Scott: What is up? It is Thursday, May 21. I am Scott Evans and Channel One News starts right now.
Let's start off with headlines. And first up, the CIA has released new documents that shed light on the mindset of the terror group al-Qaeda’s former leader, Osama bin Laden.
The documents say that inside the hideout of Osama bin laden in Pakistan, there was information on thought control, ‘how to' books on terrorist attacks and applications to join al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.
They say they recovered hand written letters from Osama bin Laden that urged followers to carry out attacks similar to those like the ones he organized on September 11. Bin laden wrote that the focus should be on killing and fighting the American people.
U.S. Navy seals said they found thousands of documents when they killed bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout in May 2011. But despite his plans, U.S. officials say bin Laden struggled to unite al-Qaeda while in hiding. The release of the once-classified documents comes after reports that the Obama administration lied about details of the raid and killing of bin Laden.
Meanwhile, President Obama spoke about national security issues yesterday, saying that climate change ranks right alongside terrorism as a threat to our country.
The president's remarks came during a graduation speech he gave to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Obama: I’m here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and make no mistake it will impact how our military defends our country. So we need to act and we need to act now.
Scott: The Obama administration has said that extreme weather and rising seas threaten our military bases. And that climate change has also increased the risk of conflict in countries fighting over resources.
And, it is a mess along miles of the California coastline after a broken pipeline spewed thousands of gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean.
Crews are at work cleaning up about 21,000 gallons of oil alongthe coast in Central California.
Jennifer Williams: We're going to look for the best way, the most environmentally friendly way to mitigate the oil spill and get the beach back to its pristine condition.
Scott: Many are concerned whales are swimming into it, and some birds are already coated in the black slick oil. The pipeline broke on shore and spewed oil for several hours before it was turned off.
Alright coming up; need a ride to the baseball game? Well, big business for adults is becoming new trend for kids.
Between ballet and piano lessons, soccer and tutoring, the lives of students are busy.
And parents aren't always around to get you to where you need to be. But as Arielle Hixson shows us, that problem has sparked a whole new business geared toward teens.
Maya: On a good day with no traffic, it’s 25 minutes.
Arielle: Two days a week, 16-year-old Maya Harr walks out of her Virginia high school and gets into a car sent by Uber, a ride-sharing service.
She rides about ten miles to her ballet class in Washington. Maya's parents, Karla and Brian may not be in the car with her, but they are on board with the ride.
Brian: We tried to be the one's driving her and it's just really hard to balance everything and to be there every time.
Arielle: These days, busy teens need to get where they need to go and can't wait around for a ride. So many families are turning to ride-sharing services, smartphone apps that connect passengers to drivers with vehicles for hire.
Brian: It wasn't our first pick, but we needed something and we had a high enough confidence level.
Arielle: A private driver may sound too expensive, but that’s not the case. Competition in the industry has made services like Uber and Lyft more affordable. And Maya's parents feel like it gives them more control.They set up an account to call for the car and can track its route on their phone. And even pay online.
Karla: In the first month or two, I would watch that app move.
Arielle: But technically, Uber says you must be at least eighteen years old to take the service alone. Those rules aren't enforced for teens, but they could keep younger kids from riding Uber by themselves.
Karla: It doesn't change our decision to use this service. I was surprised because I didn't read that when we were signing up, number one. And I don’t think anyone’s ever asked you your age.
Maya: No.
Prof Arun Sundararajan: Uber's brand and Lyft's brand have emerged very rapidly and have sort of taken on the sheen of, you know, this is a big company; I can trust this company.
Arielle: NYU Business School Professor Arun Sundararajan says driving services are one of the top examples of today's new sharing economy. But they still come with risks.
Prof Sundararajan: Until we understand exactly what the risks associated with this are, and that can only come with time, I would be cautious about engaging in behaviors like sending kids alone in an Uber or a Lyft.
Arielle: Uber does background checks and screens drivers, but it also clearly states it has no liability if something goes wrong. That's between you and your driver.
Those limitations have led to more kid-specific transportation services, offering increased security and rides for younger children. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Shuddle employs all women drivers. And Boost, backed by Mercedes-Benz, has a concierge who rides with the young passengers.
Arielle: About 79 percent of teens participate in some sort of after school activity, so it looks like Uber is coming to the rescue with this carpool makeover.
Well, I got to run, but back to you in the studio Scott.
Scott: Arielle, you better make sure you get that seat belt on!
Alright, now coming up, it is a spark of knowledge as we bust apart another major myth in history.
Now our myth-busting series wouldn’t be complete without investigating the story of Benjamin Franklin, his kite and a bolt of lightning. Former reporter Chris Browne is back with more.
Male: Everyone knows how he made a silken kite and flew it in a thunderstorm to prove that lightening and electricity were one in the same.
Chris: It is a story that usually begins with“everyone knows.”On a stormy day in 1752 in colonial Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin, scientist, inventor, and founding father, stepped outside with some string, a key and a kite.
Whatever happened next has become one of the most famous images in science. But because there’s so little evidence of the experiment, nobody really knows whether Franklin ever flew his kite in a storm. And some historians think the whole story is a hoax.
So, to get to the bottom of Franklin’s legendary experiment, we went right to the source.
Can you describe the thrill of being shocked, the static, feeling the spark on your hand?
Man: Here it was, the storm was out there, thunder and lightning all around and all of a sudden I thought the kite had been hit. I thought there was lightening coming to the kite.
I thought there was electricity traveling down the string and I put my finger up next to the key and spark jumped from the key to my hand! And that’s when I knew lightening was electricity; very exciting time.
Chris: Very exciting, but not very likely. Even if the original Ben Franklin really did fly a kite, it wasn’t hit by lightning because as NBC Weather Plus meteorologist Jeff Ranieri tells us,“Old Ben”would have felt more than just a spark.
What are some of the risks associated with doing this sort of experiment?
Jeff Ranieri: Well, I mean, it’s an extremely dangerous experiment. You think about lightening and you think about how deadly it can be. By putting yourself out there during a thunderstorm alone is dangerous. But then, by flying something up into it, is just completely ridiculous. It’s not something you want to try at home.
Chris: Another misconception. Franklin didn’t discover electricity in 1752. He simply figured out there was a connection between lightening and electric charges.
Man: And I found that silk did not conduct electricity.
Chris: So why are school kids of all ages still taught the story of Ben and his kite?
Man: All of a sudden there was a bright flash and a loud clap of thunder, and I thought the kite had been hit. But I wasn’t sure.
Chris: Well for one, it is a great story. But it is also about a guy whose scientific curiosity and innovative experiments proved to be, well, key. But before you head off to do your own kite flight, remember these words of wisdom.
Man: If you’re going to play in a lightning storm, hand the string to someone else.
Chris: Ah, good advice.
Chris Browne, Channel One News.
Scott: And the myth busting continues over at Channelone.com with a quiz about American innovators.
Well, that's it for us today. But no worries, we are right back here tomorrow.
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