Amanda Knox conviction overturned - Noe Perales

a tearful amanda knox said she is glad to have her life back after an 8 year legal drama with US, Britain and Italy.

Amanda Knox was being prosecuted after the naked body of British student Meredith Kercher,21, was found in the apartment they two women shared with her throat cut.  Knox's boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was convicted as well.  He was cleared along Amanda on friday night.


Amanda was supposed to be sentenced to 28.5 years in prison, but as of friday seeks a normal life.

Prosecutors in the university town of Perugia said Knox directed Sollecito and another man, Rudy Guede, to hold Kercher down as Knox played with a knife before slashing her throat.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/europe/amanda-knox/index.html

GPS Leads to Death By: Nina Bharadwaj, 2nd

   After Iftikhar Hussain, 64, drove his SUV off of a bridge, he was forced to witness his wife's painful death. The couple's car was launched 37 ft downwards, landed on BP owned property (Chicago), and caught fire. Iftikhar was fortunately able to escape the SUV; however, his wife was not and, thus, burned to death. The pair was thought to be driving to visit family, as there was food in car. 

   Currently, this hazardous road is blocked off to ensure that no other car experiences the trauma that the Hussains' did. This is not the only time death has occurred at the bridge. In 1982, during construction, the bridge collapsed and killed 14 workers. In 2009, the bridge was shut down because extreme usage (from large trucks) caused it to deteriorate. Some wanted to rebuild the bridge, but it was decided that this project would be too expensive. However, after this incident, the bridge will be replaced this spring.

This is rather terrifying, and it is shocking to know that a state was willing to sacrifice the safety of its citizens just to save money. The people's safety should always be a priority. In history, when new technology arose, it wasn't all immediately safe and ready for use. However, many adjustments were made to ensure that people would be safe when using these innovative products. Also, the amount of car crashes that take place annually is extreme. I'm sure when Henry Ford created the Ford Model T, he never expected automobiles to become so dangerous. In general, individuals need to take more caution when driving.

Source- http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/30/woman-burned-alive-in-crash-after-driver-apparently-follows-gps-directions-off/?intcmp=trending

Does America have money saved? Margaret Canady, 2nd period

  According to two new surveys released this week, about a third of all American adults don't have any emergency savings, meaning at least 72 million people have little to no savings to rely or fall back on. 

  The surveys were released by Neighborworks America, a national nonprofit that supports communities. CEO and President of Neighborworks America Paul Weech stated, "We're concerned because our survey shows that many people are still digging themselves out of the hole that they found themselves in during the Great Recession.''

  Ideally, Americans should be putting aside 15% of their gross income for emergencies, retirement, and other goals. However, the survey shows that Americans are only putting away 5% (if any) of their income for savings.

  There is apparently a variety of reasons for this lack of savings, including a cultural tendency to spend rather than save, and stagnant incomes for working Americans.

  It is rather shocking that so many Americans are not preparing for the future, in case of unemployment or any other financial emergency. I assume that the 72 million people who are not putting any money away in savings cannot, in fact, afford to put the money away. So how do we solve that situation? Do we let the government step in and provide assistance to those in need, such as with FDR's New Deal, or LBJ's Great Society? How do we provide an efficient salary that allows families to make enough to plan and prepare for the future? It seems like there are recurring themes throughout history as the economy/government shift and change.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/03/31/millions-of-americans-have-no-money-saved/70680904/

Sobs in Court - Kalena Rodriguez p5

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/30/us/tsarnaev-boston-marathon-bombing-prosecution-ending/index.html
An 8-year-old boy in Boston was known as the young one telling people to "stop hurting one another" and is now known as the boy that was literally blown apart by a handmade bomb. This happened while he was watching the 2013 Marathon with his parents. multiple bombs set off by Tsarnaev's and Tsarnaev's brother ripped right through multiple civilians flesh and left others dead. 
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a gun battle a couple days after the bombings by police. bodies riddled in injuries and one specific victim stood out; the very kind and genuine eight year old buy. as this horrific event has made its smaller cases to court, the jurors are left in tears when the subject of this legendary boy comes to be the subject. this shows how catastrophic these events can be and how they most commonly hurt the most innocent in the crowd. such a loss touches a base with all the citizens of our nation. 

The Nation's Largest Death Row, Runs Out Of Room/ Madeline Boreham/ 4th period

In the past decade no one on death row has been out to death in California, this leaves more than 750 prisoners waiting.  They are now starting to have to scatter death row prisoners throughout other jails in California.  It all started in a court case where California's lethal injection system was invalidated. The governor is making plans to expand the prison give the prisoners on death row a nicer facility and more staff. One of the main issues is bed shortages, but the governor's plan will not take action until July.
 We come to a moral line here of choosing weather to let these prisoners last few years on earth be miserable or manageable. I do not think that the death sentence solves anything, but if we are going to have it it is nice to know that we are not  sitting by and letting them go without beds despite what they might have done. It displays humanity in the governor by still taking care of the prisoners rights and needs after all of the things they have done to wind up on death row. These people have also waited a decade knowing that they are on death row, that in itself is torture and not fair to the prisoners.  I am not saying that these people should be let off the hook for the things they have done. I am just saying that it is nice to know that the state of California will still want to give people their basic necessities.  Something does need to be done soon to help alleviate the overflow, and I think that the governor's plan is a step in the right direction.



