I should know who is in your group and what your topic is. Please begin your reseach. The skinny jeans people need a more serious topic.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday February 22, 2010
Investigative Report Project
In groups of two or three (maximum), your team will choose an investigative topic of national or local interest to report on. Each group member will equally contribute articles of a different angle or issue that is related to the overall topic. Your group will then organize their articles into a one-page spread complete with headlines, photos, graphs, and statistics or information boxes. Lastly, the groups will complete a six to seven minute PowerPoint Presentation that documents their findings and share it with the class.
To format your news page, use Microsoft Publisher.
In groups of two or three (maximum), your team will choose an investigative topic of national or local interest to report on. Each group member will equally contribute articles of a different angle or issue that is related to the overall topic. Your group will then organize their articles into a one-page spread complete with headlines, photos, graphs, and statistics or information boxes. Lastly, the groups will complete a six to seven minute PowerPoint Presentation that documents their findings and share it with the class.
To format your news page, use Microsoft Publisher.
Please form your groups today and select a topic. Then begin discussing the anglis you which to begin researching.
Hand in you names and topic choice by the end of class,
I'll hand out a rubric in the next couple of days. This project counts for 50% of the marking period grade., 20% of which will be your grading each other's contribution.
Power Point presentations begin Monday March 8
See image above for model of how newsletter should look.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday February 9, 2010
Yesterday's assignment is due at the close of class today.
You have Wednesday and Thursday to write your stories, which are due this Friday.
You have Wednesday and Thursday to write your stories, which are due this Friday.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Monday February 8, 2010
Your articles are due Friday. It is absolutely necessary to have them in by then, as I need time to edit your work over the break. Remember how to write a good lead and include a quote. Your topics can range from music, film, food or play reviews, the 100 day senior breakfast, a school sport (bowling?), mayoral control of the city schools, topics such as academic rigor, seven years with the same faces (hasn't this class been together since 6th grade?, the subway concert or anything you think that might be of interest to you or your peers.
THIS IS A MAJOR WRITING GRADE; ANYTHING AFTER FRIDAY IS A ZERO!
The following is a humorous article from The New York Times. As you can see, the world of news is eclectic. Read and enjoy, before checking out the day's assignment.
By Neil Genzlinger
The television landscape is a universe of opposites. The Travel network (get up and go someplace!) is the opposite of HSN (sit on your couch and buy stuff!). Syfy (fantastical things that haven’t happened yet) is the opposite of History (moderately interesting things that have already happened). The Golf Channel (sedentary activity watched by sedentary old duffers) is the opposite of Nick Jr. (frenetic activity watched by frenetic young children).
But one pair is more striking, more revelatory, than all the rest: Spike versus Lifetime. Guys versus Gals. XY versus XX. And with each channel offering new fare this month — Spike introduced the gross-out comedy “Blue Mountain State”; Lifetime fired up a new season of “Project Runway” — it seems a good time to compare and contrast these two cable franchises. What do their programs tell us about the sexes? What deep-seated yearnings drive the male of the species? What hopes and fears motivate the female? Is one smarter than the other, and if so, by how much?
Spike, part of MTV Networks, used to call itself “the first network for men.” Lifetime, owned by the A&E Networks, once used the tag “television for women.” Neither is quite so blatant now, but spend a few minutes with either one’s original programming (as opposed to the avalanche of repurposed shows from other sources that both use to fill air time), and there’s no mistaking which viewers are being trolled for. Back in 2005 Spike even shoved out Albie Hecht as president because he had attracted too many female viewers. Or so the news was played at the time.
No, there’s no getting around it: Spike (average prime-time viewership: 1.05 million, according to the Nielsen Company) is Guy Land; Lifetime (1.1 million) is Gal Land. And here is what can be learned by studying them.
In gal land crime is the dominant feature of life. In guy land the only crime is stupidity.
Lifetime is big on original movies (it recently started a separate, movies-only channel), but a large proportion of those films work one basic plotline: a woman (sometimes with spouse and/or children) is in danger; is she intrepid enough to save herself? Description of “The Accidental Witness”: “A murderer goes after a female attorney when he thinks that she has witnessed one of his killings.” And “Break-In”: “What begins as a leisurely romantic honeymoon in a tropical paradise quickly turns into a tension-filled crisis as intruders break in during the middle of the night and take the honeymooners hostage.” You get the idea: In Gal Land you are never, ever safe.
You are never, ever safe in Guy Land either, but only because you’re not very bright. We learn this from one of Spike’s original shows, “1,000 Ways to Die,” which was introduced in spring 2008 and is still around. The title says it all: Each episode features dramatizations of real-life fatalities that were odd almost beyond imagining. A man driving drunk leans out the window to vomit just as the car is passing a mailbox; head and mailbox collide; head ends up on the ground. A drunk man in Honolulu tries to join in one of those twirling torch dances staged for tourists; he catches fire and burns to death as people applaud, thinking it’s part of the show.
In gal land things weigh more than they do in guy land.
By “things” here we mean, basically, “women.” Spike’s shows are full of women who could easily be in Playboy and probably have been: gorgeous in that hourglass way, hair full and perfect. On Lifetime there is “Sherri,” a sitcom introduced last fall starring Sherri Shepherd, who is what is generally called full-figured. There is also “Drop Dead Diva,” in which a thin model who dies young gets sent back to earth but is placed in the body of a large-ish woman played by Brooke Elliott.
Plump women are almost never seen on Spike, and hotties are almost never seen on Lifetime. It’s a tough call as to which is the more cynical ploy: brazenly playing to a female audience that probably could stand to lose a few pounds or shamelessly playing to a male audience that likes to fantasize about women more gorgeous than actually exist in real life.
But if women weigh more on Lifetime, so do their brains. The title character in “Sherri,” for instance, is smart, and the show is witty enough that it could play in network prime time. The women on Spike are roughly as bright as the ones in “Jersey Shore,” and the shows are often written for men whose sense of humor never made it out of junior high.
In gal land clothes are made to be put on. In guy land they're made to be taken off.
When “Project Runway” moved to Lifetime from Bravo last year, it was a tacit admission: Once the novelty of this reality show had worn off, and it was down to the hard-core fans, it was a women’s show.
