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

Black Bear Kills Gibraltar High School Teacher

A beloved teacher, Brian Dahlie, at Gibraltar High School was mauled by a black bear early Thursday afternoon. Dahlie went for an exploration through the thick woods of Peninsula State Park when he encountered a 1,250 pound bear. He brought supplies to defend himself against this kind of incident, such as a bottle of molasses and a broom stick.Unfortunately Dahlie was no match for this beast. He had a chance when Josie Shabbit ran after Dahlie but the bear swallowed her whole. Frightened, Dahlie started to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the beast fell asleep...but that woke the papa bear. The bear trotted over to Dahlie and ate him, along with the molasses. His life will be missed but his message will always ring in the minds of everyone he knew. Dahlie once said, "False, black bear is best." RIP.

Man Dies after he was Assaulted and Bit by a Robber

A robber jumped a 76 year old, Frankie Baity, on the south side of Chicago. The 76 year old man would not give him the ten dollars that he had clenched in his hand and the robber bit his pinkie finger.Frankie Baity began to complain about significant pain to some of his relatives and they decided that they should check it out.When they brought him to the hospital they realized something was seriously wrong. He had four broken ribs and they weren't able to stop the internal bleeding in time. He unfortunately died that same night. The Medical Examiner's office in Cook County ruled his death a homicide from multiple injuries due to assault.
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-man-dies-after-being-bit-bronzeville-man-dies-after-being-bit-by-robber-20120315,0,3151417.story?hpt=us_bn6

School Bus Crashes Leaving Driver and Once Student Dead

Early Monday morning the children riding on a bus headed to school were suddenly stopped after hitting a concrete pillar of a railroad bridge. Witnesses quickly jumped out of their to assist the kids on the bus. Once the first responders and EMTs arrived, they announced the driver and one student dead. Ten others were set to the hospital. Two are said to be in critical condition, while eight others are said to only have bumps and bruises. They are investigating weather the driver lost control of the car or if it was a mechanical issue. The mayor visited the crash site and then the school and said it was a tragic accident and that everyone needs to show their support to the families. Hopefully all of the children in the hospital will be okay and thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the bus driver and the boy who did not make it.
http://www.wthr.com/story/17134930/school-bus-crash-injures-one?hpt=us_bn6

3 Year Old Swallows 37 Magnets

Three year old Payton Bushnell was rushed to the hospital Friday after swallowing 37 high powered rare earth Buckyball magnets. At first her parents believed she had the flu, but after the symptoms appeared to not be getting any better they knew something was wrong. Once the got the the hospital the doctors decided to take an X-ray. They saw the circle of beads and thought it was a simple bracelet. When the went to take the bracelet out, the realized they were dealing with 37 magnets. The doctors told the parents that the magnets pinched her intestines together and ripped three holes in her lower intestine and one hole in her stomach. They rushed her into surgery and were able to save her life. She is still in the hospital on her way to a full recovery.
http://www.kptv.com/story/17070382/3-year-old-swallows-37-magnets-and-survives

Three Student Killed and Two Injured after shooting in Ohio

At 7:30 am the dispatch center was advised that a shooting took place at the Chardon High school. A high school boy approached a table in the cafeteria with a gun and began shooting. He hit five students and one student was pronounced dead hours after the indecent. Another two were pronounced dead the next day after the shooting. The gunman is in custody and will be charged by Thursday. The gunman was described as an outcast and bullied but he did have friends in school. This just shows that this could happen to any school any time. It is something that no one ever thinks will happen to them but when it does it is extremely tragic.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/27/ohio-high-school-on-lockdown-after-reports-shooting/

Teen Lifts Car to Save his Grandfather

While Austin Smith and his grandfather, Ernest Monohollen, were working on a 1991 Buick Saturday morning. When Austin went in the car to pump the breaks while his grandfather was under the car, he felt the car shake a bit and then got out. After he got out the car which weighed over two thousand pounds fell on his grandpa. Austin quickly reacted by lifting the car to help free him. Austin says the reason he was able to free his grandpa was due to the adrenaline because he is unable to do it now. His grandpa suffered a serious cut to his face, fractured ribs and a fractured eye socket. Austin's grandmother is extremely thankful for everything Austin was able to do. His grandpa couldn't be more thankful and proud.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Ida-Township-teen-lifts-car-to-save-grandfather/-/1719418/8812972/-/5spmw5/-/index.html

