(bright upbeat music) - Coming up next on "News Depth".

China is cracking down on kids playing video games.

Plus we learn about Biden's big plan to bring an end to the pandemic.

Happy Constitution Day, we've got an explainer about the first amendment.

You won't want to miss this, News Cat's found a coffee courier named sushi.

"News Depth" is that.

(bright upbeat music) The President's got a six-point plan to put out the pandemic.

Hello, everybody, I'm Rick Jackson, thank you for joining us.

President Joe Biden delivered an address last week renewing America's efforts to combat the spread of COVID.

Since January of 2020, there have now been more than 40.7 million cases of COVID in the country.

But over the summer, the coronavirus Delta variant became the most common version of the virus in the country and that's not good news.

A variant is something that differs from what's considered to be normal.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Delta variant spreads more easily and that's all the more reason for Biden to be pushing his big plan.

Chris Newen is in Washington with the details.

- [Chris Newen] With serious COVID-19 cases surging among the unvaccinated, hospitalizations on the rise-- - We're running about 130% above capacity.

- [Chris Newen] And the CDC predicting an increase in deaths-- - As your president, I'm announcing tonight, a new plan to require more Americans to be vaccinated.

- [Chris Newen] The six-pronged plan includes vaccinating the unvaccinated, further protecting the vaccinated through booster shots, keeping schools open, increasing testing and requiring masks, protecting the economic recovery and improving care for those with COVID-19.

- This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated and it's caused by the fact that despite America having unprecedented and successful vaccination program, despite the fact that for almost five months, free vaccines have been available in 80,000 different locations, we still have nearly 80 million Americans who have failed to get the shot.

- [Chris Newen] All federal workers must be vaccinated and have no option to opt out of being regularly tested.

The president will also direct the Labor Department to require all businesses with 100 or more employees ensure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week.

- We know requirements work, we've put in place some mandates over the past couple of months for components of the federal government.

Many big companies have put in place requirements, we've seen them work.

- [Chris Newen] The goal of the renewed efforts saving lives and returning to normal.

- We remain at a critical moment, a critical time.

We have the tools.

Now we just have to finish the job with truth, with science, with confidence and together as one nation.

- Thanks, Chris.

The pandemic has changed a lot about how we live and certainly for people of the Jewish faith, last week it meant changing how they observe Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah is a holiday that celebrates the Jewish New Year.

In Hebrew it translates to head of the year.

People of the Jewish faith celebrate with traditional worship, community gatherings and symbolic foods like dipping apples into honey to express their hopes for a sweet and fruitful year.

This year, the holiday welcomes the year 5782 based on the Hebrew calendar.

It began Monday, September 6 and ended Wednesday, the eighth.

Josie Carbonell reports what synagogues in Palm Beach County, Florida did to help people honor the high holy days during this pandemic.

- [Josie Carbonell] There's a pool between religious beliefs, the rise in COVID-19 and going virtual for high holy days across synagogues.

- Our dependence on God, although it's very important for those things that we have absolutely no control over, there are things that we do control.

- [Josie Carbonell] This year, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County estimates about 80% of synagogues in the county are offering a virtual option with an in-person experience, only 20% going fully virtual.

B'nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton is one of them, calling the decision difficult, but telling us between case numbers and the large amount of elderly people who attend their services, it was a concern.

- We have thousands of people that come into the synagogue for Rosh Hashanah and young and poor.

So, the more people there are, the more concentrated it is, the more difficult it is for social distancing.

- [Josie Carbonell] But over at the Jewish community synagogue in Palm Beach Gardens, their approach is based on orthodox views and say the nearly 1,500 members they have are all vaccinated.

- Rosh Hashanah is about accepting a higher force.

It's about accepting God as our king.

And when you believe in a higher force and you believe in doing what's right, you can't really replicate that by doing it virtually.

Orthodox synagogues don't use any electric on the holiday, we don't use our cars, not our phones, our computers.

