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2016 Presidential Debates By BRADEN WONG Staff Writer
The first 2016 Presidential Debate was hosted on Sept. 26, and offered unforgettable moments: blatant lies, flagrant interruptions, and phenomenal roasts. Here are some of the most memorable aspects: 1. Lies, lies, and more lies Secretary Clinton attacked Mr. Trump’s claims that he had never supported the Iraq War, stating, “Donald supported the invasion of Iraq. That is absolutely proved over and over again.” Mr. Trump denied it all, interrupting, “Wrong. Wrong.” He, however, lied—in fact, he endorsed the war, six months before it began, in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern. 2. Wild savagery Secretary Clinton called several times for Mr. Trump to release his tax returns, to which he replied, “As soon as she releases her 33,000 emails, I will release my tax returns.” Mr. Trump claimed that Secretary Clinton lacked a presidential look, purporting that “she doesn’t have the stamina.” Secretary Clinton then listed her accomplishments as Secretary of State and asserted, “He tried to change from [my] looks to stamina, but this is a man who has called women pigs, slobs, and dogs.” 3. The birth of memes During the debate, Mr. Trump made re-
peated attempts to clear his sinuses, producing a loud sniffing noise. Soon after, the Twitter account “@trumpsniff” tweeted, “*sniff*”, unleashing a barrage of tweets about Mr. Trump’s case of the sniffles. He later claimed that a “bad microphone” caused the sounds. Meanwhile, the second Presidential Debate was held on Oct. 9 and featured 30 of the most popular user-submitted questions, as well as some taken from the audience. Here are some of the highlights: 1. Trump takes email to new heights While he said he “probably shouldn’t say this,” Mr. Trump stated he would instruct his Attorney General to find a prosecutor to investigate Senator Clinton if he were elected. 2. More wild savagery Secretary Clinton brought up Mr. Trump’ instances of irresponsible behavior, including attacking a former Miss Universe, mocking a disabled reporter, questioning the validity of a Muslim judge, and, most importantly, a controversial 2005 video featuring him making obscene remarks about his treatment of women. Mr. Trump responded to this rather interestingly (and incoherently): “This was locker-room talk. I’m not proud of it... But this is locker-room talk. Can you imagine the people doing so well against us with ISIS, they look at our country and see what’s going on. Yes, I’m very embarrassed by it. But it’s lockerroom talk. I will knock the hell out of ISIS.”
Secretary Clinton said it was “awfully good” that someone with Mr. Trump’s temperament was not in charge of the law. Mr. Trump responded, “Because you’d be in jail.” 3. Ironic ends To close the night, the final question was, “Regardless of the current rhetoric, would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?” “I think that’s a very fair and important question,” responded Secretary Clinton. “I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald. I don’t agree with nearly anything else he says or does, but that is something that, as a mother and a grandmother, is very important to me.” Mr. Trump replied, “She doesn’t quit and doesn’t give up. I disagree with what she is fighting for, but she fights and doesn’t quit.” Ironically, Mr. Trump had ended the first debate with “she doesn’t have the stamina”, but ended this one with “she never gives up”. The presidential debates have been an eye-opening experience for voters and candidates alike. There were defining moments—profound, but not always graceful. And with the elections approaching fast, we can only hope for what is to come. bwong@apachepowwow.com Photo courtesy of WORDPRESS.COM
Bumblebees on the Endangered List By VIVIAN KWANG Staff Writer
On Sept. 22, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that Bombus affinis, also known as the rusty patched bumblebee, may soon be officially listed as an endangered species. The rusty patched bumblebee is native to North America and will be considered the first species of bee to be endangered in the U.S. The rusty patched bumblebee’s possible extinction will have overwhelmingly negative effects on food sources, global economies, and most importantly, natural ecosystems. The FWS stated that “as pollinators, rusty patched bumblebees contribute to our food security and the healthy functioning of our ecosystems.” Bumblebees are much better pollinators than honeybees because of their ability to perform buzz pollination. Buzz pollination is extremely helpful when trying to collect pollen from flowers who have developed an evolutionary defense mechanism for their pollen. Plants that have this defense mechanism store their pollen tightly in their anthers. However, not all insects can access this pollen. Bumblebees are capable of performing buzz pollination on flowers like these because of their ability to create vibrations using their flight muscles. Pollen is needed by plants to reproduce. Pollinators such as the bumblebee retrieve the pollen and release
