Current Events Blog for Mrs. Countryman's AP United States History class at Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Shutdown stops food inspection- Madison Malonson
As we all know the shutdown from a while back caused a lot problems fro people around the country, but this one seems pretty gross. Because of the shutdown the FDA is not inspecting seafood, fruit, vegetables, and more. They will still be inspecting meat and poultry, but the workers will go unpaid. The FDA oversees 80% of Americas food supply and oversees imports from other countries, so the fact they are not inspecting our food is pretty unsettling.
This reminded me of the poor work a conditions and gross meat in factories described in The Jungle. Even though this situation is not nearly as bad as those in the Progressive Era, it is still unacceptable.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Hannah Rodriguez | Two Suspects Charged in ATM Jackpotting
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-atms/u-s-charges-two-suspects-in-atm-jackpotting-case-idUSKBN1FP2U5
HHS docs show thousands of alleged incidents of sexual abuse against unaccompanied minors in custody- Alma Alvarado-Cabrera
This article was written by Sophie Tatum and published by CNN news on February 26, 2019.
I did have a clue that this was happening . It's very sad, disturbing and DISGUSTING . Can't this president understand that first , we're ALL Immigrants and second, the majority of the families that come with their kids want to give them a better future. Many of the minors are scared and live in terrible conditions , separated from their parents. This relates to the pre colonial times .. This is for everyone to read and be informed about what happens to people that want a better future .
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/hhs-documents-minors-sexual-abuse/index.html
Jordan Gillette- Racist small-town Alabama news editor in KKK row steps down
Summary: On Tuesday, February 25th, BBC released an article about the resigning of Goodloe Sutton, an editor at the suburban Alabama newspaper the Democrat-Reporter after this man called for the mass lynching of democrats. Goodloe Sutton had a hushed racist past, and finally they've come into the limelight. Only last week, Sutton had called for the KKK, one of the oldest white supremacy groups, to raid gated communities in Washington D.C., getting his name entangled in many controversies nationwide. Taking Sutton's place is Elecia Dexter, a 46-year-old black woman, and she wants to help get the paper back in the right direction. The story has recently received national attention, with many politicians such as senator Doug Jones pouring their support into Ms. Dexter, and the future of non-biased small-town Alabama newspapers.
Analysis: In the words of senator Doug Jones, "Good riddance, Goodloe." People like this are the reason why there is still racial tension within America. I am very glad that Elecia Dexter is snatching his spot; it's nice to see that, while small-scale, changes are still being made to better race relations within the South and alter their reputation. I hadn't heard about this before reading this article, though the concept racist people in Alabama is no stranger to the media or history, so unfortunately I wasn't surprised. This article was written by the writing staff at BBC (the names weren't listed), and this article was written to highlight the dark secrets that those with power may be holding, and whether or not the public is innocent or hushed. This can be related to when Virginia governor Ralph Northam was under fire for a picture in the 1980s of him in blackface with the KKK earlier this year.
80 graves vandalized at Jewish Cemetery - Paige Aleman
This relates directly back to WW2 and the Holocaust in the way that there are obvious attacks against Jews and and it just goes to show that the anti-semitic views of that time haven’t fully dissolved.
elle Grinnell- Pennsylvania mother and daughter accused of killing five relatives
Personally, I think that no matter the motive this was in no way shape or form ok. I know its hard for officials to figure out when tragedies like this might occur but there had to be some sort of sign. it was possible that the mother could've had a mental illness but there should've been signs or hints from either the mother or daughter that this would occur.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/us/pa-five-dead-apartment/index.html
Kadar Price: Michael Cohen Faces Capitol Hill Gauntlet
Monday, February 25, 2019
Ahead of North Korea summit, concern about Trump's gamble -Dillon Quicksall
This reminds me of the tensions that existed in Europe prior to World War I. The fact that this much conflict and tension exists between states is frightening, and makes me fear that such a war may be imminent.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/ahead-north-korea-summit-concern-about-trump-s-gamble-n975131
Dead Whale Found In Amazon Jungle- Gabriel Allen
By Jennifer Earl
Marine experts are scratching their head to find out how a dead whale was found in the Amazon jungle. They theorize that the whale was swimming close to shore when a giant wave pushed the whale inland. But another question arises from this strange phenomenon: why was the whale on the north coast of Brazil during February. Officials have ventured many guesses as to what contributed to the whale's demise from succumbing to stress due to separation from its mother to consuming too much plastic.
