Students: We are Mr. Pearl's seventh-grade social studies class from Chelan Middle School in Chelan, Washington, and Channel One News starts right now!
Azia: Thanks to Chelan Middle School for that awesome hello and a beautiful view — definitely beats New York on a cloudy day. All right, guys, it is Monday, and I am Azia Celestino. First up, a scary worldwide cyberattack over the weekend.
Luckily, today many computer systems around the world are running again after they were frozen in one of the biggest cyberattacks. Tens of thousands of computers in about a hundred countries were affected.
The massive hack crippled computer systems around the world from Taiwan to Turkey. Spain's telephone system was among the first targeted. Russia's largest mobile phone company was hit. American-based FedEx announced it was also infected.
In the United Kingdom, the virtual attack sent the National Healthcare System into panic mode. Ambulances and patients were turned away from hospitals across the country.
Emma Simpson: They said, “I'm really sorry, but the computer system is down; you're going to have to go away. We can’t have any appointments; it would be dangerous to do so because we can't access any of the files."
Azia: Hackers encrypted those files, making them unreadable. To decode them, they demanded $300 in ransom for each file; the amount would double after three days. If ignored, they warned, the data would be destroyed.The hack appeared to exploit a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was first identified by the U.S. National Security Agency and later leaked in a series of stolen documents.
Politicians immediately fired back.
Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn: What we have now got is a bunch of 21st-century highway robbers that have got hacked into our NHS and basically offering protection money to get the information back in order to treat cancer patients or anybody else. It is unbelievably disgusting.
Azia: The problem started when hackers tricked victims into opening corrupt links in emails. Those bad links were disguised as payment bills and security warnings.It is an old trick that cyber experts say can be guarded against by regularly backing up data and updating software.
Now the hunt for the people behind the attack is on. And experts say it appears to be the work of cyber criminals and not something carried out by a government.
After the break, some students thinking fun on their feet.
Demetrius: Okay guys, what skills do you think an engineer would need?
Azia: Math.
Tom: Definitely something in STEM, so I am going to say science.
Demetrius: Okay, well, what about communication?
Azia: That would not be first on my list.
Demetrius: Well, it should be, though, and one group of engineering students in Maryland are taking comm skills seriously and building up their social skills for the job.
Can you make sense of these scribbles? Yeah, me neither. But these engineering students at Johns Hopkins in Maryland can, so instead, they are working on their weaknesses.
Michael Hartwell: Public speaking is something that I’ve heard 90 percent of all people fear.
Demetrius: They realize that no matter how smart they are, they are still being judged by what does or does not come spilling out of their mouths.
Megumi Chen: I will be going into finance and doing quantitativeanalysis, but it's so important to have the communication skills to be able to talk and explain what you're saying.
Demetrius: So what looks like nonsense is actually an exercise in listening, accepting what someone else is saying and then adding to it.
Hartwell: With improv, there’s no solid answers. There's nothing objective about improv; it's very subjective. It's very go-with-the-flow.
Demetrius: But this flow has some parents questioning the reason why.
Raphael Norman-Tenazas: I told my mom in the beginning of the year, and she was like, ”Raphael, why are you taking this class? Like, you could have been taking another math class or something.”
Demetrius: But these students are sharpening their soft skills. Soft skills are social skills or communication qualities that are crucial when it comes to your career. In fact, a study from Harvard University found that 85 percent of job success comes from having well-developed soft and people skills.Only 15 percent of success comes from hard skills, like technical knowledge.
And for these students, it seems to be helping.
Norman-Tenazas: I actually landed a really good internship this summer.
Demetrius: Many of the students say their interactions with non-technical people have improved. Tia just had an interview for an internship.
Tia Aquart: I was able to, like, you know, kick it off with him and be able to have a good and meaningful conversationand a really good interview.
Demetrius: And her instructor is happy to hear that.
Hartwell: I think that they'll have a newfound confidence in their ability to talk to anyone about anything. Not just the work environment — I think it helps you recognize that you can fit in anywhere.