This article was written by Eyder Peralta for NPR to read the full article click the link below.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/30/396409848/in-california-the-nations-largest-death-row-runs-out-of-room

woman can't vote in philadelphia-raliegh jones

 A 93-year-old African-American woman from Philadelphia named Viviette Applewhite, for sosme reason could not vote. The law in Pennsylvania requires that citizens present a "state-issued" photo ID card before voting, which, in Applewhite's case, required that she first produce a birth certificate. With the help of a attorney, pro bono, she was finally able to get another copy of her birth certificate but on it, her birth name is Brook. But her other forms of identification have her named as Applewhite, the name she got after adoption. Her 1950s adoption papers are lost in an office in Mississippi, and the state is not able to obtain them. So therefore she isn’t able to vote. 

It's really interesting to see something like this happen because now days, people don't care to vote and they don't want too. They don't realize that people had to go through a lot in order to get those rights. People had to deal with beatings, innocent people being treated so badly, segregation through out the land in the 1960's and thankfully the civil rights movement being lead by MLK. But all this happened because of the issue of voting. I'm proud to see a women still giving a care about voting, especially since she had to go through the whole civil rights movement.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/06/opinion/hair-dianis-voting-rights/

Sexual assault finally investigated- Hannah Clifford 5th Period

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/03/26/pkg-sexual-assault-sleeping-subway-passenger.wpix

Two years ago, a college student in New York was sexually assaulted while sleeping on a subway. A video was put online, showing the actions on the bus. Only now has a suspect been looked at. According to his lawyer, there was a tip that he could be the one in the video, and they are trying to figure out what he was doing on that day two years ago. He has been arrested in the meantime, and his fate has yet to be decided.

This video was posted on CNN to give an update on this woman's struggle for justice. This is a disgusting crime. I don't know what was running through this guy's head, but the outcome was awful. The fact that this woman had to wait two years before a suspect was uncovered is ridiculous. It shows that our justice system is not taking this matter seriously. Sexual assault should never be taken lightly, and this girl's case should have been inspected immediately after the crime took place. Also, the choice to use online media to post this video publicly is similarly disgusting. Instead of sending the footage to the police, it was put on the Internet, where everyone could see the scarring event that will stay with this woman forever. Often, we will read messed up stories, real or not, because we enjoy seeing just how bad a situation can get and how a person deals with it. The media helps people to indulge in this sick pleasure by the way it publicizes each and every gory detail that left a permanent mark on the victim. This is what we've come to.

Death at NSA Gate- Kennedi Mayes

In Forte Meade, Maryland, one person is dead and two others are hospitalized as information about an unarmed vehicle trying to enter a National security gate. The driver of the car did not obey police officer instructions and the car was stopped by NSA agents. The person driving the vehicle drove the car towards a police car, which caused officers to start shooting. Attempting to breach the security was two men dressed as females. The investigation is still going; however, there was Cocaine found inside.

This is worrysome. How many people can we trust? I don't understand why someone would try to grt into national security this way.

http://www.cnn.com//2015/03/30/us/fort-meade-nsa-incident/index.html

U.S. voting rights under siege- Ausia Jones

         A 93-year-old African-American woman named Viviette Applewhite, from Philadelphia, suddenly cannot vote. The Pennsylvania law requires that citizens present a state-issued photo ID card before voting, which, in Applewhite's case, required that she first produce a birth certificate. With the help of a pro bono attorney, she was finally able to obtain her birth certificate but on it, she is identified by her birth name Brooks, while her other forms of identification have her as Applewhite, the name she took after adoption. Her 1950s adoption papers are lost in an office in Mississippi, and the state is unable to track them down so she isn’t able to vote. She protested with Martin Luther King Jr. for this law and now she has lost it. This woman has seen the U.S change tremendously over the years.

Site:http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/06/opinion/hair-dianis-voting-rights/

Amanda Knox -Hadassah Lai

A case that happened over five years ago suddenly came back. Amanda Knox was accused of murdering her roommate in their apartment and was given a lengthy sentence in a Italian jail. Her Italian boyfriend has also been convicted with her. Four years after her first sentence, she was set free after being re-examined by the court. Then two years after that, she was put back in jail with a 28 year sentence. On Friday, the Italian High Court put this nightmare to an end, and set both of them free. She returned home to the United States. However, when the case was first started, Knox had accused another of the murder. The man then filed a lawsuit against her in which he won, and Knox now owes that man $54,000.

This case has been so long, that people forgot about it until last Friday. I think that if the court does not have enough evidence against something, they should just put the case on hold. The comparison between these two countries is that America would've held this one out much longer and not give a sentence, but Italy would and would continue to bring this case up again and again.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/europe/amanda-knox/index.html

Hats Off to Volvo (Elizabeth Muscari p6th)

http://www.newser.com/story/204681/volvo-invents-life-saving-invisible-paint-for-bikers.html

Volvo has extended its hands towards transporters other than drivers: bikers. The company has invented an invisible paint almost, which will make bikers more visible at night to drivers. The paint will reflect off of cars which will alert drivers to become more cautious to nighttime bike riders.

