Friday, February 22, 2013

In the News Today


Peruse the news and find an interesting article. Copy and paste the link. Summarize the article. Reflect on the article. Done.

24 comments:

  1. http://news.yahoo.com/homeless-man-honest-deed-rewarded-16k-donation-counting-172200491.html

    This article is about Billy Ray Harris a homeless man who returned a diamond, platinum engagement ring that was put into his change cup, without hesitation. There is now a website collecting donations to help him get his life together & they've gained $16,000 in a few days of the website being open. The initial story aired on February 9, 2013, from Kansas City, MO, Bill Krejci was inspired and saw through many websites that people wanted to help, so for the next 90 days you can donate whatever amount you would like. This article says that they've raised $16,000, but I just got on the webiste and they've raised $85,980,

    I think this article is really interesting because it is showing that good things come from doing the right thing. In the article he says that he doesn't believe he is a great man, he was just doing the right thing. I think this shows that some people really are still honest and true even in this day and age. I also think it's pretty cool that since this news story has aired he has been able to gain contact with his brother in Texas that he had lost contact with and his brother wants him to move home with him. The coolest thing I think about this article is that Harris has no idea that there is this fund set up for him and he is going to be told soon.

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  2. “New late-stage breast cancer treatment approved,” on CNN talks about a new drug that is out for late stage breast cancer patients. The drug goes under the name Kadcyla and is meant to target the bad cells and leave the good cells. The drug does not enter through the bloodstream like traditional chemo. Its expected to be offered to patients in about two weeks.
    I thought this was big news because I think any advancement in cancer research is truly amazing. In today's society I think we are so close to curing cancer and any advancements are much needed. The treatments available today, while are sometimes effective, are painful and often don't work. I find any new effective drug to be very interesting. I hope that more advancements in this field will continue to be made.
    http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/22/health/breast-cancer-drug/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13

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  3. I read an interesting article about a warehouse worker that was layed off. It said that when the worker was told he was being layed off by his boss, he lashed out and punched him in the face. The ironic part about this article was that the worker's job was to package stress balls. I think he was probably already angry from previous events and him getting fired was just the last thing he could take before lashing out in rage. The fact that it is ironic is really the only interesting part of this article.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/darren-baldwin-stress-ball_n_2726177.html

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  4. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/02/22/fda-approves-new-targeted-breast-cancer-drug/

    In this article from FOX News, the author explains that the FDA has recently approved a new breat cancer drug. This drug has been in the lab for a long time and they are finally able to release it to the public. There are some benifits to this new type of chemotherapy medicne however it is limited. This drug is desigend for a certin type of cancer that researchers have not been able to find a solution for. This type is very rapid and is very aggressive. Most people with this type of breast cancer die withing 2 years. However from these tests researchers have found that the average life spand has gone up to almost 3 years. This does seem like a deffinate benifit even though it is not a complete cure. One down side to this new drug is the fact that it is 2X more expensive than regular treatment. Also sicne this is a more agressive drug it is more likely to lead to kindney and liver failure than the other types of medicines.
    Overall this is a huge break though for cancer resarchers. They are taking a type of cancer that has a high mortality rate and giving people a longer and healthlier life than they could have without the drug.

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  5. http://www.14news.com/story/21308477/anyone-misplace-a-few-thousand-dollars

    A Good Samaritan turned over a large sum of money that he found at a restaurant. Although police will not say how much money it is the will only tell us that it is over $2,500. No one has yet contacted police to recover money, but anyone who attempts to claim the money as theirs will have to provide very specific information to receive the money.

    The first thing i though about was how much of a good person this someone was who turned this money in. I don't think you could find very many people who would honestly say they'd turn the money in instead of keeping it to themselves. Then I also began to wonder why did someone have money like that to lose. If you are eating at a restaurant and you just randomly drop somewhere over $2500 you must have a lot of money. This also made me question whether this money was actually lost or if it was part of some trade off where this person would leave the money in a certain location and get whatever in return. They do not give much information about this but I did find the article to be interesting.

