News Flash!

GODS WORLD NEWS GRADES 3 & 4

VOL. 30 NO. 7 APRIL 2013

A Robot Goes to School

AP Photo

p26

A OF

Way Life

Is Down the Way Up?

Shoppers ride escalators in a busy Singapore mall.

ave you ever thought about living under the ground? Would it be fun to live like a mole and have a home deep in the earth? In Singapore, underground is the

only place left to build more houses and stores. Singapore is a small country. Millions of people live very close to each other. There is not enough room for everyone. Singapore desperately needs extra space. Streets are jampacked. People must live in high-rise apartments. So the government has decided that building underground might be a good idea.
Sun owers grow indoors at the Flower Dome in Singapore.

The leaders of Singapore also want to grow the economy. One way to increase wealth is to let more working people immigrate to the country. But that means it will be even more crowded. Where would those people live and work? Theyve built up as high as they can go. The only place left is under the ground. One plan is for a fourstory structure underground. It will have movie theatres, ofces, grocery stores, libraries, apartments, and parking garages. And there are plans to build an entire city down there, too. But many people in Singapore are

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worried about living underground. They wonder what it would be like never to see the sun. Most Singaporeans think their country is already too crowded. They dont want buildings below ground. Those people wish their leaders would find another solution. Proverbs 15:22 reminds us that without good guidance plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
A group of young girls wait in line for an activity in Singapore.

THAILAND KAMPUCHEA
There are not very many poor people in Singapore. More millionaires live in Singapore than anywhere VIETNAM else in the world. Singapore sells electronics and medical supplies. Singapore and Israel are friends. Most people are Buddhist. MAL AYSI A The number of Christians in Singapore is growing. AlSINGAPORE most 20 percent of people claim Christ I N D O N E S I A as their Savior.

About Singapore
Singapore is an island nation in Southeast Asia. The weather is hot and humid all year. Singapore is close to the equator. The people elect a legislature. Then the legislature elects the Prime Minister. Singapore has 5 million citizens. The small island is very crowded. Most people live in high-rise apartments. The country has a strong economy. Low taxes help the economy grow. The people of Singapore are hard working.
Singapores high-rise skyline

GODS WORLD NEWS NEWS FLASH (USPS #700-930, ISSN #2162-4518) is published 10 times per yearmonthly (except for May and December) by Gods World Publications 12 All Souls Crescent, Asheville, NC 28803. PUBLISHER: Howard Brinkman, MANAGING EDITOR: Rich Bishop, EDITOR: Rebecca Cochrane, WRITER: Victoria Drake, ART DIRECTOR: Matt Barker. Member of Associated Press. Subscriptions: $27.95 per full year (10 issues), $21.95 per school year (7 issues, Sept.-Apr.) for one subscription. Discounts for multiple subscriptions. Make checks payable to Gods World Publications. CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800) 951-5437, SALES & MARKETING: Dawn Stephenson (828) 232-5489. MAILING ADDRESS: Gods World News News Flash, PO Box 20001, Asheville, NC28802-8201. Telephone (828) 253-8063. Periodicals postage paid at Asheville, NC, and additional mailing o ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gods World News News Flash, PO Box 20001, Asheville, NC 28802-8201. 2013, Gods World Publications.
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April 2013

A Small Freedom

ou may know that some religions have rules about what people can eat. Jewish people, for instance, are not allowed to eat pork, among other things. Some religions limit the modern conveniences their followers can use. Consider the Amish. They dont use electricity. Muslim women around the world may have found a new freedom they didnt have before. But can you believe it has to do with nail polish? Zaida Saleh and many other Muslim women would like to paint their nails. It makes them feel pretty. But the rules of Islam dont let them. Why? Muslims must pray ve times a day. And before they pray, they must wash their hands. Regular ngernail polish covers the nails. Unclean nails mean unacceptable prayers. But a new breathable nail polish by a Polish company called Inglot could change that. The

formula called O2M lets air and water pass through the polish. The water reaches the ngernails. Mustafa Umar is an Islamic leader. He tested the polish. In his opinion, Muslim women should be able to wear O2M. Usually when men give a religious ruling, he says, they tell women that something is not allowed. They felt so good that someone was nally telling them, You are allowed to do this.

BIBLE2LIFE
Do clean hands make us good enough for God? Jesus said it is not what is on the outside that makes a person unclean (Mark 7:15). It is the
The nished product and the manufacturing process

heart that makes us sinful or pure. We all want to look good before God and others. Sometimes we may think that it is how well we obey God that makes Him love us. But the truth is that only Jesus obedience was good enough. Nothing we do will ever make God love a Christian more than He already does. Likewise, if we hope in Jesus, nothing we ever fail to do well will take away Gods love (Romans 8:38-39). Create in me a pure heart, O God. Psalm 51:10

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A farmer holds some of the Monsantos Roundup Ready Soybean Seeds.

