1000909 Turn Off Your TV!

Turn Off Your TV!

A new study reveals that watching less television may lead to a longer life

August 17, 2011

By Alice Park

Sitting in front of the television may be relaxing, but spending too much time in front of the tube may take years off your life.

That's what Australian researchers found when they collected TV viewing information from more than 11,000 people older than 25 years. The study found that people who watched an average six hours of TV a day lived an average 4.8 years less than those who didn't watch any television. Also, every hour of TV that participants watched after age 25 was associated with a 22-minute reduction in their life expectancy.

What’s Going On?

It's no mystery that sitting in front of the tube isn't exactly healthy. The more TV you watch, the less physically active you are. And the less exercise you get, the more likely you are to develop diseases such as diabetes or heart problems.

Lennert Veerman is the lead author of the study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Veerman works at the University of Queensland. He acknowledges that it may not just be the sedentary nature of watching TV that lowers life expectancy, but also the poor diet that onscreen junk-food advertising can promote. But Veerman says that the association between watching too much TV and lower life expectancy persisted, even after adjusting for diet.

Veerman says that it might make sense for doctors to start asking their patients about how much time they spend in front of the TV, and to treat TV time as they would other risk factors for poor health, such as lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet.

Veerman points out that people who are concerned can simply turn off the TV and gett off the couch. "Exercise is good," he says, "but even light physical activity also improves health."

Max- After August, we start school again at September. We could not relax anymore after this, but we had lot of fun at summer. Some people do some outdoor activities in summer, and some people play computer games and watch TV for the whole summer. Researchers found out watching TV for a long time can take years off from your life. Because we may watch TV for a few hours during the whole summer, so we would get unhealthy. As we say some people are couch potatoes, this is worse than just being a couch potato. I can’t even imagine that your life would shorten for a few years by just doing such a thing that’s not important like smoking and drinking alcohol! So maybe couch potatoes should spend less time watching TV, and go to exercise to have a healthier body!

1000715 Youtube

Youtube

By Max

     Youtube is a web page that has many videos on it. It brought people some entertainment on the web, and you can relax and watch some videos without going outside.

     We could see some movies, concerts and songs on Youtube, not only watching videos. These video clips are being posted to Youtube by us, so using this way is like sharing some videos on the web.

     Youtube also helps our homework, too. When we need to write a project about the environment, you just enter the word on Youtube and you can see videos that are related to it. We could see that many education videos are also posted on Youtube, so this is also one of some good ways to learn things on the web.

     Everyone has some experience about using Youtube. Like me, I registered a Youtube account, and posted some of my own made videos on Youtube. While doing that, I also watch other people’s videos, and I sometimes will leave a comment or question about the video. After I learned about Youtube, I and my brother really liked to see Billboard Hot 100. It is very good to watch!

     Saying of Youtube, it is very convenient! When you want to see some concerts and movies, and hear some music, you just find them in Youtube! You can never spend money to see concerts and movies, and CD’s too!

1000709 The Sun’s Legend

The Sun’s Legend

By Max

     About 460 million years ago, our solar system was born. In the solar system, there are a few planets inside; one of them is the Sun. The Sun is very bright and hot, but it gave our planet brightness and warm climates until now.

     There are also some Chinese legends about the Sun. According to one famous legend, there are ten suns on the sky in ancient China, so the weather became very hot, and the crops died, so the people have nothing to eat. One famous archer called Hou Yi wanted to save the world from starving to death, so he used his bow and arrows and shot down nine of the ten suns. Because there is only a sun on the sky, so people can live happily again.

     After Hou Yi shot down the nine suns, the Jade Emperor was very angry because of the ten suns were his sons and Hou Yi shot down nine of them, so he banished Hou Yi and his wife. The Goddess saw this, so she gave him an elixir of immortality. But his wife is very greedy; she drank the potion and started flying to the moon. So that’s why there is also a legend about Chang O flying to the Moon.

     The sun is very important to us, and if one day the sun doesn’t exist anymore, then we won’t survive anymore.