- [Josie Carbonell] They are however limiting capacity at 50 people and for those who don't want to come inside... - For those that don't wanna come inside, we're gonna do part of the show for blowing outside for them.

I pray and I hope that this new year turns a new leaf, a healthy leaf and we can finally put this COVID behind us.

- The next big Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur centers on atoning for one's wrongs.

It takes place this week on September 15 and 16th.

How about a spin around the globe, China has been adding new regulations that impact children in that country.

The government there is cracking down on video games and cutting off classes taught by foreigners.

Let's first get a better look at the country.

Niihau, welcome to the People's Republic of China, by population the largest country in the world.

It's nearly 1.4 billion people, many of whom live in huge cities like the capital of Beijing or the tech center, Shenzhen.

Taking up much of the continent of Asia, China has numerous terrains from mountains, to jungles, to ocean coast.

China is also a communist state, meaning the government controls much of what people there can do.

Their freedoms are determined by a strong, central government.

For example, those new regulations I mentioned.

China's President, Xi Jinping is hoping to shape future generations by limiting the amount of time kids can play video games and who's allowed to be a teacher there.

David Kohler has those details.

- [David Kohler] Sweeping changes to China's social order focused on the next generation.

The all-powerful central government rolling out drastic measures over several weeks from a crackdown on private tutoring to heavy restrictions placed on kids and gaming, all portrayed to help the masses.

- A lot of those actions are designed to help ease the pressures, whether it's property prices or schooling or gaming and so on.

- [David Kohler] It resonates with some families like the Young's in Shanghai.

Daria Ching capturing picture after picture of his two, teenage kids enthralled by their phones, playing hours upon hours of endless games.

The government now restricting the use of online video games to just three hours a week for kids, 8 to 9 pm on Friday, weekends and holidays.

- It's a good policy that we get a chance to rebalance everything.

- [David Kohler] And it's coinciding with a massive crackdown on pricey after-school tutoring.

Many venting concerns on Chinese social media, one post reading, "I am very worried that this generation of children will become the victims of policy-oriented actions," but some supporting the government's efforts to restructure home life.

This person writing, "In the past few years, extracurricular training institutions have gone too far.

If the country does not regulate them, these training institutions will only become more and more crazy."

A rising middle class has struggled in recent years, spending millions buying homes in desired school districts and paying private tutors to keep their kids academically competitive, with some complaining that wealthier families had an unfair advantage.

As China marks 100 years since the founding of the Communist Party, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping is shifting focus back to its foundational party values, even calling for a redistribution of wealth to counter poverty.

Some have labeled this as a new cultural revolution harking back to the 60s and 70s when then leader Mao Zedong led a movement to purify the party as he put it, an obvious effort to reassert his control.

It led to brutal crackdowns on Free Thought, mass imprisonment and hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

- General Secretary, Xi is careful not to mobilize the masses to rise clearly against the power structure as Mao did, but at the same time however, many Chinese do feel like actually, it resonates with the Cultural Revolution in certain respects.

- [David Kohler] There are striking similarities.

Last year, the government banning the use of foreign textbooks in most schools and more recently limiting the role and influence of foreign teachers on some education platforms.

- A lot of this is really about eliminating any potential risks to the system.

- And starting this new semester, Chinese students of all ages from primary to graduate schools will have to start learning from textbooks like these, the subject, Xi Jinping Thought, reinforced by the many photos of this country's increasingly powerful leader.

For the young family, there are positives.

- I do feel the policy came in abruptly, but it seems like people accept it well.

- His kids during the sports and physical activities again, less phone time and fewer academic pressures in exchange for more family time.

But beneath the easing of some daily pressures, a deeper indoctrination may be underway, aimed at keeping anything the party disapproves of firmly in its place.

Now, many of these policies that we are seeing roll out here in China are rooted in the new three-child policy and that is a government push to encourage families to have more children.

And that's not just about trying to increase the population, it is also heavily rooted in maintaining and increasing prosperity, which in turn translates into social stability here.

- Thank you, David.

Here in America, our country is governed differently.

