Brian and Nayelly/PSM-801-2.

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018.

I support sending humans to Mars. That is the only way we will ever know if we can exist there or not. I know they sent rovers there to see what the atmosphere is like etc. But, we need to send humans too. There was a big debate about just this topic with a Senate subcommittee just this week. One of NASA's former chief scientist, Ellen Stofan, who now leads the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, argued that, “If we truly want to find and understand any potential traces of ancient life on the Red Planet, robots can't do it alone — we'll need humans on the ground. While I'm optimistic that life did evolve on Mars, I'm not optimistic that it got very complex, so we're talking about finding fossil microbes. That's why I do think it will take humans on the planet, breaking open a lot of rocks to try to actually find this evidence of past life. And finding one sample is not good enough; you need multiple samples to understand the diversity," Stofan said.  I tell you what, I will be the first guy to suit up for that mission.

Friday, August 17th, 2018.

I guess were going have to wait until next year to watch the parade. It was scheduled for Veterans Day to commemorate the centennial of World War 1. The cost was going to be around $92 million which is $80 million more then predicted. Half of that would be spent only on security. James Mattis was stonewalling like he never heard of such a cost saying, "I have not seen an estimate of $92 million, the estimates are coming to me. I've given the initial guidance, but I have received no such estimate ... I haven't received an estimate of 10 million or 92 million." There was a big dust up all over the Washington D.C. area about these costs. On August 17th, Trump said in a series of tweets that he was canceling the parade intended as a tribute to the military because of the ballooning costs fueled by the demands of Washington, D.C. The tanks in the parade were also going to tear up the streets, and the Pentagon had agreed that only wheeled vehicles would participate. "The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it," Trump said in a tweet. Instead of watching a parade on Pennsylvania Avenue on Nov. 11, Trump said he would go to Paris to see the parade down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to mark the centennial of the end of World War I. Still others said there were more factors on the table. One of those factors was Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington. Go figure, a politician raining on our parade.

Tuesday, August 14th, 2018, PM.

Today, there were some interesting facts coming out about taxation. During the first 10 months of this fiscal year, 1 trillion 415 billion dollars came into the treasury department. That is a record. The 2017 total does not compare. Here is the kicker, we are running a 684 billion dollar deficit. This makes me believe that the politicians in Washington have a spending problem. I'm talking about all politicians, Democrats and Republicans. So here are 2 lessons we should learn from this information today. First lesson; Politicians don't care that we owe 21 trillion dollars because it's not real to them. They will spend as much as they need to win their next election. Second lesson; tax cuts increase the amount of revenue being brought into the treasury department. Lower taxes creates more earning power and the more people earn the more they will pay in taxes.

Saturday, August 4th, 2018, AM.

Japan has a new Peanuts Themed Hotel opening this month. It has amazingly created 18 different private rooms that each showcase a different comic. The hotel has 3 floors with 3 different themes, Imagine, Happy and Love. All over the hotel there are different illustrations and quotes from the series. They left no stone unturned. Even the bottles of shampoo have Snoopy's face on them. August 10th is Snoopy's birthday and that is the day of the Hotel's grand opening. There is a Peanuts Cafe and a Peanuts Diner too. All with deliciously named entrees and desserts like, Charlie Brown's Choco-Banana Baked Alaska. You might want to book your stay early. I'm sure it's going to be packed full of peanuts.

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2018, AM.

Back in 2010, Google turned down the chance to launch a Chinese search engine. Today, they say they might give it another go. The issue is that China wants them to adhere to their strict censorship laws. That's means no human rights searches, nothing about democracy, religion or peaceful protests. The programmers at Google have already shown an Android version to the Chinese government. Right now the Google website is blocked by what the Chinese call the, "Great Firewall". Right now there is a couple of Google apps available like Google Translate and Files Go. Google says they have made significant investments in the Chinese market. If this new joint venture comes together, that will mean Google has a tighter grip on world domination. Is there any company on earth who can match them? Maybe we can.

