THE DOWNINGTOWN REPORT - AROUND THE WORLD

THE DOWNINGTOWN
          REPORT
 AROUND THE WORLD
         China’s New Maglev Train can hit 620 kph
Recently, China has showcased its prototype of the new Maglev train that can
reach speeds upto about 620kph (385mph). Maglev trains, also known as
Magnetic Levitation trains, are land transportation vehicles that levitate above
the tracks using electromagnetic attraction or repulsion. These vehicles are used
among the public in China, Japan, and South Korea. This particular prototype,
about 69 feet long, uses high temperature superconducting to make it appear as
though the train is floating on the magnetized tracks. Professor He Chaun, who
worked on the prototype stated that he believes that the Maglev train can be
utilized in about three to ten years.
                 Pope Appoints First Woman to the
                        Synod of Bishops
Recently, the Pope has appointed the first woman, Sister Nathalie Becquart as
undersecretary to the Synod of Bishops, which is an advisory committee to the Pope. This
change reflects the Pope’s desire "for a greater participation of women in the process
of discernment and decision-making in the church” according to Cardinal Mario Grech,
the body’s secretary-general. Recently there has been more participation of women in
the church with 6 women appointed last year to oversee finances and last month’s
change to allow women to administer communion and serve at the altar.

      Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos steps down                                        BUSINESS
Jeff Bezos, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Amazon recently announced his plan to step down from
CEO and will soon be replaced by Andy Jassy. However, Bezos will still be involved in the company’s
future and will remain as an executive chair. He stated that he wants to invest more time to work on his
newspaper The Washington Post and his spaceflight company Blue Origin. Ever since the talk of Bezos
retiring his position of CEO, the obvious choices were between Jeff Wilke and Andy Jassy, both of whom
have been part of Amazon from the beginning. However, with Wilke announcing his retirement, the
position fell to Jassy. As Tom Alberg, a longtime Amazon director and investor said, “Andy has lived his
whole life in that culture, and that culture is so strong,”
                        Space X’s First ever Civilian Flight Crew?
Jared Isaacman, an American businessman is funding a space trip in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule. The
crew could be the first ever orbital flight crew of all non-astronauts. Isaacman has announced that his mission
Inspiration4 will be a multi day trip, orbiting around Earth. He plans to launch Inspiration4 towards the end of
2021. There will be four crew members including Isaacman along with an ambassador from St. Jude Children
Research Hospital, a member from the public, and a winner from a contest limited to Isaacman’s ecommerce
platform, Shift4Shop. Along with conducting this monumental trip, Isaacman wants to use this opportunity to
support research on childhood cancer and pledges to donate $100 million dollars to St. Jude.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
February marks the month-long recognition of Black figures and their role in
American history. The origins of Black History Month date back to 1915. Harvard
historian Carter G. Woodson and Minister Jesse E. Moorland founded The
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Their organization focused on
finding and promoting achievements made by Black Americans and other people of
African descent. This group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926 during
the second week of February. In the decades following this, mayors of cities across
the country started issuing annual proclamations recognizing Negro History Week.
Owing to the help of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and a growing consciousness
of black identity, Negro History Week evolved into Black History Month on numerous
college campuses.38th US President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History
Month in 1976, he stated that we need to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-
often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor
throughout our history."
Black-Figure of the Week : Cicely Tyson
Actress Cicely Tyson, whose vibrant portrayals of
influential African-American women in the dramatic arts
of the 1970s smashed racial perceptions, propelling her
to stardom and fame as an example of civil rights, died
on 28 January 2021 at the age of ninety-six. Tyson refused
to take acting projects that demeaned Black people and
she used her voice to encourage other black actors to do
the same. She criticized films and television that depicted
its black characters as criminal, subservient, or immoral.
Additionally, Tyson stated that these characters instead
should portray Black people with dignity, no matter their
circumstances.
Some of her Prominent Films:
Sounder (1972): In Depression-era Louisiana, after her sharecropper husband is
incarcerated for stealing food, Rebecca (Cicely Tyson) must rescue her family from
starvation. Earning an Oscar nomination for her role in this film, Tyson was praised for
calibrating the determination and integrity of her character that has to navigate through a
system weighted against her. It's a portrait of an enduring woman, of grace and of grit.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane (1974): Based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines, Tyson
metamorphosed herself into the 110-year-old Jane Pittman. Set during 1960s Louisiana,
Jane Pittman accepts an interview from a journalist and retells the story of her life as a
former slave. Jane's liberation marks the trajectory of her life framed by the horrors of
slavery through the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Roots (1977): A television mini-series based on the novel by Alex Haley, follows the life of
Kunta Kinte. He and his family were abducted from their village in the Gambia and taken
to the United States. Tyson plays Kinte’s mother, Binta. Although she did not play a major
role in the project, her role was essential for laying the groundwork of the story, which
helped to spotlight the real ugliness of slavery for every watcher.

