One-Third of U.S. Counties Have More Deaths than Births

  Recently, we reported on the importance of counties in the United States. Today we have a lot more on what the U.S. Census Bureau calls “the primary political and administrative divisions of states.” There are more than 3,000 counties nationwide. Most states use the word "county" to describe these subdivisions, or separate areas, within a larger territory. Naturally, there are exceptions to this definition. For example, the southern state of Louisiana is divided up into parishes. The Census Bureau reports that 1,653 counties lost population between 2010 and 2015. That is more than half of all counties nationwide. At the same time, the general population grew by about 4 percent. Delaware and Hawaii are the only two states that did not have a single county with a falling population number. If not for new immigrants, 194 more U.S. counties would have lost population. More people are dying than are being born in more than one-third of all counties. Population experts call this “natural decrease.” But that does not always mean their population is shrinking. A county’s population can grow even when there are more deaths than births. The reason? People are moving there from other parts of the United States or from other countries. Some news stories have described counties that record more deaths than births as “dying counties.” In 2009, the Census Bureau reported natural decrease in 880 counties. In 2012, the Census Bureau estimated natural decrease in 1,135 counties. Most were in rural areas. Kenneth Johnson is a professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He told the Associated Press that the number of counties with natural decrease is rising not only because there are fewer births than deaths in those areas. He said another reason is an increase in the number of deaths among “baby boomers.” The term baby boomer is used to describe the 70 million Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964. Johnson said, “I expect natural decrease to remain high in the future. These counties are in a pretty steep downward spiral. The young people leave and the older adults stay in place and age." He adds, "that unless something major changes -- for instance, new development such as a meatpacking plant to attract young Hispanics -- these areas are likely to have more and more natural decrease.” About 46 percent of rural counties experienced natural decrease. That compares to 17 percent of counties in populated areas. Experts say counties “die” because they have increasingly-older populations, a low birth rate and a poor economy. They say it is difficult for some areas to retain or attract younger people. Japan and many European countries have been experiencing natural decrease for many years. In the United States, the 10 largest counties are in the West, in states such as California, Arizona and Nevada. Some of the smallest counties are in eastern states.   The first counties were created in Virginia in the 1630s. Maryland and Massachusetts established counties a short time later. The Census Bureau says there are 3,031 counties nationwide. But the National Association of Counties (NACo) says there are 3,069. Association officials told VOA they use the term “counties” for both county governments and county geographies with county governments. Five of the 10 smallest counties by population are in the state of Nebraska. Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, is the second-most-populous county in the nation. It has more people than 29 states and more than the seven smallest states combined. The top four most densely populated counties are in the New York City area. The top four least densely populated counties are in Alaska. Some cities and counties have joined together. In other words, the city and county are controlled by one government. These include the city and borough of Anchorage, Alaska and the city and county of San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; Baltimore, Maryland and St. Louis, Missouri. Yet the state of Virginia has 39 independent cities that are not part of any county. Generally, county governments are strongest in the western and southern United States, and weakest in the east, where there are more cities. Few counties create laws like state legislatures and city councils do. Most just enforce state laws. There are about 3.6 million county government employees in the United States. About a third of counties operate hospitals. Counties are involved in 27 percent of public transportation systems and 34 percent of public airports. They own 40 percent of the bridges, and own and repair 45 percent of the roads. And that’s all we have today about U.S. counties. I’m Anna Matteo. And I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOA’s Christopher Jones-Cruise reported this story from Washington. 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   steep – adj. going up or down very quickly spiral – n. a situation in which something continuously increases, decreases, or gets worse (usually singular) meatpacking plant – n. a factory that processes animals that are made into meat products retain – v. to keep (someone) in a position, job, etc. attract – v. to cause (someone) to choose to do or be involved in something geography – n. the natural features (such as rivers, mountains, etc.) of a place dense – adj. crowded with people

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Review of Lessons 30 - 34

For Fun - 'Bloopers' Sometimes we do not remember what to say. Or sometimes we are laughing about a funny event. Watch the video above to see some of these mistakes, or "bloopers." Review Quiz See how well you learned these lessons by taking a review quiz.​ Lesson Review Lesson 30: Rolling on the River Grammar focus: Comparative and superlative adjectives; Quantitatives (much/many); Count/non-count nouns Topics: Asking for and making food recommendations; Units of measure & their abbreviations; dollar amounts expressed in numerals; credit/debit payment Learning Strategy: Make Inferences Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using count and noncount nouns; Abbreviations for amounts Lesson 31: Take Me Out to the Ball Game Grammar focus: Comparatives: faster, earlier Topics: Making comparisons; Asking for & giving advice Learning Strategy: Visualize Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using comparative and superlative adjectives; Pronouncing reduced "than" in comparative sentences Lesson 32: Welcome to the Treehouse! Grammar focus: Direct and indirect objects; Interjections_ Topics: Requesting help or information; Talking about technology; Politely disagreeing Learning Strategy: Monitor_ / Identify Problems Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Indirect objects; Interjections Lesson 33: Learning America's Sport >Grammar focus: Agent Nouns Topics: Complimenting someone's ability; Explaining how to play a sport or activity Learning Strategy: Sequence Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Agent Nouns; American pronunciation of "er" endings Lesson 34: What Will I Do? Grammar focus: Modal verb"might" Topics: Asking about the future; Talking about life events Learning Strategy: Make Your Best Guess (Inferencing) Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using modal verbs "will" and "might;" Patterns of intonation with modal verbs Now it's your turn. How is your progress with Let's Learn English? Tell us about where you live and how often you do these lessons.  Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of these lessons.

