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Indian Point: How it affects the Environment around it

As human beings we are one of the leading causes of our deteriorating environment. We need to work together to change the way we treat our planet. Indian Point, a nuclear power plant in NYS has a huge impact on our environment. It not only hurts the citizens around it due to the radiation and soiling the drinking water of 11.3 million people, it also destroys plant life, pollutes the beautiful Hudson River and kills animals living around the power plant. Scientists have discovered radioactive material in the surrounding environment. Every exposure to radiation causes a mutation in an organism's DNA. These animals are exposed to constant radiation when near Indian Point. A species can not thrive and evolve if it is reproducing animals with harmful mutations that could potentially extinct a whole species. There are a number of species living in the Hudson River including striped bass, channel catfish, white catfish, Atlantic Sturgeon and the Northern PIke. Our government allows Indian Point to release polluted, radioactive water into our prepossessing Hudson River. The radiation can also be released into the air and soil. So humans will be ingesting them by inhaling or through eating. Luckily, Indian Point has been ordered to shut down; but that doesn't mean its effects will disappear. For the sake of all form of life, humans need to work together and save our planet.

Old Travel Ban vs New Travel Ban

Donald Trump put into order a new travel ban in the United States. In the new travel ban it includes Syria, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Sudan with the exception of Iraq. Once the old travel ban came into place which included Iraq; Iraq was not happy because Iraq has helped the United States military with translation and risking locals lives to help our military; If found out by a terrorist group like ISIS finds out that there is someone helping our military them or their family could be tracked down and killed. So in conclusion the ban from Iraq was lifted by Donald Trump. The old ban also made it to where people with visas could not enter the United States if that person with that visa was in one of those seven countries. With the new travel ban people who have visas and are in those countries during the time of the ban can come back into the country. The old ban was not passed by a federal appeal court; but it has been said that this new travel ban will have a better chance at passing through the federal appeal court. The new ban is more constitutional and therefore more likely to pass. There is an indefinite ban on refugees in Syria,replacing it with a 120- day freeze that needs review and renewal.The new travel ban has gotten some major changes to it. Maybe for better or maybe for worse.

Best Female Actresses

2016’s Female Leading Roles/Actresses in the Film Industry

Please note that such order will be listed with the reliance of the Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb’s ratings. Any alternative popular rating site, such as Metacritic, will be used if the sites, Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, did not or has not published their ratings online.

Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn)

Released in August 1

26% Rotten Tomatoes 6.3/10 - IMDb Box office : 745.6 million USD

Played in her highest rating films (The Wolf Of Wall Street & Z for Zachariah), Australian actress Margot Elise Robbie plays in one of DC’s latest, Suicide Squad. Though reviews of the movie in general were said to be more negative than positive. Paul Dini; the lead writer of Batman: The Animated Series, the birthplace of Harley Quinn; even said:

“Every clip that I've seen of Margot as Harley, she seems to have nailed it perfectly. When she's introducing herself to Katana, when she's walking around with the bat behind her shoulders, she just seems to have really channeled the true spirit of the character. Seeing that come alive is just amazing for me. I saw the shot yesterday of her and Joker in the therapy session getting ready to kiss, and I was just like, 'That's it, that's my girl.’” (cinemablend.com)

Mia Wasikowska (Alice Through the Looking Glass, Alice)

Released in May 25

30% Rotten Tomatoes 6.3/10 - IMDb Box office : 299.5 million USD

Alice in Wonderland came back with yet another marvelous movie with Mia Wasikowska back on the wheel for the role of Alice. Alice Through The Looking Glass is all about time. Do I have enough for this. Enough for that? But eventually, everyone runs out of time except possibly, Time himself. Alice, after traveling for 3 years, returns to England to find herself back in Wonderland to save the Hatter from himself.

