Nature Gone Mad
By: Briana Aguilar
10/3/17
Lately all over the world Nature has shocked us all, with the hurricanes, earthquakes and who knows what can happen in the next few days or even years.
The first hurricane that had hit the United States since Wilma, was hurricane Harvey that hit Houston, Texas. With the death toll of 70 or more. People began to drown, crushed by trees and died during power outages. The people of Houston were not so prepared for this hurricane. Not so many were people able to evacuate. This lead to people no longer having homes, family loss and also pets. As of today, people are still left without a home and family.
Continuing to Hurricane Irma it hit the land of Puerto Rico and Florida, but this Hurricane people were more prepared and not so much destructor. On the other hand, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico once again and left people with no homes, no food. These people were literally left with literally nothing.
Lastly, earthquakes have hit Central Mexico in the worst ways possible. Buildings collapsed and people have still not yet been found. Bodies are still under these buildings this has left people of Mexico with pure sadness. The best of luck to the places that have destruct by Human Nature.
We still ask ourselves why are these disasters happening so rapidly? and how do the scientist feel about this? Is this global warming?
The answers are unknown. Scientist have not yet found the reason of why all the disasters are happening so quickly. Also, people do not know when another disaster will strike the world.
Widening Gap Between Rich, Poor
By Sayra Ramos
October 3, 2017
On Wednesday October 23 in Washington DC, the Trump administration outlined a new tax plan that mainly benefits the wealthy, says the New York Times. The proposal reduces the taxation of business income, thereby benefiting only large business owners. President Trump claims the tax cuts would “increase investment and Spur growth”, but experts disagree. Of course, Mr. Trump’s credibility is hindered by the fact that the plan would benefit him by eliminating the estate tax. This tax only affects a few thousand wealthy families each year.
Although President Trump has not provided enough details as to prove the statement true, he has repeatedly claimed the new plan would reduce taxes to middle-class families. According to the New York Times, some households could actually end up paying more. This proposal is eerily similar to tax cuts passed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981and President George W. Bush in 2001. Mr. Trump, just like them, has claimed that “cutting taxes will increase economic growth.” The difference however, is that both President Reagan and President Bush cut taxes during recessions. While President Trump is determined to cut taxes during a long economic expansion.
Interestingly enough, all three presidents had claimed that debt would not rise. As everyone knows, the debt soared after both Mr. Reagan and Mr. Bush’s claims. Not only that, their tax cuts had happened when federal revenues had climbed unusually high. Meanwhile, our current revenues are close to an average level. Economists agree however, that because Mr. Trump is more focused on business tax cuts than both presidents had been, economic gains are more likely.
The fact remains; upper-income households would get large tax cuts while lower-income households would get none. While the impact on the middle class is not yet clear, the proposal to reduce business taxes and eliminate the estate tax would inevitably benefit wealthy Americans. Lily Batchelder, who served as deputy director of Mr. Obama’s Economic Council says that, “I don’t think there’s any way to justify this as a progressive proposal. In broad brush strokes, they’re doing nothing for the bottom 35 percent, they’re doing very little and possibly raising taxes on the middle class, and they’ve specified tax cuts for the wealthy.”
President Trump as he spoke of his tax plans in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Tom Brenner/The New York Times
Tom Petty: Born to Rock
By Dylan Graves
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers first became famous in the 1970s. Their 1976 debut had a minor hit, “Breakdown”, but it was when Petty’s third album, “Damn the Torpedoes”, released in 1980 when the band became mainstream. That same album won critical raves, went platinum and had the hits “Don't Do Me Like That” and “refugee”. Petty sang with Stevie Nicks that same year on her hit “Stop Dragging My Heart Around.” That duet was the start of many collaborations with Petty and other artists.
Petty joined Bob Dylan on tour in 1986, which also included dates with the Grateful Dead.
He joined other music legends Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison in 1988 to form The Traveling Wilburys, which released two albums. Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida and became hooked on rock at age 11. He met Elvis Presley on a movie set.
Petty joined his first band in high school at age 14 called, The Sundowners, but Petty quit after getting into an argument with the band’s drummer. Petty than joined a group called The Epics, which included a brother of Eagles guitarist, Bernie Leadon, Tom Leadon. Fellow band member, Rick Rucker told the Orlando Sentinel in 2006 “We realized Tom was the real musician of the band.”
The Epic’s later changed their name to Mudcrutch, Petty traveled to Los Angeles in search of a record deal for the rock quintet. They landed a deal, but then the group soon broke up.
Then a new group that included petty and two former Mudcrutch members formed in 1975, eventually becoming known as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Petty went solo in 1989 before regrouping with the Heartbreakers three years later.
