Naked man eats the face off of a homeless man

Naked man eats the face off of a homeless man

By Callen Guillory

on May 26, policemen rush to the scene of a man having his face eaten off by a naked man. The Police say the crime was one of the gory things they have ever seen. The crime is being seen as a zombie attack

The attacker ("zombie")

Police investigators are learning more and more trying to figure what caused this. Law enforcement believes it was caused by “Bath Salts”. The victim, Ronald Poppo was gruesomely attacked by Rudy Eugene in a crime that was so extreme America was completely shocked. The attack is still being researched and they come up with a few conclusions. One is that “bath salts”(Bath salts are a form of LSD which is a hallucinatory drug) somehow caused him to think the man needed to have his face eaten. Second is that the person had a sort of disease that caused him to do it and that the disease is easily spread through a bite. This is know well as a “zombie”. Zombies are supposedly “undead” or just extremely diseased causing them to uncontrollably bite humans and spread the disease through the bite. Horror movies portray  zombies as undead people who want to eat human brains. The other variable was that he might have been on some sort of drug like LSD.

The homeless man (victim)

            Police are saying that the there was “blood all over the place” and that he wouldn’t get off the other man. The police then had to shoot the man repeatedly in order to make him stop biting and eventually made him die. The man was left there laying on the sidewalk with “bones sticking out” and sounded like something that was “out of a horror movie”. The victim had about 75% torn off.

           The cause is still unknown, but will soon be discovered as the police continue to investigate. Some Doctors are saying that the man was probably suffering from cocaine psychosis which causes people to bake internally and try to take off their clothes to cool off. Bath salts which are supposed to help clean the body and improve the experience of bathing have been said to have caused the incident, but why would that be? Well Scientists and Doctors both agree that bath salts are very similar to LSD, ecstasy, PCP. There are a lot of reports of bath salts causing hallucinations, suicidal thoughts and death. People have been reported snorting, smoking, and even injecting it. There have been almost 500 calls to poison control centers about consumption of bath salts. There have been reports of a man consuming bath salts and then cutting himself in the face and buttox using his skinning knife. The man could have eaten the man’s face not in a delusional uncontrolled way, but to suicide by eating the man’s face just to get shot.

           Zombies have been a phenomenon around the world serving for entertainment purposes like                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     video games and horror movies. Some movies like Zombieland or even comedies. The whole idea of Zombies was that a single virus was somehow made and then spread to a body so that he/she would be forced mentally to bite other humans and spread the disease. This would then cause a chain reaction where the person who was bitten bites another person and that person bites someone else, ext. This leads to masses of zombies and then to a worldwide apocalypse according to many of the entertainment sources. Zombies main goal is to eat human flesh or brains.

Word Count: 598

Worst School Expierences

Music for the Ears

by Heather Barren

With summer coming up, music is going to start blaring from cars in the hot sun. It’s interesting to hear other people’s taste in music, and not many people have the same tastes. Some are into alternative, others are pop, and another is hard rock. With artists becoming popular in the summer months, music is increasing with more songs. The music artists are becoming stranger and stranger(see; Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj) It’s interesting to see the change from pop years back, to now, with more listeners than ever before.

In a poll conducted with the 7th grade class of Media Lit about favorite bands, the diversity in music tastes is simply obvious. With 2 people loving the new English boy band One Direction, there are still 3 people who go for Coldplay anytime. “I like their songs and they are funny!” Megan Brock says about 1D. The bands #1 hit “What Makes You Beautiful’ skyrocketed and caused many teenage girls to fall in love with 5 boys. Rock is still around though, with bands like Metallica and Slayer getting attention. The Strokes and Maroon 5 are getting love too.

“They are amazing and I will love Adam Levine forever!” Bailey Profitt of Media Lit 7 tells. A strong diversity brings attention. Bands less popular are still being listened to by the newest generation. Bands that have been around for years seem to be a taking a pop culture twist, and becoming odder and odder. Katy Perry, for example, has quickly copied the crazy style similar to Lady GaGa. Pop slowly is becoming a widespread genre around the globe, and the culture is taking amazing twists from former years.

    “I can relate to their songs, and they are like personal songs to me.” Sean Van Dyke tells me. Songs about heartbreak and break ups are becoming more and more popular with those who are going through the same problems. It isn’t uncommon to have fans who relate wholeheartedly to the songs. Adele, for example, sings about heartbreak and betrayal, and she is very popular and loved today.

