Would it affect you if the Government shut down?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) otherwise known as Obamacare has been causing tremendous amounts of controversy in the United States Government. The Affordable Care Act is an Act that will aim to increase the quality and affordability of healthcare. The Republican-controlled House approved a one year delay on parts of the healthcare law. If the Senate rejects this bill, the government will shut down starting Tuesday. This debate in Congress may not concern you as a student, but the results of the debate and the vote may.

What do you think would happen if the Government just shut down? The Government provides multiple services that are available to us every day. If the Government shut down, these services would no longer be available for our convenience. Police, Fire Rescue, all emergency personnel, and other necessary services would continue to run, but things such as the National Zoo, museums, and libraries would all be closed.

A Government shutdown can happen when the President, the House, and the Senate cannot perform their jobs and cannot agree on a budget to finance government programs. As a result of a shutdown, many people are on temporary unpaid leave. If the services are not in use, the employees are without pay, with the exception of the military and congress. Because museums and the National Zoo would be shut down, tourists will be turned away. This is a huge loss for tourism. It is unlikely, however, that you would feel the effects of a shutdown if it did not last for a long period of time.

            The Senate is due to vote on Tuesday. If they pass the one year delay bill, there is no shutdown, but if they do not agree with the one year delay of the healthcare law, a shutdown will begin. How greatly would that affect you? 

Did The Rise of the Planet of the Apes happen in real life?

By Isabel Vargas Claros

Nothing too similar to the movie The Rise of the Planet of Apes happened in this zoo.

Yesterday around 8:00 in the morning at the Emperor Valley Zoo in Port of Spain Sudi, a chimpanzee who is in between 40 and 45 years old escaped her cage. Just as Sudi was about to take a walk around the zoo, the zookeepers noticed something strange walking around the zoo. As soon as Sudi’s escape was discovered the manager, Nirmal Biptah initiated procedures in order to capture Sudi.

             The zoo opening at 10 in the morning meant that there would be no visitors at the zoo when Sudi was out of her cage. Sudi, being hand-raised since birth in Canada, was already accustomed with human presence. While Sudi was still out of her cage, she was able to keep calm while exploring her surroundings. While she was exploring her surroundings, Sudi’s keepers were keeping an eye out for her and they were trying to persuade her into enclosure.

Manager, Nirmal Biptah was also keeping an eye out for Sudi just in case he needed to sedate her. After a while Sudi climbed a tree near the zoo and as soon as Biptah noticed she was up there he sedated her and Sudi went back to enclosure without any injuries.

Around 4 p.m Sudi was awakening from her seduction.

Biptah was surprised Sudi escaped from her cage because it was her first time escaping and although the zoo does not know how she escaped they are still investigating to see what went wrong with the cages that that has been secure for almost 30 years.

            Although chimpanzees do not live for a very long time in the wild, they are very intelligent creatures who are the closest species related to humans.

Take a Stand during Child Cancer Month

 by: Anna Ziegler, Sports Editor

Think about this, every year thousands of children across the United States are diagnosed with cancer. Kids all under the age of fifteen have to go through a life threatening illness that causes them to go through a lot of pain. Not only is pain on the child who is going through cancer but also their families and community. Watching a child who has cancer is one of the most heartbreaking things to see, to not know what will happen next to this child but all you can do is hope and pray that they will be okay.

Our country stands together on this month for those young children who have lost their lives due to cancer or facing cancer today. As taking part in standing together has a country for the children who are diagnosed with cancer and for their families who have to struggle with them. As Congressman Sestak said “Of the 12,500 children diagnosed with cancer each year, more than 2,000 of these young lives are unnecessarily lost.” This month take a cause for those 12,500 children and make a change for those children who are fighting against this horrible illness.

