Nineteen Year Old Accused of Lying of Bombing in Boston

Robel Phillipos, 19, faces a detention hearing Monday, on the Boston Marathon Bombings. Phillipos' lawyers, are trying to find a way to seek his release. His lawyers, Derege Demissie and Susan Church, stated that the case is about a —"frightened and confused 19 year old who was subjected to intense questioning and interrogation, without the benefit of the counsel, and in the context of one of the worst attacks against the nation. The weight of the federal government under such circumstances can have a devastatingly crushing effect on the ability of an adolescent to withstand the enormous pressure and respond rationally."
As of last week, Phillipos was charged with lying to the investigators about visiting bomber suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's dorm room, a few days after the bombing attack. Two other friends of Phillipos and Tsarnaev, were also charged with "conspiring to take justice", by taking a backpack full of fireworks and a laptop from Tsarnaev's dorm. To support the bail, Phillipos' lawyers have gathered affidavits from family members and friends of Phillipos, that state that Robel is a "considerate, thoughtful, and friendly young man, and a son of a single mother who emigrated to the United States from Ethiopia". The affidavits also stated that Robel was not a flight risk, and that he has been a lifelong resident of Massachusetts. As of today, Robel Phillipos faces a maximum of eighty years in jail, and has a $250,000 bond hanging over his head, if he is ever convicted.
As to how the bombers are doing....well, Dzhokhar, and his accomplice/brother Tamerlan, are accused of carrying out the bombings on April 25, 2013. Reports state that the brothers used "—pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards". Tamerlan, was killed during a gunfight with the police a few days after the bombing attack, and Dzhokhar is in the hospital prison. Being charged with the use of a weapon that causes mass destruction, he now faces a potential death sentence, if he is ever convicted.

Information from "Man accused of lying after Boston Marathon bombings seeks release", from FoxNews.com

Families Return Home After Explosion In Texas

The week of April 14th-20th, has been a very hard and very eventful week for the United States, with the bomb during the Boston Marathon, leading up to poisoned letters delivered to President Obama. One other event that took place this week, on April 17th, was a fertilizer plant that blew up in West, Texas, killing 14 people, and leaving over 160 people injured. Many families were left stranded after the explosion, and were all eventually packed into a nearby hotel. But, after three days of anxiously waiting, authorities gave the OK for the residents of West, Texas, to enter the town. Although authorities have already ruled out of the disaster as a "criminality", they have been telling residents that the town is safe, and that residents may return to their homes. Even though residents are allowed to enter West again, there has been a curfew set up for the battered town, and residents are "—under strict warnings not to wander beyond their own yards.".

 Even though City Council member Steve Vanek has said "It is safe, safe and safe.", there are still some issues. One major issue as to why residents couldn't return to the town for a while, was because some houses had leaking gas tanks, which were causing fires that were dangerously close to the explosion site, which was the place where fertilizer plant was located inside the town. Evacuated residents, have been waiting anxiously to come back and assess the damages of their homes. The first set of residents to return, were people that lived the farthest away from the explosion site, and whose homes had the least damage to them. Others, who lived closer to the site, were asked to leave. Officials said "—it could be weeks before those who lived closest to the explosion—many whose homes were irreparably destroyed—could go back.". One resident, Dorothy Sulak, who lost her home AND her job when the explosion occurred, had fled with nothing but the clothes she had been wearing that day. With a hole in the roof of her home, everything was destroyed in the explosion, that she owned. "Yes, it's stuff. But it's my stuff.", she replied to a news reporter, saying she was one of the few people who wanted to be let back in the town, but were refused by officials.

We know that this time in our lives, is considered a hardship for West, Texas, and for Boston, Massachusetts. Prayers are going out to the families, friends, co-workers, ANYONE that was lost in the explosion of the fertilizer plant, and the bombing during the Boston Marathon. All that anyone can really do, is hope, and pray that everything will be alright in the end. One of the culprits behind the Boston bombing was caught Friday, and the other dead in a all-out shooting, by the police. Authorities are not really sure as to what caused the explosion in West, Texas, but they are certain, that there was no criminality that was taken place.

