Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Israel decriminalizes marijuana

Riley Brennan
Features and A&E editor

Israel, a country leading the world in medical marijuana research, has decriminalized the recreational use of marijuana. Rather than continue to arrest and prosecute individuals caught with the drug, they are going to fine people. However, those caught growing or selling the drug will be arrested.
 Israel already legalized medical marijuana, and according to the Prime Minister Ayelet Shaked,  "Israel cannot shut its eyes to the changes being made across the world in respect to marijuana consumption and its effects.”
 There are a recorded 25,000 people who have a license to use medical marijuana, with more to come, and only 188 arrests for the use of it recreationally this past year, which is a 56 percent drop from 2010. The goal is to reduce the number of prosecutions for recreational drug use, which decriminalizing would hopefully do. The policy would apply to those carrying up to 15 grams of the drug, and first time offenders would receive a fine of $265, but would not appear on their criminal record. With the second and third offenses the punishment would increase, the second time resulting in a doubling of their first fine, and the third offense being a punishment determined by the police.

 The Israelis believe this process will ultimately reduce the number of drug-related arrests in the country, and positively affect the country as a whole.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Mystery surrounds teh Kim Jong-nam Assassination

Deven Smith
Staff Writer

 The half-brother of Kim Jong-un, the “President” of North Korea, was mysteriously murdered on Feb. 13. There was no punctured points on his body so it is believed that he was poisoned. Two females that fled the airport in a taxi  are the leading suspects of the murder. Using many fake passports to avoid recognition he was travelling frequently to avoid detection. However he was tracke down and was murdered in Malaysia.  He had lost the respect of his family when he tried to enter Japan using a Dominican Republic passport.  He had little faith in Kim Jong Un saying he won’t last long because of his young age.  Although he has been in exile for years he is the eldest son of their shared father so it could be possible that he would’ve been able to replace Kim Jong Un as leader of North Korea.  Kim Jong Un took care of that though, it has been leaked by South Korean intelligence that Kim Jong Un did in fact order the assassination.  This is scary timing since Kim Jong Un had tested a ballistic missile just two days prior to the murder.  
 According to CNN the murder was carried out by two assassin groups, the first group was composed of North Korean state security department member Ri Jae Nam and foreign ministry worker Ri Ji Hyon, they had recruited a Vietnamese suspect, Doan Thi Huong.  The second group also consisted a state security member, O Jong Gil, and a foreign ministry member, Hong Song Hac, they had brought on board Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah.  These groups rubbed VX Nerve agent in Nam’s face killing him in twenty minutes.  If given in a high dose it can cause convulsions, loss of consciousness, paralysis, and death because of respiratory failure.  


Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Dr. Yanni shares a moment with the Lion’s Tale

Marc Verwiel & Katie Tangradi
Opinions and A&E Editors


We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Superintendent Dr. Yanni to ask about how he felt the year was going and what he had planned for the future.
 The interview immediately started with positive remarks from Dr. Yanni expressing his love for the students and families of New Hope, attributing his success to them. So far, he said that getting the renovation project underway was the highpoint of his tenure. (We asked about the hallway smell, he had no clue what it was.) As for the future, Dr. Yanni believes more great things will happen in the coming months and years. He is looking forward to the APEX project, graduation, and opportunities to continue improving the school.
 However, the thing Dr. Yanni was still the most concerned about was the bullying issues that are still present within the district. He is confident that the "No Place for Hate" initiative--the culmination of the district issues last December--will bring positive change while also showing how close the community is. The goal is not to suppress what people can and cannot say, but to have resources available for those that become uncomfortable and spread a message of unconditional respect. He hopes that the students and community will take to these ideals, allowing people to feel safe while still being able to speak their minds.

 The conversation ended with Dr. Yanni giving advice to us and the rest of the senior class. He says we shouldn't rush time. You'll have four years to be in college so enjoy this while it lasts. You are surrounded by people who care about you, so don't try to rush along to the next phase of your life. Enjoy now.