Over Half of Florida Students Fail State Test

Florida has the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test which tests students on their reading and writing skills in grades 4, 8, and 10 . The results for the last test were just released and it showed a major drop in scores. Last year 81% kids in the fourth grade scored a four or higher on their test. The tests are scored on a one to six grading criteria, and receiving a four means the student at their grade level standards. This years results show that only 27% of fourth graders received a four or higher.  This drop was seen across all of the age groups.Last year, 82% of eighth graders scored a four or higher, but now only 33% did. 80% the tenth graders scored a four or higher last year but only 38% did this year. This dramatic drop is thought to be a result of a change in the grading guidelines. The state is putting teachers and students at a higher education level. These scores are to show the state how well schools are preforming and individual students. State officials are saying that they were expecting this drop and expect the scores to be back to where they were at in the next few years.
http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/florida-test-scores-bring-more-questions-than-answers/?hpt=hp_bn1

Woman Charged for Taking Baby From Hospital

Ann Pettway admitted that she stole an infant from a Manhattan hospital in 1987. She has pleaded guilty to a federal kidnapping charge. She turned herself in January 2011 at the FBI office in Bridgeport, Connecticut. her trial was supposed to start Monday but the Judge has moved it to July 6.She could face life in prison. Pettway suffered many miscarriages. She abducted Carlina Renae White, and attempted to make false birth certificates but never was successful. Whites mother testified that she brought Carlina in to the hospital at 19 days old for a fever and went home to rest. When she came back her baby was gone. Carilina said she never felt like Pettway was her mother and spent last year tracking down her birth parents.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/14/justice/new-york-baby-snatching/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Monster Shrimp taking over Volusia County's Waters

Finding tiger shrimp off the Volusia coast in Florida is becoming more and more common. Tiger shrimp are huge compared to the average shrimp. The tiger shrimp were introduced to the Volusia coast in 1988, but since they have become more common to local fishermen, it is believed that the multiplying population could eventually take over the current shrimp. However, the tiger shrimp have been eaten by locals, and they say that they are quite tasty. Local fisherman say that if they need, they will begin to sell these shrimp. These shrimp have been found to be 12 inches long and as thick as a banana. They definitely make a shrimp out of the current shrimp.
http://cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2012/5/6/monster_shrimp_takin.html?hpt=us_bn5

Chen Guangcheng is a Chinese activist that escaped and is said to be in an American Embassy in Beijing. This comes after the planning for the arrival of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Beijing. She is set to depart Monday night. Chen who is a self taught lawyer and blind, was put under house arrest for 18 months guarded heavily by security. He was sentenced to four years in prison and house arrest after he spoke out about forced abortions by China's family planning officials. He escaped and made the trip to Beijing with friends and other activists on April 22. Once he arrived in Beijing he went from safe house to safe house, until he finally arrived at the US Embassy. This puts a lot of pressure on America with what they are planning on saying regarding this matter, because their ties with China and Beijing are a huge asset, but they are also trying to enforce human rights. The trip to Beijing for Clinton is to discuss strategic and economic issues, but the issue with Chen is almost guaranteed to be discussed.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/30/world/asia/china-us-activist/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

First Criminal Charges Filed in BP Oil Spill

After the April 2010 explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the first charges have been filed. The explosion lead to 4.9 million barrels of crude oil pour into the gulf over a period of three month. Eventually they put a cap on the leak located about a mile under, but the consequences were huge. 11 men died as a result of the explosion and the rig sank after the explosion. A formed BP engineer, Kurt Mix, was arrested in Texas. He is accused of two counts of intentionally destroying evidence requested by authorities. One of accusations is that he deleted messages focusing on work to the stem the oil flow. "The deleted texts, some of which were recovered forensically, included sensitive internal BP information collected in real time as the Top Kill operation was occurring, which indicated that Top Kill was failing," the Justice Department said. "By the time Mix deleted those texts, he had received numerous legal hold notices requiring him to preserve such data and had been communicating with a criminal defense lawyer in connection with the pending grand jury investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster," the department said. Mix could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count if he is convicted. 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/24/us/gulf-oil-spill/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

The end of a Space Era

After leaving from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and visiting Washington D.C., Discovery landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Tuesday. Its final resting spot will be at the Smithsonian Institution's air and space facility in Chantilly, Virginia. This is unfortunately is the end of the space program in the United States for now. There are other independent groups trying to make a safer alternative to entering orbit and the ability to travel to the International Space Station. Some believe that the program was ready for retirement, but others feel like it was too soon. For the many who were able to say goodbye one last time, it was a bittersweet experience.
http://ireport.cnn.com/open-story.jspa?openStoryID=777044&hpt=hp_c3#DOC-777481

Miracle Baby

As the parents pried the top of the coffin of their new born baby to get one last look before they had to say bye. The mother held the hand of the infant and then took off the white cloth covering the baby's body. This was the first time they heard the baby cry. This was after the 1 pound 12 ounces baby was put in a refrigerator for over ten hours in the morgue. As the baby was born the doctor did observe any vital signs and another doctor took a look and again didn't find any vital signs. The hospital then followed protocol and two morgue workers put the baby in the coffin and put it in the freezer. After the mother realized that her baby was alive, she tried to warm the baby up while someone ran to get help. Unfortunately, the baby died later. People in Argentina are calling the little girl the "Miracle Baby."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/11/world/americas/argentina-baby-survivor/index.html?hpt=hp_c3