Bean Stakes

Did You Know? Flowering plants can be either . . .

monocot grains like wheat, corn, and rice one seed leaf dicot legumes like peas, soybeans, and peanuts two seed leaves

nce upon a time, a farmer found some seeds. He planted them, and his crop grew and grew. But soon someone else claimed the seeds. It sounds like the start of a classic bedtime story. But this tale is true. And the farmer and the company that developed the seeds are now in a court battle. The case has gone all the way to the Supreme Court. Monsanto is the worlds largest seed company. It changed the gene structure of a soybean seed. Plants

from that seed wont be destroyed by weed killers. The company spent 13 years and hundreds of millions of dollars on the seeds. But plants make more seeds, right? And Monsanto wants to keep selling new seeds. So Monsanto wont let farmers save and replant seeds from the plants. Vernon Bowman is a farmer in Indiana. Most of the soybeans he grows come from Monsanto seeds. Years ago, Mr. Bowman wanted to plant another smaller eld, later in the season. He bought some soybean seeds from a grain elevator. Thats a place that stores and sells grain for animal feed. Mr. Bowman sprayed the new soybean plants with
Farmer Vernon Bowman speaks outside the Supreme Court.

seed coat double cotyledon single cotyledon endosperm rst leaf rst leaves

Roundup. Many of them lived. At least some of the seeds were Monsanto seeds. The company sued Mr. Bowman. It says he cant plant that type of seed if he didnt buy it from Monsanto. But Mr. Bowman believes Monsanto contracts shouldnt cover seeds not bought from Monsanto.

Jesus says the word of God is like a seed. When it nds a fertile place in a persons heart, it produces a great harvest. See Luke 8:4-15.
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BIBLE2LIFE

AP Photos, Graphic: R. Bishop

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What To Watch?

Two-year-old Joe Jensen watches television while his mother looks on.

ow much television do you watch? Do you think your TV choices make a difference in how you act? Some scientists wanted to find out. A team at the Seattle Childrens Research Institute studied 565 parents and their children. What were the kids watching? And how did they behave? First, the families were divided into two groups. One group got some TV coaching. No one told them how much television to watch. But the researchers did recommend educational shows, like Dora the Explorer. They

suggested not watching violent action shows, like Power Rangers. And they encouraged families to watch TV together. The other group wasnt coached about what to watch. They were given advice about how to eat healthfully. After six months, children in both groups showed better behavior. But the group that got TV-watching advice showed more improvement. The study wasnt perfect. The children who watched calmer programming slept better. The extra rest might have helped them behave better too.
Gods World News

Nothing To Do?

hat are some things you can do with your free time instead of watching TV? Write a letter to a grandparent or college-aged friend. (You might even get one back!) Plant something and care for it.

Read a book or magazine (like News Flash!). Choose a household chore to do every day before TV time.

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two-thirds of the votes. After each vote, the ballots are burned. The smoke is black unless a new pope is chosen. White smoke signals a new pope.

Pope Francis

On March 13the second day of votingthe College of Cardinals elected a new pope: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, aged 76. He chose the name Francis in honor of Francis of Assisi, who loved the poor. His election was something of a surprise. He is the first Latin American pope and the first nonEuropean pope to be elected in over 1000 years.

The Pope Resigns

Pope Benedict XVI greets a crowd in 2005. Below, Pope Francis, the new Pope, prepares to talk to reporters at the Vatican just after he was elected.

n February, Pope Benedict XVI made a surprising announcement. He said he didnt have enough strength to continue his work. He was stepping down from his position. The news was a shock. Popes usually hold office until death. The last time a pope resigned was 600 years ago. February 28 was Benedict XVIs final day as pope. He left his home in the Vatican for the last time. He flew to a castle about 15 miles outside of Rome. He will stay there until his new home in the Vatican is ready. At 8:00 p.m., the Swiss Guard shut the castle gates. Benedict
AP Photos

XVI was no longer the leader of the Catholic Church.

Choosing a New Pope

How does the Catholic Church choose a new pope? When a pope dies or resigns, a new pope is elected by the College of Cardinals. Cardinals are selected by popes. Next to the pope, they hold the highest office in the Catholic Church. All cardinals under the age of 80 can vote on the new pope. Here are some of the rules: Cardinals must vote in person. They can speak only to other cardinals during voting. They vote by secret ballot. The new pope must receive
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Cosmic Shockwave
A meteor streaks across the Russian sky in this image captured from video.

n the morning of February 15, a ball of light blazed across the sky in Siberia. For a moment, it flashed brighter than the sun. Many people ran outside to see what it was. Then they heard a tremendous Boom! Seconds later, glass began to shatter. The people of Chelyabinsk, Russia, were confused. What was happening? A meteor the size of a bus had entered the Earths atmosphere. It weighed about 10,000 tons. It was moving at a speed of 40,000 miles per hour. Thats much faster than a speeding bullet (about 2000 mph). The meteor exploded 12 to 15 miles above the Earth. As it slowed down, it created waves of pressure. These waves bounced

Russian Meteor by the Numbers:

R U S S I A
Chelyabinsk

30 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Number of atomic bombs (like the one at Hiroshima in World War 2) the blast was equal to 2 million . . . . . . .Estimated square feet of glass broken by the meteor 33 million . . . . . .Amount of money, in dollars, o cials say it will cost to x the damage caused by the meteor 2012DA14 . . . . . .Name of the asteroid that ew by the Earth just 16 hours after the Russian meteor -4 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Temperature in Chelyabinsk the night the meteor struck

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around like a ball. The pressure waves caused some windows to shatter while others did not. People ran to windows to see what had caused the ash of light. Then the shock wave hit. Glass windows imploded. Shattered glass ew. More than 1100 people suffered injuries. Experts think that the biggest piece of the meteorite might be at the bottom of a lake. The ice on the lake had a 26-foot hole in it. Scientists found 53 small pieces of meteorite around the hole.