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae (Hidden Figures, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson)

Released in December 25 92% Rotten Tomatoes 7.9/10 IMDb Box office : 190 million USD

Released in Christmas of 2016, this film, based on a true story, is about 3 African-American female mathmaticians whom was said to serve an important role towards NASA in the famous Race to Space between USA and Russia. Leading on how these women were never heard of in the history books, these women (both the women of real life and the actresses) have done well to serve as role models to those whom are colored women all around over the country and beyond.

Auli’i Cravalho (Moana, Moana)

Released in November 23

95% Rotten Tomatoes 7.8/10 IMDb Box office : 581.3 million USD

This 16 year old Auli’i Cravalho moved pretty fast through the Disney rankings ever since she was accepted the role of the new Disney princess in the scene, Moana. In Moana, an adventurous teen wants to look beyond her island. Beyond her tribe. Her thoughts led to actions and in order to save her island from total darkness, Moana sets out to find the mighty demi-god Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson, and together, they set out to an action-packed adventure to, not only save Oceania but to help Moana find the role she was meant to play.

Played the part and even, in ways, looks the part, Cravalho aced the adventurous Hawaiian princess and I can speak for every Disney fanatic when I say “Disney did great with this one!”.

Ginnifer Goodwin (Zootopia, Judy Hopps)

Released in March 4

98% Rotten Tomatoes 8.1/10 IMDb Box office : 1.024 billion USD

Yet another Disney film takes the action in the cinema. Ambitous Judy Hopps, portrayed by Ginnifer Goodwin, became first in her police academy and was assigned to the city central, achieving her dream of becoming the first bunny officer. But things takes a toll when she realizes that it takes more to be the first bunny cop in the force. Determined to show that she’s more, she meets scam artist, Nick Wilde, portrayed as Jason Bateman, and together, they hunt answer to a mystery that would change the future of Zootopia forever.

Goodwin is known to play characters with a certain softness to them so it was no surprise that Goodwin would voice the lovely protagonist.

Marine Corps Scandal

The discovery of a Marine based Facebook group that posted lewd photos of servicewomen has sparked a controversy that spreads to all branches of the U.S Military. The group on Facebook called Marines United was accessed by approximately 30,000 members. The participants were sharing nude photos of their fellow servicewomen and went far enough as to encourage sexual assault. The report by journalist Thomas Brennan led to the Marine Corps opening an investigation, and reports from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service indicate that investigators are considering felony charges leaving participants facing a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. Reports from Business Insider announce that the Marine commandant, Gen. Robert Neller, will brief members of the House Armed Services Committee next week regarding the scandal. The practice of sharing nude or partially nude photos goes beyond the Marine Corps and one Facebook group. Hundreds of nude photos of female service members have been posted to anonymous message boards that dates as far back as last May. The site has a dedicated chat room for military personnel that led to many of the participants asking for “wins” or naked photographs, often asking for specific women by name or location of where they are stationed. One disturbing thread even had dozens of people follow-up on a single, fully clothed, photograph of a female Marine. Users dredged up photos from her Instagram account, posting as many photos as they could find. Eventually users unearthed a nude photo, in which participants “bumped” the thread to the top so others on the message board would see it and potentially post more photos. The victim allegedly tried to stymie her harassers by deleting her accounts or making them private. The relationship between the participants and the victims varied, some having an intimate relationship with the victims and some users just cyber-stalkers. One user who alluded to being an ex-boyfriend posted, “Wow, she blocked me on Instagram!” Later writing, “Stupid cunt must want me to post her shit up. I gave her a choice, it didn’t have to be this way. I’m not a bad guy, she had a choice. Oh well, no point in holding back now. I want you all to share this everywhere you can, once I start seeing her more places I’ll post her video.” Although the Marine Facebook group participants largely posted under their real name, unfortunately the message board participants were largely anonymous. The site itself is registered outside the US Jurisdiction, in the Bahamas, making it difficult to penalize. The controversy reaches all levels of the armed services including cadets still in military academies. One post stated, “Bumping all 3 service academies’ threads to see who can post the best wins in the next 7 days. Winning school gets the [commander’s cup]. Go Army, Beat Everyone.” The existence of a site devoted exclusively to sharing nude photographs of female service members is not good for the Pentagon, which has been criticized in the past for failing to deal with rampant sexual harassment and abuse within the ranks.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, set on March 8th, celebrates economic, political, social, and cultural achievements women have attained. Although many people are just beginning to learn about International Women's Day, the holiday has been acknowledged since the early 1900’s. During this time women were making large steps towards women’s rights. Such as, gaining partial suffrage in more than 20 states in 1900 and even having the first National Women’s Day across the United States on the 28th of February, 1909. Not only does International Women’s Day support women’s achievements, it also is an enormous call for gender equality. Even though Women have made amazing advancements there are still many more obstacles to overcome. Statistically, women are paid 80 cents for every dollar a male gets working the same job. Also, women of color, more often than not, get paid even less. This is a major issue we have yet to solve. International Women’s Day was celebrated this year by women around the globe participating in protests and strikes for gender equality. Women also wore the color red in support. Prior to International Women’s Day, on January 21st women marched in Washington D.C. in protest against President Donald Trump’s defunding of Planned Parenthood. President Trump’s defunding of Planned Parenthood, as a lot of these women felt, was a step backwards in Women's rights. Women showed their dissatisfaction of this more than ever when more than 1 million women attended this march. Women have been making extraordinary steps towards equality, and International Women’s Day serves to celebrate these achievements. Not only is this holiday a day to celebrate women’s rights as of today, it also celebrates the steps women are making and have made towards achieving even more. International Women’s Day is about unity of women from all walks of life, making a better life for women in need and much more. Therefore, to all the women and girls out there, go ahead and celebrate next International Women’s Day and continue

