Tom: Hey everyone, it is Monday,May 9. I am Tom Hanson, and Channel One News starts right now.
Over the weekend,North Korea held its first big political rally in 36 years. The secretive country is led by an unpredictable dictator, and little is known about what goes on inside the country, so when something like this happens, it gets the attention from leaders all over the world.
It began on Friday, a rally for the top members of North Korea's only political group, the Congress of the Workers’Party. North Korea even invited media from the U.S. to cover the historic three-day meeting, though they were not allowed into the actual events.
Journalist: We were invited to come cover the congress, but why can’t we go inside?
Woman: Don’t ask me.
Tom: The last congress was held in 1980 and was a coming-out party for Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un. During his rule, the elder Kim focused on the military and reduced the role of the party. But by holding this congress, his son is now embracing the party. He may need itto help push through his two main goals: nuclear weapons and economic development.
The big takeaways from the meeting were: Kim Jong-Un said he would only use nuclear weapons if he were provoked, and he also talked about a five-year plan to help boost the country's struggling economy, including wanting to make life better for North Koreans with improvements to electricity and farming.
And it is a big deal because it is the first time a North Korean leader has even admitted that the poor country needs improvement.
Okay, after the break: what one company is doing to stop an addiction we all face.
Tom: All right,Arielle is here with a story about something that takes up a lot of time.When people go without it, they often get angry. Some people will do anything to get it.And many of you guys are addicted to it, and you probably don't even realize it.
Arielle: Yeah, and you might even be using it right now. It is your smartphone, and now one start-up is staging an intervention that is catching on.
These students are glued to their phones, just like most of their friends. But when they enter Mr. Offield's English class, the phones get locked down in little bags, which can't be opened until class is over.
Ryan Offield: By separating something that's primarily for their social life, I'm hoping that it brings them a little more into the moment.
Arielle: These bags are made by a start-up called Yondr. Its founder, Graham Dugoni, is attempting to break today's cell phone addiction. The Yondr pouch locks like a security tag in a clothing store. And if someone needs to use their phone, they will have to leave the phone-free zone.
These bags have even gotten the attention of celebritieslike comedian Dave Chappelle. The Yondr bags are mandatory at his performances.
Dave Chappelle: We've had a strict “no cell phone” rule for years. Obviously, if you look on YouTube, you will seethat very few people adhere to it.
Arielle: Before the bagsChappelle felt like he was telling jokes to people who were distracted by their devices.
Chappelle: It would be very hard for you to talk to anybody if he was doing this the whole time you're talking.
Arielle: Back atMercy Junior High,Daniela Clinton had to bag her phone for three days on a school retreat.
Daniela Clinton: And I could hear it vibrating! But I couldn't grab it and use it. I hated it so much.
Arielle: But in the end, the bag worked.
Daniela: It was like a break from reality. Like I completely forgot about everything, even school, and it was nice.
Arielle: An old-fashioned solution to a 21st-century problem.Arielle Hixson, Channel One News.
Tom: Now, the company founder hopes to see the bags used in arenas that can seat as many as 20,000 people, but how is anyone supposed to get anInstagram pic?
Anyway, after the break, we hit a famous amusement park to check out one emerging career field.
Tom: Ever wonder what comes next after high school?Well, we are here to help, and today we take a closer look at a job that may seem like it is all fun and games, but actually, a lot of work goes into making an amusement park run. Scott Evans is back and headed to the famous Coney Island to see what it takes to be an electrician.
Scott: When you have got a million people a year coming to your amusement park for fun, you definitely don’t want a ride down for maintenance. Today at Luna Park,New York’s original amusement park, I am with an electrician who keeps these rides running.
Chris!
Chris: Hey,Scott, how are you doing?
Scott: What is up, man? How are you?
Chris: Good, man — yourself?
Scott: So far, so good, here.Ready to do this, man.
