Students: This is Ms.Lawrence's sixth-gradeseventh-period social studies class at Lufkin Middle School inLufkin,Texas, and Channel One News starts right now!
Emily: And a big thanks to Lufkin Middle School for getting us into that holiday spirit — pretty cool. All right,guys, I am Emily Reppert, and this is the last show of the year, so let’s get to it.
First up, those tax cuts that President Trump is a big fan of are just one step away from reaching his desk. The Senate voted yesterday to approve them, and the House — well,it voted yesterday too, but now it needs a redo today.
House Republicans call this vote a big win for the American people.
Representative Paul Ryan: This is one of the most important pieces of legislation that Congress has passed in decades to help the American worker, to help grow the American economy.
Emily: The $1.5-trillion tax overhaul bill sailed throughthe Senateand the House, but the bill now has to go back to the House after two provisions were found that violate Senate procedural rules. The provisions will be removed, and the House will revote today. It is expected to pass again, but every Democrat is once again planning a "no" vote.
Representative Joe Crowley: You know who this bill is going to help? Corporate special interests, the wealthiest Americans and, yes, the Trump family.
Emily: Democrats see this bill as tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Even some Republicans are against it too.
Representative Peter King: Nothing good, especially for theRepublicans. People who voted for Trump are very disappointed.
Emily: The tax bill reduces the rates at every income level. It also doubles the standard deduction for individuals and families. But the biggest winners are corporations, which will see their rates slashed significantly.
All right, now over to Tom with our next story — and get ready for some holiday spirit.
Tom: We are checking in with Secret Santa.Now, if you don't know him, he never shows his face, but every year he and his elves travel across the country and hand out thousands of dollars to people that might need a little extra help during the holidays. Talk about spreading some cheer. Well, this year, he decided to head down to the Texas Gulf Coast and to visit people who lost so much after Hurricane Harvey.
Four months after Hurricane Harvey flooded Beaumont, Texas, Joann, and hundreds like her, are still living in these conditions — virtually homeless for the holidays, which is why the man in red made Beaumont his first stop this year.
Secret Santa: I'm Secret Santa.
Joann: Well, hi Santa.
Secret Santa: You got hit hard, didn't you?
Joann: Yeah.
Tom: Joann says she lost everything, couldn't even afford to buy her grandkids Christmas presents — until now.
Secret Santa: That's a Secret Santa $100 bill.
Joann: Oh, sir.
Secret Santa: Okay, and here's another one.
Tom: He gave her$300 total.Not much to turn around her life, but enough to restore some hope.
And it didn't stop there. His next stop was the police officers, who gave up everything to help the people during the storm.
Secret Santa: I want the officers to know that their heroism, their sacrifice, is not unrecognized.
Tom: So as a thank you, the officers got several hundred dollars each — not to buy what they want, but instead to give it away. And for the officers, turning those tables, sharing moments of joyafter the year they have hadwas just what everyone needed.
What a great story. And, of course, we are wishing the people of Beaumont all the very best.
All right, coming up, we break down the top stories of 2017.
Tom: Oh, 2017 — definitely a year of change. In fact,I don’t think there were many days without a major news story to report. Lots of historic momentsand definitely lots of records broken.
Emily: Yeah, so as the year comes to a close, we are taking a look back at some of the biggest events and talking to the experts to wrap it all up. Take a look.
2017, a year for the books. So it only made sense to check the book written by experts to take a look back: the “World Almanac.”
Sarah Janssen: The “World Almanac” really is a general reference book. Basically, we want to cover all of the events of the past year and be a really great go-to tool to use in the upcoming year.
Emily: And each year, the editors put together a list of the topnews stories.
2017 kicked off with a new president.
Janssen: New president, and with a new president, always a lot of changes come with that. So we had a president using social media really actively for the first time. Lots of new policies come in with a new president, and Trump has been no exception.
Emily: A lot of policy changes from the Trump administration: pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, ending the DACA program for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as kids and a controversial travel ban on people from several mostly Muslim countries.
President Donald Trump: The travel ban — the tougher, the better.
Emily: But after Trump’s changes,No. 2 on the list: rising tension with North Korea.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley: If war comes, make no mistake:The North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.
Janssen: We'll definitely be paying attention to what's going on in North Korea. They just this month launched another missile test.
Emily: And, of course, this year we heard a lot about investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to Trump's campaign.
Trump: No, Russia did not help me — that I can tell you, okay?
Emily: Women were also heard loud and clear this year…
Woman: The most important thing I can do is just, you know, be vocal and make my voice present.
Woman: I came out today because I’m a firm believer in women’s rights.
Emily: …coming together from around the world for the Women's March…
Janssen: Something like 400 cities had participating marches, millions of women and their supporters.
Emily: …and to speak out about harassment with the Me Too movement.
Janssen: It was an amazing thing to see so many women share their stories, not just, you know, the famous actresses but ordinary women being able to share their stories in what felt like a safe space because there were so many prominent voices being heard.
Emily: 2017 was one of the costliest years ever for natural disasters. Hurricane season came on strong as Harvey, Irma and Maria caused devastation throughout the U.S. and Caribbean, and the wildfires in California are still raging.
Janssen: A record-breaking wildfire season, and we're going to be paying attention to that going forward because they just seem to be escalating and affecting more and more people every year.
Emily: Devastation continued with the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history when dozens were killed during a concert in Las Vegas.
Janssen: It's such a tragic story, and, you know, it's unfortunate that we see a record-setting shooting, it seems like, every year now. Hopefully, going forward, that won't be the case.
Emily: Other top stories include the protests over Confederate monuments, the violent clashes in Charlottesville,Virginia, and the Take AKnee movement as football players kneeled during the national anthem to protest police violence against black men.
Janssen: The Take AKnee movement — that just created a phenomenon. I mean, Colin Kaepernick started doing his protest in August of 2016,and itcertainly didn't see the participation of almost every football franchise until 2017.
Emily: This year, we saw a country divided, but there was one history-making event that brought everyone together: the solar eclipse…
Holly Brandt: It was just really cool how everything around you went dark, and the only thing you could really see was just the outline of the moon.
Boy: One word — I would say astronomical.
Emily: …rounding out an eventful year of headlines.
Janssen: This year has been such a surprise. We've had so many stories come out that no one anticipated, so I'm just looking ahead to see what happens next.
Tom: Now, of course, we can't talk about 2017 without mentioning a big headline,and one that you guys definitely care about.
Emily: Yep, fidget spinners!
Tom: Wait, is this a joke?
Emily: No, no joke. Well, maybe, but at least that is what everyone voted for. Here are the top votes from ChannelOne.com.
Three was tensions with North Korea;two was Trump taking office; and the No. 1 story of the year?Apparently, you guys think it is the fidget spinner craze.
Tom: All right, thanks for weighing in, and with that, we wrap up 2017.
Emily: Yeah, and what a year it has been.
Tom: And, of course, the gang is all here, as it is our last show of the year.
Keith: Happy holidays, everyone,and we wish you a very happy New Year.
Azia: And don't forget, we will be back on Wednesday,January 3.
Arielle: So stay tuned for more news and, of course, more fun.
Tom: All the best!
All: Bye!
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