Five Favorite Front-Page Features...Teacher Style

I don't know if I have five things...but I have been doing current events moments with my kids at school.  So I thought I would share them with you.

First off...government shutdown:

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-government-closed-business-essential-employees-20439083?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=20439766--I like this one because of the ping pong analogy

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3032619/ns/NBCNightlyNews/#53170284--More really life situations

Second off...Affordable Health Care Goes Live
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/obamacares-day-20439111?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=20439766

We have also been reading articles from the NY Times Upfront---which is a great resource for teachers that have subscriptions---but right now its free :)

Magazine logo :)

The High Price of Cheap Fashion....all about our globalization--the pros and cons

10 Things You Need to Know About Washington Part 1 and Part 2--this is great for government classes...they talk about the nitty gritty of the works of government

Has the Arab Spring Failed? --Great to talk about world geography and world events because they do a nice job bringing the kids up to speed

Current Events Day

So today I would do a Five Favorite Front-Page Features moment but I feel like I just did that on Sunday...cuz I did! And I feel like what was news on Sunday is still news today...so I am going to do one local story I found out about today.

So living in Roosevelt, we are very close to a Ute Indian Reservation.  They have a governmental body called the Ute Tribe Business Council.  These six members have a lot of power in the tribe.  They make decisions about when the tribe receives their monthly government checks, manage the money they get from the oil fields, and other economic business things. Today the Council decided to boycott all Roosevelt city businesses that are not "companies affiliated with or doing business for or in partnership with the Tribe, such as oil and gas operators or contractors that maintain an office in Roosevelt."  

The picture from the Deseret News article

The reason for this boycott makes very little sense to me. The biggest reason they cite in the original press release I read (see Geoff Liesik_KSL facebook page) is that they are treated unfairly by the police.  The tribe is citing racism as the treatment along with jurisdiction issues.  The article in Deseret News shines more light on the fact that this is not the first time that they have boycotted before, and more about the fact that they are frustrated with city officials too for not negotiating further with them.

I wanted to share a little bit of my opinion on this today, because this is a serious problem in Roosevelt.  We have many races that live in our small town--we are to a certain extent a microcosm of America with everyone from Caucasian to African Americans to Asian Americans to Native Americans.  We all have to respect each other and the rules of the city.  If we just treated each other with respect, the world would be a happier place.

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

With Friday being a Bout of Books challenge day, I did not do current events yet this week.  So, I thought I would do some now.  The trick with this is that shockingly enough I have been out of the news the whole time I have been in St. Louis--so I am actually catching up to write this post :)

Manning Sentenced to 35 Years--This is a bit of a double edged sword to some people I think, on the one hand it is considerably less than the maximum sentence and he can be up for parole in 7 years.  On the other hand this is the longest someone will serve for leaks yet...so it is an interesting historical moment.

Following King's Path, and Trying to Galvanize a New Generation--It is cool that 50 years later we are commemorating the March on Washington with another one....and it is interesting that this march was more of anti-discrimination in general, not just racial.  We can always improve as humans right?

Yosemite Wildfire Increases in Size- Wildfires are the story of the past few weeks....this is the most recent one in the news between the Idaho fires and the Utah fires, we are sure are getting use to this.

This video is all about Obama's status on Syria right now....it is hard for some people to believe that we really haven't done anything here yet.  But do we want to get involved?  It is really hard to say.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This video is all about Nidal Hasan found guilty for Fort Hood murders....not a big surprise, but to me it is nice for the trial to be over for the sake of the families.  Him wanting to be his own lawyer and say he didn't do anything really wrong must have been hard for them.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Well now you and I are officially caught up on the world's stories from this week!

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

lonelyplanet.com

This week for Five Favorite Front-Page Features....more like four this week.  I have been closely watching the Egypt crisis, and I thought that this week I would focus on four articles/clips about Egypt from this week.


Dozens reported killed as clashes break out on the Day of Rage
When I heard about this on the news this morning, I was sadden to hear that things had gotten bad enough that they were just planning on killing one another this morning.