    “I can relate to them, and they are original,’ Julia says. “They don’t just copy off of everyone else’s songs, you know? And they are catchy so they get stuck in your head!” It doesn’t matter how bad they can be, lyrics wise or beat wise, songs will be played if they get stuck in someone’s head. It’s natural to replay a catchy tune in your head.

    Music can bring people together, and it is listened to by many. “The harmonious nature of it, the emotional impact because of it, and the best of it is the passionality of it all.” DJ Tremor Elder says. It’s interesting to see the differents takes on music culture today, and to hear the different sides of each opinion. Music itself has changed dramatically in the past years, and whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, is really up to each individual listener.

Word Count: 500

Video games proven to make kids violent

 Video games proven to make kids violent

By: Briana Keo-Williams and Mallory Hoffbeck

All over the world, every day, kids as young as eight years old log onto a violent video game of choice. either on a console or on the internet. Why? You may ask for many reasons such as being curious, fun, or just doing what all the other kids are doing. But should we encourage them?

”Playing violent video games probably will not turn your child into a psychopathic killer, but I would want to know how the child treats his or her parents, how they treat their siblings, and how much compassion they have.”

- Brad Bushman, social psychologist, The Ohio State University

         In an interview with Julia Kavalieros, she said that young children shouldn’t be playing video games because “It could change their attitude and view on life and has a bad influence.” Sean Vandyke supported violence in video games by saying “No, it [playing violent games] lets out your steam and anger.”

Many people think that violent video games are a good way for kids to unleash their anger on characters in the game, instead of on people around them. It’s true that these games can relax some kids, but others act just the opposite. In a classroom poll over 95% of students said that they were actually for violent video games and 5% had no interest in the topic.

It’s not just boys who play these games, more and more these days girls are signing up and joining, some girls just want to prove they can do anything a boy can. Constantly, a new internet video pops up with kids lining up at gamestop (or any other video game shop) to bring it home the newest game. Many parents are happy to provide payment for their children's video games, and some have the child pay for it with allowance money. Kids do learn responsibility from money saving, but are these games really a way to teach them to make good choices?  “ I believe it makes them prone to violence. It doesn’t make them act violent, it exposes them and desensitizes them.” says Walter Williams, a Stoller Middle School parent.

Even without parent consent kids still seem to get their hands on them. Some by their friends, some by their older siblings. There are also free ones available on the internet. It’s easy these days for a young child to go onto the internet, lie about their age, and gain access to video games that may contain violence or adult content.

There are some positive effects of video games, such as improving  a player's hand eye coordination. However, studies have shown that there are many negative results of playing them such as:

○     They make kids tend to be more aggressive.

○     They make kids more prone to confrontation with their teachers.

○     Kids may engage in fights with their fellow students.

○     They can teach kids that violence is okay, which can make them think it’s fine to be rough with their siblings.

Even if children aren’t being influenced to be violent, studies have shown that too much screen time makes children irritable, easily annoyed or emotionally numb. One hour of violent video games won’t turn you into an evil mastermind, and even if you play it excessively you won’t take over the world, but they still influence kids in many wrong ways. Some of them include bad social skills, lowered grades in school, and reading less. The more serious consequences of children playing violent video games are decreased exercise and aggressive actions and thoughts. Kids also want to spend time with their friends and family. These of course are only effects of excessive playing of these violent video games. Most children who play them don’t experience anything like these effects.

There are many websites like which provide suggestions for parents whose kids play violent video games such as the following:

○     Checking the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings to learn about the game’s content.

○     Selecting appropriate games—both in content and level of development.

○     Playing video games with their children to experience the game’s content.

○     Setting clear rules about game content and playing time, both in and outside of your home.

○     Strongly warning children about potential serious dangers of Internet contacts and relationships while playing games online.

○     Talking with other parents about your family’s video game rules.

○     Remembering that you are a role model for your children – including video games you play as an adult.

It may seem like everybody is against violent video games, but a great deal of people(mostly students) support them. Stoller students such as Sergio Mendez, Kristina Mokolla,Bailey Profit, and Sean Vandyke said they were for children playing them. “It doesn’t make them violent” says Kristina Mokalla, “It’s just a game.” Bailey Profit said that she plays violent video games, but she wouldn’t let her younger brother play them because he’s too young. “They’re fun. But my brother is crazy because of them.” She means that her brother is influenced highly by video games.

