Sydney Bridgeforth - The State of Mississippi wants Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Renamed

Summary

The City of Biloxi, Mississippi, faced backlash after publishing notices that it would be observing "Great Americans Day" on the third Monday of January - more widely known as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

The city's official Twister and Facebook accounts announced on Friday that Biloxi's non-emergency municipal offices would be closed on Monday "in observance of Great Americans Day," which is also the federal holiday celebrating the birth of the nation's most celebrated civil rights hero.

According to a statement released by the city's mayor Andrew "FoFo" Gilich, the origin of "Great Americans Day" was traced back to a December 1985 City Council decision that proclaimed the third Monday of every January would "honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as other great Americans who have made important contributions to the birth, growth and evolution of the country."

Biloxi said he believed the city's Code of Ordinances should be updated. "In my opinion," that is the appropriate step to take, for the holiday to have the same name as the federal holiday."

The mayor did not address who wrote the social media posts and why they chose to reference "Great Americans Day" rather than the notable federal holiday. Biloxi celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day every year with a large parade - an event the mayor himself noted.

This city's longstanding support of our annual MLK celebrations speaks volumes about our support for this holiday," the mayor added in his statement. "In fact, we've always celebrated this day as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day."

Mississippi, along with Alabama and Arkansas, also celebrate Robert E. Lee Day on the third Monday in January as well. Lee led the confederate forces during the Civil War.

Biloxi holds a large Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade every year. This year, the parade will include a program of speakers and a battle of the bands. The theme of the parade this year is "If not us, who? If not now, when?"

A city spokesman said it was a call to community action.

"We are reflecting on the relationship between John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.," said city spokesman Gordon Jackson. "We want to encourage people to take a cause of action in their lives to make a positive difference in the community."

Analysis 

This article was written on January 14, 2017 by Phil McCausland.  The article was written starting out almost to mislead the reader.  In my opinion, because this is a federally recognized holiday, it should not have other people being recognized on his day.  He worked hard and fought a hard battle for Civil Rights.  There should be another special Monday in another month that can honor all other Great Americans.  

Not to discredit the work of the others, many movements took place to get this holiday recognized and all states and cities need to respect history.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amp/biloxi-mississippi-refers-great-americans-day-instead-mlk-day-n706946?client=safari

Ciaja Beck (4th period) What could happen to birth control under Trump?

Summary: As the  Inauguration starts to get closer women are starting to believe that Donald Trump will make it harder to have access to birth control . Many are shaken with worry, many women have had tears in their eyes as they wait for Donald Trump to take office.One woman stated that she should get an IUD (An IUD is a small T-shaped plastic device that is inserted in the uterus by a doctor to prevent unwanted pregnancies). soon as possible,for she stated "Im very worried I will lose my coverage."   
Mira Gonzales also stated 
"trump WILL make birth control hundreds of dollars and make it near impossible to get an abortion. do not underestimate him. get an IUD y'all." 

Analysis: I honestly feels as if Trump is trying to suppress Women Rights from dehumanizing women, trying to deduct abortion and now birth control.It is eventually the woman’s life that would be affected and no one else’s, who would the government be to take that away from "We the people?" We live in a country supposedly based on freedoms, and women should endure to have liberty over their own choices. According to the 9th amendment and 14th amendment it states 

The 14th amendment limits the action of state and local officials. In addition to equal protection under the law to all citizens, the amendment also addresses what is called "due process", which prevents citizens from being illegally deprived of life, liberty, or property.

The ninth amendment states that any rights not specifically granted to the people by the constitution are not necessarily denied to them either. It was designed to protect the United States federal government from being too powerful. 
   
WAKE UP AMERICA THIS IS REAL LIFE,THIS IS WHO YOU VOTED FOR! https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/politics/trump-birth-control-climate.html

Grace Schwall- US policy change on Cuban migrants leave many stranded

   In an attempt to better US relations with the Cuban government, Obama recently ended the "wet foot dry foot" Cuban immigration policy. This policy stated that if a Cuban migrant  is not intercepted  in the waters between the two countries then they aren't sent back to Cuba. This article is about how the termination of this policy has impacted Cubans who were already en route to the US. Many immigrants are now stranded in shelters in Panama. Returning to Cuba is not an option for most of these immigrants. Some are looking to other Latin American nations (such as Panama) for refuge while others still hope for a way into the US. These immigrants were devastated when they learned that the policy had been ended. Talk of the possible termination of wet foot, dry foot led to an increase in Cuban immigrants in the last 2 years.