Azia: Looks pretty fun. D, I bet you would be pretty good at teaching those kids some social skills …
Demetrius: Oh, oh, I got it, yeah, yeah. Maybe I will start a class.
Tom: Who knows?
Azia: All right, next up, it is time to get your geek on. Tom, this is all you.
Tom: Indeed it is. This rare creature is making a comeback, thanks to some help from a biologist in California. Check it out.
This spring, some Californians are seeing a little bit more blue, with visits from these rare, iridescent butterflies. The return has dazzled onlookers at the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park.
John Gale: We've never seen anything like this. So yeah, this has been fantastic.
Tom: The California pipevine swallowtail, native to San Francisco, saw its population decline drastically over the years. But volunteer Tim Wong, known as the "butterfly whisperer," has led the effort to bring it back.
Tim Wong: That really has finally started to pay off.
Tom: Here are the caterpillars from last August. These are them now.In fact, on a sunny day in May, you could see lots of them. Tim, a California Academy of Sciences aquatic biologist, discovered that the rare butterfly only eats one kind of plant, the California pipevine.
Wong: This here is the flower of California pipevine.
Tom: The plant is not easy to find but does grow at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. So Tim took plant clippings home a few years ago and successfully populated thousands of California pipevine swallowtails in his own backyard.He used what he learned to help improve and expand the butterfly's food source at the garden.
Wong: By creating habitat here, we've really created a sanctuary where they're finally actually really almost common here in the garden.
Tom: But visitors say there's nothing common about the sight: California pipevine swallowtails thriving, clusters of males chasing females …
Wong: She actually might lay eggs. She’s touching it a lot.
Tom: … and even tiny eggs. You might get a glimpse of a caterpillar or a chrysalis. For Tim, who has studied native butterflies for 20 years, it is simply a labor of love.
Wong: It's really kind of magical.
Tom: Tom Hanson, Channel One News.
Azia: Pretty cool. Thanks, Tom.
Now, all season long, we have brought you plenty of Next Big Things, and now we have narrowed them down as we get ready to pick our favorite of the year.The top five NBTs are coming up after the break.
Azia: It is time for the Next Big Thing, but before we jump into the top five picks of this season, let's see what you thought about last week's.
We told you about bone conduction headphones: a new type of earphones — no ears required. So is it the next big thing? Seventy-eight percent said, “Yes — press play on this idea.” But 22 percent said, “No — I have got a bone to pick with this one.”
Class: We are Mrs. Lane's first-period STEM class from Hilliard, Ohio, and we think conduction headphones are the next big thing!
Class: This is Mr. King's eighth-grade class from Milton-Freewater, Oregon, and we think bone conduction headphones are the next big thing!
Azia: But Brianna said, “No, because what if someone wears glasses? Then they wouldn't be able to put the headphones on with their glasses.”
Great responses — thanks, guys.
Now, we only have a few weeks left before summer break, and before we say goodbye, we need your help crowning the top Next Big Thing of the season.
Cassie: Yeah, Azia, from trendy food crazes to high-tech inventions, we have had some pretty cutting-edge — you might even say game-changing — Next Big Things this season. But what was your absolute favorite? Let's check out the top five most popular NBTs based on votes.
We are diving into the cute new craze sweeping into hearts everywhere: swimming with otters.
Next up, you loved the food waste bin, an eco-friendly invention we brought you for Earth Month that promises to cut down on landfill waste by turning your food scraps into fertilizer fit for your backyard.
Grab a seat for Spot 3 on our list, 4D movies. You guys are ready to buy a ticket to the cinematic experience that transports the audience into the movie.
The next one is for breakfast lovers everywhere: the pancake printer. This kitchen gadget lets your inner artist create a breakfast of champions.
And last up, we are shedding a light on the epic light show on wheels: bike wheel art. It is a colorful art display made up of LED lights mounted on bike wheels.
So what do you think is the No. 1 Next Big Thing of the school year? Head to ChannelOne.com to vote and leave us a comment. Or better yet, send us a video response to .
Azia: So many great NBTs this season. I can't wait to see which one takes the crown.
All right, we are out of time for today, but we will catch you guys right back here tomorrow.
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