#By Omni Bazan

Grammy Political Comments

In a world where the people we see on the television and hear on the radio have become completely idolized, famous celebrities have risen higher than ever before in public visibility. Celebrities are idolized and worshiped for not only their talents, but the way that the people who watch them imagine that their personalities and mannerisms might be in real life. In recent times, celebrities have begun to take advantage of this persuasiveness given to them by their fans and their fame by using this power to further their own political agendas. It comes to no surprise that at the Grammy Awards where the Recording Academy recognizes artists in various categories with a prestigious award celebrities took the time to rebel against President Trump, a controversial figure. Knowing that she was going to put herself directly in the line of public scrutiny, one such figure was Joy Villa rocking the disputable “Make America Great Again” dress. This dress has easily been one of the most talked about political statements of the night, as well as the most talked about outfit choice. This dress kicked off the night’s multitude of political statements and sparked tons of conversation. Further, a member of popular band Highly Suspect was seen wearing a jacket with the words “IMPEACH” written across the back. In the opening statement itself, host James Corridan rapped “Living our life because this is the best/ but with President Trump/ you don’t know what comes next”, directly addressing the continued tension since the Presidential election. Alongside these three political statements came a variety of speeches and performances that directly either supported or disrespected the President. But why, we ask, is Joy Villa’s dress the most controversial? Why do people not speak more about Katy Perry’s entire performance seeming to be a message of disrespect towards Donald Trump? Why is there continued conversation about a message of support and respect, yet not one of rebellion and scorn? Why is the public so shocked at a celebrity showing their support to the President but not that there were a multitude of acts of rebellion and disrespect? Whether your vote or your loved one’s vote was for President Donald Trump, it is the duty of all legal citizens of the United States to maintain a level of decorum, something that we pride here within the Youth and Government. Decorum means keeping a cool head, even when we disagree. Yes, we may idolize our favorite artists and actresses, but we should in no circumstances give them the power to decide for us what our political views should be. It is no one’s job but our own to keep up with the current news and to form our own opinions about politics. Joy Villa’s “Make America Great Again” dress is not the center of the conversation. What Joy Villa wears is no one’s concern, it is her message that we must take a closer look at. Her message is this: we the people of America must remain united, even at times when we feel so different and divided. That is the greatness of America. Unity within the face of adversary.