SCIENCE
   The Smallest Reptile                                  UAE to Mars
         Found!
In 2012, scientists from Madagascar          On February 9th, the United Arab Emirate’s
and Germany discovered two tiny              (UAE) Hope orbiter will reach Mars,
lizards on a Madagascar mountainside.        making it the country’s first interplanetary
Now, they classified the male and            mission. Launched on July 20th of last year,
female lizards in a new species called       the Hope orbiter (Arabic: al-Amal) and its
                                             mission was designed and led by the
Brookesia nana (nano-chameleon).
                                             Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
Known as the smallest in “11,500 known       (MBRSC) in Dubai with the help of the
species of reptiles,” the nano-              Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space
chameleons’ body is around 13.5mm            Physics in Colorado, Arizona State
with its length including the tail to be     University and UC Berkeley. Emirate Mars
different in males and females (22mm in      Mission project director Omran Sharaf
males and 29mm in females). However,         hopes the probe will study weather cycles
the chameleons are threatened by             and the reasoning behind why the red
disappearing rainforests and are on the      planet is losing hydrogen by analyzing its
verge of extinction. Therefore, scientists   atmospheric layers, both of which are
are recommending the reptiles are            objectives that will be the country's
listed in the International Union for        contributions to a “knowledge-based
                                             economy.” The mission is expected to last
Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red
                                             one full Martian year (687 Earth days) and
List of Threatened Species while they        the data will be shared to over 200
conduct further research on this             institutions worldwide according to Sheikh
fascinating species.                         Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Double Masking: Is It More                     Internet Ban in India:
        Protective                              What’s The Big Deal?
As more COVID-19 variants that are           After 18 months without high speed
more contagious spread across the            internet services, India has restored 4G
world, scientists have also come up with     mobile data services to Kashmir, a
new recommendations on how to stay           region that has revoked its rights
safe: double masking. Although the           having its own constitution and revoked
Centers for Disease Control and              citizens’s rights in land ownership and
Prevention (CDC) in the US did not           jobs in 2019. The ban, which was a total
release specific guidelines on whether       communication blackout, was one of
double masking is required, Dr. Anthony
                                             the longest in democracy and left many
Fauci quoted how it “just makes common
                                             without jobs, healthcare and education.
sense.” As more research is being done
                                             It’s main objective: stop information
on the variants from the UK and South
Africa, scientists are weighing in their     about anti-India protests or joining
thoughts on the idea. Many agree that        pakistan. Even more recently, Prime
wearing a cloth mask over a surgical         Minister Narendra Modi has also cut
mask or investing in a KN95 or N95 is        the internet near New Delhi (India’s
worth it as the more layers there are, the   capital) to stop the spread of farmers
less particles reach your nose and           protests in regards to new agriculture
mouth. On the other hand, some officials     laws, a movement that has also
also believe the government should have      attracted global attention after
done a better job of manufacturing high      Rihanna tweeted a news report and
quality masks so Americans would not         Greta Thunberg conveyed her opinions.
need to “fend for themselves.”

