allah, will soon walk out the same way," she said. "My life begins the day I go to pick them up – the day we can all be reunited with our families with the prison walls far behind us."

On Sunday morning, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Shourd's release a humanitarian gesture.

The president of Iran said the United States should respond by releasing eight Iranians held in custody in the U.S.

Shourd was released from Iran last week on $500,000 bail. The two other hikers remain in Iranian custody and could still be tried.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What was the name of the lady that was in jail in Iran?

4) How many people are still in jail?

5) How much money did she have to pay in bail?

6) What does the president of Iran want the United states to do in exchange?

7) How long was the lady in jail?

Info from NY1

homework - Tornado in NYC!

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Story:

NYC (09/17/2010) - One person is dead after a brief yet powerful line of storms passed through parts of the city yesterday, leaving thousands of Con Ed customers without power in Queens and Staten Island.

The New York City Police Department says a 30-year-old woman from Pennsylvania was killed when a tree fell onto her car on the shoulder of the Grand Central Parkway in Queens.


A 60-year-old male passenger also suffered minor injuries. He is said to be in stable condition.
The fast moving storm brought in winds of up to 100 miles per hour, heavy downpours and lightning; prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning for Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

As of early Friday morning, Consolidated Edison reported 28,046 power outages in Queens; 2,550 on Staten Island; and 54 in Brooklyn.
City officials say all public schools will be open on Friday except for John Bowne High School in Queens, which suffered damage requiring repair.

Queens was likely the hardest hit borough, with dozens of reports of downed trees and toppled power lines.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) How many people died?

4) How many power outages were in Queens?

5) How many power outages happened in Staten Island?

6) What is the name of the school that will be closed on Friday?

7) Which borough did the tornado hit the hardest?

Info and video from NY1

Homework - No Smoking Anywhere in NYC!

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Click HERE to watch the video.

Story:

New York City (09/15/2010) - In 2003, it was bars and nightclubs. In 2010, if Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets his way, the no smoking rule will mean that people can't smoke on city beaches, city parks and pedestrian plazas. Needless to say, it wasn't hard to find New Yorkers who think its a bad idea.

"We’re outside and people are entitled to smoke," said one New Yorker.

"If I want to smoke a cigarette, then that’s my business, and I should be allowed to smoke in a public place," said another.

"Outside, there’s so much fresh air, it just kind of washes away the smell," said a third.

Officials say fresh air doesn’t exactly blow away the toxins, and point to research that shows secondhand smoke is just as hazardous outside as it is inside. What’s more, they say, cigarette butts account for three quarters of beach litter. City officials also say research shows two thirds of New Yorkers support the ban.

“Passing it, we think, would help ensure that when New Yorkers and visitors to our city go to the parks and beaches for fresh air, there will actually be fresh air for them to breathe," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"There is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke -- not inside, not outside, not anywhere," said Donald Distasio of the American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey.

Violators could be slapped with an estimated $50 summons. The rule will be introduced to the City Council on Thurs.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2)When did this story take place?

3) Who wants the no smoking rule to cover the parks and beaches?

4) Why do some people think it is a bad idea?

5) Why do some people think it is a good idea?

6) What do you think? Should people be allowed to smoke in the parks or not? Why or why not?

Info from NY1

Homework - Boy walks 2500 miles!

Watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Story:

Santa Monica, California (9/14/10) - A 12-year-old Florida boy who has been walking across the nation for nearly six months to raise awareness of homeless children is set to reach the finish line today in Santa Monica.

Zach Bonner has walked nearly 2,500 miles from Tampa, Fla. in what he calls the "March Across America.'

"There's an ancient Chinese proverb: 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,' Bonner said. "Most people don't walk a thousand miles, or 2,500, but what it really means is that we all need to take that first step to get something big done. If I've helped even one homeless child, I hope I've accomplished that.'

Zach -- who won the President's Volunteer Service Award -- began the walk on Christmas Day, joined by his mother and brother.

Zach started a nonprofit organization called Little Red Wagon Foundation. It creates projects to help struggling kids.

Zach began his efforts at age 6 by collecting bottled water to give to victims of Hurricane Charley in 2004.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) How many miles has Zach walked?

4) Why did he walk so far?

5) What is the name of the non-profit foundation that Zach started?

6) Where did Zach start walking?

7) What is the name of the city where Zach will stop walking today?

8) How old is Zach?

Info from Beverly Hills Courier. Video from MSNBC.

Homework - Train Fares Going Up Again!

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Click HERE to watch the video.

Story:

New York City (9/13/10) - Angry MTA customers spoke out Monday night in a public hearing on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposed fare hikes.

More than 50 riders, advocates and elected officials addressed the MTA at Cooper Union. All seemed to agree that any increase is too much.

"I'm a disabled veteran. I've got hearing aids here. What did I fight for? So I have to jump a turnstile to ride the train? You can't put someone in the booth?" said one straphanger.

"You don't ride the system. You ride in limousines and you laugh at us. You don't run a transportation system. You are the keepers of the revenue to use it for what you want," said another.

How much the MTA wants to raise fares remains unclear.

Under one option, weekly MetroCards would rise from $27 to $28 dollars, and would be limited to 22 rides.

Another option would keep the weekly card unlimited, but raise the cost to $29.

For 30-day cards, the options are an increase from $89 to $99 for a card with a 90-trips on it, or $104 for unlimited rides.

The MTA says the fares increases are necessary because it is still broke even though it fired people and raised the fares last year.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) Why were all the MTA customers so angry?

4) How much will the weekly card go up in cost?

5) How much will the monthly card go up to?

6) Why did the MTA say it has to raise fares again?

Info for story from NY1

Homework - California Fire Finally Over

Read the story. Watch the video. Answer the questions.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Read the story:
San Bruno, California (9/12/2010) - Residents of a San Francisco suburb named San Bruno were allowed to go back to their homes on Sunday.

They were really upset by all the damage they saw.
"I saw all this from the news, but being here the first time coming up here and looking at all this -- no words. I can't really explain," San Bruno resident Walter McCaffrey.

The fire began when a gas line broke in San Bruno, near San Francisco International Airport. The explosion blew in the doors of a grocery a quarter-mile (400 meters) away, and the explosion and resulting fire killed at least four people, injured 52 others and completely destroyed 37 homes. Other homes were also damaged in the fire.

Another four people are still missing as of Sunday. Everyone is hoping that they are ok.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) How did the fire start?

4) How many people are dead because of the fire?

5) How many people were inured in the fire?

6) How many homes were completely destroyed in the fire?

7) How many people are still missing?

Info from CNN. Video from guardian.

Welcome back people!!!

You know the deal: watch the video, read the story, answer the questions.

Click HERE to watch a video.

Washington (9/6/2010) - Parents and teachers are becoming concerned over the issue of school bullying. They say that school bullying is getting worse and that we have to do something to stop it. Parents and teachers began to be really concerned after a teenager Pheobe Prince committed suicide in Massachusetts in January of last year. She was bullied by six other high school teens that are all now facing charges.

At the first conference about bullying in Washington, it was reported that in 2007, 1 out of every 3 students in middle and high school were bullied, 2.8 million students were physically abused or spat on and 900,000 were cyberbullied.

Experts say that bullying is increasing because our society is less polite, people are mean on TV and because the bad economy is stressing everybody out.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What was the name of the teen that committed suicide last January?

4) How many students were physically abused in 2007?

5) How many students were cyberbullied?

6) Why do the experts say that bullying is increasing?

7) Why do you think that bullying is getting worse?

Video from MSNBC