Analysis: I think this relates to APUSH because it’s inventions such as this, or even inventions like duct tape, Velcro, and kitty litter (all which were invented during World War II) that have made our lives easier, safer, and more efficient. I think that this invention in particular is also going to raise awareness in bike safety. Drivers shouldn’t be angered by bike riders, but actually more cautious and treat them as other cars on the roads. Nighttime is a dangerous time for bikers and now that this paint has made its way into the world, I feel that it will pave the way for more inventions to promote bike safety. 

Germanwings Crash: More Than An Act of Terrorism- Mackenzie McGregor 6th period

Everyone has heard about the recent plane crash in the Alps that led to 150 people dead. Most of those that heard about the crash saw the crash as an act of terrorism by Andreas Lubitz, but there are those that decide to look beyond the basic information given concerning the tragic crash. The select few that refuse to look at the crash as a terroristic act instead see it as a suicide that sadly took 149 innocent lives. Many refuse to accept the possible reasoning for the crash to be simply suicide. Although this is understandable as the crash took too many lives, the idea of the reasoning being suicide could make sense. Often those that commit the most horrendous crimes are the ones that go through a time of weakness or even mental insanity to which they find the only answer is death. The way they respond to the idea is by taking out much of there contained anger and insanity on innocent civilians that have nothing to do with what is going on in the attacker's life. Once the attacker feels as though enough blood has been shed, they turn the weapon on themselves. This in no way justifies the actions of Lubitz, but it rather identifies a problem that society fails to respond effectively to. It is too often that in a small town or large city we hear about the loss of several lives to suicide solely because they did not feel important or cared for. Yes, we have the stereotypical suicide hotline. But, does that truly make the difference for the men or women contemplating taking others' lives along with their own? Society must make an effort to prevent more cases such as this where even though neither side can agree on a reasonable label, we can prevent tragedies such as this from repeating itself in history by simply taking the time to fund more research and assistance for those contemplating suicide.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/30/opinions/schmitz-suicide-germanwings/index.html

Connecticut Bans State Funded Travel to Indiana - Hannah Kalan 6th Period

After Indiana governor Mike Pence signed a law allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBT people on the grounds of 'religious freedom', Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy signed legislation that prohibited state funded travel to Indiana and other states that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Malloy was one of many that have spoken out against laws of that manner, others including Tim Cook of Apple and Max Levchin, the co-founder of PayPal. They argued that not only did the legislation hurt Indiana's reputation, but that it was a human decency issue, and would also hurt the economy.

This could be taken as a step back from legislation made in the sixties and seventies, when a lot of rights' movements were taking place, however at the same time it shows just how far we've come as a nation, when people such as Mike Pence or Tim Cook fight back.


Click HERE to read the original article!

New Fire Extinguisher? - Iris Hughey p.5

George Mason University engineer students Viet Tran and Seth Robertson (in Virginia) have recently developed a completely new fire extinguisher that uses sound waves to get rid of fire. Tran and Robertson decided to come up with this idea as a project for their senior final exam based off of esperiments that have been done by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on blasting out fire with sound. While DARPA had already developed the technology Tran and Robertson used in their project, they had not yet figured out a way to make a handheld device to be used on small house fires and possibly even larger-scale fires. Now, their university is helping them both apply for a provisional patent.

I believe that it's stories like this one that inspire children especially to strive to be innovative and creative. Viet and Seth were just two normal college students trying to find a project for their final exam, and now they have invented something that could save thousands of lives and prevent further damage that water or normal fire extinguisher fluids could cause. I hope that their idea goes far and that they inspire others to try to make the world a better place by thinking outside of the box.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/us/sound-fire-extinguisher/index.html

Is The Pilot of Germanwings To Blame? By Yasmine B (5th pd)

     There has been much debate over whether the pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed over the French Alps, Andreas Lubitz, is responsible or not for the 150 lives lost. A lot of his psychiatric medical history is resurfacing after the years, showing that he was in a long period of depression with suicidal tendencies. It appears that Lubitz may have also had problems with his eyes. According to Tagesspiegel Daily, there were reports of him having a detached retina which would obviously hinder his eyesight. Either way, many people are arguing that he should not have been in that plane at all due to his mental and physical impairments.

Link to article:
http://rt.com/news/245265-germanwings-pilot-suicidal-treat/

Trouble in Paradise - Elisa Weich - p. 5

In June of 2014 the volcano Kilauea erupted sending out lava that has crept towards the town of Pahoa for 10 months. At first, residents were not sure if the lava would reach their town or not, so they closed up shop, the grocery store, the mall, and all restaurants, and evacuated. However, with the lava slowed and the grocery store back open, people are becoming more hopeful about the situation and the national guard has ceased its residency in the town. Hundreds of abandoned pets are being reclaimed as people move back into their homes and children are returning to school. The lava still trudges along, though, so the real concern of the highway has some people turning to self sufficiency in anticipation. The people there are simply having to go with the flow.