We live in a democracy which means the power of decision making rest in you and me, the people.

Our government guarantees us certain freedoms laid out in the US Constitution.

Our Nick Astell has the details about these rights in this week's "Politics On Point", check it out.

(upbeat music) (clears throat) - We the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.

Our constitution sounds pretty good to me, nothing to change there, right?

Wrong, even the founding fathers knew they couldn't make a perfect guide for running the country.

Enter amendments, an amendment is any improvements, revisions or corrections to the constitution.

There're currently 20 plus amendments to the constitution, but I wanna focus on the first one.

It provides some of our most important rights.

The first amendment states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

So, within the first amendment, we've got these five protected rights; freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assembly and the right to petition the government.

Let's take a look at these a little closer.

Freedom of religion was super important to the founding fathers.

It's one of the reasons they came to America in the first place.

They wanted to escape other countries where they were forced to follow a specific religion.

Because of the first amendment, you can now practice any religion or no religion at all.

The freedom of speech and assembly can be grouped together.

They basically mean that we can express our own opinions, we're allowed to speak out and get together in groups to express our ideas.

Of course, there are some exceptions.

For example, you can't tell lies about people or they could try to sue you for that.

That idea of telling the truth leads me to the next protection, which is super important for folks who work in the news like me, the freedom of the press.

It means journalists are allowed to report on what's going on without fear that the government might get upset and stop them from doing their work.

In some countries without the freedom of the press like China, journalists are only allowed to report what the government wants.

As you can imagine, if the government makes a mistake or isn't treating people fairly, they aren't going to want the news to tell people about it.

Finally, the right to petition the government empowers citizens to address their leaders directly if they're concerned about actions or issues.

You may have heard about people writing their senators, governors or other politicians to share their opinions or express concern.

The first amendment aim to set Americans apart from other countries and governments that impose stiff rules and regulations over their citizens or punish them for speaking out.

It's all about letting our countries stay by the people and for the people.

As the country grows and changes, so do the needs of the constitution.

It's not stuck in the 1700s, it's a living, breathing part of our democracy.

- Thanks, Nick.

Oh, and happy Constitution Day by the way.

Ms. Foreman from Chardon Hills STEM school in Euclid, good friend of ours, let us know about the holiday.

Now, if I were to guess, I'd say a lot of you are watching me right now from school.

How did you get there, maybe on a bus?

Well, across the country, school districts and delivery companies are struggling to hire drivers.

Both jobs require special training and special skills.

Let's take a look at being a heavy truck driver.

A heavy truck driver is somebody who drives a tractor trailer that picks up and delivers cargo.

These drivers need to be good at reading maps and understanding directions.

They also need good time management skills to make sure the orders are delivered on time.

Not to mention, it helps to be good with your hands and with machinery.

Heavy truck drivers usually learn on the job or earn a certificate through a trade school or college.

Plus, they need a special driver's license.

In Ohio, it's expected that there will be more than 9,600 openings for heavy truck drivers next year.

So, it's considered an in-demand career.

You don't need to tell the folks in this next story what's an in-demand career, reporter Pete montane has details.

- [Pete Montane] School bus driver, Nick Roca understands why more of his friends are retiring from the routes they've run for years.

The return to in-person learning shifted pandemic fears into high gear and a changing economy is providing other options.

- We have more people leaving than we do people coming in.

- [Pete Montane] It is a problem also plaguing Uber and Lyft which say shortages are hiking rates and wait times.

DC's Metro bus system says it is having a more difficult time recruiting candidates.

But the issue is especially acute for kids going back to class.

The Fairfax County Virginia School System, just outside Washington is trying to fill three times its normal driver openings.

- It's always been something that we battle with, but this is the worst that we've seen it.

- Those with commercial driver's licenses are so in demand that here in Fairfax County, new school bus drivers are being offered a $3,000 sign-on bonus.

The district is also raising their hourly pay.

In nearby Stafford County, Virginia, parents say kids are arriving hours late due to driver shortages.

- I think the answer is probably more money.