BUCCANEER'S WIN AND THE
        WEEKND'S PERFORMANCE
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won this Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Kansas
City Chiefs in a 31-9 sweep. Quarterback Tom Brady, who switched from the
New England Patriots last year to the Buccaneers has now won his seventh
Super Bowl and he is currently the oldest active player in the NFL. Chief’s
quarterback, Patrick Mahomes was evidently not as protected as Brady was in
the game. The Buccaneers took advantage of this. According to ESPN Stats &
Data, they sacked Mahomes three times and forced him on 29 of his 56 drop-
backs, the most in Super Bowl history. Mahomes spent the majority of the game
scrambling behind the line of scrimmage from defenders. In order to
accumulate just 270 yards, he threw two interceptions, no touchdowns, and
needed 49 passes, most of them late in the game. In a statement later, he said,
"We can't let this define us. We have to continue to get better going into next
year and prepare ourselves to hopefully be in this game again. We knew it
wasn't always going to be successful and we weren't going to be able to win
1,000 championships in a row. We knew we were going to go through times like
this and adversity. I think the best thing about it is the guys we have the
leadership ability to be even better next year.''

Clothed in a glittery red blazer and surrounded by an all-black ensemble, the
Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) dazzled the Half-time show stage. He sang
some of his biggest hits like “Starboy”, “The Hills”, and “I Feel It Coming”. Tesfaye
moved to a room filled with retro bulb lights where he performed “Can’t Feel My
Face” with his bandaged clone army moving around in helter-skelter fashion
with the camera angles, creating a scene of glamourous disarray. The
bandages are a recurring theme part of the aesthetic of his 2020 album After
Hours. He told Variety that, “The significance of the entire head bandages is
reflecting on the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people
manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated”. He
toned down the mood with a luminescent performance of “Save Your Tears” and
his string dominant ballad “Earned It”. The Weeknd ended his nearly 15 minutes
set with his chart-topping 80s inspired hit “Blinding Lights” where he once again

brings out his clone army taking up all the area of the footballfield--sometimes
dancing in-sync but other times dancing in total mayhem to the 80s synthwave
beat drop. The Weeknd’s performance encaptured his grand vocal range and a
sense of escapism.

                 WEEK IN HISTORY
The idea to start a hospital in the US (specifically in Pennsylvania) was first thought of
by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin “for the reception and cure of the sick
people” (Penn Medicine). At the time, Philadelphia was one of the most heavily
populated cities out of the others in the thirteen colonies. Franklin organized a petition
to encourage the people to agree to set up a hospital. Though it met with some
objections at first, the assembly eventually agreed, thinking that the task was
impossible. Franklin was then able to fundraise more than enough money to start
building and in February of 1752, the first temporary hospital was established on High
Street (now known as Market Street).

                    POSITIVE NEWS
Cycling has become one of the most popular outdoor activities since the start of the
Pandemic. So much that near the start, bicycles were out of stock and the supply
could not keep up with the demand. With this excitement around cycling, people are
looking for new adventures to bike with. A new trail is being designed which will allow
cyclists and hikers to travel 3,700 miles across America from coast to coast. This trail
project, called The Great American Rail-Trail, is led by Rail-to-Trails Conservancy.
The trail will run from Washington D.C. to Washington State’s coast. While 1,988 miles
of the track has already been completed, the trail also aims to connect 145 pre
existing trails. Once it is finally completed, it will serve a huge number of Americans
since 50 million people already live within 80km of the trail.

ACTIVITIES

           ABOUT THE WRITERS
Vibha Guru, Mahi Mallina, Krystal Michoma, and Shanthi Bhaskar are all current juniors
at Downingtown STEM Academy. They were inspired by recent current events to create
an engaging newsletter to stimulate interest in the world around them among their
community’s youth. By creating short, yet informative, articles and interactive puzzles
about the various topics covered, they hope to inspire our community to learn further
and connect the knowledge they gain from their classrooms to the real world.