1000708 About the Moon

About the Moon

By Max

     If you notice the sky every night, you would see the moon. Every night, the moon would appear in the sky, but sometimes it is round, sometimes it is curve-shaped, and sometimes it won’t appear. Because the sun reflects sunlight to the moon, and it let the moon shine on some parts of the moon. So that’s why you can see a round moon in the 15^th day on every lunar month.

     When we see the moon on Earth, it looks like a ball. But actually, when one day you step on the Moon, you can see many craters on the surface. Because many meteorites and some small rocks from space would hit the moon, but there’s no sound. Because of the craters, some Taiwanese people would say there’s a rabbit on the moon when it’s a full moon.

     A Chinese holiday called Moon Festival is also related to the moon. At August 15^th in the lunar calendar, we would eat barbecue and eat some pomelos and moon cakes. Finally, we would see the full moon above the sky. Even I think Moon Festival is only like eating foods in the festival, but I think it is very fun.

     Because the moon is a close planet from us, so we should learn more from the moon. There is other many things from our lives are related to the moon too!

1000629 A Burning Issue

A Burning Issue

New sunscreen rules make for a healthier summer

By Cameron Keady

School's out for summer! June 21 marked the official first day of the highly anticipated season. Students nationwide will soon be out of the classroom and in the warm summer rays. However, there will soon be a new set of rules for fun in the sun. On June 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new regulations for sunscreen labeling.

The rules will go into effect next summer. They require sunscreen makers to create and advertise products that protect against both UVA and UVB rays. Both kinds of rays can cause skin cancer. UVB rays cause sunburn. New sunscreen labeling must clearly explain the effectiveness of the sunscreen and the level of protection it offers. "These changes to sunscreen labels are an important part of helping consumers have the information they need so they can choose the right sun protection for themselves and their families," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, FDA drug division director.

Word Play

The hot term to look for on new labels is "broad spectrum," which means that the sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Past sunscreen labels have advertised protection only against UVB rays. If a sunscreen does not meet this broad-spectrum standard, its label must include a warning saying it hasn't been shown to help reduce the sun's harmful effects.

The new rules also require manufacturers to shift from labeling sunscreen as "waterproof" or "sweatproof," terms the FDA has referred to as "exaggerations of performance," to terms like "water resistant." Calling a product waterproof suggests sunscreen does not need to be reapplied after swimming or sweating, putting consumers at a greater risk for sunburn and skin disease. New labels will provide a time frame indicating how long sunscreen is effective while swimming or sweating.

Strength in Numbers

The sun protection factor, or SPF, is a familiar label to sunscreen users. SPF labels give a number, usually anywhere between 2 and 50. Some labels go as high as 100. People who want greater sun protection often reach for sunscreens with a high SPF number. The FDA's new guidelines call into question the effectiveness of sunscreens with SPFs higher than 50. "Right now, we don't have any data to show that anything above [SPF] 50 adds any value for anybody," Dr. Woodcock told the New York Times. Unless manufacturers can provide solid results of protection by sunscreens with a higher SPF, the FDA is proposing to limit sun protection factors to 50.

On the lower end of the number spectrum, sunscreens with an SPF between 2 and 14 are required to have a warning label: "This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early aging." With more than 1 million Americans diagnosed each year with skin cancer, the FDA believes that new labeling guidelines will help people protect themselves from the sun.

Max- It's summer right now, so when the weather is very hot, many people will go to the beach. But, the sun is very bright, do you know that playing in the beach will cause sunburn? Becuase of this, we would spread some sunscreen to protect ourselves from sunburn. Two kinds of rays will cause sunburn, called UVA and UVB sunrays, and those two rays can also cause skin cancer. Most people wanted to prevent sunburn, so they buy sunscreen with a higher SPF. And some sunscreens with a lower SPF only prevents us from sunburn, but does not prevent us from skin cancer.  So if you go to the beach, you should notice about the sunscreen you spread on, then you can prevent yourself form sunburn and skin cancer!   