Like if you pay them more, you'll get better people, you'll get more people.

- [Pete Montane] Poor pay and poor working conditions are why trucking trade associations say many are turning their backs on the profession.

Todd Spencer, who represents independent truck drivers says the pandemic has forced a years-long problem to come to a head and not enough is being done to keep drivers from quitting.

- Good people can find better jobs, better places and lots of places that don't have many of the drawbacks that trucking does so they look around and they take advantage of those opportunities.

- [Pete Montane] For school bus drivers, the incentives are increasing across the country.

Fairfax County has even won a few retirees back.

The nation's 10th largest school district wants this to be just a bump in the road to getting students back in school.

- We're definitely looking forward to having more kids come in and with that we need more drivers coming in.

- Thanks, Pete.

That question is still nagging me.

So, for this week's poll, we wanna know how do you get to school.

Head online to choose either I walk or bike, I ride the bus, a parent or guardian drives me or maybe you don't have to commute, you can choose I take classes online at home.

Last week's poll was about the stress coping tips we learned from Spot On Science and we asked you which you would try.

55% of you said you try deep breathing, nice.

We also asked you last week who you'd take on a trip to space with you.

Let's see who you chose and why by opening up our inbox.

Kyle from Crestview Elementary in Brunswick, Canada, nicely written answer.

"Hi, I'm Kyle and my answer to this week's question is a toad.

I chose a toad because it would be history for the first toad in space.

Another reason is we could see how toads act in space because they will be experiencing the feeling of being weightless.

That's my answer for this week's question."

Thanks, Kyle.

Olivia from Pleasant Run Elementary in Cincinnati wrote, "It is a hard decision to choose one person to share this life-changing experience with, but if I had to choose, I would pick my big sister, Abby.

She is the best person ever.

She rides roller coasters with me and wouldn't mind if I hold on to her during a launch.

We might also be able to have stuffed peppers, but with space food.

I really love my sister to the moon and back and is who I would take to space if I could go."

Brody from Orrville Middle School in Orrville chose a furry flight companion.

"If I could take one person to space with me, I would take my dog Leo to space.

Even though he's not a person, I would take my dog with me because I love him a lot.

I also think my dog will have fun and I know I will have fun.

I would also take some of my dog's toys up the space so that he can chew on them for the ride up.

That's why I would take my dog Leo with me."

Logan from Harding Middle School in Lakewood road, "My cousin Joey because he is my best friend and we have the same interest in space.

And we would get to have lots of fun if we went to space."

Eli from Loveland Elementary in Loveland road, "I would bring with me Neil Armstrong if he were still alive because he's the first person to touch the moon and he probably knows a lot about spaceships and stuff because I certainly don't."

Good answers everybody.

I bet you'd enjoy the New Ohio that we have, all about Ohio's own astronauts including Neil Armstrong who actually has a museum built about him in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

I'll leave a link to it beneath this week's episode.

Now, this week's writing question is about this next story.

A statue of General Robert E. Lee that towered over Richmond, Virginia's most famous avenue for decades was finally taken down and hauled away last week in pieces.

Lee led the Confederate States Army during the Civil War, he and his soldiers fought to separate from the rest of the United States and to keep slavery legal.

Of course, they ultimately lost.

Some see the statue as a symbol of the suppression of black Americans while others simply think it's a sign of history.

Joe Jones reports on the statue's removal, Joe.

(crowd chanting songs) - [Joe Jones] After 131 years on display, the city of Richmond, Virginia says goodbye to a monument that's been a source of controversy for decades.

This statue of Robert E. Lee, the largest Confederate statue that was still standing in the US was erected in 1890, more than a generation after the Civil War.

But today, it came down.

A heavy duty crane lifted the 12 ton Confederate General and his horse from its pedestal, cut into huge pieces for storage at a secure location.

For many in the crowd, this day could have come sooner.

- Is hatred, and I do not like hatred, period.

- [Joe Jones] Getting to this point was a monumental battle.

The controversy surrounding it was amplified by the Black Lives Matter protests last year.