Information from "Residents of town in Texas fertilizer plant fire go home, as police find no evidence of crime", from Fox News.com

Health Issues with Red Meat

We all eat kmeat. That is, we people who are not vegetarians, eat meat. There are many different kinds of meat. One in particular, red meat, is at the top of the concern list of some doctors. Some doctors are now seeing some other "health issues" with the meat product, itself. They have assumed for a long time, that the saturated fat and high cholesterol that comes with the meat, is what is causing the huge risk for people to obtain heart disease. But recent studies have shown that there is a new issue with the meat has been discovered: carnitine. Carnitine, is a compound that is abundant in red meat, but is also sold in most energy drinks, as a "dietary supplement". Research shows that carnitine helps the body transport fatty acids into cells throughout the body, to be used as energy. But, research also shows that the carnitine can also be retracted by a certain bacteria in the digestive system, to a metabolite called TMAO. Even more research has been conducted, and they consist of TMAO being a promoter of atherosclerosis, meaning thickening of the arteries.
Stanley Hazen, who led the researches, tested patients who were already undergoing "cardiac evalutations", with the TMAO levels. Doing these tests, he found that patients with high TMAO levels, there was more likely a chance that they would have more carnitine in their blood, and an even more high chance that they will have cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, strokes, and even death. The Harvard School of Public Health reported last year, that "—among 83,000 nurses and 37,000 male health professionals followed since the 1890's, those who consumed the highest levels of red meat had the highest risk of death during the study, and that one additional serving a day of red meat raised the risk of death by 13 percent.". Researchers aren't saying that anyone should stop eating red meat all together, but just that they are now getting a better understanding of what kinds of health issues, the meat is causing. So, the next time you see red meat, you might want to think about how much of it, you should eat.

Information from "New health worry in red meat" from Fox News.com

Abortion: Forgivable or Unforgivable?

A young woman aborts her baby to avoid the social stigma of being an unwed mother. Does this woman deserve forgiveness? I don't think she does. What this woman did, was end her own child's life. We don't know if she really wanted to keep her baby, but I'm guessing she didn't. But there are many other options out there, for an "unwanted" child, besides killing. The child could have been put into an orphanage, or taken to another family, or given to someone inside the mother's family, who would have been happy to care for the newborn baby. But, the woman didn't think that she had any other options, other than abortion. She wanted to avoid any means of social contact, like the media for example, because the baby was without a father. There are plenty of women in the world, who have children of their own, and who are raising them without a man by their side. And who talks about that? Not very many people, that I know of. So, really, that woman had nothing to be afraid of. If she had kept her child, she would have been accepted as who she was. No one would have been upset that she kept the baby. It was her child, not anyone else's. But, she didn't want anyone to think less of her, so that's why she got an abortion. She didn't have to kill her child. There were plenty of other options for her to choose from. Abortion was not the only one. If the baby were still alive today, then maybe the woman would have thought differently about what could happen. Maybe she would have decided to keep her baby, and raise the child. Taking a life, I think, is unforgivable. And, that woman decided that her child should not live it's life, because her life, would get complicated if the baby was there. So, thinking that everyone would see and think less of the woman, she gave up her baby to abortion. That is why, I think, that the woman does not deserve forgiveness.

5 O'clock And Still Sunny

It's the beginning of March, which means the beginning of Daylight Savings Time. We all know what that means; we lose an hour of sleep, to gain nearly nine months of extra daylight, in the mid-afternoon to evening hours of the day. I can relate to this subject, because I was VERY confused as to when to change my alarm clock. But, I'm sure there was plenty of confusion to go around. CNN's website says, that this years Daylight Savings Time, began at 2 a.m. this morning, and that it will end on the first Sunday of November of this year. Now, for the people that have the work week and school week ahead of them, they are probably not too happy with this time change, because they are losing an hour of their precious, and possibly much needed, sleep. People kind of wander, though; Who, or what, came up with something like Daylight Savings Time, in the first place? Well, you can't really blame the scientists, the weather, or even Mother Nature for that matter. But, you could probably blame Benjamin Franklin. He's the man who came up with the idea of saving daylight. This idea, though, wasn't put into  action until the year of WWI, when daylight saving was useful to help save energy for lights. In the year 1918, The Standard Time Act, was developed to establish time zones and daylight saving, but this didn't last very long, for the act was repealed the following year.
Now, most people really hate this time of year, because when they wake up, it's still pretty dark outside. But, they should be thankful for the fact that they get to see the sun still shining around 5 o'clock now. You want to know why? Well, here's why I say this. In 1966, 47 years after The Standard Time Act had been repealed, a new act came had been formed, and put into play. The Uniform Time Act, was made. This act established Daylight Savings Time throughout America, and gave states the option to be exempt from Daylight Savings Time. States like Hawaii, and most parts of Arizona, took the opportunity of this exemption from Daylight Savings Time, along with Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. In the years of 1974 and '75, Congress decided to extend Daylight Savings Time, to save energy during the energy crisis of those two years. Nearly 70 countries follow Daylight Savings Time, but the countries that are set upon the equator, do not.
Even though there are people that really don't appreciate the fact that they have to rest their clocks an hour ahead, theres not really much anyone can do about it. But hey, if you don't like having to lose an hour of sleep from March to November, then you might as well move to Arizona, or Hawaii. :) There are times when I really hate having to wake up in the mornings, and see that the sun isn't awake yet. But, the fact that I actually get to enjoy the sun in the early evening hours, makes me appreciate it sometimes. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way. But, if I am...then theres nothing wrong with being different about things like that.


