Homework - Train Crash In Germany

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


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Story:


HORDORF, Germany (1/29/11)  - At least 10 people died and more than 40 were hurt when a freight train hit a passenger train head on in eastern Germany, authorities said on Sunday.


Wreckage was strewn by the tracks where the regional train derailed after colliding with freight wagons on Saturday night, collapsing compartments as it tipped on its side.


Police said they were investigating the cause of the accident, but that so far it was unclear what was to blame. Arriving on the scene, the top government official from the region where the crash occurred said human error was suspected.


Saxony-Anhalt state premier Wolfgang Boehmer said a stoplight was probably missed by one of the trains.


They crashed at around 8:30pm in fog and freezing temperatures, traveling about 50 miles an hour.


Ambulance crews worked through the night to take victims to nearby hospitals in what was one of the country's worst train accidents in recent years. Eighteen people remained seriously injured and the death toll could rise, police said.


"As you can see we are all pretty speechless and shocked by the images we have seen," State Interior Minister Holger Hoevelmann said in a news conference.


The driver of the passenger train was killed upon impact, its operator said. The freight train engineer was injured in hospital, police said, adding that a criminal enquiry had begun.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. How many people died?
4. How fast was the train going?
5. What time did the crash occur?
6. How many people were hurt?




Story from Reuters (By Ollie Ellrodt). Video from Washington Post.

Homework - Kidnapper turns herself in...

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


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Story:
Connecticut (1/23/11) - The woman who is believed to have kidnapped a baby from a Manhattan hospital more than two decades ago turned herself in to police Sunday in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Ann Pettway is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court Monday to face federal kidnapping charges.


The family of the baby, now all grown up, believe Pettway took newborn Carlina White from Harlem Hospital 23 years ago.


Pettway had been on parole for attempted embezzlement in North Carolina.


White was reunited with her biological parents earlier this week.


She was raised in Connecticut as Nejdra Nance but became suspicious when she couldn't find a birth certificate or social security card.


Her biological mother received the paperwork confirming the DNA match from the New York City Police Department on Friday.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What is the name of the woman that kidnapped the baby?
4. How many years ago did the kidnapping take place?
5. Why did the woman who was kidnapped become suspicious?
6. Should the woman who took the baby have to go to jail? Why or why not?


Info from NY1

Homework - Anaconda!

Play the above video. Then answer the following questions.
Story:
Argentina (1/19/2011) - Anacondas eat large rodents called capybaras in Argentina. The Capybaras can grow up to 4 feet long and live in the same swamp as the anaconda.

Anacondas are large snakes. They swim around in the water and hunt for prey. When they catch something they strangle it. When the capybara is dead the anaconda swallows it whole. Swallowing it takes 6 hours! Digesting the capybara takes a few days.

The anaconda has to eat a large meal because only well fed snakes can get pregnant successfully. After she gets pregnant, she won't eat again for 7 months until she lays the eggs.

Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What did the anaconda eat?
4. How does the anaconda kill its prey?
5. How long did it take the anaconda to swallow the capybara?
6. How many months will go by before she eats again?

Info from Natgeo

Homework - Missing woman reunited with family

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Story:


NYC (1/20/2011) - A New York City Police Department missing person cold case from 1987 has been solved, as a Connecticut woman has discovered that she was taken as an infant from Harlem Hospital, and is now reuniting with her long-lost birth family.
Back in 1987, Joy White rushed her baby daughter Carlina to the hospital with a 104-degree fever.


The baby was snatched from her crib and taken to Connecticut, where she grew up unaware of her true identity. 


Suspicions about her family led Carlina White, raised as Nejdra Nance, to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.


She called Joy White just after the new year and a DNA test confirmed her identity.


Lisa White Hatley, the aunt of Carlina White and a resident of Hunts Point, Bronx, said the news was overwhelming for Joy White.


"She called me and told me, they said they may have found Carlina," said Hatley. "And they e-mailed her some pictures and she start screaming and said, 'I'm gonna text you these pictures right now.' And she texted me these pictures and I hollered on the phone. I said, 'Joy that's her! Oh my god, that's her!' And I started crying."


The abduction end of the case is still active, since it is unclear who took the baby from the hospital.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What was the name of the woman that was reunited with her family?
4. Which state did the kidnapper take the baby to?
5. What name was the woman raised under?


Info from NY1

Homework - Teen stabbed in Queens

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


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Story:
Queens (1/18/2011) - Police in Queens are investigating a stabbing that sent a 16-year-old boy to the hospital Tuesday.
It happened in front of a Subway restaurant near 75th Avenue and Parsons Boulevard in Kew Gardens Hills.


Police sources say 15 to 20 high school students were involved in a fight that spilled out to the street.


"Chairs were being thrown out. My boss' car was parked here. Mine is here. I came outside to see what was the cause of that. I just thought it was just kids goofing off. But, by the time everybody stopped running, one kids fell down over there in the snow and was bleeding over there," said one witness.


The Department of Education tells NY1 the victim is a student at John Bowne High School.