I find this article very weird and funny at the same time. I mean it sucks that the whale died but at the same time how does that even happen. It does raise a bit of awareness of sea pollution which I do think needs more attention.
ERYN FAYSON-Trump goes after Spike Lee after Oscars speech
Trump goes after Spike Lee after Oscars speech
Serena Williams Nike Ad Exposed the Double Standard - Siobhan Crummey
This weekend, during the Oscars, an ad aired featuring not only Serena Williams, but many women in sports today. They showed women coaches, women basketball coaches, women in positions of power, and most importantly, women that got angry. Typically, when women get angry or show emotion of any kind, we're labelled as irrational, and delusional. This ad played showing the importance of women in sports positions and how men need to wake up an understand that we're going to break barriers no matter what.
This relates to history because for hundreds of years women showing emotion have been labelled as "on their period." The audience is women who should keep fighting. The point of view is a woman, so she knows what its like. The importance is immeasurable, as it pertains to an entire group of humans. The purpose was to inform.
Walmart Is Eliminating People Greeters. Workers With Disabilities Feel Targeted- Betty Dubois
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/25/696718872/walmart-is-eliminating-greeters-workers-with-disabilities-feel-targeted
Greeters are being removed at about 1,000 Walmart stores around the country. Walmart is changing the job requirements for front-door greeters in a way that seems abelist and discriminatory towards disabled workers.Walmart has been terminating greeters and replacing them with "customer hosts," who have more responsibilities, and to qualify for the job, workers must be able to lift 25 pounds, clean up spills, and do other things that would be hard for a disabled worker to do.. "We recognize that our associates with physical disabilities face a unique situation. With that in mind, we will be extending the current 60-day greeter transition period for associates with disabilities while we explore the circumstances and potential accommodations, for each individual, that can be made within each store. This allows associates to continue their employment at the store as valued members of the team while we seek an acceptable, customized solution for all of those involved." The Americans With Disabilities Act does not stop companies from changing job descriptions and expected job functions for their business goals. This forced firing is leaving many disabled people to find other jobs with little warning. This relates to the poor working conditions in America in the 1920s, and how certain groups were discriminated against even in their workforce.
Haley Bogdon - R. Kelly Released from Prison
The article was about the R&B star R. Kelly pleading guilty to many sexual abuse charges involving minors. He was able to post bond and was released from jail. There were 10 counts of felony aggravated sexual abuse charges involving 4 victims. Three of these kids were younger than 17 years old. Kelly has $161,000 in past due child support that he has not paid, but he was able to post bond even with this debt. The article was stating the facts, but I feel that the author was not in favor of him being released while owing child support and being accused of these awful crimes. I feel that because he is a celebrity, he was given special treatment and I hope that he does not harm anyone else while he is released from prison. The fact that he was able to harm so many victims already is very disturbing and I hope that justice is served if he is proven to be guilty.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/r-kelly-pleads-not-guilty-10-count-sexual-abuse-indictment-n975641
Empire Actor Jussie Smollett Fakes Attack- Hannah Rodriguez
This offended many because he faked a hate crime and hurt those who have actually been victims to racial hate crimes and/or sexuality hate crimes. He also hurt the brothers he hired to do the hate crime on him because they were arrested after returning to Nigeria, which may remain on their record. There is speculation that Smollett's purpose of this was to receive more money for each episode he had on Empire because he was unhappy he was being paid less than the other actors. Either way, Smollett is also being faced with a felony charge for his actions.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/empire-actor-jussie-smolletts-faked-racial-attack-really-happened/
Mekinna Knight- A Night at the Oscars
r kelly is out again? -ZION MELAKU
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/us/r-kelly-court-appearance-monday/index.html
R Kelly, an American singer, songwriter, a record producer, and a former professional basketball player. He has been recently brought up due to all of the serious allegations against him of sexual abuse. This past weekend he was put in jail on $100,000 bond, and he paid it. He was released last night and the first place he went to was McDonald's. R Kelly is an important musical figure amongst the R&B community in America and all over the world, and it's been very different now due to all of the allegations against him.
