News Words: Emissions

Emissions was a buzz word at the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris last year. Find out what it means in this week's News Words.

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April 6, 2016

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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Cruz's Victory Slows Trump's Path

With a victory in the state of Wisconsin, Texas Senator Ted Cruz slowed Donald Trump’s push to capture the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. Cruz called his victory in the Wisconsin Republican primary on Tuesday a “turning point.” He asked Republicans to rally around his candidacy to stop Trump. Edison Research questioned people who voted in the primary for the Associated Press and U.S. television networks. The researchers found that some Wisconsin voters were concerned and frightened about a possible Trump presidency. The businessman did not make a public appearance Tuesday night but his campaign released a statement attacking Cruz. It read, "Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet -- he is a Trojan horse being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump.” Setbacks for Trump's campaign The Wisconsin defeat is one of several setbacks for the Trump campaign in the past few days. Last week, Trump had to explain his position on abortion after saying that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who had the operation. Doctors use an abortion to end a pregnancy, resulting in the death of the fetus. Earlier, police in Florida brought charges against Trump’s campaign manager after an incident involving a female reporter. The manager was accused of hurting the woman when she tried to question the candidate at a campaign event. In other well publicized comments, Trump said that European countries are “ripping off the United States” and want to break up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As world leaders met recently to discuss ways to limit the spread of nuclear arms, Trump said that South Korea and Japan should develop nuclear arms to deal with the threat from North Korea. When reporters raised questions about the presidential race on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said, “We've got big issues around the world. People expect the President of the United States and the elected officials in this country to treat these problems seriously.” This month, the race for the Republican presidential nomination moves to the northeastern states of New York and Pennsylvania. A recent poll found that Ted Cruz is now tied with Trump in the national survey. A month ago, the businessman was leading the Texas senator by nearly 20 percentage points. With the victory in Wisconsin, Cruz added the support of 30 more delegates to the Republican convention this summer. But Trump has 743 delegates compared to 517 for Cruz. A candidate will need 1,237 delegates to win the nomination. I'm Jonathan Evans.   Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English based on VOA and Associated Press reports. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rally – v. join together to do something puppet - n. a person that is controlled by another Trojan horse - idiom. something that is used to hide what is true or real to trick an enemy setback - n. a problem that makes progress more difficult rip off - phrasal verb. give something that is not worth its value

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Do You Speak English Better than US Candidates?

This is What’s Trending Today. A new study suggests you might be a better English speaker than the candidates running for president of the United States.  Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania studied the candidates’ grammar and vocabulary. The researchers at the school’s Language Technologies Institute say Donald Trump has the lowest score out of five candidates. He used 5th grade level grammar and vocabulary at the level of an average seventh grader. The researchers also studied Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The candidates were compared to Abraham Lincoln, who was president over 150 years ago. President Barack Obama and former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan were also studied. They found that Lincoln used the best grammar. Reagan’s speeches had the most developed vocabulary. The study says Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address was at the 8th grade level. He spoke in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863. Lincoln told the gathering to be resolved “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Among the current candidates, the study finds Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has the best vocabulary. The researchers placed his usage at an 11th grade level. The study used the speeches each candidate made to start their campaigns. The study says the candidates change their vocabulary and grammar based on who is listening. They also have been making their words and ideas easier to understand as the campaign continues. The researchers say it is not a perfect analysis. That is because the study is based on speeches. People usually speak in a simpler, less formal style than they write. So saying that Trump is campaigning at the level of an 11-year-old is not completely fair. But people had fun with the news on social media, anyway. New York Magazine made a video about the study last week. So far it has over 1 million views and almost 15,000 shares on Facebook. One person made fun of all the candidates, saying: “the moral is that none of our leaders don't talk none too good.” Another person wrote: “Most America has the grammar of an 11-year old.” The president with the worst grammar, but a pretty good vocabulary? George W. Bush. But maybe you already thought that. And That’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Bruce Alpert.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. What do you think of the language being used in this current campaign? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   grammar – n. the set of rules that explain how words are used in a language vocabulary – adj. the words that make up a language perish – v. to disappear or be destroyed analysis – n. a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do, and how they are related to each other formal – adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing

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US Uses Fake University to Stop Visa Fraud