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  6. http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/category/oscar-pistorius/

    The article i read about was of Olympian Oscar Pistorius being charged for murder of his girlfriend. Although the trial is currently happening, Oscar's point of view was that he was in the shower when his girlfriend came home. Oscar thought it was an intruder and shot her multiple times, killing her.
    My thoughts about this are absolutely shell shocked. I cannot believe a former Olympian would risk his reputation and status as a respected man by killing his own girlfriend. I thought he was a hero to many disabled children by even being in the Olympics, but after hearing about this tragedy, i am completely terrified and horrified by his "so called" actions. If this turns out to be true, i will be very upset. It kind of just shows me how you really can't trust anyone in today's society, even a former legless Olympian.........

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  7. http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/22/tech/mobile/sleep-texting/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

    This article talks about the new and up-coming way that teens and young adults are "sleep walking". Now, with the rampant use of technology and smart phones, people are starting to "sleep text". The article describes that although testing for "sleep texting" is difficult, the idea that teens and young adults waking up in the middle of the night half asleep and automatically grabbing their smart phones and begin tweeting or texting is not hard to believe that all. There are reports and cases of this happening and the victims have zero recollection of ever doing it.

    I agree and can believe this first hand. I have actually sleep texted more than once. It was around 3 or 4 in the morning and I replied to a message I was sent while I was asleep and woke up the next day and did not remember ever sending the text. It is more of being half asleep to where your mind is on autopilot and you just react how you would if you were fully awake. The easiest way to aviod this problem is by turning off your phone before you go to sleep or moving it away from your bed.

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  8. http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/8973926/oscar-pistorius-granted-bail-magistrate-desmond-nair

    Summary: Oscar Pistorious is being charged with murder of his girlfriend in South Africa on Valentine's Day. Today, he was granted bail giving him the opportunity for freedom until his court trial is set. Due to this incident, he has lost the positive role-model outlook he first set being a double-amputee olympian in last year's summer olympics in track and field.

    Response: This is a very sad story and awful to hear about. It is extra saddening since it took place on Valentine's Day, giving the whole opposite of the meaning of the day. It shows that problems are there even if you can't see them. I feel like more could have been done to prevent the incident though. Supposedly, Pistorious and his girlfriend have had many arguments and problems in the past according to their neighbors who heard them most of the time. That leaves me questioning on how come the neighbors didn't call the cops to come resolve the prior disputes or call someone to help them with their problems. Why did they stay away until something fatal occurred? Overall, it is sad that the olympian, who inspired all para-athletes and even soldiers to take up the challenge of doing what you love, has lost the role model figure he had built.

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  9. http://www.14news.com/story/21307006/two-people-possibly-trapped-in-a-hole-in-posey-county

    This article is about a man who had fallen into an 8 foot hole. A man stopped a trained first responder and told him that a man had fallen into a hole and was unconscious. The hole was filled with methane gas and is very deadly. It took a first responder, along with EMS, the fire department, and Air Evac to get him out. The man condition remains unknown.

    I really think that the man that fell in this hole was lucky that someone so skilled and trained was there to find him. It is almost a miracle that even happened. This really think about how prepared everyone needs to be for unexpected situations. That man probably only had minutes left while taking in methane gas, if no one was skilled enough to get him out, he would have died for sure.

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  10. The article I read stated the music lessons within the early years of life may lead to changes in the brain that persist years after the lessons stop. The student in a study who had music lessons in the early childhood years, were able to pick out essential elements such as pitch in different complex sounds in which they were tested on. Studies even show that older musicians can preserve brain functions that help you understand speech against the background of a nosiy enviroment where as nonmusicians have trouble with this.

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/early-music-lessons-have-longtime-benefits/

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  11. A 4th grade math teacher is going to get fired because of inappropriate word problems about the beating and whipping of slaves. For example, "One slave got whipped five times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month (31 days)? Another slave got whipped nine times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month? How many times did the two slaves get whipped together in one month?". In my opinion this is extremely inappropriate, although I do belive children should be educated on this subject, I don't think this was a proper way to go about it, it should be handled with great caution considering how teerible a time it was.

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  12. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/world/africa/oscar-pistorius-bail-hearing.html?ref=world&_r=0

    In this article, I read that the Olympic track star, Pistorius was granted bail for $112,000, which is an extremely high cost. During his trial, his alibi was that he thought she was a burgler, when she was hiding in the bathroom. Although in past records he is known for violence, the judge still gave him bail.

