Pope declares death penalty unacceptable

The Pope has declared that death penalties should be abolished and him and catholic around the world are working towards it. They want to abolish this because " it is an attack on the inviolability  and dignity of the person ".  As of know death penalties remain legal in 31 states as a federal punishment.

Loren Collins drink spiked at a concert by Kennedy Morrison

Kennedy Morrison

Girls drink spiked at festival

        

    Loren Collins who is 22 years old had reported that her drink had been spiked at a festival. There is a video of her after the festival not doing to good and you can hear her friend in the background trying to  have her drink the water. Loren thinks a random man put something into it when he asked her to turn on her phone light. People have been trying to get in touch with the Leed festival but, can't get an answer back. Loren said she felt as if she was near death from this horrifying experience.

website for the video: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-nottinghamshire-45298840/nottinghamshire-woman-issues-leeds-festival-spiking-warning

Shooting in Annapolis by Kennedy Morrison

 Kennedy Morrison

Shooting in Annapolis 

     On June 29 a shooter came and attacked and killed over 5 people in the Capital Gazelle in Annapolis.What was sick about this was the fact that the killers plan was to kill everyone present in the room no matter who it was. He sent a letter to the capital saying that after he did the shooting. Nobody knows how old he was or anything about him but, they do have someone in for questioning. In his letter, he appears to be blaming judiciary for being "too cowardly" to confront what he had called "lies". (that they told him) This man had a sick mind and I personally think he should be in jail for a long time. My reason for saying that is because at the end of the letter he was writing to someone he knew that was a judge and said "Welcome to our unexpected legacy: YOU should have died" which is just cruel. America needs to control our guns and who we are just giving them to because we still haven't caught this guy and we don't know what he will do next.

website: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/us/annapolis-shooting-woman-harassed.html

John McCain Dead- Zion Melaku

John McCain Dead- Zion Melaku
John McCain was an American politician and military officer. The last few years of his life he spent serving as the United States Senator from Arizona. He ran for presidency as the republican candidate two times and was unsuccessful but continued to have an influence on United States history. He died recently at the age of 81.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/25/politics/john-mccain-obituary/index.html

Aretha Franklin Dead- Zion Melaku

Aretha Franklin Dead- Zion Melaku
Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She recently passed away due to pancreatic cancer at the age of 76. Her influence on music is very important because she changed the racial barriers and gender barriers for African American performers and women. Aretha Franklin was known as the "Queen of Soul" and has had many hits all throughout her lifetime. Her funeral has many performers ready to perform along with a 3 day long, open casket, public viewing for her fans.

https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/aretha-franklin-funeral/index.html

Shootings

2018 shootings

https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/31/17805842/jacksonville-madden-shooting-survivor-lawsuit-ea-restaurant

I think for people to still be shooting is insane. But the fact that the victims what to sue and that’s closure for them is ridiculous. The venue could not have known that a person wanted to go in and kill people

Shooting are happening all around the United States from the Las Vegas shooting to the Jackson villa shooting it has become a serious problem is America.11 people were wounded and three people died because of this event alone.
-ryian Johnson

APUSH 🙃

Violet Wiedemer- Washington Post calls Trump a liar

Last week, August 23, the Washington Post went on the reccord to officialy call President Trump a liar, a big deal in politics. Many news outlets have been skirting around using the word "lie", instead using "falsehood" or simply "not true". The Washington Post reports 4,229 "false or misleading claims" at the beginning of the month.

The article was written just when Donald Trump's scandal with Stormy Daniels hit its high and Rudi Giuliani came out with his statement "Truth isn't truth". This likely effected the bias of he acrticle, as it was hard to defend Trump and his team after Giuliani's statement came out.

These recent events are reminiscent of Nixon's famous, "I am not a crook" statement after Watergate. In fact the entire Trump scanda has been compared to Watergate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/2018/08/23/not-just-misleading-not-merely-false-lie/

Zandrea Sandes 2

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/us/seattle-airplane-sexual-abuse-charges/index.html

The article i chose talks about these two men that were accused of sexually abusing women that were seated near them on flights to Seattle. The first incident happened in January, in a flight from London, the second one was in March, on a flight from Anchorage. Babak Rezapour and Nicholas Mathew Stevens are their names. Their punishment would be two years in prison.Rezapour showed in US Court in Los Angeles, and Stevens appeared today. (Friday) In January prosecutors say that the woman was in her assigned seat on the plane and Rezapour was in a seat close to her that was not the right seat. There was turbulence on the plane, so the woman took some medicine which caused her to be dizzy and hazy. She fell in and out of sleep multiple times and woke up to him sexually abusing him. After the flight, flight attendants found her in the fetal position, she them told them what happened. For stevens in march, prosecutors say that he was sitting in the same aisle as a 22 year old woman, there was one seat in between them. He began harassing the woman and she told him to stop. He began talking about killing animals and joking about killing someone to get a girl like her. She got scared of him. According to the complaint, the defendant told officers he and the woman had touched each other throughout the flight.

The article was produced in August 31, and the place was unknown. This influences the meaning of the article because its something that literally just and happened so some people might not know how to go about it. It relates to U.S History because in the 1970's woman made marches about sexual abuse called Take Back The Night Marches. I feel like this article could be written for other predators , and it would definitely be a negative view. This article is important because it address something that is crucial and we all should open our eyes to.

