Readable, teachable news.
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Skier Lindsey Vonn continues to dominate her sport.
Vonn, is an American ski racer with the United States ski team. She recently had a great weekend in Canada. She raced at Lake Louise in Banff, Alberta.
She ended up winning all three races that were held that weekend.
Vonn earned her 14th career win at Lake Louise.
The third person in line to the throne of England will be born in 2013.
The Royal Family announced this week that Kate Middleton and her husband, Prince William, are going to have a baby.
Prince William is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson.
Kate, also known as the Duchess of Cambridge, married William in a lavish ceremony in London, England last year.
People around the world watched the royal wedding on TV.
A tourist was visiting Times Square in New York when she witnessed a “random act of kindness” she—and thousands of other people—will never forget.
A homeless man was begging for change. He had no shoes or socks on, in the frigid November evening.
As the tourist, Jennifer Foster, watched, a New York police officer approached the man.
The policeman said, “I have these size 12 boots for you; they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you.”
Researchers were investigating a mural painted by Italian artist Vasari in Florence, Italy last year.
They had a hunch that on a wall behind Vasari’s mural, another mural might be lurking — one painted by the famous Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
The researchers were right.
They put a probe with a camera on it through the first mural.
Underneath, they found the Leonardo painting, The Battle of Anghiari.
The research team was led by scientist Maurizio Seracini and included specialists from the National Geographic Society, several universities and the City of Florence.
The “strike actions” that teachers are taking in Ontario may escalate in December.
In this case, “strike actions” refer to things the teachers and their union are doing to bring attention to the issues that are important to them.
In order to get that attention, many Ontario teachers have already chosen to not participate in extra-curricular activities as well as other things on certain days of the week.
On Monday, Mark Carney made news when he announced that he was leaving his job as Governor of the Bank of Canada to become the Governor of the Bank of England.
The governor of a country’s central bank watches over the country’s money, and sets interest rates for borrowing or lending money to governments and others.
The governor also has to make sure there is enough cash in government accounts to cover all the programs it runs.
The central bank’s governor sets policies and rules for money matters at the highest level.
Carney told reporters that he took the job with the Bank of England because it will be a challenge.
He meant that he wanted to see if he could do a harder, or different, job than what he is doing now.
England is part of the United Kingdom, which is a member of the European Union.
Right now, the European Union is facing big decisions to make sure Europe’s financial future is strong.
Carney will have to help England to make those decisions.
A judge has ruled that the mayor of one of the largest cities in North America has to step down.
Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford, has been removed from office–in other words, forced to stop being the mayor.
The judge’s decision takes effect two weeks from now. That’s when Ford must be out of his office.
Ford was elected in 2010 and had another two years to go, in his term as mayor.
Ford was found to have violated “conflict of interest” laws.
That’s because when Ford was a councillor, he raised some money for the football team he coaches, using City Hall stationery.
The city’s integrity commissioner — the person who advises elected officials about ethics — told Ford he had to give the money back. Ford refused.
When he became mayor, Ford asked council to reverse the decision.
In other words, he asked councillors to vote to let him keep the money and not have to give it back. Ford also voted in that vote.
The judge said that the mayor voting in this way was a conflict of interest.
On Sunday night, Canada celebrated a great game and a big anniversary.
It was the 100th anniversary of the football championship that decides who takes the most important prize in the Canadian Football League — the Grey Cup.
Across the country, and all over Toronto, Canadians were cheering for the Toronto Argonauts or the Calgary Stampeders.
At noon on Sunday, fans converged on Varsity Stadium in downtown Toronto for a “fan march,” a big parade of Canadian football fans.
The Argos’ mascot, Jason, bounced around the crowd giving people high-fives.
The Stampeders’ mascot, Ralph, made his way through the mostly Toronto crowd.
But it didn’t matter who you were rooting for–the real celebration was about the game itself.
“The only play is the next play,” the coach for the Argos told his team before the big game.
At the same time, in the other dressing room, the coach for the Stampeders reminded his team that, “one word — team — is why we’re here.”
Excitement is building as Canadians everywhere are getting Grey Cup fever.
The fever is particularly high in Toronto. Not only will the game be played there, but the Toronto Argonauts are one of the teams vying for the championship.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup championship, which decides which Canadian Football League (CFL) team is the best.
It is played between the winners of the CFL’s East and West Divisional playoffs.
The Toronto Argonauts are set to play the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday.
The winner will take home the trophy known as The Grey Cup.
Toronto was the site for the first Grey Cup, back in 1912.
The 2012 game will also be played in Toronto, at the Rogers Centre.
It’s unusual for the city hosting the Grey Cup to also have their team playing in the Grey Cup.
The last time Toronto won the Grey Cup while playing at home was in 1952.
In some countries, people aren’t allowed to say anything bad about their government. They don’t have “freedom of expression.”
Some writers who have spoken out against their governments have been put in jail by those governments.
Fortunately, there is a group called PEN International, which defends freedom of expression. PEN International fights for the rights of writers around the world.
Last week, PEN International went to Turkey. The group was led by Canadian author John Ralson Saul, the president of PEN International.
They met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül to show their concern for writers and journalists in Turkish prisons.
PEN asked the Turkish government to consider shortening jail time for prisoners before their trials. This period can often last for years.
Another problem is that prisoners aren’t able to see their lawyers quickly. According to one report in The Toronto Star, one man has been kept from talking to his lawyer for over a year.