Obama's reaction to Egypt
We can't really take away the foreign aid because that's just giving up all the cards.  But he did cancel military exercises, so that's something

This week, CNN Student News came back and did a recap of the summer.  They started off with the situation in Egypt--which is great to catch up on.  Click this link

Last Saturday the article in New York Times set us up for this week....read Lawless Sinai Shows Risks Rising in Fractured Egypt

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

 Donald Graham, the Post Co. chairman and chief executive

Today I thought that I would pick one headline from each weekday this week from the Washington Post since they were sold this week. Learn more about the sale in Monday's article.  This was an interesting article to read, because like everyone I was surprised by the sale.  But the sale will allow Post to explore and grow as they become a private company again, the Graham niece will stay on as publisher which is great, and Bezo (the new owner) and Donald Graham have been friends for a while. I also liked to hear that they are not currently/planning to downsides and lay people off.

Tuesday's article highlights a big story of the week: Terrorism alert highlights potent threat posed by al-Qaeda's Yemen affiliate The whole world learned the name Nasir al-Wuhayshi and started to think of him as the new Osama bin Laden. 

Wednesday's article: Israel says Iran is accelerating nuclear quest....this had quieted down for awhile--interesting to see it back in the news again.

Thursday's article highlights another big story of the week: Obama cancels meeting with Vladimir Putin No surprise there with the admittance of Edward Snowden last week

Friday's article caught my eye: Phillippines to open negotiations with U.S. on expanding military presence They want the U.S. help to keep China out of their waters.  This could complicate our relationship with China. It is interesting that the Phillippines wants our help considering they don't usually like us there, with the whole "We use to own you" mentality. 

That's the important articles from the week...in my humble opinion :)

Five Favorite Front-Page Features with Cedar Ridge Academy

Today in my U.S. History and Government class at Cedar Ridge Academy Therapeutic Boarding School we were able to go over some current events that have affected the world around us. We focused on three main stories: the Zimmerman juror speaking out, Ariel Castro's trial, and the Manning/Snowden situation. We get to have great discussions, watch videos, and the students write great opinions as to what they think the situation should be/change to.  Click here to see what they wrote today, and go below for the videos that we watched courtesy of ABC News and NBC News.

Zimmerman Case:

Zimmerman Juror Speaks Out
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/george-zimmerman-juror-stands-decision-19777201?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19778064

Travyon's Mother Speaks Out
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/juror-b29-interview-ignites-emotion-travyon-martins-mother-19787910?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19720024

Ariel Castro Case:

Castro Pleads Guilty
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cleveland-kidnapper-ariel-castro-spend-life-bars-19787899?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19720024

This video discusses Ariel Castro's final day in court

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Snowden/Manning and Espionage:

Bradley Manning's Conviction:
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/bradley-manning-guilty-aiding-americas-enemies-charge-19821294?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19821973

More Leaks from Snowden
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/nsa-secrets-revealed-19832057?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19766051

Edward Snowden is out of the airport...

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

This week I am going to feature NBCNews.com

Venezuela, Nicaragua offer Snowden asylum Being so long a man without a country, I bet he is grateful--but I bet the NSA is frustrated

Alleged plot to extort Paula Deen exposed; FBI makes arrest As if things couldn't get worse for her, talk about drama!

Zimmerman trial The plot thickens with the prosecutors closing their case and the defense asking to let the judge to throw it out--I really wonder where this will fall

Immigration reform--As mentioned last week, it passed the Senate--but the House still needs to vote.  It becomes really tricky with the ideas of this issue because everyone is opinionated about it...it becomes a "do I vote on my own" or "with my constituents" decision

Is Egypt headed for a civil war? There is a military coup going on and then there is the group that still support the elected president....it will be interesting to see how this one shakes out too

From NBCNews.com

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

This has been an interesting news week....

1. Proposition 8 was sent back to the lower court....effectively put gay marriage back in California

2. Defense of Marriage Act...the Supreme Court found denying federal benefits from gay marriage unconstitutional

Whether you agree with gay marriage or not...this was an historic week for the Supreme Court--equality has been redefined in this country.  It is now precedent.

