Students: This is Ms. Kirbo's tribe from Thoreau Middle School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Channel One News starts right now!
Azia: Thanks to Thoreau Middle School for kicking us off. Okay, first up today, first it was 2014, then it was 2015, and now 2016 is officially declared as the hottest year on record.
That means 2016 set a global heat record for the third year in a row, according to scientists. And get this — not only was it the hottest year on record, but 16 out of the
17 hottest years on record have occurred since the year 2000. Now, recordkeeping began in the 1880s, and to put this into context, the last time there was a record for a cold year was 1911.
Okay, now it is just one more day till President Obama's job will end, and President-elect Trump will take over. So this week, there is a lot of buzz about how the two men are doing in the polls.
A new CBS News poll shows President-elect Donald Trump will take over the presidency with the lowest approval rating of any president dating back to 1981 — with 32 percent. Trump fired back at the new numbers, tweeting, “The same people who did the phony election polls, and were so wrong, are now doing approval rating polls. They are rigged just like before."
Anthony Salvanto, director of the CBS News Survey Unit, says the numbers are low because of a deep division between the two parties.
Anthony Salvanto: There are plenty of Trump supporters; there are plenty of Republicans in this poll, as in most polls. But the difference here is that, while those Republicans are strongly in support of what Donald Trump is doing and favorable of him, his numbers are weighed down a bit by Democrats who are so firmly set against him.
Azia: And this week, new numbers out show President Obama will leave office as one of the best-liked commanders-in-chief — with a 60-percent approval rating. To compare, Franklin Roosevelt's final approval ratings were 71 percent, and George W. Bush's were 33 percent. But it hasn't been all love; at one point Obama dipped down to 38 percent. His average was 48 percent.
There are plenty of confirmation hearings going on in D.C. this week, but one that will affect you more than any other is the secretary of education. This role advises the president on matters of education, including policy and programs. So we thought we would take a look at what the nominee had to say.
Senate Democrats had plenty of questions for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for education secretary. DeVos donated millions to the Trump campaign and other Republicans and is known as a staunch advocate of charter schools and school vouchers. School vouchers allow students to use public money to attend private or religious schools.
Betsy DeVos: I share President-elect Trump's view that it's time to shift the debate from what the system thinks is best for kids to what moms and dads want, expect and deserve.
Azia: Critics of school vouchers say the program hurts public schools. Another question put forward: if guns should be allowed in schools.
Senator Chris Murphy: Do you think that guns have any place around schools?
DeVos: I think that is best left to locales and states to decide. I will refer back to Senator Enzi and the school that he was talking about in Wapiti, Wyoming. I think — probably there I would imagine that there is probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies.
Azia: And when asked about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — a federal law that guarantees education to students with disabilities — she admitted she might have been confused about how that works.
All right, after the break, young people gearing up for the inauguration.
Azia: Okay guys, Emily is here to tell us about the young people who are heading to our nation’s capital as Donald Trump is about to become the 45th president of the United States.
Emily: Yeah, Azia, teens from all over the country will be participating in the big day. And while the president-elect gets ready to move into the White House, these young people are making sure they are prepared for the festivities. Check it out.
Chris Ford: It's been a very unique election cycle.
Emily: Chris Ford volunteered for Republicans on the presidential campaign trail, then served as a delegate at the Republican National Convention.
Ford: It is my first purchased tux.
Emily: Now, with a new tuxedo in hand, the chairman of the Dallas Young Republicans will attend Donald Trump's inauguration. He even scored tickets to an inaugural ball.
Ford: What I love about going to these Republican events is being a Texan, and Texans love to show they're Texan, so I got my cowboy hat and all my…here, and I'll be wearing my boots the whole time.
Emily: Young people from all over the country will be getting a front-row seat to American history.
Maddy Brakeville: I was really excited because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Emily: For teacher Jeff Christensen, who will be traveling to D.C. with one of his students, these real-life experiences are better than any book.
Jeff Christensen: When I get a chance to bring a student back to something that's historic and significant, that's in the Constitution, that's a great teaching moment.
