VOASE0123_Science In the News

23 January 2007

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Snow
The chemistry of a resource that provides much of the water we use.

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein. Today, we tell you everything you ever wanted to know about snow.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Digging out from a blizzard

Winter weather has returned to northern areas of the world. In much of the United States, winter means the return of snow. Snow is a subject of great interest to weather experts. Experts sometimes have difficulty estimating where, when or how much snow will fall. One reason is that heavy amounts of snow fall in surprisingly small areas. Another reason is that a small change in temperature can mean the difference between snow and rain.

VOICE TWO:

Snow is a form of frozen water. It contains many groups of tiny ice particles called snow crystals. These crystals grow from water particles in cold clouds. They usually grow around a piece of dust. All snow crystals have six sides, but they grow in different shapes. The shape depends mainly on the temperature and water levels in the air.

Snow crystals grow in one of two designs -- platelike and columnar. Platelike crystals are flat. They form when the air temperature is about fifteen degrees below zero Celsius. Columnar snow crystals look like sticks of ice. They form when the temperature is about five degrees below zero.

VOICE ONE:

The shape of a snow crystal may change from one form to another as the crystal passes through levels of air with different temperatures. When melting snow crystals or raindrops fall through very cold air, they freeze to form small particles of ice, called sleet.

Groups of frozen water droplets are called snow pellets. Under some conditions, these particles may grow larger and form solid pieces of ice, or hail.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

When snow crystals stick together, they produce snowflakes. Snowflakes come in different sizes. As many as one hundred crystals may join together to form a snowflake larger than two and one-half centimeters. Under some conditions, snowflakes can form that are five centimeters long. Usually, this requires near freezing temperatures, light winds and changing conditions in Earth’s atmosphere.

Snow contains much less water than rain. About fifteen centimeters of wet snow has as much water as two and one-half centimeters of rain. About seventy-six centimeters of dry snow equals the water in two and one-half centimeters of rain.

VOICE ONE:

Much of the water we use comes from snow. Melting snow provides water for rivers, electric power centers and agricultural crops. In the western United States, mountain snow provides up to seventy-five percent of all surface water supplies.

Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from cold, winter weather. Fresh snow is made largely of air trapped among the snow crystals. Because the air has trouble moving, the movement of heat is greatly reduced.

Snow also is known to influence the movement of sound waves. When there is fresh snow on the ground, the surface of the snow takes in, or absorbs, sound waves. However, snow can become hard and flat as it becomes older or if there have been strong winds. Then the snow’s surface will help to send back sound waves. Under these conditions, sounds may seem clearer and travel farther.

VOICE TWO:

Generally, the color of snow and ice appears white. This is because the light we see from the sun is white. Most natural materials take in some sunlight. This gives them their color. However, when light travels from air to snow, some light is sent back, or reflected. Snow crystals have many surfaces to reflect sunlight. Yet the snow does take in a little sunlight. It is this light that gives snow its white appearance.

Sometimes, snow or ice may appear to be blue. The blue light is the product of a long travel path through the snow or ice. In simple terms, think of snow or ice as a filter. A filter is designed to reject some substances, while permitting others to pass through. In the case of snow, all the light makes it through if the snow is only a centimeter thick. If it is a meter or more thick, however, blue light often can be seen.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Snow falls in extreme northern and southern areas of the world throughout the year. However, the heaviest snowfalls have been reported in the mountains of other areas during winter. These areas include the Alps in Italy and Switzerland, the coastal mountains of western Canada, and the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains in the United States. In warmer climates, snow is known to fall in areas over four thousand nine hundred meters above sea level.

VOICE TWO:

Each year, the continental United States has an average of one hundred snowstorms. An average storm produces snow for two to five days. Almost every part of the country has received snowfall at one time or another. Even parts of southern Florida have reported a few snowflakes.

The national record for snowfall in a single season was set in nineteen ninety-eight and nineteen ninety-nine. Two thousand eight hundred ninety-five centimeters of snow fell at the Mount Baker Ski area in the northwestern state of Washington.

VOICE ONE:

People in many other areas have little or no snowfall. In nineteen thirty-six, a physicist from Japan produced the first man-made snow in a laboratory. During the nineteen-forties, several American scientists developed methods for making snow in other areas. Clouds with extremely cool water are mixed with man-made ice crystals, such as silver iodide and metaldehyde crystals. Sometimes, dry ice particles or liquid propane are used. Today, special machines are used to produce limited amounts of snow for winter holiday ski areas.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Snow is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in the United States every year. Many people die in traffic accidents on roads that are covered with snow or ice. Others die from being out in the cold or from heart attacks caused by extreme physical activity.

Several years ago, a major storm caused serious problems in the eastern United States. It struck the Southeast in January, ninety ninety-six, before moving up the East Coast. The storm was blamed for more than one hundred deaths. It forced nine states to declare emergency measures.

Virginia and West Virginia were hit hardest. In some areas there, snowfall amounts were more than one meter high. Several states limited driving to emergency vehicles. Most major airports were closed for at least a day or two.

A week later, two other storms brought additional snow to the East Coast. In the New York City area, the added weight of the snow forced the tops of some buildings to break down. Many travelers were forced to walk long distances through deep snow to get to train stations.