The video games we have today aren’t all violent and gory. There are many educational games that feature learning. They may be fun, but screen time in general(TV, computer, video games, phones) are not an ideal pastime for young children. Games in the future may be more violent than ones today, or they may not be. As graphics get more advanced, more people get interested in them. Hopefully children in the future will be less interested in video games and go read a book.

word count: 1002

concussions within the NFL

Concussions within the NFL

         There is a new article on ESPN news that a former NFL player has divorced his wife, has memory loss, and is going to a psychologist because he is now having suicidal thoughts. This is also happening to other former and current players that have had career ending injuries due to concussions. I have went and interviewed other people to see what their thoughts were about the article and the problem going on. First, I talked to Graham Isaak. Graham said that he thinks the NFL and the trainers need to be more careful and helpful in situations of hard hits and collisions. Graham also said that if the NFL would take more care of the players when they take hard hits, it could have prevented some of the losses of NFL greats like Junior Seau who committed suicide. This also shows that Junior Seau and other former players have tried to commit suicide before it actually happens. Some of the players said that they are just having suicidal thoughts, and some of them are saying that they are having to deal with suicidal actions. So if the NFL knows that this is happening, why are they not standing up and saying that they need to treat concussions with more care? The next person that I interviewed was Jake Daniel. Jake said that they also need to treat the players with much more care than they do now, and that they need to put in more effort as the National Football League's (NFL) job. Jake also said that ‘ Look at the players that have been severely hurt, and killed. Look at the players that have memory loss, or that get in divorces Jake also said, this could have been prevented from happening, it is the NFL’s job to step up and take more time, effort, and care for all of the players right now, and even some of the retired players that are in need for benefits to pay for their medical and health bills. There have been a total of 36 players in lawsuits against the NFL. Every last player that was in the lawsuits had something wrong with them due to concussions. Some players had memory loss, some had gotten in divorces with their wives, some were complaining that they have severe migraines every week. This can be prevented said one of the players in the lawsuit. There just needs to be more time ut in to helping some of the hits and concussions. Another player said that as a league, they need to put in more effort because players lives are on the line. One of the lawyers said that they agree that the NFL has to make sure all players with a concussion should be treated with more care. That same lawyer said that there should be a concussion test before, during and after a concussion because some players have concussions and do not even know it. From all of the sides of this problem, they all agree that the NFL needs to take more care for players that are hurt and have taken hard hits. This can also refer to having a concussion. One thing that all of the sides agreed on was that they need to run more concussion tests. Players that have a concussion should not be cleared to play, or be on the field former players say, because it can still be a danger if they are not paying attention. All sides agreed to put a concussion test before, during, and after a concussion to ensure a player's safety.

Word Count: 612

By Jared Reed Period 5

From Hero to Zero Eric Patterson

From Hero to Zero

Eric Patterson

The LA Galaxy Logo

The LA Galaxy have taken a drastic turn for the worse this season. The LA Galaxy won the MLS Cup in 2011 1-0 over the Houston Dynamos. In their 2011 season, the Galaxy had a very good record. In their 48 games they won 28 games, lost only 9, and tied 11. The Galaxy had the most points of all the MLS teams with 67 points (3 points are earned for a win, 1 point is earned for a draw, and none are earned with a loss). They had a +20 goal differential, (they scored 20 more goals than they gave up) while Houston had only a +4 goal differential. The LA Galaxy also have some star players on their team which lead them to their victory.

Both Landon Donovan and David Beckham play for the LA Galaxy. Landon Donovan has won three MLS Cups in his career. Landon Donovan plays for the US Men’s National Team, which only the best 23 players in the US can be part of. David Beckham is also a star player that has always been an essential part of the LA Galaxy team. If you have every heard of the soccer saying “bend it like Beckham” it comes from David Beckham’s great ability to curve the ball very well, especially on corner kicks. Robbie Keane is another huge player for the Galaxy. He leads the team in scoring with 3 goals on the season, both Donovan and Beckham have 2 goals on the season.