Gabriel Hille 2nd

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/learning/how-important-is-freedom-of-the-press.html?rref=collection%2Fspotlightcollection%2Flearning-current-events&action=click&contentCollection=learning&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=13&pgtype=collection

I think that the press should be able to report whatever they want about any subject but have the readers also use many different sources and develop their own opinion and not band waggon off of what one source says.
I agree and think press should have freedom.

Florida Shooting in Madden 19 Gaming Convention

     Last Sunday, Madden 19 Competitor David Katz began a mass shooting at the The Madden 19 Gaming Convention and killed 2 competitors known by many on social media and Twitch. Speaking of Twitch, the event was livestreamed on Twitch, as most conventions are. And someone clipped the shooting when it happened to give to the Police Force as evidence. However, it got out somehow and everyone can watch the horrible event that happened last Sunday. This convention was a big point in a gaming community I am in, and we had to, unfortunately, hear the bad news first thing. We all had a group discussion on how this could have been avoided and a lot of hate towards the government got out. However, when we boiled down to it, we were just trying to pay respects to the people who died last Sunday. The shooter also killed himself shortly after.

     This event relates to many mass shootings the US has had in its bloody past. Thankfully, there were not more people killed. It unearths a lot of the things people hate about the governments way of running things and makes many consider the laws the US didn't change and could have to prevent this. But in the end, we can't be angry that this happened. We can only learn and strive to make sure this never happens again, similar to many events in our history. That is one of the many reasons history is important, and as this becomes another series of unfortunate events in the mass shootings and fatalities we have seen in the past. Hopefully we can see some change soon.

Trump: Google and others 'trending on troubled territory' -Darrin Fleenor

 This article is about our "beloved" president and his opinions on Google and others social media sights and search engines invading our privacy and continuous hiding information from the people. Our president believes that these companies are harming us by retaining information. Now, this may be true, by selecting what we are allowed to know these companies are harming our ability to be alert and even make our own opinions on certain matters. Another key element of this is that certain social media sites have silents certain voices and topics when they feel like it. They just go in and press the delete button when they want to and it is not right. They shouldn't be able to silents our voice in matters even though we decide to use their sight as an outlet and not not voice our opinions at all.



Now I know I have very vivid opinions on our current president. He has said a lot and done very very little good. I, personally, feel that he should not have the audacity to talk about harm for 1. And also concealing out a voice. Yes, I believe that everyone should have a voice, but I feel that he should lower his.  This man speaks on any matter through his twitter account, but when it comes to physically showing up for important matters such as the CNN Florida shooting discussion he has to decline. Trump hardly and definitively talks about this for his own personal vendeta. He does not want to be silents through his rants on twitter and doesn't want his idiotic behavior to stop. This has nothing to do with the people. Just one man sparking major division and major union in a country.

https://video.foxnews.com/v/5827942959001/?playlist_id=2114913880001

Emma Myers- Texas education system on guns in the classroom

Here is the article

With so many shootings going on (especially the Santa Fe High School shooting), one "solution" is training teachers and other school employees to wield guns. The staff members chosen to be "marshals" participate in simulated shootings and gunfire as part of their training. The requirements to become a marshal include a gun license, psychological exam and 80 hours of training. Kim Vickers is interviewed on this idea, and shares how the mental baggage on these simulations is as, if not more difficult than the physical training. This is just the beginning for armed employees; next year the state legislature will meet and discuss other procedures to keep our schools safe.

This article, although posted on August 27, 2018, touches on some very tough subjects that have been debated brutally in the past. With more and more school shootings happening each year, the issue has become extremely prominent. The author/interviewer, Ari Shapiro, comes at the approach of being not for nor against this issue, which I appreciated, since this gave us an opportunity to hear an honest standpoint from the interviewee. Prior to this article, I knew quite a bit about gun violence and the decision between being armed vs. not and if it was doing justice or the latter. Seeing that the article was made more to inform and less to convince, I didn't have a strong reaction to the article as I thought I might. The uncommon thing about this interview is that many (if not all) of the people interviewed didn't have a strictly one-sided opinion about the debate. They spoke of both positives and negatives. I think this article is important today because decisions like this are our future. As students, we are very much involved in our schools and we should read articles like this to help inform us and let us form our own opinion.

Were taking a look to whether google searches should be regulated

Patrick aceituno
        Apush 4th

      On Tuesday,Trump administration says it will explore regulating google-an effort that would challenge protections around free speech online.Trump says that Google manipulates search results to show negative stories about him and other republicans.
   
I personally think that Trump is overreacting over something he's caused.Maybe it:s not a negative thing,its just what he has done, and that's what may seem to him as something wrong (even thought he caused it.People are just posting what they think )

Vincent Reid

Death Toll Following Hurricane Maria Raised to 3,000 in Puerto Rico

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-maria/puerto-ricos-death-toll-from-hurricane-maria-raised-to-nearly-3000-idUSKCN1LD2DK

             Following the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a gargantuan storm which ripped through the islands of the Lower Antilles before striking hard on the east coast of Pueryo Rico at speeds of up to 150 mph, the official death toll was stuck at roughly 64 for months on end.  The Trump administration was then criticized for their lack of proper response to the tragedy.  Many months after the hurricane, studies began being conducted to see how many people truly died from the storm and its immediate aftermath.  After numbers varying between 4,000 and 1,000, the Puerto Rican government finally settled on the official death count of 2,975.