Petty also became successful in acting, he starred with Kevin Costner in the 1997 film, “The Postman”, also he had a recurring role in the animated comedy “King of the Hill”, as the voice of Elroy “Lucky” Kleinschmidt. In 1997 there was a dark turn for the singer and his struggle with heroin, following the collapse of his 20-year marriage and a failed album.
Petty told CNN in a 2007 interview that he loved music as much as it loved him.
He stated “Music, as far as I have seen in the world so far, is the only real magic that I know.”
Tom Petty died of Cardiac arrest on Oct. 2.
15-Day Newborn Never Got To Enjoy Life
Caliyah McNabb Found In The Woods
By Elizabeth Munoz
In Covington, Georgia, Newton County received a phone call from Christopher McNabb reporting his 15 day year old missing. Christopher had said that around 5 a.m. Caliyah McNabb who was born premature at 5 pounds, was fed and changed and put back to bed with her 2 year old sister. The parents said they went to go and check on the infant around 10 a.m, and had found that she was missing. Later, police issued a warrant to search the home, and a search party to investigate the woods near the home.
Newton County Sheriff said that the baby’s body was found inside a cloth drawstring sack in the woods on Sunday around 3 p.m. The mother of the infant was questioned and released. The father Christopher McNabb had taken off running when he found out the infants body was located. Eventually, he was found 4 hours later at a convenience store and charged with probation violation.
Christopher McNabb has not been charged with this murder. But the babies grandfather Tim Bell felt certain that he should be in jail. He stated “He done something to that baby”. Bell has a strong intuition that the father Christopher, had something to do with Caliyah’s death.
An autopsy has not been performed, but hopefully will be fulfilled to determine the cause and manner of death.
Deadliest Mass Murder In Modern American History
A Terrorism Act
By Emily Jaramillo
October 4th, 2017
Terrorism acts are increasingly occurring in the United States, but are these events being committed by non-American individuals? In today’s society, other races except for the above stated Americans are being blamed for terrorism acts such as shootings and bombings. I have concluded that this country’s only real path to demise is the ones that Americans make for ourselves.
Taking the recent event of the Las Vegas shooting that happened in The Mandalay Bay hotel area with a growing total of 59 dead and over 400 injured, for example with the murder identifying as a white American citizen. The bottom line in this event being that this, in fact, was an act of terrorism and needs to be recognized as one. The news headlines were quick to release the fact that Stephen Paddock had not been associated with any sort of terrorist group and his motive was still unknown. The first question that I overheard being asked had primarily been, “Is the shooter a muslim and did he claim allegiance to a terrorist group?” Deciding to conduct my own research, I found that according to the FBI, shootings and mass murders over the past 25 years in the U.S has been committed by individuals of all races, however, 94% of them happen to be non-Muslim.
I think our current American Government is so consumed with protecting our country from foreign threats that they fail to see that the real threat is already inside our home. This isn’t any sort of preventative issue because it’s happening now. Our own society is killing each other and our President is worried about foreigners and the NFL.
By Brianna Gallegos
The Brand Dove had put out an ad I'm pretty positive it was for Youtube. Some people had seen the commercial as racist. Society went crazy over it and so they took it down. The ad was of 3 women in T-shirts, their skin color changing into a different one. There was a black female model who changed from brown into white. The other models changed into just other shades of their skin color, which is light. I believe they found it racist because they may think that after using the Dove soap that she’d turn white, which is false advertisement.
First of all, in my personal opinion, that ad wasn’t racist unless you look at it that way. It was just the model representing her skin color like the other girls. Would it make a difference if the models changed from white females to black? I believe not. There is no issue. If the black model had a racist feeling to it, she wouldn't of done the ad. She’s obviously smiling with no problem and is doing as said for the ad. She’s a beautiful model doing what she loves, like the others.
“The short video was intended to convey that Dove body wash is for every woman and be a celebration of diversity, but we got it wrong,” the brand said Monday in a statement to Reuters. The black model personally also doesn't see the ad as racist. She knows that the beauty industry has fueled this opinion with its long history of presenting lighter, mixed-race or white models as the beauty standard. In the past and in many countries still today, darker models are used to demonstrate a product’s skin-lightening qualities to help women reach this level. She said, “ I have seen affect women from many different communities I’ve been a part of. And this is why, when Dove offered me the chance to be the face of a new body wash campaign, I jumped. Having the opportunity to represent my dark-skinned sisters in a global beauty brand felt like the perfect way for me to remind the world that we are here, we are beautiful, and more importantly, we are valued. As I said, in my opinion, she said the same if she had the slightest If I had even the slightest tendency that I would be sketched as lower-ranking, or as the “before” in a before and after shot, she would have been the first to say an emphatic “no”. She exclaimed “I would have (un)happily walked right off set and out of the door. That is something that goes against everything I stand for.”