#By Theresa Glynn

Transgender Bathroom Controversy

Unfortunately there is much debate over the Transgender bathroom law. Trump has withdrawn the federal protection for transgender students (Source: CNN). ”Trump said that transgender people should be allowed to use whatever bathroom they feel most comfortable with” although Ari Shapiro from (Source: NPR) National Public Radio stated that “The Trump administration is reversing course when it comes to protecting transgender students in public schools”. By reversing the protection of transgender students it “exposes vulnerable students to bullying”. Also, “White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said today the federal government shouldn't dictate state policy.” “LGBT rights is the civil rights issue of our generation” “Bathroom equality has become the later frontier on the battle against homophobia, transphobia and gender-policing” (Source: Psychology Today). “Granting marriage equality to same-sex couples and equal access to transgender” (Source: Psychology Today). There is hope that the controversy will find a compromise as soon as possible. Until then this controversy is still being looked at.

#By Amber Van Aken

Trump Relationship with the Media

Our President Elect Donald J Trump has a self proclaimed war with the media. From his outrageous claims to his hateful tweets Trump has made himself a target for news headlines. During his time running for his presidential position Trump had a lot of backlash toward the media and their representation of him. In 2016 Trump made a comment on a disabled reporter at one of his rallies, this comment involved him mocking how this reporter talked and his abnormal hand motions. This reporter's name is Serge Kovaleski and Trump denies any correlation to him while the connection between his mock and Serge is impossible not to recognize. Trump also had more negative responses toward news sources such as CNN and BBC calling them unreliable. Trump then encourages his supporters to boo to the press that comes to his meetings. Other than press Trump’s hate turns on his twitter fingers. If you don't know already Trump sends hateful messages through his twitter profile to all his 26 million followers. Some of the tweets are aimed at news such as nytimes that he states “I am happy to hear how badly the @nytimes is doing”. He also throws shade at former president Barack Obama that he tweets “is the worst president in the history of the United States”. He then states “ I hate tweeting I would rather spend my time doing anything else rather than on twitter”. While he says this he tweets approximately 10.8 times average per day since 2009. He hates on how people tell the truth about him through news ,he has an extreme negative relationship toward media and anything that correlates to it.

#By Gurkan Yigit

Trump’s Accomplishments

Though Trump’s time in office is only just beginning, the 45th president has already made numerous changes to the government in just over a month and a half. First, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership in order to increase the protection of American workers. Along with this, Trump reversed a plan to cut mortgage insurance prices and froze all federal hiring, aside from the military, public safety, and public health departments. He also began to take steps towards repealing the Affordable Care Act. This act, nicknamed Obamacare, aided in providing affordable healthcare to more Americans. He continued to move forward on the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. This controversial project consists of an underground oil pipeline running from North Dakota to Illinois and has both moral and environmental implications. Perhaps his most controversial decision, would be Trump’s order to begin the construction of the border wall. This 1,900 mile wall would create a border between the U.S. and Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country. “The Wall” has serious consequences which have caused turmoil throughout the country. Though Trump has not been president for very long, the decisions that he has made thus far ensure for an impactful and memorable presidency.