Tuesday, July 31st, 2018, AM.

Mars is going to be the biggest and brightest it's ever been tonight. All you have to do is go outside and look up and you'll probably find it. You can contact a planetarium or start your own star party. Mars will appear brightest from July 27 to July 30 and the closest approach is July 31st, 2018. That is the point date in Mars' orbit when it comes closest to Earth. Mars will be at a distance of 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers). Mars reaches its highest point around midnight -- about 35 degrees above the southern horizon, or one third of the distance between the horizon and overhead. Mars will be visible for much of the night so don't miss it. By mid-August, Mars will become fainter as Mars and Earth travel farther away from each other. The next closest day will be October 6th, 2020 if you miss this one.

Sunday, July 29th, 2018.

Friday was the 65th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement that resulted in a cease-fire to the 1950-1953 war. Last month, when Trump met with the North Korean leader, they agreed to bring some of our dead solders remains back to the U.S. A source told Yonhap, "North Korea recently took two truckloads of wooden boxes to be used for the remains repatriation. It’s expected to hand over the remains on July 27 as agreed upon". The remains will be airlifted to a forensic lab in Hawaii. Many families across the U.S. are waiting in anticipation to see if this really happens. Some saw their loved ones the last time the day they shipped off to fight in the Korean War. To have their remains back would be wonderful for those families. I hope the North Korean leader follows through on his promise.

Saturday, July 28th, 2018, PM.

Look around the richest homes in the world and you'll find shark tanks. Yes, I mean live sharks in your home is a possibility. Some people have a phobia over sharks. Like they can't even go swimming in the ocean. But if you don't and you are super rich, you can put a shark tank in your house. It will set you back at least $15,000 and costs up into the millions in some cases. They are really hard to maintain because the water. Sharks are finicky water swimmers. It's legal to own many different kinds of sharks. But, there is one you can't own, the Great White. Imagine if you had a great white and the glass broke on your tank. AAAHHHHH.

Saturday, July 28th, 2018, AM.

How would you like to sleep with a mountain lion? Cuddling might not end too well. There was a lady in Ashland, Oregon who came home and found a big cat sleeping behind her sofa. The mountain lion continued to sleep there for about 6 more hours. She thinks the cat was drinking from her pond in the backyard. Then maybe it entered her house from an open back door. She posted the ordeal on Facebook and it had over 17,000 reactions and shares. "This is wild," she wrote. "The door was open and the room has huge plants and stairs built around real tree branches, so she likely didn't even realize she was walking indoors until she was inside." The lady then used a drum to encourage the lion to go home.

Friday, July 27th, 2018.

Disney announced today they were getting rid of single-use plastic straws and plastic stirrers. This includes all of their parks across the globe. Annually, it will reduce more then 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers. Along with these changes, they said there are many more on the way. The official announcement says, "Today’s announcement is more than about reducing single-use plastic waste, it’s also about showing millions of kids and adults from around the world the many ways we can change our daily habits to care for the oceans and protect nature that sustains us all". I think all of the changes are great for the world. They're leading the way and many other companies will follow suit. As I am getting older, I am starting to care about more things that help the environment. This job has also helped me think about other kids more. I notice myself thinking about inspiring kids with my drawings. It makes me feel good.

Wednesday, July 25th, 2018, PM.

Trump needs a vacation. Not just for himself but for everyone on earth. Every day there is so much chatter. He Tweets every hour on the hour practically and I don't even like politics. I am paying attention now because I’m a journalist. I like to be informed more then ever. However, I do suggest that during the month of August, he just go relax. All of the Presidents in the past like to hang out on Martha Vineyards' at the end of the summer. That's in the far northeast if you’re not familiar. I think that’ll be the perfect spot for him. Play a little golf. Eat a little ice cream. But please for everyone, stop the Tweeting, lol.