Why? Because “Project Runway,” in which fledgling designers compete to please a panel of judges, isn’t really about the designers or the judges. It’s about the garments. And heterosexual men, as has been well documented, aren’t generally smart enough to dress themselves. It is women who thrive on the intricacies of wardrobe and thus are going to care about which designer’s gown is the most hideous and unwearable.
Spike, on the other hand, used to have a show called “Stripperella,” and removing clothes is never far from anyone’s mind on the network. The second episode of “Blue Mountain State,” a comedy about a college football team, featured a plotline in which the star running back, who had been given a promise ring by his girlfriend, loses it in a strip club. (Where exactly he lost it is beyond printable, as is much of what is on the show.)
If the point needed further elaboration, which it probably doesn’t, the online games section of Lifetime’s Web site offers one game called Fashion Solitaire and another called Hostile Makeover: A Fashion Murder Mystery Game. In contrast Spike’s site has Babe Hunt, in which you hunt for the differences in two almost identical pictures of nearly naked women.
And then there's the approach to education.
This month Lifetime offered a new movie called “The Pregnancy Pact,” an earnest film inspired by a spate of pregnancies among high school girls in Gloucester, Mass., in 2008. The movie, which stars Thora Birch, takes a forthright look at serious issues like peer pressure, the lack of opportunities for young people and the role schools should play in providing sex education and birth control. It is a commendable effort to educate about and generate discussion of a subject with far-reaching implications for teenagers and society as a whole.
The Spike version of this semi-public-service programming is a show called “Manswers.” It too seeks to educate about and generate discussion of certain subjects, but those subjects have no far-reaching implications for anyone. Each episode answers (in a voice-over that is screamed like a used-car commercial) a half-dozen or so questions that probably didn’t need asking. These, for instance:
What is the biggest strip club — strippers again! — in the world? (Answer: Some joint in Las Vegas.)
How many nonalcoholic beers (which have a smidgen of alcohol in them) would you have to drink to get legally drunk? (About 40.)
Is a rayon, lambskin or cotton cloth best for drying a car? The research on this one was done by three buxom women in halter tops — one top made out of each material — who rubbed their breasts over a wet car, then wrung out the halter tops to see how much water they had absorbed. Winner: Cotton.
Conclusions
We can, from these observations, construct the perfect day as imagined by a gal and by a guy.
In the gal’s perfect day she is kidnapped on the way back from putting the kids on the school bus but vanquishes the kidnappers in time to go for a fattening lunch with her single-mom pals, at which they lament their lack of dates before donning designer gowns to go to a school board meeting where they successfully address all major educational problems.
In the guy’s perfect day he awakes and, still sleepy, sticks his hand down a running garbage disposal trying to retrieve the bottle opener he has dropped in it; an ambulance crew made up entirely of strippers rushes him to the Hospital for Advanced Trauma Care and Stripping, where naked but highly trained female surgeons sew his hand back on, then take him home and wash his entire house as well as his car with their breasts while answering questions like: Does being spanked make a woman want to have sex?
So, clearly, members of one sex are living in a sad, unrealistic fantasy world, trying in vain to compensate for the drabness of their day-to-day lives. Members of the other are living a rich life of the imagination, at peace with their self-image and excited by what the future might hold. Which is which goes without saying.
ASSIGNMENT, A LOOK AT HARD NEWS. Due Tuesday at the close of class. Depending upon the geographic origin of the paper, do you note any disparities in the stories? Are the facts the same? Any particular bias?
Go to google news.
Select a topic under world or US.
Read the same story in five different papers, no more than two from a US source. Note particular words and phrases. (suggestion: create a word document to keep track of your observations.)
When you have finished your research, write a summary. Please include your sources within the paragraph, as well as your thoughts as to why there may be some differences, which will be drawn from your general historical and cultural knowledge.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Friday February 5, 2010
Official Headlines from yesterday
How did yours compare?
1. Lover loses bid for businesswoman’s billions
2. John Mayer weighs in on Tiger’s texts
3. China launches sweep for tainted milk
4. Kobe passes West as Lakers’ scoring leader
5. Taxi tips for travelers
TIME FOR A NEW ARTICLE. TO GET YOU IN THE SPIRIT, PLEASE read the following five eclectic articles. As well as gathering current news information, list for each the lead qualities:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
Post your responses.
On Monday, let me know your topic, again which you'll post. The article is due Thursday February 11.
Article 1: Blizzard Conditions Headed Towards Mid Atlantic Region.
Residents in the mid-Atlantic states have rushed to stores for shovels, ice-melting chemicals and other emergency supplies ahead of a storm that is expected to wallop the region with as much as 24 inches of snow Friday.
A blizzard is expected to hit New Jersey and Delaware starting Friday afternoon, while near-blizzard conditions are expected to hit Washington and Baltimore, Maryland, the National Weather Service said.
Baltimore-area residents rushed for supplies late Thursday, CNN affiliate WUSA reported.
Shannon Whitehead of College Park said her hardware store had sold out of snow shovels.
Whitehead had little time to find supplies, the weather service predicted.
A storm warning was issued for Baltimore and Washington from 10 a.m. Friday till 10 p.m. Saturday. The storm will make travel very hazardous or nearly impossible Friday night, the agency said.
A blizzard warning was issued for parts of New Jersey and Delaware from 4 p.m. Friday till 7 p.m. Saturday.
"Snowfall totals of 12 to 18 inches are expected near the Delaware and central New Jersey coast, with up to 24 inches expected expected over southern New Jersey," the weather service said.
The blizzard will make travel extremely dangerous in New Jersey, the agency said. Snow, strong winds and poor visibility are likely, leading to whiteout conditions.
Southwest Airlines canceled most flights to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington for Friday afternoon and evening. And the storm could affect more flights Saturday and Sunday, the airline said.
Amtrak has canceled most Friday service from Washington southward, it said in a statement.
Baltimore, Washington and northern Virginia could receive 16 to 24 inches of snow. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, could get 8 to 12 inches.
Storm warnings also covered parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and South Carolina.
Article 2
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) --
Missionaries Case Riddled With Lies
Ten Americans detained last week while trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the country were charged Thursday with kidnapping children and criminal association, a government official said.
Information Minister Marie Laurence Lassegue's announcement came shortly after the five men and five women left a hearing at the prosecutor's office.