it on other flowers to allow plants to reproduce. It is difficult for a plant to produce pollen, so much of bumblebees’ value stems from the fact that it is one of the few creatures that can ensure that it is being transported properly. According to federal agencies, bumblebees contribute about $3 billion to the U.S. economy on a yearly basis. Without them, the economy will spiral downwards because there will simply be not enough crops and vegetables. Potatoes and tomatoes are examples of foods th at a re most
commonly harvested, consumed, and sold in a contemporary grocery store. These vegetables require buzz pollination in order to grow. Thus, without bumblebees, a large portion of America’s food source will decrease. And without the pollinators, crops will decrease in quantity and increase in cost. The Fish and Wildlife Foundation has said habitat loss, climate change, disease, farming, and pesticides are all major contributions to the alarming decline in bumblebees that the world has seen in past years. The bumblebee is a key species in food webs and whole ecosystems. Like a domino effect, getting rid of bumblebees will destroy chains and halt all metabolic processes of other organisms that depend on the bumblebee. In 2013, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation created a formal petition to put the rusty patched bumblebee on the endangered list. According to the organization, the rusty patched bumblebees’ population has decreased by 87% in recent years. Under the rules of the Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife Federation must follow protocol before announcing whether the rusty patched bumblebee will make it to the endangered list. As of now, the general public is still making votes as to whether or not the bumblebee belongs on the endangered list. vkwang@apachepowwow.com Photos courtesy of DISCOVERLIFE.ORG
October 2016
Unveiling of the iPhone 7 By PAUL LEE Staff Writer
On Sept. 9 in Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. While iPhone 7 is aesthetically identical to the iPhone 6 and 6s, it boasts a dual lens camera, faster processor, pressure-sensitive home button, 3D touch, water resistance, advanced LTE connection, iOS 10, and an improved battery life. Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, said, “The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus reach a new level of innovation and precision to make this the best iPhone we have ever made.” iPhone 7 introduced two new shades of black, including matte black and glass jet black, in addition to its signature silver, gold, and rose gold backings. In the new jet black finish, John Ive, Apple’s Head Designer, remarked that the finish is accomplished by “rotational 3D polishing, and a specialized compound flows over the intricate geometries of the housing.” Besides the new colors, the new iPhone is built to sustain “spills, splashes, and even dust.” Furthermore, the home button on the new iPhone is no longer a physical button. Instead, Apple used its new “Taptic Engine” to create a responsive solid-state button built for durability. Most anticipated by iPhone customers was its enhanced camera lenses. The new iPhone 7 Plus offers a dual lens system in which one 12-megapixel (MP) lens works as a wide-angle camera while the other 12MP lens works as a telephoto camera. The lenses also adopt a Machine Learning system which separates the foreground from the background to achieve the same effect as DSLR cameras. It also has a brighter flash with four LED lights. Besides its new physical improvements, the iPhone 7 now internally incorporates an A10 Fusion Chip, which Apple claims to be “the most powerful chip ever in a smartphone”. A10 Fusion is a 64-bit, four-core processor with over 3.3 billion transistors. It has two cores that run two times faster than the A9 chip found in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, and is 240 times faster than the original iPhone. Other than its efficient processing speed, the A10 Chip “delivers great battery life, allows WiFi browsing for 14 to 15 hours, and LTE for 12 to 13 hours,” said Vice President Schiller. Controversially, Apple removed a major feature for music lovers: the 3.5mm headphone jack. The new iPhone 7 package comes with an adapter that transforms the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack to a lightning port connector. However, one of the downsides to this design is that customers will not be able to simultaneously charge their phones and listen to music. Apple, fortunately, added new frontfacing stereo speakers, offering volume twice as loud as its iPhone 6. It also offers wireless earbuds for purchasing, called AirPods. iPhone 7’s price starts from $647, and iPhone 7 Plus’ price starts from $769. plee@apachepowwow.com