  United States officials say 21 people were arrested for their reported involvement in a plot to help foreign nationals stay in the country illegally. The program enabled over 1,000 foreigners to remain in the US by claiming to work at or attend a university that does not exist. Officials say those arrested knew that the University of Northern New Jersey had no teachers, classes or programs. But the defendants did not know it was created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help fight visa fraud. Paul Fishman is the federal government’s top attorney for New Jersey. He told reporters that individuals and companies that help foreigners request visas began contacting the fake university soon after its creation in 2013. The Associated Press news agency reported that some defendants paid the federal agents operating the university thousands of dollars. In return, they received documents that showed students were attending classes or working for the school. This enabled the foreigners to keep their visas without attending classes. The students paid the visa brokers thousands of dollars for their help. The plot affected foreign nationals from more than 20 countries. But most of them were from India and China. They had entered the United States legally using non-immigrant, student visas. But they wanted to stay in the U.S. longer, either by having their student visas extended or by being given work visas. U.S. Attorney Fishman said the government knows who these people are. He said they will be investigated by federal immigration officers, but not charged in the case. Most of them will be forced to leave the country. One law enforcement official told The New York Times newspaper that some of the students used the illegally-given work visas to get jobs at Facebook and Apple. ABC News reported that another student with an illegal visa entered the Army. Government officials told The New York Times that most of the 1.2 million foreigners who entered the U.S. using student visas are attending legitimate universities. But there have been reports of student visa fraud across the country. This has caused immigration officials to worry about the country’s security. They have been pressured to fully investigate those who seek visas to see if they have links to terrorism. I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOA’s Esha Grover reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person fake - adj. meant to look real or genuine but not real or genuine broker - n. a person who helps other people to reach agreements or to make deals legitimate - adj. real, accepted or official

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Nine-Year-Old Defends Reporting Murder Story

A 9-year-old reporter is defending her work after people in her small Pennsylvania town criticized her for covering a murder. They said Hilde Kate Lysiak should be “playing with dolls,” or having “tea parties,” instead of covering a serious crime. Hilde runs the Orange Street News in her hometown of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, 240 kilometers northwest of Philadelphia. The young reporter got a “tip” that something happened in her town on April 2. At the scene, she got details of the crime, and later that day,  posted a story and a video clip on her website, OrangeStreetNews.com. In the video, she said a man was suspected of murdering his wife with a hammer. Standing near a police vehicle, Hilde said, “I’m working hard on this investigation.” She beat the regular news media to the story. But soon after she posted her story, the negative comments started on her Facebook page and YouTube channel. People said she should “play with dolls” instead. And they questioned her parents’ judgment in letting her report the story. Hilde’s reaction? "It kind of gets me angry because just because I'm 9 doesn't mean I can't do a great story," she said to the Associated Press. "It doesn't mean I can't be a reporter." On her YouTube channel, Hilde reads some of the angry comments aimed at her.  She wears a red bow in her hair, and a button that says, “I (love) free speech.” She smiles after she reads aloud this one, “I am disgusted that this cute little girl thinks she is a journalist. What happened to tea parties?”   Another critic wrote “nine-year-old girls should be playing with dolls, not trying to be reporters.” In another video response, Hilde defends her work: “I know this makes some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m nine," she says. But if you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computer and do something about the news. There, is that cute enough for you?,” she asks. She has run the Orange Street News since 2014. She gets some help from her father, Matthew Lysiak, a former reporter for the New York Daily News.  Her 12-year-old sister Isabel handles videos and photos. At first, it was a newspaper for her family, written in crayon. But now it has become a community news provider, with short stories posted on a website and a Facebook page. Some of the other stories she has reported on have been, drug use by middle school-aged children in a park, and several acts of property damage. Hilde has also written about the many empty storefronts in downtown Selinsgrove. Matthew Lysiak said the comments on his daughter's stories are usually positive. Lysiak said when he worked for the Daily News, sometimes he would take her along on the job. "She found journalism really interesting, and my older daughter, too," he said. "They would ask lots of questions." He told the AP that she usually is not bothered by comments, and usually does not read them. But the tea party comment, he said,  "really lit a fuse under her." I’m Anne Ball.   Anne Ball adapted this story based on an Associated Press report. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on Facebook. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   tip –n. information about a breaking story negative –adj. harmful or bad disgusted – n. (past) strong feeling of dislike, annoyed or angered journalist –n. reporter crayon –n. a stick of colored wax for drawing embraced –v. to accept someone readily and gladly lit a fuse – phrase. get someone to react strongly  

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VOA English Newscast: 1900 UTC April 6, 2016