Do you know . . .
. . . the di erence between a meteor and a meteorite?
A piece of space junk that enters the Earths atmosphere is called a meteor. Most burn up in the atmosphere. Any pieces that dont burn up and hit the Earth are called meteorites.

. . . how often meteorites hit Earth?

Experts say small strikes happen ve to ten times a year. Larger strikes happen every ve to ten years. Most fall over oceans or other areas with no people. Meteorites almost never cause injuries.

. . . what a sonic boom is?

A sonic boom is the noise people on the ground hear when something in the sky moves faster than the speed of sound.
Above: A woman looks at glass broken by the explosion in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Below: The meteorite left this large hole in the ice on this reservoir.

AP Photos

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April 2013

Dash Cam Justice

Buried Treasure
After the meteor exploded, the people of Chelyabinsk began searching. They dug through snow and ice. They looked for pieces of meteorite. Some meteorites are worth more than gold. How much are the Russian meteorites worth? Prices vary widely, but some Russians say theyve already been o ered hundreds or even thousands of dollars for their space rocks.

ven though no one knew a meteor was heading toward Chelyabinsk, many people recorded videos of it. How? They caught the meteors flight on their dashboard cameras. About a million Russians have them. Why? Russian drivers who hit other cars often just drive away, hoping not to get caught. If theres no video of the accident, many insurance companies wont pay for repairs. Another reason is dishonest policemen. Some of those policemen will say a driver broke the law. If the driver doesnt pay money directly to the officer (this is called a bribe), the policeman will give the driver a ticket or take him to jail. A dash camera does the job police and insurance are supposed to do. It protects drivers.
Ateroid 2012 DA14 passed Earth on Feb. 15, inside the orbits of high- ying satellites. The asteroid was about half the size of a football eld. The asteroid passed at eight times the velocity of a ri e bullet. Approx. 150 feet

A NASA artists reconstruction of the asteroid.

Scientists collected these meteorite samples for analysis.

Asteroids path As Satellite EARTH 17,200 miles 5, 000

SOURCE: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA

AP

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NEAR ASTEROID 020713: Graphic shows details of an asteroid that will come close to

ust 16 hours after the meteor exploded above Russia, a 150-foot asteroid hurled past the Earth. It came closer to Earth than many of our communication and weather satellites. The asteroid was about three times the size of the Russian meteorabout half the length of a football field. It weighed 143,000 tons. Thats equal to about 16,000 semi-trucks. Were the two space rocks related? Scientists say no. The asteroid and the meteor were traveling in different directions.

Cosmic Coincidence?
J

BIBLE2LIFE
Two large space rocks coming close to Earth in one day makes history. No one remembers anything like this happening before. Its amazingbut also a little scary. So what should we do? Wear bike helmets all the time? Live underground? If you believe in cosmic coincidences it would make sense to be afraid. If what happens in the sky is up to chance, youd have to worry about being flattened by a

space rock every time you walked out the front door. If you believe Gods word, you dont need that kind of armor to feel safe. God didnt create the universe and then leave it to run itself. Hes still in control. The sky show that God provided on February 15 shouldnt make us afraid. It should inspire awe. As the Psalmist David says, When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:3-4)
A 1953 photo shows trees knocked down by a large meteorite that fell near Tunguska, Russia, in 1908.

AP Photos

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Manual Montalvo and his son, Memphis, visit Memphiss new brother, Ace.

Twin Twins
anuel and Tressa Montalvo had a twoyear-old son named Memphis. They wanted a baby sister or brother for him. Mrs. Montalvo soon got exciting news. She found out that she was expecting twins. At a later appointment, her doctor found a third heartbeat. And then he found a fourth. But these babies were not quadruplets. They were two sets of identical twins. Ace, Blaine, Cash, and Dylan were born on February 14. Since they came a few weeks early, they stayed some weeks in the pediatric intensive care unit of Childrens National Medical Center in
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Twins Dylan and Cash Montalvo . . .

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Washington, D.C. Their immune systems needed a little more time to develop. But all four baby boys were strong and healthy. Mrs. Montalvo says they thought they wanted one baby. But now they have been blessed with four. And they would still like to have a little sister for their ve boys! There are two different types of twins: identical and fraternal. Identical twins share all the same genes. They look just alike. Fraternal twins dont share the same genes. They can be very different. Jacob and Esau were fraternal twins. They were very different from each other! (See Genesis 25.) Many fraternal twins are even one boy and one girl. About four out of every 1000 births result in identical twins. Fraternal twins happen more often than that. Twins are not considered rare. But having two sets of twins in one family is a bit more unusual. The most unlikely of all is the birth of two sets of identical twins at the same time. That happens only once in 70 million births.

More about Twins

. . . and their brothers, twins Blaine and Ace.

