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Today’s Friday, so it’s the Week in Review.  Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening. Let’s begin today by talking about the verb, “make”. It only has four letters, but it’s used in a lot of different ways. So, I thought it would be […]

The more you weigh, the more you’ll pay…that is, if you’re flying on Samoa Air. I’ll explain after this.  You’re listening to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com! Thanks for listening today. I’m Cory Renzella, and I hope you’re having a good week. Have you heard of Samoa before? It’s a tiny country in the South Pacific […]

Why is a country that has 1.4 billion people so interested in a country that only has 300,000 people? You’ll find out on today’s DailyCast.  It’s Wednesday, and you’re listening to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com. How are you today? I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening. On April 15, the Prime Minister of Iceland […]

Last Wednesday, in the South Asian country of Bangladesh, a building full of workers collapsed. At least 380 of them were killed in a terrible accident that didn’t have to happen, but could happen again.  It’s Tuesday, and I hope your week is going well, so far. I’m Cory Renzella, and this is the DailyCast […]

On April 19, New Zealand became the 14th country in the world to legalize gay marriage. Today, we look at gay marriage in New Zealand and around the world.  It’s Monday, and I hope you’re having a great start to your workweek! You’re listening to the DailyCast podcast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and […]

It’s The Weekend at ESLnewscast.com.  Thanks for listening! I’m Cory Renzella, and I hope you’re having a nice weekend. I recently finished a great book that I want to tell you about. You may have already heard of it, because it was published about a year ago. It’s called, “How Will You Measure Your Life”, […]

The workweek is ending, and the weekend is about to begin. But before it does, let’s review the stories from this week.  Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome to the DailyCast podcast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening. Every Friday, we look at our stories from the week and focus on a […]

Hugo Chavez was the leader of Venezuela for 14 years, until he died in March. Now, Venezuela has a new leader, and he calls himself the “Son of Chavez”.  Welcome! You’re listening to the DailyCast podcast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening. Last week, people in the South American country […]

Last week’s attacks in Boston have ended. One suspect was killed; the other, captured. Throughout the week, millions of people followed the story online, using Facebook and Twitter. Today: social media and the bombings in Boston.  It’s Wednesday, and you’re listening to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com. How are you today? I’m Cory Renzella, and thank […]

A special person celebrated their birthday on Friday. I’ll tell you who it was – and why they are special – today.  It’s Tuesday, and you’re listening to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com! Hi, I’m Cory Renzella, and thanks for listening. On April 19, a Japanese man named Jiroemon Kimura was born. I know that doesn’t […]

Today, on the DailyCast: a story that takes place in your country. Actually, it’s one that takes place in every country.  Happy Monday! I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening to ESLnewscast.com’s DailyCast podcast. Today is Earth Day, an annual, meaning once a year, event that celebrates the Earth and focuses on protecting it from pollution and other harmful things. In 1970, Earth Day was started by an American politician as a way to educate the country about the environment. It was originally called, “National Environment Teach-In”, but people quickly realized that “Earth Day” was a better sounding and more memorable, or easy to remember, name. In 1990, Earth Day moved beyond America and started being celebrated in 141 countries worldwide. This year, a group called Earth Day Network is organizing events in 192 countries. If you’re not part of one of these events, then what can you do on Earth Day? Well, you can do anything that helps the earth. That includes picking up trash; recycling plastic, paper, or many other things; or, simply saving electricity by turning off the light when you leave a room. All of these things are small, but if everyone does them, then they can make a big difference for the world. And right now, something different must be done. Humans are causing a lot of damage to the earth. Here’s an example: earlier this month, scientists reported that in Antarctica, which is the large continent at the bottom of the world, the ice is melting ten times faster than it did 600 years ago, and more ice is melting than at any other time in the past 1,000 years. If the ice in Antarctica continues to melt at this rate, then what effects will that have on the rest of the world? And it’s not just ice in Antarctica; changes are happening all around the planet, and we can’t be sure how they will impact, or affect, the world. But it’s safe to assume that the effects will not be good. Hotter temperatures can cause problems for weather patterns, agriculture, which means farming, and our daily lives. The good news is that people have the power to solve the world’s problems. But the bad news is that we’re not doing enough. Even if some people don’t care about the melting ice in Antarctica, they probably do care about their children, their grandchildren, and future generations that will have to find ways to survive on this planet. And that’s a good reason to take care of the earth, not only on Earth Day, but every day. ~~~~~~~~~~ Will you be doing anything special for Earth Day? Are there any quick and easy things that you do every day to help the planet? If you have any tips, or small pieces of helpful information, please share them with us on our website! ESLnewscast.com is “Your English Window to the World”, and wherever you are in the world, I hope you have a good Earth Day. Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. Bye-bye.

