Students: We are Santa Rosa Middle School, and Channel One News starts right now!
Azia: Thanks to Santa Rosa Middle School for that awesome start to the show. I am Azia Celestino, and first up today, the FBI and Homeland Security are trying to figure out who unleashed a wave of cyberattacks that hit America, Europe and Asia. Tom is here with the latest.
Tom: That is absolutely right. The cyberattacks led to the shutdown of some of the biggest websites. And your devices that are connected to the internet were likely used without you even knowing it.
The attacks began early Friday morning as websites from Twitter to Netflix, Amazon to Spotify, slowed to a crawl or even stopped. They were overloaded with traffic, but not from real people — from millions of hijacked machines. They flooded the web with fake requests. More attacks continued throughout the day.
Dan Ackerman: This is definitely going to get worse as we go on.
Tom: Dan Ackerman, who writes about the internet for CNET, says they are known as denial-of-service attacks.
Ackerman: And that is when a lot of computers around the world that have been previously hijacked start sending out dummy data to a particular target, and that blocks that target from being able to do its job and show you the websites that you want to see.
Tom: Ackerman says this type of attack is old but with troubling new twists, including the takeover of millions of internet-connected machines from baby monitors to DVRs — all without the owners’ knowledge.
Ackerman: This is a large-scale version of it that affects a lot of people, and I have no doubt we're going to see a lot more of this going forward. It's a very effective way to make your mark felt online.
Tom: One big question: Who is doing it?
Fran Townsend: It doesn't look like the kid in a basement with a laptop. It looks more sophisticated than that.
Tom: Fran Townsend is a Homeland Security consultant. She says one thing investigators will be looking at is whether another nation is behind it — perhaps Russia.
Townsend: Is this sort of a brushback pitch from the Russians, sending us a message that we should be pretty careful about engaging in this sort of cyber activity with them because they are very capable?
Tom: Now, a hacker group from Russia and China named New World Hackers claimed responsibility on Twitter; however, U.S. authorities could not verify the claim. Azia, back to you.
Azia: Thanks, Tom.
Okay, after the break, a blockbuster deal in the world of media.
Azia: Let's see what else is making news today. First up, a massive business deal between two giants in media and communications:ATT announced it is buying Time Warner for $85 billion. If it goes through, it will be one of the biggest media deals ever, creating a powerhouse company that can both produce content and distribute it to phones, cable and satellite TV.
ATT is one of thelargest providers of wireless phone and internet service.Time Warner owns HBO, CNN, TNT, Warner Brothers Studio and many other channels and websites. But a deal like this isn't easy. Federal regulators still have to approve it to make sure it is not too much power in the hands of one company.
Next up, more than 100,000 college students in Pennsylvania will be back in class today after being out for several days because their teachers were on strike. Five thousand college professors and faculty at 14 Pennsylvania state schools went on strike last week, not showing up to class and instead protesting.
But on Friday the faculty and university officials announced they had reached a tentative deal over work rules, healthcare and salaries. The tentative three-yearcontract will run through June 30, 2018.
Although students say they are at the losing end after paying more than $7,000 in tuition for the year and no classes to show for it, many of them supported their professors.
Student: Angry for both sides. Angry as a student because I can't finish my studies, but also angry that the state system isn't allowing a fair contract for the faculty.
Azia: And more than 80 people were arrested over the weekend in North Dakota. They were part of a protest that has been going on for months over a proposed oil pipeline.
Police arrested 83 people for riot activities Saturday morning at a Dakota Access pipeline construction site.Some protestors had chained themselves to a vehicle and refused to leave. They are upset about an oil pipeline set to be built. The pipeline would carry about 450,000 barrels of oil daily. Its route would cross four states, including land in North Dakota, which is home to the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe of Native Americans.
Supporters say it would bring jobs to the area and help provide gas to the country. But opponents say the construction of the pipeline could put drinking water at risk of contamination and may also disrupthistorical sites sacred to the Sioux tribe.Protests have been going on since April.Many are camped out at the site and gaining support from other Native American tribes across the country.