Dylan Graves
Isiah tapia
10-19-17
In the month of October, it is bullying awareness/bullying prevention month to kind of shed light on the bullying that’s going on around the United States. Most of the time when it comes to bullying nobody ever really pays attention until it’s too late, a lot of people commit suicide because nobody ever really helps out because a lot of people are too scared to help out and kids are way too scared to ask for help, especially to friends, because in the generation we live in kids don't take it serious at all. People’s friends will just laugh at you or they will say just fight the person that’s bullying you. Which should never be the option. That’s why there’s actually a lot of people that are picked on for the most ridiculous things, for the clothes they wear, the way they look, and sometimes just because the bully wants to. It’s all because the kids that live in our generation, most of them just don't care about other people’s real feelings until it’s too late.
We asked these following questions to the staff (Ms. Krenrich, Mr. Treppeidi, Mr. Leyba, And Ms. Valdez) at our school and here’s what they said:
Q: How do you feel about bullying awareness month?
They all had different opinions, some of the staff agreed that we should have it, and other staff thought it was a good idea but it wasn't effective.
Q: Do you think the bullying awareness month will actually prevent bullying at all?
Some staff said yes, if the bully is aware then they will have that voice in their head to stop. And some staff said no that even though these bullies may know it’s bad they do it anyway.
Q: Do you think bullying has decreased in the past 10 years?
Everyone we asked said yes, yes bullying has decreased in the past ten years, but kids have also changed just by their morals. Kids know what to do and what not to do. (Teens smoking cigarettes decreased)
Even though bullies are aware of bullying prevention month, bullying is inevitable. Maybe some bullies will stop bullying but the problem will not be solved. Just by labeling a month ‘bullying awareness month’ doesn't mean the problem will be fixed, but at least we have awareness and are putting light on the subject.
APS Gets its First Therapy Dog
By Alicia Rodriguez
Sargent Lilly is the youngest member in the APS police department. Lilly is a goldendoodle a golden retriever and poodle mix that works as a therapy dog for APS police. Deputy Chief of the APS department Carla Gandara says the incident of Victoria Martens a former student at Petroglyph Elementary inspired her to buy the dog out of her own money.The Sheriff's department brought in the therapy dog and it helped calm the children down. Carla says she wants to make sure every kid is safe.
The use of therapy dogs is to help calm and reduce stress of people. Therapy dogs help by working with a child learning to read to visiting a senior citizen. Therapy dogs are not service dogs. Therapy dogs help comfort while service dogs are trained to do certain tasks for a person who has a disability.
It has been proven that therapy dogs have decreased 60% of anxiety and loneliness for college students. If AHA had a therapy dog, there would be less stress around and it can help us motivate ourselves.
By Isiah Tapia
Just recently Snoop Dogg released a new album called ‘’Make America Crip Again’’ this album was released on Tuesday October 24th which was a politically charged album against how Donald Trump said that he wants to make America Crip Again because Snoop is always representing his gang which he apart of the Crip gang from long beach California Snoop Dogg has actually been advertising this album for a little while now on his Instagram page where he has taken pictures of him representing the Crips and he would always caption his photos with ‘’Make America Crip Again’’ the biggest shocker with this new album is how in one of his songs Snoop Dogg added Chris Brown and fellow long beach rapper O.T. Genasis were both on the track which is a little bit new for Snoop Dogg to add Chris Brown to a track so it has been named a pretty big hit ever since the album dropped its been on every music article I haven’t listened to the song personally myself but I do intend to check out this song and give it a review along with the whole album.
Snoop Dogg Releases Politically Charged Album
Bullying is Inevitable
Dove Ad Controversy: Racism by Default?
The Cost of Disasters
By Andreas Renfroe
10/30/17
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to struggle in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane season. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have made an impact by destroying houses and buildings with their intense winds, heavy rain, and disastrous flooding. Washing away personal belongings cherished by families with its river-like current. The only remnants that remain are the memories made and the pictures that were kept or scavenged. The time to recover and rebuild could take days, months, and even years.
A majority of people usually look over the destruction caused by the hurricanes and are sympathetic towards the struggling families. Unfortunately people seem to overlook the other damages caused by these storms that make reconstruction time and cost more than it appears. Electrical grids, water supply systems, and sewage treatment plants are some of the factors that determine how long it would take to restore damages done by these powerful storms. Not only this, but the reconstruction of these facilities along with the homes of families can be extreme.