Situations like these show the need of the American people for aid from the government. It is good that protocols have been set in place for protection and organization that was given by the national guard. The federal government is a necessary component in security.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/as-volcano-erupts-around-them-hawaiians-pledge-to-gamely-go-with-the-flow.html?referrer=

Video Games (Ashton Garcia, 2nd)

It is unclear whether or not video games actually do cause violence in kids/teens/young adults. However, 16 schools have banned parents to allow their children to play Grand Theft Auto and some other "violent" video games. Instead of politely asking and (of course, you can't force a parent to stop their kid from playing a game) suggesting, the schools threatened and even said they would call the police of any child continued to play.

See the thing is, is that it is still unclear that video games even effect a child, teen, or young adult. I would completely understand if it was suggested to not allow your child to play, or let them play in small doses due to common and recent school violence (one of my previous blogs, Columbine, etc.), but threatening and forcing only causes a situation to get worse, and most likely, people won't listen

"Indiana lawmakers engaging (yet again!) in petty anti-gay rights struggle" by Sam Schaffer

Leading officials of the state of Indiana have chosen, yet again, to spend their political capital on the (oh-so-important) struggle to inhibit gay rights in business. In a remarkably predictable turn of events, the conservative members of the Indiana GOP have made the (predictable) decision to devote their time and efforts to a (predictably) petty and insignificant issue that has no place in American democracy- or in a democracy of any kind. The issue, which is of the utmost importance to members of the GOP, further illustrates the Republican trends of fundamentalism, socially regressive policy, and not-so-subtle bigotry; and more significantly, it is symptomatic of the relentless elephantine drive to pursue issues that are completely and utterly insignificant to the national and international stage. 

Fire in Brookline Kills 7 Children by Megan Darlington

     Early in the morning right after midnight, a neighbor hear a scream of "mommy help me!" He looked out his window and saw a house burning. Inside this house lived a family with eight children and a mother at home that night. As the house was going in flames, the mother and a 14 year old daughter jumped out of the second floor window down to the ground, however, the other 7 children did not make it out of the house. A fire squandering arrived and said one child was dead on sight, but the other 6 were taken to the hospital for treatment, but did not make it. This family was observing sabbath and had the hot plate on which over heat and caused the deadly house fire.
     This event is heart wrenching. To have 7 children die is so tragic. The father was out of town and still hadn't received the news. With the family observing their Jewish tradition, not having basic electronics really was an awful thing. This would relate to earlier times before modern electronics that we have now. If they had a smoke alarm, maybe this could have been prevented. I have this family in my prayers for a good emotional recovery.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/21/us/brooklyn-fire-children-killed/index.html

Woman's Murder Case Tossed- Jazmin Garcia (2nd Period)

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/24/justice/arizona-debra-milke-death-sentence/?iid=ob_article_organicsidebar_expansion&iref=obnetwork

Debra Milke spent 22 years on death row, accused of killing her son with two other men for an insurance payout. A judge ruled that the Arizona woman is innocent and dismissed all charges against her, making her the 2nd woman to get away with death row. The detective said Milke confessed the crime to him, even if there weren't any witnesses or recording. The two men with whom helped Milke with the crime were also accused. They're being tried separately and are still on death row.

This relates to APUSH because throughout history, there have been many cases that have meant different things. Brown v Board of Education had to do with an African American woman being able to go to school, there have been cases about abortion and if it violated your rights like Roe v Wade. This case has been going on for a while until recently and to this day, Debra Milke is officially a free woman. I don't know if she actually killed her son or not, but this just goes to show that the court can have the final say and can also change your life for the better, or sometimes even for the worse.

Fort Meade Incident: 1 Dead as Men Dressed as Women Spark NSA Shooting - Jack VanGorden 4th per.

Early this morning. two men dressed as women tried to force their way through NSA gates using a stolen Ford Escape at Fort Meade. After the men ignored an officer's order to leave, they opened fire, killing one of the men. The other is in the hospital but there have been no reports regarding his injuries. According to reports, the suspects accelerated and slammed into an NSA Police vehicle that was blocking their path. Fortunately, only one NSA officer was injured. While it is unclear on why the men were trying to enter the facility, police do know that the vehicle was taken from Route 1 in Jessup, Maryland.

This article was written by Richard Esposito and Tracy Connor of NBC News on Mon March 30, 2015 at 9:46 AM. This story left me with several unanswered questions. I'm hoping that the suspect that is still alive will be able to tell them their motive. Something tells me that there wasn't one and that it was probably a result of mental illness. The outfits would explain this. At least we know now that NSA headquarters are heavily protected.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/men-disguised-women-stolen-car-spark-nsa-shooting-n332576

Hilary Clinton and Reporters Sharon Cordon 4th period

Hilary Clinton has launched a campaign towards sexist journalist. who have been making awful remarks towards Hilary Clinton's 2016 campaign. There has been a group of HRC Super Volunteers who have joined this campaign against all these reporters. a member of the group,  John West has contacted a journalist who has been using coded sexism in his entries toward Clinton. In his entry he added "She would do anything to win" 

"Already we have seen the coded language of sexism and innuendo used by major news outlets and we are not happy," John West wrote in an email towards the journalist. 

here is some of the insulting and sexist remarks towards Hilary Clinton. 