Under Haitian law, anyone accused of kidnapping a child is not eligible for bail, the attorney general's office said.
Conviction on the kidnapping charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; the criminal association charge carries a penalty of three to nine years, according to a former justice minister.
Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN's "Larry King Live" on Thursday night that the judge in the case has three months to decide whether to prosecute.
"We hope that he will decide long before those three months," he said. "He can release them, he can ask to prosecute them."
If a decision is made to prosecute, the case would be heard before a jury, he said.
Told that the families of the detained Americans had pleaded for him to intervene, Bellerive said he could not.
"Those people are not in the hands of the government; they are in the hands of justice," he said. "We have to respect the law. It is clear that the people violated the law. What we have to understand is if they did it in good faith."
Bellerive said the Haitian government was open to the possibility of the case being transferred to a U.S. court but said the request would have to come from the United States. "Until now, I was not asked," he said.
He expressed gratitude for the work of the vast majority of Americans who have helped in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake that he said killed at least 212,000 people.
The Americans were turned back Friday as they tried to take the children across the border into the Dominican Republic without proper documentation. They said they were going to house them in a converted hotel in that country and later move them to an orphanage they were building there.
"We can confirm that the 10 American citizens remain in custody in Haiti," said State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid. "We continue to provide appropriate consular assistance and to monitor developments in the legal case."
The Americans have said they were just trying to help the children leave the earthquake-stricken country.
Some of the detained Americans have said they thought they were helping orphans, but their interpreters said Wednesday that they were present when group members spoke with the children's parents. Some parents in a village outside Port-au-Prince said they had willingly given their children over to the Americans, who promised them a better life and who said they could see their children whenever they wanted to.
Government approval is needed for any Haitian child to leave the country, and the group acknowledged that the children had no passports.
Some members of the group belong to the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho. One of the church's ministers asked for privacy and would not discuss the matter.
"I know you have many questions but we don't have answers right now," Drew Ham, assistant pastor, said in a note to reporters.
P.J. Crowley, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, has said that U.S. officials have been given unlimited consular access to the Americans and that U.S. and Haitian authorities are "working to try to ascertain what happened [and] the motive behind these people.
"Clearly, there are questions about procedure as to whether they had the appropriate paperwork to move the children," he said Wednesday.
Article 3: (PEOPLE.com) --
Ashton Kutcher hates V-Day
Demi Moore, who once said that falling in love with Ashton Kutcher "caught us both by surprise," might also be shocked to learn that her husband dislikes the year's most romantic day.
"I hate Valentine's Day," Kutcher told Parade magazine. But he doesn't hate the lovey-dovey sentiment that is celebrated every Feb. 14: In fact, he feels quite the opposite.
"I think every day should be a day of romance," he said. "Then, on Valentine's Day, you should get to tell whoever you hate that you cannot stand them. There would be one day of hating, and 364 days of love."
Kutcher, who plays a florist who unexpectedly finds love in the upcoming movie "Valentine's Day," may have developed his disdain for the holiday as early as the third grade.
"There was this girl who sat in front of me who had the prettiest super-long hair," he said. "I was absolutely infatuated with her." But he experienced rejection when he gave the girl a very direct Valentine's Day, which read "Kiss Me."
"The tragedy was that she didn't get the point and I never got kissed," said Kutcher of his early disappointment.
Still the star's romantic streak has survived.
"I think the most romantic thing that I've done is travel a long way to another country for like an hour to see someone I loved and then turn around and go back because I had a commitment I couldn't cancel," he told Parade. "So it was literally not sleeping for two days, going through hell, just to see somebody for an hour."
Awwwww!
Article 4:
Concussions Extra Dangerous to Teen Brains
(CNN) -- Max Conradt was used to defensive linemen hurtling their 300-pound frames at him week after week. He was a high school quarterback, the team leader who took his licks and got back up.
That is, until the wrenching hit that changed everything.
"It was a vicious hit," said Ralph Conradt, Max's father. "A really bad hit."
Afterward, the 17-year-old got up slowly, staggered for a few seconds, and continued to play. When the game ended, he limped toward the sideline.
"He looked at me and said 'My chin hurts,' " said Joy Conradt, Max's stepmother. "I started to respond and he collapsed. I was absolutely nauseatedly sick with fear."
It was a concussion -- in fact, a handful of concussions over the course of two weeks -- that his doctors believe caused Conradt to sink to the ground, blood pooling dangerously in his brain.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 4 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur each year. Experts say the vast majority are suffered at the high school level, but few schools have rules governing how concussion is treated -- and few coaches are trained to identify it.
"It's the group we need to worry about most," said Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, chairman of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section, adding that fewer than half of high schools have access to athletic trainers.
"If there is any suggestion of a concussion, we need to take kids out of the game," said Dr. Stan Herring, team physician for the Seattle Seahawks. "The consequences [of not doing so] can be devastating or even fatal."
What is a concussion? The devastating consequences would dawn on Conradt's family members as they sat, breathless, in a closed-off waiting room at the hospital.
"They told us he was going to die," said Ralph Conradt. "He was just a 17-year-old kid playing football. Up until then, I never heard of anyone ever dying in a football game."
In 2008, 16-year-old Ryne Dougherty, a junior linebacker in New Jersey, died after two concussions suffered within a few weeks. The same year, across the country in Washington, 14-year-old David Bosse complained about headache after playing a junior high school game, but returned to play the following week. He died the next morning.
Without a medical expert on the field, coaches and parents are making -- and in some cases not making -- decisions about concussion for which they are ill-equipped, said Herring. That means that post-concussive symptoms like nausea, dizziness, headache, confusion and memory problems are going unchecked.
"We need coaches and parents to understand this phrase: When in doubt, come out," said Herring. "It's better to miss a game than to miss a season ... better to miss a game than to miss the rest of your life."
A study released by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital last year revealed that between 2005 and 2008, about 40 percent of athletes with concussion were allowed to return to play too soon.
The data bore even grimmer testimony about lack of education: During the 2007-2008 season, one in six concussed football players who also lost consciousness returned to play the same day.
"Do you think knowing what I know today that I would have let my son play?" said Ralph Conradt. "Not a chance. Not a chance."
