Students: This is Mr. Colo's seventh-grade social studies class at Sumner Middle School in Sumner, Washington, and Channel One News starts now!

Keith: All right, thanks to Mr. Colo's class at Sumner Middle School in Sumner, Washington, for kicking us off. I am Keith Kocinski. It is Wednesday. Let's get going. The airlines are racing — not in the sky this time, but on the ground, moving forward with changes on how passengers are treated in the so-called friendly skies.

Yesterday, executives from some of the nation's largest airlines found themselves in the hot seat on Capitol Hill, answering lots of questions before lawmakers. And it comes after recent videos showed passengers not being treated very well on planes.

This video of a flight attendant losing his cool on an American Airlines flight went viral, and just a few weeks ago, Dr. David Dao was dragged off a United Airlines plane after refusing to give up his seat. United Airlines reached a settlement, and the CEO apologized.

Oscar Munoz: No customer, no individual, should ever be treated the way Mr. Dao was, ever, and we understand that.

Keith: The House Transportation Committee went after executives from United, American, Alaska and Southwest Airlines about their customer policies, including selling more seats than are on the flights.

Representative Bill Shuster: If we don't see meaningful results that improve customer service the next time this committee meets to address the issue, I can assure you, you won't like the outcome.

Keith: But any rule changes to flying would likely come from the Department of Transportation, not lawmakers.

Now, when it comes to your school lunch, the Trump administration is loosening some of the rules about what you can find in your cafeteria. This week, President Trump’s new secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue, announced changes to school lunch standards, putting a hold on rules made under President Obama.

Secretary Sonny Perdue: What the idea actually boils down to — local flexibility and trusting the people in the lunchrooms across America to do the right thing.

1 | P a g e Keith: First lady Michelle Obama helped push through the healthy school lunch rules that required more fruits and veggies, more whole grains and less salt. Studies showed kids did eat more fruits and veggies under the new guidelines, but they also show kids throw away more food, and there were complaints from schools saying the healthier lunches are just too expensive.

The new rules will now let states get exemptions on the whole-grain standards for the next school year, and they get to delay the sodium or salt requirements for at least three years.

Now, from what you put in your stomach to what you do to burn it off: exercise! You may love it or hate it, but a new study says it pays off. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say if more schoolchildren exercise 25 minutes three times a week, that could help prevent obesity and disease as they become adults.

Right now, only about 30 percent of 8- to 11-year-olds take part in that kind of activity, but researchers say if we could get 50 percent to do it, we would be able to see 1.2 million fewer kids being obese and overweight. And over time it would also benefit the country's bottom line for healthcare costs, saving billions in medical bills and lost wages.

Now for an update on TV land. Everyone was on pins and needles because TV and movie writers were set to stop working this week; that would have meant TV show repeats and reruns. The writers were asking for better pay and for better healthcare benefits. And in the end, it worked out. The writers’ union and the producers came to a deal, and the crisis was averted, so your favorite TV shows will survive for now.

When we get back, are the anti-bullying programs in schools working?

Keith: Studying, homework, after-school activities — you guys know school can be challenging, but when you throw in bullying, then life really becomes difficult.

Tom: Yeah, it is a serious issue, Keith; there is no doubt about that. But there has been a nationwide effort over the last decade to stop bullying in schools. Some new research says it is working. Check it out.

From the jocks to the gamers to the overachievers, high school is full of labels and cliques. But sophomore Emma Griffith says her school is different.

Emma Griffith: People in Howard are more likely to be inclusive and to be able to talk to people and respect people in — everybody in their class.

2 | P a g e Tom: That is because Howard High School in Ellicott, Maryland, has a heavy dose of pride, something that starts with the morning announcements.

Announcement: … PRIDE: that’s punctuality …

Nick Novak: … respect, integrity, determination and excellence. And these are characteristics and traits that we feel like every student should be embracing and modeling in their daily lives.

Tom: Principal Nick Novak says these values help students get through the difficulties of being a teen. Strategies can be as simple as encouraging kids to branch out from their friend groups and say hello to each other, something to battle the major issue of bullying.

A recent study followed nearly 250,000 Maryland children grades four through 12 for 10 years. Researchers found those who reported being victims decreased from 29 percent to 13 percent. Back in 2005, 22 percent of kids being bullied were physically hit, and 6 percent were being cyberbullied. But in 2014 those numbers have dropped to 5 percent and 4 percent.

Professor Catherine Bradshaw at the University of Virginia coauthored the report.

Professor Catherine Bradshaw: We have a lot of work left to do. We don't want to take our foot off the gas as it relates to focus on school climate and prevention and using evidence-based practices. So by no means is bullying checked off the list.

Tom: Tom Hanson, Channel One News.

Keith: And if you see bullying, you can do something. That could be talking to an adult, comforting the victim or making sure you don't encourage the bully. For more information about bullying and how you can make a difference, go to ChannelOne.com.

All right, when we come back, we fly high as a new craze lights up the night sky.

Keith: It is time to get your geek on, and Azia joins us for a new technological trend that is lighting up the night sky.

Azia: Yeah, Keith. This is pretty cool and something you guys may have seen flying high in the sky at some big music festivals around the country. Check it out.

In the California desert, these so-called Shooting Star drones turn the dark of night into a canvas in the sky.

3 | P a g e Natalie Cheung: For Coachella we've integrated different animations — the Ferris wheel, which is super iconic for Coachella.

Azia: Intel, the tech company, has been in the drone light show business for about a year and a half. The first aerial achievement — choreographing 100 drones to music.

Cheung: I'm so excited to see the drones take off and just crossing my fingers — just knots of pure excitement and joy.

Azia: Now Intel's drone team can fly as many as 500 synchronized drones. To create each spectacle, a team of programmers, engineers and animators first build it on a computer.

Cheung: And then we upload the whole animation to the whole fleet of drones. We know exactly what's going to happen to our drones at every single frame and second.

Azia: Drones are taking Intel in a new direction. The company normally associated with microprocessors is about to release its first commercial drone, the Falcon 8+. Anil Nanduri is Intel's vice president of new technology.

Anil Nanduri: You will sometimes want to take pictures from below, and this gimbal is designed so you can take 180-degree shots.

Azia: With a hi-res camera and other sensors, this drone can be sent out for a variety of infrastructure inspections — checking out the condition of bridges and rigs — which can help keep humans out of harm’s way.

The Shooting Star drones use the same autopilot technology as the Falcon 8, except there isn't a human manning a remote control for each drone.

Nanduri: We have this master computer; that is the pilot, and that manages the whole fleet, as we call it.

Azia: Intel worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration to get special permission to launch a drone swarm. FAA regulations require one pilot per drone, and they can only fly during daylight. Intel was granted a waiver so one pilot with a laptop can control multiple drones at night, but never directly above an audience.

Cheung: It's made out of foam and plastic — two-thirds of a pound.

Azia: The performance team is surprisingly small.

4 | P a g e Cheung: We actually need two people: a pilot and a backup pilot, just in case the pilot can't make it for the event.

Azia: Each drone carries just a single LED light.

Cheung: It has over 4 billion color combinations.

Azia: But one of the best parts of the show is something the public doesn't get to see — when the drones come home.

Cheung: It's just so beautiful just to see all these stars and drones just falling down gracefully, and there's just, like, a slight little buzz around you.

Azia: And if you are wondering what happens if the drones should fail or lose communication with the computer, they use a GPS to find their way home and land by themselves.

I guess you could say, in this case, the sky is the limit.

Keith: Oh, yeah, I bet they have never heard that one before.

But anyway, we have got to fly on out of here, but we are right back here tomorrow.

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