Let's Start Off with Headlines, and First Up: the President Made a Rare Visit to the Country's

Tom: Hey everyone, it is Tuesday, December 15. I am Tom Hanson, and Channel One News starts right now.

Let's start off with headlines, and first up: the president made a rare visit to the country's military headquarters yesterday, where he met with the nation’s top military leaders, who are dealing with the fight against ISIS. And he promised the U.S. is hitting ISIS harder than ever.

President Obama: Coalition aircraft, our fighters, bombers and drones, have been increasing the pace of airstrikes, nearly 9,000 as of today.

Tom: After a two-hour meeting, he had a strong message for the leaders of the terrorist group ISIS, which is also called ISIL.

President Obama: The point is, ISIL leaders cannot hide, and our next message to them is simple: you are next.

Tom: The briefing comes two weeks after a mass shooting in California by a couple authorities say was inspired by ISIS. Although no new initiatives were announced, the president did say there is a greater sense of urgency.

President Obama: No one knows that more than the countless Syrians and Iraqis living every day under ISIL's terror, as well as the families in San Bernardino and Paris.

Tom: Meanwhile, Republicans and some Democrats say the U.S. is not winning the war and urged the president to do more.

Senator McCain: Someone's going to have to convince me that air power alone and Special Operations Forces are going to succeed in the short term.

Tom: The U.S. military made an announcement yesterday regarding a former Army sergeant who deserted his post in time of war. The military said Bowe Bergdahl will face a military court on charges of desertion and endangering his fellow soldiers. A top Army commander ordered the court-martial, which means Bergdahl could face life in prison if convicted.

Bergdahl was the soldier who disappeared from his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009, got taken prisoner by the extremist group the Taliban and was held captive for five years. He was released in 2014, after the U.S. agreed to give up five Taliban soldiers in exchange for Bergdahl.

Six U.S. troops died in the months following Bergdahl's disappearance during missions partly aimed at finding and rescuing him. Last week Bergdahl, speaking for the first time, said he made a mistake.

Bowe Bergdahl: Suddenly, you know, it really starts to sink in that I really did something bad, or, not bad, but I really did something serious.

Tom: And the airplane maker Boeing rolled out its next generation jet yesterday, the 737 Max. And it has got some cool features that lots of people are talking about.

First off, at a time when the world is looking to cut carbon emissions, the 737 Max uses 14 percent less fuel than current 737s.

Boeing: Natural laminar fluid technology reduces fuel consumption by controlling…
Tom: Okay, boring! Basically, it uses less fuel, and that is better for the environment. New engine advances have led to an even quieter flying experience, and the Max can carry 12 more passengers than other planes.

Seven Thirty-Sevens are among the most popular planes in the skies, and the Max is the latest version. The 737 Max will make its first test flight early next year. And Southwest Airlines is expected to get the first delivery in 2017.

All right, after the break: two words that rarely go together, Congress and cosmetics. We will explain.

Tom: Americans spend more than $50 billion on beauty and skincare products every year. But what is exactly in these products? Well, Maggie Rulli takes a closer look, but has anyone seen her? Maggie!

Maggie: I know, I know, Tom. Sorry! There is just so much to do when it comes to getting ready. Hair, nails, makeup. Well, there is growing concern that a lot of these products we use to make ourselves look good might actually be causing us harm. So many industry leaders and lawmakers are now pushing for change.

Senator Feinstein: It's because of the addition of more chemicals: chemicals for staying power, chemicals for shine.

Maggie: California Senator Dianne Feinstein is asking Congress to give the Federal Drug Administration, or FDA, more power to make sure that skin and beauty products are safe.

Senator Feinstein: I think our laws should provide for adequate testing of chemicals before they go into widely used products.

Maggie: Cosmetics and skin care products have been popular for decades, but today's products are made with chemicals like formaldehyde — known to cause cancer — it is used in products from nail polish to some chemical hair straighteners; propylparaben, a commonly used cosmetic preservative; and lead acetate — yes, lead — used in hair dye.

Under the proposed law, the FDA would test whether those chemicals are being used at safe levels. If not, it can force a recall.

Doctors say it is long overdue because the health risks could be dangerous, especially for teenagers, whose developing bodies are more at risk.

Dr. Tanzi: Ignorance is not bliss.

Maggie: Dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi said she treats patients weekly for adverse reactions to chemicals in beauty products.

Dr. Tanzi: We are just assuming all of our haircare, skincare and our personal care products are safe. Well, I think we really need to look very closely at some of these ingredients, because we know that at higher concentrations they can be toxic.

Maggie: Tanzi says the biggest offenders are hair products, especially straighteners, and newer nail polishes that last more than a week, all of which aren't really monitored by the government. But that is not the story in other countries. The European Union bans more than 1,000 chemicals from personal care products. Of those, the U.S. bans 11.

Gregg Renfrew: I think that the beauty industry is the last industry that has been forced to truly clean up its act.

Maggie: This lack of oversight led to the start of the natural beauty products company Beautycounter.

Renfrew: Things that I've been washing my babies in, things that I have been putting on my body while I was pregnant, things that I have been using on my body for decades — to find out that those ingredients were not safe for my health was incredibly disappointing and scary, quite frankly.

Maggie: Maggie Rulli, Channel One News.

Tom: Scary stuff. All right, coming up: one young person who is 25 years ahead of her time.

Tom: Now, the saying goes, "Take it one day at a time." But Arielle is here with the story of a 10-year-old who has her sights set on something pretty ambitious.

Arielle: That is right, Tom. This one girl has her eyes set on moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and she has caught the attention of some pretty powerful people. Check it out.

Most fifth-graders are busy worrying about what is going to happen in the next 25 minutes; you know, friends, homework, lunch, not so much what they are going to be doing in 25 years. But Alena Mulhern is different. She is busy focusing on her campaign for president in 2040.

Alena announced her career plan the day after watching President Obama's second inauguration, when he made this statement.

President Obama: We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else because she is an American.

Arielle: And that message resonated with her.
Alena Mulhern: I am American as much as you are and everyone else.
Arielle: But her mom was hesitant to encourage her.

Barbara Mulhern: And I had told her before, you can be anything you want to be, as we all tell our children, and she said to me, “I want to be president.” And I said, “Honey, that's the only thing you can't be."

Arielle: Here is the problem: the U.S. Constitution says, "No person except a natural-born citizen shall be eligible to the office of president," which means you have to be a citizen at birth to hold the job. And Alena was adopted from China when she was 10 months old.

Alena: Someone tells me, “Since you were born in China, you can't become president.” I didn't really like that.

Arielle: So she sent a petition to the president with 120 signatures asking for the law to be changed. And then she went to the Massachusetts Legislature…

Alena: I learned how our government works and realized this is the way to change the law.

Arielle: …asking her local lawmakers to pass a resolution and urging Congress to take up the matter, even if that means changing the Constitution.

Alena: Just think of all the great candidates that would not be able to serve our country because of a law that came into existence over 200 years ago.

Arielle: With her ambitious request, there will be many arguments to come. But for now, this budding politician is sticking to her one sharp talking point and her passion to lead.

Alena: I would make a great leader. I bring people together. I would guide our country so it would be an even greater place to live, work and raise a family. Most of all, I love my country. I want to serve my country, and this is my country.

Arielle: I guess we will just have to wait and see. But in the meantime, to test your knowledge of current U.S. presidents, just head to our One Vote page on ChannelOne.com.

Tom: Yeah, guys, and while you are there on ChannelOne.com, don't forget to vote and let us know what you think the top story is for 2015. We will be posting the results later this week.

All right, that is going to do it for us. We will see you tomorrow.

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