Our New State Director

Twenty five years ago, at the young age of nine years old in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Drew’s journey in the Youth and Government program began. From a young age Drew strongly believed in the importance of service. Drew held high ranking positions prior to accepting the position of New York State Director of Youth Development and he participated in the Ohio alliance of YMCAs. As a student Drew volunteered at the Kentucky YMCA programs. He went on to work in the national civilian community core for a year and eventually was hired at the YMCA. Since his first day in the Youth and Government Program, Drew has sought out leadership opportunities. His ambition led him to leave Kentucky, home of the largest Youth and Government Program, because of his desire to expand other state’s Youth and Government programs. At the 2017 conference, Drew was committed to creating a respectful environment in a divisive political climate. By creating an environment where diverse opinions were welcomed Drew organized a club in which members can debate ideas and, despite varying opinions, remain friends. In spite of his outstanding accomplishments in such a limited amount of time, Drew’s attitude is one of humility. He expressed great respect for his predecessor, Mark Rutkowski, by acknowledging his achievements in his time as State director instead of promoting himself. One notable development in the 2017 conference accredited to Drew is the increase in the technological resources. Through his support of modern technology and modern media, Drew embraced the Press Corps by providing resources to expand creativity among the branch. Along with the introduction of advanced technology in the program, Drew recognizes the importance of promoting positivity. Drew believes that embracing the Y core values and avoiding temptations is the key to success, a concept he personally experienced. Furthermore, Drew recognizes the value of teaching young adults the significance of democracy by understanding generational differences and adapting to unique mindsets, communication methods, and rules. Drew hopes to empower the future leaders of this generation and ensure that they understand their high political efficacy. Though Drew has only completed one year holding the position of State Director of Youth Development, his recent modifications and dedication to New York State Youth and Government promise a prosperous future for our club and have made his first conference as State Director a success.

Trump Education Plan

One of Donald Trumps first acts as President of the United States was electing Betsy DeVos as the United States Secretary of Education. Their plan is to the defund the Education Department by 10% in order to fund a new nationwide school voucher program and to help increase defense-related spending. Devos said herself she will, “look for places to make cuts in the department.” This decrease will increase defense-related spending by $54 billion. Since these statements have been made, funding advocates have been watching Trump.

The current Education Department budget is $68 billion. If 10% cuts are made this will decrease it by about $6.8 billion. The cuts would affect Pell Grants ($22.5 billion), which supports low-income students attending college. It would also affect Title I ($14.9 billion) funding, which supports disadvantaged students. Noelle Ellerson Ng, the Associative Executive Director of the School Superintendents Association stated, “We are concerned that this administration will prioritize the protection of Title I students.” The cuts would also defund Individuals With Disabilities Education Act funds ($12.9 billion), which supports students in special education. All together, the budget reaches $50 billion, which is already 73% of the overall Education Departments total spending. The cuts will defund and first demolish smaller, but crucial programs such as Promise Neighborhoods ($73.3 million), The Education Innovation and Research Program ($120 million), and funding for state assessments ($378 million.)Public Charter Schools with strong systems would be able to provide opportunities for their students, however general public schools will possibly leave students vulnerable discriminatory practices, remove necessary civil rights protections, and severely decrease the public school funding.

Melania Trump is Rising in the Polls

Melania Trump, the new first lady, is moving up in the ranks. People are starting to love her and value all the efforts she has made thus far. To many people’s surprise, she is about one third ahead of her husband in the polls. One thing that caused controversy, but many people think is amazing, is the fact that she is living in New York City with her 10 year-old son, Barron Trump. Although this is controversial and not liked by all, this is a very loving and motherly thing to do and it goes against the norm of the actions taken by previous First Ladies of the United States. She is not living in the White House, but has definitely made many efforts to fulfill her duties and this is causing her poll ratings to rise. Now that the public has seen Melania doing things and has realized she is active, they are beginning to form an opinion on her and people are starting to realize they like her alot. Something that is happening is she stays out of her husband’s work with the administration which is very controversial. By staying out of these issues, people are at a loss to say negative things about Melania Trump. Also, she is gaining popularity from women through showing her support on International Women’s Day. On that day, she hosted a luncheon at the White House and this gained her a lot of popularity. She has also visited schools and has shown her eagerness to help the children of America with bullying prevention and how to deal with it. Melania is taking a very unique stance on her new position because she is supporting and branching out to all different groups. Previous First Ladies have focussed a lot on one issue/cause they care about and Melania Trump has stated her cause, but she is reaching out to many different groups. Her focus is on the prevention of bullying , but she has focussed on women, schools, her son, supporting her husband, and being respectable. Clearly she is doing a wonderful job because her rating are rising and we can expect them to continue rising if she remains doing what she is doing.