And while Confederate monuments in other parts of the US came down including in nearby Charlottesville, in Richmond, once the capital of the Confederacy, it took all three branches of government speaking with the same voice to overcome legal obstacles to removal.

- Yes, that statue has been there for a long time.

But it was wrong then and it is wrong now.

- [Joe Jones] The legislature passed a provision supporting the removal.

And finally last week, the Virginia Supreme Court threw out a challenge from some residents in the district and the descendants of the families who donated the property for the monument.

- There's a lot of pain in this statue in the bottom half especially now.

There's a lot of words in it.

- [Joe Jones] But today also renews conversations over whether removing Confederate statues is an attempt to rewrite or even erase the United States' troubled racial history.

At the end of the day, the statue and its removal, equally symbolic.

The old Richmond coming down and the new Richmond ascendant.

- This is a very powerful place now, it's transformed into a powerful place.

- Thanks, Joe.

Now that the statue is down, we wanna know who would you replace it with.

Write to us and tell us what historic figure you would make into a new statue.

Can't wait to read your answers.

Well, I think it's about time to award this week's "News Depth" A+.

Have you ever taken the time to think about the world around you?

Have you ever shared what worries you, what motivates you, what frightens you or what gives you hope?

The Near West Theatre's newest production, Rise; The Reconstruction Project, let 24 youth actors, kids from the age of eight to 16, all from the Cleveland area explore these questions by creating their own original performance.

This week's "News Depth" A+ goes to the cast of Rise; The Reconstruction Project.

This project brings a lot of things full circle for us.

20 years ago, we produced a show that explored how children felt about the 911 terror attacks, shared Mariah Burke's, the show's producer.

Ms. Burke said the current cast shared many of the same emotions.

During the summer production of the show, the actors processed how they felt about the world.

They shared their thoughts and feelings and created a community.

We were able to have very open discussions about how we perceive the world.

"A lot of our actors learn the importance of listening to what people have to say," Ms. Burke shared.

I was really proud of the cast for how they supported each other as they process their understanding of the world.

They really showed a lot of empathy and patience.

For many of the actors involved, the rehearsals and performance gave them a space to talk and ask questions that they wouldn't normally feel comfortable saying.

The cast filmed their performance over the summer, now it's streaming on demand.

This week's "News Depth" A+ goes to the Near West Theatre's youth cast for producing an original show that explores their feelings about the world we're all living in, for supporting one another and for asking tough questions, bravo.

I think we've given "News Cat" enough time to find us an animal story, let's see what she's brought up for this week's "Petting Zoo."

(upbeat music) Oh, a wagging tail.

She must have something good for us this week.

Let's see it "News Cat".

I love those typing paws.

So, what is this?

Oh, she found a pug named sushi that delivers coffee.

That's unique.

She has difficulty moving her hind legs and it's blind.

This is the way James gets her out into the fresh air.

To find out about sushi's bike route around town, click the "Petting Zoo" button on our website.

(upbeat music) - Thank you "News Cat", what do you find next?

A hippo that drives heavy trucks?

No, there are 9,600 jobs out there.

Well, that would be something.

Before I sign off, teachers, I do wanna let you know something.

It's our newsletter each week.

We email you a preview of the show and the resources to use right along with it.

We promise no spam, just the good stuff.

You can find the sign up on the "News Depth" homepage and to say thank you, we'll send a new "News Cat" poster your way.

For the hundreds of you already signed up, don't worry, we'll mail you one too.

And speaking of mail, we do always want to hear from you teachers and students and there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us, we're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, that's Cleveland, Ohio, our zip code here, 4415, you can email us newsdepth@ideastream.org or you can tweet us, our handle is @NewsDepthOhio.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube and hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of the new videos.

Thank you for joining us this week, I'm Rick Jackson, will see you right back here seven days from now.

(bright upbeat music) - [Moderator 1] "News Depth" is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

- [Moderator 2] Career carve outs featured in "News Depth" are funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.

(upbeat music)