1000625 A Balanced Food Plate

A Balanced Food Plate

The USDA replaces the traditional food pyramid with a simple food plate

By Kelli Plasket

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is serving Americans a new plate. To help consumers better balance their meals, the USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama announced on Thursday that the government is throwing out its familiar but complicated food pyramid. The pyramid had been used to represent nutritional guidelines. It will be replaced by a symbol that the USDA hopes is easier to understand: a food plate.

"When it comes to eating, what's more useful than a plate?" Mrs. Obama said Thursday during a news conference unveiling the new icon, called 'MyPlate.' The USDA, which provides nutritional guidelines to consumers, first introduced the food pyramid icon in 1992. The USDA revised the symbol in 2005 to reduce the significance of grains and include exercise. Many nutrition experts had criticized the pyramid-shaped guide. It was too complicated for people to easily understand when making food choices, they said. So the USDA partnered with Michelle Obama and her "Let's Move" campaign to better show consumers how to build a healthy meal. The Let's Move initiative aims to "put children on the path to a healthy future."

"This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we're eating," the First Lady said at the conference. She emphasized the importance of having a kid-friendly nutrition symbol. "[Children] can learn to use this tool now and use it for the rest of their lives," she said.

It's Not a 'Pie' Chart!

The plate icon is a colorful circle graph divided into four sections representing fruits, vegetables, protein and grains, plus an additional small circle on the side for dairy. It illustrates that half your meals should be fruits and vegetables, a little more than a quarter should be whole grains and a bit less than a quarter should be protein, plus a small amount of dairy.

The symbol also serves as a reminder to control portion sizes and to consider various options for each category. Nutritionist Toni Bloom is the co-founder of Funfoodle, which provides hands-on food and nutrition education to kids and their parents. Bloom told TFK that the icon's simple message, such as a clear emphasis on fruits and vegetables, makes it practical and effective for families. "I like how 'clean' the plate is," she said. "There are no foods pictured on it, just words that represent a food group. This subtly suggests that any food can fit as long as it is portioned correctly and is a food that can clearly fit into a food group."

On the MyPlate website, the USDA provides a tool to determine more specific serving sizes based on your age and health. Other dietary guidelines from the USDA's include eating whole grains for at least half your grain servings, choosing low- or fat-free milk and water over sugary drinks; and selecting soups, bread and frozen meals with lower sodium, or salt, levels.

Max- We knew that keeping healthy is the best way to live longer. So we always have some good ways to keep healthy. Like doing some sports and exercises, and some good healthy habits will be good for being healthy. But the most important thing to get healthy is to eat balanced meals. Many peoples’ meals aren’t balanced enough, some eat very many meat and fast foods and some eat very less vegetables. Eating balanced meals can protect us from getting many diseases, from colds to getting a fever, from being fat to getting cancers, that’s why eating a balanced meal is very important! To have a balanced meal, we must eat many vegetables and fruits, and some grains, and a little meat and dairy. If you eat balanced meals and do some exercises every day, you will become healthy very much!

1000621 A Bad Bug

A Bad Bug

A germ called E. coli causes a deadly outbreak in northern Germany

By Liz Sawyer             

German officials continue to search for the cause of the world deadliest E.coli bacteria outbreak. The outbreak began on May 2 near the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. A crop of vegetables is the likely cause.

So far, the super-strong strain of E. coli has sickened 2,400 people in 12 countries, including the United States. It has killed 24 people. More cases are being reported every day.

What Is E. coli?

E. coli are bacteria that live in the guts of humans and animals. They help the body break down and digest food. Most of the time, E. coli are harmless. But sometimes they can get into food, including meat and vegetables. How does that happen? The bacteria are found in cattle poop, called manure, which is used to grow crops. Bacteria can also get into food when water contaminated with E. coli is used to irrigate crops.

When eaten, the bacteria may cause a severe infection. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. Most people recover from the bug within a week, but sometimes it can be deadly.

Which Crop Is the Culprit?