NEWSTHINK
Editorial by Rebecca Cochrane

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

one who chose every detail about that person. Even when God creates identical twins who share the exact same genetic materialHe still gives them characteristics of their own. Those show up in personality, creativity, and temperament. And sometimes in which hand twins prefer to use! Did you know that? Most people in the world are right-handed. Only about ten percent are lefthanded. But that rate more than doubles with identical twins. Its another way in which God sets individual twins apart from each other even from birth. No person is ever an accident. And every personno matter how common and uneventful his birthhas something else uniquely given by God: an eternal soul. Out of all of this magnicent creation, God choose to give only humans souls that will live forever. And those who believe in Gods Son as Savior of their souls will be blessed to enjoy Gods friendship forever.
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o you know anyone who is a twin? Maybe youre even a twin yourself. Have you ever seen twins who looked so much alike that you couldnt tell them apart? Thats often the case with identical twins. But almost all the time, the mother and father can tell. The parents know their children. And thats the same way it is with God. Every single person who ever lived is a completely unique creation of God. He knows each person fully, because He is the
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Letter from a Jester

with T? A teapot! Ha! How about this: What do you get when you mix a rabbit with a snake? A jump rope! Hahaha! Those arent my best jokes, but theyre good for warming up. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Sir Tomkin Honeycup. I am a jester, otherwise known as The Kings Fool. I live in the Kingdom of Boulderdash. It is my job to entertain the royal, the majestic, the INVINCIBLE King Babbenfat! Where is the kingdom of Boulderdash, you ask? Why its just

ello, there! How about a riddle? Whats full of T, starts with T, and ends

In front of a Shakespearean theater in Stratford, England, the Stratford Jester, by James Butler, honors the entertaining character.

You might see the jester today as the joker in a deck of playing cards.

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down the road, of course. Run three times around the willow tree, jump, and immerse yourself in the lake. Youll nd it! Ha! I hear they are celebrating a day called April Fools where you come from. Who better to talk to than me? Im the greatest fool of all! Let me tell you a little bit about Boulderdash. Here it is still the year 1532. Your people call this the Medieval Age. It is the age of knights and kings! Castles and queens! Jousters and . . . jesters!

As a boy, I was the class clown, bobbing about the Latin grammar school causing trouble. Well, when one of King Babbenfats ofcers stopped by, he saw me playing my tricks. He thought I would make a great jester. A year later, he took me to live among royalty in the court. Oh! I feel a joke coming on Why did the boy eat his homework? Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake! Ha! Where were we? Ah, yes, my life as a jester. It is my job to entertain the King while he dines with
Photoillustration: AP, R. Bishop, Joker card: iStock

guests. But I dont just a fool, I could tell jokes. I play music, easily be the wisdance, juggle, and tell est person in the court. riddles as well. I have gotten pretty The writer William Shakespeare good, if I say so myused jesters in self. Hardly a night many of his plays. passes that is not full They spoke some of laughter in the of the most imporKings court. tant lines. Of course, part of whats funny is the NOW, if you would excuse me, I way I dress. I wear need to prepare my tight breeches, and routine for tonight. the legs are differThe king has some ent colors. Tonight I will wear my favorite pairgold very stuffy guests coming. I will and green! On top, I don a tunic need all of my wit to jab them into much like a monks. It falls over laughter! my shoulders and chest. I wear a Ill leave you will one more hat that has the ears and tail of a joke: What do garbage men eat? donkey. Junk food! Haha! But dont get the wrong imHappy Fools Day! I salute pression. A jester has serious moyou, most honorable audience. ments too. As the lowliest member Good day! Jonathan Cate of the court, I speak on behalf of the common people. Most of the time, ISir Tomkin Honeycup am the only person allowed to criticize King Babbenfat. Still, I must be careful not to go too far. The famous jester Archibald Armstrong of Scotland was thrown out of the court for insulting too many important people. The best jesters knew how to be witty but not insulting. Another famous jester, Jeffrey Hudson, was loved his entire life. He did some of the wildest things! He had the queens cooks prepare a giant pie with him in it. They would then wheel it into the court, and Jeffrey would pop out from inside. Now thats what I call a jest! Ha! Many kings keep their jesters closer than anyone else. King Real life jesters Wil Somers (left), Babbenfat has told me secrets Archibald Armstrong (top), and Je rey Hudson that no one else knows. Even as
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In TOON!
Republicans and Democrats in Congress cant agree on a new budget for the country. It seems that neither side is willing to accept the ideas proposed by the other partyeven ideas most people in the United States would agree with. The cartoonist imagines a silly mealtime scene to show what he thinks of our representatives stubbornness.

The U.S. government keeps growing faster than the countrys population. In response, Democrats in Congress have proposed tax increases to continue funding most government programs while Republicans have focused more on reductions in spending. The cartoonist suggests the Democrats cure will do little to solve the problem of bloated government. What do you think? Is the government growing too much and spending too much money? If so, name something the government does that you would cut. In this photo, a worker moves part of a parade oat in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For four days every year, people in Rio stop what they are doing and hold a giant party called Carnival. It includes a parade that doubles as a contest between the citys best dance schools. Carnival is one big, nal party before the season of Lent. In the largely Roman Catholic country, people often give up some things they enjoy for the 40 days before Easter. That helps them remember Jesus sacri ce. Many will not eat meat at all during this season. The word carnival comes from Italian words that mean removing meat.

While youre looking for the rest of me, could you nd a hat to cover up this wacky hairdo?

butseriously...

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Ha! Charlies wearing the ugliest shirt ever!

Foto File

I heard that!

Oops. Sorry, Charlie.

No, I cant change the number of outs. Im on strike.

There! Nobody will top this!

No, well stay down here. (That JoJo is such a showoff!)

Heehee, wait til he sees this!

AP Photos

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Locusts in EgyptAgain

A farmer collects a locust.

rior to the rst Passover in Egypt, God sent plagues on the land that held His people in captivity. One of those plagues was a vast and destructive swarm of locusts. You can read about it in the book of Exodus. In March, another swarm of locusts came to Egypt. It happened just before the timing of the Passover holiday. Locusts can devastate crops. Thousands of the bugs descend to eat and eat and eat. Israel was watching the outbreak in Egypt. A segment of the swarm was carried by the wind toward Israel.