VOICE ONE:

People may not be able to avoid living in areas where it snows often. However, they can avoid becoming victims of winter snowstorms.

People should stay in their homes until the storm has passed. While removing large amounts of snow, they should stop and rest often. Difficult physical activity during snow removal can cause a heart attack. It is always a good idea to keep a lot of necessary supplies in the home even before winter begins. These supplies include food, medicine, clean water, and extra power supplies.

VOICE TWO:

Some drivers have become trapped in their vehicles during a snowstorm. If this happens, people should remain in or near their car unless they see some kind of help. They should get out and clear space around the vehicle to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide gas poisoning.

People should tie a bright-colored object to the top of their car to increase the chance of rescue. Inside the car, they should open a window a little for fresh air and turn on the engine for ten or fifteen minutes every hour for heat.

People living in areas where winter storms are likely should carry emergency supplies in their vehicle. These include food, emergency medical supplies, and extra clothing to stay warm and dry. People in these areas should always be prepared for winter emergencies. Snow can be beautiful to look at, but it can also be dangerous.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by George Grow. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

VOASE0123_Health Report

23 January 2007

Vaccination Campaign Cuts Measles Deaths; New Goal Set
Organizers of the Measles Initiative say more than two million lives have been saved, mostly in Africa. Next target is India.

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Measles is one of the most infectious viruses known. It spreads through the air when people infected with the disease cough or sneeze. Children in wealthier countries are usually vaccinated to protect against measles.

A child in Togo receives measles vaccination

An international campaign called the Measles Initiative was launched in two thousand one to vaccinate children in developing countries. The aim was a fifty percent reduction in deaths related to measles by two thousand five.

Last week, organizers of the Measles Initiative announced that the final numbers showed a sixty percent drop in deaths.

In nineteen ninety-nine, the year used for comparison, there were eight hundred seventy-three thousand deaths. Six years later that number had dropped to three hundred forty-five thousand.

The organizers say more than two million lives have been saved, mostly in Africa. Health officials report a seventy-five percent drop in deaths in Africa connected to measles.

Measles itself is usually not a direct cause of death. Deaths are commonly the result of infections like pneumonia or severe diarrhea. Those who survive can suffer brain damage, blindness or other disabilities.

The first sign of infection is usually a high body temperature for as long as a week. Patients may develop a runny nose, cough, red and watery eyes and white spots inside the mouth. After several days, a skin rash develops, first usually on the face and upper neck.

A case of measles can be just a mild and unpleasant part of childhood. But severe cases are more likely in children with poor diets or weakened defenses from conditions like HIV/AIDS.

Children under the age of five and adults over the age of twenty are more likely to suffer severe cases. People who recover from measles can never get it again.

The Measles Initiative includes the American Red Cross, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

The campaign has cost almost four hundred million dollars. Officials say about five hundred million more will be needed to meet a new goal by two thousand ten. The goal now is to reduce measles deaths worldwide to less than ten percent of the rate in the year two thousand.

The campaign will now center its efforts in Asian countries, especially India. Each year, about one hundred thousand Indian children die as a result of measles.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm Mario Ritter.

VOASE0123_Agriculture Report

23 January 2007

US Farmers Face Big Winter Losses, With Two Months Still Left to Go
A freeze hits California's citrus industry hard, while animal losses from recent snow and ice storms are still being counted in the Plains states.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

A lot of American farmers have had a rough early winter.

In California, frozen oranges

In California, citrus growers are facing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from a freeze earlier this month. Oranges and lemons in California's main growing areas were not the only victims. The arctic cold front known as the Siberian Express also damaged other fruit and vegetable crops.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated losses at one billion dollars. He declared an emergency in ten counties to provide state assistance to those affected.

The freeze could mean months without work for thousands of farm laborers, packing house workers and truck drivers. It will also mean higher food prices across the country.

Much of the damage happened in the San Joaquin Valley, but it was spread around the state. Citrus growers in California store their fruit on the tree. Less than a third of this year's crop had been harvested when the freeze hit.

Avocados, strawberries and blueberries were also hit hard. The strawberries were nearly ready for harvest, and only about five percent of the avocados had been picked. Some avocado growers said this was their worst winter in sixteen years. Spinach, lettuce and other greens were also affected.

California is the nation's top agricultural state, and top grower of fresh citrus. Florida's big orange crop is used mostly for juice.

In Colorado, farms and ranches under snow

Right now, other states are struggling with the effects of snow and ice storms in recent weeks. In some places, there was six meters of snow on the ground.

Animal losses are still being counted in the Great Plains. The affected states include Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Some states have been approved for emergency federal aid.

Some ranchers still do not know where all their cattle have gone, or how many are dead. The Colorado Cattlemen's Association estimates that the final count in that state alone could be eight thousand to fifteen thousand. That would mean a loss of more than ten million dollars just in cattle.

In some states, National Guard helicopters not only rescued people but also dropped hay to cattle trapped without food in the snow. Shortages of hay have pushed up prices, adding to economic losses.

And even cattle that have been saved may not be out of danger. Many cows were pregnant, and many could lose their calves. Other cattle weakened by the conditions may not survive the winter.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0121_This Is America

21 January 2007

Hillary Clinton Enters the Race for a Prize As-Yet Unclaimed by Any Woman in American Politics
Now that the US has a female House speaker, could the presidency be next in 2008?

