THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018
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THE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS Volume: 62 Issue: 1
AUGUST 23, 2018
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WHILE YOU WERE GONE Junior Football Team found Trapped in Tham Luang Caves On June 23, a junior football team entered Thailand’s Tham Luang Cave and was trapped there after heavy rainfall caused it to flood. The group was found alive on July 2 by two British divers. They discovered the team two and half miles from the start of the cave. The organizers of their rescue, which included international and domestic help, attempted to pump water out of the caves to make it easier for children to escape. However, rescuers soon aborted these tactics so as to evacuate everyone before the next monsoon. Between July 8 to 10, the coach and the boys were delivered to safety from the caves with only minor injuries.
LeBron James’ I Promise School Opens
Louisiana is ranked with second worst public school system in the United States
Heat waves, Wildfires accross North Ameriaca & Europe Throughout the summer, heat waves pummeled North America and Europe, with breaking temperatures recorded in Nova Scotia, California, Denmark, Germany, Spain and Portugal, among many others. In Spain, nine people died from the heat, while as of July 10, 74 people had suffered heat-related deaths in Quebec. Dry conditions and depleted water sources contributed to rampant wildfires, breaking out all along the west coast in California and British Columbia, as well as in Sweden and the United Kingdom. The heatwaves are also responsible for several large algae blooms worldwide, destruction of agricultural crop or low yields, and electricity grid crashes.
On Monday, July 30, LeBron James’ “I Promise” school opened. The school was built in response to the poor academic performance of underprivileged students in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio. Among many other benefits, the school will offer each student a free bicycle, school supplies and free college education. A food pantry is available to all students’ families, all students and faculty have access to a fitness trainer, and job placement assistance and GED classes are open to parents. I Promise School is a public school, not a private or charter school, intended specifically for the local Akron children. Currently, 240 third and fourth graders are enrolled.
President Donald Trump Nominates Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court
The United Nations Investigates Extreme Poverty in the United States
Gamer pilots commercial jet before crashing on Ketron Island
On Friday, Aug. 10, an employee of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport commandeered a Horizon Air commercial jet with no previous piloting experience — aside from what he learned from video games, he admitted during his radio communications with the air traffic control tower, which can be found on YouTube. He managed to complete a loop-de-loop and a barrel roll with the empty aircraft before two fighter jets were tasked with pursuing him, soon after which he crashed on Ketron Island, in the Puget Sound.
In a nationwide study by WalletHub published on July 30, states were ranked on a list from best to worst public school systems. According to WalletHub, Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country, and New Mexico has the worst, at number 51. Louisiana’s schools ranked at number 50. WalletHub studied various properties of the schools, including two categories: quality and safety. The organization took into consideration aspects such as dropout rates, high school graduation rates among low-income students, and portions of threatened or injured students. Louisiana fell into categories such as “Lowest Reading Test Scores” and “Highest Percentage of Threatened or Injured High School Students.” However, it also tied for fifth in “Lowest Pupil-Teacher Ratio,” a feature which is often an indicator of a good school.
Philip Alston, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, led efforts to further understand extreme poverty in the United States. Many regarded the investigation to be unexpected, especially for a country that is as wealthy as the United States. The studies draw attention to the emergence of certain disease and pathogen outbreaks in poverty-stricken U.S. communities that have otherwise been essentially eradicated in the developed world and now only persist in developing nations, as well as other challenges typical of only the developing world that maintain a brooding presence in the Unite d S t a t e s t o d a y. T h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s h e d light on issues like economic inequality in America.
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court resulted in a vacancy to be filled by a nominee of President Donald Trump. The President’s list of finalists included four contenders for the seat: Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judge Raymond Kethledge, and Judge Amul Thapar. Brett Kavanaugh emerged as Trump’s final pick. The confirmation process is anticipated to be highly contentious, especially with the political landscape of the court shifting with Trump’s nomination. As of late summer 2018, a confirmation date has not yet been announced.
Aretha Franklin Dies at Age 76 Known by many as “The Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin died on Aug. 16. Franklin’s anthem, “Respect,” was on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart for 12 weeks and peaked on June 3, 1967. Franklin was 76 years old when she passed in her hometown of Detroit.