He was taken to New York Hospital Queens.


His injuries are not life-threatening.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. How old was the boy that was stabbed?
4. How many students were involved in the fight?
5. What school did the boy go to?
6. What hospital was he taken to?




Info from NY1, pic from http://blog.mpl.org/

Homework - Jets win!

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


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Story:
New England (1/17/2011) - The New York Jets are just one win away from going to the Super Bowl for the first time since Joe Namath took them there in 1969.


Gang Green stunned the Patriots on their home turf Sunday, backing up a week's worth of trash talk aimed at Tom Brady and company.


A touchdown from Mark Sanchez to Braylon Edwards put the Jets up 14-3.


The Patriots got to within 21-14 before Shonn Greene scored on a 16 yard run with 1:41 remaining.


New England scored late to make it 28-21 but the Jets recovered the onside kick to seal the win, and a second straight trip to the AFC Championship.


"I knew if we applied ourselves and we played the way we are capable of playing, we could beat them. And that's exactly what happened," said Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan.


The Jets will play the Steelers next. If they win against the Steelers, the Jets will go to the Superbowl.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What was the score?
4. WHo will the Jets play next?
5. How many more games do the Jets have to win to make it to the Superbowl?


Info from NY1

Homework - Healthy school lunches

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


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Story:
U.S.A. (1/13/11) - Big changes are coming to school lunch menus nationwide.
A new proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would require schools with lunches paid for by the government to cut the amount of salt in the food by 50 percent.


Lunches would also have to include more whole grains and schools would have to serve only low-fat milk.


Children would be limited to only one cup of starchy vegetables a week, meaning french fries could only be served once a week.


It is the first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in 15 years and comes just weeks after President Barack Obama signed into law a child nutrition bill that will help schools pay for the healthier foods.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What kind of milk will the schools have to serve?
4. How many times a week will the schools be able to serve french fries?
5. What percent of salt do schools have to cut from school lunches?




Info from NY1

Homework - Not many students came to school yesterday

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Story - 
New York City (1/12/2011) - Even though Wednesday was not a snow day for city school children, less than half of them ended up coming to class due to the storm.
The Department of Education says 50.5 percent of the city's elementary school children showed up.


For middle schools, attendance was at 47.5 percent, and only 37.2 percent of high school students showed up.


Schools Chancellor Cathie Black said the decision not to call a snow day was made at 5:05 a.m..
"It's very difficult for a lot of parents who work if there is a snowday," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "They just don't have places to leave their children and so they have to lose a days pay."


The Department of Education says it won't know how many teachers were absent for several days. 


After-school programs also went on as scheduled, but field trips were postponed.


New York City schools have only closed six times for snow since 1978.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What percent of high school students showed up?
4. What percent of middle school students showed up yesterday?
5. How many snow days has New York had since 1978?
6. Did you come to school yesterday? Why or why not?


Info from NY1. Pic from http://tobifairley.com/

Homework - Paco hits Argentina

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


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (02/23/2008) — Bilma Acuña has two drug-addicted sons and roams the streets of the Ciudad Oculta slum here with a purpose: to save others from the same fate. She started a group called Mothers of Paco. This group helps families to save their children who are addicted to Paco. 


In the five years since residents first began noticing the yellow crystals being smoked on the streets of  Buenos Aires, paco has become the dominant drug that dealers are peddling.


Just weeks after first trying the drug, Mrs. Acuña’s son Pablo Eche began selling everything he owned to feed his addiction. He committed violent robberies. In a drug-fueled rage he destroyed his house and then sold the land that was left, ending up freezing and alone on the streets until his grandmother took him in.


“The majority of the kids are using here,” said Mrs. Acuña, 46. “My son saw what was happening with the kids in the streets that were using paco, and he always said he wouldn’t get caught up in that. But he did.”


Paco is highly addictive because its high lasts just a few minutes — and is so intense that many users smoke 20 to 50 paco cigarettes a day to try to make its effects linger. Paco is even more toxic than crack cocaine because it is made mostly of solvents and chemicals like kerosene, with just a dab of cocaine.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. What is the name of the group that Bilma Acuna started?
4. What does the group do?
5. What is the name of Bilma Acuna's son?
6. What happened to her son after he started to smoke Paco?
7.  How many cigarettes do Paco users smoke a day?


Info from Alexei Barrionuevo, NYtimes.com. Pic from infosurhoy.com

Homework - Teen Stabbed at a party in Washington Heights

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


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Story:
Washington Heights (1/9/11) -  A teenager was stabbed to death early Sunday while attending a party in Washington Heights, Manhattan.


Investigators say the victim, 16-year-old Adionis Santana, was with friends inside an apartment on 186th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue when a fight broke out shortly after midnight Sunday.


Police say he was stabbed twice in the torso and suffered head trauma.


He was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.


As of Sunday evening, no arrests had been made.


Questions:
1) Where did this story take place?
2) When did this story take place?
3) What was the name of the teen that was stabbed?
4) What street was the party on?
5) How many times was he stabbed?
6) What hospital did they take him to?


