Trump Calls on US Congress to Change Immigration Policy

The Uzbek man who killed eight people in New York City came to the United States on a diversity immigrant visa.   After the attack, President Donald Trump announced he wants to work with U.S. lawmakers to end the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Trump said, “I am going to ask Congress to immediately initiate work to get rid of this program – diversity, diversity lottery. Sounds nice; it’s not nice. It’s not good. It’s not good. It hasn’t been good. We’ve been against it.” The diversity visa program is known as the green card lottery. It is the only hope for some would-be Americans to live in the United States. The program is open to non-refugees, individuals with no family members in the U.S. and those lacking an employer willing to guarantee them a job. To be considered for the program, a person must have a high school education or a few years of work experience. Natives of most countries can qualify, but there are exceptions, such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. The list also includes El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Also included are Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, the United Kingdom and its territories except Northern Ireland, and Vietnam. People born in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan qualify for the diversity lottery program. Between September 2015 and September 2016, the U.S. government approved 45,664 diversity visas. More than 2,300 of them were given to Uzbeks.   Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer helped to create the legislation for the program in the 1990s. Schumer is a leading member of the Democratic Party. Trump has blamed Schumer and the Democrats for the terror attack in New York. In a statement, Schumer said “I have always believed and continue to believe that immigration is good for America.” He also asked the president to support the “real solution” of anti-terrorism financing, which would be cut under the most recent budget proposed by the Trump administration. Schumer was also one of eight lawmakers who wrote the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill in 2013. The bill would have ended the green card lottery. The measure passed the Senate, but the House of Representatives did not vote on it. Leon Fresco formerly served in the Office of Immigration Litigation at the U.S. Department of Justice. He worked there during the presidency of Barack Obama. Fresco developed the legislation in 2013. He noted that cutting the lottery program was part of a compromise between the two main political parties. Family-based system President Trump has called for a new immigration system, one that is based on merit, not family ties. The United States currently has a family-based immigration policy. The immigration system is based on sponsorship. A U.S. citizen or green card holder can offer to accept responsibility for family members who leave their home country to move to the U.S. Partners and young children qualify as immediate relatives and do not need to wait for a visa number. But for brothers, sisters and adult children, the process can be long and difficult. “It's extremely difficult…brothers and sisters are at the very end," said Naomi Tsu, deputy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Tsu said it is even harder if they live in countries that have a lot of immigrants coming to the United States. The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute reports that in 2015, more than 1 million permanent residents were admitted to the United States. Of that number, 44 percent were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, and 20 percent entered through a family-sponsored preference. Only 14 percent entered on job-based visas. Merit-based immigration Merit-based immigration would give preference to non-citizens with high-paying job offers, past successes, English-language skills and education. All of those would be considered under the proposed green card system.   Tsu explained that the system would give points for “age, the salary you are able to command, and how much money you are going to invest in the U.S. economy.” The higher the rating, the more likely an immigrant would be admitted to the United States. This system would be similar to merit-based immigration systems used by Canada and Australia. Pros and cons Supporters of a merit-based system say it would help lower immigration rates. And they say it will ensure that the immigrants who do get accepted are highly skilled and less likely to need public assistance. In August, Trump said that the United States has “operated a very low-skill immigration system.” He was speaking in support for a bill known as the RAISE, Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy, Act. It aims to cut legal immigration from 1 million to 500,000 each year, in part by moving to a merit-based system. “This [family-based] policy has placed substantial pressure on American workers, taxpayers and community resources,” Trump said. But critics say the U.S. economy also needs low-skilled workers, and a merit-based system would hurt industries that depend on them. Critics also see the merit-based system as un-American. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said Wednesday that the proposed system “abandons the fundamental respect for family, at the heart of our faith, at the heart of who we are as Americans.”   VOA News reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   diversity - n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. initiate - v. to cause the beginning of (something) : to start or begin (something) lottery - n. a system used to decide who will get or be given something by choosing names or numbers by chance qualify - v. to have the necessary skill or knowledge to do a particular job or activity : to have the qualifications to do something merit - n. the quality of being good, important, or useful: value or worth preference - n.  an advantage that is given to some people or things and not to others salary - n. an amount of money that an employee is paid each year substantial - adj. large in amount, size, or number abandon - v. to stop supporting or helping (someone or something)

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Magazine Predicted Astros Would Win World Series

