Lauren Bell

National 1:

Summary:

In Nebraska a troubled teen killed eight people and himself at an Omaha mall was placed in a mental health treatment center five years ago after making homicidal threats toward his stepmother. Todd Landry, director of the Nebraska Division of Family and Children's Services, described for reporters the laundry list of residential treatment centers and group and foster homes where Robert Hawkins spent much of his teen years, because of his behavioral and psychiatric problems. At one point during that period Hawkins also filed a report with police alleging he was molested by a roommate at one of the facilities. The case was resolved internally, according to the report.

Opinion:

I think it is very sad that so many peoples lives had to come to an end so violently and unexpected. 8 people’s lives and his own were taken. No specific reason has bee identified but regardless it was not an accident. It makes me so sad to hear about these stories of innocent people and their lives being taken. We have so many stupid people in this world and it’s absolutely ridiculous that’s for sure.

National 2:

Summary:

The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers 37-27 on Thursday to clinch a playoff berth and take top spot in the National Football Conference. Quarterback Tony Romo completed 19 of 30 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to their 11th victory in 12 games this season -- the first 11-1 record in team history. It was the Cowboys' sixth consecutive victory since they lost to undefeated New England on October 14. The way both teams are playing they could meet up in this season's Super Bowl. "Our team is playing good football right now," said Romo, who's four touchdown passes gave him 33 for the season -- a franchise record.

Opinion:

This is for Collin!! PACKER SUCK HAHAAHHAHAHAH!!! Ya its pretty amazing…it was an intense game and way to close and yes it was unfortunate about Brett favre but Dallas won fair and square no if’s and’s or but’s. It was a game well played and well deserved for the cowboys. Those are my boys and the dominated just as I predicted. They r amazing and cant wait to see what else they bring to this game and give to Dallas fans.

International 1:

Summary:

Jamaican soldiers will join police on patrols on the Caribbean island in a new strategy to fight rising violence. Nearly 60 homicides over the last week have pushed the number of victims this year beyond 1,430, police spokesman Karl Angell said. Most of the violence has been linked to gangs in the capital, Kingston, and the rural parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. James. "We are going to use every resource to deal with this monster," Prime Minister Bruce Golding told a news conference late Wednesday. Soldiers have been mobilized in the past to help quell violence on a temporary basis, but Golding said he would assign troops to crime patrols as a long-term strategy.

Opinion:

There are a lot of problems with homicides going around in Jamaica. The rate is rapidly increasing and becoming more and more dangerous. Most of the violence is coming from gang and group violence. It is a scary world and very unsafe. They are under going so much right now that it is very hard to handle and overcome. I will keep Jamaica in my close prayers and thoughts and I hope that things calm down a bit and that God does a work over there.

International 2:

Summary:

In Pakistan scores of lawyers rallied outside the house of Pakistan's ousted chief justice to demand his reinstatement on Thursday in the latest demonstration against emergency measures imposed by the country's crisis-hit president. Lawyers shout slogans outside the house of ousted chief justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry. The protest came as opposition leader Nawaz Sharif tried to breach security outside the home of the former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry in Islamabad to try to meet with him. Chaudhry has been kept in his home since November 3, when President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency, using it to crackdown on opponents, including members of the judiciary likely to block his new term as president.

Opinion:

Rallies like this are always dangerous and can be very scary. Most of them get to be out of control and just very chaotic. The lawyers have a right to be upset and have a right to speak there mind. I just feel that things like this need to be kept in control; which by the way can be a very hard thing to do. So with all do respect they need to keep their actions responsible and their words clean…..wait a minute this is politics we r talking about, what am I thinking.

KrIsTa GrOtE

NATIONAL

Huckabee

SUMMARY
Mike Huckabee is one of the most comical Republican presidential candidates for the upcoming election. For only being a guitar playing, Baptist preacher he sure has gotten a lot of laughs from the public. At the Youtube debates last week he cracked a few jokes, one of them in which he said if traveling to mars were in the future he would volunteer Hilary Clinton to be on one of the first rockets. Even though some have been offended by his jokes, he still is in favor of the crowds because people can relate to him. He even lost 110 pounds recently. So even though he is only half the candidate now, his jokes are big enough to fill a room with laughs.

