Slow trains in SW China upgraded to offer targeted services

STORY: Slow trains in SW China upgraded to offer targeted services DATELINE: Feb. 11, 2023 LENGTH: 0:01:04 LOCATION: CHENGDU, China CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the train 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): Student 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): WANG MINGJIAN, Train conductor STORYLINE: Railway authorities in southwest China's Sichuan Province have been revamping its slow train fleet recently, improving and diversifying the carriage environment to appeal to different customer groups. One carriage is transformed into a "school carriage" to better serve the student passengers. Reading corners and school desks have been installed to facilitate reading and studying during the journey. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): Student "This train has a carriage designed for us students so that it's easier for us to study on the train. We could read with comfort here, without crowding." A livestock carriage has been created to host farm animals. Grooves and drainage are installed on the floor to get rid of animal excretion. Addit

Biden says COVID-19 cases rising across U.S.

STORY: Biden says COVID-19 cases rising across U.S. DATELINE: Dec. 16, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:16 LOCATION: NEW YORK, U.S. CATEGORY: HEALTH SHOTLIST: 1. STANDUP (English): XIA LIN, Xinhua correspondent 2. various of screenshots of U.S. CDC website 3. various of the street view in New York City STORYLINE: STANDUP (English): XIA LIN, Xinhua correspondent "U.S. President Joe Biden said on Dec. 15 that COVID-19 cases 'are rising' across the country. The remarks, which Biden posted on Twitter, came as American families are getting together for the holidays. The White House is resuming a program to send COVID-19 testing kits to households requesting them ahead of a potential winter surge. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the seven-day average of weekly new COVID-19 cases reached more than 65,000 last week, an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to the previous week. More than 99 million COVID-19 cases and 1.08 million deaths had been reported nationwide as of Dec. 7. In addit