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Chinese Company’s Connection to US Universities Raises Questions

  A Chinese education company has given thousands of dollars to representatives of top universities in the United States. Reuters news agency says the money was for services to help Chinese students apply to these schools. Reuters suggests the company did more than help the students. In October, Reuters reported on claims of cheating by eight former employees of Dipont Education Management Group. The company is based in Shanghai. Six of the former employees say they wrote application essays for students. Almost all universities in the U.S. require students to prepare their own application materials. Another former employee of Dipont told Reuters she changed letters of recommendation teachers had written for students. And another said the company let a student remove bad marks from the records of his academic performance in high school. Dipont released a response on its website shortly after Reuters published its story. The company denied the claims and said Reuters had misrepresented the educational exchange between the U.S. and China. The company has a relationship with about 20 U.S. colleges and universities. This includes Vanderbilt University, Wellesley College, Tulane and the University of Virginia. Admissions officers from these schools have attended special Dipont events in China each summer since 2014. The events involved personal meetings with students to help improve their success in applying for college. Dipont paid for the travel costs of the admissions officers attending the event, Reuters said. Reuters also said emails it reviewed show Dipont gave money to some of the officers. The Institute of International Education is an organization that researches international student exchanges. The organization reported that more than 300,000 Chinese college students studied in the U.S. in 2015. There is a lot of competition among both students and universities. Schools look to international students to help increase income from tuition payments. Hundreds of Chinese companies are offering services to help students get into top schools. The companies often charge a lot of money for this help, but sometimes that help may go too far. In the past year, Reuters, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and VOA have reported incidents of cheating on college application materials from China. Dipont founder and chief executive Benson Zhang says his company is not involved in any wrongdoing. “Many [schools], students and overseas colleges consider us one of the most ethical companies in China,” he told Reuters in an interview. Zhang denies claims from the former employees that they tried to report incidents of rule-breaking. “If there had been such a case, it [was not] reported to me,” he said. “But I guarantee you, if such a complaint comes to my attention, I will deal with it [severely].” Zhang added that problems with one or two employees do not mean there are problems with the entire company. He said he recently gave $750,000 to a University of Southern California (USC) research center. The research center in Los Angeles, California is meant to fight college application fraud in China. But there are concerns about this money. The company gave the money to USC through a New York-based non-profit company called the Council for American Culture and Education Inc. The non-profit was created in 2009 to help Dipont make connections in the American higher education system. However, Reuters says the non-profit failed to correctly report its links to the Chinese company on its tax forms. The office of the New York Attorney General has said it will review the non-profit group. That could lead to an investigation if it appears that New York law was violated. Former Dipont employee Bruce Hammond says he tried to warn several schools about the company. In 2014 Hammond emailed officials at the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University and others. He wrote that Dipont was one of the companies most responsible for fraud in the application process. The USC fraud research center told Reuters it has been investigating Hammond’s claims. But the center defended Dipont as a “reliable and valuable partner.” Information provided by Dipont shows that admissions officers from 22 colleges and universities have attended its summer workshops since 2014. The gatherings are held in Shanghai. The company paid for the cost of officers’ flights. Emails show that, in some cases, admissions officers could choose less-costly flights in exchange for up to $4,500 in cash. Officials from Vanderbilt University, Pomona College and others admit to accepting free flights. But the Vanderbilt dean of admissions -- Douglas Christiansen -- said his admissions officer refused the cash. Christiansen told Reuters it would have been improper to accept the money. Louis Hirsh is the chair of the admissions practices committee at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. He told Reuters U.S. admissions officers are able to accept payments for travel costs when visiting American high schools. But they cannot accept money for recruiting students in the U.S. However, Hirsh told Reuters there is no rule about payments to school officials who are counseling international students. Sarah K. Lee was Dipont’s director of college counseling from 2010 to 2012. She told Reuters she learned of counselors writing essays for students as early as 2010. She said counselors told her they feared losing their jobs if they did not do everything their bosses told them to do. The USC Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice is investigating Reuters’ claims now. I’m Jill Robbins. And I’m Pete Musto. Steve Stecklow, Renee Dudley, James Pomfret and Alexandra Harney reported this story for the Reuters news service. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. How common is cheating in your country? Do companies offer services to help students apply to U.S. universities? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   apply – v. to ask formally for something, such as a job, admission to a school or a loan, usually in writing essay(s) – n. a short piece of writing that tells a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject letter(s) of recommendation – n. a formal letter that explains why a person is appropriate or qualified for a particular job or school academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education tuition – n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there fraud – n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person Inc(orporated) – adj. formed into a large, legal business or organization that under the law in the U.S. has the rights and duties of an individual and follows a specific purpose review – v. to look at or examine something carefully especially before making a decision or judgment improper – adj. not following rules of acceptable behavior recruit(ing) – v. to find suitable people and get them to join a school, company, organization or the armed forces counsel(ing) – v. to listen to and give support or advice to someone especially as a job

