The effect of gun laws on Sandy Hooke Shooting - Giselle Namata

        We all know the tragedy that has struck our nation and has broken all of our hearts. Late last week, in a small town in Connecticut, a shooter had entered Sandy Hooke Elementary School and killed 26 children and adults. I personally had broken into tears when I had heard the details of this story. This horrific scene not only leads to the question, "why would someone do this?" But as well "how could we have prevented this?"
        Gun laws, security, and enforcement are constantly being updated. Although it seems that in this situation, stronger and stricter laws may have stopped this from happening. Connecticut's laws are stable, although in some resident's opinion, they aren't strong enough on the national level. A law was proposed in Connecticut in 2011 that limits the number of gun magazines in high numbers, although protesters effected the final outcome, in which that bill died in committee.  A big contribution to this event may have been the shooter's mental state. The shooter, Adam Lanza, was said to have a various number of mental problems, but there's no telling now as he had committed suicide as police were arriving on the scene. As many adults mourn for the children that passed away, they are also concerned of the safety of their children. If another shooting does occur, the question is if it can be stopped with firmer laws.

The Hobbit- Nick Rodgers

The highly anticipated movie The Hobbit is finally making it's debut on Friday, December 14^th.  This prelude to the Lord of the Rings trilogy is sure to be a great watch even if you are not familiar with the previous films.  Peter Jackson is once again directing one of J.R.R. Tolkien's action packed fantasies. The three previous films directed by Jackson won a total of 17 Oscars and The Hobbit is projected to be one of the best films of the year.  

The Hobbit is based on Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel which follows the adventure of a Hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins as he travels with his Dwarf friend's to reclaim their gold from the evil dragon Smaug. On his journey, Bilbo, his 12 rowdy dwarf friends, and their Wizard companion Gandalf must face trolls, goblins, giants, and many more terrifying mythical creatures that inhabit the dangerous world of Middle Earth. Even the fan favorite creature Gollum from Lord of the Rings makes a short yet vital appearance. Other connections to characters from the Lord of the Rings are seen throughout the movie and book. This thrilling tale is sure to keep you entertained during it's first installment.

That’s right; the single book is being made into three parts. This decision might not bode well for the series because the Hobbit is a single relatively short book compared to the 1137 page Lord of the Rings trilogy. Fans are not sure how director Peter Jackson will find enough content from the book to incorporate into three two and a half hour movies without changing the story line to fit his taste. We will just have to wait and see if the movie drags on too much or if there is too much discrepancy between the book and the motion picture.  Whether this will be good for the series or not, Lord of the Rings fans will be sure to see all three installments of The Hobbit.

RGIII and the Redskins

                                             

      People in the Washington area can’t stop talking about RGIII as they wear their Redskins Jersey every week to honor their home team as they are in the hunt to go to the post season. After winning 3 straight games, the Redskins show no slowing down as Sunday’s game was a big and surprising win as they defeat the Baltimore Ravens. RGII played amazing like always as they needed this win to keep their playoffs hope alive. RGIII wasn’t the only player that achieve success that game but also his running back Alfred Morris as he rushed for 122 yards and added a touchdown to it as well.

           Redskins really fought hard to beat Baltimore and their defense which was not easy for the team as RGII took a very hard hit from the Baltimore defense that it caused him to get out of the game as it made Redskins fans worry about their team and their star quarterback. Now it was up to Kirk Cousins, who is RGII’s back-up quarterback, to save the day. He didn’t let any Redskins fans down as he threw a beautiful pass under pressure, to wide receiver Pierre Garcon to make the score 26-28 as the Redskins where down. They needed to go for two to send this game to overtime to have another chance to win the game. Soon as Cousins got that ball in his hands, everybody depended on him to do something with it and he did. Cousins did not find anyone open as he ran the ball in for the 2-point conversion to send this to overtime. Redskins fans went crazy and as well as Kirk Cousins for his clutch play and effort. 

            Redskins where not really finish yet. Going to overtime, they have lost the coin toss as Ravens started with the ball. It was up to the defense for the Redskins to try to get the ball back before the Ravens score. They succeeded by making the Ravens go three and out. All the Redskins needed to do is score a field goal to win the game, and they did as their hard work pay off to beat the Ravens.

A Prank Gone Wrong ~Doaa Falah

The royal British family found themselves in the middle of a terrible tragedy during a time of great happiness on Friday, December 7, 2012.

Early last week, the royal family announced that Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was expecting her first child with Prince William. The Duchess was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital on Monday, December 3 for suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, otherwise known as severe morning sickness, which can leave the Duchess extremely dehydrated. Kate Middleton was in the hospital for approximately three days and was released on Thursday, December 6. During her stay at the hospital, a certain phone call was made to the hospital that would change everything. 