I highly encourage you this month to look into Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, it’s an organization to raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes. This organization helps get new research into cures and treatments. Getting involved in this organization could be a huge difference for a child with cancer. Think about what you were doing when you were a child, and think now about what a child who is diagnosed with cancer has to go through. Make a change, and donate to Alex Lemonade Stand because without us what will those ill children do because the government doesn’t fund for the research needed to save their young lives.

To donate text “Alex” to 895944 or call (866)333-1213, any amount will make a huge difference.

 

Nature Tourism has destroyed nature

During my summer vacation, I had went to Niagara Falls and naturally I was excited to see the giant waterfall in action. However, when I saw the giant waves of water crashing on the rocks, the steam swirling in the air, dozens of birds flying; these sights failed to elicit any kind of awe rather I was disappointed. For some time, I was unable to pinpoint as to why such disappointment crept as I had expected to be soaking in the scenery rather than sulking. So, I stood there staring at Niagara Falls for thirty minutes then I did a panoramic view of the place from where I was watching and I knew instantly the source of my disappointment. 

It was the commercialization of Niagara Falls that had tarnished the beauty which it once carried. Wherever my eyes gazed, I saw people crowding the place with their cameras, the noisy chit chat, fried foods and the garbage piling on the ground.  It was also the pollution and vehicular noises traveling to and fro from US to Canada. I always viewed nature as a package with trees surrounding the land, birds chirping and serenity filling the air. The experience I got from Niagara Falls was a total contrast of such expectations rather the inorganic noises of machines, the chit chat of people and the destruction of everything surrounding the falls made me remorseful. Once upon a time Niagara Falls was a beauty to behold but now it’s just a simple point on the map for the tourists to visit. 

For Niagara Falls to regain the beauty it once possessed; we must destroy all the man-made structure surrounding it and allow nature to grow back again. A huge patch of land should surround the falls with no shred of a single man made structure from at least a distance of 5 miles in every direction. Then we can create bus tours, merchandises shops, restaurants outside the area for commercialization and at the same time preserve the beauty of the falls. Alas, this is a dream for the idealist and the chances of such an initiative occurring is only possible in an alternate reality. So, the only thought that crosses my mind when I think of Niagara Falls is nature’s beauty lost forever.  

By Abhinav Mishra

The Little Spacecraft That Could

   By Eileanora Clock

         Even though NASA is no longer launching astronauts into outer space, they still have satellites taking pictures of our solar system.  They now have a satellite that can take pictures outside our solar system; because it is outside our solar system!  For the first time ever, something man-made has traveled farther than anyone dreamed was possible. The Voyager 1 has reached new heights.

      Launched in 1977, the Voyager 1 was launched into outer space.  It had reached its 36th birthday when it stopped encountering familiar sights.  The Voyager 1 had reached interstellar space!  

      Originally outfitted for a trip to Jupiter, the space crafts technology is primitive.  It only has an eight track recorder, and computers with one- twenty four thousandth the memory of an old iPhone.  Understandably, scientists were amazed to find that the Voyager had traveled out of the solar system. 

    Lots of telescopes can peer into the Milky Way, but only the Voyager is able to feel the enveloping blackness which must be surrounding it.  The NASA scientists worked for weeks, trying to decide whether the images they were receiving were only solar plasma or were they plasma from outside the solar system.  Now, they are positive it is the second choice.  The date they have finalized for when the Voyager 1 left our solar system is August 25th, 2012.

The Voyager 1 sent never before seen pictures of Jupiter and Saturn in its day.  It has a partner, the Voyager 2, which was launched at the same time, is headed in the opposite direction.  While the Voyager 2 has not left the solar system yet, it is expected to leave the solar system soon.

Since the Voyager 1 is now taking pictures of never before recorded data, NASA asked the team of scientists in charge of the Voyager to gather more data.  The only problem was that the data recorders didn't have anymore space.  Could they find anyone able to solve this problem?  The equipment from 1977 wasn't exactly bursting with space.  Would the scientists be able to coax the recorders to collect more data? Who could they find anyone who specialized in that technology and be able to save the project?  
     They found their savior in Lawrence J. Zottarelli, who was a retired engineer. He convinced the machines to collect the data they were being overloaded with.  Thanks to the scientists working with the Voyager 1, we will continue to receive information from this wonderful source.