             I believe with all the difficulties that Puerto Rico faced following the storm, from the lack of proper federal response to the disaster, to the privatization of the crucial services on the island, this is a victory, however morbid it may be.  With a proper death toll, we can now acknowledge how much preparation is needed before an event of this magnitude and take the proper steps to repair the island and help those affected.  

             Furthermore, I see a definite connection between this cover up of the magnitude of this event and it’s lack of a prompt and proper response, and the large scale devastation of the natives.  The people of Puerto Rico have been undeniably devastated by this event, however the Trump administration has tried to cover up the true atrocity of this disaster by great underplaying the devastation to the island, much like how the Europeans denied the plight of the Natives following their destruction by disease.  There can also be a parallel drawn between how some members of the public deny the importance of the recuperation of the natives by claiming that they are not true Americans, and with Puerto Rico having no autonomy to fix their situation, being left to the mercy of a country who has better things to worry about.  This is much like how the Natives were essentially given a kick to the stomach and then having all their rights stripped away, similarly leaving them to the same fate.  Finally, there can be a parallel drawn to show how with the mass migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland and a vacuum that will likely be filled by wealthy Americans.  This is extremely similar to how with the natives dying or moving away from the Europeans, the Europeans had free reign to just move into their space, gradually splitting the natives into tiny pockets throughout the modern day USA.

Isabella Sanders - NASA is preparing for future space missions by exploring underwater volcanoes off Hawaii

https://abc.go.com/shows/good-morning-america/episode-guide/2018-08/16-081618-trump-revokes-security-clearance-of-former-cia-director

I think that Trump is abusing his power and also taking his entrusted staff in the government and just say that if i revoke Ex - CIA director's clears and put out a list of people that he does not like he will be called out as a moran and a weakling hiding behind his title as president. When he had his publisher into a conference and giving a list of people he doesn't even like and really just giving them a notice that they are on the list of people that could be a next target is outrages. If you don't like someone don't have a barrier of titles and government staff tell the public go up to them and say it to there face. Donald Trump has been a political "joke" no one wanted hilarious so they voted Trump or not at all. All in all if the president cant work with his own country how is he going to get the respect of any of his country.

When politics in the bugging was all just a bunch of men that had respect for one another they would come together and talk or make a treaty or a document that stated that they all agreed and would not go against that agreement. now that a good majority of the people that now live in America cant agree they have mad it a goal to not agree with anything that they don' t like. so now that the president is unlike by so meany he has taken it upon him self to make everyone critical about him so that he can say some stuff that will make him look like a bad person win in reality he is only trying to be and handle every thing that comes  him way will work to make america safe even if not every one agrees. 

Dayana Barron

The trade between Mexico and the United States

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/27/nafta-u-s-mexico-reach-deal-revise-key-parts-nafta/1071821002/

Summary: The United States and Mexico have created a new trade deal, and everyone believes that it is "a big day" for our country. Also Trump intends to terminate NAFTA so that the United States can begin negotiations with Canada which is believed to be called as " the worst trade ever."


Analysis: I believe that what is occurring right now between the United States and Mexico is a very big deal. Because it can create a possible revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement. This article is compared to the US history because many tribes made trades for example the Colombian exchange they exchanged animals, food and other things from the old world to the new world.

Hannah Rodriguez

Blue 4

August 27, 2018

John McCain: Forever Remembered

          John McCain, an Republican politician, recently passed this Friday August 24, 2018 in his Arizona home from a brain tumor. This hit home for his family, friends, peers, and the rest of the population who recognized how much this man was willing to deliver to the US. McCain was elected House of Representatives in 1982, Senate in 1986, ran for president in 2008, and had many more contributions to the United States. Bill Clinton said that McCain "frequently put partisanship aside to do what he thought was best for the country, and was never afraid to break the mold if it was the right thing to do." This statement really touched me because it definitely shows his character in this sentence and really saddens me that he is gone. However, he will forever be remembered. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/us/mccain-death-reactions.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FUnited%20States&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection

Zaveri, Mihir. “Politicians and World Leaders Remember John McCain.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Aug. 2018

It Was A Nice Runn Roseanne - by Chiamaka

Before we start , I just  want to say I don’t own any of the pictures that have been displayed – credit goes to TMZ.

As we all know , Ms. Roseanne decided to post a racist comment about Valery Jarret via Twitter , this very comment started bad media attention ,and that is why we are here to lightly touch on her possible ‘dying’ career

After the cancellation of her show Rosanne,  they decided to make a spin off  called The Conners . Now with this show, there has been some controversy over what will happen to Rosanne’s character. Well after the wait – we now know (🎉🎊🎊 the wait is finally  over woo-hoo !!!)It has been confirmed by John Goodman that they….. are killing off Rosanne. 🤭🤔🤯 WHATTTTT!! “ Okay , so what are they going to do with the show without Rosanne?” Well to be honest- we are not all sure, ABC is still not sure how to even write her off yet, and to add to this , she is also not allowed to help the show either financially or creatively. The death of her character has only been described as a “turn of events “ and how her family has to deal with this as well as live life.  Well RIP Rosanne , thank youvfor teaching us that racism can ruin a career in a matter of hours .