Although it seems as if the LA Galaxy have the recipe for success with great players, and having just won the MLS Cup, they are struggling badly in the 2012 season. The LA Galaxy are in last place in the Western Conference. There are nine teams in the conference, and the Galaxy are in ninth place. They have currently played 13 games, but have only managed to win three of the games. They have tied in two games and lost in the eight other games of the season. Including the Eastern Conference, adding ten more teams, the Galaxy are still third from the worst. It is clear that the Galaxy have truly gone from the best to the worst. The big question is why the Galaxy have made this horrible transition into the bottom of the league.

David Beckham (left) and Landon Donovan (right)

One reason is that both Landon Donovan and David Beckham are both out of their prime when it comes to their ages. Landon Donovan is 30 years old, which is past his soccer playing prime. David Beckham is 37 years old, this is likely limiting to his ability to play. There honestly are no other obvious reasons for the LA galaxy to be struggling so badly. 80% of surveyed people said it is surprising that the LA galaxy have been doing so poorly after their great 2011 season. Ryan Kister and Jaume Martinez-Calvo both say that the LA Galaxy should have managed to pull out more wins than the three that they currently have. They have taken a surprising turn for the worse, and it will take work to undo the damage.

Portland Robberies: Number Increasing Fast

Everyone has heard of a robbery at some point in their life, on the news or just by talking to people. It’s a very scary thing to hear about, especially if you live close by the “crime scene”. We asked some 7th grade students from Stoller Middle School if they had heard of any robberies locally, or near them at all. Grace Mercer said, “Yes, and they are increasing.” We asked Alexis Taylor why she thinks they are increasing, and her response was, “I just think people don’t have enough money to support themselves, so they go and steal from others.” There seems to be an unusual increase of robberies in Portland, Oregon, especially right here in the neighborhoods by Stoller Middle School! We both (Alexa and Anjali) have heard of a couple minor cases in our neighborhoods, and or suspicions are rising. There have been car robberies and house robberies both. Police are trying to track down the robbers, and people are being alot more cautious now. They are making sure to lock the doors and windows at night, and during the day, to protect their family and themselves. But, that isn’t always enough.

This is what Brian Kim answered when we asked him why Portland robberies are increasing, “Because Portland isn’t the greatest place and the economy is kind of bad. I think my neighbor got robbed about a week ago.” But some people have different answers, for example Maddie Muhlheim says “I think they stayed the same because I haven’t heard of any lately.” So it could just depend on where you live and if you watch the news or not. We asked Maddie why she didn’t think they were increasing and she said, “Because we have better technology now like alarms/security systems.” She is right too, we do have a lot more to protect our houses and cars with. But people don't always remember to turn on their alarms, and sometimes don't even bother to use them at all, ever. This could be a reason why robberies have been increasing lately. With all the stress and time with work and kids, people just forget to do simple things like lock their doors and turn on their security alarms. The economy is bad right now, so more people have lost jobs and are trying to find ways to support them and their family. In some cases, people take drugs to relieve their stress. This takes over their decision making and they do things that they would regret. But at the time, the only thing on their mind is to close their debt, so they might steal from others because they are so desperate and drugs are controling their minds.

Portland police are trying very hard to stop robberies and bust the criminals. In this case, they did catch the two men that robbed a house in North Portland. 47 year old Derek R. Lukovich and 36 year old Jeremiah Paul Rountree were arrested for breaking into a house and assaulting a man and a woman and demanding marijuana. Police say that both men had handguns. They were arrested for a first degree robbery, first degree burglary, second degree robbery, and second degree assault and other charges. Both are being held on $805,000 bail in the Multnomah County Jail.

A case where the police do not catch the robbers is when a couple who lives off of West Union road got robbed of 50,000 worth of jewelry. KPTV reported that the stolen items that belonged to Cindy and Manus Poonyagariyagorn include a diamond necklace, many gold bracelets, and Cindy’s wedding ring and a charm bracelet her mother gave her when she was born. “So they took away part of my history,” she told the station. Police have been trying to track down the robbers but have had no luck in finding them.