The exact cause of the outbreak is still unknown. Last week, German officials apologized after identifying Spanish cucumbers as the source. On Sunday, the government claimed that bean sprouts grown in northern Germany were actually to blame. After testing both crops, neither vegetable showed signs of the dangerous strain of E. coli.

Guenael Rodier of the World Health Organization said these results don necessarily let the bean sprouts off the hook. Investigators continue to test the crop for signs of the bacteria.

"Just because tests are negative doesn’t mean you can rule them out," Rodier said. "The bacteria could have been in just one batch of contaminated food. By the time you collect specimens from the samples that are left, [the bacteria] could be gone."

A Tough Task

Scientists say identifying the source of the contaminated crops may be difficult now because the produce has likely disappeared from the marketplace.

"It like looking at camera footage of a traffic intersection today to see what caused an accident three weeks ago," says Michael Osterholm. He is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Osterholm adds that finding the source of the outbreak may take time, but still, it not an impossible task. In the mean time, consumers are being extra cautious about what and where they eat.

To learn more about food safety, click here.

Max- E. coli is just like other germs that live in the guts and help digest food. It is harmless when it’s in the own place, but when they go outside the guts, it won’t be harmless anymore. Like most of the germs, they can spread from place to place. And if they spread from the water to the soil and to the food we eat, we would be infected by the germs. Now, one kind of germ called E. coil started to let Germans sick, and some even died. This germ now cause more than a thousand people infected, and about 20 people died. Germans still didn’t know which crop E. coil existed, But after they thought that the cucumbers in Spain would be the culprit, they found out that the bean sprouts in northern Germany is the real culprit. Now, these two vegetables didn’t have E. coil in it, but we don’t know how long to let the infection stop.

1000603 A May Day for Mom

A May Day for Mom

You may know your mom, but how well do you really know Mother's Day?

By Carolyn R. Buchanan

Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it—that's what probably springs to mind for many people when they think about Mother's Day. But there's definitely more to the story.

The Earliest Mother's Day

Mother's Day hasn't been around as long as moms have, but the tradition does go way back. The earliest Mother's Day celebrations were held in the springtime in ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday," a day in which even servants were given the day off to spend with their families. A "mothering cake" was even served with the family meal.

Mother's Day Here at Home

In the U.S., Mother's Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to famous song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," suggested it as a day dedicated to peace. But it didn't really catch on until 1907 when Anna Jarvis started a campaign to honor her own mother. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil War.

Moms Celebrated All Over the World

The U.S. isn't alone in devoting a day to its mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also celebrate their moms in May. Other countries honor their moms at different times of the year.

Learning more about and celebrating Mother's Day is important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mom, or grandmother, or aunt or anyone you choose to celebrate on May 10 has really done for you. And that will certainly be appreciated more than one day a year.

Max- Our mothers are very important for us, so we need to thank our mother to let us eat food, wear some clothes and clean our home. So now there is a Mother’s Day, which is a festival to thank our mother.   There are many ways to celebrate Mother’s Day, the ordinary way is to give a card to their mother, and write some words on the card to thank their mother. Others give flowers, presents, and even cakes to thank their mother. But, it isn’t important to use a special way or not, we just need to let our mothers know we thank them a lot.   There are many countries that celebrate Mother’s Day, but some countries don’t celebrate Mother’s Day at the second Sunday of May. Some people don’t know Mother’s Day started celebrating about two or three hundred years. So Mother’s Day is very important!

1000527 Panda Power

May 25, 2011

Panda Power!

TFK chats with Jack Black, the voice of Po the warrior panda in Kung Fu Panda 2

By Vickie An

Everyone's favorite kung-fu-fighting panda is back, and he's got some brand new moves. When audiences last saw Po (voiced by actor Jack Black), the bear had proven that he has what it takes to be the Dragon Warrior. In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po's story picks up where the 2008 hit animated film left off. This time, the panda must save China—and kung fu itself—from a new enemy. The evil peacock Lord Shen has invented a powerful weapon that threatens to wipe out the ancient martial art for good. Can Po and the Furious Five stop Shen in time? Or will a nagging mystery from Po's past keep the panda from fulfilling his duties? The 3-D movie hits theaters and IMAX on May 26.