Israels Agriculture Ministry sent out planes to spray elds with pesticides. It also asked its people to watch for locusts. If a person saw the bugs, he or she was to call an emergency hotline to report the sighting. Locusts swarm. Egypt, Israel, and the other countries of the Middle East often see swarms of locusts. The swarm that crossed into Israel was not large. It numbered about 2000. There was no great harm to crops reported.

eggs

adult

edgling

ISRAEL JORDAN
hoppers bands adults

SAUDI ARABIA EGYPT

instar stages

groups swarms

SUDAN

instar stages

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A historic building in Maaret al-Numan, Syria, shows battle damage. Abu Mohammed takes shelter in an ancient cave.

Whats Old Is New Again

cclesiastes chapter one looks at how history repeats. What has been will be again, it says. And It was here long ago, it was here before our time. If we didnt know that God was in control of all events, we might think that history repeats with no purpose. Egypt and the Middle East knew locust plagues long ago. That area knew wars too. And those things continue to repeat today. Now other old things in the country we call Syria are being used in a new way. Syria is in a civil war. Many Syrians have fled to other countries for safety. Sami is a stonecutter there. His
AP Photos

village was bombed. He needed to protect his family. So he took them into a cave underground. The walls of the cave were carved out long, long ago. The space was a type of Roman shrinepossibly a tomb. Samis family has lived there for seven months. Other ancient structures are also being used again while the war rages. Soldiers find the forts of ancient times to be valuable again today. They are often built in high spots overlooking roads or towns. That makes them good for keeping watch. Archeologists fear damage to the historical sites. But thats not the concern of the people living there today. Abu Mohammed is

a young fighter. He says he used to be afraid to go near the ruins where he now hides. The site was protected as a tourist attraction. It was illegal to damage it. But now, he says the historical cave site he takes shelter in is helping him and others. He feels safe there.

H-15

TURKEY IRAN IRAQ

SYRIA LEBANON ISRAEL JORDAN

SAUDI ARABIA EGYPT

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Disrupting

uit disrupting!
For years, teachers and parents have tried to keep order with that phrase. Youve heard it. You know what they mean. But theres another kind of disrupting. Inventions do it. Now it even has a name:

a crowd of angry men rises up to destroy the invention.

For every clever man who invents a laborsaving machine, it seems

Disruptive technology. 20
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class
The most famous machine haters were the Luddites. They were English weavers. Back in 1811, weaving was done on a loom. But that loom was operated by hand. Then the power loom was invented. It could do more work faster. The Luddites began smashing power looms that threatened their jobs. But they werent the rst

The working class, that is.

protestors: In 1733, Englishman James Kay built a machine that allowed workers to weave textiles. His reward? He was forced out of England by angry workers. They called his machine a job killer. He had to go live in Paris. American Silas Putnam invented a machine to help forge
continued on page 22

What is work, after all? And other puzzles.

Hard questions face us in these days when machines can do the same work as people did just a few years ago. Some of our answers are light-hearted. And maybe you have better ones: Does work have to be hard? Sometimes we think good work must be hard. Its true that loving Jesus should make us willing to do hard things. But its not true that the harder the work, the better it is somehow. Its OK to make hard work easier by using tools and machines. Its also OK to choose NOT to use machinesto be like the Luddites.

How much should you work every day? All day long! Just kidding. Seriously, though, God did design us to work. But He also gave time to rest. We rest some each day, and an entire day at the beginning of each week. How much play is too much? Use your time wisely. Work and help others. If you can do that

and play for hours a day, then knock yourself out doing it. Soon you may discover the di erence between play and work. Should people retire? Yes, when they simply cant work anymore. Will machines someday do all the work? There will always be work to do, no matter how many labor-saving devices we invent. Human creativity is a gift from God. People will always nd ways to use it. Nat Belz

Rosie the Riveter was an American symbol for rolling up your sleeves and working hard for the country during World War 2.

Images: Shutterstock/Nat Belz, AP

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The 1926 premiere of Don Juan, the movie that led to the talkies continued from page 21

horseshoe nails. Blacksmiths who made them by hand spread rumors that Putnams were not very good. Putnam did fine, though. When the Civil War started two years later, the need for horseshoes soared. In the 1930s, silent films were being replaced by talkies. Musicians who played in movie theaters across the country lost work. So their union took out ads calling the music in the films canned. They urged people to insist on the live music only. Also in the 1930s, a Mississippi newspaper said that the mechanized cotton picker should be driven right out of the cotton fields and sunk into the Mississippi River, together with

its plans and specifications. You get the picture. Art Liscanos job is in danger. Hes a meter reader in Fresno, California. For 26 years, he has driven from house to house. He checks how much electricity Pacific Gas & Electric customers have used.

But PG&E doesnt need people like Mr. Liscano anymore. The utility has mostly replaced oldfashioned meters with digital versions. They collect information without human help. Mr. Liscanos department had 50 full-time meter readers just six years ago. Now it has only six. These kinds of jobs are disappearing. Machines keep getting more powerful, cheaper, and easier to use. In the United States, more than 1.1 million secretaries vanished from the work force between 2000 and 2010. Bosses answer calls themselves now. And they arrange their own meetings and trips. Over the same period, the number of telephone operators plunged by 64 percent, word processors and typists by 63 percent, travel agents by 46 percent, and bookkeepers by 26 percent.