This article is from the New York Yimes. I found it interesting that the article included quotes from stranded immigrants so that their perspective was really clear. It was written to convey the challenge these people are now facing that they have no way to the US. Some immigrants already have family waiting for them in the US. The termination of the policy benefits the Cuban government by discouraging illegal emigration, but hurts some of its citizens. Hopefully the stranded immigrants will be able to start new lives where they are now. This situation can be synthesized to the Chinese Exclusion Act in the late 1800s which stopped Chinese immigrants from coming to the US.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/01/13/world/americas/ap-lt-panama-stranded-cubans.html?_r=0

Why 2017 is the wrong year for Trump to mess with China - Bakari Williams

Summary: The article explains how Trump has already created tensions between the US and China by meeting with the Taiwanese President earlier this week. China feared that this action will mess with the One-China Act that gave the Taiwanese diplomats little to no power. Another thing that was specified was that the upcoming election in China will make the government a very sensitive thing to tamper with and they will not take lightly to any outside influences during the time of the election.

Synthesis: The topic is related to the passing of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 which said that all of the old world countries were basically forbidden from having anything to do with the United States. China is basically saying the same thing and that any further outside influence, aside from what Trump has already done, will not be tolerated.

North Korea says can test-launch ICBM at any time: official news agency - Bakari Williams

Summary: North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un, threatens that the North Korean government has the ability to test launch an ICBM, an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile at any given time from any given location. Un claims that the cause of the development of the weapon is to blame from the US's hostile policies on the couuntry. The article seemed not to emphasize the actual danger of the nuclear warhead saying that, "defence programs constituted a "serious threat" to the United States and that it was prepared to shoot down a North Korean missile launch or test." The actual threat seemed to be constituted around the repercussions of North Korea launching the warhead in general. 

Synthesis: This can be synthesized with the times of the Antebellum age where there were growing tension between the North and the South. Both sides were growing apart but the actual war was just waiting to be triggered from a single gunshot. In this case if any nuclear warhead were to be launched at the United States or quite possibly any of our allies, a war will most likely be started. 

Alyssa Sartuche- 3 dead after stolen car crash

Summary: On Sunday around 6 pm. in New York State police are saying that a stolen car has crashed into a pond and 3 people have died. They found out the car was stolen because the license plate reader said it was a hit. When police went looking for the Honda they immediately found it but did not turn on its lights on the car because they didn't want to scare the person driving and let them know they were following them. All of the sudden the vechicle began to speed up and ended crashing into a fence and overturned into a pond. By definition it was not a chase because the police did not have their lights on so they can safely say the police did not cause the accident.

Analysis: This whole situation seems really weird. I feel like almost the person driving wanted to kill the other two in the car or himself because why would he have just speeded up like that. He police did not have their lights on so the driver didn't see them following them. I do agree with the " it's was not a chase, by definition it was not a chase" because the police man said he  was simply following them from a distance waiting for backup. He wasn't on their tail with lights or sirens. There is no way he could have caused this.

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/3-dead-after-stolen-car-crashes-into-long-island-pond-police-say/

Powerhouse Storm to Blast California, Catastrophic Floods Possible - Sydney Bridgeforth

Summary

Record flooding is possible this weekend across drought plagued California due to a powerhouse storm that is forecast to slam into the state, potentially bringing the worst flooding there in decades.  The amount of rain that is predicted to fall in California this weekend can be expected once every 10-25 years, said The Weather Service Center.

The Napa River near St. Helena is forecast to rise to an all-time record level on Sunday.  The potential for excessive rain, combined with melting snow will trigger these floods.  Mudslides and debris flows are also possible.

The storm system is from an "atmospheric river" a long narrow region of the atmosphere that transports moisture out of the tropics, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Analysis

The article was posted on USA Today on January 6, 2017 at 2:18 p.m. by Doyle Rice.  I have never read any prior articles written by Doyle.  This article was written to present the atmospheric weather conditions that were about to take place in California.  He did not apply his personal opinion.  He merely presented the facts of the situation.

This article is very interesting, historically, because it has become a topic of weather or not there is Global Warming.  This article does not specifically discuss Global Warming, but I found it interesting as it relates to our history and our planet.  If our government does not start taking the information presented to them more seriously, our entire planet will continue to be in jeopardy.




http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/01/06/california-rain-snow-storm-floods-atmospheric-river/96251880