Arielle: Hey guys, I am here in Alabama, looking back on a ride that changed the course of history. It is Tuesday, December 1. I am Arielle Hixson, and Channel One News starts right now.
Maggie: We will catch up with Arielle in just a bit, but first, let's get you guys all caught up on headlines. And first up, we head back to Paris, France, where world leaders and scientists are busy brainstorming, trying to figure out what needs to be done to address the changing climate.
The world's two biggest polluters,China and the U.S., kicked off the climate conference. Indian Prime Minister Modi was also there, as India is the third largest polluter in the world.
President Obama: The United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.
Maggie: The goal is to get 147 countries to reduce carbon emissions enough to keep global warming below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the level some scientists believe would prevent natural disasters like floods and droughts.
And it's not just a goal that governments support, but big names in business too. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was there with President Obama as they announced a plan to invest billions of dollars to research and develop clean energy technology. Plenty of other investors have signed up as well, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
One of the other issues in France is keeping security in order as over 100 world leaders are all in one city, and in many cases under one roof. Right now France remains under high alert with a 120,000-strong security force stationed across the country.
You will probably be seeing a lot of red ribbons today; it is World AIDSDay.
Even the White House plans to put one across its front door to raise awareness about the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.AIDS, which weakens the body's ability to fight back, has killed more than 35 million people, and almost that many are currently living with HIV.
Blake Sims: Chances are, you probably know somebody who is HIV positive, and it’s definitely out there.
Maggie: So every December 1, people around the world come together in a show of support, a sea of red, in hopes of having a future AIDS-free generation
Sims: It affects us all today, whether you know it or not. It is not something inthe past; it is not something from 1980 or 1990. It is something very current.
Maggie: Because of new treatments and detection, deaths are down nearly 40 percent between 2005 and 2013, except for young people ages 10 to 19. That's the only age group in which AIDS-related deaths are not going down.
And there is some good news for all you dog lovers out there: science proves that pups help kids with anxiety and stress. Scientists were on a mission to find out if having a dog could prevent childhood obesity. They never figured that out, but researchers did find out something else.Kids with dogs in their homes experience less anxiety and stress.
The research, published by the Centers for Disease Control, focused on kids ages 4 to 10 years old.But don't think you only have to be a kid;the research goes on to say that pet owners in general are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and stress than non–pet owners.
All right, coming up, we are going to put you to the test as we head to Alabama to mark an important moment in American history.
Arielle: Hey guys, I am here in Alabama to mark the 60th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Now this protest during the civil rights movement all started when one courageous black woman refused to give up her seat on a bus. Now we have a pop quiz for you: who was that woman?
a. Harriet Tubman
b. Maya Angelou
c. Rosa Parks
d. Coretta Scott King
You have 10 seconds.
Okay, time is up. The answer is c, Rosa Parks.
In the 1950s, before the peak of the civil rights movement, minorities were not treated equally and didn't have many of the rights we take for granted today. In the south segregation was legal, meaning blacks and whites had separate bathrooms and water fountains, and they couldn't sit together at a restaurant.
Even public buses were segregated. The better seats in the front were reserved for white passengers only, and African-Americans were requiredto sit in the back, even on days when the front was empty.
Dr. Felicia Bell: If they did not give up their seats when they were asked to do so on a city bus, then they would be arrested.
Arielle: But onDecember 1, 1955, one brave woman decided to take a stand, Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks worked as a seamstress in Montgomery,Alabama. She took the bus on her way home from work, as usual, sitting in the area designated for blacks. But when she was asked to give up her seat to a white passenger, she refusedand was immediately arrested.
Bell: Once she was arrested, the flyers were passed out among the community, and everyone got the word out to avoid taking the buses.
Arielle: This moment of defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, when African-Americans stopped taking the bus to protest segregation and inequality. Back then, the bus system was a popular form of transportation, but during the boycott, the buses remained empty. Those who avoided the buses walked and even carpooled to their destinations.
Martin Luther King,Jr. helped lead the boycott, which lasted a total of 382 days. And in November 1956, the U.S.Supreme Court found Alabama's segregation laws for buses unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks’s story of courage became important symbols in the civil rights movement.
Angela Porter: Rosa Parks, she was not afraid to say no. She was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in. She wasn’t afraid of what consequences she might have suffered from.
Bell: The people who organized and participated in the boycott were ordinary folks. It was a grass-roots effort. The same thing can happen today with issues that we’re seeing on our university campuses dealing with equality and discrimination and issues with police brutality and things. So I think if young people just realize the power that they have…
Arielle: Tomorrowwe follow students in Montgomery as they reflect on what the bus boycott means for young people todayand for future generations to come. Now back to you guys in the newsroom.
Maggie: Really looking forward to it. Thanks,Arielle.
All right, now, to test your knowledge of major events in civil rights history, just head on over to Channelone.com.
Coming up next: how some students are planting seeds to grow a brighter future.
Maggie: Now,Keith, when you think about a classroom, you probably think about desks, notebooks, teachers, but you have got a story about a classroom that looks nothing like that.
Keith: Yeah, Maggie, one high school in California is taking the students out of the classroom and putting them to work on a farm. Check it out.
Bryson Wesley is happy to be in class at this school.
Bryson Wesley: I was one of those kids that sat in the back of the classroom and then occasionally did their work.
Keith: He has been to16 different schools and repeated two grades.This continuation high school, an alternative to a regular high school, is his last shot at graduating. It is a working farm outside Los Angeles that offers science credits. The students say caring for the rescued animals helps them heal.
Bryson: It kind of gives me a sense of I'm needed. You know what I mean, like I have to be here, there are things I need to do.
Karen Snook started the Kindred Spirits Care Farm in partnership with the LA school district two years ago.
Karen Snook: The animals don't judge; they don't judge the kids based on whether they have the right gang colors or the right anything.
Keith: Eighteen-year-old Esmeralda Orellana says the school's farm saved her life.
Esmeralda Orellana: I just got so caught up in the drugs, like I was —I ended up getting a felony, and Istarted getting in so much trouble.
Keith: She and more than 100 students here also harvest organic crops and are reaping the rewards. These sweet potatoes went home for Thanksgiving dinner.
Snook: They get to take this produce home to their mom and say,“Hey, I grew this, and now I get to offer something to our family."
Keith: Esmeralda and Bryson are finally getting diplomas this December, and both plan to study arts in college next year.
Esmeralda: It feels really good, like that's something Inever thoughtI was going to accomplish.
Bryson: I would not be graduating at all if it was not for this farm.
Keith:Keith Kocinski, Channel One News.
And so far the program has been a success; most of the seniors whoworked on the farm have earned their credits and graduated.
Maggie: Really cool. Thanks, Keith.
All right, guys.Well, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, they are all over, but today is Giving Tuesday, a chance for all of us to give back, and we want to see what you are doing to give back. So, send us a pic or video to , and it might just get featured on the show.
I am Maggie Rulli, and we cannot wait to see you tomorrow.
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