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

Senator Hillary Clinton announced Saturday on her Web site that she is forming a presidential exploratory committee. Details below.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Women in American politics is our report this week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Nancy Pelosi won her first election to Congress twenty years ago this June.

She led the California State Democratic Party in the early eighties. After that she served at the national level as finance chair of the campaign committee for Democrats in the Senate. She also kept busy with her five children.

Nancy Pelosi came from a political family. She was good at raising money but had never been a candidate for public office herself.

VOICE TWO:

Then in nineteen eighty-seven, the death of a Democratic representative in San Francisco led to a special election. Nancy Pelosi narrowly won her party's nomination to enter the race.

Since then, voters in the heavily Democratic district have re-elected her to Congress ten times.

Nancy Pelosi is welcomed by former speaker Dennis Hastert

Now she holds the powerful job of speaker of the House of Representatives. Under the Constitution, the speaker becomes president of the United States if ever the president and vice president are unable to serve.

VOICE ONE:

Displeasure with the Iraq war was a driving force in the victory for the Democrats in the elections last November. The Republican Party lost control of both houses of Congress for the first time in twelve years.

Nancy Pelosi was the minority leader in the House. As expected, she became the new speaker when the One Hundred Tenth Congress opened on January fourth.

NANCY PELOSI: "By electing me speaker, you have brought us closer to the ideal of equality that is America's heritage and America's hope."

Nancy Pelosi is the first woman ever elected to lead the House. At her swearing-in, she thanked the new minority leader, Republican John Boehner, for pointing that out.

NANCY PELOSI: "This is an historic moment and I thank the leader for acknowledging it. Thank you, Mister Boehner. It's an historic moment for the Congress. It's an historic moment for the women of America."

VOICE TWO:

The new Congress has a record number of women, including ten newly elected to the House.

Twenty years ago, when Nancy Pelosi was first elected, men filled all but twenty-two seats in the House. Now seventy-one of the four hundred thirty-five members, or sixteen percent, are women. Most are Democrats.

VOICE ONE:

Historically many of the women who have served in the Senate were never elected. They were appointed to complete the term of a husband or other male relative who resigned or died.

Seeds of Peace campers from the Middle East with Maine Senator Olympia Snowe on Capitol Hill

Fifteen years ago, only two of the one hundred senators were women. Now the number is a record sixteen.

One of the five Republicans, Olympia Snowe of Maine, has served in both houses of Congress and both houses of her state legislature.

VOICE TWO:

Two women are new to the Senate this year. Both are Democrats. Amy Klobuchar enforced the law as chief prosecutor in the largest county in Minnesota. Claire McCaskill served as state auditor before she became the first woman ever elected a senator from Missouri.

At the state level, women are governors of nine of the fifty states.

VOICE ONE:

Across the country, the victory for Democratic candidates in November brought back memories. It was similar to the elections of nineteen ninety-four -- only then, it was the other way around. That was the year of what became known as the Republican revolution.

In Congress, all of the representatives and a third of the senators are elected every two years. Now all the attention is on two thousand eight, when Americans will also elect a new president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

America won its independence in seventeen seventy-six. But it was not until nineteen twenty that American women won a constitutional right to vote.

Women have made gains in society, but people talk about a "glass ceiling." This is the idea that women may face unwritten limits on their rise to power in jobs or other areas.

Nancy Pelosi says her election as speaker of the House means that women have finally broken, in her words, the "marble ceiling."

VOICE ONE:

The sixty-six-year-old speaker quickly set to work on the legislative goals of House Democrats for the first one hundred hours of the new Congress. The issues were as different as increasing the federal minimum wage and reducing interest rates on student loans.

But there were disputes among Democrats over some of her early decisions. For example, some members of her party disagreed with her choice for chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. She chose Silvestre Reyes of Texas over Jane Harman of California -- the longest-serving Democrat on the committee.

VOICE TWO:

Nancy Pelosi was born Nancy D'Alesandro. She was one of five children in a family in the Little Italy area of Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Junior, was the mayor of Baltimore. Before that he represented the city for five terms in the House of Representatives. Later, his son Thomas the Third also became mayor of Baltimore.

Daughter Nancy graduated in nineteen sixty-two from Trinity College -- now Trinity Washington University -- in the nation's capital. The following year she married Paul Pelosi, a wealthy businessman from San Francisco.

VOICE ONE:

In Congress, Nancy Pelosi served on the House Appropriations Committee, which deals with federal spending. In two thousand two she was elected minority leader.

Many women are proud of her success. But women are fifty-one percent of the population and their numbers in Congress fall far short of that.

VOICE TWO:

Last year, even extra money from the Democratic Party failed to help many female candidates win seats in Congress.

One woman who appeared likely to win a seat in the House was Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. She was a helicopter pilot in the Iraq war. She lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down. Before the election, Tammy Duckworth was ahead in public opinion. But when the ballots were counted, Republican Peter Roskam had narrowly defeated her.

VOICE TWO:

Some people say it is harder for women than men to win elections. They say voters may worry that women will be soft on issues like illegal immigration. Or voters, male as well as female, are suspicious of women in power.