In this robbery, they haven’t caught the people yet, but they have a suspect that they are almost positive about. It happened on Monday, well actually they happened on Monday. There were two armed robberies and the police are suspecting the same guy. The first one happened at the Astro Gas Station in Southeast Portland. The victim told police that two suspects entered the business and one was armed with a handgun. The gunman hit the victim in the head with his weapon and stole an unknown amount of cash from the register. Then later that day, police went to another robbery in Southeast Portland at Max Mart and Deli. The victim told police that two suspects entered the business and one was armed with a handgun. The suspect armed with the handgun punched the clerk, causing small injuries, while the other stole another unknown amount of cash from the register. Both ties the suspects left the area just by foot. People searched the neighborhood both times but the suspects could never be found. Police have an idea of what the suspect looks like and they are working on finding him.

This is a big wakeup call to our community. The fact that there have been more and more robberies lately, could mean many things, like robbers have come up with smarter and sneakier ways to steal, or that more people think it’s okay to steal stuff from other people. Recent articles on Pennlive.com have stated that one trick that the robbers use is that they dress up as a salesperson and ring your doorbell. It may seem like they are trying to sell you their product, but they are looking for ways to break into your house. Robbers can be very tricky, so if you don’t be careful, you can get yourself into a heap of trouble. If people want to live in a good community then they should step up and try to stop the people that do bad things, instead of waiting for the people to get caught. There’s a lot you can do, like report to the police any suspicious activity and not leave valuable things unprotected so people could easily take it. This should stop the robbers from having things to rob and it might even get them caught.

So next time you leave your house or car to go somewhere, lock the doors, and don't leave valuables in plain sight. These simple everyday rules, if followed, will make a big difference. It really isn’t right for people to take things that aren’t theirs, but under some circumstances, they feel the need to do it anyway. So take action and protect what is yours, before you lose it for good.
 
By: Alexa Kerprich and Anjali Panikar
Word Count: 1,106

Aakash Kurse


Word Count: 582

Liberian President Charles Taylor Found Guilty of War Crimes

Guilty of funding an extremely bloody decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone during his presidency, Charles Taylor has been sentenced to a 50 year prison term.

Charles Taylor, a revolutionary and a warlord has been convicted and sentenced for 50 years in prison because of war crimes during his presidency. He was accused of funding a violent extremist group known and the Revolutionary United Front, a faction that was against the government in Sierra Leone. This group killed 400,000 people during the course of the Sierra Leone civil war and was responsible for using blood diamonds to get weapons and ammunition. He also was responsible for conscripting children into his army.

During the course of Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war Charles Taylor, the President of neighboring Liberia has been accused and convicted of funding the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a malevolent faction during the civil war. In addition to his supporting the RUF, he gave them weapons and ammunition in return blood diamonds (diamonds illegally mined during wartime). He was also partially responsible for the deaths 400,000 people in Sierra Leone. The RUF was one of the factions present and fighting in Sierra Leone ‘s bloody civil war. This faction was responsible for the deaths of many and also was known raping and hacking limbs off of children, and the elderly. Charles Taylor was only jailed and convicted for his crimes in Sierra Leone, this lead to some outrage from Liberians who had firsthand experience of the NPFL’s (National Patriotic Front of Liberia) cruelty. While Charles Taylor was still a rebel against his government his men were accused of raping children and pillaging his own people.According the Mrs.Rarick this is an “atrocity” and the conscription of children is a “sickening act”..

When Taylor’s sentence had been declared some of the Liberians who had served under Taylor during Liberia’s civil war were humiliated that their leader would be sent to prison His name has also been spit on by some of his own people due to the crimes he committed in his attempt to gain power in his own country. During his revolution against the Liberian dictator Samuel Doe, Taylor the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) an anti-government faction, one known for its extreme violence became one of the first African militant groups to press children at the age of 10 into frontline service. Although Taylor was elected president by his war-weary people in 1997, his election did nothing to stop the suffering or violent aftershocks suffered by the 3.3 million he was responsible for.

Two years after his election another civil conflict broke out, this time against Taylor’s leadership. The rebels ended up winning the conflict when Taylor fled to Nigeria in 2003. The Nigerians turned in Taylor in 2006 after requests from the UN. During his trial in The Hague Taylor was accused of 11 war crimes involving rape, murder, conscripting child soldiers, enslavement and pillaging. He denied all the crimes he was accused of committing. He was convicted of his crimes and sentenced to 50 years in prison. For some however, this sentence was not enough according to David Bemis “Taylor should be given a death sentence and his assets given to the conscripted children or their families.” Many Americans also believe that Taylor should have received the 80 year sentence, in a poll of 10 people 90% wanted Taylor to have the 80 year sentence.