From Washington, this is VOA news… I'm Dave DeForest reporting EU officials move to make the migrant return process fair and humane: European Union officials are pledging that there will be "no automatic return" for the migrants before the migrants are given a chance to apply for asylum. The announcement follows angry protests by international human rights activists who have been accusing the EU of denying migrants the basic rights of refugees to seek asylum.   NATO is preparing to step up its response to threats from the Islamic State group and from Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said He says that NATO is not seeking confrontation with Russia nor a cold war.  He told VOA NATO is implementing the biggest reinforcement to its collective defense since the end of the Cold War in response to the new security environment. Dutch voters are going to the polls to vote on whether to back a European Union free trade agreement with Ukraine. The referendum is nonbinding, but it will be an important measure of EU support.  It comes just three months before British voters cast ballots on whether to remain in the European Union. Dutch opponents of the EU agreement say its ultimate goal is to bring Ukraine into the bloc.  Supporters say the agreement would aid economic development on both sides and improve human rights in Ukraine. A Panamanian law firm says the 11.5 million documents leaked from its offices this week about offshore bank accounts were stolen by hackers, not divulged by an insider. Ramon Fonseca is one of the founders of the Mossack Fonseca firm. He says he has ruled out an inside job.  This is VOA news. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story automatic –adj. do as though by a machine, without thought or consideration deport –v. to force a person to leave a country confrontation –n. a serious, angry disagreement or fight between groups implement –v. to begin to do something, to put a plan into motion referendum –n. a popular vote on a single question nonbinding –adj. an agreement that does not have the force of law bloc –n. a group of people or countries connected by a treaty or agreement divulge –v. to tell, to reveal

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Myanmar Creates New Post for Aung San Suu Kyi

  Myanmar's parliament has created a new position for the head of the newly elected ruling party, Aung San Suu Kyi. Lawmakers voted Tuesday to establish the position of State Counselor. The effort to make her the country's de facto top leader was launched last week. It was the first legislative act of the new parliament. Aung San Suu Kyi stated during the election campaign last year that she would hold a position “above the president.” She is also Myanmar’s Foreign Minister and Minister of the President's Office. However, the Nobel Peace Prize winner is barred by the constitution from being president because her children are foreign nationals. Military representatives hold 25 percent of the seats in parliament under the constitution set up by the former military government. They say the new position is unconstitutional. But the legislation passed easily because Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, holds a majority in parliament after the November 2015 election. President Htin Kyaw is a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi. He must now sign the legislation officially creating the position into law. Earlier this week, Aung San Suu Kyi met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He congratulated Myanmar on its newly established civilian government. He also promised that China would pursue projects that would help both countries. China is the largest foreign investor in Myanmar and an ally of the former military government. However, China has been criticized for pursuing large-scale projects, such as a huge dam in northern Myanmar and a gas pipeline through Rakhine state. Critics say the projects are bad for the environment and exploit Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. After their meeting Tuesday, neither foreign minister said whether they discussed these controversial issues. They said only that they had discussed issues to improve bilateral economic and trade relations. I’m Mario Ritter.   VOANews.com reported this story. The story was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Burmese language service. It was adapted for Learning English by Mario Ritter. George Grow was the editor. What are your thoughts about Myanmar’s political developments? Let us know in the comments section. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   de facto – n. existing, but not by official rule or law pursue – v. to try to get something or reach a goal, to seek to get something done exploit – v. to use, sometimes in a way that is unfair controversial – adj. of or related to a public dispute or debate bilateral – adj. between two sides

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Find Your Best Place to Live

Some people can live wherever they want. But all of us can dream. Perhaps you want to move somewhere else and make a change. Maybe you just want to shake things up a little.  Some jobs let us live almost anywhere. Today many positions require only an Internet connection. If you want to find the perfect place to live, you might spend weeks doing research on cities around the world. Or you could use the Teleport website. It is set up to help you discover the best place for you. The website’s developers once worked for Skype. Teleport helps you search for places to live based on personal preferences – your own likings and dislikes. Teleport may help you decide where to go or dream about where to move some day. It can also make you better appreciate – and value -- the area where you are living now. Using Teleport To get started, go to the Teleport website and create an account. Users can choose from among different preferences to find the best city for them to live in. The search for ideal cities is based on you telling Teleport what is important to you. The site gives 20 categories to choose from. The groupings include: Cost of living Job market Climate Language Pollution Safety Traffic and Internet speed No city will likely be a perfect match for you. One issue or another might influence the website’s results. But Teleport can show you which cities are the best, based on your preferences. Teleport lists over 150 places. If an area is not listed, you can vote to add it to the site. Start by completing the Personal Data information. You tell Teleport where you are living now, the kind of job you have, your monthly earnings and budget requirements. You will be asked to list the earnings and budget requirements in United States dollars or other currencies, such as euros, British pounds, and Chinese yuan. This might seem like a lot of personal information to share with strangers. But Teleport says it does not share the information with others unless the account holder agrees, the website is sold, or when required to by law. The site also says it may contact the account holder for marketing purposes, but the person can stop its emails at any time. With Teleport’s help, you can decide whether you want to live in an area that has a higher or lower cost of living than where you live now. Or choose a place with costs similar to your current location. Within each preference are choices for you to identify. For example, under Traffic you can let Teleport know how much you hate traffic and how you like to travel: by car, public transportation, riding a bicycle and/or walking. The housing choices are limited. You will have a choice of either a one- or three-bedroom rental home. But the results will give you a general idea of housing costs in cities. If a category is not important to you, do not mark any of the choices within that preference. Results Teleport uses the information to create a bar graph showing you a list of your ideal cities. The picture has colors showing you how closely matched each preference is for that city. If the results do not show areas where you would like to live, you may want to change the preferences. You can also remove whole continents where you do not want to live. If you have chosen Living Costs as one of your preferences, you will see a column to the right of the bar graph. The column shows how much more or less each city will cost you to live in, compared to where you live now. You can see the relative cost of living in each city in your chosen currency. If cost of living is your most important consideration, use the Best Budget tab at the top of the page to see cities rated in order of their costs. Search If you are interested in living in a city that did not make the list based on your preferences, you can search for it on Teleport. Enter the name of the city and the site will show you information about living there. Compare Cities Use the Compare Cities tool to see two cities side-by-side and compare places to live. You can see which of the two cities will best meet your needs. Teleport will show you how both cities compare to your preferences and cost of living. You can also compare issues such as weather and the average pay for your job. Under the Score Data section, you can see how each city compares to where you live now. Teleport App Teleport is also available as a free app for: Teleport for iPhone and iPad Teleport for Android I’m Marsha James.   Carolyn Mohr wrote this report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.   Your Thoughts Have you ever wondered where your ideal city is? Which preferences are most important to you? What do you think your ideal city is? Share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   preference - n.  something that is liked or wanted more than another thing appreciate - v. to be grateful for (something) account - n. an arrangement in which a person uses the Internet or e-mail services of a particular company match - n. two people or things that are suited to each other currency - n. the money that a country uses location - n. a place or position rental - n. something that can be rented category - n. a group of people or things that are similar in some way column - n. a group of printed or written items (such as numbers or words) shown one under the other down a page budget - n. an amount of money available for spending that is based on a plan for how it will be spent  