Months after his third brain surgery, Max Conradt was bent over his hospital bed, his back forming the shape of the letter "C." His head lolled precariously -- his eyes trained on what seemed like a far-off place. His lips were moving, but no sound escaped. The tube that helped him breathe hissed and gurgled against his throat.
Conradt survived his brain injuries, but the relief for his family was tinged with grief. Doctors said Max would live, but with the mental capacity of a 9-year-old.
"It's a whole different thing losing your child to a brain injury," said Joy Conradt. "The kid you knew is dead. Somebody completely different is in the body of the child you knew."
Still, experts stress that Conradt's situation is not typical.
"There's a lot of description of possible bad outcomes with concussion and a lot of worry about it. That's appropriate," said Kutcher, director of the NeuroSport Program at the University of Michigan. "The truth of the matter is we have millions and millions of kids who have played contact sports and we haven't seen that link."
Leadership has to come from the coaches, the captains to quit attributing bravery to these injuries. Concussion can be tragic.
--Dr. Stan Herring, team physician for the Seattle Seahawks
Fueled by rage about his son's brain injury, Ralph Conradt lobbied legislators to pass "Max's Law," imposing strong restrictions for returning players to games after they suffer concussion, and requiring rigorous training for coaches.
According to Herring, about two dozen other states also have legislation pending. This week Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced an initiative designed to reduce sports-related concussions in every U.S. state.
In addition to laws and education, experts say a cultural shift among coaches, players and parents is necessary.
"This whole suck it up and play through it mentality needs to go," said Herring. "Leadership has to come from the coaches, the captains to quit attributing bravery to these injuries. Concussion can be tragic."
It is almost eight years to the day since Max Conradt was released from the hospital. He lives in an assisted living facility and his thoughts often flit back to his "glory days" on the football field. His memories about the concussions that sent his life on its current spiral are scant. But he does know the most chilling details.
"I was sat on by a 280-pound lineman ... he sat on my head," said Conradt, now 25. "When I was walking off of the field, blood was gushing through my brain. I don't remember, but that's what happened."
With the strapping 17-year-old football player he once was a distant memory, today Conradt struggles with basic motor skills, memory and containing occasional fits of rage and depression.
"He gets really, really down when he thinks about what could have been," said Ralph Conradt.
Still, concussion has not dimmed his dreams. Max still craves a challenge. He would like to go back to school. He would like to have some semblance of a normal life.
Article 5.
3 headless bodies found in 'narco-grave,' Mexican military /
Victims, suspects thought to be linked to opposing cartels, Mexican government says
(CNN) -- The Mexican military arrested 10 people associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel after three decapitated bodies were found near Juarez, Mexico, a Mexican military operations spokesman told CNN late Wednesday.
The 10 men are facing homicide charges, Juarez police spokesman Jacinto Seguro told CNN.
Enrique Torres, military spokesman for the state of Chihuahua, which includes Juarez, said troops were deployed to a rural area after receiving a tip, and the three bodies were found in a "narco-grave" -- a type of shallow grave used by drug traffickers to hide bodies of their victims.
The suspects were arrested near the U.S. border in a rural part of Juarez called San Isidro, Torres said.
"In their possession we also confiscated seven firearms -- six large and one small -- 19 magazine clips, three vehicles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition," he said.
A news release from the Mexican government said one of the suspects told authorities the victims were killed because of their suspected ties to "La Linea," more commonly known as the Juarez cartel.
An already-violent turf war between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels was escalated recently by street gangs that the cartels use to fight for power and territory.
Based on a confession from one suspect and testimony from residents in the area, investigators determined that the three victims were assassinated by someone who has close ties to the Sinaloa cartel, the press release said.
The suspect also told the military that he earned up to 10,000 pesos a week, or roughly $772, to act as a lookout in San Isidro for cartel members operating in the area, the news release said. Children recruited as lookouts were being paid between 500 and 1,000 pesos a week, or roughly $40 to $80, to work for the cartel, the press release said.
As of Monday, 230 killings had been recorded in Juarez this year, state attorney general's office spokesman Arturo Sandoval told CNN.
Sixteen people -- including 10 teenagers -- were killed in a weekend shooting in Juarez. Authorities said Wednesday that they knew of no link between the arrests of the 10 suspects and that weekend shooting.
How did yours compare?
1. Lover loses bid for businesswoman’s billions
2. John Mayer weighs in on Tiger’s texts
3. China launches sweep for tainted milk
4. Kobe passes West as Lakers’ scoring leader
5. Taxi tips for travelers
TIME FOR A NEW ARTICLE. TO GET YOU IN THE SPIRIT, PLEASE read the following five eclectic articles. As well as gathering current news information, list for each the lead qualities:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
Post your responses.
On Monday, let me know your topic, again which you'll post. The article is due Thursday February 11.
Article 1: Blizzard Conditions Headed Towards Mid Atlantic Region.
Residents in the mid-Atlantic states have rushed to stores for shovels, ice-melting chemicals and other emergency supplies ahead of a storm that is expected to wallop the region with as much as 24 inches of snow Friday.
A blizzard is expected to hit New Jersey and Delaware starting Friday afternoon, while near-blizzard conditions are expected to hit Washington and Baltimore, Maryland, the National Weather Service said.
Baltimore-area residents rushed for supplies late Thursday, CNN affiliate WUSA reported.
Shannon Whitehead of College Park said her hardware store had sold out of snow shovels.
Whitehead had little time to find supplies, the weather service predicted.
A storm warning was issued for Baltimore and Washington from 10 a.m. Friday till 10 p.m. Saturday. The storm will make travel very hazardous or nearly impossible Friday night, the agency said.
A blizzard warning was issued for parts of New Jersey and Delaware from 4 p.m. Friday till 7 p.m. Saturday.
"Snowfall totals of 12 to 18 inches are expected near the Delaware and central New Jersey coast, with up to 24 inches expected expected over southern New Jersey," the weather service said.
The blizzard will make travel extremely dangerous in New Jersey, the agency said. Snow, strong winds and poor visibility are likely, leading to whiteout conditions.
Southwest Airlines canceled most flights to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington for Friday afternoon and evening. And the storm could affect more flights Saturday and Sunday, the airline said.
Amtrak has canceled most Friday service from Washington southward, it said in a statement.
Baltimore, Washington and northern Virginia could receive 16 to 24 inches of snow. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, could get 8 to 12 inches.