Ariana Oliver- China Collects Genetic Data To Track Its People
This article was published by Sui-Lee Wee on February 21, 2019.
Youssef Bakr "Ocasio-Cortez says there is a ‘legitimate question’ that needs to be asked: ‘Is it okay to still have children?'"
Anna Speer- Another Abortion Controversy
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-02-25/gop-sensing-campaign-issue-pushes-abortion-vote-in-senate
Ice wall~ Stephannie Hernandez
8th silver
Summary~
Due to extreme winds from a weekend storm over the Great Lakes pushed huge walls of ice on the shores of Lake Erie . The ice with 40 feet tall in some places. The storm has knocked out power in the Great Lakes region and the north east .
Analysis~
Date and time : February 25, 2019. 2:23 PM EST
Prior knowledge~
I didn’t know this had happened, I just found out reading this article. It is crazy that the ice has reached 40 feet in some places of Lake Erie. I hope that the people who are dealing with the storms are safe.
Source~
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/us/lake-erie-ice-walls-trnd/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/politics/male-only-draft-unconstitutional/index.html
A federal judge ruled that the Selective Service System's men only registration is unconstitutional late on Friday, opting for the recent women's rights rationale. The argument about excluding women spurred based on their interests and readiness for combat, both overbroad generalizations. Miller stated that men and women currently have similar roles, and that the time to discuss women's positions in military has long passed. The original draft was eliminated in the 1970s by Congress but all men ages 18-25 are still required to register. Ideas from a prior case arose stating that women could be excluded due to the fact that they are not "similarly situated," emphasizing the fact that they can't participate in combat. Furthermore, another argument stated that only a small percentage of women meet the the physical standards for a position in combat. In response, Miller added that a similarly small percentage of men could also be eligible, which would bring no reason to discriminate against women.
This article was published last Friday and has since been updated today to correct a quote from the judge's order. This argument and generalization about women's roles in military positions reminds me of the generalizations of women during and prior to the Women's Suffrage Movement. They were seen as ineligible to obtain rights such as voting or property rights, and now the same question arises for women to be eligible to maintain a combat position in the military. Gender roles still seem to be a continuing problem in todays society, and i hope they will cease to exist in the near future.
Empire actor fakes hate attack- Paola Aceves
Roma wins 3 categories at the Oscars-Sophie Knox
Summary: Netflix’s hit movie, Roma, just won Best Foreign Film, Best Director, and Best Cimetography at the Oscars. Curón, the director of this film, was the first person to win Best Cinematography for a film they also directed. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, but lost to the Green Book. This isn’t the first year streaming services have been nominated for awards. Last year, Amazon’s Manchester By The Sea was nominated for for Best Picture and won an Academy Award.
Analysis: This article shows us how technology is evolving and becoming mainstream and accepted more. Firstly, Roma, being a black and white foreign film originally had not as great expectation for becoming a box office hit. This shows how more people are open to new and culturally different movies. This movie and Manchester By the Sea are examples of streaming services becoming accepted into Hollywood. I read an article that said by 2035, theaters will disappear and everything will be on streaming services. This is no way true, Roma was actually released in movie theaters all over the world. I can relate this to the 20’s because that’s when silent motion pictures which resulted in a huge entertainment industry. Also, like in the 20’s, Roma was in black and white.
