Download March 31, 2017

Arielle: Okay, Friday is here, and so is the end of March. Hey guys, I am Arielle Hixson,
and let's get to it. Now, first up today, the state of North Carolina crumbled under
pressure from the NCAA. Yesterday, lawmakers repealed the so-called bathroom bill
after the NCAA threatened if they didn't end the law, the state would not be able to host
any championship games.
Yesterday, North Carolina lawmakers voted to take the bathroom law off the books. The
law, passed last year, prohibits local governments from creating their own laws to
protect the gay and transgender community. It also requires transgender people to only
use restrooms and locker rooms that match the gender on their birth certificate.
It caused outrage and protests, with critics saying it was discrimination. Many big
companies, including Apple and Facebook, pulled their business from North Carolina.
Lawmakers replaced the law with a new law that puts state legislators in charge of
policy for multi-stall restrooms and prevents any local government from passing its own
nondiscrimination protection measure through 2020. But critics on both sides are still
not happy.
An Associated Press analysis found that over the course of 12 years, the bathroom law
would have cost North Carolina nearly $4 billion.
Okay now, moving a bit more south, more than 50 million Americans are battling severe
weather across several states, including Louisiana and Texas, with flooding and
tornadoes ripping apart homes.
More than 9 inches of rain caused severe flooding in southern Louisiana, while high
winds brought down trees and damaged buildings. At least one tornado was reported in
Arkansas, about 60 miles away from Little Rock.
In Texas two young boys were electrocuted by downed power lines in a wooded area.
On Wednesday in Houston, residents braved floodwaters. And at least 18 tornadoes
have been reported in Texas alone just this week. One blew through this Dallas suburb,
ripping apart homes and trees.
Okay, now it is time to hear what you guys said about the "Fearless Girl" statue who is
standing tall on Wall Street in New York City.
She was only meant to face down the bull for a few weeks as a sign of girl power, but
now she will be around for nearly another year, with some calling for her to stick around
for good.
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So we asked you, should the Fearless Girl statue stay or go? Seventy percent of you
guys said she should definitely stick around, while 30 percent said it is time to walk
away.
Class: This is Ms. Rain’s sixth-grade ELA class from St. Paul’s Middle School, and we
think the statue should stay.
Arielle: Kate and Leila said, “We think the statue should stay because it represents the
empowerment of girls all around the world."
Jason said, "The girl should stay forever."
But Soren said, "It changes the meaning of the other statue, so it should go. It has
nothing to do with the statue being a girl. If it is to stay, there should be another statue
of a fearless boy so it is equal."
Thanks for the comments, guys.
Okay, up next, there is a storm brewing in the debate over climate change.
Arielle: For scientists it seemed like the world was finally making progress in the fight
against climate change, especially after the historic deal last year that brought together
196 countries to lower greenhouse gas emissions. But a new change in leadership in
the White House is once again heating up the debate. Emily Reppert has the story.
Emily: Melting glaciers, record temperatures, rising sea levels — climate scientists say
the evidence is overwhelming: Human pollution is causing the Earth to warm and the
climate to change. But still there are some loud voices that are not convinced.
President Donald Trump: A lot of it's a hoax; it’s a hoax.
Ben Santer: Imagine you spend your entire life trying to do one thing, and then
someone comes along and says everything you've done is a hoax or a conspiracy or is
worthless. What do you do with that?
Emily: In the 1990s Ben Santer became one of the first scientists to analyze all the
climate data and reach what at the time was a startling conclusion.
Santer: The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global
climate. And, like it or not, I was the guy who carried the can for that finding.
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Emily: A finding that is now under the microscope in Washington, D.C. The new head of
the Environmental Protection Agency isn't convinced climate change is man-made, and
just this week, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology questioned
climate scientists about their findings.
But Santer says scientists have proven again and again that arguments made by
climate-change deniers are wrong.
Santer: That's the frustration — the alternative facts. It's not a hoax. This matters to
every American.