Storm warnings also covered parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and South Carolina.
Article 2
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) --
Missionaries Case Riddled With Lies
Ten Americans detained last week while trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the country were charged Thursday with kidnapping children and criminal association, a government official said.
Information Minister Marie Laurence Lassegue's announcement came shortly after the five men and five women left a hearing at the prosecutor's office.
Under Haitian law, anyone accused of kidnapping a child is not eligible for bail, the attorney general's office said.
Conviction on the kidnapping charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; the criminal association charge carries a penalty of three to nine years, according to a former justice minister.
Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN's "Larry King Live" on Thursday night that the judge in the case has three months to decide whether to prosecute.
"We hope that he will decide long before those three months," he said. "He can release them, he can ask to prosecute them."
If a decision is made to prosecute, the case would be heard before a jury, he said.
Told that the families of the detained Americans had pleaded for him to intervene, Bellerive said he could not.
"Those people are not in the hands of the government; they are in the hands of justice," he said. "We have to respect the law. It is clear that the people violated the law. What we have to understand is if they did it in good faith."
Bellerive said the Haitian government was open to the possibility of the case being transferred to a U.S. court but said the request would have to come from the United States. "Until now, I was not asked," he said.
He expressed gratitude for the work of the vast majority of Americans who have helped in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake that he said killed at least 212,000 people.
The Americans were turned back Friday as they tried to take the children across the border into the Dominican Republic without proper documentation. They said they were going to house them in a converted hotel in that country and later move them to an orphanage they were building there.
"We can confirm that the 10 American citizens remain in custody in Haiti," said State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid. "We continue to provide appropriate consular assistance and to monitor developments in the legal case."
The Americans have said they were just trying to help the children leave the earthquake-stricken country.
Some of the detained Americans have said they thought they were helping orphans, but their interpreters said Wednesday that they were present when group members spoke with the children's parents. Some parents in a village outside Port-au-Prince said they had willingly given their children over to the Americans, who promised them a better life and who said they could see their children whenever they wanted to.
Government approval is needed for any Haitian child to leave the country, and the group acknowledged that the children had no passports.
Some members of the group belong to the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho. One of the church's ministers asked for privacy and would not discuss the matter.
"I know you have many questions but we don't have answers right now," Drew Ham, assistant pastor, said in a note to reporters.
P.J. Crowley, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, has said that U.S. officials have been given unlimited consular access to the Americans and that U.S. and Haitian authorities are "working to try to ascertain what happened [and] the motive behind these people.
"Clearly, there are questions about procedure as to whether they had the appropriate paperwork to move the children," he said Wednesday.
Article 3: (PEOPLE.com) --
Ashton Kutcher hates V-Day
Demi Moore, who once said that falling in love with Ashton Kutcher "caught us both by surprise," might also be shocked to learn that her husband dislikes the year's most romantic day.
"I hate Valentine's Day," Kutcher told Parade magazine. But he doesn't hate the lovey-dovey sentiment that is celebrated every Feb. 14: In fact, he feels quite the opposite.
"I think every day should be a day of romance," he said. "Then, on Valentine's Day, you should get to tell whoever you hate that you cannot stand them. There would be one day of hating, and 364 days of love."
Kutcher, who plays a florist who unexpectedly finds love in the upcoming movie "Valentine's Day," may have developed his disdain for the holiday as early as the third grade.
"There was this girl who sat in front of me who had the prettiest super-long hair," he said. "I was absolutely infatuated with her." But he experienced rejection when he gave the girl a very direct Valentine's Day, which read "Kiss Me."
"The tragedy was that she didn't get the point and I never got kissed," said Kutcher of his early disappointment.
Still the star's romantic streak has survived.
"I think the most romantic thing that I've done is travel a long way to another country for like an hour to see someone I loved and then turn around and go back because I had a commitment I couldn't cancel," he told Parade. "So it was literally not sleeping for two days, going through hell, just to see somebody for an hour."
Awwwww!
Article 4:
Concussions Extra Dangerous to Teen Brains
(CNN) -- Max Conradt was used to defensive linemen hurtling their 300-pound frames at him week after week. He was a high school quarterback, the team leader who took his licks and got back up.
That is, until the wrenching hit that changed everything.
"It was a vicious hit," said Ralph Conradt, Max's father. "A really bad hit."
Afterward, the 17-year-old got up slowly, staggered for a few seconds, and continued to play. When the game ended, he limped toward the sideline.
"He looked at me and said 'My chin hurts,' " said Joy Conradt, Max's stepmother. "I started to respond and he collapsed. I was absolutely nauseatedly sick with fear."
It was a concussion -- in fact, a handful of concussions over the course of two weeks -- that his doctors believe caused Conradt to sink to the ground, blood pooling dangerously in his brain.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 4 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur each year. Experts say the vast majority are suffered at the high school level, but few schools have rules governing how concussion is treated -- and few coaches are trained to identify it.
"It's the group we need to worry about most," said Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, chairman of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section, adding that fewer than half of high schools have access to athletic trainers.
"If there is any suggestion of a concussion, we need to take kids out of the game," said Dr. Stan Herring, team physician for the Seattle Seahawks. "The consequences [of not doing so] can be devastating or even fatal."
What is a concussion? The devastating consequences would dawn on Conradt's family members as they sat, breathless, in a closed-off waiting room at the hospital.
"They told us he was going to die," said Ralph Conradt. "He was just a 17-year-old kid playing football. Up until then, I never heard of anyone ever dying in a football game."
In 2008, 16-year-old Ryne Dougherty, a junior linebacker in New Jersey, died after two concussions suffered within a few weeks. The same year, across the country in Washington, 14-year-old David Bosse complained about headache after playing a junior high school game, but returned to play the following week. He died the next morning.
Without a medical expert on the field, coaches and parents are making -- and in some cases not making -- decisions about concussion for which they are ill-equipped, said Herring. That means that post-concussive symptoms like nausea, dizziness, headache, confusion and memory problems are going unchecked.
"We need coaches and parents to understand this phrase: When in doubt, come out," said Herring. "It's better to miss a game than to miss a season ... better to miss a game than to miss the rest of your life."
A study released by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital last year revealed that between 2005 and 2008, about 40 percent of athletes with concussion were allowed to return to play too soon.
