Class: Hey guys, we’re from Simon Baruch Middle School, part of Ms. Van Phanzs’
sixth grade class, and we just wanted to say Channel One News starts right now!
Tom: Thanks for getting us started, and hope you are enjoying your visit to Channel
One. Ok let's get to the news.
President Obama is banning the sale of military equipment to local police agencies.
The move comes after wide-spread criticism of a military-like response to protests in
Ferguson, Missouri last August.
Police in Ferguson used armored vehicles and military-grade body armor to respond to
riots and protests last summer. Yesterday, President Obama said the federal
government is going to stop sending equipment made for the battlefield to police
departments.
President Obama: Militarized gear can sometimes give people the feeling like there's an
occupying force as opposed to a force that's a part of the community that's protecting
them and serving them.
Tom: Paul Butler is a former federal prosecutor who says cops don't need that military
type equipment.
Paul Butler: The shift from seeing police as warriors to seeing police as guardians is a
game changer.
Tom: But some argue military gear can be useful in counter-terrorism and drug
enforcement.
Dr. Steven Bucci: It shouldn't be given out helter-skelter to every police force that asks
for it, but nor should there be a blanket prohibition for it.
Tom: The federal government will still provide some equipment but under tighter
controls.
Next up, investigators are on the scene of a violent shootout in Texas involving
motorcycle gangs. Nine bikers are dead and nearly 200 locked up and under arrest.
The members who were handcuffed and taken away are from five rival motorcycle
gangs, considered to be some of the world’s most dangerous.
Tom: Police say a parking issue sparked the fight with fists inside the Twin Peaks
restaurant in Waco, Texas Sunday afternoon. Then it spilled out to the parking lot with
chains, clubs, knives, and guns.
Police SWAT teams fired back ending the brawl within seconds.
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Female: I crawled back towards the freezers with a lot of the waitresses and some other
people who were there. It was really, really scary.
Tom: And last up, something went terribly wrong for two extreme jumpers in Yosemite
National Park in California.
Well-known athlete Dean Potter and his partner died Saturday after attempting a daring
wingsuit jump. Forty-three-year-old Dean Potter was one of the best in the world at what
he did. And what he did was extreme.
Potter was a ground breaking BASE jumper, climber and high liner, a form of tightrope
walking between cliffs. On Saturday night, Potter and 29-year-old Graham Hunt were
attempting a wingsuit flight, BASE jumping off a massive 7,500 foot rock in Yosemite
Valley, California and using only their wings to soar to the ground.
Both were never heard from again. Park search and rescue crews recovered their
bodies about 50 yards apart on Sunday. Investigators are now looking into what went
wrong.
BASE jumping is illegal in Yosemite. And not only that, it is a very dangerous sport.
Alright coming up, we are busting a common myth about one of world's greatest minds.
Now, as we celebrate 25 years of Channel One News, we continue to take a look at a
popular series that separates fact from fiction, as we bust history myths apart. And
today we take on one that says a famous genius had trouble in math class. But does it
add up? Here's former Channel One reporter Chris Browne.
Chris: In 1999, he was named Time magazine’s “person of the century.” His theories
helped shape modern science and nowadays, his name is another word for genius. But
Albert Einstein was more than a brilliant physicist; he was and still is a pop culture icon.
Need proof? Well, E=MC2 was Einstein’s idea, long before it was a Mariah Carey
album. And a big part of the Einstein legend is that famous story told by teachers and
motivational speakers everywhere, that when he was young, the man responsible for
the theory of relativity, actually failed math. It is an inspirational story, but it is also 100
percent false.
Eileen Morales: Well, we’re right in front of Albert Einstein’s house.
Chris: We came to Princeton, New Jersey, where Einstein lived and worked for 20
years, to find out more.
Now there’s a specific myth and legend out there, a story about him failing math as a
youngster, is there any truth to that at all?
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Morales: Well, in all the biographies that I’ve read, I’ve never come across that being
true. I think that it makes people feel better to be able to compare themselves to
Einstein, you know? To be able to say, well if I’m not doing so well, that’s okay because
Einstein didn’t do so great either.
Chris: So just how popular is this myth? Well, according to one biography, in 1935
someone who had read the story in a popular newspaper column actually asked the
physicist if it was true. Einstein, who had a famous sense of humor, laughed and said,
not only had he never flunked math, he had mastered calculus by the time he was 15.
So next time you bomb a math test, you might want to hold off on running home and
telling your parents you are the next Einstein.
Chris Browne, Channel One News.
Tom: Interesting stuff. Clearly Einstein had a lot of brain power. Now, the myth busters
continue online and here's one for you.
Humans only use 10 percent of their brain, true or false? The answer is over at
Channelone.com.
Alright after the break, we are busting out the bow ties and boutonnieres.
It is prom season, time for the big dance, and asking that one person to be your date
can be pretty nerve-racking. Well, one teen didn't really have to worry about what his
date would say. Check it out.
For most seniors at Waterford Kettering High School, prom is optional, but not for
Danottis Smith. Every time he even thought about skipping the dance, he got a lecture
from his mom.
Danottis Smith: She always brings up this story, you know. She always start crying.
Belinda Smith: You going to do everything that I wasn't able to do.
Tom: Belinda Smith grew up very poor. Her family couldn't afford to send her to prom.
Belinda: Every day I came home from high school I cried because I wanted to go.
Tom: So she vowed Danottis would have the opportunity, but was very disappointed
when he didn’t want to go. Every time she asked him about prom, he wasn’t interested
until about a month ago when he finally came clean about his plans.
Belinda: I said, “Well, what's wrong Danottis?” And he said, “Well, I want to ask you if
you want to go with me. And I’m like, “Yea, I’ll go.” I said, “Heck yeah, I’m going. When
we going to start looking for stuff?”
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Danottis: Alright, we gotta start looking for a dress now.
Tom: Danottis helped his mom with every step. And on prom day, he got in the car he
borrowed from his aunt, drove around the block, and got back out to pick her up,
corsage and all. Just like the date she always dreamed of.
Belinda: And I told my husband. I said, “I love you, but you know what? I think your son
just outdid you!” I just had to tell him that.
Tom: And Danottis really did go all out.
Danottis: She was looking good. She was beautiful. She was gorgeous.
Tom: Of course, there are some disadvantages to bringing your mom to prom. But
Danottis didn't care. On the night when most teens want to be as far away from their
parents as possible, he decided to make it her night.
Danottis: Now she can say she went to prom.
Belinda: Put a smile on my face and an imprint in my heart that's going to last me a
lifetime.
Tom: Got to love it. Now to keep the prom groove going, we asked you guys to send us
pics from your big dance.
All across the country, prom season is in full swing, and you guys are definitely pulling
out all of the stops for the big dance.
From the decorations, to the corsages, the colorful dresses, to the bright tuxes. Blue
seems to be the popular color of choice for this year's prom, and you all did not miss the
opportunity to take a selfie with your bestie.
Strike a pose or two with your friends, and the friends who are more than friends,
making memories that will last long past the DJ's last song. Happy prom 2015, guys!
Great stuff, thanks!
Now before we go, we wanted to tell you that Maggie Rulli will be hosting a twitter chat
tomorrow, talking about her incredible stories she has covered the past year, from
interviewing First Lady Michelle Obama to visiting Cuba. So be sure to send in your
questions using the #ch1chat. That's Wednesday, 5pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Alright guys, we are all out of time. We will see you tomorrow.
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