Others argue that while some voters might discriminate against women, most base their choices on a candidate's positions.

Political observers can argue all day about why Congress does not have more women.

VOICE ONE:

And the fact is, they can all be right. America is a big country. What influences voters in one area may have no effect in another. In some cases, what might count most is the ability of a candidate to raise enough money for an effective media campaign.

Even a candidate for local office may have to raise money for a campaign.

VOICE TWO:

Some groups make special efforts to help female candidates. But in political fund-raising there are no guarantees.

For example, Elizabeth Dole sought the Republican nomination for president in two thousand. She dropped out, saying she could not raise enough money for a campaign. She is now a senator from North Carolina.

'I'm In,' Clinton Declares

VOICE ONE:

Raising money might not be such a problem for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Senator Clinton has long been considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination next year. Finally, on Saturday, she announced that she is forming a presidential exploratory committee, the first step toward becoming a candidate.

HILLARY CLINON: "You know, after six years of George Bush, it is time to renew the promise of America. Our basic bargain -- that no matter who you are or where you live, if you work hard and play by the rules you can build a good life for yourself and your family."

The wife of former president Bill Clinton was elected a senator from New York in two thousand, and re-elected last November.

No major American party has ever nominated a woman for president. And only one woman, Democrat Geraldine Ferraro, was a candidate for vice president. That was in nineteen eighty-four.

Most Americans say they would vote for a female president. But lately there has been a lot of excitement about another Democrat. Illinois Senator Barack Obama announced last Tuesday that he has formed a presidential exploratory committee.

A number of other Democrats and Republicans have also announced exploratory committees. Federal election rules permit individuals to "test the waters." They can raise money and see if they have enough public support before officially declaring themselves candidates.

VOICE TWO:

Condoleezza Rice has often been spoken of as a possible Republican presidential candidate. But the secretary of state says she does not want to be president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Transcripts and MP3 files of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0121_Development Report

21 January 2007

'FabLabs' Help Communities Design Their Own Solutions
A project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sets up fabrication laboratories to help developing countries.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Imagine a world without manufacturers. Or at least not as we now think of them. Instead, we as individuals control the technology to design and make most anything we want.

That world exists now in the mind of Neil Gershenfeld. Professor Gershenfeld is a computer scientist and physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He directs the Center for Bits and Atoms at M.I.T.

The center is exploring the relationship between computer science and physical science. The work is receiving financial support from the National Science Foundation.

Neil Gershenfeld wants to help developing countries create technological tools to solve their own problems. He says this is one way to bring the results of the digital revolution to the developing world.

An antenna project at a FabLab in Ghana

And many of those solutions might come out of personal fabrication laboratories -- or "FabLabs." So far the center has set up about fifteen of these laboratories around the world.

Each FabLab comes equipped with about twenty thousand dollars' worth of electronics, design tools and computers. The labs are all similar but they are put to use in very different ways.

In Costa Rica, for example, students used a FabLab to develop new educational technologies. They also developed environmental sensing systems for farmers.

In Pabal, India, villagers used a FabLab to improve the design process for diesel engines that are used for many purposes in the community. That was one of their first projects. A FabLab in Takoradi, Ghana, is developing machines powered by the sun for cooking and other uses.

Developing countries are not the only ones with FabLabs. In Norway, farmers used one to design what they call "sheep radios." They wanted a radio frequency identification system to be able to follow a sheep from birth to market.

People have also used FabLabs to test new designs for business ideas.

Sherry Lassiter works at the Center for Bits and Atoms at M.I.T. She says three laboratories recently opened in South Africa.

The hope is that in the future, FabLabs will become economically self-supporting. They might even be able to design new versions of themselves to keep up with demand.

In fact, Professor Gershenfeld imagines a time when personal fabrication laboratories are truly personal -- a FabLab in every home.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. For a link to the Center for Bits and Atoms at M.I.T., go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Jim Tedder.

VOASE0120_People In America

20 January 2007

James Brown, 1933-2006: The Godfather of Soul Influenced Many Kinds of Music During His 50-Year Career
Brown was also called "the hardest working man in show business."

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about James Brown, the musician called "The Godfather of Soul."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

James Brown

That was James Brown singing his famous hit song from nineteen sixty-five, "I Got You (I Feel Good.)" With this song, Brown went from a rhythm and blues singer to a pop music star. It helped him gain a huge number of white fans as well as black ones. He became a famous and wealthy singer, songwriter and performer. But this huge success was very different from the poverty of his early life.

VOICE TWO:

James Brown was born in nineteen thirty-three in a one-room house near Barnwell, South Carolina. His father, Joe Brown, had a job removing fluids from pine trees in the surrounding woods. He sold the sap for making turpentine. The boy's mother left the family when he was seven years old. James and his father moved to Augusta, Georgia.

Young James had musical abilities. He learned to play the guitar, piano and drums. He did this while picking crops in the fields and shining people's shoes to earn money to survive.

VOICE ONE:

James loved the African-American church music called gospel. He loved it when the church's religious leader would sing this music and drop to his knees with emotional shouts and screams. Brown later used this kind of emotional singing in his own performances.

He also liked the sound of the jazz and rhythm and blues performer Louis Jordan. Jordan had recorded a song called "Caldonia" and other popular songs in the late nineteen forties and nineteen fifties.

