Burned Iraqi boy's road to recovery

Youssif, a 9-year-old Iraqi boy living in Los Angeles, recently received the "certificate of citizenship", an award given in his school for being nice, but his life hasn't always been good. On January 15, 2007, Youssif was playing outside when his mother heard him screaming. She assumed it was fighting, so she would be able to stop it, but it was something tragic, he was on fire. His mother fainted and when she woke up, she couldn't recognize her son. As she described it, "The skin was melted off." Since he was burned, Youssif has gone through dozens of facial reconstructive surgeries and counseling. Paying for these things was also an issue for his family. They came from Iraq and Youssif's makes $9 as a security guard, and his mom brings in little to no income, too. Since the family can not afford to pay for the services, the California Children's Services has covered all of the surgeries and counseling. Youssif has said that his look don't bother him, "because, like, none of my other friends make fun of me." His mother has said because of the injuries Youssif has suffered, "his personality has changed so much. The way he interacts with people -- everything. It began as soon as he started school and realized that the children don't care about his appearance. It allowed him to have a normal life."

DC Shooting Suspect Could Be Threat to Obama, Police Say

At 9:30 on Friday, Washington D.C. Police received reports that shots were fired in the middle of the busy intersection of 16th and Constitution. Police soon discovered that the shots were fired at the White House, and bullets were found in the protective glass of the windows. Police believe the man who fired the shots was 21-year-old Oscar Ramiro Ortega of Idaho. He had been hanging around the mall for several weeks, and police believe him to be mentally ill. President Obama was in Australia at the time of the attack, and will be for the next week. Ortega fled after he fired the shots, and police found his vehicle in the intersection with a rifle inside. This is extremely relevant because the leader of one of the most influential countries in the world's safety continues to be at risk while this man is still not found.

-Skip Wiltshire-Gordon

Neo-Nazi Terror Attack

Police discovered that the group claims to have killed 10 people of Turkish and Greek origin. These two people claimed to it in a video that they sent to German media. They may have been responsible for several bank robberies and a nail bomb attack.

We feel that these acts of terror sadden us, the people involved shouldn't be doing these things. It is sick that the acts of neo-nazis are still happening.

Mario Monti nominated to replace Berlusconi: Reflection

After reading the CNN article Mario Monti Nominated To Replace Berlusconi, I think that Italy has a bright future. Mario Monti seams like a very reliable man to be the Italian Prime Minister. He is an economist, which means he knows business very well, and because Italy is in such a bad economic situation, he is the kind of person they need. He is also none as a “gifted competent and experienced leader and is respected through Italy and the world”.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/13/world/europe/italy-government/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

AF447 pilot: 'Damn it, we're going to crash'

This article talks about the controversy behind the crash of Air France AF447. the flight was going from Rio De Janeiro to Paris it is said that the pilots knew that the plane was going to crash and spent the final moments in the plane trying to prevent the plane from crashing. After eighteen months of being at the bottom of the ocean they were able to extract the recordings. It is said that from the recordings you can hear the computer generated voice of the plane saying stall, as the pilots tried to pull up the plane.

The Rescue of Wilson Ramos: The Harrowing Two Day Saga

On November 11, 2011, Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was peacefully sitting in his home when four armed kidnappers entered his home and abducted him. He was taken at gunpoint to a Black SUV parked outside, and driven to a rugged, mountainous area where he was held for two days. On his second day of captivity, he was awoken to gunfire of police rescuers. Ramos was at home five hours later. Ramos says that the real damage of the kidnapping was psychological, and affected him deeply. This is a sad situation because he was an innocent MLB rookie who was enjoying vacation in his home country Venezuela. We were deeply saddened because this ended up being unnecessary because the abductors did not benefit financially, and Ramos was affected. This may affect his abilities to play baseball. This was significant because Venezuela has seen an increase in abductions, and this is one several famous people abducted for money.

Jordan's king calls on Syria's Assad to step down

Jordan's king, Abdullah, openly stated that Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad should step down. The reason why he said this was because he was angry with the political life in Syria. He also urged that the future king of Syria should change this.

Norway Killer Admits to Crime

Earlier Today in Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, who murdered 77 people in July at a summer camp in Norway, said he committed these crimes. However he did not plead guilty because he claims to be in the  military resistance as a commander. This was the first time that he made a statement since he bombed a government building and open fired on a camp. He was kept in solitary commandment. No one was allowed to see him. The trial for him will begin in April 2012.

We believe that he is guilty of his crimes and should be punished for his actions. He should be sent to jail for 30 years, which is the most allowed by Norway Law.

Source: Chicago Tribune