Lesly Marquez- Former Trump campaign staffer sues, alleging Trump kissed her without consent
Summary:
Analysis:
Fiona Graybill- Woman killed by falling rock and ice at Yosemite National Park
Though yet to be addressed in class, an instance where nature took its toll on civilians was during the Dust Bowl. Much more widespread and caused in part because of man's doing, the Dust Bowl, along with this accident, claimed lives. We do not treat nature particularly well and sometimes, no matter how beautiful, mother earth retaliates and people get caught in the crossfire.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/us/yosemite-ice-death/index.html
Bernie Sanders Raises $10 Million in Less Than a Week -- Lily McCollum
1st of 5th Six Weeks
The article I chose is about a federal judge who ruled the Selective Service System's men-only registration unconstitutional late Friday rejected the reasoning of a 1981 Surpreme Court decision, opting for the recent women's rights rationale of Justice Ruth Badr Ginsburg and the contemporary court. The judge "spurned" the government's argument about excluding women, based party on their interest for combat by declaring "this argument smacks of arcaic and overbroad generalizations about women's preferences. She said "while historical restrictions on women in the military mat have justified past discrimination" men and women now have similar roles in many ways. She said the "Selective Service had not shown that the male-only registration requirement was "substantially related to Congress's objective of raising and supporting armies." Congress eliminated the draft in the early 1970s but all men ages 18-25 are required by law to provide basic personal information to the Selective Service System.
I feel that drating women in the military is a smart and beneficial choice. I think that it should in fact be considered. It would let women in the country be alot more involved and would allow for women to fight and defend for themselves. However i do see how people can say that this is a very dangerous choice for women to be drafted. This relates to U.S History because of the Selective Service Act of 1948 that created a new and seperate system, the basis for the modern system. It said that all men 18 years or older had to register Selective Service. All men between the ages to 26 were eligible to be drafted for a service requirement of 21 months.
Samuel Martin - Trump Heads Abroad for North Korea Talks
Domestic Distractions Persist as Trump Heads Abroad for North Korea Talks
SummaryPresident Trump is meeting with the dictator Kim Jong-un this week at a summit in Vietnam to try to persuade the leader of North Korea to abandon his nuclear weapons. Trump thinks that if the country completely denuclearizes itself it will prosper economically and politically and end the Korean war. Some reporters believe that the US might be working with North Korea on a joint statement to end the war, while others think that this is a ploy to get Jong-un to destroy the nuclear warheads. Critics are worried that President Trump is giving too much (the retreat of troops from South Korea) in exchange for very little (the "promise" that the country will denuclearize). Even though the president is leaving the country, it is extremely likely that he will be bugged with domestic issues including the border wall, which will be voted upon on Tuesday. This could lead to Trump's first presidential veto, and his first veto while he is on foreign soil.
Analysis
This article was written on Monday, February 25, 2019 in Washington D.C. This means that the author was close to the source location and this written on the same day as Trump made the comments and left for the summit in Vietnam. I already knew that we want to get North Korea denuclearized, but I didn't know that there was an effort right now with all of the domestic problems that we have. This relates to June of 2018, when the president first met and shook hands (a momentous occasion) with Kim Jong-un and talked about beginning denuclearization. The audience of this is all of the US because we need to be aware of the domestic issues going on even though our president is dealing with foreign issues at the moment. The author is Michael D. Shear, who is a White House Correspondent for the NYTimes. The article was written to inform the country about the president's thoughts about Korean denuclearization as well as its benefits. This is important because even though we may not like or agree with our president, we still have to listen to what he thinks because like it or not he is our leader.