This is What’s Trending Today… The Houston Astros baseball team won the World Series Wednesday night. It beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in the final game of the series.  Houston had never won the baseball championship since entering the major leagues in 1962. That is a 55-year wait for a title! The Astros came close a few times. In 2005, the team made it to the World Series but lost four straight games. The championship went to the White Sox of Chicago. After that, things went from bad to worse. The team lost nearly twice as often as they won during the following seasons. In 2011, the team lost 106 games. In 2012, it lost 107 games. And in 2013, the team lost a record 111 games. Some sports observers called the Astros the “laughingstock” of baseball. In other words, people often made fun of the team’s poor results. This season, the city of Houston was badly damaged by flooding from Hurricane Harvey. The Astros returned home from a road trip to find their city underwater. Few picked the Astros to win the series over the Dodgers. But for writers and editors of Sports Illustrated magazine, the Astros’ victory did not come as a surprise. In 2014, the magazine published a cover that predicted the Astros would win the 2017 World Series. It shows a young player named George Springer with the headline “Baseball’s Great Experiment.” Ben Reiter is a writer for Sports Illustrated. He visited the team in 2014. Reiter wrote that the Astros were run by “know-it-all baseball outsiders,” – including a former management consultant and a former NASA engineer. Jeff Luhnow is the general manager for the Astros. He is the so-called “know-it-all” former management consultant. In 2014, he told Reiter about his plan to rebuild the team using scientific data. “When you’re in 2017, you don’t really care that much about whether you lost 98 or 107 in 2012,” Luhnow said. “You care about how close we are to winning a championship in 2017.” Three years later, the Astros did just that. And George Springer, named the series’ most valuable player, is back on the cover of Sports Illustrated. This time, the headline reads: “Baseball’s Great Prophecy.” And the magazine predicts that the Astros will repeat as the World Series champions next year. Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with information from Sports Illustarted. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   laughingstock - n. a person or thing that is regarded as very foolish or rediculous cover - n. the outer part of a magazine prophecy - n. a statement that something will happen in the future  

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Magazine Predicts Astros Would Win World Series

This is What’s Trending Today… The Houston Astros baseball team won the World Series Wednesday night. It beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in the final game of the series.  Houston had never won the baseball championship since entering the major leagues in 1962. That is a 55-year wait for a title! The Astros came close a few times. In 2005, the team made it to the World Series but lost four straight games. The championship went to the White Sox of Chicago. After that, things went from bad to worse. The team lost nearly twice as often as they won during the following seasons. In 2011, the team lost 106 games. In 2012, it lost 107 games. And in 2013, the team lost a record 111 games. Some sports observers called the Astros the “laughingstock” of baseball. In other words, people often made fun of the team’s poor results. This season, the city of Houston was badly damaged by flooding from Hurricane Harvey. The Astros returned home from a road trip to find their city underwater. Few picked the Astros to win the series over the Dodgers. But for writers and editors of Sports Illustrated magazine, the Astros’ victory did not come as a surprise. In 2014, the magazine published a cover that predicted the Astros would win the 2017 World Series. It shows a young player named George Springer with the headline “Baseball’s Great Experiment.” Ben Reiter is a writer for Sports Illustrated. He visited the team in 2014. Reiter wrote that the Astros were run by “know-it-all baseball outsiders,” – including a former management consultant and a former NASA engineer. Jeff Luhnow is the general manager for the Astros. He is the so-called “know-it-all” former management consultant. In 2014, he told the Reiter about his plan to rebuild the team using scientific data. “When you’re in 2017, you don’t really care that much about whether you lost 98 or 107 in 2012,” Luhnow said. “You care about how close we are to winning a championship in 2017.” Three years later, the Astros did just that. And George Springer, named the series’ most valuable player, is back on the cover of Sports Illustrated. This time, the headline reads: “Baseball’s Great Prophecy.” Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with information from Sports Illustarted. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story        

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November 1, 2017

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

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A Face Can Unlock iPhone X, But Can It Be Fooled?