“What does this have to do with history you idiot?  “
  It runs all through history – well American anyway ,  Discrimination and Racism.
Well if you go back in time , We will see racism started the minute slavery was born. In Africa a lot of Jews were slaved and treated very poorly while they were looking for the promise land . Also wars with (Greeks or Romans) enslaving enemy and torture. American enslavement the Natives first because Europeans like to touch things that don’t belong to them , and Africans because they killed all the Natives . Then After The Civil War there was KKK and Segregation because apparently it’s okay to hate on the amount of melanin in someone’s body . But we get the point .

Sorry if this made no sense , well 👋🏾


Inspiration for this mess of words ( https://deadline.com/2018/08/the-conners-john-goodman-says-roseanne-barr-character-will-be-killed-off-report-1202452990/ )

John McCain dead at 81 - Joziah German

On Saturday, August 25th, the nation lost a war hero who survived serval years overseas as a prisoner of war, a man who served three decades in Congress, and the Republican Party's nominee for the 2008 presidential election. U.S Senator John McCain passed away at 81 after battling brain cancer for a little more than a year. A man committed to his work, he continued to push past his illness and strongly held his position contributing to congressional decisions. Daughter Meghan McCain wrote, "He was a great fire who burned bright". McCain was born in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone, for his father was stationed there in the Navy. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958 and then made his way to Vietnam. In 1967, his fighter jet was hit and he was then captured by the Northern Vietnamese. For more than five years he was tortured, beaten, and put in solitary confinement. A man of pure honor, McCain refused to be released unless all other prisoners got to leave before him. After being released in 1973, John decided to go into politics in 1976. Successful in the field, John Mccain was elected into the House of Representatives, ran for president twice, and returned to the Senate in 2008. John was a good man and will be remembered by many.

This article published by Alex Pappas on Fox News the night of McCain's death was shocking to many. Produced suddenly, the news caught quickly on this recent tragedy. Prior to learning about the sad death of McCain, I really never knew of him or his legacy. I learned though that he was a man of honor, conviction, and inspiration. Getting to read and understand his eventful life, I found myself really feeling for his family and friends. John was a prisoner of war in Vietnam which was a very important moment in U.S history where America stepped into a battle they weren't ready to complete. Written to inform people of the death of John McCain, this article also had a negative influence on its readers as they found out the depressing news. The author of this article, most likely a McCain supporter, wrote this article because he thought it was necessary for people to know about an important contributor to history's death. The article is trying to convey the great life of a great man, and the things he went through and accomplished within that journey. Alex Pappas news was important because he got to tell the tale of John McCain, and not many people will get to say they wrote a report on a very significant, family man.

 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/25/john-mccain-dead-at-81.html

Jacksonville Shooting—- Paige McManaman

One of the men shot and killed at a gaming tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sunday had won the national tournament, the Madden Classic, two years ago. The other was a former high school football player who loved to play the online version of his favorite sport, and had won $51,000 in his short gaming career. These two men had futures ahead of them, but their lives were taken away. The shooting left 10 injured from gunshots and one person with a non-gunshot injury, Sheriff Mike Williams said. All of the injured are expected to survive, he said.

This section from the CNN reading about a Jacksonville shooting which relates back in history to other major shootings that impacted the world as we know it today. For example, the Sandy Hook shooting was a mass murder at the setting of just an elementary school. The kids were not given a chance to live to their full potential and to just live in general. Also, many slaves, people of color, and children were killed every single day in history which was a very significant low in America’s past. We do not want history to repeat itself in the way of murder.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/08/27/us/jacksonville-shooting-victims/index.html

Madi Haggard- Jacksonville, Mississippi Shooting

   In Jacksonville, Mississippi, a 24-year-old gunman opened fire on a live video gaming tournament.  The 24-year-old shooter killed two and left eleven injured.  Later identified, as David Katz, the gunman fired several rounds during the match and ended up fatally shooting two gamers.  As soon as shots were fired and heard, the competition immediately stopped, but the live stream did not leaving any viewers to listen to the horrific aftermath.  The weapons used were two handguns legally purchased in Maryland, later taken to Mississippi to reign terror upon the competitive gamers.  The suspected shooter was found dead with one self-inflicted gunshot ending his life.  The sole killer ultimately ended three lives including his own and injured eleven more with just two handguns.  Luckily the eleven wounded are in stable condition and alive, but  Jacksonville, Mississippi is currently mourning their lost and protecting their other pedestrians from further harm.

http://time.com/5378639/madden-shooting-jacksonville-florida/

  This article was published August 26, 2018, because it was posted so recently it shows how America isn't changing or becoming safer.  It tells about the worst of what people are capable of and the violence that occurs.  Just like an event that happened a long time ago on August 20, 1986, in Edmund, Oklahoma, a man, Patrick Sherrill killed fourteen and hospitalized six.  These reoccurring events show how people are corrupt and when motivated for whatever cause to do something astounding and unforgivable, they do it.  This article was made to inform readers who want to stay up to date with current events, specifically this shooting.  It tells them and gives them the power to know whats going on, as well as the intelligence to speak out about it.  I believe this article is relevant because it doesn't hide the ugly of the situation; instead of laying out the facts bare and for all to see.  The pieces are relevant to today because not only does it let us know nothing has changed, it gives us insight and knowledge to let us begin to make the needed change.

