Hi Everybody! (and Happy Halloween!)
We hope you read our first post from last week. This is our news from 10/22 -10/30
Enjoy, and feel free to comment!
Why is Hillary in the Courthouse?
By Owen Tucker-Smith
In a glance: Do you remember the Benghazi attacks three years ago in Libya? Hillary Clinton, a current democratic candidate for the 2016 presidential election, was Secretary of State at the time. As the main job of this position is to advise foreign affairs, you can see why after the attacks fingers would be pointed at her. Anyway, on October 22nd, just eight days ago, Clinton testified in front of the Benghazi Committee, a committee determined to figure out what happened in Libya in 2012. And what happened in the hearing? Basically the democrats and the republicans spent the whole time yelling at each other...
No, I don’t remember the Benghazi Attacks! The Benghazi Attacks occurred three years ago on September 11th in Benghazi, Libya. Benghazi was the location of an American government post at the time, and it was attacked. Buildings in the post were burned down and four americans were killed. One of these Americans was Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, a very important figure. The attack was made by an islamist group of armed men, one of the leaders being Ahmed Abu Khattala1. To investigate the event the Benghazi Committee was created and they have been pestering Hillary for a long time now...
I do remember Clinton’s email thing though... does that have something to do with it? Well, yes it does. The Benghazi Committee recently uncovered that Clinton used a private email during her service as Secretary of State. This makes everybody wonder: “Were there emails about Benghazi that we don’t know about?” And there were. Recently “new” emails specifically about the attack were handed to the committee. At the time of the event everybody thought the Benghazi attacks were the effects of a random protest, and it was not until later that everyone found that it was a terrorist attack. Among other things, the emails show that Clinton knew all along what it was.
What happened at the hearing? Not much. The republicans wouldn’t stop pestering Clinton about lying, and the democrats acted as though the whole hearing was pointless. Clinton also seemed to not understand why she was being questioned so much about her emails as she shouted at one point, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” Hillary was questioned for eleven hours before the hearing was over, and there was no huge resolution at the end. The whole thing was basically an eleven hour argument.
The Benghazi attacks and hearings are controversial ideas. Feel free to comment down below what you think: Do you side with Hillary? Or her questioners? Why?
Reference 1: Kaphle, Anup. "Timeline: How the Benghazi Attacks Played out." The Washington Post. N.p., 17 June 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Local Fame
By Maddy Art
If you’re a seventh grader, you are already an expert on this. On the other hand, if you are an eighth grader, it is more than likely that you have been hearing bits and pieces about some exciting local news. Ali Benjamin is an author that lives in Williamstown with her two kids (one of whom is an eighth grader at Pine Cobble). Recently, her debut novel The Thing About Jellyfish was shortlisted for the National Book Award*. Benjamin also co-wrote two memoirs: Positive (about Paige Rawl), and The Keeper (about Tim Howard). So back to The Thing About Jellyfish. The story takes place while protagonist Suzy Swanson is a seventh grader, but includes frequent flashbacks to sixth grade or before. Suzy’s former best friend Franny has recently drowned on a family trip to Maryland, despite Franny’s strong swimming skills. Most disregard this, saying “some things just happen,” but not Suzy. She sees that this can’t add up, and becomes convinced that the hidden cause of Franny’s death was a jellyfish sting. The grief of Franny’s death has driven Suzy into nearly complete silence. Join Suzy as she attempts to prove her theory whilst struggling with middle school. Kirkus Reviews describes The Thing About Jellyfish as “A painful story smartly told” with “appeal well beyond a middle school audience.” This one might be worth bumping up to the top of your to-be-read pile!
*The National Book Award is a literary award given in the United States each year. The four categories are Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. The Thing About Jellyfish is competing for the Young People’s Literature title. Being shortlisted essentially means you are a finalist - in the top five!
Hurricane Fake Out
By Rose Gotlieb
You might have heard about Hurricane Patricia - the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. The hurricane escalated from just a weak storm to a monster with 200 mph winds in only 25 hours - which is to say, it escalated extremely quickly. It was only about 30 miles wide, which is small for a hurricane, but it was packed with power, and destined to hit Mexico.
But nobody died. And there wasn't much damage. A few mudslides blocked roads, some houses were destroyed, and power lines were knocked down...but that is much less than what could have happened. The ferocious storm lost power when it hit land. I guess this time the trick was a treat.
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