#By Elizabeth Gilbride

The Oscars

The 2017 Oscars began as a night of high hopes and great expectations. The movie musical La La Land led the pack with fourteen nominations and tied for the most Oscar nominations of all time with All About Eve and Titanic. Also, funnyman Jimmy Kimmel hosted and amused viewers with his silly antics and remarks. Some highlights included dropping candy from the ceiling for the guests, surprising a Hollywood tour bus group by bringing them into the Dolby Theatre, and of course, continuing his rivalry with actor and “mortal enemy” Matt Damon, which brought a lot of laughs from the audience. Justin Timberlake opened the show with a stellar performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from the animated film Trolls, which was nominated for Best Original Song.

A lot of exciting wins took place as well. Damien Chazelle became the youngest person to ever win Best Director for La La Land, and sound mixer Kevin O’Connell finally won for his work on Hacksaw Ridge after a stunning twenty one nominations. Emma Stone won Best Actress for La La Land, and Casey Affleck’s performance in Manchester by the Sea won him a Best Actor statue.

But the biggest moment of the night happened at the very end of the show. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, better known as Bonnie and Clyde, presented the final award of the night- Best Picture. As Beatty opened the envelope, he seemed a little confused, but Dunaway played it off as a joke and announced La La Land to be the winner. Being the favorite to win, cheers erupted from the audience and grins were found all across the stage, from Ryan Gosling to the movie’s producers. But in the middle of their acceptance speeches, stage managers appeared on the stage, and it was soon evident that something was wrong. Producer Jordan Horowitz announced that a mistake was made and the film Moonlight actually won. The audience was stunned and no one knew what happened or how to react. The La La Land crew was very gracious in giving away the award, and the Moonlight producers were as amazed as everyone else. As the show ended, Warren Beatty explained that when he opened the envelope, it said “Emma Stone: La La Land”, and that was why he gave such a long glance at Dunaway. But what actually happened? Turns out, two copies of each envelope are kept backstage for security reasons. Beatty and Dunaway were accidentally given the extra envelope for Best Actress instead of Best Picture, which is how the mistake was made. However, despite all the chaos the 2017 Academy Awards will go down as one of the most memorable Oscars of all time.

#By Jaclyn Burns

ISIS Strikes Again!

ISIS strikes again! Except now at least 30 are left dead. On the 8th of March at 7:51 A.M., gunmen conned as doctors spread terror all throughout Afghanistan, with just one single attack at the hospital of Sadar Mohammed Duad Khan, a military hospital. As 30 people were destined an instant death, 76 were injured. A suicide bomber exploded bombs, at the gate letting renegades disguised as doctors acquire entrance to the hospital. The gunmen resorted to shooting, igniting explosives, and combating security for hours as ways to spread harm to patients. Security sparred through 7 hours, fighting off the gunmen in an attempt to rescue the victims, managing to murder all 4 of the gunmen.

However it is uncertain if ISIS really executed the attack due to the fact that in the past ISIS declared responsibility for attacks that they were never involved in. ISIS took responsibility for their attack via twitter, nevertheless without any evidence.

The attack left authorities in a state of shock. According to Mark Toner, the state department acting spokesman, the attack targeted soldiers, the people who put their life in danger to protect the rest of the citizens which has no justification. President Ashraf Ghani chastised the attack as not an attack against the victims who were injured or murdered, it was an attack against all of the citizens of Afghanistan. As people of power were horrified of the actions taken place at the Sadar Mohammed Duad Khan hospital, actions were taken to substantiate who concocted the attack.

Thus as one of the many attacks that the taliban's conducted in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan government are demanding actions to prevent these attacks of terror.

#By Prethe Mohiuddin

No Child Left Behind

“No one should be marginalized by economic factors.” This year’s Service Learning Project has been one of the cleverest and most successful New York State Youth and Government has ever had. The goal: to help mend the gap in child illiteracy. Lieutenant Governor Sarah Mazzarella challenged all YAG members to help solve this problem by asking for each district to donate books to elementary schools to help children learn to read and to help minimize the gap.