TFK spoke with funnyman Jack Black about returning to the role of Po, and what fans of the first film can look forward to in the sequel.

TFK:

How does it feel to step back into the role of Po?

JACK BLACK:

It feels good. It's like a nice, warm pair of boots that I've kept in my special cabinet. I took them out to get shined and buffed up, and they're very soft on my feetsies.

TFK:

How has Po grown since the first movie?

BLACK:

He's matured a bit, and he's got more confidence behind his moves. Shifu sends him on a two-fold mission. The first is to save the Valley of Peace from this new supervillain Shen, an albino peacock who has an evil plan to destroy kung fu and control all of ancient cartoon China. The second is Po's quest to find inner peace, because only with inner peace will he be able to carry out the first mission. But in order to find inner peace, Po has to get to the bottom of his true origins. You see, he's not actually the son of the goose in the noodle shop. He's adopted and his real parents abandoned him for a reason, as we'll find out. So, while the movie is action-packed and exciting and hilarious, it's quite moving, too. It packs an emotional wallop.

TFK:

Why is it that Po never figured out that he wasn't really the son of a goose until now?

BLACK:

Maybe he blocked it out. Maybe it's something he didn't want to deal with or face. It was too much. But once he matures and is able to reflect on his life and situation, he starts having flashbacks from when he was an infant.

TFK:

Did you learn any new kung fu moves?

BLACK:

I did. You're probably thinking that I don't actually do kung fu. But the truth is that I did take some lessons from some kung fu practitioners to get into the zone. I can now put that on my resume: dancing, acting, kung fu. When you're in a big kung-fu action movie, even if it's animated, at some point people are going to ask you about your kung fu skills. I wanted to be able to show that I'm no amateur. I've got some moves of my own! So the answer is yes, I did learn some new moves.

TFK:

Do you think you could take on Jackie Chan, who voices Monkey?

BLACK:

Jackie Chan would most definitely kick my butt in less than 23 seconds . . . Unless I did a sneak attack. I think I could get Jackie Chan if he didn't know I was coming. I could get him once, and then never again.

TFK:

Po's story is kind of like Superman's. Superman's parents sent him away as a baby during a time of crisis, and he grew up to be a superhero. In Po's case, he becomes the Dragon Warrior. But Superman has a weakness: Kryptonite. What is Po's weakness?

BLACK:

Krypto-dumplings! [Laughs] I don't know . . . In the first movie, it might have been his hunger for dumplings. In this one, I think it would be his memory blocks. He can't remember where he came from. His own mind is his Kryptonite. It's an inner Kryptonite.

TFK:

How do you think Gary Oldman did as the voice of Shen?

BLACK:

I love Gary Oldman. He's my favorite cinema villain of all time. No one plays a villain better than he does. He's super charismatic, but he also plays it a little bit crazy. That's what you get with a Gary Oldman performance. That combination is very magnetic.

TFK:

How does the 3-D enhance the storytelling?

BLACK:

When the 3-D is done properly, it sucks you into the action even more. You're right in the middle of the fights. And the scenery of ancient cartoon China looks amazing in 3-D.

TFK:

What do you think fans will enjoy most about round two?

BLACK:

They're going to love the kung fu, they're going to love the humor, and they're going to love the emotion. Those are the three main ingredients. It packs not just a one-two punch of kung fu and humor, but also an unexpected and powerful kick to the heart. It will blow you across the room and out the back door and through the garden.

TFK:

You recently visited the Atlanta Zoo's new baby panda, which was named after Po. Not many people have the opportunity to be so close to a real panda. What was it like?

