New York Times Upfront articles from November 2008

New York Times Upfront archives from November 2008

With legal briefs on his shoulder, a Pataxo Hahahae Indian in traditional, garb and face paint arrived at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, on September 24.(NEWS & TRENDS)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... WITH LEGAL BRIEFS on his shoulder, a Pataxo Hahahae Indian in traditional, garb and face paint arrived at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, on September 24. The court is considering whether the Pataxo have rights to...

Athletes leave brains to science.(SPORTS)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Pro athletes routinely give their bodies to their sports. Now, some are planning to give their brains to science. A dozen retired athletes, including six N.F.L. prayers, will donate their brains after their deaths to Boston University's School...

A party for your DNA.(SCIENCE)(23andMe)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While the sound system blasted upbeat music, the well-dressed couple sat in a room full of celebrities and spat into test tubes. It was all part of a "spit party" being held in New York in September to promote a...

Admissions: think before posting.(COLLEGE)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Your friends aren't the only ones checking out your Facebook and MySpace pages: Colleges are also looking. In a survey of 320 admissions officers from top schools, test-prep company Kaplan found that 10 percent had visited applicants'...

Hunks looking for junk.(BUSINESS)(College Hunks Hauling Junk)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You gotta have a gimmick, goes the old saying, and Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman, both 26, sure have one. Five years ago, in Washington, D.C., they started hauling junk to make money while they were home from...

First, crack them open....(CHINA)(fortune cookies)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In China, fortune cookies come with specific instructions: (1) Open the wrapper. (2) Use both hands to break open the cookie. (3) Find and read the fortune. (4) Eat the cookie. "Chinese people don't know what to do...

The 'greatest Russians'?(RUSSIA)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Even though their country is doing well economically, many Russians seem to be nostalgic for the past. When the government started an online contest in June to name "The Greatest Russian," officials were shocked when Soviet dictator Joseph...

Numbers in the news.(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... $30,000 PRICE OF A ONE-NIGHT stay in the priciest suite atop the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City, Amenities include a private hearth spa and a full-time butler. SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES 159,000 NUMBER OF U.S. JOBS lost in...

Electoral College 101: don't understand the Electoral College? You're not alone. Here's a guide to how it works.
November 3, 2008... What exactly is the Electoral College? This college doesn't have fraternities, a football team, or cheerleaders: It's just 538 people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., called electors. According to the Constitution, they are responsible...

Who's side are you on? Here's where John McCain and Barack Obama stand on 10 key issues. Who would you vote for?(Cover story)
November 3, 2008... THE ECONOMY THE ISSUE Even before Watt Street's September meltdown, the American economy was weakening as real estate prices sank, foreclosures and unemployment rose, and higher energy prices took a tort on America's wallets. It's no...

Voices: why I'm volunteering for ... Barack Obama: there's nothing more motivating than discovering that your passion is shared by others.(ELECTION 2008)(Essay)
November 3, 2008... The idea of the country being unified, sharing a single purpose, and fighting for the common goal of a stronger, more stable America is what motivated me to volunteer for Barack Obama's campaign. The first time I was inspired by Senator...

Voices: why I'm volunteering for ... John McCain: 'I realized that I could make a difference in the future of our country.'.(ELECTION 2008)
November 3, 2008... In 1954, John McCain graduated from Episcopal High School. in Alexandria, Virginia--the same school, where I'm now a senior. When Senator McCain addressed our student body last April, I was inspired to volunteer for his campaign. He spoke of...

Beyond apartheid: South Africa's long journey: it's still a bright spot on a troubled continent. But South Africa is facing tough realities 14 years after the start of majority rule.(INTERNATIONAL)
November 3, 2008... A dusty maze of concrete, sheet metal, and scrap wood, Diepsloot is like many of the enormous settlements around Johannesburg: mile after mile of feebly assembled shacks, an impromptu patchwork of the poor, the extremely poor, and the...

Zimbabwe: from riches to rags: twenty-eight years of authoritarian misrule by Robert Mugabe has turned an African breadbasket into a basket case.(INTERNATIONAL)
November 3, 2008... Every morning, Rose Moyo, 29, and her husband wake up at 2:20 a.m. and trek to the bank, joining hundreds of other Zimbabweans waiting in line to withdraw the maximum amount of currency the government will allow per day--the equivalent of only...