Emily: On Tuesday President Trump rolled back many of President Obama's
environmental rules aimed at reducing carbon emissions that lead to climate change.
Trump: I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse
government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations.
Emily: Now scientists, businesses and even big oil companies like Exxon are urging
Trump to stick to international agreements to fight climate change.
And federal funding for climate research is also on the chopping block, but what worries
Santer even more, he says, is a new climate of intimidation.
Santer: There has been a statement: “Get with the program, or get out.” If the program
is to advance ignorance, then I’m not with the program.
Emily: Emily Reppert, Channel One News.
Arielle: Okay, next up, NASA is on the verge of some new discoveries. After 20 years of
development, the space agency is now showing off a giant telescope that will open up
new frontiers in space exploration.
You are looking at the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built.
Amber Straughn: The technologies that we have developed to get here really are just
incredible. The engineering behind this is just mind-blowing.
Arielle: Taller than a three-story building, the James Webb Telescope dwarfs its baby
brother, the famous Hubble Telescope, which has been circling Earth for 27 years. And
with this bigger and better telescope, NASA is about to get a look into space that has
never been seen before.
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Straughn: With this telescope we plan to look back in time over 13 and a half billion
years to see the very first galaxies that were born after the Big Bang.
Arielle: The Big Bang theory says a huge explosion occurred in space some 14 billion
years ago, and scientists say that sparked life as we know it today.
NASA says the new telescope folds up to fit inside a rocket, then unfolds in space. First,
engineers are testing to make sure it can handle the rough ride. Then, for at least two
years, both the Hubble and Webb Telescopes will orbit at the same time.
Straughn: Hubble has completely revolutionized our understanding of the universe. It
has changed the way that we understand how the universe works. But with Webb we'll
be able to push further and learn new things about the universe.
Arielle: NASA says the launch date will be sometime next year. Pretty cool.
And to check out more about space, including a feature on how the Smithsonian is
making the Space Shuttle Discovery into a 3D project, just head to ChannelOne.com.
Okay, after the break, one young person finds a new home on the court.
Arielle: Now, that is an intro. Okay, let's get to it. Keith is here with our Feel-Good Friday
story.
Keith: Yeah, Arielle. This is a story about a teen who was overweight and homeless. So
you are probably asking, ”Where is the feel-good part?” Right?
Arielle: Yeah.
Keith: Well, you will see.
Sophomore Caleb Swanigan, No. 50 for the Purdue Boilermakers, may be the most
talented college basketball player in the country. But he is also the most unlikely.
Caleb Swanigan: It feels like I just had two lives, really.
Keith: This is the new Caleb, and this was the old. That is him in the yellow — over
360 pounds in the eighth grade. And during most of his childhood, Caleb was homeless,
bouncing from one shelter to the next.
Roosevelt Barnes: He had on a blue shirt, a tie and some khaki pants, and he had this
little duffel bag under his arm. That’s all the possessions he had.
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Keith: Caleb was adopted by Roosevelt Barnes — a new home full of love and
encouragement. So when the overweight teen said he wanted to play basketball, of all
sports, Roosevelt was there to push him forward.
Barnes: When he couldn’t jump over a piece of paper, I was telling him, “You’re great.
You’re the best power forward in the world.”
Keith: Not lies, he says, but instead words of faith.
Barnes: Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Swanigan: I guess that he saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself at that point.
Keith: It helped that Roosevelt knew a little something about sports. He played pro
football in Detroit, and he now works as a sports agent. So he laid out a program for
Caleb that included getting in shape and getting mostly As in school. As a result this
year Caleb was named an Academic All-American, one of the top basketball players in
the country, with a 3.3 GPA to go with it.
Is Caleb one of a kind? Or is he just one of many kids on our streets and in our foster
system who simply need someone to believe?
Keith Kocinski, Channel One News.
Arielle: Great story — now, that is dedication!
Okay guys, the weekend is almost here, so have an amazing one, and we will see you
right back here on Monday.
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