John McCain dies at 81

           John McCain has died at 81 and I find it a tragedy, he was a presidential candidate, a war hero pilot, and a senator. He fought as a pilot in the Vietnam war and was shot down and as he crashed he broke his arms and shattered his leg, he was then taken captive by the Vietnamese and tortured for five years, and by the time he came back he couldn’t even lift his hands over his head. He then decided to serve the public as a member of the House of Representatives for Arizona. I do not personally agree with everyone of John McCain’s political stances but he was one of the most stand up politicians around, we will miss him greatly.

Caden Dickinson 

Isadora Lilly- U.S. Trade War with China Affects American Farmers

As of July of this year, both the U.S. and China had imposed tariffs (=tax to be paid for imports and/or exports) on one another's goods, resulting in a trade war between the two countries. As for American president Donald Trump, his motives included a desire to become less dependent of foreign industries and importation, as well as beginning the creation of more jobs in America. Despite these positive sounding outcomes, this decision has already begun to impact Americans negatively.

One recent consequence is felt by American farmers, whose harvests suffer on account of the new tariffs. Fortunately, the Agriculture Department has stated that it will initiate Trump's promise of paying up to $12 billion in aid by paying $4.7 billion to farmers whose harvests have been affected by the U.S.-China trade war. The USDA's Farm Service Agency will also be providing a program which will give payments to corn, cotton, diary, hog, sorghum, soybean, and wheat farmers.

Despite all of the financial support and aid being given to farmers in difficulty, I do not believe that it is fair for these hard working people to be unfairly targeted, resulting in their involvement in a situation which they did not necessarily choose nor create. Although, on the other hand, this also shows that the people of America have a voice, and in order to reach a desired future must use it to express their concerns and beliefs to their leaders.

Washington Post's "North Carolina’s gerrymandered map is unconstitutional, judges rule, and may have to be redrawn before midterms" Article Reviewed and Analyzed by Youssef Bakr

Three judges of a federal court held Monday, August 27, that congressional district lines in North Carolina had been gerrymandered in favor of Republicans, which may affect control of the House in the midterms if the lines are not redrawn before then. The Supreme Court traditionally does not uphold any ruling that can have an impact on the election just before votes are in place, and consequently, the lines may have to stay in place until then.

Partisan gerrymandering has been a tactic long before the term was coined and even before today's political parties had been formed. One example took place in 1789 during the election of the First United States Congress. The Anti-Federalists drew the lines of Virginia's 5th district in an attempt to keep James Madison out of Congress, which, contrary to their endeavors, was unsuccessful.

Gerrymandering probably occurs far more often than we expect, judging by its relative subtlety and statements given by Judge James A. Wynn, Jr. of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that North Carolina's unconstitutional district lines have been  in place for six years. This is consequent of the general population's ignorance of gerrymandering because the lines are not redrawn unless the issue is brought in front of  a judge. Education is indispensable when it comes to the changing of a country, and therefore is of utmost significance in ridding the country of unfair congressional district lines.

Link to Washington Post article by Robert Barnes, Reporter:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/2018/08/27/fc04e066-aa46-11e8-b1da-ff7faa680710_story.html?utm_term=.156b224246c6

                     

Teachers Influencing Arizona's Midterms -Cleo Chaney

Original Article: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/27/641649941/3-ways-education-is-influencing-arizonas-midterms

With upcoming midterm elections in Arizona, teachers have continued to fight for change in the public education system. David Garcia, an education professor, is running in the Democratic primary for governor with hopes to better influence reform in the school system. Many more teachers are running for smaller positions in this trend of educators seeking office. In addition, a proposed rise in income taxes for those who make >$250,000 a year, called the Invest in Education Act,  would benefit public schools if it succeeds. Many are also campaigning to do away with school vouchers, which give 90% of the per-pupil school funds to parents whose children don't attend public school, in effect taking resources from these schools.

Arizona teachers, like those of multiple other states, did walk-outs in April protesting their low wages and the low funding of schools. They were promised a 20% raise in salary by 2020, and they're continuing to work on making more changes. In Arizona, more school funding was cut after the recession than in any other state, and altering these income taxes that are on the low side and have only been cut since the 90s seems sensible.

When you look at these education reform campaigns led by teachers today and the American Labor Movement of the 19th century, driven by unions, there are clear parallels. Workers went on strike to protest unfair wages and their lack of benefits just like teachers did walk-outs. During the Labor Movement, unions formed, following the widening gap between rich and poor caused by industrialization. This divide is what tax raises for the rich, like the Invest in Education Act, attempt to compensate for.

All in all, these reports show progress in the making, which can be comforting in political climates like the one we are in now.

Zoe Williams- Madden 19 Qualifying Tournament Crisis

Jacksonville Shooting


This article discusses the events of the Jacksonville shooting at a Madden 19 qualifying tournament.  At this event 2 people were killed and 12 were wounded by David Katz, who latter killed himself inside a gaming bar.  David was carrying two guns at the time, both acquired legally in Maryland.  The point is brought up that Mr. Katz's shooting may have been targeted towards two very well know gamers in the Madden community, Taylor Robertson and Elijah Clayton, who were described to be non-violent, good natured people.  The convention has delayed further events to reevaluate their security to protect against similar possible instances.  There have been no advances in a motive, but Mr. Katz's parents are cooperating with the authorities, easing the process of the investigation in a tremendous way.  Through his parents divorce filling the investigators discovered that Katz had been hospitalized in a psychiatric facility twice and is therefore on anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medication.  The validity of this information is put into question by Mr. Katz's father, who believed his ex-wife was over exaggerating his son's condition.  Through it all, everyone is saddened by this day's events, but is still thankful that a larger death tole was not taken from the event.