The data bore even grimmer testimony about lack of education: During the 2007-2008 season, one in six concussed football players who also lost consciousness returned to play the same day.
"Do you think knowing what I know today that I would have let my son play?" said Ralph Conradt. "Not a chance. Not a chance."
Months after his third brain surgery, Max Conradt was bent over his hospital bed, his back forming the shape of the letter "C." His head lolled precariously -- his eyes trained on what seemed like a far-off place. His lips were moving, but no sound escaped. The tube that helped him breathe hissed and gurgled against his throat.
Conradt survived his brain injuries, but the relief for his family was tinged with grief. Doctors said Max would live, but with the mental capacity of a 9-year-old.
"It's a whole different thing losing your child to a brain injury," said Joy Conradt. "The kid you knew is dead. Somebody completely different is in the body of the child you knew."
Still, experts stress that Conradt's situation is not typical.
"There's a lot of description of possible bad outcomes with concussion and a lot of worry about it. That's appropriate," said Kutcher, director of the NeuroSport Program at the University of Michigan. "The truth of the matter is we have millions and millions of kids who have played contact sports and we haven't seen that link."
Leadership has to come from the coaches, the captains to quit attributing bravery to these injuries. Concussion can be tragic.
--Dr. Stan Herring, team physician for the Seattle Seahawks
Fueled by rage about his son's brain injury, Ralph Conradt lobbied legislators to pass "Max's Law," imposing strong restrictions for returning players to games after they suffer concussion, and requiring rigorous training for coaches.
According to Herring, about two dozen other states also have legislation pending. This week Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced an initiative designed to reduce sports-related concussions in every U.S. state.
In addition to laws and education, experts say a cultural shift among coaches, players and parents is necessary.
"This whole suck it up and play through it mentality needs to go," said Herring. "Leadership has to come from the coaches, the captains to quit attributing bravery to these injuries. Concussion can be tragic."
It is almost eight years to the day since Max Conradt was released from the hospital. He lives in an assisted living facility and his thoughts often flit back to his "glory days" on the football field. His memories about the concussions that sent his life on its current spiral are scant. But he does know the most chilling details.
"I was sat on by a 280-pound lineman ... he sat on my head," said Conradt, now 25. "When I was walking off of the field, blood was gushing through my brain. I don't remember, but that's what happened."
With the strapping 17-year-old football player he once was a distant memory, today Conradt struggles with basic motor skills, memory and containing occasional fits of rage and depression.
"He gets really, really down when he thinks about what could have been," said Ralph Conradt.
Still, concussion has not dimmed his dreams. Max still craves a challenge. He would like to go back to school. He would like to have some semblance of a normal life.
Article 5.
3 headless bodies found in 'narco-grave,' Mexican military /
Victims, suspects thought to be linked to opposing cartels, Mexican government says
(CNN) -- The Mexican military arrested 10 people associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel after three decapitated bodies were found near Juarez, Mexico, a Mexican military operations spokesman told CNN late Wednesday.
The 10 men are facing homicide charges, Juarez police spokesman Jacinto Seguro told CNN.
Enrique Torres, military spokesman for the state of Chihuahua, which includes Juarez, said troops were deployed to a rural area after receiving a tip, and the three bodies were found in a "narco-grave" -- a type of shallow grave used by drug traffickers to hide bodies of their victims.
The suspects were arrested near the U.S. border in a rural part of Juarez called San Isidro, Torres said.
"In their possession we also confiscated seven firearms -- six large and one small -- 19 magazine clips, three vehicles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition," he said.
A news release from the Mexican government said one of the suspects told authorities the victims were killed because of their suspected ties to "La Linea," more commonly known as the Juarez cartel.
An already-violent turf war between the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels was escalated recently by street gangs that the cartels use to fight for power and territory.
Based on a confession from one suspect and testimony from residents in the area, investigators determined that the three victims were assassinated by someone who has close ties to the Sinaloa cartel, the press release said.
The suspect also told the military that he earned up to 10,000 pesos a week, or roughly $772, to act as a lookout in San Isidro for cartel members operating in the area, the news release said. Children recruited as lookouts were being paid between 500 and 1,000 pesos a week, or roughly $40 to $80, to work for the cartel, the press release said.
As of Monday, 230 killings had been recorded in Juarez this year, state attorney general's office spokesman Arturo Sandoval told CNN.
Sixteen people -- including 10 teenagers -- were killed in a weekend shooting in Juarez. Authorities said Wednesday that they knew of no link between the arrests of the 10 suspects and that weekend shooting.
Thursday February 4, 2010
There are five articles below. Please read and post a responsible journalistic headline. Due at the end of class; the official ones will be posted tomorrow.
1. HONG KONG - A feng shui adviser who had an affair with Asia's richest businesswoman before she died lost his bid for her multibillion-dollar estate Tuesday when a Hong Kong court deemed his will a forgery.
The legal battle over the late Nina Wang's fortune has fascinated Hong Kong with its often-bizarre stories of Chinese feng shui rituals and illicit love affairs, offering a rare glimpse into the private quarters of the ultra-rich in this money-obsessed city. Feng shui is the Chinese practice of arranging objects or choosing dates to improve one's fortunes.
Wang died of cancer in April 2007 at age 69. The lawsuit centered on two competing wills — the 2006 will held by feng shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen and 2002 will that left Wang's fortune to Chinachem Charitable Foundation Ltd., a charity set up by the late businesswoman and her husband.
2. Tiger Woods’ troubles had nothing to do with the toppling of his carefully crafted good-guy image — at least, that’s what musician-turned-pop-culture-pundit John Mayer believes.
According to Mayer, it’s all about the obvious. Woods’ sex scandal only became a scandal because he was a married man.
“Tiger Woods' problems come from him being married. The end,” the singer-songwriter explained in an interview with The Independent. “It has nothing to do with control. If Tiger Woods was a single guy, what sort of angle would there be to a text message? If Tiger Woods was single, and he texted a girl and said 'I wanna wear your a-- like a hat', why would that ever hit the news?”
Mayer believes his own single status protects him from legions of tabloid-talking women and similar sex scandals no matter how many naughty texts he sends.