The New York Times stated Hillary continued to “scramble in the dirt on the crabbed limbs of legal compliance.” 
Washington Post comparing Hillary to a “stale, musty” old car.
The New Yorker prefers the derogatory term “petulant.”
USA Today refers to Hillary Clinton’s “reputation for secrecy.”
Washington Post: “[H]er judgment and penchant for secrecy.”
NBC News: “Folks, this is the Clinton Way. Secretive.”
TIME: “penchant for secrecy.”
New York Times: “[T]he imbroglio could grow into a problem with voters, including some women, if Mrs. Clinton comes to be seen as unduly secretive or imperious in the months ahead.”
Politico uses the same technique, opening an article by calling her “devious” then concluding it by asserting that “it’s hard to win if you’re constantly on the defensive.” See the trap? Attack her, then claim she’s on the defensive.
Similarly, the “inevitability” frame is an artificial perch that others place her on and then try to knock her off. When her behavior doesn’t conform to the media’s expectations, she is “defiant.”

i think this is very insulting, specially toward someone who is very successful and has accomplished so much. and trying to change more and more in a good way.

What Is The Source of Racism? by Madeline Ibarra Period 2

The Oklahoma University Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter which was recently disbanded because of inappropriate racism recently made a remark that tried to take the blame off of the University. Members of the SAE chapter said that the chant may have been taught at a national leadership conference 4 years ago. The University's president says that the chant was in no way affiliated with the type of education students get on campus. Leaders of SAE met in the president's office with the African American Association's leaders to give a formal apology face to face, which was accepted. There is no way to track if the chant had found its way into the 200+ SAE chapters across the nation, so the statement could be invalid.

Its respectable that these fraternity boys come out and voice their apology, but the reasoning they are giving for using the chant seem to try to turn the attention away from them. We do not have any way to prove if what they are telling public is true or not. I think that there should be a larger investigation over racism in Greek Life across the country in various chapters. Now a days, corruption and hypocrisy live withing fraternities and sororities across the country. There is a special mindset those students get that gives them a light of privilege and belonging. Just because you are apart of one community does not mean that you can neglect another community.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/us/oklahoma-sae-fraternity-racist-chant/index.html

Woman unable to vote By: ruby aguilar

A 93 years old African American woman from Philadelphia, is unable to vote because she cannot present a Pennsylvania photo ID. A Pennsylvania law requires that she presents that state photo ID card before voting, but she first needs to present a birth certificate. After finally getting her birth certificate, there was one more problem; on her birth certificate her name was Brooks, her name before the adoption. Her adoption papers also got lost in the office in Mississippi, and the state cannot track them down. So even though she marched with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. for the right to vote, now she is unable to present the photo ID needed to vote.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/06/opinion/hair-dianis-voting-rights/

Hillary Clinton aides reportedly emailed her from personal accounts

             "Hillary Rodham Clinton wiped her email server clean, permanently deleting all emails from it, the republican chairman of a house committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks said Friday." "Rep. T Gowdy, R-S.C., said the former Secretary of State has failed to produce a single new document in recent weeks and has refused to relinquish her server to a third party for an independent review, as Gowdy has requested." Kendall has said that it would be pointless for Hillary to turn in her own server because no emails are left on the server. In a statement by a spokesman Clinton said, "would like her emails made public as soon as possible and... She's ready and willing to come and appear herself for a hearing open to the American public."
            I believe she put herself in a very sticky situation. She for one let her business emails be sent to her personal email account, and second she deleted the emails permanently, implying to the public she has something to hide. This is also very bad publicity especially since there are rumors she wants to run for president. This related back to previous scandals in American history. Past officials have covered up there actions to prevent the real issue.

http://time.com/3762285/hillary-clinton-permanently-deleted-her-emails/
Maddie Murphy pd 6

Military planning to spend billions on new Air Force one

               "According to CBS News, the current Air Force one fleet is getting old, and the U.S military says it's time for a new generation to carry future commanders in chief."  Because it is growing out of date, the pentagon is contemplating on spending billions of dollars on three new Boeing 747s to use as Air Force one.  (The aircraft that transports the president of the United states). According to Air Force col. Amy McCain, "it's actually cheaper in the long run to replace it." The military has requested congress of a budget of $102 million just for this year to purchase the planes, with the numbers reaching more than $3 billion in the next five years. "Questions linger as to whether taxpayers can afford to buy a new presidential plane."
              This is basically a decision based on money or safety. Do we keep spending money and going into further debt, or do we update our protection so we won't have to deal with future problems. This relates back to american history when our government has to decide the balance on money and where it should go. In this case it is going to improve military equipment. Just like in the Cold War, there was a massive increase in the building of military weapons and equipment for Americas safety.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/29/military-planning-to-spend-billions-on-new-air-force-one
Maddie Murphy pd 6

Library of Congress acquires rare trove of Civil War images

        A housewife living in Houston, Texas has been collecting rare civil war pictures for half a century. She has sold more than 500 images to the library of congress. Of the images, some of the scenes offer a portal into the slave life from the south, created by the confederate people. Other pictures show us the beggining of the war in south Carolina, while others show president Abraham lincoln's funeral. Stanford says, "the images are like ghosts from the past that reflect part of American history.
       This is very interesting and awesome that this lady is offering precious pictures from our countries past to the library of congress. This lets us understand a little bit more of Americas history and what people actually went through. Although photographs have not been around forever, people would keep possessions that tell of past events to commemorate what the country and the people went through.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/29/library-congress-acquires-rare-trove-civil-war-images-many-by-confederate/?intcmp=latestnews
Maddie Murphy pd 6