    Overall, I felt like his alibi was a little "sketchy". His story almost reminds me of "Chicago", in this situation. She was obviously guilty, and I feel he is as well. With him having past records of violence, I would have surely taken that into consideration and kept him in jail. I find that this judge was a little too nice.

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  13. http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/194768/4th-grade-math-teachers-under-fire-for-word-problems-about-beating-killing-slaves/

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  14. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/sports/football/nfl-introduces-new-way-to-test-a-players-mental-agility.html?ref=science

    The article I read was called N.F.L Tries New Method for Testing Mental Agility. Basically, the article said that there used to be a test the players would take to test their intelligence. It was supposed to be a direct relationship with their abilities on the field. However, the test was very inaccurate and useless. A new test has been made now. Coaches are giving their players hour long psychological interviews. These interviews are aimed at uncovering the personality traits that a player may have. Coaches are looking for specific traits that they believe make the best players. These tests are becoming mandatory for some teams, and it is also making the scouting process much more efficient. The article also said that a similar test is given to firefighters. This makes sense because both firefighters and football players must make quick and correct decisions quickly while under stress. This test is so different from the previous test because it attempts to take out all prior knowledge in a person. It is aimed mainly on how quickly a player learns and their attitude. The N.F.L is hoping that this new test will be a success when it is released next Friday.

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  15. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/nyregion/new-york-city-schools-struggle-to-separate-the-gifted-from-the-just-well-prepared.html?ref=education
    This article was about the test scores of recent students. It talked about the reason for test scores being so high is because the test that has been used has not been changed in over 10 years. If students' teachers are prepared for the format of such a test them they will be able to prepare them. This places students under a "prepared" but not necessarily "gifted/talented" label. There was a section that talked about a certain test for four- to five-year-olds. This test was to sit them with a stranger for an hour and be questioned or simply have a conversation with them. This test goes beyond school-readiness and I.Q. I thought the article was interesting and I liked the idea of it. I think that there are so many preparation courses that we can take nowadays, so much so, that these tests do not give an accurate analysis of how "gifted" or "talented" we are. They just display how prepared we are, which is an important aspect, however, there are more important things to test for. I think that some standardized tests should be updated, or modified, to test for more than just I.Q. but also logic.

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  16. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heidi-roman/gun-violence-public-health-crisis_b_2732732.html

    This article was about gun violence and how there needs to be new restrictions and rules on who can get guns by performing background checks. It is also being pushed to ban automatic weapons and high capacity clips. It is estimated that 30,000 people die from gun violence each year and one child dies every three hours from gun violence in the US alone. The Children's Defense Fund estimates that 2,391 children have died from gun shot wounds since Congress last convened to discuss gun regulations on January 3, 2013. Studies have shown that countries that have put gun laws and regulations in place have experienced less gun related deaths. I think that action needs to be taken to restrict who can own guns and what types of guns can be owned. I agree that automatic firearms should be illegal because the average person has no need for an automatic weapon, not even for hunting. There needs to be some changes in gun laws to prevent such large numbers of deaths from gun violence.

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  17. This article covers the story of a Canadian woman who was found dead in a water tower of a hotel in Los Angeles. Guests of the Cecil Hotel had reported that the water pressure in the building was low, prompting a maintenance worker to visit tanks on the roof, where her body was found, according to Los Angeles Police Department.

    This story had particular interest to me because I just completed a survival project on how to survive water contamination. Later news reports have found that no harmful bacteria was present in the water tank, however, a "do-not-drink" policy is still in order. The hotel was required to provide alternate water sources and develop a plan for draining, flushing and sanitizing the pipes. The plan has been approved by the Department of Public Health and is being fulfilled.

    Link: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/20/17030431-body-found-in-water-tank-of-los-angeles-hotel-is-missing-tourist?lite

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  18. http://news.yahoo.com/fishermen-acting-gut-crash-2-girls-220529931.html
    The article I read was about how two fisherman found a crashed car that still held two living children by a gut feeling. The car had gone off the road and through some thicket to where it ran into a tree. There were no marks on the road or ground, only a chunk was taking out of a tree. In the car was a mother and two children, which the mother died on impact. The two small children ended up sitting there for several hours until two fisherman came by and noticed the chunk out of the tree. They ended up going and finding the crash
    I think it is truely remarkable that people can have gut feelings that can save lives. It is even more crazy that our minds can get you to the environment so much that you could notice a small chunk taken out of a tree. Thankfully those men noticed and followed their gut and found the two children before any harm could come them.

