September 28th

US News

Tiny Computer Makes a Big Splash Nowadays, technology is becoming more and more advanced. Technology of the future is smaller, faster, smarter, and much more powerful. One start towards future technology is nano-technology. Scientists at Stanford University were able to create a tiny computer made out of carbon nanotube transistors. Although this nanotechnology is still rather primitive, it proves that a lot can be done by using carbon fiber to create nanotube transistors. The computer created can make calculations, run a basic operating system, and switch processes running at the same time. This is enough to consider it a computer. Nanotube creations have evolved. The first nanotube transistor was a nanotube version of an on/off switch, invented in 1998. Before, it was thought that it is impossible to manufacture nanotubes, because they are kind of like crystals, and it wouldn't be possible to create them with the perfect alignment required for the tiny computer's circuits. If there are any imperfections in the nanotubes, there can be a short circuit. This happens for about 30% of the developed computers, due to misalignment. The researchers at Stanford are now creating a debugging technique, so that a lower fraction of the transistors are misaligned. Although the nano-technology now is still rather primitive, it will most likely become a leading technology of our future.

Brain Power Enough to Control a "Bionic" Leg With all of the incredible technology advances that are happening today, one that will affect the lives of limb amputees, is bionic prosthetic legs. Recently, a 32-year-old man was able to walk comfortable by using his brain to control a prosthetic leg. There are sensors receiving nerve impulses from the muscles and nerves that used to send impulses to the missing knee and ankle, and the impulses from the brain are making the artificial leg move. The patient was able to walk up and down a set of stairs, and the leg was able to move almost naturally, like the amputee's other leg. The patient, Zac Vawter, was the first person to successfully control a prosthetic with his brain. Other artificial legs that people are using right now, require remotes for the leg to move, and there is no connection with the brain's impulses. This new invention is known as a bionic leg, because of its ability to interact with the human brain. The bionic leg has a software algorithm that receives impulses from the electrodes on the skin, and then changes the impulses and signals into the bionic leg's movement. The software in the device decodes what Mr. Vawter is thinking, and changes it into movement. In a test with this machine, only 2% of the steps had minor errors such as the foot scuffing. The one thing that this handy device can't do is run, which other prosthetics enable people to do. Now, the bionic leg just has to be quitter, smaller, and give people the ability to run.

September 26th

Opinion: Medical Education Needs Major Surgery The tuition for medical school has risen quite a bit. As of right now, the tuition and the fees put together are about $50,000. Due to the high price of medical schooling, many of the students have to borrow money for the tuition leading to high amounts of debt. The average debt in 2012 was $170,000 and over one tenth of the private school graduates owe over $300,000 in debt. Under ObamaCare, a physician's income is supposed to decline. These factors are threatening the young people who are trying to become doctors, because if they're unable to pay off their debt, the doctors may practice medicine on patients just for the money, not for helping others in need. The US has the finest medical schooling in the world, but there are still things that they could work on. Every school teaches exactly the same thing. For two years, there is the pre-clinic studies, in which the medical students learn about anatomy, and disciplines such as histology. Every student learns the standard curriculum, and they add extra items such as, medical drawing. Many of the medical students dislike this, because they don't get to go at their own pace, they have to start with a course in which they are quite familiar with everything. Although medical school is expensive, students now need to make decisions about whether they want to take up a career in medical studies, because everyone counts on them for medical care.

September 25th

Opinion: He's Just Not That Into You Obama is trying have an informal meeting with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani refused, just like Iranian president Mohammed Khatami refused to meet with president Bill Clinton. Khatami reasoned that he couldn't because of inner Iranian politics restricting it. Rouhani too, is saying that he cannot meet with Obama due to internal Iranian politics. Obama gave a speech about how they are not aiming to change the regime, and respect Iranian rights to access nuclear energy. Rouhani gave a speech about the complexity of Iranian politics, a rather blunt topic, shortly after Obama's speech. Politics don't exactly exist in Iran, the rules are all set, so the leaders chosen are accountable to nobody, but Iranian leaders do know how to humiliate other leaders to make them feel weak. President Obama shoudl be happy about the way he has been taught about politics.