One example of how long reconstruction would take and how much it would cost can be seen by the damages done by Hurricane Sandy. Although this massive storm shook the east coast five years ago, billions of taxpayer dollars are still going into rebuilding projects in New York. Along with this, completion dates for these projects — and projects yet to start — are still expected to be one, two or even five years away. In retrospect, damages caused by Hurricane Sandy would take around a decade in total to repair.
By: Alicia Rodriguez
Dia de los muertos or Day of the Dead is a holiday mainly celebrated in Mexico around october 31 through November 2. It celebrates the lives of the dead.
Family and friends gather around mainly to pray for and remember their loved ones who have died to help support their spiritual journey, and for them to be remembered.
This colorful holiday originated in Mexico. It combines indigenous Aztec rituals with Catholicism. Although death could be viewed as sad and emotional, the day of the dead celebrates the lives of their past ones instead. They celebrate by throwing parties with food, flowers, sweet bread and music that the dead liked. In this holiday, death is viewed as a natural phenomenon. It is not a scary holiday or as many people like to call it a “Mexican Halloween”. But it is more of a way to remember the people we loved.
Just like any other holiday there are objects that symbolize the holiday. Like calacas and calaveras or skulls and skeletons. They decorate them with much color and usually symbolize different things but in Mexico it symbolizes that death is not the final stage in one’s life but rather a step forward into a higher level of conscience. They also use Marigolds, which is known as the flower of the dead.
Dia de los Muertos is very important to many Latinos, because it makes us realize that when the people we loved are gone, we will always remember them and have them in our hearts.
Remembering the Dead
Berenice Grado
10/31/17
2nd period
Suicide Attempt Kills a Woman
On October 31,2017, a twelve-year-old boy jumped from an overpass from an interstate in Northern Virginia this caused a 20-year-old woman named Marisa Harris to die as he fell of her SUV. Her boyfriend who was in the passenger seat took control of the car and steered it off the interstate. Harris was a clinical counseling student her family members said “she wanted to devote her career to helping children” and they said “she would have helped the child if she had a chance. Her boyfriend survived and had no injuries but Marisa Harris was killed because of the impact. Family members of the twelve-year-old boy said that he was happy and did not know why it happened.
The police did not say the name of the twelve-year-old boy but he is in the hospital with life threatening injuries. People are saying there should be a fence surrounding the overpass. They say that there is already a fence but It only extends above the metro tracks. This overpass was built in 196 at this time fences were not required they plan to fix this in a couple of months. The police are saying this was a suicide attempt. The twelve-year-old friends said they weren’t aware of any of the problems he was having. A spokesman by the name of Tom Calcagani said we should be aware of our surroundings when driving. This goes to show that we never know what might be going on around us and how people’s lives might be different at home.
By Alicia Rodriguez
November 6, 2017
You may look at plastic as safe, non harmful, easy to use and even easier to get rid of. But as many say, everything comes with consequences. We are better off without plastic, and here are a few reasons why.
Plastic contains BPA (bisphenol A) which is a chemical that makes plastic last longer and it is more durable. BPA is actually known to transfer to food, water and anything else that we might consume. A research project CDC (Center for Disease Control) made, stated that 92% of people including newborn babies had detectable BPA inside them. Plastic can lead to many major health problems like cancer, skin diseases, asthma, diabetes and more.
Plastic is also one of the main causes for pollution. It takes about 1,000 years to decompose meaning in 3017 our future generation may be considered a plastic world. Even still, when plastic decomposes, it will remain toxic to our environment.
Fun Facts
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1 trillion bags are used per year.
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1 million bags are being used per minute- 16,700 bags are being used per SECOND.
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1 in 200 bags are only being recycled
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Every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of plastic.
Plastic harms our environment more than you think. Many wildlife creatures eat plastic or feed it to their young, mistaking it for food. This could cause defects in many species. Many animals get stuck in plastic and eventually it can become a part of them. What can we do to make our home a better place? Use reusable water bottles. Instead of plastic bags replace them with reusable bags, and lastly try to recycle as much as you can!
Plastic Ends Life
Christmas Is Coming Early This Year
Danna Sanchez, Christian Aylin Negrete
November, 7th, 2017
9-year-old, Jacob Thompson is battling with stage four high-risk neuroblastoma. Doctors told him, and his family that he likely only has one more month to live, since its gone to his brain. His parents have decided to celebrate Christmas early this year. Jacob loves getting Christmas cards, and people have been sending over a hundred since his story has been shared.
The celebration will include snow, a tree, and an appearance from Santa Claus. Although he knows he only has a month to live, he's happy that he can inspire other people, which in return makes his family happy. With every card, message, or video Jacob’s family knows people are sharing their love, and feel like they aren’t alone. Whenever Jacob receives the cards, he gets extremely happy, especially when it's from other kids.
(picture from globalnews.ca .)