Former Liberian President Charles Taylor



Liberia

 
Images courtesy of: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02220/Charles-Taylor_2220622b.jpg and http://www.state.gov/cms_images/liberia_map_2007-worldfactbook.jpg

What is Parkinson's Really?

This is a type of Laser Cane that Parkinson's
patients use to help their walking.

             What is Parkinson's really?  

By: Dulce Sanabria       

Many people may have heard about Parkinson’s disease, but do they really know what it is exactly? Most people know that it is a disease that affects the brain, mostly in elderly people. That's what most of my interviewees said. That was the first thing that came to their minds. Also, most of them remembered that one of the symptoms was shaking. All of those answers are true but, I didn't get much of any other details.

The knowledge of an average person over Parkinson’s is that it mostly stirs up in older people and that it affects their brain. Yes, this is a brain disorder and normally develops in people over age 50. In rare cases, Parkinson’s may  develop in children or younger family members. These cases mostly happen when the disease runs in the family though. What many people don't know, is the cause of this disease. Brain nerve cells use dopamine, a brain chemical, to help with the controlment of muscle movement. Parkinson’s starts developing when the brain cells that make the chemical start to slowly die away. We know the cause of Parkinson’s, loss of dopamine, but we are still quite unsure why those cells are destroyed. Sending messages without dopamine becomes hard and the brain loses control of muscle movements creating any kind of movement stiff.

These dogs are specially trained service
dogs to help Parkinson's patients in case of an accident..

Stiffness of movement is only one of the many symptoms and difficulties of a Parkinson’s patient. Many people with this disease have difficulty walking and keeping their balance. Also, they may have many muscle aches and pains, because of the movement dysfunction and may have trouble starting, continuing or stopping a movement. Tremors, or shaking, is also a symptom. According to an article I found on The National Institutes of Health website, it states: “Shaking , called tremors... May be worse when tired, excited, or stressed.” Speech is also affected by this disorder. Speaking may be slow and quiet. The patients may also suffer from memory loss.

To this day, there is not a cure for Parkinson’s. But there is treatment to control it.This treatment works by increasing the amount of dopamine in the brain. Hallucinations, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are side effects of the medication though. Also, with time some of the symptoms may stop responding to the treatment. Some lifestyle changes may help with the health of a patient with this disease. In general, good nutrition and health are important. Adjusting exercise to accommodate the change in energy levels is crucial too. Rest periods to avoid stress will help control symptoms.Another way of controlling symptoms are taking therapies. Speech therapy will help with the speaking slowness and physical therapy will help with muscle movement.

Many people have this disease. “My uncle has it”, Karina shah stated once I asked her if any of her family members or friends had the disease. Alexa Morales said, “Yes, my neighbor.” Liset Morales and Sadia Hasan both said they had a teacher with Parkinson’s. Yet, all of them had trouble figuring out what system Parkinson’s disease affected, Which is the nervous system, and the cause of developing it. Hopefully, more people will realize what Parkinson’s really is and help people suffering from it.

Experience or Talent of the Team?

Experience or Talent of the Team?

The "Big 3"

Many believe that a team only needs talent to make it through the NBA finals, while others believe that without the experience, they cannot make it through. With the Eastern Conference Finals coming to a close soon, will the team with the “Big 3” or the team with the most experience carry on to the next round?

With the NBA finals just around the corner, the Eastern Conference finals could not be more intense. “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach.” Ever since LeBron James made that decision in July of 2010, Miami fans know that they are bound to win a championship sooner or later with the ‘Big 3”. Defeating the New York Knicks, 4-1, in the first round of the playoffs showed the Miami Heat’s determination to go far in the playoffs. Losing one of their star players due to an abdominal strain in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was a major setback for the team. Many believed that the Miami Heat would not proceed to the next round after losing Chris Bosh. There was lack of communication and Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were not playing like their normal selves. Finally, the Heat returned to their old selves, passing the ball, making free throws, playing with determination and showing that they were not going down without a fight. They entered the Eastern Conference finals with a 4-2 win over the Indiana Pacers. With the series tied at 2-2 against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, the idea of Chris Bosh playing in Game 5 is exactly what Miami needs.