Failure in Philadelphia The students in Philadelphia's school's are suffering from a system failure. The students have gotten slightly better test scores, but they are still quite low. Last year about 40% of the students were proficient in reading although there was 99.5% teacher satisfaction. Because of the low level of proficient students in public schools, the charter school enrollment has gone up to 56,000 from 12,000 i the year 2000. Now, there are 25% less students attending public schools. While the students are taught with better teaching methods, the teacher is paid three quarters as much on a per student basis than a public school teacher. The average salary for an  average charter school teacher is about $110,000 every year. These teachers also get health benefits and a retirement pension equivalent to 80% off of their final salary. Their health and welfare fund is also over $71 million while public schools had to borrow $300 million. Two dozen schools were closed and 3,000 employees were laid off(this included 600 teachers) because they couldn't pay them. Where is Obama when the education system needs help?

September 24th

Opinion: Jihadist Massacre in Kenya There was a bloody jihadist attack on a shopping mall in Kenya. There was a minimum of 68 people killed and 205 people injured. The attacking group, al Shabaab, was thought be be a spent jihadist force in Somalia. For a while, al Shabaab has kept control over Somalia, enforcing the strict Muslim Shariah law, and blocking foreign food aid. Now people are realizing that the long jihadist terror from 2001 still has not been forgotten, and is going to keep on going. Kenya has been an anti-terror state, but now they may want to have U.S aid.

Opinion: The Holiday Calendar Hits Hyperspeed Everything these days is starting super early. Christmas decorations are being sold in Wal-Mart and Costco, and people are still wearing swimsuits and summer clothes. Breaking Bad, the TV show is ending September, the start of TV shows. Flu shots are being taken now instead of Columbus Day. Some people are even thinking that we are passing through life at such a fast pace, that soon it will be like the going back in time theory. If you go forward fast enough, even more quickly than the speed of life, you go back in time. I think that we should cherish every moment that we have in like, because there is only a limited amount of time that you actually have. Life isn't just about speeding through, it is about cherishing every moment, and taking in every experience, and taking advantage of what you have. This doesn't mean that you have to worthlessly destroy your life by breaking laws or something like that, but to have fun, while still abiding by the rules of society. So, before stores start selling new year posters, Happy New Year!

September 17th

International:Senior Egyptian Police Officer is Killed in a Raid on Islamists Near Cairo(The New York Times)  A senior egyptian police officer was killed today, and ten other officers were wounded by gunmen. This happened when security forces barged into an Islamist support stronghold outside of Cairo. Now, people are worrying that there may be a violent reaction to military control over Egypt. Officer Gen. Nabil Farag, director for the province of Giza got killed when a large group of tanks and armed vehicles came into the town Kardasa, on the opposite side of the Nile from Cairo. Officer Farag got shot at the side, and fell to the ground with a bleeding wound, and died on the way to the hospital. It was the bloodiest attack since the military ejection of President Mohamed Morsi which happened on July third. Now there is a possibility, that the violence will spread back into Cairo.

National: Starbucks Declares Guns are Unwelcome, But Are Not Banned(Wall Street Journal)  For a while now, there has been a debate going on about Starbucks' rules towards firearms. In some places, people can just walk into Starbucks with a gun hanging out of their pocket, such as Oregon, and they don't need a permit or any permission from the government. In other places such as New York, firearms/guns cannot be taken into a Starbucks cafe. After all of the mass shooting that have occurred this year, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is rethinking whether guns should be allowed in their cafe's, because although they may not affect the carrier, it may ruin the experience that other's have at Starbucks. As of right now, twenty-nine states have no rules against firearms in cafe's, fifteen allow it to those who have permits, five (including D.C.) strictly prohibit firearms, and California only allows it in rural areas. But, this is open to change.

Local: City Looks to Make Every New House Electric-Vehicle Friendly(Palo Alto Weekly) Palo Alto's streets are filled with Teslas and all different sorts of electric vehicles, because of all the electric-vehicle culture. Now, grocery markets such as Mollie Stones is adding charging stations to its parking lots, and neighborhood charging stations are being created. So, why not make houses electric vehicle ready? To add the charging stations when purchasing the car, it costs about $1000-2000, but it only costs about $200 to make a house electric-vehicle ready. Now, three council makers are agreeing to adding on charging stations to houses built, so that Palo Alto can become one of the most electric-vehicle friendly city in America.