  Apple’s well publicized iPhone X finally went on sale in pre-orders last week. The device will be available in Apple stores this Friday, November 3. With a starting price of $999, the iPhone X has the highest-price of any iPhone ever offered. Yet Apple said demand for its latest smartphone has so far been “off the charts.”   One of the most-talked about features of the iPhone X is the new front and back-facing cameras. Apple says its TrueDepth technology greatly improves performance for photographs and video. The camera is also trained to recognize faces and expressions. The company says this gives users power to open up the phone just by looking at it. The new Face ID recognition system replaces the Touch ID on other Apple devices that used a fingerprint to unlock the phone. Other smartphones – including the latest Samsung Galaxy models – also use facial and eye recognition technology to start up the devices. But Apple says its Face ID system operates differently. It works by projecting more than 30,000 dots on the face of users to create a kind of map. An infrared camera then reads these marks to create an image that can be confirmed as having the same appearance. Apple says the system is also designed to continually learn. Each time the face is used to unlock the phone, it is supposed to note any changes, such as facial hair or the person getting older. The system can then remember the changes to keep recognizing the person over time. The company claims its facial recognition is even secure enough to process payments through its Apple Pay service. Many reviews of the iPhone X have been published recently. Some of them included tests of the Face ID system. Reviewers reported successful tests in which the phone recognized the face in different situations and unlocked the device. But most reviewers also said the feature did not work perfectly all the time. ​ One fairly common failure was that the Face ID sometimes did not unlock the iPhone X if the user wore a certain kind of sunglasses. Not surprisingly, wearing any kind of disguise – even one covering just part of the face – caused Face ID to fail. It was found to work correctly when the user was wearing headphones or a hat. The Associated Press’s Anick Jesdanun reported that Face ID also worked in most bright sunlight, although not every time. “It also worked in the dark, thanks to the use of infrared sensors rather than just the standard camera,” Jesdanun wrote. “That’s important when you wake up in the middle of the night.” Several attempts were made to trick Face ID into unlocking the phone with a photo of a person instead of a real face. The iPhone X was able to pass these tests by knowing the difference between a photo and a face. Wall Street Journal reporter Joanna Stern tried something a little different. She went to a mask maker and asked for a recreation of her face to see if the iPhone X would be fooled. It was not. “Face ID knew it was somebody’s face, but it wasn’t duped into thinking it was me,” she wrote. However, Stern carried out another test involving 8-year-old identical triplets. In this case the phone was tricked. After just one of the boys registered his face, his two brothers were happily able to unlock the phone. Apple has admitted that Face ID could fail when used with young people who look very much alike. The company says the phone can also be fooled by faces of children under 13 years old. Wired magazine’s David Pierce noted that Face ID does not seem to recognize a face from all positions. “My phone's about an arm's length away on my desk, and I have to lean in and stare every time I want it to turn on,” he wrote. This can make it impossible for a user to quickly and quietly unlock a phone without being seen by others. This is one reason some reviewers suggested Apple could have kept the fingerprint unlocking system on the latest iPhones. But Pierce found a favorite part of the Face ID was one of its privacy tools. When someone held the phone, it hid any messages until the device could confirm the user’s face. Apple says its research shows there is only a one in a million chance of another person being able to unlock someone else’s iPhone X with Face ID. The company has promised the system will become “the new gold standard” for all facial recognition. I’m Bryan Lynn.   Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His story was based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and wired.com. 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   off the charts – idiom. extremely popular or successful feature – n. an interesting or important part of something unlock – v. to free from restrictions; to make available for use project – v. to cause something to appear on a surface review – n. media report in which the writer gives an opinion about something disguise – n. clothes or other things people wear to not be recognized mask – n. covering that hides or protects the face dupe – v. to trick or fool someone into doing something lean – v. move the body in a particular direction stare – v. look at something continuously  

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South Korean President Says No to Nuclear Weapons