BLACK:

I was really looking forward to meeting the baby panda. I had been told that if you hold a baby panda, it gives you inner peace. I've heard that some people pay millions of dollars to hold a baby panda for just a few minutes, to give them that absolute serenity. But right before they brought the panda into the room, the vet said to me, "I should warn you, the pandas don't like to be touched, so don't touch the panda. If you do touch it, be careful because they have very powerful bear claws, and they can really hurt you." I was like, "What? I was hoping for a full snuggle!" She said, "No, you won't be snuggling the panda." I said, "Don't you snuggle the panda?" She said, "Believe me, I tried and this is what happened." Then she showed me a scar on her face!

Of course, when she brought it out, I was terrified of the freaking panda! I think the panda just didn't like her. Upon further reflection, I think it would have been fine. I don't think I would have been mauled. Anyway, I'm sorry I don't have a more magical story of my first introduction to a real panda. But I have high hopes for when I see the next one. I'm going to ask for a different veterinarian.

Max- Kung Fu Panda is a very good movie that the main character called Po learned Kung Fu from a very lucky coincidence, and saved the world in the end of the movie. Po is a panda that sells noodles with his dad, and he likes “The Furious Five”, even dreaming of it! One day, their master turtle wanted to pick one of the Furious Five to be the Kung Fu ancestor. Po wanted to see this, but he can’t climb the stairs, and the door is closed. So Po used a chair with fireworks to fly up in the sky to land there, but crashed in the ground. The master saw this, so he picked him to be the Kung Fu ancestor. After that, Po started to learn Kung Fu, and became very good at that in a very short time. This time, one very bad tiger wanted to fight him and take over the world. Po used many fighting skills to beat the tiger, but couldn’t make it. Finally, he used a finger snap trick and beats the tiger and saved the world!   After watching Kung Fu Panda, I just thought that the second movie is almost on theaters. I think the second movie will be better than the first one.

1000506 A Strike Against Terror

A Strike Against Terror

President Barack Obama announced the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden on Sunday night

By Brenda Iasevoli

Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda, was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces on Sunday night in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The military operation took about 40 minutes. No Americans were killed. The world's most-wanted terrorist was tracked down in a hideout about 90 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. U.S. helicopters carried about two dozen troops into the compound, which is surrounded by 18-foot-high walls and topped with barbed wire. Bin Laden was killed, officials said, after he and his bodyguards resisted the assault.

"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama said in a television appearance late Sunday night.

Why Bin Laden?

Bin Laden's death marks the end of a 10-year search that began after the September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda, the terrorist group he founded. Hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, and into the Pentagon—headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense—in Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks.

Al-Qaeda was also blamed for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 231 people, the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors in Yemen, as well as countless other plots.

"We have rid the world of the most infamous terrorist of our time," Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, wrote in a memo to employees. Panetta was in charge of the military team during the operation, according to one official.

Speaking at the White House on Monday, President Obama said the world is safer after the death of bin Laden. "We can all agree that this is a good day for America," he said.

Max- Osama bin Laden is a very bad terrorist. His founded group of terrorists had done a lot of scary things, including the America World Trade Center attack, that his group flew planes and crushed the twin towers and died a lot of people. There are also some more things that bin Laden could make. Right now, bin Laden has been killed by the American Navy SEAL. It took only 40 minutes to kill him at his own villa where he was staying. After they killed bin Laden, I saw a news report that bin Laden’s villa can let him die earlier because of the villa’s four sharp edges, which I saw some people thought they are like knives that can kill him earlier. But the bad thing is the group of terrorists is not stopping to keep attack of bin Laden’s death because they had found a new leader which is also like bin Laden. Is the terror not going to stop? Even it is not going to stop, killing bin Laden is just a very good thing to announce in the White House.

1000501 Wicked Spring Weather

Wicked Spring Weather

Severe storm systems sweep across the south-central region of the U.S.

By Vickie An

A deadly storm system continued to sweep through the nation's midsection on Tuesday night and early Wednesday, causing widespread destruction and injuries in several states. Pounding rain, flash flooding and strong winds damaged dozens of homes and toppled trees. The violent storm killed 173 people across five states.