This article is written in a time when public shootings are a serious issue in society making it easy for the reader to be sympathetic towards the victims.  It's also written in a time where poor mental stability has been suggested as a partial cause for a many shooters' actions, which is coincidentally brought up in this article as well.  There is a large argument on wether mental stability is an "excuse" or valid "motive" for crimes similar to Jacksonville so it begins to bring up personal opinion in the reader as to the stability and/or accuracy of the article.  However, the author does a very good job of not showing their own personal opinions about mental stability in these situations or even gun laws.  Now in any shooting that takes place we must examine the second amendment and how it was meant to be understood.  In situations like this, where a possibly mentally unstable man is able to acquire firearms, we have to ask ourselves wether that should be possible?  The amendment states "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" if it is "necessary to the security of a free State" and to me this is a great example of why "bearing Arms" is doing the opposite of insuring security.  Now many people may interpret this constitutional statement differently than I, but that is the only reasonable conclusion I can comprise from it.  This article is important, because we must continue to build awareness for the danger that firepower and ill-cared for mental illnesses presents to our communities.  Many people will deny and defer the causes of these crimes, but the more examples there are, unfortunately the stronger my argument holds.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jacksonville-shooter-clearly-targeted-other-gamers-sheriff-says-n904236

Marissa Rubio

This article is about the Jaksonville shooting suspect, David Katz and his mental health. He open fired on a video game tournament killing two people and injuring ten before then killing himself. Elijah Clayton, a football player, and Taylor Robertson were killed at the gaming event. Katz's parents have said that they had attempted to provide him with psychiatric care for most of his life.  This relates directly to the March for Our Lives movement that calls for gun control. Both guns used during this shooting were purchased legally, even though Katz had a history of mental illness. The ongoing debate surrounding gun control is a heated topic, but while it's being debated more mass shootings are taking place. Every other developed country in the world has gun control laws proving that the right to carry doesn't have to be compromised by safety measures. The United States has a 25.2 higher rate of gun related homicides than developed countries with strict gun control laws. Colonial laws shouldn't apply to modern day weapons.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jacksonville-david-katz-08272018-story.html#nt=oft13a-1gp1

Jordan Body- What We Know About Trump's $130,000 Payment to Stormy Daniels

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/nyregion/stormy-daniels-trump-payment.html




In July of 2006 Donald Trump met Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels at a golf tournament. Little did they know the encounter would come back to haunt them both years later. As Trump was elected president in 2016 and asked about his multiple relationships with women, Clifford came forward and revealed the affair that had taken place between the two over a decade ago. Trump being himself lied about the allegations, denied being with her, and his lawyer Michael Cohen went as far as making a deal with Clifford, paying her off to keep her quiet. The story has resurfaced and Trump now claims to have known about the payoff only after Cohen signed off on it.  

Politicians have lied since the beginning of time. For reasons being to either get the general public to preserve them as someone we want having authority in our nation or to make themselves seem more liable as leaders. To have a president that continuously lies is a problem beyond means. Most of Trump's statements are barely debatable facts based on falsehood. The amount of dishonesty within himself alone ridiculous. We can't continue putting people in office who have no business being there.

Emma Burkey

Donald Trump thinks 52% of Americans approve of the job he's doing. They don't.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/politics/donald-trump-poll-fake/index.html  

The article discusses the tweet that President Donald Trump posted recently after John McCain's death. He does not discuss the late senator's death, but instead his approval ratings being at 52%. The author researched this poll that Trumped claimed had this information, but even on the most conservative news sources it was closer to 48%. The author believes that the President either lied or mistook his disapproval for his approval and posted the higher number by mistake and doesn't care that he did. President Trump has said in the past that his approval ratings should always have about 7-12 points added because fake news lowers them. The author ends the article with the mentioning that this isn't the first time Trump has lied and it is something common to his presidency. 

This article was published on August 27, 2018 by a writer, Chris Cilliza, from CNN. Trump might believe this to be fake news, but really it is a reliable source with a date that suggests it to be relevant. I knew stories of similar nature prior to reading this article, and know that the author was correct when he said that this "is not an isolated incident." This is important for the Trump supporters to understand; they need to see that the person they elected is the true liar and not reliable news sources. Sadly those that read CNN, the audience, are much more likely to know this and therefore it is just another thing for them to be frustrated about; they already know Trump is a liar, and don't need to change their minds about anything. The author's intentions and goals for this article is to show Trump's true self: the one that lies about ratings and focuses on himself after the death of an extremely respected senator. Cilliza wanted to change conservative minds and point them towards the direction of truth with facts, not necessarily to the democratic side, (as discussed before they aren't exactly the ones reading it.) This article is very important to our lives today because it is crucial for us as the citizens of the United States to know the truth about our president and information that will affect our choices in the election. Another leader in the past that lied about his approval ratings was the Shah of Iran in the 1970's. The Shah said that all of the citizens of his country had his support and the U.S. believed him. This caused the U.S. to support the Shah when in reality they were backing the true enemy, the leader who saw himself above the law, (alike to Trump.). If we aren't careful, we could be backing the enemy to our own country: President Trump. 