New meters like the one on the right are replacing old meters like the one on the left. Will they also replace meter readers like Art Liscano?

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An engineer checks telecommunication cables in a company research lab.

Will smart machines create a world without work?

Automated cars are on their way. So what happens to the millions of people who make a living driving cars and trucks? One expert says all those jobs will disappear. Is any job safe? New technology has changed the workplace. But it also makes new jobs. For instance, when the car was invented, people stopped riding horses. Blacksmiths lost their trade, yes. But the whole auto industry opened up. That created lots of new jobs. Whats different now is that, for the first time, we are seeing machines that can thinkor something close to it. The new machines can replace thinkers as well as workers. And information technologywhat runs computer systemstouches every kind of business.
AP Photos

Driverless cars, assembly-line robots. Will new technologies make work by real people unnecessary?

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ClassicGlue a dime to the sidewalk. Yum!Replace the centers of Oreo cookies with toothpaste. Seams FunnyPut a dollar bill on the floor. Hide nearby with a piece of rag cloth. When someone bends over to pick up the money, rip the rag to make him think he tore the seat of his pants. SwitcherooCarefully open a bag of chips. Replace with a totally different flavor or product. Glue the bag closed.

APRIL FOOLS!
ost April Fools jokes are small. Like these: of people. Many called the British Broadcasting Company. They asked how they could grow their own spaghetti at home. The BBC replied, Place a sprig of spaghetti into a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best. Fast Food Foolery, 1996Taco Bell made a full-page newspaper ad. It announced that the company had purchased the rights to rename the Liberty Bell. The famous bell would now be known as the Taco Liberty Bell. Thousands of outraged callers jammed the phone lines to complain. On the Other Hand, 1998If one fast food joint can fool the public, so can another. Burger King ran an advertisement for a Left-Handed
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ome jokes have fooled thousands of people. Stringy Harvest, 1957 British TV reported that Swiss farmers were having a fine spaghetti harvest thanks to mild weather. Fake news film showed workers pulling long strings of noodles from trees. The report fooled hundreds

Whopper. The burger was to have the same lettuce, tomato, patty, and allbut everything under the bun was to be rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of Americas 30 million lefties. Can you believe it? BK restaurants reported people were actually ordering the Left-Handed Whopper. Grows on You, 1980Ever see pictures of the guards at Londons Buckingham Palace with those tall, furry, bearskin helmets? Would you believe those things regularly need trimming? Would you believe it if you saw a photo of some Buckingham guards sitting in a barbershop waiting their turn for a trim? Apparently it fooled a lot of British folks. The hoax ran in Soldier magazine.

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PUZZLING TIMES
JOKE
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
A Jester is a Joker. Jest and Joke are synonyms. Start at the bottom of the word ladder. At each step, the word changes by just one letter from the word below. Words for the steps are found in these jokes. Step 1 is done for you.

Knock Knock! Whos there? Cash. Cash who? They were right. You are a nut! Why did the golf pro take an extra pair of pants? In case he got a hole in one.

Hint: First find all the four-letter words.

Little monster: Mum, can I have a cat for Christmas? Mum monster: No. Youll have turkey like the rest of us. Why did the Jester rest his head on a can of Coke? Someone told him that it was a soft drink. Which will burn longer, the candles on a lime cake or the candles on a mint cake? Neither. All candles burn shorter. What goes dot dash, dot dash dot, dot dot croak? Morse toad! Teacher: Billy, if you have 12 candies and Walt takes away 5, what do you get? Billy: A fist fight! What happened when a TV married a satellite dish? The wedding was dull but the reception was terrific. What did the doctor say when the Jester swallowed a bone? You must be choking. Where do you find the most fish? Between the head and the tail.

REST JEST

When a knight is killed in battle, what do they write on his tombstone? Rust in Peace Did the ghost hunter catch a ghost on a foggy day? No. He just mist.
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Terry Jarvis, Baz Gray, and their crew leave Elephant Island in their boat, Alexander Shackleton.

Survival on Ice
Nearly 100 years ago, Ernest Shackleton set out to cross Antarctica. Terry Jarvis and Barry Baz Gray are also adventurers. In January, they re-enacted Shackletons journey. At about that same time, British researchers

The movable Halley VI Research Station

unveiled a new Antarctic base. If only Shackleton could see it. The Halley VI Research Station looks like science ction. The whole station stands on legs about 13 feet above the ice. When the ice shifts or the snow

begins to pound, the entire station can slide to a better spot on skis. Shackleton and his men lived through extreme polar conditions with sheer perseverance. They didnt have a hightech shelter like this one.

They spent more than a year in Antarctica after their ship was trapped and later crushed by that shifting ice. The men escaped in lifeboats. They lived in tents and overturned boats. The Halley VI cost

This photo was taken in a Pimento, Indiana, back yard. Jack Harvey noticed something was going on in his swimming pool, even though it was the middle of winter and the pool was covered. He discovered that a neighbors horse had walked or stumbledor perhaps jumpedinto the deep end of the half- lled pool. Mr. Harvey needed to act quickly. The horse was shivering with cold. With the help of sheri s deputies, Mr. Harvey hooked the winch on his truck to the horses harness. He guided the horse to shallow water. From there it was able to step out of the pool and into a heated garage. A veterinarian made sure it was OK. End of story? Not quite. It was not until the horses owner arrived that Mr. Harvey found out that the horse is blind. That explained why it lost its way and ended up taking a cold-weather dip.

butseriously...