Okay, after the break, a cool new school club is cropping up, just in time for Halloween.
Azia: Now, it is fall, the time of year for fresh-carved pumpkinsthat you picked up at the grocery store, a local pumpkin patchor — somewhere else. Right,Arielle?
Arielle: Yeah, Azia. One group of students in Oklahoma handpicked their own, right at school.Check it out.
Pumpkins, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens and squash, all planted and harvested by students, and it is right next to their classrooms.
Ashton Pittman:Ever since I was little,I've always wanted to work in agriculture.
Arielle: Ashton is one of 38 students learning how to do just that in the Lane Public School Garden Club.
Ashton: Yeah, I think it's a great opportunity for these kids to be able to learn about all this stuff.
Arielle: Another student, Ray Thompson, said he loves the hands-on learning, for he now knows what to look for when picking the crops.
Ray Thompson: The pumpkins, mostly, because we'll know if it's ready time for harvest. If it's green, if it’s not —it's not gonna be ready for harvest.
Arielle: Lane Public School Superintendent Roland Smith said, through these lessons, he hopes the students gain an appreciation of gardening that lasts a lifetime.
Superintendent Roland Smith: The history of gardening, the economics, the science behind it, where food comes from.
Arielle: Through a grant from the Department of Agriculture, the school was able to start a five-acre garden right on its campus, and now the kids’ hard work is ready to harvest.
Smith: Pick them and process them and have them ready to either sellor give to our senior citizens or to serve in the cafeteria.
Arielle: Students not only work in the garden but go on field trips and learn from other local growers.
Smith: So it’s really just evolving out here, and not many schools have done this that I'm aware of on this level.
Arielle: And now they plan to put a greenhouse next to the garden so they can continue working in the winter.
Ashton: And so I hope by the time I graduate eighth grade that this garden has expanded and we have a lot and we actually — it's a regular thing now.
Arielle: They are selling their crops at the school, and all the money made will go right back into the project.Arielle Hixson, Channel One News.
Azia: Very cool.Thanks,Arielle.
Okay, next up, it is time for the Next Big Thing.
We told you about pancake printers, a batter-filled printer that takes homemade pancakes and turns them into artwork for a fancy breakfast. So is it the next big thing? Eighty percent said,“Yes — batter up!”,while 20 percent said,“No — this idea is a flop.”
Class: This is Ms. Till’s class from Benito Middle School, and we think the PancakeBot is the next big thing!
Class: This is the…class and seventh-grade advisory at Handy Middle School from Bay City, Michigan, and we think the pancake printer is the next big thing!
Class: We think the PancakeBot is the next big thing!
Azia: Thanks for the videos, guys.
Okay, now, some of you may prefer using headphones to talk on your smartphone instead of holding it up to your ear.But now one company is offering a new way to answer your calls — with your finger.
It is a little hard to believe — that putting a high-tech watchband on your wrist can turn your finger into a phone receiver. The Sgnl band can attach to a smart watch or a classic watch. Bluetooth connects it to your phone, and when someone calls, the sound travels from your wrist to your finger. A mic in the band picks up your voice.
Han Nryu: It translates the sound into a vibration so that it can pass through your hand and then through your finger all the way up to your ear, so when it meets your ear, it becomes a sound again.
Azia: The Sgnl device isn’t on store shelves yet, but it is expected to be released next year.
So what do you guys think? Are finger phones the next big thing? Get those fingers working and type ChannelOne.com, vote, leave us a comment and make sure to send us a video to .
Okay, that is it for today, but don't forget, tomorrow we have got a special Channel One show for you.You guys voted — submitted your ballotsfrom across every state and so many Channel One schools. So who won our OneVote 2016 Mock Election,Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? We reveal the results tomorrow, so make sure you tune in. We will see you then.
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