Is a Stoner College Student the Mastermind Behind the Boston Marathon Bombing? - by Rachel Devine (6th)

        For the past few months, the government has been building a pretty compelling case against 19-year-old college student Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, otherwise known as Jahar to his friends. Jahar had moved to America from Russia when he was 8 and grew up as a popular kid who was captain of the wrestling team. However,  when his parents divorced and moved back to Dagestan, everything went astray. Jahar started failing most of his college classes and started searching for a way out of his "misery": martyrdom. Texts where found between Jahar and his buddy talking about how they were going to reach the highest level of Jannah, or paradise. Sites about "How to Build a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom"  and books about how to "Join the al Qaeda Caravan" were found in Jahar's house. Officials believe that Jahar's brother, Tamerlan, might have been the ring leader and heavily influenced Jahar into going through with the bombing. He was found the day before the marathan buying two backpacks from Target and they were both found running from the marathan moments before the bomb went off. Although Tamerlan was killed, Jahar will go to trial.

       I found this article to be very interesting. To be completely honest, it caught my eye because there was a picture of a goodlooking guy, which turned out to be Jahar. It is very strange that such a normal guy could be capable of such evil. The government needs to find a way to shut down the sites that al Qaeda puts up for recruitments. The recruitment process can be compared to that of the modern-KKK. The lives that were lost at the Boston Marathon will never be forgotten, and justice needs to be served.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/us/tsarnaev-13th-juror-jahar-radicalization/index.html

German newspaper releases timeline of Germanwings flight before crash: Vivie Behrens (Period 6, Week 6)

     Last week, Germanwings flight 9525 crashed into the French Alps with no apparent physical or internal cause. However, after the recent discovery of a recording taken just before the crash, it was revealed that copilot, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally crashed the plane. The recording showed that the pilot left the cockpit to use the restroom, and the copilot took over. Then, Lubitz changed the autopilot settings from 38,000 ft to 100 ft causing the plane to descend over the Alps. The recording revealed that the pilot, locked out of the cockpit, was banging on the door, and screaming to be let in, while passengers were screaming in the background before the plane finally crashed into the French Alps. This horrific incident led to 150 deaths, including 2 infants, 16 students on an exchange trip, as well as staff and many other families; there were no survivors. Investigations are being conducted in order to find out Lubitz' motives as well as if he had any terrorist or religious affiliations.
     This is one completely horrifying tragedy and it is causing international outrage and insecurity. Similarly, the 9-11 crash in New York City of the World Trade Center yielded like responses from the public: refrain from using air travel, increased security, etc. Although this crash was not the act of terrorism, it still shows how a leader (copilot Lubitz) betrayed the trust of his passengers and took advantage of his authority.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/29/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/index.html

Dog Walks Again By: Zaria Chambers 5th period

A Rottweiler named Brutus is now walking again thanks to his new prosthetic legs. He is the second dog to be able to walk with his new legs. It took much training for Brutus to get to this point. Brutus suffered from a serious case of frostbite causing his paws to become seriously damaged. His feet later had to be amputated by his trainer. Brutus will continue to undergo physical therapy to improve his walking. 

This is s beautiful story. It's sad that the dogs feet had to be amputated but with the help of technology he can still walk. This can relate to history because it just shows how far technology has come. 

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/29/us/quadruple-amputee-dog-walks/index.html

NASA Announces how close they are to Discovering Alien Life- Lossie Hudspeth

In the 1960's, Kennedy would create the largest space organization we've come to know. NASA, originally formed for the sole purpose of putting a man on the moon in order to win the Space Race, has accomplished that and so much more. As NASA's technology advances, so do we. Because we are now even closer to learning whats really out there in space, and what we have only made real in movies is about to become reality. The Hubble Space Telescope will be the key to opening the door for extraterrestrial beings. Now although we think of aliens as more "E.T" like humanoids, what NASA says they hope to find verge on the appearance of microscopic organisms. It's strange to think that all of this started because of a Russian satellite orbiting in space before an American space craft.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/feat-nasa-scientist-alien-life/index.html

"Can China Promise Blue Skies for 2022 Winter Olympics?" - Addison Norman

China has asked to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, but the games are reluctant because of China's air quality. It isn't hard to see that Chinese cities struggle with air pollution. Due to the high population and coal power plant the pollution as a whole continues to grow in cities. The Olympics games still haven't decided who will host the games, but there are a number of other counties still in the race. The Chinese made some progress cleaning the environment before the 2008 olympics. The country reduced the amount of cars that could run and closed some coal factories in 20018, but considering that the Winter Olympics are in February it doesn't seem likely that the plants will close. Now China claims it will be replacing coal power plant with gas plants that emit less pollutants.
Starting in the 60's we see a movement begin regarding the nations environment. It was a time people became more aware of the problems pollution created, especially after the industrial revolution. In this movement president Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency and other laws like the Clean Air Act.