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says his country will not develop nuclear arms or own nuclear weapons. The president made the statement in a speech Wednesday to South Korea’s National Assembly. Moon added that both South Korea and North Korea should observe a joint declaration from 1992. In that statement, both countries said the Korean Peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons. Observers noted that Moon’s position on such weapons remains unchanged. The president’s statement comes as opposition lawmakers have called for a redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons in the South. They want to defend against the threat of North Korean efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Some South Korean lawmakers say their country should have its own nuclear weapons. On September 3, North Korea tested its sixth and most powerful nuclear device yet. North Korea’s nuclear and long-distance missile tests have led to strong language from United States President Donald Trump. He has threatened to launch military action against the North if it continues testing barred by the United Nations Security Council. However, in his speech on Wednesday, Moon stated that no military action will be taken on the Korean Peninsula without the permission of South Korea. He also said that his country would control its own future. Trump to visit South Korea for talks South Korea will be the second country that Trump visits on his trip to Asia later this month. North Korea’s nuclear and long-range missile development is expected to be one of many issues to be discussed. After his visit to South Korea, Trump will then travel to Beijing for talks with Chinese officials. As preparations for the visit continue, members of his cabinet have visited Asia and discussed the situation in Korea. Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, “Our goal is not war, but rather the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The Reuters news agency reports that the United States is carrying out direct, secret negotiations with North Korea. The report was published on Wednesday. The story said that an unidentified State Department official told Reuters that the U.S. special diplomat for North Korea has been speaking with North Korea’s U.N. mission. The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea. But, special diplomat Joseph Yun, the report says, has been in contact with the North through what is known as the “New York channel.” That term suggests North Korea’s diplomatic contacts with the U.N. The unidentified official said the discussion “has not been limited at all, both (in) frequency and substance.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last month that the United States is extending diplomatic efforts toward North Korea. President Trump, however, has voiced anger over nuclear and long-range missile tests carried out by the North. I’m Mario Ritter.   Richard Green and Steve Herman reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter wrote a story based on their reports for VOA Learning English. His story includes information from Reuters. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   tactical – adj. something specific that works toward a large plan or goal verifiable – adj. something that can be shown to be true mission – n. a group of people who are sent to a foreign country for specific reason or purpose frequency – n. how often something happens We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Artist Gives New Life to Unpopular Plants

We do not usually think of plants as destructive. But some plants are exactly that. By definition, invasive plants are not native to an area. They can grow and spread quickly, often harming or killing other plant life. Invasive plants can damage and even destroy ecosystems. This sometimes happens because the plant and animal species that keep them under control are no longer present in an area. Patterson Clark has worked as a volunteer for the United States National Park Service for almost 15 years. He goes through forests, and removes non-native plants. He knows how harmful these weeds can be. They can kill trees, increase soil loss, and cause major damage to waterways and wetland areas. Clark had developed an unfriendly relationship with invasive plants. But then he decided something needed to change. “One day, when I was pulling a plant, I thought, how can I change my relationship with this plant so that it’s not just eradication, taking something's life? Since then, I’ve been harvesting invasive plants, rather than just killing them." Some people who volunteer to pull weeds are called warriors. Yet Clark says he doesn't consider himself a warrior. "I’m more of a gatherer.” And now Clark, who is an artist, gives these plants a new life – as art work. “When I first work with a plant, I call that prospecting. I’ll sit with the plant, study its nature, cut it, bring it back into the studio and then start running tests." He begins to test the plant to see it can produce color or paper or other materials.   White mulberry produces paper Over the years, Clark has developed a liking for some invasive plants, like the white mulberry tree. “I like white mulberry. It offers paper, the strongest, whitest paper." The paper-making process takes long hours of work, and a lot of patience. Clark estimates it takes 20 minutes to cut down the plant, 30 minutes to steam it and five minutes to remove the outer covering. Then, it takes three hours to scrape it, an hour more to cook it, 20 minutes to wash it and another hour to beat it. After all of that work is done, he flattens the mulberry sheets and lets them dry overnight. The result is pieces of paper that will become art. Bushes offer colors Clark also gets the ink coloring for his paintings and prints from invasive plants. For example, he takes leaves from ivy plants and puts them in alcohol to make green ink. For red ink, he uses multiflora rose. The inner bark of bush honeysuckle gives him aqua blue. And the bark of leatherleaf mahonia offers bright yellow. Each print that Clark creates includes images of all of the plants he has collected. Sometimes, the images show a volunteer pulling plants or a tool used to process the plants. Creating art First, Clark creates digital designs of his art on the computer. Then, he cuts his design into a block of wood by laser. Next, he places the ink onto the block and presses it onto the paper. He repeats the process for each color. Clark shows the prints and paintings in art exhibits. “I do appreciate the compliments but one thing I have heard some concern about is the archival quality of these prints." He says some of the plant-based coloring will last for a long time, but the brighter colors do not last as long if they come in contact with bright light. So, he suggests that people keep his prints in low light or in a protective covering. "So, that’s how I’d like these things to be treated.” With his artistic treatment of invasive plants, Patterson Clark is turning these unpopular plants into something valuable. I'm Alice Bryant.   Faiza Elmasry reported this story for VOANews.com. Alice Bryant adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   ecosystem – n. everything that exists in a particular natural environment, including plants, animals and non-living things such as stream – n. a natural flow of water that is smaller than a river eradication – n. to eliminate or destroy something steam – v. to cook, heat, or treat something with steam scrape – v. to remove something from a surface by rubbing an object or tool against it ink – n. colored liquid that is used for writing or printing digital – adj. using or characterizing computer technology archival – adj. the quality of being able to be stored for a long period