Jacob was diagnosed with the illness when he was only 5 years old. He was recently admitted to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital after doctors realized the neuroblastoma has spread to his head. The news was hard to hear and even harder to tell. Even though he won't have long to live, he represents the Christmas spirit with that huge wonderful smile of his.
This inspires many people to donate to local charities. In the New Mexico area there are many charities like UNICEF which is for natural disasters relief. Another very good charity would be the Bienvenidos Homeless shelter for the homeless. Lastly if you would like to donate to hospitals there are many places to donate, just go to any clinic or hospital and ask to donate. This can even be done online. Don't forget to spread the Christmas cheer and donate to any local charity in your area to give kids a reason to smile every day. Be the reason people get off the streets, and be the reason kids have hope of surviving and beating any illness.
A Discovery that Shook the World
By: Alicia Rodriguez Acosta
10/3/17
Three physicists Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss and Barry Barish won a Nobel prize in physics for physically detecting gravitational waves, the ripples in spacetime created mainly by black holes crashing. Albert Einstein first mentioned the gravitational waves about a century ago.
The physicists had said it took about 1,000 people and about forty years to create the technology to see these waves. The prize awarded them with 1.1 million dollars. Reiner Weiss will receive half and Kip Thorne and Barry Barish will share the other half.
LIGO (Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) is the technology that can detect the waves. The first one to be detected was on September of 2015. It was two black holes 30 times the mass of our sun. Going at the speed at light they collided to create one big black hole the size of three sun masses. Several other waves have been detected by LIGO also. LIGO will teach us about the most violent processes in the universe, and it will lead to new insights into the nature of extreme gravity. LIGO can help the source of dark matter, find new celestial objects, discovering neutron stars and a lot more, because of LIGO it can help find new discoveries and secrets of our
Are Guns the Problem with Mass Shootings?
President Donald Trump speaks his opinion.
By: Edgar Hernandez
For years the topic of restrictions on guns has been very controversial, but nothing has ever changed. Recently the U.S. has been dealing with mass shootings throughout the country, but several people place the blame on mental health issues. Although many say “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, they do not keep in mind that guns make it easier for a person to murder several people at once. Guns should not be extremely vetted, but there should be many more restrictions and permits on obtaining a gun. The availableness of guns is terrible, anyone can get ahold of a gun as long as they have money. Most of the republicans are for guns, and believe that the problem is within the people. Donald Trump also supports this claim since on Tuesday during his speech he openly said that guns are not the issue with the mass shootings.
President Donald Trump said "there would have been no difference three days ago". With this, he meant that even if there was extreme vetting on guns the shooting of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs would not have been avoided. Although no one really can tell for sure if restrictions on guns might have avoided this mass shooting, it is time to put more restrictions
If you did what you're suggesting there would have been no difference three days ago, and you might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun in his truck and shoot him, and hit him and neutralize him," Trump said responding to a question during a joint news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Trump shows that he supports the little restrictions on guns with every word he says. There are several more people who support this argument, but they are not suffering the loss of any loved ones. Trump also added "Instead of having 26 dead he would've had hundreds more dead”. The president keeps insisting that a gun was the reason that more lives were saved than lost. But if there were more gun restrictions then Devin Patrick Kelley might have not been able to obtain a gun at all. But even with other cases of mass shootings Trump still seems to place the blame on mental health. Even though this is a contributing factor, why are people who have mental issues not carefully watched and kept under control. Mass shootings are becoming too much of a problem and need to come to an end, before someone in our government is killed.
I also talked to other students in our journalism class and got their thoughts on gun restrictions. “Well, I don’t know, I think the second amendment is too vague it should be revised to be made more specific. It should be stricter on the topic of who can get guns and how. It’s a difficult topic” said Sayra Ramos. We all agree that guns are an issue, we can also all agree that it is a very controversial subject. Will this problem ever come to an end?
These statistics show that the U.S. has more mass murders than anywhere else in the world. Does the United States have a larger firearm ownership rate as well? What goes through murders heads once committing these horrendous crimes? These questions have been going through everyone's mind ever since the first murder took place. Infamous murders include Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Rader, Richard Ramirez, and much more. New killers are popping up much faster than we would like. The connection of these new murders is that they do their damage and later the bit of humanity comes back. When that small bit of humanity is back they decide to end their lives. When will this end?
What is a mass murder? A mass murder is the killing of four or more people within one event. This last decade has been home to some of the worst mass shootings in the United States. Five out of seven of the deadliest mass shootings has taken place in this decade. These five incidents include last month’s shooting in Las Vegas at a music festival where 58 victims were were killed, the 2016 nightclub shooting in Orlando where 49 victims were killed, the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting where 32 victims were killed, the 2012 shooting in Newton, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School where 27 victims were killed, and a most recent event a Sunday’s church shooting in Sutherland Springs where 26 victims were killed. 94 innocent human beings were killed just in 2017 alone. Experts state that,” 2017 has been the deadliest year for mass public shootings in American history.” How much more can the human race take.