OPINION
I like how Huckabee is so funny, but he is also religious. I don’t know if a comedian would make the best president of the United States but he does add comical relief to the serious campaign trail. He just needs to be careful not to offend anyone so no one wants to vote for him. I think I’m going to do more research on this guy and see if he is worth a vote.

INTERNATIONAL

Miss Tibet

SUMMARY
A young lady participating in a Miss Tourism pageant as Miss Tibet was asked by the Chinese Government to change her official title to Miss Tibet-China. When she refused to do so she was asked to pull herself out of the contest, and she did just that. This is not the first time China has asked the Tibet contestant to change their title. The interesting thing was that the girl was actually from India.

OPINION
China is very possessive when it comes to having their name accredited first Taiwan and now Tibet. I’m glad the contestant to not give into the pressures, although this competition probably would have been a great experience. Being able to stand up against China and making your own decisions is probably just as big of an accomplishment as winning the pageant.

NATIONAL

Men's or Women's?

SUMMARY
A new ordinance was passed in Scottsdale this week for the transsexual and homosexual community stood up for their rights insisting that they have they right to choose which bathroom they wish to you in public places. The courtroom was a standing room only and full of color that night. Eighteen people spoke on behalf of this issue, 11- in favor and 7-against. Now this part of the community can choose where there want to go in public restrooms, but as for private owned business they are just going to have to stick to there usual one.

OPINION
This is such a pointless case and I am extremely opposed to it! I don’t want to walk out of a stall and look in the mirror while I’m washing my hands and see that I’m standing next to a guy wearing make-up, that would freak me out! This is going to cause more problems than solve because now people are going to take advantage of this “special” privilege and straight perverts are just going to use it as a way to use the opposite gender bathroom for their advantage. Plus its not like girls can use urinals anyway.

INTERNATIONAL

Child Labor in India

SUMMARY
Child Labor is extremely high in India. The people there say there are 12 million working kids but some other numbers show that the estimate is closer to 60 million kids. In India it is not uncommon to see this. About 20% of the Indian children are put to work usually by their parents for their advantage; as for the other 80%, these kids roam about the streets. There is one guy in one of the towns who has taken the initiative to outlaw child labor and has provided a school for the children to go and learn and escape the demands of child labor. In the school there also have their own student body so the kids can learn about how politics work.

OPINION
I never new how many kids in India did child labor. We just take education for granted in the US and don’t even realize how much people and kids in other countries suffer from and go through. We have it so nice. I wish there was a way to share that with the rest of the world. I really admire this man and his efforts to make a difference.

National:
A gunman opened fire in a shopping center in Nebraska, killing eight people before fatally shooting himself, police say. Five other people were wounded - two critically - in the shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha. Police were called to the incident at lunchtime, when the center would have been packed with Christmas shoppers. Witnesses spoke of shoppers screaming and scrambling to find safe shelter as the gunman struck. In a statement, the White House said President George W Bush - who visited Omaha earlier in the day for a fundraiser - said he was "deeply saddened" by the shootings.
Wow I cant believe this. I am so sad about this. And don't quote me on this but I agree with President Bush's statement. Scary I know. Whats scarier is the fact that even when you think you're safe just christmas shopping some psycho with a gun kills eight people and wounds five thats ridiculous. I think im done talking about this depresingness.
International
Not much can bring the life of the noisy, traffic-clogged heart of Bangkok to a halt. But on Wednesday the streets were hushed, the cars and buses banished. All you could hear were speakers playing the royal anthem, and thousands of flags fluttering in the cool winter breeze, held by people of all ages. Most were dressed in yellow and had waited for hours for a glimpse of a stiff and stern-faced old man passing in a motorcade, on his way to the gilded halls and temples of Bangkok's Grand Palace. And as it passed they shouted "Song Phra Charoen", "Long Live Your Majesty". Some had tears in their eyes. What explains this extraordinary bond between people and monarch? King Bhumibol Adulyadej is accorded an almost divine reverence, with titles like Phra Chao Yu Hua (Lord Upon our Heads) or Chao Chiwit (Lord of Life). People prostrate themselves on the ground in his presence. Yet there is genuine affection too, and it goes both ways. Thais talk of their love for him as though he were a cherished member of the family. In his speeches to the nation he likes to joke and tease them.
Thats pretty dang cool what if we had a lovable leader like that. It's Amazing that the whole capital stopped what it was doing to just see him. On the other hand it reminds me of 1984 which scares me alot i hope that brain washing is not happening that would be bad especially if they had a ministry of love. haha

