New York Times Upfront articles from May 2009

New York Times Upfront archives from May 2009

The last known jaguar.(NEWS & TRENDS)(Macho B)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: THE LAST KNOWN JAGUAR in the United States, Macho B, died in March. Jaguars once roamed much of the American Southwest, but with the arrival of cattle ranchers in the 19th century, they had been hunted to...

A telescope to the past.(ASTRONOMY)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Four hundred years ago, Galileo Galilei built his first telescope--and began to change the way people viewed the universe. In honor of the anniversary, one of Galileo's telescopes [shown above] is on display at the Franklin Institute in...

Where the jobs are.(CAREERS)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Although the recession has sent the unemployment rate in the U.S. to a 25-year-high of 8.5 percent, Fortune magazine says there are jobs out there if you know where to look. Experts advise job seekers to avoid industries tied to the mortgage...

Who grew it?(TECHNOLOGY)(Doleorganic.com )(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It can be a tong way from farm to table, but the Internet is making it easier for consumers to find out where their food came from--even which farmers were involved. Buyers of Dote organic bananas can now enter a...

Ancient foot, modern walk.(ANTHROPOLOGY)(Homo erectus )(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Until. now, no footprint trail, had ever been associated with early members of our long-legged genus Homo. But prints recently uncovered near lake Turkana in northern Kenya show that as early as 1.5 million years...

Call them acro-bats.(WILDLIFE)( bats )(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Because bats roost hanging from their heels, they must land upside down against a cave ceiling or foliage. Scientists have tong wondered how they do it without damaging their fragile limbs. Now, Daniel. Riskin of Brown University in Rhode...

A degree in Beatle-ology.(MUSIC)(Beatles studies)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Plenty of colleges offer individual courses on the Beatles. But Liverpool Hope University, in the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool, England, now offers the world's first master's degree in Beatles studies. Many places in Liverpool where the...

91%.(NUMBERS IN THE NEWS)
May 4, 2009... 91% PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE under 30 who respond to text messages within an hour. SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

7,000.(NUMBERS IN THE NEWS)
May 4, 2009... 7,000 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF people who've been killed in Mexico's drug-related violence since Jan. 2008. [See p. 8.] SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

400.(NUMBERS IN THE NEWS)
May 4, 2009... 400 NUMBER OF LARGE shopping malls that have closed in the U.S. during the past two years. SOURCE: THE WEEK

4 million.(NUMBERS IN THE NEWS)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... 4 million NUMBER OF U.S. VOTERS who did not vote in the 2008 presidential election because they had problems with registration or did not receive absentee ballots. SOURCE: TIME

68.(NUMBERS IN THE NEWS)
May 4, 2009... 68 NUMBER OF CRIMES punishable by death in China. More than half are nonviolent offenses like tax evasion or accepting bribes. SOURCE: USA TODAY

Washington wordplay: Barack Obama isn't the first president to recognize the power of words in communicating with--and convincing--the American people.(NATIONAL)
May 4, 2009... When President Obama briefed congressional leaders at the White House on his plans to send more troops to Afghanistan, Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, offered some advice: Whatever you do, he told the President, don't call it a...

Uneasy neighbors: Mexico and the United States share a 2,000-mile-long border--and the challenge of dealing with immigration, trade, and now a drug war.(INTERNATIONAL)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The United States and Mexico have long had a strong relationship. But sharing a 2,000-mile border between the world's largest economy and a much poorer developing nation has always posed challenges--and never more so...

A is for iPod ... or pizza ... or cash: is offering rewards for good grades or perfect attendance a good way to boost performance, or a gimmick that sends the wrong message?(EDUCATION)
May 4, 2009... Would you study harder and do better on a test if you knew there was a new iPod or $50 waiting for you if you did? That's the question at the center of a debate over offering students rewards for doing well in school. Psychologists have...

What we eat: from Japan, Chad, and Kuwait, to the U.S., Ecuador, and England: a look at what families around the world eat during a typical week.(Cover story)
May 4, 2009... Imagine inviting yourself to dinner with 30 families in 24 different countries to explore humankind's oldest social activity: eating. That's exactly what the husband-and-wife team of Peter Menzel, a photographer, and Faith D'Aluisio, a writer,...

Honey, I'm experimenting on the kids: is it ethical for scientists to use their own children as test subjects?(SCIENCE)
May 4, 2009... Rebecca Toga, 18, still remembers the first time her father scanned her brain. "It was kind of claustrophobic" in the noisy scanner, she says. her bead covered with a "cage kind of thing," her body wrapped tight in blankets. "The first...

Is it a show or a commercial? Increasingly, it's both, as advertisers find new ways to pitch their products inside TV programs.(MEDIA)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On Harlem Heights, a new reality show on BET, the young stars swish Listerine, treat their allergies with Zyrtec, and sweeten their coffee with Splenda. The products were placed within...

World War I: why it still matters: in 1919, the 'war to end all wars' formally ended with The Treaty of Versailles. But 90 years later, we're still living with the consequences.(TIMES PAST)
May 4, 2009... World War I, the most murderous conflict in history up to that time, came to a halt with a cease-fire at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. In four years, 16 million people had died, centuries-old empires and dynasties had come...

Should the driving age be raised? More than 5,000 teenagers die each year in car accidents. Some say they're getting behind the wheel too early.(DEBATE)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YES Although most teenagers don't like the idea of waiting longer to get their licenses, raising the driving age to 17 or 18 would reduce crashes involving young drivers and, in turn, save lives. Most states...

Should Benita Veliz be deported? An American-in-waiting needs the Dream Act. So does America.(OPINION)
May 4, 2009... How will this country be a better place once we force Benita Veliz to leave it? Veliz, 23, is an illegal immigrant facing deportation, but she is not a criminal or a drain on public funds. In fact, she's a hard-working college graduate...

Fallen soldier, missing father: three years ago, Bre Priestner's father was killed in Iraq.(VOICES)
May 4, 2009... Almost three years ago, my father died in an Apache helicopter crash in Iraq, when I was 14 and my little sister, Megan, was 10. Our parents had been married for nearly 20 years, and we had everything we could ask for. But it all was shattered...

Cartoons.(Cartoon)
May 4, 2009... STEVE BENSON * The Arizona Republic * CREATORS SYNDICATE CHRIS BRITT * State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois) * CREATORS SYNDICATE DAVID HORSEY * Seattle Post-Intelligencer * TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES HENRY PAYNE * The Detroit...

Game show.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... * USE with articles identified. The statements are answers to questions [modeled after the TV show Jeopardy!]. Students must answer in the form of questions. * DIVIDE the class into teams. * READ the statements. * CALL on...

Cartoon analysis.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... BONUSES?!! ARE YOU MAD?! YOU ARE AN OVERPAID, GREEDY, FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE, OUT-OF-TOUCH-WITH-MAIN-STREET INSTITUTION THAT NEEDS TO BE REINED IN BY A GROWNUP! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DAVID FITZSIMMONS * The Arizona Star (Tuscon,...

Photo analysis.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANALYZE THE PHOTO [See page 14 in the magazine] 1. Which foods in this photograph from Ecuador do you recognize? Which are unfamiliar? 2. What can you tell, about this family's culture and lifestyle...