VOA · What's Trending Today?
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed3:032019-01-28public domain
What's Trending Today? covers viral stories and social media moments in short, punchy reports. The episodes are brief and topical — perfect for a quick daily dictation session.
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01A three-year-old boy who was lost in the woods for two days is now safe at home with his family.
02But Casey Hathaway told his rescuers that he was not alone in the rainy, freezing, cold woods.
03He said he was with a friend, a bear.
04The child went missing on January 22 while playing with friends at his grandmother's house in the southern state of North Carolina.
05When the other children returned to the house and Casey did not, the family searched the area for almost an hour before calling the police.
06Police formed a search and rescue team to look for the young boy in the nearby woods.
07But two days went by and still no Casey.
08Then on January 24th, someone called the police saying they heard a child crying in the woods.
09Police followed up on the information and found Casey at about 9.30 that night.
10They pulled him out of some briar.
11He was in good health.
12Casey told the rescuers that he had hung out with a black bear for two days, a bear he called his friend.
13Sheriff Chip Hughes spoke with reporters from several news agencies.
14He said Casey did not say how he was able to survive in the woods for three days in the cold, rainy weather.
15However, the sheriff said, he did say he had a friend in the woods that was a bear that was with him.
16Hundreds of people helped in the search and rescue efforts, including some 600 volunteers, federal police, and members of the military.
17Officer Hughes told reporters that at no point did he think Casey had been kidnapped.
18Doctors at Carolina East Medical Center treated Casey for minor injuries.
19He was then released to his family on January 25th.
20His mother, Brittany Hathaway, talked with reporters from a local news agency and thanked everyone who joined the search for her son.
21We just want to tell everybody that we are very thankful that you took the time out to come search for Casey and prayed for him.
22And he's good, said his mother.
23He is good.
24He is up and talking.
25He's already asked to watch Netflix, so he's good.
26I'm Ashley Thompson.
27He's good.
28He's good.
// transcribed with Whisper AI — reading it is easy; catching it by ear is the skill
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