First up today, though, 1,118 as of yesterday, that`s how many cases of West Nile virus have been reported in the United States this year. West Nile first shot up in the U.S. in 1999. And this year`s outbreak, is now the largest ever in this country. 38 states have reported West Nile infections, 41 people have died from the disease. West Nile is spread by mosquitoes. But officials say most mosquitoes don`t carry the virus, and most people who are bit by the mosquitoes that do have it, don`t get sick. There are some things you could do to help prevent it, though. For example, dressing2 in long pants and long sleeves and using mosquito repellant, specifically ones with the ingredient "deet". Doctors say, if you do develop symptoms of West Nile virus, like unusually severe headaches or confusion, you should see a doctor immediately.
Police officials in the city of Chicago are looking for ways to lower the city`s homicide rate. Overall, crime is down in Chicago, but the number of murders is up. More than 340 people have been murdered this year. For one night
Ted1 Rowlands joined police on patrol in one of Chicago`s deadliest neighborhoods. Take a look at what he saw.
There is a couple of places I want to check out.
It`s a Friday night on the streets of Chicago, in the Englewood neighborhood. Joe Paterson and Leo Schmitz have been cops here for 26 years.
on these blocks, what you do is you scan everything. And when they see that you are a policeman after doing something wrong you`ve got a gun, they start moving away and running.
Gunshots fired ...
As we ride along, we hear constant reports of shots fired over the radio.
person with a gun ...
A call comes in, that gets their attention.
64th and Loomis (ph). Shots fired, that`s one block away from the police station.
It`s also near a park where in the morning there is a community event planned.
Someone with a gun there, we know we`ve got people over that are setting up.
When we arrive, there is no sign of the person with the gun, and there is no time to linger. We leave as quickly as we arrive because there is another call just a few blocks away.
Several officers are there when we arrive, there is a man in
custody4, and this gun, which was found in the house.
They are still working still. But that`s the name of the game and that`s how we -- we stopped the next shooting.
This year the homicide rate in Chicago is up about 30 percent, which is not what first year police
superintendent5 Garry McCarthy envisioned would happen when he took the job.
It`s playing out not as well as I anticipated. We expected to make much greater gains by this point.
Chicago`s overall crime rate is actually down ten percent from last year. And like other cities, the murder problem here is concentrated in a few specific areas.
The entire city suffers when that violence happens. And this idea of not in my backyard is not OK, we have to make the entire safe
Back to the question we asked at the beginning of today`s show. How much of our food will end up in the trash. The answer -- 40 percent. And I`m not just talking about here in this cafeteria, that`s across the entire United States. According to a new report, 40 percent of the food in the country is never eaten, it adds up to $165 billions a year in wasted food. The report says this waste happens along the entire food supply chain, on farms and
warehouses6, at grocery stores, and especially, at home. It`s like a family buying 24 boxes of cereal every month and then just throwing them away. Some explanations for the waste, Americans buy more than they can eat, restaurants serve more, bigger portion sizes, and grocery stores overstock fresh produce. We want to get your take on this story, we`ve got a link to it on our Facebook page. If you are already on Facebook, go check it out at Facebook.com/cnnstudentnews. Let us know your reaction and what you think can be done about it.
Another study we are talking about today, about 1000 American teenagers were asked about smoking, drinking or drug use during the school day. The report found that about 17 percent of American teenagers are doing this, and 86 percent say they know someone who does. The survey out of Columbia University cited several influences on whether students ages 12 to 17 drink, smoke or do drugs. One is digital peer pressure. 75 percent say they are encouraged to try smoking or drugs when they see pictures of others doing it on social media. Parents factored in, too. Students who said their parents would be really upset with them for smoking or drugs were significantly less likely to try it, and those who regularly go to religious services are also less likely to drink or try tobacco or drugs.
You just never know what you`re going to find in the
attic7. A man in Chattanooga, Tennessee was going through some old boxes from this father. He came across an audio reel labeled "Dr. King Interview: December 21st, 1960." It turns out, his dad had interviewed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. about the civil rights movement. We have a clip from that
recording8 for you right now. You`re going to hear Dr. King answer a question about the impact of the civil rights movement.