Zandrea Sanders

The article explains that in Jacksonville, Florida, two men who loved playing football online were at a tournament for competitive players of the game, Madden. The men were playing for an opportunity of cash being won. The two men died that night from a shooting while 10 were injured from gunshots. The sherif identified the victims who died as Elijah Clayton and Taylor Robertson.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/us/jacksonville-shooting-victims/index.html

The article was produced on August 27th 2018 in Florida, and it affects the meaning because its something that happened recently and it still is having an impact to this day on people. Something i already knew about the article was the whole idea of mass shootings happening recently, it affects my understanding because its something that i feel we are used to seeing in the news these days. It connects to things in the past because it goes back to even 1989. In Miami, Carl Robert Brown killed eight people with a shotgun at a machine shop. He was reportedly angry about a repair bill from the shop. When he left the scene on a bicycle he was shot by a witness who pursued him. The article was written for maybe other madden players or maybe even other criminals. It definitely has a negative influence on the crowd it reaches. Amanda Watts created the article, and we know she is a senior news editor, her point of view is just from a woman looking in on this situation, probably feeling empathy for the two men and their family. This article was written to let people know what is happening in this world and what's going on, they are trying to convey, that this is something that is really happening to people. This article is important because it opens our eyes, this is relevant to our lives today because its something that is happening consistently.

Jess De La Torre

Jacksonville Mass Shoothin tragity -Jess DLT

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/08/27/us/jacksonville-madden-tournament-shooting/index.html

    On Sunday, August 26 2018, there was a semi massive shootin in Jacksonville, Florida at a madden game tournaments . The shooter, David Katz, was originally from Maryland but came to Florida to participate in the tournament but it turns out he was eliminated . He then later on proceeded to grab a weapon he purchased while in Maryland’s and shot 10 people and killed 2 others and then later on proceeded to kill him self  afterwards . A selfish act he made to just murder people because of just a tournament .
In my personal opinion, no one should act selfish or even trip about a tournament . Maybe just maybe if the government put straight laws on guns about controlling who buys them , the rent wouldn’t be such a major problem in the US. There was an incident about 19 years ago, columbine highschool was shot up by two young males with illegal firearms . School shootings or even shootings in general shouldn’t be a problem if maybe the government would just simply make laws about giving guns to only officers of the law .

Statute of Liberty Evacuation by Maggie Kate

   Today around noon, Liberty Island was evacuated due to a construction mistake. Three propane tanks caught fire causing the National Park Service to evacuate 3,400 people off of Liberty Island and on to Ellis Island. There were no casualties, but one worker suffered from an injury. The FDNY was brought into control the flame, and by late afternoon, Liberty Island was functioning again. 

This article was written by Aaron Katersky and Emily Shapiro who gave a very informative look on the story. This article was written shortly after the fire which contributed to its short and clean incite on the event.  The Statue of Liberty has been and is today, a sign of liberty for our country. The events of today show how much our country wants to protect this symbol of liberty.  The history of the Statue of Liberty starts with Edouard de Laboulaye, who proposed the making of a monument for America.  Later Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to start making the statue for America. The monument was delivered in 1886 in honor of the centennial of the Declaration of Independence.  The monument is close to Ellis Island where many immigrants stopped on there way into America. The Statue of Liberty was probably the first thing they saw on there way to a new life. Many people have come to see the rich history and significance of the statue. The statue is a massive reminder of the liberty and freedom America stands for. The events of today show how much our government and country still cares for our fair lady the Statue of Liberty. 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/construction-fire-forces-evacuations-statue-liberty/story?id=57427601

John McCain’s Legacy - Sloan Daley

Sloan Daley
Blue 2

This article is about John McCain’s recent death and how he will be remembered. McCain was a United States senator that passed away from Glioblastoma at the age of 81. However, he fulfilled his life with immense heroic behavior. The senator also publicly made it known that he disagreed with President Trump’s leadership and values. In fact, he decided that Trump will not be invited to his funeral a year before he passed.

My Source

Before reading this article I knew very little about the things John McCain had accomplished in his life. The article talked a lot about the great things he did, such as serving our country for over 40 years. However, the heavy portion of it was about the relationship between him and Trump. I would say the reading could have a positive and negative influence because most of the topics explain what he has done with his life. Overall, the article did a wonderful job displaying John McCain’s legacy that will live on. It is important to know what is going on between people running our country. This made me want to pay more attention to relevant political relationships. This relationship between Trump and McCain relates to a time in history in 1804. Founding father, Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr. The two greatly disagreed, similarly to Trump and McCain. It was also made very known to the public that the two do not view politics that same. Thankfully, Trump and McCain were much more peaceful  and did not end in a duel. John McCain was a strong leader and lived an inspiring life. He was a man of his beliefs and was never afraid to voice his opinion.

John McCain Dies at 81- Sophie Knox

Senator John McCain unfortunately passed away at 4:28 pm (local time) on Saturday. Since 2017, he had suffered from/ treating a malignant brain tumor which was the cause of his death. He is also a war hero, having been the most famous prisoner in the Vietnam war. McCain was subjugated to two years of solitary confinement, and he was tortured often. Despite all the struggles, he made it back home where he began his political career. Although he never made it to president, McCain was an honorable contestant who treated his competitors with respect. 