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US Sends Two Guantanamo Prisoners to Senegal

The United States sent two Libyans from its detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Senegal earlier this week. U.S. State Department officials called the move a “humanitarian resettlement.” “The United States is grateful to the government of Senegal for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” the Defense Department said. The Libyans were identified as Salem Abdu Salam Ghereby and Omar Khalif Mohammed Abu Baker Mahjour Umar. They had been jailed at the detention center 14 years without facing charges. Both men were opponents of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Khalif was captured in Karachi in early 2002. Ghereby was detained in late 2001 along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is working to close the Guantanamo Bay prison before he leaves office next January. Republican members of Congress oppose the closing. The U.S. military has used the prison to hold terror suspects since the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington. The detainees started arriving in January 2002. In all, 779 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo Bay. More than 100 detainees have been resettled in 26 countries. One detainee has been freed. Another is serving a life sentence in prison after standing trial in the United States.   Jim Dresbach adapted this VO news story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Should the Gitmo prison be closed? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   grateful – adj. thankful; feeling or showing kindness gesture – n. a movement, usually one to express an idea or meaning

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Twitter to Broadcast American Football Games

The social media service Twitter has won the rights to broadcast Thursday night U.S. National Football League (NFL) games. Twitter will live stream the 16 games online next season. The games will also be broadcast on television. National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement Tuesday morning on Twitter. "This fall Thursday Night Football will be streamed live...so fans will see more of this," Goodell tweeted. The league offered the games to many other companies, including Facebook, Amazon and Verizon. Verizon is in the last year of a sponsorship deal with the NFL. The league makes about $250 million dollars per year from the deal. The exact terms of the NFL deal with Twitter were not available. But, Twitter reportedly did not offer the most money of the bidders. Roger Goodell said there is a huge number of NFL related messages on Twitter during football games. He says the organization wants to tap into that audience. He said, "Twitter is where live events unfold and is the right partner for the NFL as we take the latest step in serving fans around the world live NFL football." Pivotal moment Twitter’s stock value has decreased by more than 66 percent over the past year. As a result, investors have been pressuring Twitter to increase profits. Twitter shares rose by more than 3.5 percent in value after news spread about the company’s deal with the NFL. Twitter’s success is also measured by the number of active monthly users. Twitter has not had similar growth trajectory compared to the other social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. The NFL is hoping to reach new advertisers and viewers with the Twitter deal. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the agreement, "is about transforming the fan experience with football." I'm Marsha James.   The Associated Press reported this story. Marsha James adapted it for VOA Learning English. Cay Weaver was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   stream – v. transmit or receive (data, especially video and audio material) over the Internet as a steady continuous flow sponsorship – n. an arrangement in which a sponsor agrees to give money to someone or something bidder – v. a person or group that offers to pay (a particular amount of money) for something that is being sold audience – n. the people who watch, read, or listen to something tap into – expression to gain access to trajectory – n. to describe a process of change or development that leads toward a particular result   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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