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  19. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/21/a-coruna-firefighters-prevent-eviction_n_2734954.html?utm_hp_ref=world

    Hundreds of people in Spain have been facing eviction notices as a result of the housing boom and economic crisis that started in 2008. The number of evictions has risen since and firefighters are being called to aid in eviction. One group in A Coruña took a stand against the harsh treatment of homeowners when asked to evict an 86 year old women. Groups were already rallying around her when the fire department joined the ranks. Not only have the evictions caused people to lose their home, but four Spaniards facing evictions took their lives in the last week.
    I thought it was shocking that the Spanish government could be so cruel. It may be in the best interest of the country, but they could go about fixing their problems in a way that involved fewer casualties. I thought it was sweet of the fire department to support groups that stood against eviction. It was also shocking to learn that several people have already taken their own lives. I had no idea the kinds of problems that Spain was facing and this helps me get a clearer picture of what goes on.

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  20. http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion-beauty/japanese-women-rent-out-their-legs-for-advertising-175636100.html

    In Japan, women have been earning money from a new, interesting form of advertising. This form of advertising involves sticking an adhesive advertisement (a form of temporary tattoo) on the thighs of women. The women are required to wear them for at least eight hours and post pictures of themselves wearing the advertisements on social networks like Facebook and Twitter in order to be paid at the end of the day. These women can expect to earn in between $13 and $128 dollars for their daily service. However the women are required to be at least 18 years old and have no less than 20 friends or followers on social networking sites.

    I find it interesting that this is becoming a source of income for women. I imagine this would work especially for male-geared products, considering the nature of the advertising. While I think it's very clever on the advertising company, I don't necessarily agree with using the female body and objectifying it for sales boosts.

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  21. I read http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/tech/social-media/twitter-happiness/index.html?iref=obinsite
    Being in the age of social media, I found this article really interesting. The research looked at people's tweets that were geographically tagged and contained 'happy' words or 'sad' words. I honestly don't think the study was completely accurate, but it was still interesting. I was surprised to find that the middle of the United States was all on the sad end and that Florida was just in the middle. The article also discussed how they searched for words like McDonalds and heartburn and were surprised to come up with some obese cities. It also found that smaller cities and cities that were not landlocked tended to be happier. Before reading the article, I had never really though tweets would be necessarily happier according to location of people. I always like happy people and places, so maybe I'll use the article to find places to live or vacation :)

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  22. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/22/small-businesses-big-targets-for-cyber-snoops/
    My article was over hackers targeting US firms. These hackers are stealing their trade secrets and their digital property. This is hurting the firms sales and damaging the firms in total.
    I believe we should fight back against these hackers. We should invest in the technology to track them down and hurt them as much as they are hurting us.

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  23. http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/theater/tom-hanks-in-lucky-guy-his-broadway-debut.html?pagewanted=3&_r=0

    The article was about the Broadway debut of Tom Hanks. He will be playing Mike McAlary, the famous journalist, in the production "Lucky Guy". The article is mostly about how the production came into being, from the writer Nora Ephron. She thought of it and convinced Tom Hanks to join the project. She later died from leukemia, but Hanks and the director kept it going until the opening. They are now doing it as a tribute to Nora.

    I think this is quite interesting because Tom Hanks is a big movie star and is now trying out Broadway. I also love to hear about new productions being put on because it reminds me that new plays and musicals are constantly being created, which makes more jobs for people who want to be in such things. That is all.

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  24. http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-soccer-hamstringbre91k1cp-20130221,0,1964978.story?track=rss

    This article is about how male soccer players are more prone to pulling their hamstrings. Men and women have the exact same muscles, but woman are much more flexible than men. Men also have more muscle tone and a smaller range of motion, making them more prone to hamstring strains. The article also says that men are more likely to strain their muscle in a game, or during preseason.
    Overall, this article is just stating that men are most likely more prone to straining their muscles, and then it states the reasons why. The article also states the situations of when men are most likely to strain their muscle.

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