3. George Zimmerman trial began....this has been an interesting trial to say the least...from witnesses being cross-examined in a way that you would see on TV shows...to knock-knock jokes....to really graphic photos...and an all-female jury...it will be very interesting to see how this plays out

4. Supreme Court found the section of the Voting Rights Act that establishes the states/areas that have federal oversight unconstitutional if not updated

5. Immigration Reform passed the Senate....people said there would be a vote...now it's in the House's court

They sure had a lot of power this week
(picture from Wikipedia)

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

So...today isn't going to be exactly five different news stories....just five (maybe more) different things all about the same thing. Today in my US History/Government class, we talked about the Edward Snowden/hacking thing.  Time Magazine did a great article this week about him and past hackers, and it really seems to be becoming an historical and political issue--great for my class.  So I started off with these video clips to give them the background.

These first two are in the same broadcast, back to back,and occurred that first day the media starts talking about the phone monitoring and the Internet monitoring.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/52126041

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/52126065

This next clip is probably the day after the other two because we are learning that this wasn't on purpose and the government is having to acknowledge that there was a leak.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/hunting-nsa-leaker-19351792?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19352311

Then I showed this clip that reveals Snowden and who he is.  

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/edward-snowden-claims-nsa-leaker-19362889

Finally, I showed this clip to give them a bit of an idea of what PRISM is and to transition into the Time Magazine article.

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,2472288673001_2145377,00.html 

This article is on: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2145506,00.html 

I loved this class because we had a great discussion and didn't even get through the whole article. They are really curious, and offer opinions which is the whole reason why I talk about current events in the first place.  We are going to finish it up next week, and I think it will be great.

The cover of this week's Time

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

This week I will feature stories from ABCNews.com

5. This was an interesting article today....Alleged Nazi SS Commander Found Living in Minnesota.  He is 94 years old and is just now being discovered.  I think about what that does to your life? http://abcnews.go.com/US/alleged-nazi-ss-commander-found-living-minnesota/story?id=19404716

4. This is a cool video...a 10 year old boy in San Antonio sang the national anthem at the beginning of the finals game and then was criticized for doing so because he is Mexican.  The kid stood up for himself, and told the world that he was American born and raised, and that the color of his skin didn't matter if he was American.  The finals then invited him back to sing again.  How cool is that!!
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/instant-index-10-year-sebastian-de-la-cruzs-19407344

US News | Weird News | More ABC News Videos

3. Immigration Law Proposal Clears Hurdle...it would be nice to maybe see this resolved in a way that people are relatively okay with http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/immigration-law-proposal-clears-hurdle-19377735?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19378524

US News | Weird News 

2. NSA Leak...this guy I have spent most of the week trying to figure out who he is....this video is somewhat helpful. http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/reported-nsa-leaker-edward-snowden-19369193?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19369746

US News | Weird News | More ABC News Videos

1. This was honestly my FAVORITE story in a long time.  This story is about a husband and wife team of doctors...she says that she can't sleep because he snores.  They get a sleep study together and apart...and she sleeps fine either way.  I love the husband's look...it is totally "I was ACTUALLY right!" http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/solutions-couples-sleep-19369498?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=19369746

US News | Weird News

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

This week I have decided to bring back my usual Friday ritual of discussing current events.  This week I have decided to feature New York Times this week and just do the top five from the week in no real order. I even have one for each day.

Friday: Seven Dead in Santa Monica Shooting This is just sad....more shootings.

Thursday: IRS Targeting of Conservatives Wrong, Most Say in Poll The IRS is in a lot of trouble, and it is possible that this isn't going away any time soon.

Wednesday: US is Secretly Collecting Records of Verizon Calls Yeah this was nice to hear, I have Verizon but then later on in the week we found out it doesn't really matter which cell carrier you have.

Tuesday: US-China Meeting's Aim What was surprising to me about this was how much people are worried about the fact that Mrs. Obama will not be there

Monday: Don't Trust the Pentagon to End Rape The interesting thing about this it is an op-ed.  This story fascinates me because of all of the men involved in what is usually a women's issue.

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

Last Sunday that this gets to show up as the A to Z Challenge comes to a close.  It has been a fun month to do that and I look forward to doing a wrap-up of it on Wednesday.

