Tom: Hey everyone. It is Wednesday, February 11th. I am Tom Hanson, and Channel
One News starts right now.
We are starting off with headlines. And first up, the fight against the Islamic terror group
ISIS is ramping up. President Obama is expected to ask Congress for new war powers
to fight the terrorists. And it comes as an American hostage was killed while being held
by the terror group.
The parents of Kayla Mueller say they are heartbroken to share the confirmation that
their daughter is dead. ISIS captured Mueller in Syria in August 2013 while she was
working for a humanitarian aid organization. The terror group claims a Jordanian
airstrike killed the 26-year-old, but that cannot be confirmed.
The latest hostage death comes as news that the White House is setting to ask
Congress for new war powers against ISIS in Iraq, meaning the president would have
more power to fight the terror group and could authorize ground troops.
This would be the first war vote in Congress in 13 years. The last time Congress
approved a war authorization was in 2002 when they gave President George Bush the
authority to go to war in Iraq.
Next up, it is a winter wonderland or just a big white mess, if you happen to be living in
Boston. In fact, the snow pile up has been so bad that Massachusetts had to call in the
National Guard to help the city dig out.
With more than five feet of snow on the ground, the subway, trolley and commuter rail
system were shut down yesterday.
Paul Shields: Mother Nature is giving it to us and we have to deal with it.
Tom: Boston has been hit by three record-breaking storms which have taken a heavy
toll on the city and neighboring suburbs, leaving residents frustrated.
Vivian Leonard: Haven’t seen this in a very long time. Absolutely ready for spring.
Tom: There is so much snow that city officials are thinking of dumping some of it into
the harbor.
Boston's Logan Airport is officially open, but the majority of flights have been cancelled.
Forecasters are expecting a break in the weather today. But Boston get ready, more
snow is coming tomorrow.
Alright, now it is time to hear what you had to say about getting into college. On Monday
we asked you, does your focus on getting into college stress you out?
Seventy-four percent of you said yes, and 26 percent of you said no.
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Jman240 wrote, “My parents are always pushing me. I love a challenge, but I’m also
always stressed out about my grades. If I get one B, I literally freak out. I want to get
into Duke University really badly, and there is just no room for a B.”
Katy agrees. She writes, “I’m only in 7th grade and I’ve been thinking and planning
about college since 5th grade. I have even mapped out high school, taking AP classes
my freshman year and taking extra classes my senior year.
But Blake says, no it doesn’t because we’re starting at an early age to get into college
and finding out where we want to go.
Now, I want to hear from you guys about any of the stories I have covered this season.
At 5pm today, I am going to be on Twitter answering your questions. So send them on
over using the hashtag #ch1chat.
Coming up, we all watch TV. But is your TV watching you too? We will take a look.
It is a scene out of George Orwell's famous book, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” where the
TVs are spying on people. But no, this is not fiction. It is reality, and happening now.
Scott Evans explains.
Scott: Samsung's Smart TV lets you control the TV with your voice.
But recent articles about it spiked concern on social media because of something buried
in Samsung's privacy policy, which says, “If your spoken words include personal or
sensitive information, that information will be captured and transmitted to a third party.”
Now tech experts say that third party is likely a company that translates the voice into
text. But it does mean your private information could be vulnerable.
Khaliah Barnes: Unfortunately, this type of surveillance is pervasive in the homes and it
just gets to the main point which is, you should be able to watch your TV without your
TV watching you.
Scott: It is not just televisions gathering information in your home. A Federal Trade
Commission report last month on "the internet of things" like smart locks or smart
meters pointed to benefits, but also risks.
It said if devices like TVs store sensitive information, “unauthorized persons could
exploit vulnerabilities to facilitate identity theft or fraud," meaning hackers could break
into the systems storing your information and steal it.
Male: I would not want people to be able to get into my living room. To me the benefit of
that service wouldn’t outweigh the cost of the potential danger.