Andrew Reiff

National

Summary- Man sentenced in bizarre diagnosing scam

A man and woman in Louisiana was ordered to pay back more than $800,000 procured from a complicated scam. The scam was that his wife was a CIA agent, and for some money, she could arrange to have their bodies scanned by satellite for any medical diseases, and then during the night, while the "patient" was sleeping, secret agents would come and administer medicine. The couple is being charged with paying back the $873,786.94. The man is getting 51 months in prison, while the woman gets 63 months.

Opinion-

How dumb do you have to be... these poor southerners... they agreed to health care in which they never even had evidence it was working! Man if that is not a tip off that it is a scam then I don't know what is. This couple should be rewarded for exposing the stupidity of some Americans. I guess this satellite health care was just too good to be true.

International

Summary- Gates says secure Iraq within reach

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that the troops in Northern Iraq need reinforcement. He claims that the heavier troops in Bahgdad have pushed the terrorists north, and there needs to be more troops farther north. Right before he spoke, a large bomb went off across the Tigris, and 14 people died. He did not say how many more troops were needed. Gates says that he has learned a lot from his trips to Iraq. There were just 49 attacks on troops in November, compared to 553 a month early in the insurgency.

Opinion-

I don't know very much about Robert Gates, but from this he seems to be a pretty cool guy. I guess it would make sense that we need more troops in northern Iraq, because the oil pipelines run through there and they are a popular target for terrorists. I totally agree that the surge is working, I think if we just give it some time then the terrorists will at least leave until we leave, which after that point the Iraqis will be on their own. But to pull out now would be a total waste of all these years of trying to help the Iraqi people.

National

Summary- NASA delays Atlantis launch

A pair of faulty fuel gauges delyaed the launch of the Atlantis on Thursday. While technicians were filling up the main tank, two key fuel sensors failed to work properly, so the launch was posponed. The shuttle trip is due to carry a $2 billion dollar space lab that took 25 years to build by the European Space Agency. They were dissapointed at the postponment, but said that it is better to launch late and safe than on time and unsafe. This would have been the fourth shuttle launch this year. The fuel gauge problem had been popping up after the Columbia disaster, plus NASA techs are being much more careful.

Opinion-

Aren't these shuttles getting old already? Its getting to be like driving a 30 year old car with five hundred thousand miles on it, it just does not work as well as it used to. It is time for NASA to get serious about finding a replacement for the Shuttle because someday we might actually have to use them for something other than playing around in space. Stuff gets old, its just the second law of thermodynamics. I know the shuttles have been kept in good repair, but we only have like 2 left now, Discovery, the oldest, and Altantis.

Mr. Hjort...please read me -alex

okay so i tried to hyperlink my second half of my blogs but for some reason i was not capable but i got my information from www.cnn.com just so you know! i promise i did try so please dont count me off (if that is something that you do :])
thx so much
alex bellah

Alex Bellah...second half of my blogs for this week

National: floods

Summary: Washington state residents were hoping by Wednesday that they could return home after flooding forced them to flee their homes. The damages caused by this major northwestern storm still have not been said but the search for missing people continues. Everything happened so suddenly that some people did not have time to flee their homes but had to be rescued by helicopter. About 70,000 people were without electricity in Washington state and Oregon during the high point of the storm. On Wednesday most electricity was able to be turned back on and hospitals no longer had to use emergency generators. People are hoping that things can return to normal very soon with as little of damages as possible.

Opinion: I pray that no one was terrible injured by this tragic storm and that the missing people will be found alive and doing okay. This is such a tragedy, if only we had control over the weather. The weather is a very tricky thing and there is really no way of telling ho bad a storm can be in the end. You can estimate the effect of the storm but no one really knows till all is done. It is a tragic thing that it happened so fast and that many people did not have time to evacuate. Hopefully in the future we will be able to come up with some sort of system that can help with the effect of storms.