This article was made to honor an outstanding person and his achievements.  Whether you agree with his opinions or not, McCain never tried to defame his opponents, and instead he treated them with respect and befriended them; something that is very difficult to do in this day and age. I knew before that McCain was a honorable person, but this article brought a whole new perspective to him that I didn’t know before. I think society (both sides of the political spectrum) can really learn how to have civil conversations with each other through him. I also like how he didn’t always agree with his party. The article also address’s how McCain was a maverick, and even though he was republican, sometimes he didn’t vote the ‘republican’ way. Both sides could learn to do compromiseing like he did. I think, with him gone, we may see more trump policies happening. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/08/25/obituaries/john-mccain-dead.amp.html

shooter at game convention

Sadly there was a shooting at a gaming convention  in Florida. 2 people died and later the gunman died after  committing suicide  and 11 people were left injured.  People believed he did this because he lost a game and acted in rage and fired at the 2 guys he lost to. Thankfully all the injured people are doing fine.

Florida Shooting- Madison Malonson

Jacksonville shooting adds to Florida's string of gun attacks - CNN https://apple.news/AE8lu8-1tQA6UmnVE4HLkxA


On August 26, there was yet another mass shooting in the state of Florida. Two people were killed and at least 11 more were injured at a video game tournament in Jacksonville Sunday afternoon. There is still no motive for the shooter, who took his own life at the scene. The people of Florida are, not surprisingly, not all seeing eye to eye on what the next step should be for gun control in their state. Some blamed the gun free zones and others argued that there was not enough gun control. Either way, both sides recognize that there is a problem and it needs to be fixed.
     I think there have been far to many mass shootings in our country and in Florida in particular. I believe that if we buckle down on gun control this would be happening far less. No one should ever be worried abou their safety when going out in public to enjoy themselves. Shooting have become so engrained in American society that we have become desensitized. From the Parkland shooting earlier this year to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012, nothing has really changed. We are still losing lives far too often and legislators have not taken much action on the issue.

Elle Grinnell- Jacksonville shooting

On Sunday August 26th there was a mass shooting at a gaming convention in Jacksonville Florida. Two people were killed and then the gunman turned the gun onto himself. In addition to three people dying eleven were injured in the incident. The whole incident was captured online because the whole event was being streamed over the internet. Luckily firefighters happened to be training across the street and started distributing aid to the injured and seeking for help.
      There was just a mass shooting earlier this year in Florida and several others within the United States. It needs to stop, too many innocent people are getting hurt and most of the time there is no real motive behind it. There have been more than enough shootings to get people to open their eyes and be more aware that something needs to be done about this. It isn't enough to just sit there watching the news and sympathizing for the families.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/26/us/jacksonville-madden-shooting/index.html

Alexandria Carrington-The Death of John McCain and Recovering Veterans

McCain spent 23 years in the Navy, five of those years spent as a POW in Vietnam.  Because he was the son of a Rear Admiral, his captors offered to free him, but McCain refused unless all other POWs were released with him.  When Senator McCain was released and returned to the country he turned his eye to the political arena, ran for public office in 1982 and quickly became a senator of Arizona in 1987. He spent over 60 years of his life as a servant to this country and has more than earned the respect given to him by his fellow veterans. 

Following the news of his death, veterans have taken to showing tribute to him in various ways.  One veteran stood vigil at the Arizona State Capitol, another drove to Senator’s family home to salute and pay his respects.  Many other veterans have taken to social media to express how the senator touched their lives and how much he meant to so many people.

• Author:  Brianna Sacks is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.  She wrote an article on 8/26/18 titled Veterans Are Sharing Moving Stories About Meeting John McCain.
• Place and Time:  The article that I have chosen was written only yesterday, and the wounds from John McCain’s death are still fresh, so this article depicts emotions that im sure we all feel. Arizona senator, former presidential candidate, and POW survivor John McCain passed away over the weekend and veterans all around the country are sharing their love, gratitude and condolences for the fallen hero. 
• Prior Knowledge:  Over the weekend I have listened to my mom, a Navy veteran, comment on what a loss this country has suffered losing John McCain.  I was not aware that the senator campaigned against Former President Obama in 2008, but my mom told me that John McCain was the only republican nominee for president that she would have voted for. 
• Audience:  This article was written for people who knew how caring and humane McCain was, but also for the people like me who know nothing about politics or the people involved. The audience is most definitely positively affected because of the knowledge that we get to inquire about a great man and how people are celebrating his life.
• Purpose:   The article was written to commemorate John McCain.
• Significance: The article reveals how these tributes from normal, everyday heroes, our veterans, stood in stark contrast to the President of the US’ two sentence tweet in response to McCain’s passing.  I am ashamed of how our president treated the passing of this national hero.  John McCain was a patriot to look up to, he was a fine human being and this country is a darker place for his passing
• Synthesis:  In the distant and recent past, our country has lost many influential and courageous people like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Prince. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln stands out to me especially because of his humane and sensitive soul and ability to connect with others the way that McCain could. Similar to the death of McCain, many people mourned in silence or with tributes, and the wounds will not be healed quickly.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/veteran-remember-john-mccain?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bfrelatedlinks