Mass Shootings Getting Deadlier?
40 Years Into 100 Year Rape Sentence
Vincent Simmons Convicted.
By Elizabeth Munoz
According to MSN News, it took two
months for Vincent Simmons to be arrested. He was tried and convicted in the sex assault of twin
teenage girls and another four decades to get
back into the courtroom to argue he didn’t do it.
After a copious failed appeal, Simmons,
65, returned to the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in a
wheelchair on Wednesday to try to prove his
innocence.
This time his hopes were on being
contingent on an alibi witness, trailed down
after all these years later, but prosecutors
disregarded her.
Hjortsberg was hoping to use the new
witness to reopen the case and coax a judge that
Simmons, a black man, was falsely convicted of
assaulting the white 14-year-old sisters.
The new witness was questioned on why she took so long to come forward with new information, Avoyelles Parish District Attorney Charles Riddle III, didn’t consider it new or groundbreaking. Riddle states “We find it hard to believe that someone after 40 years is just coming around, and we have not had a chance to talk with her.”
The two victims maintained their public statements throughout Simmons’ imprisonment and remained convinced of his guilt. Simmons case was said to be an example of racism.
Hjortsberg attached to his motion the victim’s statements to investigators. In one of the statements one of the sisters said, “all blacks look alike to me.”
It will be up to a judge to decide whether Jones affidavit is enough to call the prosecution of Simmons into doubt or at least hold a hearing on the issue. To Riddle, it’s all a repeat of issues raised in prior appeals, which have failed.
Colorado Walmart Shooting
The 1st of Nov. a man started shooting in a Walmart. The man by name of Scott Ostrem, 47 years old.
Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, and a woman later died at the hospital. Authorities did not reveal the victims’ names, investigators did not know whether the victims knew one another, or just happened to be near to each other when were shot by a gunfire.
The reports of gunshots came to police station at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, and dozens of police officers and emergency medical workers went quickly to the parking lot of Walmart, blocking roads and cutting off traffic around the suburban and shopping plaza.
Lethal Combination: Firearms + Mental Instability
Tragedy strikes Sutherland Springs,Texas, when a gunman kills 26 people and injures about 20 after shooting them at church Sunday morning. The gunman, identified as former airman Devin Kelley, was chased by two local citizens in a car chase. After crashing his car, Kelley was found dead from a gunshot to his head, leaving authorities searching for his motive and the cause of death. Texas Governor Greg Abbott calls this horrible event the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history.
Sadly, this horrible event overshadows another. On the same day, Manuel Garcia waited for his estranged wife and her new boyfriend outside of church and shot them when they came out. After 43 years of marriage and raising 4 kids, Martha Garcia filed for divorce with Manuel Garcia. After taking the life of his ex-wife and her boyfriend, Manuel Garcia left the scene and went to his house. The police got a call from his daughter, who told them that her father was sending her text messages about how he killed her mother and that he was planning on taking his own life. As the police surrounded the house, before they could intervene, they heard Manuel take his own life with his gun.
It is ridiculous to think that people would decide to take lives at a building that offers comfort and hope to all that enter. It seems as though both men had some sort of horrible event happen before each shooting. Devin Kelley expressed series of violence towards his wife and son and was later discharged from the military. Manuel Garcia was divorced by his wife after a long term marriage, only to see her already have another lover. This goes to show how emotions and mental stability play a role in the way people act towards others.
Oxford teacher fired for “misgendering” student
By Jason Adamoli
On November second of 2017, now Former oxford teacher “Joshua Sutcliffe” referred to a group of children as “girls”. But what he couldn’t have know was that one student identified as a boy. Instead of correcting him and asking politely to be referred to as such, the student reported him and got him fired.
Joshua Sutcliffe is a Christian man, and as such does believe gender is binary, and that sex is assigned at birth. He described it as a “slip of the tongue”.
The math teacher, who is also a pastor, says he tried to balance his beliefs with the sensitivity of his students, trying to avoid using gender specific pronouns as to not offend anyone, and instead referring to students by name. he had apologized to the student, but said he did not see it unreasonable to call a student a girl if they were born a girl.
On his side, sure he was insensitive, but should he have been fired?
The student didn’t try to correct him, instead reporting him and getting him fired. He tries his best to respect his students’ beliefs, and just had a slip of the tongue. We all make mistakes, and this one wasn’t that big. It could have easily been corrected by the student.