Source
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/us/politics/vietnam-summit-trump-kim.html
Avery Corley: Most senior Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse is convicted
source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/australian-cardinal-george-pell-convicted-of-sexually-assaulting-two-choirboys/2019/02/25/078d7e22-3960-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html?utm_term=.f1377e9e9f91
Whale in the Rainforest sally North
This article related to the persistent issue of pollution and lack of recycling of plastic in the US. The amounts of plastic present in the environment is similar to the massive amounts of smog found in cities during the industrial revolution. We really need to be more diligent when it comes to caring for our enviroment.
https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/humpback-whale-dead-amazon-jungle-brazil-rainforest-marajo-island-a8796016.html?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#aoh=15511503533609&_ct=1551150357581&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Fhumpback-whale-dead-amazon-jungle-brazil-rainforest-marajo-island-a8796016.html
Alex Carrington- Alva Johnson Claims That Trump Kissed Her Without Consent
Sydney Ewing- Black Men Falsely Accused of Rape
Judge Rules Male-Only Draft Violates Constitution - Miranda Farrar
This is a monumental change in our history. For a long time, men have been drafted into wars, as seen through conscription during World War I. Never have women been forced to sign up for drafts. I'm sure that many have conflicted feelings about this, as do I. When I was younger, I worried about my male family members maybe one day being forced to fight in a war. I never had to consider that maybe I would have to. The thought scares me, but I'm glad that we're headed towards an even playing field. Overall, this sparks questions of what our country's future holds military-wise.
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/25/697622930/judge-rules-male-only-draft-violates-constitution
Zander Pryor-Anti Vax
Trump accuses Spike Lee of 'racist hit' against him in Oscars acceptance speech by Joaquin Gandara
Keyanna Smith “Democrats prepare to grill Trumps admin on family separation policy”
The debate over Trump’s administration of the immigration act is being ignited on Tuesday and the House Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on the situation. The immigration policy resulted in thousands of parents being separated from their parents. The house democrats have long denounced this but now in their new formed power as a majority this the biggest opportunity for them. They are likely to latch to the inspector general report as an example of the chaos that ensued when the policy was implemented.
This connects to when then they had the immigration act that limited the amount of immigrants that could come into the US however unlike now they had no one fighting for them. This policy however has the consequence that is your an immigrant you will be separated from your parents and back then during their immigration act this did not happen but the consequences were still bad.
Daviah Harrison-The hate Jussie Smollett is accused of faking happened to me
It is sad to know that Jussie has faked something that a lot of people actually go through and this reminds me of many things like when people have faked different illnesses in order to receive special benefits from others. I hate that this has happened and hope that Jussie gets the help that he needs.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/23/opinions/the-hate-jussie-smollett-is-accused-of-faking-happened-to-me-hinkle/index.html
Brandon Spigner - Bernie made 10 milly
Dead humpback whale discovered in Brazil’s Amazon jungle puzzles researchers- Yesenia Ramirez Monroy
Biologists found the body of a humpback whale that was found 50 feet away from shore in Brazil's Amazon in between some trees in the month of February. The humpback whale was around 26 feet long, which meant it was still not an adult and the biologist say it was quite small. A team called SEMMA was alerted to investigate the case and marine experts from Bicho D'água said that a powerful tide might have launched the whale to inland. They also said that it might have also been swimming near shore and might have lost it's mother and Biologist say that it had consumed to much plastic. Over the past few years in 2014 a Public Library of Science journal researched that their was around 5 trillion pieces in our oceans and it is only known to grow.
This article was written by Jennifer Earl on the February the 25, 2019 with the purpose of informing citizens of the current issue that occurred in Brazil, but can also occur mostly anywhere near a large bod of water. By the tone of the author we can assume that she believes that we should take care of our environment. This article may not seem to be a big issue that can affect us in any sort of way in present day, but overtime the issue of pollution will layer on be a major issue. For example around the 18th century their was a large amount of coal production during the Industrial Revolution which led to a lot of smog. This led a lot of people having serious health issues especially in Donora, Pennsylvania. It was also due to the urbanization that was taking place and the rise of Factories and Transportation.
Ice Wall: Zoe Williams
I chose this article because I had never heard of an event like this before. Having icy roads is one thing, but having literal chunks of ice block your way, well that's just a whole new level. This article came from CNN, which I trust as a generally unbiased source.
