It’s been a busy week! Here is your round-up of top news stories you should know from 2/2/14 – 2/9/14:
Safety
Two separate wrecks caused by driving in the opposite direction of traffic flow killed 11 victims on Sunday morning in Tampa, FL and Pomona, CA. In Florida, a Ford Expedition on Interstate 275 in Tampa was going south in a north-bound lane and crashed into a Hyundai head on, as reported by Sgt. Steve Gaskins. All men were between ages 20 and 21. There were no survivors, with 5 pronounced dead. Similarly in Pomona, a driver going against traffic flow wrecked into two cars on Route 60. The driver was hospitalized and arrested on suspicion of DUI and manslaughter, while the other 6 people involved did not survive.
A broken storm water pipe from a retired power plant sent millions of gallons of coal ash into Dan River, the main supply of drinking water to many residential areas in North Carolina and Virginia. Government Officials have reported high levels of arsenic in the river, but claim that tap water is still OK to drink. According to CNN, environmental activists are not so sure, voicing worries about wildlife and the safety of the drinking water, while wanting the government to crack down more on Duke energy who have apologized and promised to fix any damage they have caused. Until further notice, officials have directed that no one has direct contact with the river.
Health
Heroin use has reached epidemic heights among young people between ages 15-24 in the U.S. According to the Center for Disease Control, drug poisoning death involving heroin increased 45% from 2006-2010. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the amount of heroin seized yearly at the Southwest border increased 232% from 2008-2012. CNN reports that after having spoken to families of those addicted to heroin, they believe the wide range of users makes it difficult to catch the addiction early on. Those affected span from all-star athletes to straight A students, and the treatment needed to break the addiction is long and weary, with expensive long-term treatment centers that are not always covered by insurance companies.
CNN reports 8.7 billion pounds of meat have been recalled in the U.S from the northern California company, Rancho Feeding Corporation. On Saturday, the Federal Agency announced claims that state the meat came from “diseased and unsound” animals that were not inspected properly. The meat was produced and shipped between January 1st and 7th.
Sports
Michael Sam, a 24 year old defensive lineman who recently graduated from Missouri has publicly made a statement that he is gay, making him the first to be publicly gay player in NFL history. He was named Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year in the Southeastern conference, and his teammates voted him Missouri’s Most Valuable Player. Despite having policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, the NFL has shown controversy on homosexuality throughout the years. The league was supportive though stating, “We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.” Mr. Sam remains focused on training and hopes for a bright future ahead of him.
The Winter Olympic games are being held in Sochi, Russia this year from February 7th to February 24th. Threats of Turkish hijacks and unsafe traveling on planes has security at an all-time high, which is nothing unusual for the Olympics. The New York Times has reported that 37,000 police and security officers have been hired for the games and on Thursday, there was a temporary ban on all liquids on flights from the U.S to Russia. Viewers hold high hopes for the games, as 50 billion dollars has been reported to have been spent on the event.
Social Media
Backlash to Coco-Cola’s ‘America the Beautiful’ Superbowl commercial exploded on Twitter as soon as it was aired. The commercial featured Americans of all different backgrounds singing “America the Beautiful” in a variety of languages, from English to Hindi to Arabic to Tagalog, to name a few. Coco-Cola meant the ad as a message of celebration of America’s most important asset – its diversity. Unfortunately, people took to Twitter to voice their anger and bitter animosity towards this message, as Huffington Post shows tweets such as “Well..I won’t be drinking #coke anymore. We speak English in the #USA. Get over it (Weaver).”
Facebook celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary on Tuesday, February 4th, by showcasing its biggest supporters – all of you. With the help of an automated tool, the company has created a personal video highlight of about a minute that recaps some of your most liked posts and an array of your photos throughout the year. Growing at an immense rate from a handful of college kids to 1.2 billion users, Facebook has boomed in popularity and continues to do so. To see your montage, go to Facebook/lookback and enjoy watching your journey on the web.
Have any opinions of what’s been going on this week? Let us know in the comment section below!