Joshua said he faced a disciplinary hearing on the following Wednesday, and was fired shortly after. Joshua stated “while the suggestion that gender is fluid does conflicts sharply with my Christian beliefs, I have never looked to impose my convictions to others.”
Update on Victoria Martens Tragedy
4th Person Discovered in Cellphone?
By: Elizabeth Munoz According to Albuquerque Journal, FBI agents recently went to extraordinary measures to acquire the DNA of a suspect meth dealer in “relation with an August 2016 Homicide” part of the rationale linchpin of the investigators on whether a fourth adult was present around the time 10-year-old Victoria Martens was murdered in her mother’s West side apartment.
FBI set up an undercover narcotics investigation six weeks ago with the objective of getting additional evidence in the child’s murder case.
A cooperation to grueling to regulate whether another adult in incorporation to the three already charged, was present, investigators are curious to what role methamphetamine might have played in the child’s dreadful death and dismemberment.
The girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales and his cousin, Jessica Kelly have all been charged with rape and first-degree murder. They have pleaded not guilty. The charges testify Kelly and Gonzales killed Victoria while, Michelle Martens, her mother watched.
The possibility of someone else being in the Marten’s apartment that day was first embossed when Jessica Kelley was incarcerated
by police the day after the murder while she was
at the hospital. She had suffered a broken ankle
after jumping off the apartments balcony as police
arrived. Kelly was in and out of prison, and refused to talk to police. While she was being cuffed
she asked, “Why am I being arrested for murder?
There was three other people in that house.
You’re getting me for murder?”
In spite of that comment, the possibility of
Another person being present at the crime scene
Around the time of Victoria’s death took on a new
urgency based on the information gathered from
the suspects cellphones.
This meth dealer was being watched by an
undercover FBI agent, he was looking at
Martin Martinez,40, methamphetamine dealer
Jessica Kelley had visited in days before Victoria’s murder. His telephone number was found in her phone. Victoria’s mother had told police that she had gone to bed sick after inhaling methamphetamine. Autopsy confirmed meth in Victoria’s system. Martinez had agreed to cooperate with police for a shorter sentence. He explained to police that Kelley had made a deal for 1 pound of meth for $5,000 dollars.
Martinez was charged in federal court in early October with distribution of methamphetamine. He pleaded not guilty. Judge Martha Vazquez ordered Martinez released to a halfway house with a long list of restrictions. Vazquez also ordered that Martinez provide federal investigators with a DNA sample. Which is unusual in a simple drug case.
The results of Martinez’s DNA test are unknown and may not be completed.
Sante Fe Deputy Pleads Guilty
To Molesting Girls
By: Elizabeth Munoz
Albuquerque Journal says, A former Santa Fe County deputy pleaded guilty to sexually abusing young girls and he will then be incarcerated after his mental health is evaluated by state prison authorities.
Santa Fe District Attorney Marco Serna stated that Dustin Bingham,37, had pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor under the age of 13, one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor by force or coercion, one count of child solicitation by electronic device and one count of sexual exploitation of children on Wednesday in Los Almos District Court. He is facing up to 25 years in prison at sentencing, Serna said.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer trailed Bingham, to undergo a 60-day diagnostic evolution at the Central New Mexico prison before he’s sentenced. Serna said. He will go under this evolution then be recommended on sentencing and treatment will be sent to Marlowe Sommer.
Bingham has resigned from the Sheriff’s office on Feb. 3 after Sheriff Robert A. Garcia placed him under and internal investigation.
Garcia said in May that Bingham’s parents called the Los Almos Police Department and said Bingham molested two girls who he regularly babysat and visited. Bingham even lived with one of the victim’s family and shared a room with her. One girl told police that he had removed her bra when she was sleeping, which she had discovered when she woke up the next morning without one.
He is now in prison and being evaluated on his mental health.
Russia declares fast food a “foreign agent” for “misleading advertisements”
By: Jason Adamoli
On Friday, Russian politicians discussed labeling fast food chains such as McDonald and Burger King foreign agent for having “misleading or manipulative advertisements.”
Boris Chernyshov, a Moscow lawmaker, said “"The food sold by American fast food restaurants, according to some studies, negatively affects the body and human health, in advertising, a positive image of consumption of these products is presented."
“The first step is to recognize the advertising of American fast food by the messages of foreign agents and to introduce the appropriate marking," he said. "The second step will be the legislative initiative to include American fast food networks in the appropriate registry."
Chernyshov, who pushed this into motion by sending a letter to Russia’s food and media monitoring agency requesting that ads for American fast-food chains be labeled as coming from a foreign agent. It seems that Russia just discovered that fast food isn’t exactly healthy.