Chris: Well, we’ve got rides in the park.Each one’s got its own daily inspection, okay? We gotta complete it to a T.
Scott: All right, so what is first?
Chris: So we’re on the Soarin’Eagle right now, okay? This is what’s considered a hanging coaster.I noticed that our contact brushes up here are a little dirty, so we’re gonna clean those off.
Scott: Now, what do these do?
Chris: So these contact brushes, what they do is they transfer power to the cars, so we’re gonna go ahead, and we’re gonna take that surface grime and carbon off the brushes so they make good contact.
Scott: How do those look?
Chris: Those look fantastic.
Scott: Really? They do have a shine.
Chris: They’ve got a nice shine, a nice luster, there.You did great.
Sowe’re gonna hop right here into the electrical room.I’ll show you some of the stuff that’s going on in here.
Scott: So what does an electrician do here?
Chris: An electrician is involved in everything.Each ride is gonna have electrical systems, mechanical systems, all of these things, so an electrician has his hands in everything.
Scott: The wizards of the park.
Chris: The wizards of the park. Think of a ride as a vast, automated system; everywhere there are sensors taking information from the field and passing it to a computer, all right? We call those computers PLCs, okay?
Scott: PLCs.
Chris: PLCs.
Scott: What does that stand for?
Chris: Programmable logic controller.
Scott: How do you learn all of this?I mean, is this all in school, do you learn it on the job?
Chris: It all takes time, and you know what?The theoretical stuff that you’re gonna learn is the foundation for everything, so a lot of that comes in, like, the high school level. Basic physics — there’s what’s called Ohm’s law.
Scott: That is ohmmmm.
Chris: Just like that,all right? But you’re — instead of thinking, like,“minds at peace,”I’m thinking, okay, voltage is equal to current times resistance.
Scott: Ohmmm.
Chris: Okay, so that fundamental equation relates voltage, current and resistance. These are three primary units when you’re dealing with electricity.
Scott: So that was a lot of work for the Soarin’Eagle.I mean, that is one ride, and so how many roller coasters are you getting ready for the open?
Chris: Every day we’ve got six roller coasters to open.
Scott: So we have got to get to work.
Man, this is intense. This is another one of those, like,PLCrooms.
Chris: Well, back when this carousel was made, there wasn’t such a thing as a PLC.This was done by horses; ponies spin this thing around.
Scott: Seriously?
Chris: Yeah.All right, so now we’ve got electrical motors that can handle that stuff for us, so that’s what we’re gonna take a look at right now.
Scott: History lesson. So,Chris, the checklist for today is done, carousel is ready to go, but what do you do now that the park is open?
Chris: All right, so now that we’ve got the park open, our guests are coming in. Everything is running; we’ve got a couple projects that we’ve got going on that are minimally invasive so we don’t have to disturb the people that are in the park.
Scott: So, I mean, we have seen some roller coasters, we have seen some historic rides, but what is your favorite part of being an electrician here at Luna Park?
Chris: It’s very challenging because of the nature of the industry, and things are happening at a fast pace, and there’s always new technology coming out.Every day you have an opportunity to learn something new. Things were built over 100 years ago, and as long as you take care of them, they’ll run forever.
Scott: So what advice would you give a kid who’s interested in being an electrician?
Chris: I think the best thing you can do if you’re interested in becoming an electrician is to hit one of the trade schools. It’s gonna give you all the fundamental knowledge that you need so that when you wanna get out into the field, you can hit the ground running.
Scott: Nice, nice. Well, man, speaking of hitting the ground running,I am going to get running so I can hit some of these rides that we inspected earlier today.
Chris: Nice. Absolutely.
Tom: Very cool. Now, here is what is next if you want to become an electrician. In high school, take math and science courses, and enroll in a vocational school or apprenticeship program. Most electricians make about $52,000 a year.And we have got more info up on ChannelOne.com, so be sure to check it out.
All right, guys, we are out of time. We will see you tomorrow.
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