Ebola Survivor Nina Pham Suing Hospital to Be 'Voice for Other Nurses' - Jack VanGorden 4th per.

Nina Pham, the 26-year-old nurse who became famous for contracting Ebola at a Dallas hospital, has announced that she plans to sue Texas Health Resources. If you didn't know Texas Health Resources is the parent company of the hospital Pham worked at, Texas Health Presbyterian. Charla Aldous, her lawyer, told ABC News that she thinks that they "didn't train the staff to treat Ebola and didn't give them proper protective gear, which left parts of their skin exposed." She and her lawyer both think that this with these resources, Pham would never have contracted the disease because there would have been no possible way of her being in contact with it. Although it may seem that she is doing this to stay relevant and in the news, Pham really just wants to make a change in the nursing community so that no one has to go through what she did. According to Aldous, she may never go back to nursing because her body is still recovering from the after math of the disease. For example, she suffers nightmares and body aches. Responding to word of Nina Pham pressing charges, Wendell Watson, a spokesperson from Texas Health Resources issued a statement saying, "Nina Pham bravely served Texas Health Dallas during a most difficult time. We continue to support and wish the best for her, and we remain optimistic that constructive dialogue can resolve this matter."

This article was written by Emily Shapiro of ABC News on Mar 1, 2015 at 8:09 PM ET. I was so happy to hear the news that this article shared. I think that it is very brave of Nina Pham to go up against a huge company like Texas Health Resources and demand that changes be made to enforce the safety of nurses and other hospital workers. If the hospital had just taken the time and resources to instruct staff on the proper procedures to stay out of contact with Ebola than I don't think Pham would have contracted the disease. But because of their mistake, she will suffer the permanent consequences.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ebola-survivor-nina-pham-suing-hospital-voice-nurses/story?id=29310858

15-Vehicle Pileup Shuts Down U.S. Highway 75 North of Dallas- Ausia Jones

A multivehicle crash in Melissa, Texas, shut down U.S. Highway 75 southbound Friday morning. The accident, which happened about 40 miles north of downtown Dallas, involved two semis and 13 cars. Snow was reported in the area around the time of the incident, along with fog, and visibilities were down to 0.25 mile in spots. Since there isn't usually a ton of snow in Texas I think we tend to freak out when there's the smallest bit on the roads. In the northeast they have experienced multiple inches and they still managed to get to school and drive on the roads. I think its pretty funny how things change when it starts snowing in the south but I think everyone enjoyed the days off.

http://www.weather.com/news/news/pileup-melissa-texas-dallas

14-Year Killed Over FACEBOOK by Yasmine B (5th pd)

     I know what a lot of you are thinking just from reading the title: who uses Facebook anymore? On top of the surprising fact that people still use Facebook, it is quite astonishing that someone could get killed over a few comments they made. Unfortunately, this happened to a 14-year old girl In Birmingham, Alabama.
     The people who the victim quarreled with over Facebook was planning to address their problems in a public park physically and on video tape so that they can later post it on Facebook. After the fight had already started, two male teenagers started shooting at the group of fighting teenage girls, killing the fourteen year old. Although no names are being released at this time, the Birmingham police department do have two suspects, a 17 and 19 year old male, in custody. Hopefully the police can label this case as closed after talking to the two suspects.

Link to article:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/01/us/alabama-facebook-teen-girl-killed/index.html

Traffic Storm- Lauren Kuehmeier, Period 2

     
Everyone in Dallas surely got a chance to see how bad the traffic really was this past Friday. But after Dallas Police Department spokeswoman Tramese Andrews sent out the traffic accident figures we got to see how bad they really were. The released data was collected from twelve o' clock midnight to eight o' clock was 269 minor accidents, 119 major accidents and 98 major freeway accidents.  These are just the reported number of accidents. All these accidents can't just be attributed to the snow and ice, the bigger issue in Dallas that Friday was the amount of distracted drivers.  Hopefully we'll have better luck next snow day.




Here is a photo that can give some clue of the horrible traffic.


Link:  http://centraltrack.com/Culture/6670/Snow-Jam--Hurl/Just-How-Bad-Was-Traffic-In-Dallas-Today-Really-Fucking-Bad-According-To-Cops

The Endangered Species List Continues- Lauren Kuehmeier, Period 2

       Due to the great amount of captures of killer whales for marine parks in the nineteen- sixties and seventies, we are now realizing the consequences as we add Miami Seaquarium's killer whale, Lolita, to the endangered species list. Other factors contributed to the depletion in the population such as environmental factors as pollution, oil spills and noise from passing vessels. This is a grave reality has not put a halt to Lolita's requirement to perform for the marine park which has created an outrage from activists. Organizations such as PETA are doing their best to fight for Lolita, yet the Seaquarium claims that she is much safer in captivity than in the wild. But Miami Seaquarium is the oldest in the world and its tanks are obviously inadequate for a creature that was once swimming miles a day. Yet that is true in every marine park. There is also great uncertainty that such a domesticated creature could survive in what was once her home and it could be reckless to send her to the ocean to find out. So, the Lolita must remain a slave to the marine park.

    The story of Lolita shows the damaging effects of humans reckless capturing of other mammals. While there is no real solution or happy ending for Lolita, this case demonstrates there are grave effects to keeping these animals for our entertainment. I find the forced shows and tricks of these magnificent creatures barbaric and needing to be ended soon. I trust activists organizations to speed up the process and bring light to the cruel nature of such marine parks.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/05/us/captive-killer-whale-lolita-endangered-species/index.html

A Mass Killing in Missouri By: Zaria Chambers 5th period

A gunman in Missouri killed seven people including himself and injured one person on Thursday night.  The seven people that were found dead were said to have gunshot wombs to them. They were all found in there homes which was located in a small town with a population of fifty people. The gun an was identified to be Joseph Jesse Aldridge and he was believed to related to all of the victims. Authorities are not quite sure of why he decided to go on a killing spree. His mother was found dead but it was due to natural causes and some authorities think maybe that was his motive. 

This is a very tragic situation and its so sad to hear. There really needs to be a control on gun laws. Maybe people should take test to decide whether or not they are able to  purchase a gun. This is very tragic and I really hope that the families of the victims and the community can move forward from this. 

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/27/us/missouri-deaths/index.html

Falling Oil Prices Result in Job Layoffs - Addison Norman

For the past few months the U.S. has been greatly impacted by the drop in oil prices. Consumers have seen gas prices get lower and lower along with other goods. To most people the decrease in pricing is a good thing, but to those who work for oil companies may be in fear for their jobs. When oil prices are low, companies involved with extracting and producing oil profit less resulting in less income and layoffs. Some officials have estimated around 140,000 Texans alone could be laid off due to the oil prices.
The falling oil prices in relation to layoffs greatly resembles what happened to farmers during the Great Depression. In the 30's many farmers began producing so much crops resulting in surplus. This surplus caused prices to fall drastically, especially when American farmers had to compete internationally during Hoover's administration. Because American farmers were having to sell their goods for less than they were worth many farms went bankrupt.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-braces-for-massive-layoffs-amid-oil-slump/