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Whose Finger Do You Want on the Button?

Putin Gives Actor Steven Seagal Russian Citizenship

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved Russian citizenship for American actor Steven Seagal. Putin signed a presidential order granting citizenship to Seagal, a presidential spokesman told reporters on Thursday. The 64-year-old Seagal had repeatedly requested Russian citizenship, the spokesman added. “He is well known for his warm feelings towards our country and has never hidden them.” The Russian official, Dmitry Peskov, said the fact that Seagal is a famous actor also was a major reason the president decided to award him citizenship. The actor has become friendly with Putin during several visits to Russia in recent years. The two men have been photographed together while attending events in Russia. Seagal’s acting career was based on movies showcasing his martial arts skills. Putin has also trained in the martial arts. The two men appeared together three years ago at a school near Moscow to launch a campaign to publicize physical fitness. The actor has praised Putin in earlier comments to reporters.  Seagal has said he supported Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. At the time, he called Putin “one of the great living world leaders.” Many nations have condemned Russia’s takeover of Crimea.    Putin has approved Russian citizenship to other famous people. In 2013, he awarded citizenship to the French actor Gerard Depardieu. In 2015, he approved citizenship for American boxer Roy Jones Jr., who held several of his fights in Russia. In January, Serbia also reportedly granted citizenship to Seagal, after he offered to set up a martial arts school in the country. I’m Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on information from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   grant – v. ​to give or allow someone to have something martial arts – n. traditional Japanese or Chinese methods of fighting, practiced as sport in many countries annexation – n. the taking over of another country’s territory   boxer – n. person who engages in the sport of boxing, which involved people fighting with their fists  

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US Presidential Candidates Have Similar Positions on Terrorism

  Terrorism is an important issue for many American voters. The two major political party nominees for president have presented plans for protecting the country from the terrorist threat. Both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump say they want to defeat the Islamic State, or IS, terrorist group. They also both say they want to stop the radicalization of young people in the United States. Their plans for reaching their goals differ, however. Clinton says the battle against IS must include an increase in air attacks, and support for local Kurdish and Arab ground forces. She also calls for finding a diplomatic solution to the civil conflicts in Iraq and Syria. She says the conflicts have helped the rise of ISIS. Clinton promises to work with U.S. allies to defeat terror networks. She says she will also work closely with the Muslim-American community. And, she plans to give more resources to law enforcement to help stop terrorist plots. Trump says he wants to put in place stronger border controls to stop terrorists from entering the country. Earlier in the campaign, Trump said he wanted to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Now, he says he wants to suspend emigration from some countries with a history of exporting terrorism. He also says he will establish more thorough measures for investigating foreigners seeking entrance to the United States. And, Trump also wants to work more closely with Russia and moderate Arab nations. He said he does not want to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Retired U.S. Army general Sidney Shachnow spoke to VOA on Skype about his support for Trump. “Donald Trump will show no leeway to ISIS. He will attack them wherever they are. And I think he’s gonna be more flexible with rules of engagement compared to our administration.” Retired diplomat James Jeffrey spoke to VOA on Skype about his support for Clinton. “Well my hope is that with the attack on Mosul pending, that President Obama will deal a deadly blow to ISIS before she comes into office. But I have no doubt that she will vigorously go after ISIS’ last stronghold in Raqqa.” I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOA Correspondent Masood Farivar reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report into VOA Special English. Caty Weaver 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   leeway – n. freedom to do something the way you want to do it flexible – adj. easily changed rules of engagement – n. a military directive that delineates the limitations and circumstances under which forces will initiate and prosecute combat engagement with other forces encountered vigorously – adv. done with great force and energy stronghold – n. a protected place where the members of a military group stay and can defend themselves against attacks

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2016 US Election is Hard for Civics Teachers

Some U.S. teachers are having trouble teaching U.S. government classes because of candidates' behavior and a lack of substance in the political campaign.

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English in a Minute: Go the Extra Mile

Americans use "miles" as a measure of distance. But what does it mean if you 'go the extra mile?' Find out in this week's EIM!

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