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Conservative Movement in Brazil Challenges Art Shows

  Brazil is famous for its beaches, bikinis, and parties. But an increasing conservative movement is challenging the idea of Brazil as a country that has relaxed ideas about everything. Recently, conservatives have strongly criticized several modern art shows and a play in which Jesus is presented as a man dressed as a woman.  The latest cultural clashes could help shape next year’s election. Conservative groups have protested against two art exhibits. One, at the Sao Paulo’s Museum of Modern Art, is called “La Bete.” Visitors to the show, including a child, were invited to touch a nude man. Critics accused “La Bete” of encouraging sexual interest toward children, or pedophilia. Some protestors waved a Brazilian flag and shouted “No! No! Not our children.” And the conservative Brazil Free Movement argued on its Facebook page that “left-wing artists” had gone too far. The other disputed art exhibit is in the southern city of Porto Alegre. It was from the Queermuseu but shown by Santander Bank’s cultural center. The show explores different types of sexuality. Some parts of the show are explicit. The Santander cultural center shut the show early. But there was talk that it would be re-opened in Rio de Janeiro. However, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro said in a Facebook video that his city did not want the show. He said it assisted pedophilia. Sao Paolo’s mayor also made a video saying both disputed art exhibits are bad. In the end, the Santander Cultural Center closed the exhibit. But it said in a statement that refusing to have uncomfortable discussions is the same as hiding from society. Then the state prosecutor’s office asked that the exhibit be reopened. He compared the cancellation to Nazi Germany’s ban on “degenerate art.” There is also a fight over the play in which Jesus is portrayed as a transgender woman who tells Biblical stories of accepting others. “The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven” has been performed more than 60 times during a tour of Brazil. Conservatives have called it offensive to Christians and asked the courts to ban its performances. One petition compared the play to the events in ancient Rome in which Christians were eaten by wild animals for entertainment. One judge ordered the performance to stop, calling it “disrespectful,” ″aggressive” and “in bad taste.” But another court ruled the play could continue. Omar Encarnacion is a professor of political studies at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He studies gay and transgender rights movements. Encarnacion says that since becoming independent, Brazil has never had an official anti-gay law. Many people, including the gay community, believe it to be a very tolerant nation, he said. Still, he adds, as with so many social issues in Brazil, there is some confusion. Sao Paulo hosts the largest gay pride parade in the world, but Brazil also has some of Latin America’s highest rates of violence against gay and transgender people. Renata Carvalho is the actress in the play “The Gospel According to Jesus.” She says Brazilians like to hide ugly things. ″This just sheds light on what people think,” she said. “I think it’s excellent that the masks are falling.” Liberal activists have struggled to make Brazil a more open place for gays and women. They had some success during the left-leaning Workers’ Party governments that led the country between 2003 and 2016. But some residents think that most people in the country are more conservative than many believe. And the conservative movement in Brazil has been becoming more important. One of the reasons is the increasing number of religious evangelicals. People who are evangelical usually follow the Bible closely and support social reform efforts based on its teachings. About 20 percent of the nation is now evangelical, up from 5 percent a few decades ago. They have been inspired by the large number of corruption cases in the government. Many Brazilians believe the country needs stronger moral leadership. Although Brazil is still the most heavily Catholic nation in the world, evangelicals turn out to vote in large numbers. A recent poll found that a far-right congressman named Jair Bolsonaro is running second among possible presidential candidates. Bolsonaro once said that if your son is gay, that means you didn’t hit him enough when he was a child. In recent weeks, Bolsonaro has given his opinion on the disputes about the art shows and the play. Speaking of the “La Bete” exhibit, Bolsonaro said those who put on the show were just awful people. I'm Susan Shand.   Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English based on an Associated Press story by Sarah DiLorenzo. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argumen Gospel – n. Any one of the first four books of the Christian Bible. Evangelical – adj. of or relating to a Christian sect or group that stresses the authority of the Bible, scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong pedophilia - n. sexual feelings or activities that involve children explicit - adj. showing or referring very openly to nudity, violence, or sexual activity degenerate - adj. having low moral standards : not honest, proper, or good  