VOICE TWO:

By the time he was thirteen, James Brown had formed his own music group. He later joined a group called the Flames. The band played at drinking places, restaurants, colleges and other places in the South.

These young performers copied the sounds of successful rhythm and blues groups. They also included in their shows a song co-written by James Brown. It was called "Please, Please, Please."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This was the song that launched James Brown's career. He was able to stop doing low-paying jobs. He said the success of the song gave him the chance to have some of the things he could not have dreamed of. "Please, Please, Please" was recorded in nineteen fifty-six. It sold more than one million copies. It made James Brown famous in the United States. And it became part of his electrifying stage performances.

Brown would be on stage with an eighteen-piece band and a group of dancers. His emotional singing included unusual sounds and screams. He danced around the stage performing movements that had not been seen before. He created his own musical and performing style.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

That was another James Brown hit song, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" from nineteen sixty-five. Brown said that song was one of the most important things he ever did in the way of changing music rhythms. With that song, Brown created the music he called "funk." This later came to be called "soul" music. And James Brown became known as "The Godfather of Soul." He followed this hit a few months later with "I Got You (I Feel Good)", an even bigger hit.

VOICE ONE:

James Brown also became known as "the hardest working man in show business." During the nineteen sixties, he performed his exciting show almost non-stop in city after city in the United States and in other countries.

At the same time, Brown worked for civil rights for African-Americans. He supported black business ownership as the most important way to what he called "real black power." He urged black people to be proud of themselves. And he urged young people to continue their education and not drop out of school. His message was positive instead of angry. He recorded this song in nineteen sixty-eight, "Say it Loud ( I'm Black and I'm Proud.)"

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Over the years, James Brown had problems in business, with taxes and in his personal life. During the nineteen seventies, his popularity decreased as disco music became popular. But he made a comeback in the early nineteen eighties, with "Living in America," his first hit in years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen eighty-six, James Brown was one of the first performers invited into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became one of the most successful recording artists in history. With the exception of Elvis Presley, no pop artist had more hit records. He had ninety-four songs in the Top One Hundred songs. And he had more Top Twenty single records than any other recording artist up to that time.

But, in nineteen eighty-eight, he committed some crimes. He spent two and one-half years in prison. He was pardoned of his crimes in two thousand three.

VOICE TWO:

James Brown received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in nineteen ninety-two. He later talked about what he had tried to do to help young people. He said he tried to teach through his music. He thought it was very important to make young people proud of themselves and willing to work for what they wanted. He said life is sometimes really hard, but you can make it a lot better if you try to prepare for it.

VOICE ONE:

James Brown saw himself as an example of "the American dream." That means that a person can rise from poverty to wealth and success if he or she works hard. Brown influenced the music of his time and many performers who came after him. He showed his personality and energy in his famous shout:

"If you are an American or you're just a human being and got any blood going through your veins -- AHHOOWW! I feel good!"

VOICE TWO:

James Brown performed until the very end of his life and continued to help his community. Three days before his death, he joined volunteers at his yearly event to give toys to needy children in Augusta, Georgia. He had planned to perform on New Year's Eve at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York City.

James Brown, "The Godfather of Soul," died December twenty-fifth, two thousand six in Atlanta, Georgia. He was seventy-three. During his fifty-year career, he made many music fans feel good.

(MUSIC: "I Got You (I Feel Good)")

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read scripts and download audio at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.

VOASE0119_In the News

19 January 2007

US Says Wiretap Program Will Now Require Court Approval | More Trouble for Somalia?
Updates of two stories from the past six months.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week -- new developments in two stories we reported on last year.

In August, a federal judge tried to stop what the Bush administration calls the Terrorist Surveillance Program. A presidential order let the National Security Agency read e-mails and listen to calls to or from al-Qaida suspects in the United States without a court order.

The judge in Detroit said the program violated rights of free speech and privacy. She ruled it unconstitutional and in violation of a federal intelligence law.

In October, an appeals court said the government could continue the program while it appealed the ruling.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee

But this week the administration said it has ended the use of surveillance without court approval. It says the program now operates under rules prepared by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Democrats, newly in control of Congress, praised the move but said it should have happened sooner. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said there are still questions about exactly how the program will work.

The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this week. He says officials do not want to release too many details, for security reasons.

President Bush secretly approved the surveillance program after the September eleventh, two thousand one, attacks on the United States. After the attacks, Congress gave him the power to use all necessary force against those responsible.

The New York Times reported the existence of the program at the end of two thousand five.

Last June, we reported on the situation in Somalia. The Islamic Courts movement had just captured Mogadishu, the capital. Last month, Ethiopian troops entered Somalia. They helped its temporary government to force Islamist fighters from Mogadishu and other parts of the country.

But this week there was a political move that American and European officials say could hurt efforts to unite Somalis. The Somali parliament voted its pro-Islamist speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, out of his job.

Last year, Mister Aden tried to negotiate peace with the Islamic movement. President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi rejected his efforts. At that time, the movement controlled Mogadishu.

Ethiopian troops are expected to leave the country soon. There are worries of renewed anarchy and civil war.

Eight thousand troops are needed for a proposed African peacekeeping force. Uganda was the first to offer any. On Friday, an official of Uganda's ruling party told VOA that the party supports deploying one thousand five hundred soldiers.