It’s The Weekend at ESLnewscast.com.  Thanks for listening! I’m Cory Renzella, and I hope you’re having a nice weekend. Last weekend, I told you about the happiest and saddest countries in the world. Do you remember which ones they are? Norway is the happiest, and the Central African Republic is the saddest. I’ve been thinking more about these two countries this past week. If you look at a map of the world, you can see that they aren’t very far apart, or away from each other. If you put your finger on Norway and move it straight down the map, you’ll touch the Central African Republic. These two countries are on the same map, but the more I learn about them, the more they seem to be on different planets. Here’s what I mean: the people in these two countries have almost nothing in common, meaning they are different in almost every way. So this weekend, I want to explain what life is like in both countries. Let’s start with the Central African Republic. If you were one of the 4.5 million people living in that country, you would probably be very hungry and extremely poor. Another way of saying that there are a lot of poor people in a country is to say that there is a lot of poverty in the country. And in the 53 years since the Central African Republic became an independent country, there has been plenty of poverty and a lot of fighting. The country’s leaders have typically, or normally, used guns to gain power, and that’s still true today. Just last month, rebels, or people who fight against their government, attacked the country’s military and forced their president out of office. The rebels now control the country and have promised to improve people’s lives. But during the fighting, they stole a lot of food and medicine from the people. So, the rebels might make things worse, not better. Other problems in the country involve the economy. The banks in the Central African Republic are empty; there’s no money in them! Many people can’t find jobs, and many who have jobs aren’t being paid. But worst of all, people are dying needlessly, or unnecessarily, every day from hunger and sickness. Many are unable to get to hospitals and can’t find medicines. Starvation, or extreme hunger, is one reason why the average life span, or lifetime, in the Central African Republic is only 48 years. It’s a terrible place to call home, and there doesn’t appear to be much reason to hope that the situation there will ever improve. So, that’s what life is like in the Central African Republic, and that’s why it’s the saddest country in the world. ~~~~~~~~~~ Now, let’s travel north to the happiest country in the world, Norway. Norway is slightly larger than the Central African Republic and has five million people. This country is located in northwestern Europe, which is a good region, or area, to live in. Norway is very safe, and there is a lot of oil and natural gas in the ground. The government makes, or receives, a lot of money exporting, or selling to other countries, these two types of energy. Norway’s government also receives a lot of money from its people. Norwegians, or the people who live in Norway, pay a lot of taxes. Norway has some of the highest tax rates in the world, and the money isn’t wasted. Norway’s government uses both tax money and oil money to provide healthcare to everyone. In addition, it gives new mothers about 10 months of paid time off from work. And, new fathers receive about 10 weeks of paid time off from their work. That’s not bad, but it gets even better: the government partly controls many large companies, so all workers in the country get five weeks of paid vacation time each year. And unlike most other countries in the world, unemployment is very low, meaning almost everyone who wants a job has a job. The public schools are fantastic for children, and when a person retires, or stops working, they get a generous pension, which is a regular retirement payment, from the government.

The workweek is ending, and the weekend is about to begin. But before it does, let’s review the stories from this week.  Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome to the DailyCast podcast from ESLnewscast.com. If you’re interested in improving your English whil...

