News from 4/1/12

It's Sunday, so that means updates from my weekly WNYU segment.  

The date may be April 1st, but here's the real news from the day.  

Earlier today, thousands of protestors marched to the mainland Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong.  They protested against Beijing’s perceived interference in the territory’s recent chief executive election.  The city’s seven million people have no say in who becomes their chief executive.  Leung Chun-yin will take over for incumbent Donald Tsang on July 1st.  He was chosen by an election committee of about twelve hundred  Hong Kong notables on March 25th.  

With less than 2 months until graduation, here’s some good news for seniors.  Hiring is back in a big way.  For the past four years many students graduated to find no job with only their loans to show for their studies.  But now, many college campuses are teaming up with companies eager to hire.  A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found hiring is expected to climb 10.2%.  Even if some firms remain below the pre-recession level for new hires, companies such as General Electric, Amazon, Apple and Barclays Global are looking for new staff.  Recent college graduates are also earning more.  The NACE says the median wage for first-time job seekers is up 4.5% at $42, 569.  

Sure, grabbing a burger from McDonald’s  might keep you from having to make dinner, but did you know eating fast food may be linked to clinical depression?  Researchers in Spain say depression is 51% more likely to occur in people who regularly consume large amounts of comfort food compared to those who don’t.  Plus, high intakes of fast food causes poor health in general, so trade in that doughnut for a healthy alternative.  

In Queens, more than a thousand people called for justice in the Trayvon Martin case. Saturday morning may have been soggy and chilly, but that didn’t put a damper on the march.  Dressed in hoodies and holding bags of skittles, demonstrators repeatedly said “I am Travyon Martin.”  These words have become the mantra for the national movement against racial profiling.  The rallies purpose...well, according to State Senator Malcolm Smith, they’re hoping for George Zimmerman’s arrest.