International: Suicide kills 13

Summary: On Wednesday a suicide Bomber rammed their car into a minibus filled with Afghan soldiers south of Kabul. 13 people were killed in this attack including six soldiers. This attack cam about 24 hours after another bomber attack happened against NATO. Unlike in the attack that happened on Wednesday no Military casualties happened in the NATO attack. Many attacks have happened weeks earlier to these attacks and many have happened after. I believe that the attacker still has not yet been found out.

Opinion: It is sad to think that the world is ending up this way. The Lord has warned us of these times to come and now that they are happening it is hard to imagine that it could get worse…but it will. My heart goes out to the innocent lives that were lost in these attacks and the families that lost their loved ones. I pray that the Lord will be with them and he will comfort them. My heart also goes out to the attackers and how they think that by doing this it will have a positive effect on someone or something. Whoever thinks that has some serious issues!

Furnia (Ignore the last one)

Nationtal
1:That college education is going to cost a whole lot more than two Ohio students ever expected.
The two men face up to 20 years in prison after police say they admitted robbing a suburban Cincinnati bank of $130,000 at gunpoint because, they claimed, they needed tuition money for college.

Opinion
I think that is so dumb that someone had to rob a bank to pay for tuition. I mean they could have done a student loan or asked their parents for help. Why do you have to go rob a bank and put people in danger for that when there are many different solutions to your problem. I am glad that they are going to jail for that they should have known what they were getting themselves into when they signed up for college.

2:The nation's teen birth rate has risen for the first time in 14 years, according to a new government report.
The birth rate had been dropping since 1991. The decline had slowed in recent years, but government statisticians said Wednesday it jumped 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.The birth data for 2006 also showed births to unmarried mothers hit a new record high, and the overall birth rate has climbed to its highest level since 1971.
The teen increase was based on the 15-19 age group, which accounted for about 99 percent of the more than 440,000 births to teens in 2006.
The rate rose to 41.9 live births per 1,000 females in that age group, up from 40.5 in 2005.

Opinion
I think it is dumb that girls just are going out there and having "fun" with themselves. Then in the end bringing a baby into the world that really is going to find it difficult cause the mom is still in high school and can't raise the kid. I mean now high schools are like encouraging it because they are putting day cares in the high schools. That I think should be gone because these kids did this to themselves and they need to deal with the consequences.

International
1:Police said Wednesday they have arrested a man who vanished more than five years ago then turned up at a police station last weekend claiming he had lost his memory.
A published report, meanwhile, claimed that the man and his wife had been seen together in Panama since his disappearance. His wife reportedly moved to Panama earlier this year.
Cleveland Police, in northeast England, said John Darwin, 57, had been arrested in connection with their investigation of his apparent disappearance at sea.
Darwin disappeared after going out to sea in his canoe, which was later found wrecked on a beach. A coroner officially declared him dead.
His wife Anne yesterday told reporters she had believed her husband was dead and claimed on his life insurance policy in good faith.

Opinion
That is dumb. Why would someone want to throw their life away in hiding just because your dealing with some difficult time. Then the wife is going along with it. I would not want to do that because I would want my husband to be with me and not just somewhere out there doing who knows what. I'm glad he was arrested because it is wrong with what he did to everyone thinking that he was dead and he really wasn't.

2:A conservation group that has vowed to disrupt Japan's annual whale hunt launched its Antarctic campaign Wednesday by renaming one of its ships after "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, the late environmental campaigner.
The U.S.-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says it will use whatever means necessary to block Japan from harvesting up to 50 humpbacks, 935 minkes and 50 fin whales in Antarctic waters as part of an oceanic research program that critics decry as commercial whaling in disguise.
Irwin's widow, Terri, threw her support behind the mission by giving Sea Shepherd permission to rename one of its two flagship vessels after her husband, the TV wildlife program host who died from a stingray attack off Australia's Great Barrier Reef in September 2006.

Opinion
I think that is such a sweet thing that they are doing for the whales. I mean whales are mean but onle if you taunt them. Plus that is good they are doing it for someone in memory not just cause they want to stop the whole thing. Even thought this should be stopped no matter what it is just wrong. I hate when people try and catch things for no reason just because they want to feel good about themselves.