Sarah’s interest in this project sparked from her passion for education and her belief in its importance. Sarah has been in Youth and Government as a legislator for four years, and has always created bills based around the advancing and fixing of education within New York State. This interest was formed by Sarah’s relationship to her mother--a teacher within her district. When asked why she chose this project, Sarah explained how many impoverished kids do not have the ability to buy books prior to school which puts them at a huge disadvantage when it comes to learning how to read and write. This project provided books for many schools and teachers who then placed them in their classroom libraries so that these kids can receive and catch up with the rest of their class.

Due to weather and texting complications Sarah didn’t know of the results of her project until the week of the conference. When she was told of her goal being nearly quadrupled with a total of around 3500 books Sarah was ecstatic. This excitement greatened when she was told of the amazing work District 5 had done. Upon hearing of this years service learning project, fellow YAG member Claudia Figeuroa put together a Day of Service at her local YMCA. The event was held on historic Martin Luther King jr. Day and her community contributed by providing food to donate to their local food pantry, many books, and even English to Spanish books for those kids who needed help learning one language or the other. Her District got together to host workshops to help these children too. The huge success of Claudia and her District led Sarah to believe that this Service Learning Project was different compared to those in the past.

When asked how this project would affect future generation Sarah states, “These book can’t touch every child but those they did will help them to close that literacy gap.” This project united not just Youth and Government but also YMCA communities--giving her hope that this project will continue to affect future generations to come. Sarah is extremely proud of the hard work everyone has put into this project and wishes the best of luck to the future of the Learning Service Project.

#By Nick Fitzgerald

Beauty and the Beast

In 1991, Walt Disney released the classic film Beauty and the Beast. Twenty six years later, Disney will release a reimagined version of the old classic. The film is directed by Bill Condon, starring Emma Watson, as Belle, and Dan Stevens as the Beast. Condon is known for films such as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2 and Making the Boys. Although the movie has not been released yet, it has already attracted much attention. The 90 second teaser trailer generated a record of 92 million views during its first day online, more than even the much awaited “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Advance ticket sales via Fandango have already outpaced those of Captain America: Civil War, which took in $179 million over its first three days. Though the new film is based off the old classic, it has been modernized and edited. The film is now live-action, meaning it is not animated, so characters, including Mrs. Potts, had to be reimagined. There is also an added depth to the film, such as what happened to Belle’s mother and more about why the prince got cursed. The film has received a 68% from Rotten Tomatoes, with 98% of people wanting to see it. If you are one of those 98% that would like to go see the movie, then you should be sure to attend the premier on March 17.

#By Olivia Tette

Wiretapping

The Origin of wiretapping started back in the 1890s as a tools for law enforcement but the United States Supreme Court did not establish it constitutionally until 1928. The first time wiretapping was used was to collect evidence on a bootlegger who home was wiretapped in order to collect the evidence needed for the investigation. When the bootlegger Roy Olmstead was convicted he told the United States Supreme Court that authorities have violated his civil rights and the court upheld his conviction.

In 1963 the United States Government's Attorney General Robert Kennedy the brother of President John F Kennedy authorized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to break into the home of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr. The agency planted bugs all over his home assuming he was linked to communism but ended up being removed in 1966. Also Richard Nixon approved a illegal wiretapping of four reporters and thirteen government officials in 1969 to find who was leaking out information to the press. Also in 1972 a grand jury indicted two Nixon aides for the burglary and illegal wiretapping of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the watergate hotel.

In 2016 the FBI Said that Obama's proposal won't expand their authority: any intercepts would need legal approval. There are many privacy advocates that may shriek, but as criminals turn to new technologies, those in law enforcement may have a greater license to tap into our now lives no matter where we are using our electronic device governments will always try to find a way in order to cover up the reason why they were wiretapping someone.

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