There were warning against traveling to certain areas during the ice storm just as there were warnings against plain travel just after 9/11.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/us/lake-erie-ice-walls-trnd/index.html
Serena Williams Ad Exposes Double Standard- Kennedy Hannible
index.html
Leslie Vasquez- Drafting Only Men for the Military is Ruled Unconstitutional
I think drafting women into the military should happen/should be considered. Not only would it increase the country's ability to defend itself and be strategic in new ways, it would also allow women to be more involved in a career that has been predominately male. This can open doors to equality of genders and more.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/military-draft-men-unconstitutional.html
Isadora Lilly- Trump whines on Twitter over Spike Lee's Oscar Speech
This past Sunday, director of BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee, gave a passionate acceptance speech at the Oscars following his win of the title of best adapted screenplay for his film. Lee addressed black history, ancestry, and the upcoming 2020 presidential election, saying, "The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let's all mobilize. Let's all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let's do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there."
Following his speech, Trump took to Twitter yet again to use his time productively and whine about another grown man's speech at the Oscars. Trump wrote: "Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts, etc.) than almost any other Pres!"
This reminds me of virtually every other time Trump has used social media to imitate propaganda in an attempt to invalidate the opinion of those who contradict him and sway the nation's opinions in favor of himself. I am reminded in particular of an event I recently wrote about where Trump mocked Elizabeth Warren on Twitter, U.S. Senator planning to run for president in the upcoming 2020 election. Trump will do anything to crush his competition and brainwash the nation when it comes to this election. In the words of Lee, "Let's all be on the right side of history."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/02/25/spike-lees-oscar-acceptance-speech-slammed-racist-hit-trump/2977425002/
Ryan Mecca | A country with some of the country’s strictest gun laws could not stop this shooting
Gun laws in the U.S. have been up for debate recently, particularly gaining momentum after the Parkland school shooting. This article is directed towards the those who believe that gun violence can be solved with legislature, in order to prove otherwise. It allows us to see that regardless of strong gun restrictions, deadly shooting such as this will still occur and there is really no way for us to completely perfect the system, as there will always be flaws. The author, Emanuella Grinberg, appears to support the gun control movement, however, based on the main point made in the article, most likely does not believe that strict laws will reduce shootings in our country.
Just like no matter the amount of legislature there isn’t restricting the use of guns in the U.S., there will always be gun violence, no matter how much industrial innovation there was during the Roaring 20s, nothing prevented the Great Depression. During the 20s, there were many new industries on the rise such as the automobile, steel, aircraft industries and the creation of new labor-saving products such as the washing machine, however, this mass production drove prices down, leading to the biggest stock crash in U.S. history.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/23/us/gun-laws-illinois-shooting/index.html
Dayana Barron- Drafting Only Men for the Military is Unconstitutional
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/military-draft-men-unconstitutional.html
A military draft is applying only to men is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Houston has ruled, and says that excluding woman is now no longer justified because it is proven that women can do just as much as men can do. The Pentagon abolished these restrictions of excluding woman from the Military in 2015, and this opened a way for woman to be able to serve in the military role.
Historical restrictions on woman in the military may have justified past discrimination, men and women are now similarly situated purposes of a draft or registration for a draft. Im glad that woman are now able to serve in the military and are now a bit more respected than in the past. Woman are able to just as much or even more things than men can.
Cathy Huynh - After the crash: How Wall Street is driving up homelessness
Source: After the crash: How Wall Street is driving up homelessness
Summary: This article was written by Irina Ivanova on Feb. 25 so it is safe to trust this up-to-date info. I can relate this to the Great Depression, as it evicted many people too. This article was written to have a negative influence on the audience as it gives sad details about the devious investors, and invoking the desire to help victims. This article was written to recount on the 2008 house market crash and how it is still affecting today. This article is important, because it shows remnants of the Great Depression today.
Ban on Felons Right to Vote in Florida- Hannah Rodriguez
After Putin's warning, Russian TV lists nuclear targets in U.S. - Cesar Galvan
Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes.The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style crisis if the United States wanted one.