With this data, the Voyager team continues to find new and fascinating information about the Milky Way, and who knows? Maybe someday this research will open portals to new worlds.

  

September 11: Never Forget

Well, it’s that time of year again. The day that people have dreaded and that wish it never happened. It’s September 11, 2013: 12 years after the tragedy. An attack that forever scarred every body mind and took the lives of 3,000 people.

    On September 11, 2001, a total of four terrorist attacks were initiated by an Islamic terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, upon the United States in New York City and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. This is also known as the 9/11 attacks.

    Four passengers airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists, so they could crash into buildings as part of suicide attacks. Two of these planes, American Airlines Flight 11 & United Airlines Flight 175, were smashed into the World Trade Center and within two hours, the buildings collapsed, causing fires to fractionally or completely damage other buildings in the WTC complex. The third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon, causing a partial collapse in its western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was intended to hit Washington D.C, but due to the passengers overcoming the hijackers, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In total, 227 civilians and 19 hijackers died, making it almost 3,000 deaths. It also was the deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the United States.

    The U.S. government quickly suspected the Osama Bin-Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, was behind the attacks, but he denied any accusations. Later on though, specifically 2004, he claimed to be responsible for the attacks. The United States then responded by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to dispose of the Taliban, which had harbored al-Qaeda. Having evaded capture for years, bin Laden was located and killed by U.S. forces in May 2011.

    Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a year. Many memorials were built to dedicate the loss, including the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, the Pentagon Memorial, and the Flight 93 National Museum in Pennsylvania. After a delay, the One World Trade Center was completed at the World Trade Center site in New York City in 2013.

     Let’s just take this time and remember all those who had died in the terrible tragedy. Just imagine the fear and shock that grips your heart and soul as you realize these are your final moments of living. I...can’t even begin. Remember to respect those who mourn and never joke about it.

By: Diana Gudiel-Benitez

A Building Collapses on Neighboring Thrift Shop

                On Wednesday, June 6, a 4-story building collapsed onto the thrift shop adjacent to it on the street. The building had a permit to be demolished issued on February 1. All permits on the building were in order and there were no known violations. Griffin Campbell Construction, in charge of the take down had all the proper licenses. The collapse was an “industrial accident”; there are currently no known purposeful causes.

                People who lived in the area suspected that one day it would eventually collapse. Patrick Glynn is quoted from CNN, “....you could just see it was ready to go at any time. I knew it was going to happen....” There were many witnesses in the area who had felt the ground shaking as if it were an earthquake.

                The wall adjoining the neighboring Salvation Army Thrift Shop and the soon to be demolished building was reported to have been swaying back and forth and eventually had fallen. The construction workers were in the process of aiding the take down of the building, and it eventually fell onto the thrift shop. The wall took its toll and collapsed onto the store trapping many people and taking down parts of the thrift shop. Veronica Haynes was in on the 5th floor of the apartment building across the street. She is quoted from FoxNews, "Then you saw the whole side of the wall fall down ... onto the other building." There is a rigorous search team who are currently rummaging through out the remains for any signs of unacknowledged people. 
               New this morning, 6 people were found dead among the rubble. At least 14 people were pulled out of the debris with minor injuries. Many of the survivors were pulled out well after the building collapsed. Up to 12 hours after, a 61- year old woman was found and rescued. Rescuers do not know the number of people in the building during the time, so there is no certainty that no one else will be found. Although the area is swarming with firefighters working hard to find anyone possible. The names of the 6 found dead have not been issued in this morning’s news conference.

This is a Google Street-View image of the 4-story building before it started demolition.

This picture shows the aftermath of the collapsed building.

by Giselle Namata