The Boston Celtics entered the playoffs strongly with 39 wins and 27 losses in the regular season. The Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 4-2, in the first round of the playoffs, but they had a tough series with the Philadelphia 76’ers. Their hard work and teamwork helped them defeat the 76’ers with a 4-3 win in the series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals where they would play against the Miami Heat. The team has been doing really well as a whole with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rando and Ray Allen. Now there has been talk about Kevin Garnett’s age and whether his time is coming to an end, but by the looks of it, he’s determined to take his team to the finals. He’s minutes have increased in the playoffs and he’s been averaging more points per game than he was in the regular season. “Age does not matter for KG. He’s still shooting and has skill,” says Jared Reed.

“Wade and LeBron can play really well together and are impossible to stop when they are focused,” says Reed. But is the talent of the team all that’s needed to make it through the finals or is experience a bigger factor in winning the finals?  “You have to know how it feels like to be in the finals and to have won a championship. You have to be comfortable with it,” says Reed. Wade, Bosh, and James may have the skill, but do the Boston Celtics have more experience? Both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have entered the playoffs twice in their NBA career and Wade has one ring while LeBron is still working hard for his first one. Both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have one championship ring, but have entered the finals numerous times. With the NBA finals date set for Wednesday June 13, we’ll just have to wait and see for which team will take their talent to face off against the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Boston Celtics NBA Championship ring.

Maryam Rezaie

Word Count: 603

Credits to NBA.com

Woman Attacked by Kangaroo After Being Followed for 2 Days

Woman Attacked by Kangaroo After Being Followed for 2 Days



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This is an eastern gray kangaroo that are known for attacking humans.



By: Kristina Mokalla

Kirrily McWilliams was attacked by an angry kangaroo at her home in New South Wales on Tues., May 29. The kangaroo had no reason for attacking her and her family.

She was attacked by the kangaroo walking to her car to pick up her daughter from school when the kangaroo attacked her.



Everyone thinks of a kangaroo as a cute animal from Australia. This female eastern gray kangaroo is a type of species that is one of the larger types of kangaroos. The eastern gray kangaroo can run up to 35 m.p.h. and can jump more than 25 ft. in one jump.

Kirrily McWilliams was lucky that she had two layers of clothing on otherwise her wound could have been worse. She said that there was cool weather. If it was in the hot of hot summer and she was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that would not help much.

The first day the kangaroo was outside her home wildlife officials told her to ignore the kangaroo and it would move on.

The kangaroo did not move on. The next day the kangaroo attacked the family's 143-pound dog.

The day after the kangaroo attacked their dog, McWilliams was walking to her car to pick up her daughter from school when she saw the kangaroo. The kangaroo was coming towards her ready to attack. She curled into a ball on the ground.



This species of kangaroo can run up tp 35 m.p.h.,
jump longer than 25 feet and can reach up to 8 feet.



She said, “If you stand and confront them, they can easily tear you apart because that's what they do to each other.”

The kangaroo attacked and it left her a 12-inch scar.

McWilliams said, “I have three children and it could have been one of them.”




Natalie Luquin says she would, “try to kick it, punch it or hit it and try to avoid its feet. And hit it repeatedly.”




While she was in the hospital recovering from her wounds the kangaroo tried to attack her husband, Mr. McWilliams. Luckily, he grabbed a shovel to keep the kangaroo at a distance from him to get into his house.

Briana Keo-Williams response to if the husband should’ve killed the kangaroo when he had the chance with the shovel was, “Yes, it was hurting his family.” Other people would say that he should not have killed the kangaroo due to animal rights.

It took the kangaroo to endanger their family for the NPWS to do anything about the animal. After the kangaroo attacked Mr. McWilliams there was a 48-hour permit to kill the kangaroo but it disappeared.

People said that they would feel safe living there because it was just one kangaroo. Such as Mallory Hoffbeck that said, “it’s just one kangaroo.”

It’s been known that that the best tactic if you ever run into a kangaroo about to attack you and there’s nowhere to run you should roll to the ground. Libby G. said if she was about to be attacked by the kangaroo like the McWilliams she would, “run and jump and hide into the nearest building.” Mrs. McWilliams did the best thing she could do in her situation.

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Sources: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-says-kangaroo-stalked-her-two-days-attacking-174747580.html