Nowhere to hide: stay in bed till 2 p.m.? Not when your school can track you electronically.(EDUCATION)(Column)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At dawn one morning last May, another typical school day began for Jaime Pacheco as he rolled out of bed to the blaring of two alarm clocks. Jaime, then a freshman at Bryan Adams High School in East Dallas, made the...

Teen science--investigators three teens' remarkable research projects help reveal the science behind drug abuse and addiction.(HEADS UP REAL NEWS: ABOUT DRUGS AND YOUR BODY)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Volunteering in a hospital in Texas, 17-year-old Kapil Ramachandran saw a patient admitted for an overdose of narcotics and alcohol. "What would possibly drive someone to inflict so much pain on themselves and their...

Should the U.S. drill for oil offshore? In response to soaring energy prices, Congress lifted a longtime ban but is likely to reconsider the issue next year.(DEBATE)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YES America's energy challenges have been decades in the making, and there's no easy way to solve them. But one thing we can do immediately is to allow more offshore oil drilling. In September, Congress...

Cartoons.(Cartoon)
November 3, 2008... I'M JOHN Q. VOTER, AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JEFF PARKER * Florida Today * CAGLE CARTOONS "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" CAST MEMBERS.... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MIKE LUCKOVICH * Atlanta Journal-Constitution...

Cartoon analysis.
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANALYZE THE POLITICAL CARTOON 1. Why are Barack Obama and John McCain depicted as runners? 2. Why are some of the spectators cheering white others took worried? 3. What do the crumbling buildings...

Photo analysis.(Brief article)(Photograph)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANALYZE THE PHOTO (See page 15 in the magazine) 1. Where was this photo taken? 2. What might you find if you entered one of these homes? 3. What words or phrases come to mind when you look at this...

Europe.(Dmitri Medvedev and Vladimir Putin)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dmitri Medvedev [right]is RUSSIA'S new President. He's a Longtime protege of former President Vladimir Putin [left]. Now that Medvedev has appointed Putin as Prime Minister, it's unclear who's really in charge. ...

Fire-breathing at a carnival sideshow?(NEWS & TRENDS)(schlieren photography)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FIRE-BREATHING AT A CARNIVAL SIDESHOW? No, this photo captures something far more elusive: an ordinary cough. Gary Settles, an engineering professor at Penn State University, uses a technique called schlieren...

Where's the water?(CALIFORNIA)(dowsing underground water)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Dowsing, or "witching," for underground water has been around for at least a thousand years. It was practiced in medieval. Europe and has tong been a part of rural. American tore. Using a Y-shaped twig or rod, a "water witch" walks along until,...

Flipping for Judo.(RUSSIA)(Let's Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Just weeks after Russia's state-run media reported that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had saved a news crew from a wild tiger, he's flexing his muscles again--this time in a martial-arts video. Let's Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin includes...

Shell games.(CHINA)(giant soft-shelled turtle)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The fate of the Yangtze giant soft-shelled turtle, which can weigh up to 220 pounds, depends on whether two elderly turtles in Chinese zoos are able to reproduce. Only one female is known to exist, an 80-year-old...

From Tonga to Texas.(SPORTS)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A pipeline from the Pacific Island kingdom of Tonga has helped make Trinity High School--more than 7,000 miles away in Euless, Texas--the nation's top-ranked prep football team. Jobs at nearby Dallas--Fort Worth...

Numbers in the news.(NEWS & TRENDS)
November 17, 2008... 16 AGE AT WHICH AUSTRIANS can vote. Austria has the lowest national voting age of the 27 countries in the European Union. SOURCE: TIME 8,654 NUMBER OF STUDENTS taking the AP Latin exam in 2007--almost double the number a...

Keys with conditions.(ON THE ROAD)(Ford's MyKey)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ford calls its new safety technology for teenage drivers "MyKey," but it probably should be called "MyParentsKey." Like a V-chip for cars, the programmable ignition key lets parents exercise some control over their...

