Wed, August 22nd, 2018.

Fishing in New Hampshire was not just an ordinary trip today. Zach Fahey was out with his dad and another angler hoping to catch a few striped bass and caught something more grand. They managed to capture footage on video of a humpback whale breaching the surface. “I'm surprised I kept the camera still,” the 28-year-old Massachusetts man told the New Hampshire Union Leader. “It kind of scared the crap out of me at first,” Fahey told The Boston Globe. “Once I realized what I was looking at, it was really cool.” The whale’s head was nearly the size of his entire boat from the video. Seeing the video makes me want to go out fishing to see what I might find.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018.

Isn't it hilarious and scary at the same time to spot a crocodile using a pool noddle? This past week In Florida, a crocodile had a little help and support swimming the canal in Key Largo. Many people who saw the pool noddle in the canal had a question about who was riding the noodle. A local resident, Victor Perez, looked a little closer and quickly realized it was a crocodile using the pool noddle. Typical Florida Tourist he said.

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

Tuesday, August 14th, 2018.

Firefox put out a new web browser that supports the newest internet security protocol. Last Friday, after years of making, The Internet Engineering Task Force has finally released its final version. This version has improved its security and increased its speed just a bit. What is so good about this is; Firefox is supporting the new standards right out of the box. TLS 1.2 had lots of sharing problems. It could get bogged down with so many bugs. It wasn't secured that much. But, TLS 1.3 is a different story. It's highly more SECURED for users.

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

Monday, August 13th, 2018.

Not every game gets a chance in China. Sometimes that might be a good thing with some horrible games coming out every month. But, I think the people should choose what they want to buy, not the government. "Monster Hunter: World" had its operating license canceled by Chinese regulators this past week. They didn't tell why it was canceled, which is typical of the Chinese government. Tencent is the company who created the game and their stock fell 2.4% in Hong Kong trading this morning. The company has already been struggling with stagnant PC game sales so this was a big blow. They were hoping to expand their WeGame platform with this game but it looks like that isn't going to happen now. Over a billion people in China can not buy their game. I know what you're thinking, maybe they shouldn't have made a game that depicts corpses and does mass killings to wild looking monsters. I kind of agree with that statement. But, I think the people should decide what games they want to buy and play.

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

Sunday, August 12th, 2018.

Nasa launched a space probe this morning and it's headed for the sun. I also learned that the sun is 93 million miles away from earth. It's hard to imagine something so far away being so bright. This space probe could be the first to ever touch the sun. Scientists say this has been 60 years in the making. The spacecraft is car-sized and will be on its mission for about 7 years. One of my dreams when I was younger was to work at Nasa. Writing about this today actually has brought back those dreams again. I wonder if an executive from Nasa will read this someday and hire me to help them with mission control?

Written by, Andy ~ PAS-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

Friday, July 30th, 2018.

The Air Force paid 16 million to help four of the Presidents Boeing 757s get an upgrade. Also, a company in Chicago was given a contract so that the interior elements for the twin engine Boeing 757s were fancied up too. There needed to be a place where the communications were in more of a useful surrounding. This remodeling plan was way better then spending another 4 billion on completely new planes.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

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.

Written by, Armando ~ PSM-801

Thursday, July 26th, 2018.

I'm glad I don't drink red wine. I might be glowing right now. The experts have declared that some red wine made between 2009 and 2012 could have been contaminated from the nuclear leaks in Japan during that time period. French nuclear physicists noticed the particles after testing 18 bottle of rose and cabernet sauvignon. The levels were lower in the rose wines then in the red wines. Imagine, "Hey honey, let's drink some wine, it's good for you and it will help us live longer". They did say the levels were extremely low but I'm staying away from drinking any of that stuff. The California Department of Public Health said in their statement, "There were no health and safety concerns to California residents". That is of course, until they go walking out in the night time. "WHAT IS THAT GLOW," someone says while walking on the other side of the street.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801

Saturday, July 21st, 2018.

Hey, if you didn't know. On the weekends I get to write more human interest type stories. So as I was searching for one this afternoon, I came across this story about a puppy with terminal cancer. It all began in a city up in the northeast called Toledo, in the state of Ohio. The dogs name is Cody, a beloved 10 year old. You see, Cody has a hard time eating his medicine so Alex Karcher, his master buys him cheeseburgers. They stopped by a Burger King everyday to help make his medication more enjoyable. This one particular day, the nice girl at the counter who heard about the story recognized the family and went and told her manager. The restaurant manager gave permission to give Cody FREE Cheeseburgers for the rest of his life at this restaurant. I like writing on the weekends so much. Politics does get exciting during the week but these types of stories are my favorite.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801

Friday, July 19th, 2018.

An owner of a company gave his worker his own car today, on his first day of work at that. I know it was somewhat of a publicity stunt on his part but I like it anyway. Here's what happened. A guy named Walter Carr had to be at work but his car broke down. So instead of making up an excuse, he left walking in the middle of the night. The place of business in Birmingham Alabama was 20 miles from his house and he didn't want to be late. A police officer saw him walking in the middle of the night and asked him where he was going. Impressed by his grit, the officer invited him to breakfast. A few days later, the owner of the company heard about what his new worker did and drove from Tennessee to meet him. When they saw each other face to face, the owner gave Walter the keys to his own 2014 Ford Escape. Totally awesome. I want to buy something from that business owner.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801

Tuesday, July 10th, 2018.

A 12 student youth soccer team and their coach had been trapped for more than two weeks in a cave in Thailand. I was scared for them. I am so happy to announce, "They Have Been Saved". All 12 boys have been rescued with the coach and are being carefully treated at the hospital. It took 19 divers, 3 navy seals, and a doctor to complete the tasks. There was over 1,000 people also involved and also many more volunteers. We do want to mention that 1 of the Volunteers did lose their life during the recue effort. He became unconscious while swimming under water. Their determination to rescue the coach and his team was unwavering. These people were willing to risk their own lives and it’s a miracle that they were successful. The coach deserves a lot of credit for being able to keep his team calm and under control. His studies to become a monk with their mediation methods came in handy. The coach of the soccer team is truly what you call a hero under pressure. When I found out today they all made it out, I couldn't wait to write this article.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801

Monday, July 2nd, 2018.

On the last day of 2017, a record 68.5 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes. That's the most ever in 1 year. Imagine, the total population of Texas is only 28.3 million. That means over twice as many people were displaced from their homes last year then the entire population of Texas, plus. All of the people displaced (2/3) mostly come from 5 different countries. Syria is first on that list followed by Afghanistan,  South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia. To solve this crisis there has to be a peace agreement made among these countries different factions. Most all of the countries listed are under Civil War or some sort of war distress. Right now, all hosting of these refugees is being done by developing countries. That means the refugees in general have better living conditions then they had in their home countries. But, over 90% of the refugees want to return to their home countries when the conflicts have been resolved.

Written by, Bernice ~ RAY-801