Source: http://time.com/3761441/china-skies-2022-winter-olympics/

Craigslist Case: Baby Cut From Womb - Corsica Steding

On March 18th, Michelle Wilkins responded to a Craigslist add for baby clothes.  Upon arriving at the seller's house, she was attacked and beaten.  The attacker cut her stomach and removed the fetus.  The motives are not clear, but the baby did not survive.  After Wilkins was attacked, she managed to lock herself in a room and call 911.  Police say that when they arrived at the scene, "she was covered in blood" and that "she did not know she was no longer with her child."  The strength she had during this horrific event is the primary reason she was able to survive it according to police.  The victim's family has started a GoFundMe page in order to pay for her care.  They have raised more than $73,000 so far.  The alleged attacker, Dynel Lane, will not face murder charges according to prosecutor Stanley Garnett since Colorado state law does not recognize a fetus as a person.  She is currently being held on a $2 million bond.

Emma Lacey-Bordeaux and AnneClaire Stapleton wrote this article for CNN on March 27th.  I've never heard of anything like this happening before - it's incredibly horrific.  It astounds me that they haven't discovered the motive yet.  That seems to be the key question in this case - why would someone want to cut a stranger's fetus out of its womb?  I hope that Wilkins recovers from this terrible event and that the attacker is punished for committing such an unfathomable act.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/us/colorado-pregnant-woman-attack/index.html

White House set to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions- Lossie Hudspeth

Energy has been an issue in America, whether it be conserving it or cultivating it, it has made itself prominent in our economy and culture. Since the Carter years the idea of conservation of energy has been a frequently sought after goal to accomplish. The only difference between now and the Carter years is that now Americans are having to live through the toll that those non-conservationists left us with. However Obama is seeking to change that; a bill to reduce 28% of greenhouse gas emissions seems to be the answer. These new regulations will apply to "buildings and appliances, and programs to phase down climate pollutants known as HFCs." 

 Hopefully this bill will pass and Americans will be more aware of their energy output.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/31/politics/white-house-greenhouse-gas-curbing/index.html

The Athiests Next Door - 3rd Period

The Shaughnessy family lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina and they have been Catholic for several years and it is time to put up the Christmas decorations. The family were true Catholics; going to church every Sunday and following all the regulations of the religion. Yet one day, someone questioned their religion which made the father of the family question what they have been doing and try something new. The became Athiests and no longer follow the faith of any God although they still celebrate Christmas but consider it a time of family fun. 

This Athiest act that is happening now traces back all the way to the Civil Rights Movement and for American life in 1940s-1960s. In the Soviet Union, they believed in communism where no one had a religion and everyone was equal. In America however, they wanted everyone to be individuals and unique so they encouraged a religion and the freedom to believe in anything that desired. As of today, they are more and more people who are becoming Athiests which contribute to the idea of freedom of religion and how it has evolved over time. 

Olivia Lambert 3rd Period
Link: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/03/living/friendly-atheists-next-door/

Once In Our Lifetime Solar Eclipse at the North Pole - Sophia Davison

   On March 20th, the first day of Spring, the North Pole experienced an extremely unique solar eclipse that darkened the first day of expected sunshine after six months of darkness. This phenomenon is predicted to occur every 400,000-500,000 years, and eclipse-enthusiasts from all around the world have travelled, boarded eclipse-following planes, and occupied the Northern regions near Scandinavia in order to see the full extent of the event. 

   "Solar eclipses usually happen a few times a year when the new moon passes directly between the Earth and Sun, completely blocking the Sun from view for several minutes of totality. Because the moon’s shadow on Earth is rather narrow – about 125 miles wide – only those living within that strip will see a total eclipse. Far more people will witness a partial eclipse, which will be visible across thousands of miles."

    But because of the unique nature of this particular eclipse, being not only on the first day of spring, but also ending exactly at sunset in the North Pole, this has brought incredible masses  to see the phenomenon to the Northern region covering the Danish Faroe Islands and the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard. As many astronomers are, I am incredibly interested by the nature of this event. These kinds of occurrences truly are incredible and allow for some real appreciation of our mysterious and ceaselessly shifting planet. 

http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2015/03/19/unique-eclipse-to-darken-north-poles-first-day-of-sunshine/

FBI continues investigation into hanging death - Madison Escano

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fbi-continues-investigation-into-mississippi-hanging-death/ar-BBiCpqD

While investigating the hanging death of Otis Byrd, 54, the FBI is consulting with its behavioral analysis unit to determine whether or not this hanging was the result of a homicide or suicide. Officials have revealed that over 30 federal, state, and local authorities are on the case. Byrd had been missing for two weeks before he was found hanging in a tree outside of Port Gibson, Mississippi. 

This is such a tragedy whether it was by Byrd's own decision or he was brutally murdered. In reference to the latter, if it was in fact a lynching, it's disturbing that we haven't moved past attitudes and actions that are so hateful. Activists from even before the Civil Rights Movement were fighting to outlaw lynchings; therefore, why should this be an issue today? If this was a hate crime, I hope Byrd and his loved ones get the justice he deserves. 