“I can text whatever I want to anybody in the world; I'm not married,” Mayor told the paper. “I write a lot of dirty text messages to girls, and you've never seen any of them. Why? Because if a girl brought a dirty text message from me to the newspapers, they'd say 'I don't have an angle here. Someone wants to wear your a-- like a hat? Big deal. He's 32 years old. He's a single guy. If John Mayer has a wife and sends dirty texts, then we got a story.' ”
3. BEIJING - China has launched a 10-day emergency crackdown on tainted milk products after several were found creeping back onto the market despite a massive scandal that sickened hundreds of thousands of children in 2008.
No one knows how many tainted milk products are still on the market, a member of the country's food safety committee, Chen Junshi, was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper Tuesday.
The sweep that started Monday comes after milk products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine were pulled from shelves in Shanghai and the provinces of Shaanxi, Shandong, Liaoning and Hebei, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said. Some had been recalled in the previous scandal and repackaged.
At least six children died and more than 300,000 fell sick in the 2008 scandal, where melamine, normally used in making plastics and fertilizer, was added to watered-down milk to fool inspectors testing for protein and increase profits.
At the time, China promised sweeping changes for the country's food safety.
Thorough crackdown promised
But health concerns peaked again early this year after authorities in Shanghai said they secretly investigated a dairy for nearly a year before announcing it had been producing tainted milk products.
The case was especially troubling because Shanghai Panda Dairy Co. was one of the 22 dairies named by China's product safety authority in the 2008 scandal, with its products having among the highest levels of melamine.
This time, China is again promising a thorough crackdown. "All melamine-tainted milk products will be found and destroyed," Xinhua quoted Health Minister Chen Zhu as saying over the weekend.
Chinese authorities won't be able to get every tainted packet, but it's still a good move, said Victoria Sekitoleko, representative for the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Beijing.
"For now, it's best to go in right away and get it off the shelves," she said. "These traders are not about to give up, so officials will have to be vigilant all the time."
In other recent cases, officials in late January said tainted dairy products from three companies were pulled from more than a dozen convenience stores around the southern province of Guizhou. Officials said products recalled during the previous scandal somehow made it back to the market.
Again, one of the companies, Laoting Kaida Refrigeration, was among companies named in the original 2008 scandal.
In December, the general manager of a dairy in northern Shaanxi province and two employees were accused of producing and selling more than 5 tons of tainted milk powder. The deputy head of the regional public security department told Xinhua that none of the powder reached the market.
4. MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Kobe Bryant got the Los Angeles Lakers’ franchise scoring record, but the Memphis Grizzlies spoiled the celebration.
Bryant scored 44 points, passing Jerry West as the Lakers’ career scorer, but it wasn’t enough as the Grizzlies got 22 points and 17 rebounds from Zach Randolph to defeat the Lakers 95-93 on Monday night.
“It’s a great honor to say the least (because) of the great players that have played here and the tradition we have,” Bryant said of becoming the Lakers’ career leading scorer. “(West) taught me so much when I was 17 years old. He showed me a lot about the game, the jump shot and spin moves and all the others.
5. When people ask me about the scariest situation I've ever been in, I think back to a taxi ride I took to the Moscow airport in the early '90s. A no-neck guy who looked like a classic Russian mafia thug picked me up in a beat-up old car and drove for an hour down puddle-filled alleys and past derelict apartments buildings. All I could think about were those movie scenes where the good guy is taken down to the riverbank to be shot. Instead, the no-neck pulled up to the airport, shook my hand, and said, "Have a good fly."
Many Americans are wired to assume that taxi drivers in other countries are up to no good. And I've always said that if you're going to get ripped off in Europe, it'll probably be by a cabbie. But I've also found that most drivers are honest. Sure, scams happen. But with the right tips and a watchful eye, you'll get where you want to go without being taken for a ride.
Dishonest cabbies often lurk at airports, train stations, and tourist sights ready to take advantage of tired travelers. At Prague's main train station, cabbies at the "official" stand are a gang of no-good thieves who charge arriving tourists five times the regular rate. If you don't want to worry about getting conned the minute you arrive at a new destination, hop on public transportation. At Prague, opt for the Metro instead of a taxi. Recently, I took a speedy train from Rome's airport to the train station downtown and then caught a bus to my hotel. It took me less than an hour to get from the airport to my hotel and cost 27 euros for the train fare and a handy week-long transit pass. A taxi alone would have cost 40 euros.
If you're at a taxi stand or flagging down a cab, get into the car only if it has a prominent taxi-company logo and telephone number. Be aware that if a taxi is called for you (for example, by a hotelier or restaurant), the meter often starts running when the phone call is received. Note that there really are variable rates and extra fees. Trips on nights and weekends generally cost more, and there are often surcharges for luggage and airport trips.
In a cab, insist the cabbie use the meter, agree on a price up front, or know the going rate. If you have Internet access, the Web site www.worldtaximeter.com can provide estimated taxi fares for larger cities. Or you can ask your hotelier when you book your room roughly how much the ride should cost from the airport.
Dominic Bonuccelli
London's black cabs take you through a scenic urban landscape you'd miss if you relied on the underground Tube.
A common trick is for cabbies to select the pricier "night and weekend" rate on their meter — even if it's a weekday. An explanation of the different rates should be posted somewhere in the cab, often in English. If you're confused about the tariff, ask.
If you suspect a ripoff, make it obvious that you're following the route on your map or conspicuously writing down the cabbie's license information. Shame them into being honest. In many Western European cities, such as London, Paris, and Barcelona, meters are tamper-proof, so there's generally nothing to worry about.
For small groups or families, taking taxis can be cheaper and faster than using public transit. A group of three or four people can often travel less expensively by taxi than by buying individual bus tickets. Taxis are especially reasonable in Mediterranean countries and Eastern Europe. You can go anywhere in downtown Lisbon, Prague, or Athens for about $10. It’s A Snap!
To show appreciation for good drivers, include a tip of 5 percent to 10 percent. If they haul your bags and hustle you to the airport to help you catch your flight, you could toss in a little more. But if you feel like you're being driven in circles, skip the tip. If a driver owes you money, watch carefully as cash passes between hands, and count your change. (Cabbies can be expert at dropping a 50-euro note and picking up a 20.) Better yet, pay with small bills.