This round of wild weather comes just one day after a powerful storm system killed 11 people in Arkansas and Mississippi. On Monday, a tornado ripped through the town of Vilonia, Arkansas, in Faulkner County. The twister flattened homes, sent cars flying and tore down power lines. "It snapped overhead poles like they were toothpicks," said Faulkner County spokesman Stephan Hawks. "It was a heck of a little tornado."

A Season of Twisters

Much of the South was still struggling to pick up the pieces caused by flooding and earlier twisters when the latest series of storms struck on Tuesday. According to the Weather Channel, more than 290 confirmed tornadoes—and counting—have touched down in the U.S. in April. The number shatters the previous record, set in 1974, of 267 tornadoes in the same month.

The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings in the region on Tuesday. Officials in Alabama reported two suspected tornadoes in Marshall County, near Birmingham. According to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, Texas, at least one twister had hit between the small towns of Edom and Van, in East Texas.

"You could see lumber and stuff swirling in it," said resident Rhonda Modesitt, 45. She and her 15-year-old son had watched the tornado spin toward their apartment. "You could hear it coming through and then it got really still."

On April 22, a twister slammed Lambert Airport in St. Louis, Missouri, causing severe damage and chaos. The airport was closed after the tornado hit, but is now operating at near full capacity again. It was one of five twisters to hit Eastern Missouri on Friday.

The storm system is set to head east across the nation this week, affecting states from New York to Georgia.

Max-I knew that the weather is very bad in America right now. Many tornados and twisters swept through America and also killed a lot of people. I wonder why did this happen? Maybe it’s because of the hot weather of America. The storm started at a few days ago, and it blew everything where the tornado was, damaged a lot of homes and other things. At that time, it rained very hard, and there is lightning and floods too. After the storm, another twister came to America and also did the same thing with the storm. I know that every year, many tornados and twisters will sweep through America, and cause a lot of damage. Sometimes, the damage from the last twister hasn’t fixed, but there is already another twister which came to America. I think there are many twisters in America this month.

1000430 Cheng Yen

The 2011 TIME 100 Poll

Cast your votes for the leaders, artists, innovators, icons and heroes that you think are the most influential people in the world. Though official voting for inclusion on the TIME 100 list has now closed (with Rain as the 2011 readers' choice), users can continue to vote for their favorites until the final list, selected by our editors, is revealed on Thursday, April 21st

Cheng Yen

By TIME Staff Monday, Apr. 04, 2011

Age: 73
Occupation: Buddhist nun and philanthropist
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0

Cheng Yen is known as the Chinese world's Mother Teresa. She runs the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, one of Asia's largest charities. Earthquakes, floods, typhoons, famine, tsunamis, you name it — Tzu Chi people are there dispensing food, blankets and warm clothing (as they have done recently in Japan), and also committing long-term by rebuilding villages, establishing clinics and schools and providing scholarships to needy students. The foundation is based in Hualien on Taiwan's east coast, but has chapters worldwide. Cheng Yen's reputation is such that the group is allowed everywhere, even into hermetic North Korea and conflict zones like Afghanistan. Tzu Chi is well funded by millions of donors, including a few tycoons who want her blessing, but there has never been any hint of impropriety.

Max-Cheng Yen is one of the most kindhearted people in Taiwan. Because of her father died suddenly when she was about twenty years old, she started to contact with Buddhism. After that, she went to Hualien to study Buddhism, and finally became a Buddhist nun. She founded Buddhism Tzu Chi Foundation, and now the foundation is already forty-five years old. When the foundation was founded, not many people know it, so they can only do things like donating money to help some people. However, after the foundation spread to other places of Taiwan, many more people become members of Tzu Chi, most of them had a bad life on the past and wanted to join Tzu Chi for the rest of their lives. In the past few years, the foundation started to help other countries when they met some disasters, they gave some supplies to the countries, and also donated money to them. So the Tzu Chi Foundation’s founder, Cheng Yen, is really a great Buddhist!