Emily: Up to 900,000 people are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony on Friday. Thirteen-year-old Michael Zafuto from New York, a history buff, says a broken foot isn’t going to stop him from going.
Michael Zafuto: I just love history, and I just want to be part of this historic event.
Emily: For Brian Bodine, getting to witness the peaceful transition of power will be special.
Brian Bodine: This is historic. You know, it’s not just about political party at this point; it's about the country.
Emily: And groups from all over have been practicing and getting ready for the big day,
including members of the commanding general's mounted color guard from Fort Riley, Kansas. They will be riding in the inaugural parade. This is the group's second such honor in a decade — members of the color guard also rode in President Obama's first inaugural parade.
Breahna Maimone: It's a very exciting feeling to think that we get to be a part of history, and we're always going to be remembered there.
Emily: The Olivet Nazarene University marching band is also prepping for the parade, representing as the only band from the state of Illinois.
Austin Brown: It’s been a crazy ride, for sure.
Emily: Reaction hasn't been completely harmonious, though. Some alumni started an online petition for the school to pull out of the parade, saying President-elect Donald Trump’s behavior is at odds with the Christian university.
Brown: We’re kind of rising above it. Sometimes, it can feel like that they are not supporting us as a band, and — but we value all opinions.
Emily: In fact, they hope their presence and their music can help a nation heal, step by step. Emily Reppert, Channel One News.
Azia: Thanks, Emily. And tomorrow, we will be in Washington, D.C., for all the festivities, and we are bringing you along.
Okay, after the break, how one West Coast state is bracing for a natural disaster.
Azia: Now new research could mean that parts of California are at risk for a big earthquake. D., what is the Golden State doing to prepare?
Demetrius: Well, hundreds of scientists, engineers and politicians recently met in your home state to discuss the next California quake. And around 1,200 emergency responders practiced gearing up to be prepared for the big one. Take a look.
When a major earthquake hits California, the clock starts ticking. National Guardsmen are working to pull a trapped man from an elevator shaft while a specially trained dog searches for stranded survivors. This is just a drill, but it is meant to help emergency responders prepare for the real thing.
Major Richard Chappell: You want to be the best prepared, the best trained and the most efficient as possible.
Demetrius: But these extreme scenarios could easily become reality. Scientists recently discovered that two of the country's most dangerous faults, or cracks in the Earth's crust, are actually connected — creating one massive 118-mile-long fault that could create some major damage.
Using this device, they confirmed that the Hayward Fault meets the Rodgers Creek Fault in the shallow waters of the San Pablo Bay near San Francisco.
Janet Watt: The longer a fault, the larger an earthquake it can produce. It would be up to a magnitude 7.4 — more damage than Hurricane Katrina in terms of loss.
Demetrius: In 1906 the Great Quake leveled entire San Francisco neighborhoods, killing thousands. In 1989 the Loma Prieta quake killed 63 people and caused $6 billion in damage.
Watt: Folks in the Bay Area need to be prepared for a strong earthquake.
Demetrius: The United States Geological Survey, or USGS, is trying to predict the future by studying when earthquakes occurred here in the past and how often. When an earthquake occurs, the sediment along the fault line shifts, which creates a sort of marker in the mud.
By dropping these long tubes into the bay floor, they can collect samples. The tubes are pulled from the water and cut, sliced open and photographed.
Watt: If we can find a date for those flat layers on top and then the layers that are offset, we can bracket in the age of when that earthquake happened on that fault.
Demetrius: This research will help scientists better understand these two faults, and their potential for damage makes emergency preparation even more essential.
Demetrius Pipkin, Channel One News.
Okay, so what do you guys think, do you have the skills to stay safe in an earthquake or some other natural disaster? Well, if so, take our quiz on ChannelOne.com and see if you would make the right survival choices.
Azia: Yeah, I don’t know if I would. I will have to check that out, D.
Demetrius: I think I could survive.
Azia: All right, guys, that is all for now. Have an awesome day, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.
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