Info from NY1

Homework-Teen stabbed on the way to school.

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


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Story:
The Bronx (1/5/11) - Police are searching for whoever stabbed a city teen on his way to a Bronx school Wednesday morning.
According to police, Negro Rivera, 16, was stabbed at around 8:45 a.m. at 2555 Tratman Avenue in Westchester Square.


The Department of Education says Rivera was on his way to PS 12X Lewis and Clark School at the time -- a special education school.


Officials say Rivera was conscious but in critical condition as he was taken to Jacobi Hospital.


Students say violence is a constant issue, while Rivera's mom says he was being picked on.


"He was always getting picked on," said one fellow student. "There's no reason for him to get stabbed. He's defending himself. I know how that feels, to get picked on. It's not cool."


"Finally my son got fed up and he's not taking it no more, but I guess, you know the best caught up to him," said the victim's mother, Cassandra Rivera.


It is believed Rivera was stabbed by another teenager.


As of late Wednesday, no arrests have been made.


Police are now reviewing surveillance tapes.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story tale place?
3. What was the name of the student that got stabbed?
4. What is the name of the school that the student attended?
5. What hospital was he taken to?




Info from NY1

Homework - A homeless shelter in the Bronx has become a haven for sex offenders

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Story:


The Bronx (1/4/2011) - A homeless shelter at the old Stadium Motel on Sedgwick Avenue is making the community mad. Activists say the Department of Homeless Services switched it from a women and children's facility to one for men only. Now registered sex offenders are staying there.


"Our position is the level two and three sex offenders, the men with disabilities, the fact that they are roaming throughout this community, hanging out in public parks, hanging out in streets, they are violating their curfews, being in hallways, looking in windows, cat calling at the women in this community. This is unacceptable," said Ernesto Maldonado Citizens Activist Network.


The Department of Homeless Services or DHS says the site has been a homeless facility for 15 years. Residents say they didn't have a problem with it until this past October when it was suddenly switched to a men's shelter operated by a private company called Promesa. Community activists say they found at least 5 high level sex offenders are staying there.


"I'm the one that went into the school and put up a flyer -- be aware that there are men moving in the neighborhood, you will see them. Be aware of where your children are and were they walk. That should have been Promesa's job, that should have been DHS' job," said Community Activist Agnes Johnson.


In a statement, DHS said they put the men there because they need homes.


City Councilwoman Helen Foster, who represents this area, says she found out about the men's shelter after the women and children were moved out and the men were already being housed there.


"It really has been an attitude, well, we're putting them there and you better take it. And we're saying we're not gonna take it," Foster said.


DHS points out that there is security at the facility and it is next door to a police station house. But community leaders say the men walk around the neighborhood especially when they miss their curfew and can't get into the building.




Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. Why is the community upset?
4. How many sex offenders are housed there?
5. Why did the DHS put the men there?
6. Do you think the community is right to be mad? Why or why not?


Info from NY1. Pic from the washingtoncitypaper.com

Homework- Mega millions jackpot

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


Click HERE to watch the video.


Story:
NYC (1/4/2011) - The Mega Millions jackpot keeps climbing.


Tuesday night's drawing now standing at a whopping $330 million.


That's the third biggest jackpot ever offered since New York began participating in the Mega Millions game in 2002.


"I think that there's a good possibility that I might win, because you have to be positive," said one New Yorker. "You have to be positive, you can't be negative about it. You got to think that you're going to hit it, and anybody should think that if they purchase it. I bought about five dollars worth."


"I would pay my taxes, and then from there, I would probably retire, since I'm working 56 years, and I would be a man of leisure," said another.


Lottery officials say the jackpot has rolled over 15 times without a winner.


Questions:
1. Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. How much money would you get if you won?
4. When did New York start participating in mega millions?
5. How many times has the jackpot rolled over without someone winning the money?
6. What would you buy if you won?


Info from NY1 

Homework - Garbage Pick-up back on today.

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

Click HERE to watch the video.

Story:
NYC (1/3/2011) - One week after the city was hit by one of its biggest blizzards ever, the Department of Sanitation says it will begin limited garbage pickups Monday.
Trash has been piling up since last Sunday's storm dumped 20 inches of snow on the city.

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty says New Yorkers should try to clear a spot on their walkways to make it easier for crews to grab their garbage.

Doherty also suggests residents dig out the trash that was placed outside before the storm and have that ready for pick up as well.

Those who usually have their garbage pick up on Mondays should have everything out at the curb by Sunday night.

Recyclables will not be collected until further notice, but residents can start putting out their unwrapped, ornament-free Christmas trees for pickup.

Alternate side parking rules across the five boroughs will be suspended Monday. Parking meters, however, will be in effect.

Questions:
1.  Where did this story take place?
2. When did this story take place?
3. Why is all the trash piling up?
4. How many inches of snow did this blizzard leave on the city?
5. What can people do to make the trash easier for the garbage men to grab?

Info from NY1