Somalia has lacked an effective central government since the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in nineteen ninety-one.

Last week, the United States launched an air strike in an area of southern Somalia believed to be a hiding place for members of al-Qaida.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE0118_Economics Report

18 January 2007

Big and Bigger: Mergers and Acquisitions Stay Strong Into '07
Last year brought record levels of activity worldwide, but the biggest deal was the combining of AT&T and BellSouth.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Companies combined or bought other businesses at record levels last year. Almost four trillion dollars in deals worldwide represented an increase of nearly forty percent from the year before. So far in January, merger and acquisition activity has remained strong.

Delta Air Lines, currently in Federal Bankruptcy Court protection, is a target of US Airways

In the airline industry, US Airways this month raised its recent offer to buy Delta to ten billion dollars. If that goes through, there could be other airline deals coming.

General Electric has recently added some new manufacturers to its mix of businesses.

But in the biggest deal of last year, AT&T merged with the telecommunications company BellSouth. That deal in the United States was valued at seventy-three billion dollars, not including debt.

The satellite radio industry has had increasing talk of a merger between XM and Sirius, the two major companies. But the head of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington said this week that one company could not own both operating licenses.

With all the deals last year, investment banks did well. Goldman Sachs advised on more than four hundred mergers -- valued at over one trillion dollars. Citicorp and Morgan Stanley were not far behind.

A merger is when two or more companies combine their operations. Generally the combined company is able to negotiate lower prices with suppliers because of its bigger size and market. Jobs are sometimes also cut in mergers to save money.

The idea is to increase the value of the combined company for shareholders. But that does not always happen. Some experts suggest that only one merger in three creates big gains for shareholders. At the same time, mergers can reduce competition, resulting in higher prices.

The simplest way for companies to combine is through an acquisition. One company buys another. A hostile takeover is when the target company did not invite or approve an offer to its shareholders.

Last year, the world's biggest steelmaker, Mittal of India, succeeded in buying all the shares of its top competitor, Arcelor of Luxembourg.

Companies may take a large part or a small part in guiding the policies of the businesses they acquire. Investor Warren Buffett is known for buying controlling shares of stock in companies but leaving their management teams in place. He says he is not interested in companies without established management.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

VOASE0118_American Mosaic

18 January 2007

Baseball Writers Honor the Iron Man, Mr. Padre for a Job Well Done
Also: A question from Nigeria about the Sears Tower, and music for ''tweens'' helps drive album sales.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week on our show:

Getting ready for the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

A question from Nigeria about the Sears Tower in Chicago ...

And a report on how "tweens" are helping to drive sales in the pop music industry.

Baseball Hall of Fame

HOST:

Last week, the Baseball Writers' Association of America elected Cal Ripken Junior and Tony Gwynn to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Their careers were unusual in Major League baseball today. Barbara Klein explains why.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Cal Ripken Jr., left, and Tony Gwynn after their election to the Hall of Fame

Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Junior played all their years in the major leagues with just one team.

Cal Ripken played for the Baltimore Orioles from nineteen eighty-one to two thousand one. He played shortstop for most of his career and later moved to third base.

He played in nineteen All-Star Games and was named the most valuable player in two of them. Also, he was the American League's most valuable player in nineteen eighty-three when Baltimore won the World Series.

But baseball history may best remember him for playing two thousand six hundred thirty-two consecutive games. The city of Baltimore celebrated in nineteen ninety-five when he broke the record set by Lou Gehrig for not missing any games. That record had stood for fifty-six years. Cal Ripken Junior became known as the "Iron Man" of baseball.

Tony Gwynn has a nickname too: "Mister Padre." He played for the San Diego Padres from nineteen eighty-two until two thousand one. His hitting earned him the twentieth highest batting average in the major leagues. He won eight National League batting championships. But he also won five Golden Glove awards for his fielding. Tony Gwynn played in fifteen All-Star Games and two World Series.

Both new Hall of Famers are still active in the sport. Cal Ripken owns minor league teams and supervises a baseball league for young people. And Tony Gwynn is the baseball coach at San Diego State University.

They were the only candidates on the two thousand seven Hall of Fame ballot to receive the required seventy-five percent of the votes.

Five hundred forty-five members of the American Baseball Writers' Association voted. All but eight of them voted for Cal Ripken. He received five hundred thirty-seven votes. Tony Gwynn received five hundred thirty-two.

They will be honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, at ceremonies on July twenty-ninth.

Sears Tower

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Abdul Qadir Usman of Gombe, Nigeria. He wants to know more about the Sears Tower.

The Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, is the tallest office building in the United States.

Sears Tower

It was built between nineteen seventy and nineteen seventy-four. For more than twenty years, it was the tallest building in the world.

The tower rises more than four hundred forty meters -- five hundred ten if you add the two broadcasting towers on top. Either way, it stands as a tall, dark presence over the area of Chicago known as the Loop.

The facing material is black aluminum. The windows are bronze colored glass. The building has one hundred ten floors.

Architect Bruce Graham of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the tower for Sears, Roebuck and Company. The company later moved its main offices to the greater Chicago area.