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Police: New York Attacker 'Did This in the Name of ISIS'

  Police have confirmed that the Uzbek immigrant accused of killing eight and injuring 12 in New York City carried out the attack in the name of the Islamic State terror group. “He did this in the name of ISIS,” New York deputy police commissioner John Miller said Wednesday. Miller added that the suspect “had been planning this for a number of weeks.” The attacker is identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan. He came to the United States in 2010 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the lottery diversity immigration program. Officials say Saipov drove a pickup truck down a bicycle path in New York City on Tuesday. Eight people died and 12 others were injured. He then ran down a highway, holding fake guns and shouting “God is great” in Arabic. Police then shot the man. He remains hospitalized in critical condition. Miller said that police found notes written in Arabic in Saipov’s truck that said the Islamic State “would endure forever.” Speaking from the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump called the attacker an “animal.” He asked Congress to end the lottery program immediately and replace it with a merit-based immigration program. The diversity visa program provides up to 50,000 visas each year by lottery. Applicants must have completed high school or meet work experience requirements. The program was created as part of a bipartisan immigration bill introduced by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democrat. It was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, in 1990. Trump blames lottery program and Democrats Earlier on Wednesday, the president called the diversity lottery program “a Chuck Schumer beauty.” Schumer is a New York senator and the Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate. Trump also noted what an expert said on Fox News Wednesday, tweeting, “Senator Chuck Schumer helping to import Europe’s problems.” Shortly after Trump published his tweets, Sen. Schumer replied with his own: “I guess it’s not too soon to politicize a tragedy.” Schumer said in a statement that he has “always believed and continue to believe that immigration is good for America.” He added, “I’m calling on the president to immediately rescind his proposed cuts to this vital anti-terrorism funding.” Trump said on Tuesday that he ordered the Department of Homeland Security “to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program.” Trump’s extreme-vetting policy on immigrants aims to identify those who may sympathize with extremists or pose a security risk to the United States.   Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   fake - adj. not real endure - v. to continue to exist in the same state or condition merit - n. value and worth lottery - n. a system to decide who will get something by chance bipartisan - n. involving members of two political parties politicize - v. to relate (an idea, issue...) to politics in a way that makes people less likely to agree rescind - v. to end a law, contract, agreement... vet - v. to investigate someone thoroughly sympathize (+ with)- v. to feel or show support for or approval of something

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Rescued Sailors' Report of Their Experience Questioned

There appears to be something fishy about the story of two sailors who say they were lost at sea for five months. A U.S. Navy ship rescued Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava Friday in the Pacific Ocean and they landed in Japan Monday. They and their two dogs had left Hawaii May 1 on their sailboat, the Sea Nymph. They said their boat was severely damaged in storms and they were floating aimlessly for months. However, a U.S. Coast Guard examination has found that the women never used their emergency beacon. Weather experts also say there were no storms as described by the women.   The women earlier told The Associated Press that they had radios, satellite phones, GPS and other emergency gear. However, they did not say they had an emergency position indicating radio beacon. The device communicates with satellites. It sends position information to officials in minutes. Appel said Tuesday that they had the device on their sailboat but never turned it on. She added that in her experience, the beacon should be used only when facing physical danger and death in the next 24 hours. “Our hull was solid, we were floating, we had food, we had water, and we had limited maneuverable capacity,” Appel said in Japan. “All those things did not say we are going to die. All that said it’s going to take us a whole lot longer to get where we’re going.” Experts are questioning the truth of other main elements of the women’s story. It is not consistent with weather reports or basic geography of the Pacific Ocean. The pair said they faced a fierce storm on May 3 off the Hawaiian island of Oahu with 97 kilometer an hour winds and 9-meter high waves. But the National Weather Service in Honolulu said no organized storm systems were in or near Hawaii that day or near that day. NASA satellite images confirm that finding. Appel said they received a Coast Guard storm warning May 3. And she expressed surprise Tuesday that there was no record of the storm. The women said they thought about turning back, but the islands of Maui and Lanai did not have harbors deep enough for their sailboat. The Sea Nymph is 15 meters long. Both islands have harbors that can accept boats of that size. But Appel said she had made changes that increased the size of her sailboat. Several days later, Appel said, parts of their mast and rigging failed but their motor still worked. The two decided against trying to land on another small island. They believed it was mostly unpeopled with no protected waters. But Christmas Island, part of the island nation of Kiribati, is home to more than 2,000 people. It also has a port that welcomes huge ships. The pair then set sail for the Cook Islands, about 1,600 kilometers away and a few hundred kilometers beyond their original target destination of Tahiti. Then, they said another storm killed their engine at the end of May. At one point in June, the Coast Guard said it made radio contact with a vessel identifying itself as the Sea Nymph near Tahiti. The Coast Guard reported the captain said they were not in distress and expected to make land the next morning. It is not clear if that communication was from Appel and Fuiava, who told the Coast Guard they were  more than 2,000 kilometers away, near Christmas Island. I’m Caty Weaver. The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Words in This Story maneuverable – adj. able to be moved quickly, easily, or in small spaces​ consistent – adj.  in agreement with something​ harbor – n. a part of the ocean, a lake, etc., that is next to land and that is protected and deep enough to provide safety for ships​ original – adj. happening or existing first or at the beginning​ destination – n. a place to which a person is going or something is being sent​ vessel – n. a ship or boat​ We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Program Offers Job Experience, Pay for High Schoolers