Despite their hassles, I love taxis. People often ask how I'm able to find the best beer or tastiest tapas in town. Many of my favorite backdoor tips and most interesting conversations have come from chatting up taxi drivers. In London — my favorite taxi town — drivers tend to know every nook and cranny, since they must pass a rigorous test on London geography to earn their license. Sure it may cost a little more than public transportation. But the nuggets, insights, and people make it worth the ride.
Wednesday February 2, 2010
Note original and corrections from yesterday.
Then please rewrite and correct the article.
1. The people that attended the gay rights rally said it was one of the most unique events the school has sponsored.
1. The people who attended the gay rights rally said it was an unique school-sponsored event.
2. However, the participants in the rally said the media was annoying when they converged on the speakers with cameras and microphones.
2. However, the participants in the rally said the media was annoying when they converged on the speakers with cameras and microphones.
( correct as written)
3. Some of the speakers felt badly that the crowd became unruly and the organizer said he was embarrassed when some of the participants complained.
3. Some of the speakers felt bad that the crowd became unruly, and the organizer said he was embarrassed when some of the participants complained.
4. Needless to say, next year the rally will be planed better.
4. Next year the rally will be better planned.
5. None of the five students involved in the fracas is going to be punished.
5. None of the five students involved in the fracas is going to be punished. (this was correct.)
6. The first-place award, that was an engraved silver bowl, was received by the class valedictorian.
6. The class valedictorian received the first place award of an engraved silver bowl.
7. The three top restaurnteurs in the city provided food for the banquet, but over 200 people got sick after the event.
7. Over 200 people became sick after the event provided by the three top restaurateurs in the city.
8. The City Board of Health, that investigates such cases, said the food smelled and tasted good, but they are withholding judgement on the illness until the food can be tested.
8. The city board of health, which investigates such cases, is withholding judgment on the illness until the food can be tested.
9. Irregardless, alot of people were laying on the ground, holding their stomachs in pain.
9. Regardless, many people were lying on the ground in pain.
10. The city health inspector wanted to know who he should blame, and he said he was moving towards a solution to the mystery of revealing whose responsible for the food poisoning outbreak.
10. The city health inspector wanted to know whom he should blame, as he moved towards a solution as to who's responsible for the the food poisoning outbreak.
The following poorly written story story would never be accepted for publication. Ignore the wordiness and rewrite it only for grammar and usage errors.
In 1918 William Strunk Jr. produced a little book for his English course at Cornell University, it had a great affect on his students. E.B. White, one the students the professor taught, published the book in 1957. Today the book, that was originally known as "The Little Book," is still having a great effect on writers. Its called The Elements of Style. Like I said, it's still popular, and every writer should have their own copy. It's presently available on the World Wide Web.
Strunk never thougt it was alright to use alot of unnecessary words. One of his famous sayings are "Omit needless words". Between you and I, that advice is still good today, and I feel badly that this story is filled with errors that would of made Strunk cringe. it goes withug saying that Strunk would have been embarassed if i was in his class. None of these sentences are perfect, and if this was the way a student wrote, Strunk would have issued a stern judgemnet. Poor grades were received by students who wrote this badly.
Their is no excuse for writing badly. Strunk might have said. "Vigorous writing is concise", Strunk wrote. The media does not always follow Strunk's advice. He was the most unique teacher of his time. If your anxious to be a good writer, you'll check out his book online.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Note below are the originals from yesterday and the corrections.
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THE TEN NEW SENTENCES. YESTERDAY'S GRADES WERE HORRENDOUS!
1. She felt bad about missing the school board meeting, but her editor fired her irregardless of her excuse.
2. We will all join together in prayer for the students who died in the shooting, and we will fly the flags at half-mast.
3. It's alright if you miss class for a job interview. you can make up the the test tomorrow.
4. We'll divide the workload between the students.
5. The St. Joseph Board of Commissioners are planing to submit a proposal for a bond issue to pay for road improvements, and they are hopping the election committee will reach a consensus of opinion to put the issue on the ballot.
6. I know you are anxious to get this job, but each of the applicants will have a chance to discuss their strengths and weaknesses with the personel director.
7. Based on your writing skills, it looks like you could be a good journalist.
8. Each of the students is going to receive a plaque with their diplomas at graduation.
9. She was embarrassed that she had less than five answers correct on the quiz.
10. After the boss read the report, he gave it to Jim and I to rewrite then said its due back on Monday.
Yesterday's corrections:
1. She felt badly about missing the school board meeting, but her editor fired her regardless of her excuse.
2. We will join together in prayer for the students who died in the shooting; the flags will fly at half-mast.
3. It's all right if you miss class for a job interview; you can make up the test tomorrow.
4. We'll divide the workload among three students.
5. The St. Joseph Board of commissioners is planning to submit a proposal for a bond issue to pay for road improvements, and they are hoping the election committee will reach a consensus to put the issue on the ballot.
6. I know you are anxious to get this job, but each of the applicants will have an opportunity to discuss his strengths with the personnel director.
7. Based upon your writing skills, it looks like you could be a good journalist.
8. Each of the students will receive a plaque with his diploma at graduation.
9. She was embarrassed that she had fewer than five answers correct on the quiz.
10. After the boss read the report, he gave it to Jim and me and then said it's due back on Monday.
Easy: 10 more; take your time. I would suggest you review the handout again! Note that not all the sentences contain errors; some, however, have more than one.
1. The people that attended the gay rights rally said it was one of the most unique events the school has sponsered.
2. However, the participants in the rally said the media was annoying when they converged on the speakers with cameras and microphones.
3. Some of the speakers felt badly that the crowd became unruly and the organizer said he was embarassed when some of the participants complained.
4. Needless to say, next year the rally will be planed better.
5. None of the five students involved in the fracas is going to be punished.
6. The first-place award, that was an engraved silver bowl, was received by the class valedictorian.
7. The three top restaurnteurs in the city provided food for the banquet, but over 200 people got sick after the event.
8. The City Board of Health, that investigates such cases, said the food smelled and tasted good, but they are withholding judgement on the illness until the food can be tested.
9. Irregardless, alot of people were laying on the ground, holding their stomachs in pain.
10. The city health inspector wanted to know who he should blame, and he said he was moving towards a solution to the mystery of revealing whose responsible for the food poisoning outbreak.
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