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Min Kim: I personally love it. I understand why they’re actually collecting that data. Most
of the reason for collecting that data is improving its recognition, improving what the
features of the device can do.
Scott: The FTC recommended companies "build security into their devices at the outset,
rather than as an afterthought." But experts say companies aren’t doing enough.
Barnes: Companies could go further by advocating for privacy enhancing techniques
which would minimize or eliminate the collection of personal information.
Scott Evans, Channel One News.
Tom: Thanks Scott.
Alright coming up, imagine trying to concentrate in a class with no heat and a leaky roof.
Well, that's the reality for many Native American students. Maggie Rulli explains after
the break.
Schools for Native American students across the country are crumbling, literally falling
apart. That's why President Obama requested $1 billion to fix those schools in his 2016
budget submitted last week. And as Maggie Rulli found out, that’s help these
communities desperately need.
Maggie: When high school junior Jessey Bebeau goes to social studies class, she
brings her books and a blanket.
Jessey: Shivering cold.
Maggie: Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School is on the Leech Lake reservation in
Minnisota. It is made of tin, offering little insulation against the harsh Midwest winter.
Its leaky roof has collapsed under snow. It needs repairs, just like one third of the other
183 federally funded schools for Native Americans.
And it is not just the buildings that are broken. Fourth graders at schools overseen by
the federal government scored 22 points lower in reading and 14 points lower in math
than Native American students at other public schools.
And the schools under the federal government have the nation's lowest graduation rate,
53 percent. And at Crazy Horse High school on the Pine Ridge Reservation in
neighboring South Dakota, graduation rates hover around 40 percent.
Jamie Dullknife is a sophomore at Crazy Horse High School. She says the problems
extend far beyond the classroom walls.
Jamie: What worries me the most is, what if some kids don’t go home to a well cooked
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meal? What if they don’t even eat.
Maggie: American Indian and Alaskan natives have the highest rates of poverty and
unemployment in the U.S.
Jamie: Most of the kids come to school. They don’t have any shoes because their
parents spent all their money on beer and stuff. The kids have to come to
school knowing that there mom’s home drunk.
It’s horrible. They don’t deserve it.
Maggie: And many reservations are battling high rates of alcoholism, drug addiction and
suicide.
Jamie: I lost so many friends to suicide.
Maggie: I am sorry. That’s so hard.
Jamie: It is. Like waking up one day and you come to school expecting to see
somebody there and find out they killed themselves the night before. It’s horrible. It's
heartbreaking.
Maggie: President Obama has recognized these problems. Speaking at a reservation in
North Dakota last summer, he said he is committed to Native American youth.
Pres. Obama: Our country has a place for everyone, including every single young
person here.
Maggie: Federal money has been given to schools on reservations since the mid-19th
century. Last year $844 million tax payer dollars went to the schools, yet many of the
schools remain in shambles, and many of the students left behind.
Secretary of Interior, Sally Jewel, oversees the program and says she is reorganizing
the department to make it more efficient.
Jewell: We really have never served Indian children well and that's not okay.
Maggie: Last year, Jewell was able to get $954,000 from Congress for school repairs.
But that's less than 1 percent of the estimated $1 billion needed.
Jewell: I've never had such a powerful job with so little power because you're really
reliant on Congress for your budget.
Maggie: But the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian affairs, Jon Tester,
says funding the budget is only possible if the lawmakers in Congress make it a priority.
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Tester: The right thing to do here is, let's not treat this like a line item in the budget. Let’s
treat it like it’s children and their future.
Maggie: For now, Jessey remains in her tin school house.
Jessey: I only got one year left so I don't really have to worry about it, but I am worried
for all the other kids that have to go through this.
Maggie: And Jamie remains focused on what’s next.
Jamie: You have to change people's minds to change the future.
Maggie: Maggie Rulli, Channel One News.
Tom: And to check out five things Maggie learned about the lives of Native Americans,
head on over to Channelone.com.
Alright guys, we are all out of time today. Have a good one. And we will see you right
back here tomorrow.
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