Transcript: February 3, 2023

Introduction

Thousands of teachers and other workers went on strike this week in a major walkoff. 

Sound: “They are saying so very reluctantly that enough is enough and that things have to change.”

I’ll tell what’s going on. Plus – Greg is here with the Notice News quiz. All that and more today on… Notice News.

U.K. Teachers, Other Workers Go on Strike

Hey guys and happy Friday – I’m Jonathan here at Notice HQ in Brooklyn. You’ve probably heard something about inflation, teacher shortages, or the state of the economy in general in the last few months.

All those things are a huge issue here in the U.S., but we’re not the only nation struggling with them. 

Sound: “Although I love teaching, it is just so hard, it is just so tiring. There aren’t enough of us doing all of the work that needs to be done. ”

This was the scene in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, where nearly half a million teachers, government employees, and train drivers went on strike, refusing to work. They’re demanding a pay raise, and they called it “Walkout Wednesday.” 

The strikes were so widespread that thousands of schools closed, and nearly all rail travel was shut down nationwide. People across the world have been feeling the effects of inflation, or the rise in prices of everyday things.

Experts don’t entirely agree on what’s causing this surge of inflation right now, but the two main theories are supply chain issues caused by the pandemic – the difficulty of getting products from point A to point B – and – the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

No matter what’s causing it, it’s clear we’re all feeling the effects.

Sound: “Rishi Sunak hear us say, we need you to raise our pay.”

Sound: “It’s quite depressing, it’s quite scary, doesn’t really feel like anything is going to change. Don’t know, it feels like the demise of the UK.”

Headlines

Here’s what else is making news right now.

Ukraine warns that Russia has amassed troops along their border and that a new, major offensive is imminent. They fear it may take place around February 24th, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to remove Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar from the powerful foreign affairs committee thursday. The move comes after Democrats removed several Republicans from committees when they had control of the chamber before the midterms. 

And – famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday meaning six more weeks of winter, according to tradition. I guess nobody told Phil the U.S. has had one of the mildest winters on record so far. 

The Notice News Quiz!

And now, live on tape from Brooklyn, it’s time for the Notice News quiz! 

I’m your host Greg, and this is the game where we ask… have you been paying attention this week? Time to find out.

Question one: on Monday, the White House signaled a shift to a new phase in the Covid-19 pandemic. How will the government handle covid going forward?

a ) as a rapid-spreading danger

b ) as an ongoing, manageable disease

c ) as a completely eliminated threat

d ) as a one-time thing

The answer? C, an ongoing manageable disease.

The Biden Administration said this week it will let the public health emergency surrounding covid expire in May.

Question two: the new artificial intelligence software Chat GPT has taken the world by storm. So far, what human function can Chat GPT mimic?

a ) writing poetry

b ) passing medical exams

c ) completing homework

d ) all of the above 

The answer? D, all of the above.

Chat GPT uses massive amounts of data to form its own reasoning and answer questions like a human would. And finally, earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this in the Middle East:

Sound: Antony Blinken: “it’s the responsibility of everyone to take steps to calm tensions rather than inflame them”

What’s causing the tension the Secretary of State is trying to calm down? 

a ) oil and gas prices

b ) israel and palestine 

c ) russia and ukraine

d ) prince harry and meghan markle

The correct answer is B, Israel and Palestine.

The two countries are experiencing some of the worst violence in years over disputed territory. 

That does it for this week’s Notice News quiz. See you next Friday!

Conclusion

That’s it for today but you can learn more… about the causes of inflation on our website, noticenews.com.

Angie will be back Monday with more from us, Notice News.