Sears, Roebuck was once the nation's leading operator of department stores and a mail-order business. Its competitor Kmart bought the company in two thousand five.

Most of the Sears Tower is office space. But people also live in apartments and there are stores and restaurants.

The building has an observation area called the Skydeck. On cloudy days, people on the street cannot even see all the way to the top of the Sears Tower. But on clear days, visitors to the Skydeck can see three other states -- Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Explanations of the sights appear in English, Spanish, Polish, French, Japanese and German. And there are windows placed low, at eye level for children.

People also can see local sights like the Millennium Park and the shining white Wrigley Building along the Chicago River. They can watch the ships on Lake Michigan. And, in the summer, they can follow the little dots that really are people swimming, or sailing in boats with colorful sails.

Tween Music

HOST:

Some of the biggest buyers in today's music world are not very big at all. They are children between the ages of eight and twelve -- between early childhood and the teen years. Marketers call them "tweens." Faith Lapidus has our story.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Lately, record companies have been finding it harder to sell albums to adults. At the same time, online music stores and free sharing services on the Web have brought changes to the industry.

To increase their sales, record companies have been looking more and more at the tween market.

"Hannah Montana" is the name of a popular Disney television series. The show is about a high school student who has a secret life as a pop star named Hannah Montana.

The young actress is Miley Cyrus. Her father is country music star Billy Ray Cyrus, who also appears on the show.

Since its release the "Hannah Montana" soundtrack CD has outsold the albums of many established performers. In its first two months it sold more than a million and a half copies with songs like this one, called "If We Were a Movie."

(MUSIC)

Also popular with tweens is the story of a musical group called "The Cheetah Girls." What began as a series of books has grown into two movies.

The actresses in the movies play colorfully dressed performers who sing and dance. They are now performing their music live all over the country. Here they are with "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)."

(MUSIC)

It might not surprise you that the top-selling album in the United States last year was for young people. The market research company Nielsen SoundScan says the top seller was the soundtrack to the Disney television movie "High School Musical."

This is the story of two students who decide to try out for singing parts in a high school play. By following their dream, they set an example for others. The album has sold millions of copies all over the world -- there is even a version in Hindi.

From "High School Musical," we leave you with a song called "We're All in This Together."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver was our producer. MP3 files and transcripts of our shows are at voaspecialenglish.com.

And we hope you can join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

VOASE0117_The Making of a Nation

16 January 2007

American History: One Problem After Another Faced Truman in His First Months in Office
At first the president seemed weak, but he proved a strong leader especially in foreign policy.

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

The surrender of Japan in August nineteen forty-five ended the Second World War. Americans looked to their new president, Harry Truman of the state of Missouri, to lead them into a new period of peace.

Harry Truman

No one expected President Truman to be as strong a leader as Franklin Roosevelt had been. And at first, they were right. Truman had one problem after another during his first months in the White House.

VOICE TWO:

Truman's first big problem was the economy. In the days after the war ended, almost two million Americans lost their jobs as arms factories closed. Americans everywhere worried about what would happen next. Only a few years before, the nation had suffered through the worst economic crisis in American history. No one wanted to return to the closed banks, hungry children, and other sad memories of the Great Depression.

In some ways, the economy did better than experts hoped. The gross national product dropped only a small amount. Many Americans still had money they had saved during the war. And Congress passed a law to help people to keep their jobs. The situation could have been much worse than it was.

VOICE ONE:

However, the economy also could have been better -- much better. Suddenly, almost overnight, the price of everything began to rise. Clothes that cost five or six dollars yesterday now cost ten to fifteen dollars. Used automobile tires sold for the surprisingly high price of twenty dollars.

President Truman tried to stop the increases through a special price control agency that had been created during the war. However, people by the thousands refused to follow the government price control rules. Instead, they set their own prices for goods.

VOICE TWO:

Store owners would tell government officials that they were still obeying the price rules. But often they charged whatever they wanted for goods.

A meat salesman, for example, might say there was no good meat that day. But for three dollars extra, he would suddenly find a thick piece of meat to sell. A car salesman would sell his cars at the controlled price. But he might insist that the buyers also buy his dog for five hundred dollars. And his dog would return home that night.

VOICE ONE:

It was not just store owners who were charging more and refusing to obey government price rules. It was also the woman who rented a house to a young family…the farmer selling food…and finally, most importantly, it was organized labor.

President Truman had always been a friend of labor unions. But during the first months of his administration, he became involved in a fierce struggle with coal miners and railroad workers.

VOICE TWO:

The first sign of trouble came in September nineteen forty-five. A group of workers closed down automobile factories at the Ford Company. Then, workers at the General Motors auto company went on strike. Soon there were strikes everywhere.

Workers went on strike in the oil industry, the clothing industry, the wood-cutting industry and the electrical industry.

The strikes made Truman angry. He believed the striking workers were threatening the economy and security of the United States. He got even angrier when representatives of striking steel and railroad workers came to the White House and refused to accept a compromise wage offer.

"You are crazy," Truman told the union leader, "if you think I am going to sit here and let you stop this whole country."

VOICE ONE:

Truman ordered government forces to take over the railroads and the coal mines. And within a short time, the striking coal miners returned to work. However, the president had less success with the railroad workers. He became so angry with them that he asked Congress to give him the power to draft all striking rail workers into the armed forces.