Brooklyn Fire kills 7 Children by: Milan Hamilton

       Seven children in what neighbors described as an Orthodox Jewish family were killed early Saturday in a Brooklyn house fire that was apparently sparked by a hot plate meant to keep food warm over the Sabbath, New York's fire commissioner said. The four boys and three girls -- siblings ranging in age from 5 to 16 -- were in upstairs bedrooms when the unattended hot plate apparently malfunctioned in the kitchen, starting a fire that swept up from the first floor shortly after midnight in Brooklyn's south-central Midwood section, New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. The fire's only survivors: The victims' 45-year-old mother, Gayle Sassoon, and her 14-year-old daughter. Both jumped from second-floor widows to escape and were being treated for burns and smoke inhalation, police said. The mother was in critical condition; the status of her daughter wasn't known. The fire raced from the kitchen up a staircase and toward the bedrooms. Someone called 911 shortly after 12:20 a.m., and the firefighters arrived less than four minutes later, but the blaze was well advanced, Nigro said. Firefighters broke down the front door and knocked the flames down to the point where they could go upstairs, "but it was too late," Nigro said. "It's difficult to find one child in a room during a search. To find a house full of children that can't be revived, I'm sure this will take its toll on our members for quite some time," Nigro said. One girl was pronounced dead at the scene; the other six were sent to hospitals but died, police said.

I think this is so sad. What ultimately broke my heart was the many children that were in the house during this terrible time. My thoughts are with the mother and the daughter that are still living  and I just pray that they find peace. This could easily be an example of how the progression of technology can be damaging. While they make our lives so much more efficient, they also have armful effects and can be very dangerous.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/21/us/brooklyn-fire-children-killed/index.html

The "New" Obama- Kennedi Mayes

Ted Cruz, of Texas, has just confirmed that he was running for president. Cruz is a fresh politician and is bein compared to Obama because he is a new Senator and has two young daughters. Also, he is about the same age as Obama when he ran his first campaign. Cruz, a Republican, is looking to "reclaim the Constitution."  Cruz is looking to ignite a spark in the evangelicals and bring them back to voting. Like Obama, he is also a great speaker.

This seems kind of a stretch to be comparing Cruz to Obama. They don't have the same goals or opinions. They're not even the same party. I can see how a few things relate, mainly the fact that they are both fresh Senators who ran for office. Besides that, I don't see any similarities.

http://www.cnn.com//2015/03/23/politics/ted-cruz-barack-obama/index.html

Fire Kills Seven Children; Margaret Canady 2nd Period

Seven children of an Orthodox Jewish family were killed early Saturday morning in a Brooklyn house fire. The siblings ranging in age from 5 to 16 were in the upstairs bedrooms when the fire started, trapping the family on the second floor. The fire was apparently sparked by a hot plate meant to keep food warm over the Sabbath.
A neighbor called 911 at 12:20 AM, and firefighters arrived on the scene less than 4 minutes later, but the fire had well advanced at that point. Over 100 firefighters went to the house that night to try and control the fire.
The only survivors were the 45 year old mother and her 14 year old daughter, both who were able to jump out of the window to escape the flames.

This is such a tragic event...it's so hard to cope with the loss of small children, especially in freak accidents such as this. Perhaps having a smoke detector in the kitchen would have prevented this from happening. Whatever the case, my thoughts go out to the family in their time of loss.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/21/us/brooklyn-fire-children-killed/index.html

Mother's love was not enough By Madeline Ibarra

 A horrid scene to see on Friday evening outside of a Florida home. A mother of 3 children stands outside of her home, speechless and bearing a knife. When police managed to arrive and enter the house, they found the mothers three children strung about the floor, two of them completely unresponsive and the other in critical condition. The ages of the children were 7 years, 6 years , and 5 months old. The mother refused polices orders to drop the knife and was fired warning shots until police had her under control. The children were rushed to the hospital where the two who were unresponsive died and the youngest remain with serious injury. The mother has been put into jail with no bond set and is convicted of murder and attempted murder.

I was disgusted even reading this article. I have no idea what could have possessed this woman to kill her own children. Because there was no other person in the house, i do not see how this could have been avoided by the children against a fully grown woman. What is puzzling as well is the question of where was the father and what sort of physiological signs had been shown before the horrible event. I pray that the youngest boy get through a full recovery and be taken from the custody of his mother.

Source. http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/21/us/florida-children-killed/index.html

Amy's Kitchen recalls products that could contain listeria- Ausia Jones

Recently Amy's Kitchen says a supplier reported that organic spinach could contain listeria. The California-based organic and natural food company said it wasn't aware of any reports of illness connected with its products, but was recalling them "out of an abundance of caution."Listeriosis, a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with listeria, primarily affects the elderly, pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune systems. An estimated 1,600 people become seriously ill each year; approximately 16% of these illnesses result in death. Cervical infections caused by listeriosis in pregnant women may result in spontaneous abortion during the second or third trimesters or stillbirth. Amy's Kitchen recalled multiple types of vegetable lasagna, tofu scrambles, spinach pizza, enchiladas, brown rice and vegetable bowls and stuffed pasta shells. This can be related the Pure food drug act passed in 1906 which was used to regulate these manufacturing goods.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/health/amys-kitchen-recall-spinach-listeria/index.html