Scott: What is up? It is Monday, March 2ndand today we will take a closer look at the dress that set the internet ablaze. Plus, they are the women of extraordinary achievement that we will profile as we kick off Women’s History Month. I am Scott Evans and Channel One News starts right now.
Let's get caught up with headlines. And first up, we begin in Russia where speaking out against the government may have cost one man his life. Thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow yesterday to mourn the loss of Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader and outspoken critic of Vladamir Putin.
Fifty-five-year-old Boris Nemtsov was gunned down, shot four times in the back. Just hours before he was killed he denounced what he called Vladamir Putin's mad aggressive policies during a radio interview
“When power is concentrated in the hands of one person,” he said “and that person rules forever, it will lead to an absolute catastrophe.”
Prominent Russian opposition leaders took part in the march in Moscow along with thousands of citizens saying intimidation is taking hold of Russia, and people are afraid to speak out.
Mikhail Kasyanov: We feel and we see more and more extreme expressions against liberal democrats, against us.
Scott: As shocked Russians lay flowers on the bridge that marked Nemtsov's death, Russian president Vladamir Putin said he condemned the murder and would take charge of the investigation.
Nemtsov was a former deputy prime minister and was once thought to be a potential president. He joins a list of Russian critics to die in dramatic circumstances.
Renowned Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, critical of the Kremlin's policies was shot dead in her apartment elevator. And in 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, was poisoned and killed in London.
Next up, do you use earbuds to listen to music or podcasts? Well, it is spelling big trouble for your ears and putting billions of young people at risk, even the United Nations is now ringing the alarm.
The World Health Organization says that data shows that nearly half of 12 to 35 year olds around the world listen to unsafe sound levels on devices like smartphones and MP3 players. And additionally, nearly 40 percent are exposed to hazardous noise levels at entertainment venues like sporting events and concerts.
A recent survey found that one in five American teens suffers from some form of hearing loss. The WHO says the acceptable noise level is at 85 decibels, but many earbuds reach over 100 decibels,and at that level you could damage your ears in just five minutes.
And listening for three hours at full volume with earbuds is the same as listening to a jet taking of for thirty seconds. So definitely be careful because it is important to note that once you lose your hearing, it never comes back.
And last up, we have an update on the fight over funding happening in Washington D.C.
Just two hours before the midnight deadline on Friday passed, Congress reached a deal to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but only for a week.
The Department of Homeland Security is tasked with securing our borders, managing immigration and preventing terrorism. It will run out of money to operate by the end of this week if Congress doesn't come to an agreement.
The fight is over President Obama's recent changes to immigration policy. The Senate already passed a bill to fund homeland security, but House Republicans wants to include a line to block President Obama's executive action on immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security includes the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service division which guards the president and TSA screeners at airports. But those departments can never shut down even if funding runs out.
About 85 percent of homeland security employees are required to work, whether they get paid or not.
And that's it for headlines. Coming up,it is the picture that divided the internet.
If you have a social media account there is no way you missed the dress of many colors over the weekend. Even the celebs weighed in. So what did you see, white and gold or blue and black? Well, there's quite a bit of science behind who saw what.
It is the question that haunted many, broke the internet, and pitted friend against friend. What color is this dress?
Even the White House is talking about it.
Reporter: Finally, has the president seen the dress? Does he have opinion as to whether it's white or gold?
Earnest:I haven't had an opportunity to talk to him about that specifically. But I did compliment my colleague, Jen Friedman, on her white and gold outfit today.
Scott: The actual dress, created by designer Michele Bastock out of London, is black and blue.
The dress dispute went viral after a 21-year-old on Tumblr posted a picture of it online. She and her friends couldn't agree on the color of the dress, so they asked the internet to weigh in. And millions did.
At its peak, the hashtag #thedress #whatcolorisitwas tweeted out more than 1,100 times per minute last week. Buzzfeed says the dress photo was viewed more than 30 million times in 24 hours, setting a new record.
It divided the Kardashian-West household and had everyone from Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber chiming in. But how is it possible for people to look at one dress and see two very different color schemes?
Well, it has to do with the very strong yellow-toned light in the background of the picture.
Scott: Neuroscientist Tony Movshon says there is a scientific reason for the differences in who sees what hue. It all depends on how you interpret the light around the dress.
Tony: The people who see dress as dark have a brain which computes as if there's a lot of light falling on image. Those who see white and gold are assuming there's less light falling on the image. More light is reflected by dress.
Scott: So basically your brain is color correcting the photo for you. Simple, but that still doesn't explain the obsession, even getting a rise out of the cast of the "Big Bang Theory."
Buzzfeed editor Rachel Zarrell explained what made this post more explosive than others.
Rachel Zarrell: It doesn't really fit into a category. It applies to anyone. Anyone can have an opinion on it because all you need to do is look at it.
Scott: But the dress has had its fifteen minutes of fame and now people are just plain over it. A blogger wrote ‘say no to the dress.’ And of course there are some creative memes out there showing the end ofthe dress era.
And, for the record, I saw blue and black. So, whatever that means.
Alright coming up, we kick off Women’s History Month with a story about a woman who blazed through history and the sky.
Now March is Women's History Month, and all month long we will be bringing you stories of truly inspiring women. And Ariel is here to help us kick off our celebration with an incredible story.
Arielle: Yeah, we are taking it to the sky with a pilot that broke down barriers.
Tengesdal: The aircraft's called the Dragon Lady. Sometimes you have to fight the dragon to dance with the lady.
Arielle: Dancing with the Dragon Lady isn't easy. Only the best of the best pilots get to fly the legendary U-2 spy plane.
Tengesdal: There's a special type of person that likes to be in this type of situation and we do it and we try to get the job done.
Arielle: And Lieutenant Colonel Merryl Tengesdal is one them. She became the first and only black female to become a U-2 pilot in 2004.
Since then she has logged 3,400 flight hours, and 330 combat hours in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa.
Tengesdal: I feel like I've made it to the top. Being an astronaut would be like the cream. But I've got the whole cake and everything. I'm good.
Arielle: But she is pretty close to an astronaut. U-2 planes soar at the edge of space, 70,000 feet. Pilots wear oxygen masks and suits like astronauts.
Tengesdal: You just feel like you’re kind of leaving the earth in some ways. And wow, there's a lot of things that we just don't understand out there.
Arielle: This year is the 60th anniversary of the U-2 spy plane. It is known for its historic missions, spying on the Soviet Union during the Cold War, taking photos of nuclear weapons on Cuba, and even being mistaken for aUFO when it was being developed at the secret government site, Area 51.
And while Tengesdal can't talk about what she's seen on her secret missions, she can share stories about her view from the cockpit, like seeing a shooting star at eye level.
Tengesdal: But that night I could see it come across and down my aircraft.
Arielle: Her advice for young people who want to do what she does? Shoot for those stars.
Tengesdal: You know the sky’s the limit. What do you want to do? Do I want to be an astronaut? Maybe. Do I want to be a CEO of Facebook?
You think of those things. Think about how far you can go because you can reach those because in America, we can do pretty much anything.
Arielle: And to test your knowledge of some phenomenal woman like Amelia Earhart and Maya Angelou, head to Channelone.com.
Scott: And that’s going to do it for us. I am Scott Evans.
Arielle: I am Arielle Hixson
Scott: And we will see you right back here tomorrow.
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