5. Bush Presidential Library opened...whether you like/approve of his politics or absolutely hate him....it doesn't matter to me.  He was still president and I thought he was a class act this week by coming back into the media to finish his last real job as president. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dedication-of-the-george-w-bush-presidential-library/2013/04/25/0b9e2e9a-adba-11e2-a986-eec837b1888b_gallery.html

4. White House Correspondence Dinner...the nerd prom :) http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/27/politics/white-house-correspondents-dinner/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

3. Lots of news swirls around about the Boston Marathon bombers...it is almost hard to figure out what is accurate and what isn't it http://abcnews.go.com/US/boston-marathon-bombing-investigators-piece-life-tamerlan-tsarnaev/story?id=19060527#.UX3UmxyG2n8

2. Bangladesh building collapses, a fire breaks out, 377 dead http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/28/us-bangladesh-building-idUSBRE93N06P20130428

1. Possible chemical warfare in Syria...if this ends up being true it will be interesting to see what happens next  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/middleeast/us-says-it-suspects-assad-used-chemical-weapons.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130426&_r=0

http://www.cartoonaday.com/democracy-in-syria-cartoon/

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

This is our Sunday feature while I participate in the A to Z Challenge....which is quickly coming to a close.  I don't even know exactly where to go with this with it being such an interesting news week...but as always this is just my opinion of the top stories from the week--and sometimes it is just what I remember first.

5. Immigration Proposal made....though I love how people can't stop talking about 2016 and Marco Rubio....but at least they're not bringing up the State of the Union response again! http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gang-introduces-immigration-reform-bill/story?id=18992123#.UXSFgRyG2n8 

4. We've moved North Korea back a little bit...the media has really put this off to the side--for obvious reasons.  Until I looked it up, I had no idea what was going on over there to be perfectly honest.  So I looked it up....apparently we are still moving rockets around.  http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-moves-two-more-missile-launchers-report-035049930.html

3. China earthquake...6.6-7.0 magnitude...186 people dead...kind of got buried here in the U.S. with everything going on here http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/21/world/asia/china-sichuan-earthquake/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2 

2. West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion...this was a very sad accident...I hope the families get closure. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/19/17825505-investigators-texas-plant-explosion-death-toll-raised-to-14?lite

1. Boston Marathon...quite a week...I hope that everyone currently in the hospital continue to recover and we only lose three civilians and one officer in this tragedy.  As always...CNN has a great collection of coverage to help with the catch up http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/21/us/boston-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews 

We are Boston Strong! **Start singing "Sweet Caroline"**
http://abcnews.go.com/US/quotes-week-boston-strong/story?id=19008065#.UXSGkxyG2n8 

Five Favorite Front-Page Features

With it being Sunday, we take a day off from A to Z Challenge...so I bring my current events post to Sunday for this month instead of Friday :)

5. Margaret Thatcher died...a great example to women everywhere---you can run a country! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1034634/Lady-Thatcher-honoured-State-funeral.html

4. The weather!! Goodness gracious...how crazy is it?  This was my "favorite" video from the week...I grew up near there!  http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/374535/3/Shenandoah-Valley-Elementary-School-damaged-no-class-Thursday

3. Catholic Priest earns Medal of Honor....this is a very cool story.  It is great for those that he was with were able to see this awarded http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/catholic-priest-medal-honor-18936141?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=18936680

2. Gun Control....more discussion this week. The big thing that happened? The Senate voted to debate the issue....and apparently this is a huge deal.  I liked SNL's skit last night....and I don't even watch this stuff usually.



1.  It would be nice to not have North Korea on here again next week....but I kind of doubt that.  Do they have a missile?  Don't have one?  On Thursday I was "attacked" by my students to find out if our security threat had increased to Def-Con 2 with everything that had happened. The only thing that I had heard was the South Korea had increased theirs to Def-Con 2...if we had it was for a short time because by the time I was able to look it up it looked like we were at Def-Con 3.  The interesting thing is that today/tomorrow is the anniversary of the founding.  Sounds like another "enemy" that likes to play chicken...

How long will you keep playing?