  At the start of the school year, Aelina Pogosian could not wait to tell her friends about the most interesting thing she had done over the summer. The 16-year-old did not want to talk about a trip she took somewhere. She wanted to talk about a paid internship that she had at a biology laboratory at Montgomery College in Maryland. The internship was made possible by the RISE program, which gives real job experience to high school students in Montgomery County. “A lot of the materials and machinery we used is not given at most high schools,” Pogosian said. She added, “I got to learn a lot at the same time I was able to have a lot of fun. And I met some new people.” Jennifer Sengbusch is the Instructional Lab Coordinator who worked with Pogosian. She said her first task is to teach the high schoolers about safety rules to avoid injury. She said, “We also went through working with chemicals, making solutions, doing calculations. Then we progressed into doing more complicated things (such) as measuring protein concentrations and doing DNA tests.” The internship was not just about tests in the laboratory. There also was training in how to take care of animals, such as snakes and tortoises, kept in the lab. RISE program gives real job experience More than 400 students from Montgomery County’s 25 high schools took part in the RISE program. RISE stands for Real Interesting Summer Experience. The “experiences” may be at construction companies, police stations, marketing companies, fire stations and other places. More than 140 businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations hosted students for paid internships. Will Jawando, a local activist, is the program's director. He says RISE has two main goals: “The first goal is to expose our students to career opportunities early on so they can inform their education or training after high school.” The second goal is improving the local economy. “We said there's 30,000 middle-skill level jobs here in Montgomery County that are not filled. So how do we also expose them to that there's jobs here in the county that they could be doing in a year or two that pay well and are on career track.” He said the program does not only benefits the students. It can also help the county and the region. If students involved in the program stay in the area after graduating from high school, they can become productive citizens. Local government supports the program The program received some support from the Montgomery County Council. Councilman Craig Rice helped provide some of the money. Rice said that, while government often pays attention to immediate needs like roads and building, the RISE program provides for future generations. He said spending money on young people is a way to show that government is serious about being competitive in the world. Sengbusch said RISE gave her the chance to work with high school student who might apply to Montgomery College. She described the students as curious and eager to learn. She said high schoolers might be more “inquisitive” than college students. She said, “The high school students really ask a lot of great questions." Pogosian, she said, was engaged and always on time. She noted that she was surprised to learn that the 16-year-old arrived an hour early just to make sure she would be on time, saying ‘I just didn’t want to be late.’ Organizers say the RISE program had a successful summer in 2017. They want to expand the program next year. They also hope that other counties in the area will offer similar Real Interesting Summer Experiences for their students. I’m Anna Mateo. And I'm Ashley Thompson.   Faisa Elmasry reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   calculations –n. the process of using math to find an answer internships –n. a position meant to give a young person experience in doing a job career –n. a job or profession that someone does over a long time benefit –v. to cause a good result curious –adj. having an interest in find out new things eager –adj. being excited and interested to do something inquisitive –adj. having many questions, interested in finding out more engaged –adj. involved in something deeply We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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