Maggie: Hey everyone. It is Thursday, May 28. And today, we are making a splash, taking you underwater to a national park that looks like paradise. But it is right here in America. I am Maggie Rulli, and Channel One News starts right now.
With billions of fans around the globe, soccer is the world's favorite sport. But now, the world of soccer has been given a red card.
The U.S. Justice Department has accused the world's top soccer organization of corruption, dating back more than 20 years. Scott Evans has the details.
Scott: Seven world soccer officials were arrested yesterday in Zurich, Switzerland.
Investigators in Europe and the U.S. accuse the men from FIFA, soccer’s world governing board, oftaking millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks through U.S. banks. Several others have also been charged in connection with the investigation.
Loretta Lynch: These individuals, through these organizations, engaged in bribery to decide who would televise games, where the games would be held, and who would run the organization overseeing organized soccer worldwide.
Scott: Investigators say the men accepted bribes of more than $150 million dollars over the past two decades in exchange for media deals for major soccer tournaments. The crimes were prepared here in the U.S. and payments were carried out using U.S. banks.
Walter de Gregorio: It’s not good in terms of image and it’s not good in terms of reputation.
Scott: FIFA says it welcomes the investigation and will fully cooperate. FIFA's presidentis not accused of any crimes. Hours after the Zurich arrests, FBI agents were seen removing items from the Miami headquarters of CONCACAF, the soccer association for North and Central America.
Officials are also investigating how world cup events in 2018 and 2022 were awarded to the countries of Russia and Qatar.
Scott Evans, Channel One News.
Maggie: Those arrested are expected to be sent to the U.S. in order to stand trial. Alright coming up next, two cities, one under a heatwave, the other under water.
Let's check in on what else is making news.
The country of India is in the midst of a deadly heatwave. At least a thousand people in the world's second most populated country have already died because of the soaring temperatures.
Temperatures hit a record 117 degrees this week in some villages. The southeastern part of India has been hit the hardest with the stifling heat. People are being urged to drink water and avoid going outdoors during the hottest hours of the day.
In the cities, large crowds gathered around stalls selling cold fruit and ice drinks. Others have hit the beaches, seeking a break from the pounding heat.
India has a population of 1.2 billion people, but only one third of those have access to electricity and air conditioners. Monsoon season, which usually brings rain and cooler weather, starts next week.
But there is too much rain back here in the Southwest. Residents in Texas are still dealing with heavy rainfall and destruction.
Rain keeps pouring down on Houston, Texas. But the flood waters have receded dramatically in the last 24 hours. Water is flowing over the top of a dam near the city of Dallas after days of torrential rains, and if the dam breaks, it could lead to major problems for the city.
In Wimberly, Texas, residents are now left cleaning up their homes after the catastrophic storms. The death toll has now climbed to at least 19 with another dozen people still missing.
And there's some good news about world hunger. A new report says that the number of hungry people around the globe has gone down. That comes despite an increase in population growth.
Twenty-five years ago, one billion people around the world were hungry. Today, that number stands at 795 million.
Those numbers came from the United Nations annual hunger report. Despite the fact that nearly 800 million still remain hungry, the report described the drop as a significant achievement.
The success comes after the Millennium Development Goals were set by the U.N. back in 2000 as part of getting rid of hunger. Progress was found in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. But the report said parts of Africa still face food shortages.
Alright coming up, we take a dip in an underwater national park.
Now, as we wrap up our look back at our series on national parks, we decided to end with a splash. You can find Biscayne National Parkjust off the southern tip of Florida, and with the exception of a few small islands, nearly all of the park is underwater. Former reporter Shelby Holliday takes us there.
Shelby: Off the coast of the sunshine state, just miles from the big city of Miami, lies an underwater wonderland.
Biscayne National Park is home to hundreds of species of colorful fish.Endangered animals like the West Indian manatee and the American crocodileand the third largest coral reef system in the world.
Every year, this watery wilderness attracts more than 500,000 visitors who come to fish, dive, and explore the park's 172,000 acres.
Biscayne National Park is the biggest marine park in the national park system, and 95 percent of it is underwater. So to get a closer look at the park's unique features, and the challenges that it faces we are going on the water and underwater.
Our first stop was the mangrove forest.
So what is a mangrove Maria?
Maria Beotegui: So a mangrove is a type of tree that's specially adapted for living in or around salt water. These are lots of individual trees all forming this mangrove tangle, and this ecosystem all along the shoreline.
Shelby: Biscayne National Park maintains the longest stretch of undeveloped mangroves on the East Coast of Florida. And the trees don't just provide a safe habitat for animals, they also help preserve the coast.
Maria: Here is South Florida, like many places in the world, we have hurricanes and wave action that tends to wash away our shore. So these mangroves with all of their root system hold down the sediment and helps maintain our shoreline.
Shelby: Farther from the shoreline, an hour-long boat ride took us to the popular snorkeling spot "the maritime heritage trail."
Here, swimmers can explore six of the park's dozens of shipwreck sites, which hold valuable information about the people who traveled to the region in the last five centuries.
Agnes Rybeck: The maritime heritage trail is the only underwater archaeological trail in the entire national park system.
Every time I come here there are these big huge schools of bermuda chub, all different kinds of angel fish, some corals, hard corals, soft corals, so you'll see purple sea fans swaying with you.
Shelby: But while things look sunny from above, there are problems below the surface.
Boating accidents are damaging natural habitats. Invasive species, animals that don't belong here, are threatening the native habitat.
And the park is also fighting to save its most famous attraction, coral reefs.
Emily Mcgrath: The reefs are really fragile, and there is a lot of pressure being put on them.
Shelby: On average, reefs in the Florida Keys have live coral on less than 15 percent of their surface area, down from 25 to 35 percent in the 1970s.
Why are the coral reefs declining?
Emily: There are so many factors that are impacting the reefs. Everything that we can see happening, like vessels running around and people harvesting, to global climate change, ocean acidification, temperatures rising in the oceans. So it could be one thing in one area. It could be a hundred things up and down the keys.
Shelby: That's why Emily and other scientists in the Florida Keys are working on projects to preserve these natural wonders, like growing coral in "nurseries" and re-planting it on the reefs.
Shelby: Can you restore them?
Emily: That's a really tough one. You have, in the field you have both sides. Some people say it's too late, some people say it's not too late.I have hope because I see this ecosystem every day and I really do love it. Really people just have to know and try to make a difference.
Shelby: A difference that could save this vibrant underwater landscape from fading away forever.
Maggie: To keep exploring Biscayne National Park, just head on over to Channelone.com.
Now, all week long we have taken over the Channel One Instagram account to show you what a day in the life of our reporters is like, and to give you a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. I did it on Monday, and today it is Keith's turn. So if you want to see what Keith is up to today, just check out our Instagram page @channelonenews.
Alright guys, that's going to do it for us. I am Maggie Rulli and we cannot wait to see you tomorrow.
3 | Page