Top Posts of March

With my A to Z Challenge, I am catching up on my top posts of March today since it is a "break" from the letters.  The cool thing about today's post it is the 100th post on my blog! And I have completed 25% of the 365 challenge...wow I didn't think it was that long already!

3. Seed Stitch Baby Blanket...posted on March 26, 2013
This is my first pattern post...I want to do more of these. But I'm glad that I met my goal for March, to do more knitting posts and I'm glad you guys liked it

2. Five Favorite Front-Page Features #10...posted on March 8, 2013
The cool thing about this post...I really didn't have to write it--I wrote my lesson plan and I put it up!  I hope that teachers are stealing these great resources.  I do this every week and always label them so find them on the side.

1. My Pinterest Cleaning Tip...posted on March 16, 2013
The funny thing about this was that I did not think that I would get that much response to this...but my sister even tried it!  I didn't think that it would get so much response!

My official work photo for CRA

F is for Five Favorite Front-Page Features

So though it is a Saturday this seemed like a great day to do Five Favorite Front-Page Features.  For my A to Z Challenge visitors/new visitors...this is a weekly post that I do on Fridays that talks about the five top news posts...in my opinion.  I usually give a bit of commentary to show why I think that it is an impact on our lives/history.  I also do this from the mindset of a Social Studies teacher and try to include links from a variety of sources for fellow teachers to steal to help their students understand the impacts of these events.

5. Even though this is probably really a publicity stunt, it allows students to go over the Sequestration again which was really a history making type of thing.  President Obama will give 5% of his salary back....my question is how much is that really and where does that money go now? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/us/politics/to-highlight-pain-of-budget-cuts-obama-to-return-of-part-of-pay.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130404&_r=0

4. Nelson Mandela hospitalized..while not super news, he is old and hospital visits are to be expected..it can be a great tie-in to who Mandela is and how he has affected history especially in South Africa http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/06/world/africa/south-africa-mandela/?hpt=hp_zite1_featured 

3. Roger Ebert died...a def affect on history. http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/film-critic-roger-ebert-dies-age-70-18884278?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=18835803 

2. I have noticed that today's students care more than my generation did about how the economy is doing...I think it comes from becoming more aware of the recession.  When I mentioned the stock market rising and setting new records a few weeks ago it started a great discussion about recession v. Great Depressiona nd what stocks are etc.  So seeing how a jobs report affects everything is a great lead in too http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/jobs-growth-hits-slowest-pace-nine-months-1B9229443

1. North Korea and U.S. tensions are still going and who knows when/where it will end....this is a great thing to make sure that students know.  Found a CNN resource that allows students to explore where their questions are http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/world/north-korea/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 

Saw on Facebook...and I thought it was hilarious!

Five Favorite Front-Page Features #13

5. I would be silly to not at least mention the fact that one of the biggest stories in this week's news cycle was the Supreme Court hearing California Proposition 8 and the Defense Against Marriage Act.  This is such hot button issue....it will be interesting to see what June brings us...one side or the other is probably going to be pretty frustrated no matter what is decided.   What I'm curious to see the historical impact that this will have. It could be huge like Roe v. Wade or small like....um nobody really knows about because ha ha they're not famous :)

4. Ok this is just gross.  An Oklahoma dentist has been using rusty instruments and bad practices which could be affected 7,000 people with crazy bad diseases! My question...how did this go on for so long?! http://abcnews.go.com/Health/rogue-dentist-exposed-7000-patients-hiv-hepatitis/story?id=18834611

3. Amanda Knox's trial is going to be heard again. It would really be interesting to learn more about the Italian court system...because in the American perspective, and really mine too, this whole thing is a HUGE mess. http://abcnews.go.com/US/amanda-knox-shocked-court-ruling-murder/story?id=18809434

2. Syria has really seemed to have increased the attacks....either that or the media is paying more attention.  See this article from the New York Times that had this quote from a university student after the campus was bombed: "I know Syria needs us right now. But - enough. I give up."  I think it really speaks to the civilian exhaustion with this situation.

