Www.channelone.com



Emily: All right, welcome to Wednesday, January 24. Here we go. Today — a stunning announcement: Facebook says it is bad for democracy. Plus, a night of celebration: Arielle Hixson takes us to a debutante ball. I am Emily Reppert, and Channel One News starts right now.

All right, first up, it is the case of the missing text messages, and it boils down to this. Before the presidential election, two FBI agents were texting back and forth about then candidate Donald Trump, saying not too many nice things about him. And it was going on during an investigation about Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton. Now the text messages are gone, and the U.S. attorney general is on the hunt for the disappearing texts. 

Here is where it starts. Two FBI agents, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, were investigating Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. During that time they exchanged thousands of texts, some of them discussing their dislike of Trump.  

In one text Lisa Page sends a text to Peter Strzok saying he "simply cannot be president." Strzok and Page also talked about using nonwork phones to discuss Clinton so "it can't be traced." The Department of Justice was looking into this exchange when it found that thousands of texts were missing between December 14, 2016, and May 17, 2017.

President Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, saying: "The FBI now says it is missing five months worth of lovers Strzok–Page texts, perhaps 50,000, and all in prime time. Wow!" The FBI blames software and technology issues, saying employees with many Samsung 5 mobile phones did not capture texts during that time. 

The two FBI agents had worked briefly on the investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Now some lawmakers argue that the texts show a bias against President Trump and question if the FBI can be fair.

Senator James Lankford: It's clear this individual within the Mueller team that was also on the Clinton email investigation team had a strong bias against now President Trump.

Emily: For now, the text messages are missing, and both FBI agents have been reassigned. 

And you just heard today's Word in the News: Department of Justice, often called the DOJ, is the federal department responsible for enforcing federal laws.

All right, Keith, imagine this: starting a company, getting billions of users, making billions of dollars, having people spend hours using your product and then telling the world your product is actually doing more harm than good.

Keith: Yeah, Emily, don't imagine it — that is what Facebook is now saying, revealing the downside of technology by dividing society and hurting American democracy. 

Samidh Chakrabarti: This was a new kind of threat that was hard to predict. But we should have.

Keith: Samidh Chakrabarti with Facebook says he wishes he could guarantee the positive aspects of Facebook outweigh the negatives but admits he can't. 

Chakrabarti: At its best it allows us to express ourselves and take action. At its worst it allows people to spread misinformation and corrode democracy.

Keith: It is the second time in two months Facebook, with 2 billion worldwide users, said the platform can be harmful. In a December blog post, the company said spending too much time on social media could be bad for mental health.

Shira Ovide: We're now seeing the unintended consequences of what the company built.

Keith: Bloomberg technology columnist Shira Ovide says since the 2016 election, Facebook has come to a difficult realization about the power of its platform. By October 2016, Facebook's security team spotted and got rid of 5.8 million fake accounts, some spreading false news stories. The company later found evidence of 3,000 ads bought by internet trolls with ties to Russia.

Ovide: I don't think I've ever heard a company say, in the way that Facebook has said the last few weeks, that the product — their main product — can be bad for you.

Keith: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced last week its news feeds would rank stories by how much you can trust the source. 

Other tech companies are facing similar challenges. YouTube and Twitter have been called out for allowing harassment and disturbing content on their platforms. Recently, YouTube said it would take down videos of teens eating poisonous laundry pods, and Apple's critics worry its products are addictive to children.

Ovide: This is going to be a period of reflection for all of these large tech companies to really assess if what they've built is, on balance, good for the world.

Keith: Keith Kocinski, Channel One News. 

Emily: And if that wasn't enough news about problems with social media, here is another one. Teens are becoming more and more unhappy, and what is to blame? Yep — your phone. 

A new study finds that teenagers who spend lots of time on their smartphones are more likely to be unhappy. The survey followed 1.1 million eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders across America and found the more time you text friends, play computer games and use social media, the more you get down and dreary.

Teens who spend time playing sports, reading newspapers and talking to each other face to face were happier. And here is another note: Self-esteem and happiness in teens dropped after 2012.

So what happened after 2012? Well, smartphones and other screen devices started getting into the hands of more and more teens, so definitely something to think about.

All right, when we get back, coming of age as the belle of the ball.

Emily: It is a big moment: making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Arielle Hixson has been following teens as they mark that journey, each one representing a different culture and tradition. And today we take a look at the moment where young women make their formal entry into society in our series Coming of Age in America.

Arielle: It is the definition of elegance, high society and American history, but…

A lot of people hear the word "debutante"; they don't necessarily know what it means. 

Elisabeth Quick: Yeah, nobody knows what it is. 

Arielle: Think of a debutante ball, also known as a cotillion, as a formal, fancy Sweet 16 shared by a big group of girls all decked out in white. 

Margaret Hedberg: It's a tradition, and in the old days, it was a marriage mart.

Arielle: Today it might not be the most popular coming-of-age tradition, but you may have seen a few glimpses of it in TV shows and movies. And yes, even I was one. 

Debutante balls have marked a young woman's coming of age since the 1800s. Back then, it meant a teen was ready for her introduction to society as a woman, where she can eventually meet young men for marriage. In the past princesses, countesses and baronesses would attend.  

Quick: Traditionally, a debutante ball was young women kind of looking for husbands. But obviously now, times have changed a little bit, so now it's more of a networking and social thing, and it also just enables you to merge yourself into society as a young woman. 

Arielle: Elisabeth Quick is set to make her big debut at the International Debutante Ball in New York City, the largest ball in the U.S., featuring debs from around the world.

What are you most excited for?

Quick: Probably, like, when I'm walking down and being presented is going to be really special because it’s just like the spotlight is on you and it's just a really unique moment. 

Arielle: Now, the ball isn't just one quick event; it takes a year of preparation, with many steps, like getting a dress, going to the bachelor's brunch — where she can find an escort, or a guy who accompanies her for the night.

Quick: He can walk me down as I'm being presented, make sure I don't trip.

Hedberg: It's a way to meet some more friends. It's a date, not a mate, so we put the boys on the receiving line, we have the girls go down the line, and, hopefully, any girl that would like to invite an escort does so. 

Arielle: And then, finally, the ball. 

Now the ball is just about to begin, where 46 girls will make their debut right here to become young women in society. 

Hedberg: They're getting out of their jeans and their sweat suits, and they're putting on beautiful dresses, and it’s sort of a Cinderella time for girls.

Arielle: The biggest part of a deb's night is when she curtsies. It is a century-old symbol of high society and a young girl's chance to shine. 

Quick: After your name’s been called and you walk down, and then you're just, like, “This is me.”

Arielle: Each curtsy is different, from a modest bow right down to the Texas dip.

Elisabeth has her big moment, followed by a dance with her father. The evening closes with memories to last a lifetime. 

Hedberg: I just hope they all have happy memories. When you do something like this, you want them to have a good time. 

Quick: It's about making relationships with the other debutantes.

Arielle: Arielle Hixson, Channel One News. 

Emily: Wow, sounds like a fairy-tale ending. Thanks, Arielle.

But the story is not over yet. You can follow Arielle and Elisabeth's shopping trip on the hunt for that perfect dress. Just head over to . 

All right, that is it for us. Have a great day. We will see you right back here tomorrow. 

 

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download