Sports:Ken Norton, a Championship Fighter Who Broke Ali's Jaw, is Dead at 70 Ken Norton, a champion boxer died at age of seventy from a series of strokes, and his poor health. In 1973, he was able to break Muhammad Ali, a star boxer's jaw in a match. In that match against Ali, Norton was the underdog, at 6'2 and weighing 220 pounds. After norton broke Ali's jaw, he went to visit him in the hospital, and Ali said he didn't want to go on a match against him ever again. But, the two had two more matches, both of which Norton lost. In his last match, he was knocked out by Gerry Cooney in the first round. After his boxing career, Norton acted in several movies. The most well known movie he played a role in was Mandingo(1975) in which he played a slave trained to fight. Rest in peace Mr. Norton.

Social: What Kids Need to Know About Spinal Injuries in Sports(Wall Street Journal)  Children these days get many different kinds of injuries in contact sports such as cheerleading, football, and ice hockey. One of the most dangerous kinds of injuries from these contact sports is spine injuries. While some spine injuries may be temporary or make you experience whiplash, there are some that can be fatal, and result in a quick death. Every year, there are about 20,000 spinal cord injuries, and 12% of those injuries come from sports. The spinal injury that results in a possible chance of death is the cervical spine injury. THe cervical spine, is the first seven discs of the spinal cord, and getting an injury here results in paralysis, neurological damage, or death. All contact sport players are vulnerable to these dangerous injuries if they are not careful on the court or field depending on what sport they are playing. One example of a cervical spine injury is Tommy Mallon, who is now 22, who got injured while playing lacrosse in 2009. Luckily, after a while, he resulted with no permanent neurological damage, but as a result of his injury, his mother created a non-profit organization called Advocates for Injured Athletes to help other families with injured children. Shortly after that, she created another organization called Athletes Saving Athletes which teaches athletics trainers about sports injuries and conditions. Ms. Mallon, the program founder hopes to expand the company, so that sports team members can help save lives.

Weather:Super Typhoon Usagi Threatens Taiwan, Northern Philippines, and Hong Kong(The Weather Channel) There is supposedly a super typhoon that is starting over in the Pacific Ocean right now, and is threatening Taiwan, the northern Philippines, and Hong Kong. There is a difference between a typhoon and a super typhoon. A typhoon or tropical cyclone has winds that are under 150 miles per hour. A super typhoon is anything over 150 miles per hour, anything equivalent to a category four or five hurricane. The typhoon is believed to hit Taiwan Saturday afternoon, the Northern Philippines Friday night to Saturday, and Hong Kong on Sunday evening/night. Disasters happen, and we can just hope for the best for the people living in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

September 16th

Opinion: The Missing Medals of Honor talks about the medal of honor, which is a high status military award given for actions that helped others in war. One example is Ty Carter, who is the only soldier who received the award from the Afghanistan War. So, people started to wonder why only 4 veterans from the Iraq Wars received the award, but they weren't there to take the award, becuase the soldier's good deeds cost them their life. But weren't there more people who put their lives at stake, just for the sake of other soldiers? Why didn't they get the medals? While these people may be known to the army, they will sadly, never be recognized to the public for their good actions. Because the recipients of the Medal of Honor are not chosen on an exact or scientific method, the many people who put their lives at sakes for others, and genuinely deserve the Medal of Honor can still be recognized 10 years after the war.

September 13th

Marketplace: Apple Brings Out Two New iPhones talks about the two new iPhones Apple has created.
The iPhone 5C:

And the iPhone 5S:

The iPhone 5S is the slightly more updated one, weighing 3.95 ounces and containing the A7 processor chip, which has a fingerprint sensor, slow motion video, a more advanced camera, and the iOS 7 technology. The iPhone 5C however, also the cheaper iPhone, has an A6 processor chip, the same as the iPhone 5. But, the iPhone 5C has a colorful exterior made of plastic, and weighs 4.65 ounces. While the iPhone 5S may have a fingerprint reader, the iPhone 5C does not. But, the iPhone 5C does have the iOS 7 technology, with an 8 megapixel camera and a 4 inch display screen. The iPhone 5S costs $199 with a two year contract, while the iPhone 5C costs $99 with a two year contract. So, will these two new, in my opinion, awesome phones be enough to bring Apple back on top? Or is it still lagging behind Android? Both phones can be pre-ordered Friday the 13th (today), and they will be out for sale on September 20.