1. North Korea....is it just a propaganda ploy or are we staring in the face of World War III?  Oi...we're just going to have to wait and see.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57577052/white-house-warns-north-korea-on-isolationist-actions/

Five Favorite Front-Page Features #12

This week some international, national, and local news makes this list

5. Saw this today..Chinua Achebe died at the age of 82...he was a great author that really pushed the envelope and didn't let the fact that someone might not see his work get in the way http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/world/africa/chinua-achebe-nigerian-writer-dies-at-82.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

4. Seeing sequestration in action.....Provo and Ogden will lose air traffic controllers---sounds a bit scary to me since they will have to coordinate with like 10 other small airports.  And Provo has large jets...this isn't just little puddle jumpers http://www.ksl.com/?sid=24504709&nid=148&title=faa-to-close-air-control-towers-in-ogden-provo&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-7

3. Utah Governor Herbert vetoes a bill that allowed all weapons in Utah to be concealed...even if they didn't have a permit.  I am really glad this was vetoed because I firmly believe in the concealed carry permits requiring safety classes--I worry what would happen without it. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=24500945&nid=757&title=gov-herbert-vetoes-constitutional-carry-bill&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-8

2. President Obama was in Israel this week...talking to the young generation about peace--very gutsy! http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/president-obama-talks-peace-holy-land-18785879?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=18786409

1.Foiled college shooting by the roommate...that's standing up for what you believe no matter what http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/roommates-911-call-foiled-university-central-florida-massacre-18767337?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=18714558

Five Favorite Front-Page Features #11

5. A judge finds the sugary drink ban in NYC unconstitutional. Very interesting that someone felt that it was a little bit too crazy...the judge cited "arbitrary and capricious" basically that the law was not fair--and I agree certain 32 oz. drinks were left out.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/nyregion/judge-invalidates-bloombergs-soda-ban.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130312&_r=0

4. This was a bittersweet story from today...a sister jumps into a river after her younger brother--saves him, but dies in the process and the guy that went in after her.  http://abcnews.go.com/US/teenage-girls-body-recovered-foam-filled-big-sioux/story?id=18735275

3. Carnival cruise line...oh my...they are going to need some serious reputation repair! http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/15/travel/carnival-cruises-perception/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

2. So North Korea has gone crazy enough that we have increased our missile defense stuff...I am glad that we are prepared...but it does make you a little bit concerned that these threats might actually come to something http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/15/17327806-us-to-deploy-more-ground-based-missile-interceptors-as-north-korea-steps-up-threats?lite

1. Pope Francis I selected this week.  It is waay cool that they selected a South American pope.  I had fun sharing this moment of history with my students.

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2013/mar/13/pope-francis-life-in-pictures 

Five Favorite Front-Page Features #10

Thank you http://www.teachenglishtoday.org/index.php
/2011/11/putting-the-daily-newspaper-to-work/ 
for the picture

So....on Monday and Wednesday next week I will be talking about current events in my Social Studies classes at Cedar Ridge Academy. I will be covering all of these topics in class with videos and articles.  Fellow teachers can feel free to steal!!

5. Real-Life Fillibuster--Rand Paul made history by talking for 13 hours.  See CNN Student News--which is a great source for anything current event.  http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/07/studentnews/sn-transcript-fri/index.html 

4. White House Tours Cancelled--I will be talking to my students about the sequestration and using this as an example.  For me this was just a little bit much....we could cut something else seriously. Like that dinner the President and Republicans went to? For info about sequestration go to article here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/06/politics/cnn-explains-sequestration and the CNN clip here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/28/studentnews/sn-transcript-fri/index.html

3. Hugo Chavez dies--This might change a lot about our relationship with Venezuela..or it might not..or it might change oil prices....or it might change the region.  Either way students need to know what is going on.  Watch http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/05/studentnews/sn-transcript-wed/index.html for the original annoucement and this one http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/06/studentnews/sn-transcript-thu/index.html which goes into the oil idea in Venezuela

2. TSA changes knife requirements--This one CNN Student News isn't actually messing with so I am going to show an ABC video http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/tsa-pocket-knives-airlines-rules-18661602?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=18603342

1. North Korea sanctions--Great time to talk about the U.N. and how it works...we'll see if these sanctions work.  http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/07/studentnews/sn-transcript-fri/index.html