Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. MARCH 9, 2020

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VIDEO: Western High School opened in Baltimore, Maryland on November 1, 1844. It is the oldest all-girls school in the country and is very proud of its traditions. VOA visited the unique school and talked to students and teachers.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On March 9, 1862, two of the most advanced ships of their time battle off Hampton Roads, Va., during the Civil War. The heavily armored ironclads U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia , shelled each other for four hours, but since the ships were so protected by iron, the end result was a draw. The Virginia was scuttled by Confederate forces two months later, and the Monitor sank in bad weather later the same year. Nonetheless, a new era in naval warfare had been ushered in.

Cancellations of events, from school field trips to giant international trade shows, are impacting service economies around Asia as organizers fear that bringing too many people together would allow the spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus.

The White House fence is in the process of being replaced under the direction of the U.S. Secret Service and the National Park Service. The move comes after a series of security breaches over the years, including a 2014 incident when a Texas man scaled the fence and made it into the White House before being stopped.

Relatives of victims in last year’s Ethiopian Airlines crash arrived in Addis Ababa to commemorate the anniversary of the tragedy and to get answers. An airline industry final report on what caused the Boeing 737 MAX to crash is expected this week.

VIDEO: Comparatively speaking, Americans are heavier than the rest of the world. The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency reports the obesity rate in the United States to be 36 percent. But 25-year-old Zobaida Falah is hoping that her homemade snack bar can play a small role in changing unhealthy habits.