A bill is being pushed that required all fast food chains the sign as “foreign agents”, publicly declaring they aren’t Russian. I guess that Russians restraint, such as “Teremok” and “Krosha” aren’t really Russian.
News about the little girl Victoria
By Alexis Lovato
Victoria was a ten year old girl that got broodily killed. She was sexually assaulted and
raped by two men. They arrested Victoria’s mother and the two men she had found on a website
to rape her daughter. Victoria was held down and given meth to relax so that Gonzales and
Kelly could rape her while Martens, her mom, could watch. She then continued to watch as
Gonzales strangled Victoria and as Kelly stabbed her. The officer said that Gonzales admitted he
had sexual intercourse with Victoria shortly after the child was deceased. 35-year- old Michelle
Martens, her boyfriend, 31-year- old Fabian Gonzales, Gonzales' cousin, and 31-year- old Jessica
Kelley, were arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in
great bodily harm or death, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and contributing to the
delinquency of a minor.
Upon opening the door, the responding officers discovered the dismembered body of Victoria
Martens partially wrapped in a burning blanket. She was pronounced dead at the scene. An
autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, strangled to death, stabbed, dismembered, and
then her body was set on fire.
Berenice Grado
11/30/17
2nd period
How Christmas Lights Caused Controversy
In Connecticut, a family decorated their house with many Christmas decorations including Christmas lights. This caused dozens of their neighbors to complain in a petition the neighbors sais this house cause “public safety and nuisance concerns”. Mary Halliwell says this is a tradition that they have been doing for the past eighteen years to go all out with festive decorations. Halliwell also said she will not do It next year then said “well at least that’s what you think. This family said they to raise funds for Shriners Hospital for children and they say this attracts a lot of visitors.
Mary Halliwell said they put three thousand five hundred Christmas lights to illuminate their home and yard. This family has been doing this for many years but this year their decorations caused the neighbors to sign a petition which had got forty-five signatures. The neighborhood also said this causes to many traffic and to many people walking around their neighborhood and littering they also said this could prevent rescue vehicles to get to homes in their neighborhood. Since Halliwell agreed to shut down everything by a certain time it will stay. What the police is doing to help is help manage the traffic.
The police Is hoping that this can stay like it has been staying for the past eighteen years. Mary Halliwell said that “we want all the neighbors to be safe while the event carries on. The Halliwell family was disappointed about the petition but they are happy with the resolution. Mary Halliwell added and said that this is what neighbors are for and that it makes people happy and they don’t want to get it shut down.
The Network Durchsetzungsgesetz (Netz Gis), an extremely controversial law that requires social media to remove anything deemed to be “hate speech” within 24 hours, and social media sites that don’t could face up to 50 million dollars in fines.
This law could affect many social media sites negatively, and will obviously affect more than just Germany. Many are concerned that this law could curtail free speech, as hate speech is a very sensitive issue right now, due to the fact that many people view what is okay to post and what isn’t okay to post differently.
He law is currently only threatening a few websites, but could very easily affect more in the future. Facebook has already hired a hundred workers in Germany to go through all posts and ban what they view as “Hate speech”.
It’s going to be hard at time to distinguish between hate speech and satire, as satire is often making fun of serious issues. This could lead to many problems down the road with the services affected by NetzDG.
People are also afraid the websites this law affects will expand, soon it may affect websites such as Reddit and Tumblr, which are places where you’re allowed to post whatever’s on your mind somewhere or another.
Personally, I think Germany is making a large mistake by trying to censor all hate speech on all social media platforms. I don’t believe this can end well, it will only make people angry, and make it harder to joke about dark subjects.
Germany's Hate Speech Solution
By: Jason Adamoli
Teen pregnancy rates have been going up in the past 10 years. In 2014 there
were 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females within the age range of 15-19
years. Teenage girls who only have minimal education are five times more likely
to become a mother. Teen pregnancies increase when females are denied the right
to make their own decisions about their own sexual heath. Every year, 7.3 million
females become pregnant before the age of 18. The birth rate for women ages 15-
17 years old is 9% and the rate for woman18-19 years old is 7%. The U.S. teen
pregnancy rate is higher than in any other western industrialized nations.
Different races have different teenage birth rates, Asian/Pacific islanders
hold a 10%, 9% for non-Hispanic blacks, 8% for Hispanics, and 8% for non-
Hispanic whites. In 2015 the birth rate for Hispanic teens increased more than two
times than the rate for non-Hispanic white teens. The birth rate for non-Hispanic
black teens was almost double the rate of non-Hispanic white teens. Teen
pregnancies bring substantial social and economic costs for long-term impacts on
teen parents and their babies.
Children Having Children?
By: Arriana Chavez