Directing traffic (at 35,000 feet).(CAREERS)(air traffic controllers)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... Occasionally, a controller at Academy Airport in Oklahoma City makes a mistake, and planes collide and erupt in a bar of fire. Fortunately, none of it is real But this isn't just another video game. The virtual control, tower at the Federal...

Obama's challenge: after his historic victory, the President-elect faces a sobering list of issues to deal with, both at home and abroad.(Barack Obama)(Cover story)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] No President for generations has walked into the Oval Office confronted by the number of seismic challenges that await Barack Obama. Historians grasping for parallels point to Abraham Lincoln taking office in 1861 as...

'They said this day would never come': the day Barack Obama spoke of was January 3, 2008, when he won the Iowa caucuses. Ten months tater, he's on his way to the White House as America's first Black President. A look at Obama's journey to the Oval Office.(ELECTION 2008)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Four years ago, Barack Obama was a little-known Illinois state legislator running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Then he delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. He spoke...

The handoff: from 43 to 44: George W. Bush is still President until January 20, but as a "lame duck" his influence is greatly diminished. Why does the U.S. have this long transition and what are the implications at a time of economic crisis?(ELECTION 2008)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The election is over, and the voters have spoken. But until Barack Obama's inauguration as America's 44th President on January 20, the Oval Office is still occupied by George W. Bush. The United States is unusual...

The greening of suburbia: don't let all that grass fool you: big houses, lawns, and longer commutes make suburbs a lot less energy-efficient than cities. Now, some suburbanites are trying to reduce their oversize carbon footprints.(ENVIRONMENT)
November 17, 2008... Gabe Schwartzman, 17, grew up outside Washington, D.C., in Garrett Park, Maryland. It's the kind of place that embodies the classic image of American suburbia: big houses, big cars, and manicured lawns. The problem is that all three are big...

A veiled debate: controversies over Muslim veils raise tough questions about assimilation in Europe.(INTERNATIONAL)
November 17, 2008... When Faiza Silmi applied for French citizenship in 2004, she worried that her French was not quite good enough or that her Moroccan upbringing would pose a problem. "I would never have imagined that they would turn me down because of what...

Staying strong: white his mother is in prison, Shaquille Murrell adjusts to a new family.(VOICES)(Essay)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I will never forget that cold day last December. It was one of the saddest days of my life. I got home from school around the usual time, 3:30, and looked for my mom. She wasn't there, but I figured she had just...

'Re-branding' the USA: fairly or not, America's reputation around the globe has suffered in recent years. Can a President Obama help restore our image?(OPINION)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We're beginning to get a sense of how Barack Obama's presidency could change global perceptions of the United States, redefining the American "brand" to be less about Guantanamo and more about equality. This change...

Should college football players be paid? Opponents say it would ruin an amateur sport; proponents say college football already seems professional.(DEBATE)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YES The three most lucrative college football teams in 2005--Notre Dame, Ohio State, and the University of Texas--each generated more than $60 million for their schools. College football is not simply an...

Cartoons.(Cartoon)
November 17, 2008... ARE THEY CELEBRATING THE CANDIDATES VICTORY? NO. THE END OF ROBOCALLS. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GARY NARKSTEIN * Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel * CREATORS SYNDICATE I HATE BEING A BATTLEGROUP STATE. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Teacher's edition.
November 17, 2008... NOW COMES THE HARD PART: Barack Obama will find his in-box overflowing, as all new Presidents do, when he walks into the Oval Office in January. But the challenges the President-elect--and the nation--will face in 2009 and beyond are...

Clearing the air.(GRAPH: ENVIRONMENT)(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... As the article "The Greening of Suburbia" notes, greenhouse gases--and carbon dioxide in particular-are among the chief causes of global warming, according to most scientists. With the largest economy in the world--and a culture built in large...

Game show.(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... * 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 the...

Cartoon analysis.
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANALYZE THE POLITICAL CARTOON 1. What emotions do you think the man is experiencing? 2. What is he worried about, and why do you think he's so agitated? 3. What does the woman mean by her response? ...

Photo analysis.(Brief article)
November 17, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. What do you think the woman in the tan coat is thinking? 2. How might the woman in the niqab feet about attracting stares? 3. What similarities and differences might there be in these women's lives? ...