300 Pound Bear uses Drain Tunnel as Home

Dillon Weiler was driving when he saw two eyes in a drain tunnel and stops to see what it was. When he pulled over to take a look, he saw that it was a 300 pound black bear hibernating inside the tunnel. While bears hibernate, the are very light sleepers, so the public is told to look at a safe distance. A black bears instinct when it usually come in contact with humans  is to run away, but the bear could feel trapped and feel the need to fight back. People are told to stay quiet and stay back so the bear doesn't begin to feel trapped. Even though this might seem like a very rare event, bears which hibernate for four months out of the year, sometimes settle in man made objects such as culverts.
http://www.waow.com/story/16910830/black-bear-calls-drain?hpt=us_bn6

Father Kills himself and his Two Children in House Explosion

Right after noon on Sunday, Josh Powell stood outside of his house waiting for his kids to be brought by the social worker for a supervised visit. As the kids came running up to the door, Powell shoved them in the house and then slammed the door and locked it on the social worker. With the smell of gasoline in the air, she quickly called her supervisor. As soon as she got through to him, the house exploded with Josh Powell and his two sons, five year old Braden and seven year old Charlie. Powell is also the only suspect of his wife's disappearance in 2009. Right before the indecent, he sent an e-mail to his attorney simply saying, "I'm sorry. Goodbye." He also sent an e-mail to a family member saying how he couldn't handle the stress anymore. All three of them were found in a room together completely burned. The explosion shook all of the houses in the neighborhood. A medical examiner will be checking the bodies to see if they died of the fire or if Powell did something within the two minuets of all three of them in the house together before the explosion.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/us/washington-powell-explosion/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Teen's Concussion Leads to Death

Nathan Stiles was 17 and was a straight-A senior and the start running back for the Spring Hill, Kansas, High School Broncos'. He also was a starter for the basketball team and he was active in his church. The final game of the season his senior year turned out to be the final game of his life. He died of second-impact syndrome, which is the result of the brain getting hit before it has the chance to heal from the initial concussion. He is the youngest person with a reported case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a degenerative disease found in football player and other athletes in contact sports who get repeated blows to the head. In the first half of his final game he got an interception which he brought all the way back for a touchdown. His parents described it as completely graceful. But when halftime came, his mother saw that he was walking off the field oddly. Shortly after she received a phone call telling her to rush down to the bench. Before they could even make it down to the field, he had collapsed. She tried yelling for him to wake up but went into a seizure. He was airlifted to Kansas State University Medical Center. They were able to stop the bleeding in the brain after four hours of surgery, but by that time the heart and lungs were too weak to go on. By 4 a.m. that morning they took him off of life support. They asked to use his brain to decipher the cause of death. From the findings, they are urging patients to wait until full recovery from a concussion so that way no one will have to suffer from what Nathan Stiles will never be able to do because he didn't wait until he was completely symptom free.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/27/health/big-hits-broken-dreams-brain-bank/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

U.S. Aircraft Carrier able to go through Strait of Hormuz without incident after Iran Threat

 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/22/world/meast/us-iran-aircraft-carrier/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Sunday, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier moved through the Strait of Hormuz without an incident Sunday with British and French ships after threats from Iran. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command released a statement saying that the Lincoln "completed a regular and routine transit of the strait...to conduct maritime security operations." A couple weeks ago Iranian officials warned the United States not to send another carrier after the USS John Stennis left the Persian Gulf headed back for the western Pacific. General Ahmad Vahidi said, "WE have always stated that there is no need for the forces belonging to the countries beyond this region to have a presence in the Persian Gulf. Their presence does nothing but create mayhem, and we never wanted them to present in the Persian Gulf." They have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz which is a major problem because it is the only outlet to and from the Persian Gulf between Iran and the United Arab Emirates as well as Oman. It is a major shipping rout of oil and other resources. The U.S. responded to the threat by saying they will "respond" if Iran attempts to shut down traffic. The United States has h military presence in that region with the message that they will do everything possible to help secure peace in that part of the world.

Syria rebels appeal to world as hilltop town comes under attack

  Tuesday, a Syrian rebel army chief begged for protection for the civilians of Syria. A group of embattled rebel fighters attempted to attack a resort Syrian hill resort. It now has become a hub of revolt against President Bashar Assad's rule. One  of the rebels discribed the conditions for residents of Zabadani as,"Every day we have a funeral. Every Day their tanks fire on us." The town was attacked by troops backed by tanks, which resulted in 40 people being wounded. It has not only impacted the small town, but the entire nation. Syria's news, SANA said that Tuesday, "An armed terrorist group" launched rocket-propelled grenades at an army checkpoint late Monday, killing an officer and five other army personal. People are running to join the opposition because of fear that the Assad will not enact reforms or stop the violence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46023960/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/#.TxW7faVSQZA