This information is provided from the article "Daylight Saving Time: Don't forget to spring forward", from the CNN website

Elderly Unprotected by Flu Vaccine

Around December of last year, the flu season began. The flu causes problems for us during the end of the year, but the vaccine for the flu has helped us through the difficult seasons we face. This year, however, was not such a good one, especially for elderly people. This flu season, the vaccine for the flu was not as helpful to us, especially for people who are over the age of 65. Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that this years flu vaccine,  "—is not nearly as effective as we would like among most people over the age of 65 for one particular strain of the flu, and that's why early treatment is important." I think everyone would certainly agree with Dr. Frieden. Most doctors offices and pharmacies, give the flu vaccine shot out early in the year, and for free in some places. The strain that Dr. Frieden spoke of, is an H3N2 flu strain, which has been the most dominant with the influenza virus, and was especially hard on the elderly. According to hospital reports, among people over 65, 146 out of 100,000 were hospitalized for the flu, compared to the rate of 36 out 100,000 of last year. Children that are 6 months and older, are recommended by the CDC to receive the vaccine.
We all know what the influenza virus comes with. Headaches, fever, itchy and stopped up noses, etc. Not most people want to go through that, I would think. Dr. Frieden also says that "This season has been worse than average and particularly severe to the elderly. Although it's far from perfect, the flu vaccination is by far the best tool we have to protect from the flu." Authorities have stated that the vaccine was effective to adults and children by 62%, but by the day, it keeps falling. Thursday's report said that it the vaccine was effective by 56%. The vaccine itself, is a good match for the most common viruses of the flu circulating, the vaccine was 47% effective of protection against the H3N2 virus, which is the main virus to the influenza. Frieden himself, says that "We simply need a better vaccine against influenza, one that works better and lasts longer,". The Department of Health and Human Services, are working to find a better, and stronger vaccine as we speak. I can relate to this story, because right now, my uncle is at home, with the virus. He has the vaccine, but it didn't work very sufficient for him. He has been bedridden to the couch for about a week now. Officials say that the worst of this years flu season is over, and that flu cases are declining. But, they still hope that we can be better prepared for next years flu season, as this one comes to a peaceful end.

This information provided from the article "Flu vaccine less effective, especially among elderly", from the CNN website.

Cheating

Cheating. We all know what is is, and that's its wrong. I'm sure that we all have cheated on a big test, or copied someone's homework, at some point in our school lives. There's still people out there, that still cheat today. All the big schools, and colleges have had some problems with this, in past and present-tense. Harvard is one of the big colleges. Just two weeks ago, on Friday, 60 students attending Harvard, were forced to withdraw from the big Ivy League school for a short period of time, for having cheated on a final exam in a Congress class. I know that everyone can relate to this, because we see someone cheating in classrooms all the time, and they seldom get caught. But, when they do, they're punished, but only for a short period of time. In the past, Harvard disciplined more than 125 students just last year, for this cheating scandal. In an e-mail that was sent throughout the campus, Dean Michael D. Smith, in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Sciences, said that "somewhat more than half of the cases involved students that had to be withdrawn from the college for a period of time.". For us high-school and elementary students, were basically suspended for maybe a few days to a week or two at a time, depending on how serious the situation is. Harvard says that the length of a students withdrawal period, is usually two to four terms.

For us kids, the suspension period is not long, so no one really minds it. The parents will be furious, of course, but the suspension period is supposed to be for you to realize that if you do something like this a second time, you'll be suspended again, and for a longer period of time. One parent in particular, whose son is attending Harvard, and who was also a graduate himself from the college, says that "If you challenge the entire faculty at the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Law School to come up with a process that took more time, cost more money, embarrassed more innocent students, and vindicated guilty faculty....that could not have outdone the process that took place,". Everyone says that this incident was, and still is unfortunate for the Harvard college. But, the fact that the board of the school is taking action, and sending the students who did the cheating away from their studies, should make the students realize that cheating is wrong. And, now that they know it is, hopefully they will realize, that they shouldn't do it again. Two to four terms, is most DEFINITELY a long period of time to be away from college, especially if it's a business and law school. So, the next time you think about whether or not to copy someone's homework, or steal answers off of someone's test, think about the consequences they'll be, if you are caught. You may think it's a good idea now, but if you keep cheating for the rest of you're school years, by the time you get to college, you may just end up like one of the 60 Harvard students that were withdrawn from campus Friday.


This information is provided from the article "Harvard disciplines dozens of students over exam cheating", from the FOX News website.