With tensions rising over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels, Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near U.S. waters.
The United States says it has no immediate plans to deploy such missiles in Europe and has dismissed Putin’s warnings as disingenuous propaganda. It does not currently have ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe.
However, its decision to quit the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty over an alleged Russian violation, something Moscow denies, has freed it to start developing and deploying such missiles.
Putin has said Russia does not want a new arms race, but has also dialled up his military rhetoric.
Jussie Smollett arrested- Perla Diaz
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/arts/television/jussie-smollett-attack-suspect.html
Jussie Smollett, an actor on "Empire" who claimed to have been victim of a hate crime, was arrested on Thursday morning. He had claimed that he was attacked and assaulted by MAGA supporters who were verbally harassing him using homophobic and racial slurs and then physically attacked and was a victim of an attempted lynching. There were many who were justifiably outraged by the he fact that anyone could even think of trying to commit such a disgusting hate crime. However, due to footage and evidence that Chicago PD was able to obtain they were able to conclude that he had payed off his alleged attackers to assault him and his wounds were self inflicted. Many believed that his reasons for doing this were that he was afraid if being written off the show and wanted the publicity; however, FOX denied these claims and stated that they weren't planning on writing him off the show and he played a key role in "Empire"
I think this is an unforgivable act for anyone to do. His actions hurt numerous people in more ways than imaginable. It made me hose who defended him and called for social reform appear as radicals who are complaining for no reason and just trying to clvictimize themselves. It decredited people in the future who may actually become victims of a hate crime and made it so people are more hesitant to people who claim to be victims of crime. He also took advantage of our people's sympathy and those who want to protect victims of discrimination and hate. The claims of Smollett were similar to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan during the early 1920's.
Federal Judge Rules Male-Only Draft is Unconstitutional -Hadley McGhee
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/politics/male-only-draft-unconstitutional/index.html
As much as I loved knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about myself in the event of a draft, I am inclined to agree that a male-only draft is unconstitutional. This pertains to Title IX, which ruled that nobody can be discriminated against in an educational program on the basis of sex. In this case, it says that nobody can be discriminated against in the federal draft on the basis of sex.
Besides, if the same vision standards apply to the female draft as the male draft, I’m still too blind for the draft.
Louisiana Mass Shooting- Hannah Rodriguez
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/01/26/new-orleans-shooting/
Women's March for Third Year- Hannah Rodriguez
https://womensmarchglobal.org/events/437/
Sophia Zhukova -The teenager became the youngest creator of a fusion reactor
14-year-old teenager Jackson Oswalt became the youngest designer of a fusion reactor. The device created by him is completely working, and Jackson himself can become a record holder among young nuclear physicists. This writes Science Alert.
According to the publication, the teenager created a nuclear laboratory in an old game room in his home.
A beginner nuclear engineer worked on a fusion reactor project from the age of 12, and on January 19, 2018, a few hours before his 13th birthday, he allegedly completed his task.
Oswalt conducted a fusion reaction, pushing the atoms of gaseous deuterium in the reactor. His invention breaks up the atoms with enough force to combine them into one, and this process releases the energy accumulated inside the atoms.
The teenager reactor was constructed from parts that were purchased on eBay by his parents. In general, the project took about 10 thousand dollars.
I was shocked when I read about this and honestly, I still can't believe in it. Sometimes you think how is it possible for adult people to create such things, and then you hear about some kid made crazy stuff. I just can't imagine how smart the person can be and is it really possible to be smart at this age, well, there are many other questions came up on my mind because of it. I think there is nothing impossible for us at this age anyway; we just have to remember that we can do everything. There are good examples and evidence of this which we can look up in history when in the 1960s students protests were dedicated to resolving issues involving civil rights, poverty and liberating college students.
