New technology is getting credit for saving lives in a collision between a train and a
truck yesterday in California. That`s what`s first up today on CNN STUDENT NEWS.
This happened between Oxnard and Camarillo, California. the truck driver reported told
investigators that he mistook the train tracks for a highway and got stuck driving on them.
He got out before the train hit. A spokesman for the train company, Metrolink, says the
collision could not have been avoided from a rail standpoint. At least 28 people were
sent to hospitals with injuries, but officials say it could have been worse. the train was
equipped with something called collision energy management technology. It causes crash energy
to expand outward instead of inward, keeping the train cars from crumpling. The train also
has special windows that allowed rescuers to access passengers.
Yesterday, President Obama vetoed legislation that would have given the green light to the
Keystone XL Pipeline. the bill had passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate
earlier this month. Supporters say the Keystone XL Pipeline will create jobs. Opponents say
it`s possible environmental risks aren`t worth it. The White House opposed the bill because
it would have bypassed the president`s authority to approve or deny construction of the pipeline.
it`s been under review since it was first proposed more than six years ago.
Time for The Shoutout. Who`s the leader the US Federal Reserve, the country`s central
bank? If you think you know it, shout it out. Is it Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke, Mary Barra
or Warren Buffet? You`ve got three seconds.
Go. Last year, Janet Yellen became the first woman ever to chair the US Federal Reserve.
That`s your answer and that`s your Shoutout.
One way the Fed can influence the US economy is by raising or lowering interest rates.
it wants to keep the economy growing, but not too quickly. that can cause inflation,
when prices go up and the value of the dollar goes down. Interest rates right now are very
low. some critics say that`s keeping Americans from saving money in savings accounts. Why
do it if you don`t earn interest? The other side argues that now isn`t the time to raise
interest rates because even though the stock market has been setting record highs, Americans`
wages are growing too slowly. That`s not a good sign for the economy.
2.2 percent --- that`s the growth in wages in January compared with last year, just 2.2
percent, meager, paltry, blah. It`s one of the numbers on Janet Yellen`s dashboard of
about a dozen indicators helping her decide when the US economy will be able to withstand
an interest rate hike. Now, wages, it`s the one part of the labor market that has not
improved. It`s been very difficult for the average worker to feel the job market recovery,
because wages are not rising. Will a tightening labor market mean wages will start to rise
more briskly, more like the 3 to 4 percent that`s ideal? And that will give Janet Yellen
more room to raise interest rates?
A bit of World War II history is next on CNN STUDENT NEWS. Iwo Jima is a Japanese island
located hundreds of miles south of the Japanese mainland. its area is about eight square miles
and because it made for a strategically important air base in 1945, Iwo Jima was the site of
a vicious battle between Japan and the invading US troops. About 21,000 Japanese servicemen
and almost 7,000 American servicemen were killed in the battle for it. A photograph
snapped seven decades ago was a reminder of the hard-won American victory.
Seventy years ago, on February 23, 1945, an American flag was raised on the island of
Iwo Jima by the US Marines. An Associated Press photographer, Joseph Rosenthal, captured
the moment on film, an image of five US Marines and a Navy Corpsman hoisting a large American
flag on the top of Mount Suribachi. That photo would remain an iconic reminder of perseverance
during World War II. The image eventually became the US Marine Corps War Memorial right
outside of the nation`s capital. It was dedicated by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president
of the United States. The 32-foot tall bronze figures raise a 60-foot tall flagpole overlooking
Washington, DC. "Uncommon valor was a common virtue" is inscribed on the monument. It serves
as a reminder from these brothers at arms that bravery was a common trait.
On yesterday`s transcript page at cnnstudentnews.com, we received more than 1,000 requests for a
mention on our Roll Call. Here are three of them. Anoka Middle School for the Arts is
in Anoka, Minnesota. The Cyclones have our heads spinning.
Morrill Junior-Senior High School is in Morrill, Nebraska. The Lions are roar-some.
And Rinchon High School is in Tucson, Arizona. The Rangers are at home on the range.
Shock grenades, tasers, rubber bullets --- they`re in a unique class of weapons called non-lethal
weapons, to be used when a goal might include stunning a suspect or crowd control not using
deadly force. The US military has quietly added heat ray to this unique group.
The Pentagon has a heat ray. It`s invisible. It`s silent. It`s real. But it`s not deadly.
Officially, it`s called the active denial system. Here`s how the military says it works.
It shoots an invisible beam of intense electromagnetic waves at human targets that penetrate the
skin about 1/64 of an inch deep. The beam creates what the military calls an intolerable
heating sensation that makes people instinctively move away from the beam. The heat ray can
reach a little more than half a mile away. Its creators say it`s harmless and offers
troops a non-lethal alternative during threatening confrontations. The active denial system can
be used for crowd control, securing a perimeter and protecting a convoy. This technology has
been around for a while, more than a decade, but it`s been keeping a low profile. The Marines
have used it in training exercises. In 2012, the military said the heat ray was available
for operations worldwide, but there were no current plans for deployment. in the future,
the heat ray may go portable. The Pentagon wants to develop a smaller, lighter version,
easier for troops to carry. Wider use of unconventional ideas like the heat ray may lead to more new
weapons that protect troops without hurting civilians.
Just south of Boston, Massachusetts is the town of Braintree, average annual snowfall,
is, yes, Boston gets about 47 inches in a normal year, so it`s a lot. The job of shoveling
snow is often shared in neighborhoods and the subject of today`s Character Study lets
nothing get in her way.
It started out of personal need.
So I started rolling down the sidewalk to get to the post office. And I looked back
and I saw a clear path. And I was like, oh, I can clear the sidewalks for everybody.
Thirty-three-year-old Crystal Evans suffers from neuromuscular disease. It didn`t stop
her from starting a family or her own business, making party favors. A little snow wasn`t
going to slow her down.
With the shovel, I can put it down between my footrests and roll with the chair and it
just clears a path.
She spent over 100 hours since January making the sidewalks in her neighborhood passable,
inspiring volunteers to help out.
Sunday, they cleared out this corner.
They were working down there when a man and his family drove by and said, I`ll be right
back, I`ve got a snowplow.
Not surprisingly, Evans is part of a movement ---
There we go.
pushing to change the international handicapped symbol from a passive person in a wheelchair
to somebody in action, taking charge.
There`s so much stigma of what people believe a disabled person is, it`s --- they don`t
expect us to be working. they don`t expect us to be out in the community.
In the community ---
Now I`m all stocked up.
a vital part of it.
There are moms out here pushing strollers. There are moms out here carrying infants on
the icy sidewalks because they cannot push a stroller.
There are elderly people that frequent that bus stop because it`s near a grocery store,
near a pharmacy. It needs to be accessible for everybody.
A number of companies try to encourage creativity among employees. A British design company
wants them to have a ball. It`s filled an entire office with them --- 81,000 white balls
to help employees think of the office as more of a low pressure playground. They say they`re
more productive, refreshed and generally playful after spending some time in here. It certainly
seems like it could be good for business, assuming you want your workers to have a well-rounded
approach. Despite rolling all over the place, they seem to be pretty grounded. It`s great
for rounds of brainstorming, making the daily rounds, rounding out a work day. and it brings
today`s show full circle. We`ll be around again tomorrow. Hope you`ll circle back with
us then.