The African country of Kenya has a new president. But that’s creating a new problem.  It’s Thursday, and you’re listening to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and thank you for listening today. Fifty years ago, Kenya became an independent, or free, country. Since then, it has had four presidents. The first was a man named Jomo Kenyatta. The fourth president, who was elected just last week, is the son of Jomo Kenyatta. His name is Uhuru Kenyatta. Although he is only 51 years old, he has worked in Kenya’s government for many years. Last week, when he was inaugurated, or became president, he talked about being the president for all of Kenya’s people. That’s going to be a challenge, because he only won 51% of the vote in last month’s election. That means half of the country’s 40 million people didn’t want him to be president. It’s not surprising that Kenya’s people are so divided. There are different ethnic groups, and ethnic is a word that refers to people’s backgrounds. There is often fighting among these different ethnic groups. Although this last presidential election was peaceful, over 1,000 Kenyans were killed in fighting during the previous election in 2007. Who was responsible for this violence? A lot of people are saying that it was Uhuru Kenyatta. That means the man who has just become Kenya’s president might be a murderer! And that, as I said at the beginning, is the new problem that Kenya has with its new president. The leaders of many other countries don’t know what kind of relationship they should have with Kenyatta. Kenya is one of the most powerful countries in Africa, and its economy has been growing fast. So, American and European leaders want to work with it, although they don’t want to look like they are close friends with Kenyatta. But now, there’s a chance that Uhuru Kenyatta won’t be president for long. The International Criminal Court, or ICC, is a court that many countries created to punish international criminals. The court has accused Kenyatta of being involved in those deaths from 2007, and it will hold a trial to see if he is guilty, meaning he did something wrong, or innocent, meaning he is not guilty. Kenyatta has promised to go to the ICC later this year to defend himself. It will be a strange trial, but no matter what happens at the ICC, it is already a problem for everyone involved. ~~~~~~~~~~ If you were the leader of your country, would you be willing to work with Uhuru Kenyatta? Do you think that the ICC will find him innocent or guilty? Tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment on our website. ESLnewscast.com is “Your English Window to the World”, and wherever you are in the world, I hope you have a good day. Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. Bye-bye.

Monday was supposed to be a day of great celebration in the American city of Boston. Instead, it was a day of terror. Today: The Boston Marathon bombings.  It’s Wednesday, and you’re listening to the DailyCast from ESLnewscast.com. Hello, I’m Cory Renzella, and I hope you’re having a good week. Every year, thousands of runners travel to Boston to participate, or take part in, the city’s famous marathon. A marathon is a 42-kilometer race, and the Boston Marathon is always a special event. This year, there were more than 27,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators. Spectators are people who watch a game, a race, or some other event. These spectators thought that they’d just be watching an exciting race on Monday. But what they also saw – and what the world has now seen, in pictures and videos – was a terrorist attack. About four hours after the race began, two bombs exploded near the finish line. At least one hundred seventy people were injured, or hurt, by the explosions. Many of the victims, or people who were injured, lost their feet or legs, and many others were badly burned by the heat of the explosions. In addition to all of the people who were injured, three were killed. One of them was an eight-year-old boy. After the explosions, the race was stopped, and hundreds of police officers began searching for more bombs and for whoever was responsible for, or caused, this attack. So far, we don’t know who was responsible. But no matter who did it, it was a terrorist attack. When Americans think of terrorist attacks, they think of what happened in their country 12 years ago, on September 11, 2001. Fortunately, or luckily, this terrorist attack was much smaller, and there weren’t thousands of casualties, or people who were killed. But even though it was a small attack, it has brought back feelings of fear for many Americans. And that really is the goal of terrorism: not only to kill and destroy, but to also create terror, or extreme fear. Americans are very fortunate, because they rarely experience terrorist attacks. In some countries, like Syria, Iraq, or Pakistan, an attack like this is a normal thing that happens almost every day. But because attacks like this are so unusual in America, they are more shocking, or unbelievable, and cause more fear. I know that I was shocked when I first saw the news of this attack. I went to university in Boston and lived in the city for about six years. For three of those years, my home was just five minutes away from where this attack happened. When I was a student, my friends and I enjoyed watching the Boston Marathon each year. I no longer live in Boston, but some of my friends and family were at the marathon on Monday. Thankfully, none of them were hurt. But many people from Boston and other areas do have friends or family who were hurt in this attack. And if you think about it, there are many people throughout the world who have friends and family hurt in similar – or even worse – attacks every day. The world we live in is becoming an increasingly, or more and more, dangerous place. Violence is happening every day and in every country. We can only hope that someday, we will find the answer to how we can stop all of this violence and make the world a better and more peaceful place. But until then, the Boston Marathon attack will be just one of many more tragedies to happen. ~~~~~~~~~~ What do you think about this attack? Who do you think was responsible for it? Was it an angry American, or could it have been someone from another country? And have there been similar terrorist attacks in your country? Write down your thoughts in the comments section of our website. ESLnewscast.com is “Your English Window to the World”, and wherever you are in the world, I hope you have a good day. Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. Bye-bye.