Blaze earned high marks for her double ip, but lost points for diving before the cover was removed.

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Long-lived Marriage
John and Ann Betar are still in love after 80 years of marriage. They were just named the longest-married couple in the United States for 2013. The couple got married

SHORTS
is 97. They still live in their own Connecticut home. They have 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Mr. Betar says, Thats what keeps us alive. We live for them.

NEWS

in 1932. They worked hard and lived simply. They say family is the key to their long marriage. Mr. Betar also says its about attitude. He says he chose to be content. John Betar is 101. Ann

about $40 million. It is the sixth station placed on the Brunt Ice Shelf. Scientists have worked at the site for over 50 years. They study Earths magnetic eld, the climate, and the upper atmosphere.
The Argus system gives a blind person improved vision.

The Blind Hope To See

Jesus healed the blind. Scientists are trying to do the same. Their invention isnt quite miraculous. But it is still amazing. And it does bring science one step closer to restoring sight to the blind. Second Sight Medical Products nds broken cells inside of the eye. Their scientists then replace those cells with a tiny electronic device. It is named the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. Argus is designed to manage a disease that Gods World News
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harms part of the eye called the retina. A user wears glasses that have a small video camera on them. The camera sends signals to tiny electrodes, which a surgeon has placed inside a patients eye. The blind patient can then see light and dark. It isnt full sight. But it can make daily tasks much easier. Out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see. Isaiah 29:18
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SHORTS
Robo-School
Devon Carrows severe allergies dont allow him to go to school. But that doesnt stop him from being a part of his second grade class. A VGo robot with a wireless video hookup lets Devon see, hear, and join in for everything that goes on in his classroom. Devon controls the robots movements from his home computer. His classmates see Devons face on a screen. They hear his voice through speakers. Devon answers questions in class, has library time, and enjoys recess with the other children, all through the VGo. He even has a classroom job. Hes the greeter.

NEWS

Battle over Bones

Residents of northern England were thrilled when the remains of King Richard III were found. But joy quickly turned to jealousy. Last month, we told you about the kings bones. They were found under an old church site in Leicester. The city had planned to rebury Richards bones with dignity in Leicester Cathedral. But hold your horses . . . or bones, says the city of York. York lies 100 miles to the north. It claims the late monarch as its own. The king was previously known as Richard of Researcher Philippa Langley looks at a model of King Richard IIIs head. York. prevent Richard from restHistorians agree that do with Leicester, besides dying there in 1485. ing in peace anytime soon. Richard had strong ties The royal rivalry could to York. He had little to Gods World News

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Bunny Trouble!
Denver International Airport has a problem. Rabbits! The sharp-toothed beasts have been on the attack in the airports parking lot. But dont worry too much! They havent been chewing on people. Its the plastic and metal of the cars wiring that the cute little monsters are after. Travelers have returned to their vehicles to nd spark plug cables and other wires destroyed. This not only makes it hard to get home, it can add up to quite a repair bill. Wildlife workers trap around 100 bunnies each

month. The airport has built fences to keep them out. It erected perches for hawks that hunt them. But still the rabbits comeand still they chew, chew, chew. What can car owners do? There is one unusual rabbit repellent they can spray on their wires: coyote or fox urine. It can be bought at most sporting goods stores. It sounds to us like the solution might be worse than the problem. What do you think?

Craig Conner pushes a mail cart through a snowy parking lot in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Snow? Yes. Saturdays? No.

A late winter storm dumped snow on the Midwest. That makes mail delivery di cult. But postal worker Craig Conner carried on. A famous saying about the Postal Service says nothing will stop a mail carrier from delivering the mail: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night. . . . Does that make you want to be like a postal
HORSES BY CRANE: Even horses need a lift from time to time. These hooved hoverers arrived in East Java, Indonesia. They were lifted off a cargo ship by crane. The horses will be used for all sorts of labor to help the local economy. Horses tend to be a little skittish, but apparently theyre not afraid of heights! The shipment also included cattle. They took the same exit route to shore.

worker? Soon, you can at least dress like one. The U.S. Postal Service says it will launch its own line of clothing for sale to the public. It hopes the clothing line will put the Postal Service on the cutting edge of functional fashion. At least, thats what Postal Service representative Steven Mills says. The real hope is also that clothing sales will help raise a pro t for the struggling mail service. If snow cant stop our well-clad mail carriers, what can? Budget cuts, thats what. This August, snow wont be likely to stop delivery. But still, there will be no mail on Saturdays any longer. To try to save money, the Postal Service plans to halt Saturday mail delivery. That is expected to save around $2 billion per year.
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Hello, Kitty
o not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Just lie around all day and wait for someone to feed you. Thats a joke about the newest Monopoly token. It will be found in the popular game by Hasbro Inc. later this year. Fans of the board game voted in an online contest. Which token should be replaced? And with what? The shoe, wheelbarrow, and iron were all neck-and-neck for elimination. And when the vote closed, the iron was out and the cat was in. Tokens are used to identify players. Theyve changed a few times since the game rst came out in 1935. But this was the rst time fans had a chance to vote. Animal lovers were not surprised when the cat won. The Humane Society of the United States says there are more than 86 million cats living in U.S. homes.
Out with the iron . . .