the-teenager-became-the-youngest-creator-of-a-nuclear-fusion-reactor
Los Angeles Teachers Go on Strike- Hannah Rodriguez
This has brought a lot of attention to many because in many other states, it's illegal for teachers to go on strike and school days could just be cancelled that day if such occurs. However, in LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District), school days are to continue and its also one of the largest school districts in the nation. So seeing these classes filled with only substitutes and thousands of students gone was a shocker and attention grabber to many
https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickhess/2019/01/16/the-real-deal-with-the-los-angeles-teachers-strike/#316171132218
With women in combat roles, a federal court rules male-only draft unconstitutional- Maya Friedmann
Hannah Beachler and Ruth E.Carter Make Oscar History
I remember watching both of these women winning and feeling ecstatic not only for them, but my entire community. The fact that they are the first means so much for the future of film and in many ways they are paving the way for future women in the film industry. This story can be compared to when Hattie McDaniel was the first black woman to win an Oscar in 1939.
Hannah Beachler and Ruth E. Carter
Hattie McDaniel
Jussie Smollet reportedly has evidence to dispute police claim
I am very surprised that Jussie Smollet filed a false police claim and what happened wasn't real. Everybody was feeling very bad for him and supporting him, but in the back of his head he knew this was all totally a lie and it wasn't true. He deserves to have to pay the $100,000 bond.
All-Male Military Draft Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules- Emma Myers
This article talks about the military drafting being all male. Equal rights are a big deal nowadays, and with that comes equal responsibility. The article interviews a woman who was surprised when she didn't have to sign up for the draft. Although this draft hasn't been used since '73, it is still an issue that needs to be debated. (This is a really short interview, so there is not much to summarize)
The author does not need to convince the audience, because this is a purely factual document- it states other people's opinion on the issue. I think everyone can agree that women should be drafted, because now that women are admitted into the military, they should also be drafted. As the article states, having only men is simply discriminatory. Although men and women are treated differently in value of life and military, it is time that they are treated the same. This article relates to history because keeping the male-only draft is in the mindset of many years ago.
T-Series finally surpassed Pewdiepie in YouTube subscribers and barely anyone noticed- Cesar Galvan
After a nearly half-year long race, internet personality PewDiePie has finally been dethroned as YouTube’s most subscribed channel by Bollywood music video channel T-Series. The video production company surpassed the YouTuber in subscribers for the very first time on Friday, Feb. 22.
However, the India-based T-Series' reign as the new “most-subscribed” channel on YouTube didn’t last for very long.
“For roughly 8 minutes, as a result of a YouTube audit, T-Series was ahead of PewDiePie (by a max of about 2000 [subscribers]),” a spokesperson with the social media analytics company SocialBladeconfirmed in a statement to Mashable.
A Florida man died after his Tesla Model S crashed and caught fire -Cesar Galvan
A south Florida man, Omar Awan, died Sunday after his Tesla Model S spun out of control, for reasons yet unknown, hit several trees, and was engulfed in flames.
Police estimated that the car was traveling between 75 and 90 mph. The speed limit on that road is 50 mph.
According to a reporter on the scene, police said their rescue efforts were stymied by the fact that the Tesla's retractable door handles did not retract after the crash. When asked about the door handles, a Tesla spokesperson pointed Business Insider to page 24 of the company's first responders guide.
Dangerous Cartoons - Devion Camp
Nadine Kaslow, a president of the American Psychological Association and professor at Emory University School of Medicine, has been doing research and collecting data on the subliminal tips and tricks of attempting suicide and self harm. Suicide is a big contributing cause of death in between the ages of 10 and mid 20's. Each year, more suicide attempts from the youth has been recorded. Each year, at least 157,000 cases of self injured has been reported from the ages of 10 and 24. Most of this data has been recorded from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of these disturbing subliminal messages have been found in videos in YouTube kids and famous cartoons.
Suicide and depression has been a rapidly growing problems. This is concerning to see that it's also being implied and taught to our children nowadays. Everywhere you look you see hidden disturbing messages in shows and programs for kids. It concerns me that if we dont get better control of what are kids watch then they will wanna attempt and possibly commit suicide.