The rail strike finally ended. But millions of Americans lost faith in Truman's ability to lead the country, to bring people together, and end disputes peacefully.

VOICE TWO:

By late nineteen forty-six, most Americans believed that the man in the White House did not know what he was doing. Truman seemed weak and unable to control events.

Union members disliked him because of his violent opposition to the coal and rail strikes. Farmers opposed Truman because of the administration's effort to keep meat prices low. Conservatives did not trust the reforms that Truman promised in his speeches. And liberal Democrats watched with worry as many old advisers of Franklin Roosevelt left the government because they could not work well with Truman.

VOICE ONE:

In November, nineteen forty-six, the people voted in congressional and state elections. The results showed they were not satisfied with Truman and the Democratic Party. Republicans won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in eighteen years. And Republicans were elected governor in twenty-five states.

The election was a serious defeat for the Democrats. But it was a disaster for Truman. Some members of his party even called on him to resign. Few people gave Truman much chance of winning a second term in the White House.

However, Harry Truman began to change in the months that followed. He started speaking with more strength and firmness. He showed more understanding of the powers of the presidency. And in matters of foreign policy, he began to act more like a president. This was especially true in Truman's reaction to Soviet aggression in Germany.

VOICE TWO:

Truman wanted to rebuild Germany, as well as the other countries of Western Europe. His administration worked closely with west European leaders to rescue their broken economies through the Marshall Plan.

But the Soviets did not want to see Germany rebuild, at least not so quickly. So at first, they flooded Germany with extra German currency in an effort to destroy the value of the German mark. They walked out of economic conferences. And finally, in early nineteen forty-eight, they blocked all the roads to Berlin to try to cut off the city from the western powers.

VOICE ONE:

The Soviet actions were a direct threat to the west. Truman had three difficult choices. If he did nothing, the world would think the United States was weak and unable to stop Soviet aggression. If he fought the blockade with armed force, he might start a third world war. But there was another choice. That was to fly supplies to the city.

The American military commander in Germany proposed the idea of dropping thousands of kilograms of food, fuel, and other goods to the people of Berlin by parachute. Not just once, but every day, as long as the Russians continued their blockade.

VOICE TWO:

C-47s unloading at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin

It would be a difficult job. West Berlin was home to two-and-a-half-million people. No one had ever tried to supply so large a city by air. Large C forty-seven transport airplanes would have to take off every three-and-a-half-minutes all through the day and night, every day, to supply the people of Berlin with enough food.

The people of Berlin gave needed support from the ground. More than twenty thousand Berliners worked day and night to build an extra landing field for the American airplanes.

It was not long before it became clear that the American air rescue would succeed. West Berlin would remain free of Soviet control. The Russians soon understood this fact, too. In May of nineteen forty-nine, almost one year after they had started their blockade, they ended it.

VOICE ONE:

The crisis in Berlin changed the way many Americans saw their president. Harry Truman no longer seemed so weak or unsure of himself. Instead, he was acting as a leader who could take an active part in world affairs.

Truman's popularity increased. However, most Americans did not expect him to win the presidential election in nineteen forty-eight. Almost everyone believed that the Republican candidate would capture the office.

The election campaign that year turned out to be one of the most exciting and surprising in the entire history of the nation. That nineteen forty-eight election will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators have been Harry Monroe and Rich Kleinfeldt. Our program was written by David Jarmul.

VOASE0117_Education Report

17 January 2007

Coming to America as a Fulbrighter
The Fulbright Program was established 1946 as a way to improve international understanding.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

We come to the twentieth week of our series on higher education in the United States. Today we answer two e-mails from Thailand. A refugee from Burma and another listener in Thailand both want to know more about the Fulbright Program.

The Fulbright Program gives Americans a chance to study, teach or do research in other countries. And it gives people in other countries a chance to do the same in America.

Hala al-Sarraf, an Iraqi Fulbright scholar, appears before lawmakers in Congress in July of last year

Fulbright grants are given to graduate students, scholars and professionals. There is also a Fulbright exchange program just for teachers and administrators.

Each year about six thousand people receive Fulbright grants. The United States government pays most of the costs. Foreign governments and schools help by sharing costs and providing other support.

The Fulbright Program operates in about one hundred fifty countries. Around two hundred seventy thousand Fulbrighters have taken part over the years.

Legislation by Senator William Fulbright established the program in nineteen forty-six. He saw educational exchange as a way to help people understand other ideas and ways of life. Senator Fulbright also believed the program could educate future world leaders.

In nineteen sixty-eight, the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program began. This Fulbright program brings foreign teachers to the United States to work with high school or college students.

Two other Fulbright programs that offer ways to come to the United States are the foreign student and visiting scholar programs. The Foreign Student Program brings graduate students to study and do research at a college or university. The Visiting Scholar Program brings foreign experts to speak and do research for up to a year.

The list of countries in the Fulbright Program changes each year. And the requirements may differ from country to country.

You can learn more about the program from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the State Department. We have a link to the program's Web site at voaspecialenglish.com. Or do a search on the Internet for "Fulbright Program."

You can also contact the local Fulbright Commission or American Embassy in your country for more information.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. To send us e-mail, write to special@voanews.com. I'm Steve Ember.