NEWSTHINK
Editorial by Rebecca Cochrane

. . . in with the cat

If you play Monopoly, how do you choose which token you want? My grandfather was a farmer. He thought the wheelbarrow was a good thing. So thats what he chose. I never wanted the thimble. I wasnt very good at sewing. The iron was a symbol of hard work. That type of iron was used before homes had electricity. It had to sit near a re until it got very hot. Then it was used to press clothes or linens as it cooled off. Ironing clothes with

that heavy iron was long, hot, hard work. Today, daily chores dont usually take as much effort. People have more free time. The iron doesnt have the same value that it once did. The voting shows what people today relate to. Pets are high on that list. Is the cat a good choice? What do you think the change of tokens says about what we value?

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grate. It might seem strange to learn that the Latin prex im- means in. Most of the time, the prex we use to mean in is in-. But a few English words would be very hard to say if we tried to put in at the beginning of them. Immigrate is one of those words. It attaches the little-used im- prex to a root that comes from the Latin word migrare. Migrare means to move from one location to another. Our word migrate comes from migrare. (You probably already realized that.) So immigrate means to move into a new place. An immigrant to the United States is a person who moved into America from another country. Immigrate is often confused with another word which sounds the same: emigrate. You may remember that Trufe has found the e- and ex- prexes a few times before. Both mean out. Emigrate means to move out of a place. If you remember

TRUFFLES TREATS

by Rebecca Cochrane

rufe knows all the ins and outs of the word roots game now. And hes sharing some of those ins and outs with you this month!

Immigrate, page 2. Two parts: im- and -mi-

im- for in and e- for out (think exit, if that helps), then youll keep it straight. In our story, people emigrated (moved out) from China. They immigrated (moved in) to Singapore.

Imploded, page 8. im- and -ploded. This is

another word that uses the im- prex to mean in. To understand implode, lets start with a more common word, explode. You know that when something explodes, it blows apart, usually into many pieces. But it isnt the pieces that the word is named for. Its the sound. The word explode is made from the Latin roots ex- (out) and plaudereto clap. Our word applause comes from plaudere. Applause is loud clapping. We think of that as a good thing, but it wasnt always. Long, long ago, when speakers or performers were met with disapproval, the audience chased them out (remember ex- means out!) with a loud, startling noise. The disapproving ones would start to clap. Applause literally was an explosion a driving out with a loud clap. Today, explode means to break apart, usually with a loud noise. The parts y out from the center. Implode, then, means to drive in with a loud noise. The windows that imploded burst inward.

Immerse, page 5. im- and -merse. The -merse

part of this word comes from the Latin mergere, which means to dip. Immerse means to dip in. If you immerse yourself in a bath, you dip yourself in the water. When its time to get out of that bath, youll need to remember the e- prex again. You emerge from the bath. Note that you dont emerse. Its nice that this time, English didnt give us another confusing pair of words that sound the same but mean something different, as in the rst entry!

IM-

-MIGRATE
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Art: R. Bishop

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QUIZ ON . . . Singapore, pages 2-3

1 ___ Singapores officials want to grow the number of workers in the country in order to increase ___. a) extreme overcrowding, b) the minimum wage, c) wealth 2 ___ Right now, most Singaporeans live in ___. a) high-rise apartments, b) outlying farms, c) individual family homes 3 ___ People in Singapore directly elect the ___. a) king, b) prime minister, c) legislature 4 ___ There are more millionaires in Singapore than in any other country in the world. a) True, b) False 5 . . . Would you be willing to live in a home that is below ground? Describe what you think that would be like.

QUIZ ON . . . The Pope, page 7

1 ___ Pope Benedict XVI says he resigned because of ___. a) lack of strength, b) growing scandal, c) Vatican money troubles 2 ___ The retiring pope will live in ___. a) Germany, b) a castle in Switzerland, c) a new home in the Vatican 3 ___ The College of Cardinals is charged with electing a new pope and consists of ___. a) all living cardinals, b) only those cardinals chosen by Benedict XVI, c) all cardinals under the age of 80 4 ___ The newly elected pope is the first pope ___. a) ever chosen who is not from Europe, b) from Brazil, c) named Francis 5 . . . What do you think you would like to be when you grow up? Why?

QUIZ ON . . . Meteor, pages 8-11

1 ___ A meteor the size of a bus entered Earths atmosphere on February 15. a) True, b) False 2 ___ The shock wave caused by the meteorite caused flying glass injuries to 2000 people. a) True, b) False 3 ___ Many Russians use dash-cams in their cars because ___. a) dishonest policemen force accident victims to pay bribes, b) many drivers who hit other cars simply drive away, c) insurance companies will not pay for repairs without an accident video, d) a, b, and c 4 ___ On the same day as the meteor strike, ___ hurled past Earth. a) a meteoroid, b) an asteroid, c) a comet 5 . . . What is the most intriguing thing to you about this meteorite striking the Earth? What does it tell you about God?

QUIZ ON . . . Locusts, page 18

1 ___ Gods word records a plague of locusts sent upon Egypt in the Bibles book of ___. a) Genesis, b) Exodus, c) Numbers 2 ___ Locusts swarmed from ___ to ___ just before Passover this year. a) Jordan-Egypt, b) Saudi Arabia-Israel, c) Egypt-Israel 3 ___ The crop damage there was great. a) True, b) False 4 ___ The stage in a locusts life just before adult is ___. a) egg, b) instar, c) fledgling 5 . . . Without looking at the Bible, try to list as many as you can of the ten plagues that God sent on Egypt.

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