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Azia: Hey guys, it is Monday, March 28. I am Azia Celestino, and Channel One News starts right now.

First up, let's take a look at the top stories of the day. Over in the country of Belgium, police have continued to make arrests, and we now know that an American couple was among those killed in a tragic bombing at the Brussels airport.

Stephanie and Justin Shults were among the 31 people killed, their family confirmed. The young couple were college sweethearts that graduated together from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.

Sheila Shults: I've been hoping that my phone would ring and Justin or Stephanie would be on the other end telling me they were okay and for me not to worry, you know, they were fine. But that call didn't come.

Azia: Several Mormon missionaries were injured at the airport in the bombing, including 19-year-old Mason Wells, who was just feet away from the first bomb. 

Mason Wells: The blast was very loud. I think it actually picked my body off the ground for a quick second.

Azia: Incredibly, this was not the first time Mason has seen terrorism firsthand. He was standing near the finish line three years ago when terrorists detonated explosives at the Boston Marathon.  And he was also in France, but not in Paris, when that terrorist attack occurred in November. 

In total, nearly a dozen Americans were injured. Belgian authorities have made several arrests and charged three other men with terrorism offenses after a series of raids linked to last Tuesday’s bombings.

And taking on ISIS is becoming a big focus after the Brussels attacks. Just over the weekend, the U.S. military said it killed ISIS's finance minister in an airstrike. And now the Syrian government says it has taken back the ancient city of Palmyra, and that is a significant step in defeating ISIS.

The announcement from Syria came yesterday and follows a three-week battle that left hundreds of ISIS fighters dead and many more fleeing into the desert. It comes after a string of military setbacks for ISIS in Syria. Analysts say that is why the terror group is moving attacks abroad to places like Paris and Brussels.

Military sources say the Syrian government now has full control of the ancient city of Palmyra. An independent organization has confirmed the gains. ISIS first pulled into Palmyra in May 2015. It took over the UNESCO World Heritage site, destroyed ancient temples dating back 2,000 years and also sold expensive relics on the black market to make money.

The city's liberation from ISIS was welcomed by UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency. It described the destruction of the city as a war crime. Now the head of Syria's antiquities promised to repair as much of the damage as possible as a message against terrorism.

Now let's hear from you guys. Last week we told you about a new trend, restaurants offering up ways to get people to put down their cell phones and focus on family time. And we asked you, should families turn off phones during meals? Sixty-three percent of you said, “Yes — turn it off,” but 37 percent of you said, “No — I'd rather take a food pic.”

Natasha said, “If you have your eyes on your phone, then how are you supposed to laugh, talk and know how each other's day went, or even have some family quality time?”

But Hannah disagrees: “No, because when you find something funny online, you can laugh with your family.”

Thanks for commenting; we love hearing from you guys.

All right, after the break, the debate over how to honor the military legacy of some brave women.

Azia: March is Women's History Month, and Tom is here with me now for a story about a group of women who served as trailblazers in the military.

Tom: Yeah, Azia, and now there is a decision to be made: whether or not they will be recognized at our nation's most respected memorial grounds.  

Erin Miller’s grandmother Elaine Harmon is famous.

Erin Miller: Her mission was to train male pilots that needed either refresher courses on planes or to learn about new planes that were coming out.

Tom: She was one of a chosen few, her wartime service captured on old news footage. Elaine was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her service as a WASP, one of about a thousand Women Airforce Service Pilots, who signed up during World War II, when a shortage of male pilots forced the military to do what it had never done.

The unit was formed in 1942 with the intention of granting its participants full military status. However, the WASPs were not sent into combat, instead remaining in the United States.

Elaine died last year at the age of 95. 

Miller: Her wishes were to be inurned at Arlington Cemetery.

Tom: Arlington National Cemetery is a military cemetery just outside of Washington, D.C. More than 400,000 people who have served our country have been laid to rest there, from fallen soldiers to former presidents to astronauts. Some WASPs have also been buried there, but the Army says it was by mistake. And last year it revoked the rights of the female World War II pilots to be laid to rest at Arlington.

Miller: The Army said no to the wrong family.

Tom: The director of Arlington denied Elaine Harmon’s request, saying serving in the WASPs "is not the same as active duty service as a member of the Department of Defense."

Representative Martha McSally: Sexism and gender discrimination: that is the only issue that did not allow them to be military — hang-ups about the role of women in the military.

Tom: Harmon's family turned to Arizona Congresswoman Martha McSally, who became one of the first female combat pilots, following a path first blazed by the WASPs.

McSally: Think about the irony here. The military just announced they're opening up all positions to women to serve in uniform the very same time they're closing the gates to Arlington on the pioneers who paved the way.

Tom: She, along with Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, is calling on the Army to reinstate the WASPs at Arlington and introduced a bill in Congress to allow it. 

Senator Amy Klobuchar: Well, we aren't going to be able to change history, but we can change how these brave women are honored.  

Tom: The Army says that allowing WASPs to be buried at Arlington would set a standard for hundreds of thousands of other Americans in noncombat roles like the Merchant Marines, who served in World War II. That would increase the waiting time for burial, which already can be up to 10 months — about how long Elaine Harmon's ashes have been stored in her granddaughter's closet waiting to find a final resting place.

Tom Hanson, Channel One News.

Azia: So far, 170,000 signatures have been gathered on a petition calling for the WASPs to regain burial rights at Arlington.

All right, after the break, a student pokes holes in a big-time scandal.

Azia: All right, guys, it is time to get your geek on, and Arielle is here with me now for a story about the notorious sports scandal Deflategate. 

Arielle: Yeah, this teenager was a major fan, so he used science to investigate. Check it out.

Ben Goodell: My name is Ben Goodell.

Man: Goodell?

Ben: No relation to Roger Goodell.

Arielle: Well, that is a relief. Because this Goodell is Ben Goodell, 12 years old and a seventh-grade student in Lynn, Massachusetts. But this Goodell is, well, somebody Ben is not a fan of.

Ben: I was kind of upset because I didn't think it was fair for them to say that Tom Brady was just gonna be suspended for four games.

Arielle: Ben is referring to Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner who tried to slap quarterback Tom Brady with a four-game suspension for allegedly deflating footballs during the 2015 AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Ben didn't believe it but needed proof. So he decided to use his school science project to deflate the scandal.

Ben: I just took an NFL-sized football, and I put it in a few various conditions. I put it in humidity, snow, cold, wind chill and the same temperature that occurred during Deflategate.

Arielle: Then he took a reading.

Ben: Every single time I did this test, the psi dropped at least two psi. That means that it was scientifically proven and that Tom Brady didn't deflate the footballs, and it was just the weather conditions.

Arielle: The Wells investigative report on Deflategate is 243 pages, but Ben did it all in 8. He convinced the judges at the seventh-grade science fair and won an award.

Ben plays football himself and is a huge Brady fan, so his results are a much more symbolic win.

Ben: I don't think it was fair for them to just say that he was a cheater.

Arielle: But could a 12-year-old figure out something the NFL didn’t?

Professor John Leonard: I think he's right.

Arielle: MIT Professor John Leonard says Ben's paper is correct and that no one needed to deflate those footballs on game day. Basic scientific equations show that when you put a football outside in cold temperatures, the ball will deflate all by itself.

Azia: Thanks, Arielle. And if you guys want to quiz your smarts on sports science, check out our challenge at .

All right, guys, that is all for now. Have a great day, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.  

 

 

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