On Tuesday, December 4, two DJs from Australian radio station 2DayFM, called the King Edward VII’s Hospital. The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth and inquired about the condition of Kate Middleton, gaining private information. After acquiring this information, the DJs played the phone conversation on air.

The demeaning yet simple prank, however, had far greater consequences than what was ever intended. On Friday, December 7, the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, who transferred the phone call to the ward, was found dead after apparently committing suicide. London’s Metropolitan Police is working closely together with the New South Wales Police in Australia to conduct the investigation regarding the death of Nurse Jacintha Saldhana.

Jacintha Saldhana left behind a mourning husband and daughter who are in shock and grief over the untimely death of Saldhana. Her husband stated that she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.

The chairman of King Edward VII’s hospital, Lord Glenarthur, was appalled and slammed the Australian radio station’s decision to air the prank call. “King Edward VII’s Hospital cares for sick people, and it was extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way through to one of our patients, let alone actually make the call,” he stated.

The royal family announced their deep regret over the death of the nurse, and offered their full support to the nurses that were involved and the hospital staff at all times. 

Words Can Hurt

                                         by Maddie Mota

                                                                                              Staff Writer

       
          
               I have been thinking about what to write for a while now, and nothing has come to mind that has not already been written by almost everyone in the world. So, after hours of staring at this blank page, I gave up on trying to think of something. So, I logged onto my Netflix account and watched a movie called Cyberbully. Then it hit me. JUST WRITE ABOUT THIS! This sorrowful epidemic in which everyone has faced at least once in their life. And even though half of the world has written and read stuff like this, I really don't care because this is my blog post and I want to spend my time writing about something that is really important.
               I  feel like people just don't understand how much bullying affects everyone. I mean, people say they do, but do they really? I mean, if you understand how much it hurts someone, then why would you keep doing it? Why would you purposely keep emotionally, mentally, and/or physically hurting someone? These are the questions I'm dying to know the answer to. I find no logic in this what so ever.
               I have read about and lived bullying. It is the absolute worst feeling in the world to be bullied and no one deserves to go through it no matter what they have done, no one should have to face it. And i know what it is like. I too have been bullied in the past and it really did suck and it made me feel so useless and stupid and worthless. No one should ever feel like a waste of space and that is, in fact, how i felt. And i know i wasn't alone because millions of people felt the same way in that exact same moment.
               The truth of the matter is that the movie Cyberbully really opened my eyes again. This poor girl tried to commit suicide because of the nerve that some people had to talk bad about her. And it wasn't like, "Oh! Her shirt was ugly!". It was more like someone made up a lie that they slept with her when they didn't and know she is being tormented for the crime she didn't commit. I was just plain disgusted by this. The nerve of some people.
               This blog post is officially a rant about this topic. I just want everyone to know that it is NEVER okay to make someones life miserable to make your own life better. It never was; It is not; and it never will be okay to do that to a venerable human being who has gone through so much already that you don't know about. It is never okay to judge someone without knowing them, because that person may or may not being going through a lot. Plus, they may be a best friend material for you. So give them a chance.
                So many people each year commit suicide because of the crude bullying they have to go through without any purpose. And the bullies don't seem to care until that person is gone forever and it is too LATE to apologize to them.
                 Don't be the reason someone cuts themselves. Don't be the reason someone cries themselves to sleep at night. Don't be the reason someone ends their life. End the bullying before it is to late. And for those who are reading this who are going through what it is exactly that I'm describing...my prayers are with you. Never loose hope and stay strong. For those who are the ones bullying someone else...it does NOT make you any cooler. Calling someone fat WON'T make you any skinnier and you should STOP now before the innocent victim you're targeting is gone forever.


                                                Thanks you guys so much for reading! :)

Chiefs Tragedy

Saturday December 1, 2012 was a very somber day for the Kansas City Chiefs. Jovan Belcher, one of the Chiefs linebackers, got into a heated argument with his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. The argument started at 1 A.M. and lasted roughly seven hours. The argument ended in Belcher pulling a gun and shooting his girlfriend fatally three times. A distressed Belcher drove himself a couple miles down the road to Arrowhead Stadium where the Chiefs play home games. He went to the parking lot of the practice facility and committed suicide in front of Chiefs general manager, Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel. This devastating story effected the team because just one day later, the Chiefs were expected to face the Carolina Panthers. The team used this sad instance to perform to their best ability because they wanted to prove something. They wanted to show their fans that no matter what happens to Kansas City, they are still one big family and they showed love to their fallen brother by defeating the Panthers 27-21 on Sunday.


By: James Dickemann
Jagwire Sports Editor