JROTC Students Awarded with Medals of Heroismby Shawn McCraith '18 The United States Army has awarded three students for their heroism in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida on Wednesday, February 14. Peter Wang (15), Alaina Petty (14), and Martin Duque (14) were apart of the schools Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. Wang was posthumously accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point by the United States Military. Wang was gunned down holding the door open so his classmates could escape. Peter Wang had a lifetime goal of attending West Point. To receive the Medal of Heroism, “the achievement must be an accomplishment so exceptional and outstanding that it clearly sets the individual apart from fellow students or from other persons in similar circumstances. The performance must have involved the acceptance of danger and extraordinary responsibilities, exemplifying praiseworthy fortitude and courage.” is what the U.S. Army’s criteria reads. One of Wang’s classmates told CNN that “He died a gentleman holding the door for other students.” Lin Chen who is Wang’s cousin said that Wang was wearing his standard JROTC uniform shirt when he left that morning. Wang was reportedly buried in his JROTC uniform with his medal awarded during his funeral service to be pinned in his uniform too. Wang’s family also received a second medal as a keepsake for Peter’s duty on that day. Duque’s family was awarded his medal on Saturday during his funeral and Petty’s family received hers on Monday for the funeral service as well. The other two students also had heroic reasons as to why they received the medal also. Other members of the JROTC program barricaded the doors with kevlar and stood guard during the shooting. In the past 20 years about 48 JROTC heroism medals have been awarded. https://taskandpurpose.com/peter-wang-florida-shooting-victim/ https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/20/politics/army-awards-medals-florida-students/index.html http://thefederalist.com/2018/02/20/army-awards-medals-of-heroism-to-3-students-killed-in-florida-shooting/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/jrotc-members-killed-in-florida-school-shooting-receive-heroism-medals-one-admitted-to-west-point-posthumously/2018/02/20/97df5ab0-167d-11e8-b681-2d4d462a1921_story.html?utm_term=.6205cef26f72 Shooting Threats Increase in a Short Timeby Meche Williams '19 *Written on February 23rd* In Florida there was a shooting that took 17 lives and since then New Mexico schools have received more than 10 threats in the week after the Florida shooting. In total, there have been 17 threats to schools in New Mexico and 1 bomb threat; of those 18, the police have arrested 6 of the people sending the threats. The 18 schools are: Silver High School; received threats on social media to SHS, but police are still investigating, and Las Cruces High School; received a threat on snapchat saying “Mexican School Shooter 2k18 jk guys” from 18 year old Earnest Padilla, who was arrested and is being charged with unlawful carrying a deadly weapon on school premises. The threats went to Alamogordo High School; a freshman made verbal threats and was arrested, several Ruidoso Schools; received threats on social media but no one has been arrested and police believe it was a copycat of the Rio Ranch Threat. At Los Lunas High School a snapchat warned student to skip school because of potential shooting threat but no one has been arrested then at Belen High School; on snapchat one student said, “All BHS students prepare to see my wrath tomorrow…” causing a two hour delay and police tracked the suspect down through is I.P address. Tony Hillerman Middle School and Volcano Vista High School received threats as well; a Virginia man was making threats to the schools and the police arrested him, James Monroe Middle School; received threats through snapchat but no one was arrested, and at Cibola High School; a student made threats through snapchat and police arrested him and are now charging him with interference with the educational process which is a misdemeanor. Rio Rancho High School has received multiple threats on social media but so far no one has been arrested, V. Sue Cleveland High School; threats were made through social media but no one has been arrested, and Ortiz Middle School; a student heard someone make a threat and asked school officials to take him out of school but the police are still investing before they can make arrest. Santa Fe High School received threats on snapchat but the police have not arrested anyone yet, Pojoaque Valley High school; a note found at the school referenced to a threat but police officers have not released what the note said, so no one has been arrested, and Española Valley High School; threats were made through snapchat and two students were arrested and are being charged with Interference of Educational Process. At Grants High School a threat was written in the urinal of a shooting on Feb. 23 and two students are being interviewed but the FBI in connection with the incident. At Kirtland Central High School one student was arrested for leaving a bomb threat in the boys restroom and is being charged with causing a bomb scare which is a felony. The shooting threats all happened in the span of 4 days starting from February 20th to February 23rd. http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/shooting-threat-rio-rancho-police-department-rrpd-high-school-rrhs/4796866/ http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/threat-prompts-2-hour-delay-at-belen-high-school/4798947/ Distracted Drivingby Mariah Tso '21 Distracted driving means driving while not fully paying attention to the road; for example, not having your eyes on the road. There are many thing that can cause distracted driving. Examples are reaching for your phone, taking a picture, or putting makeup on, or anything to do with taking your eyes off the road. Many people think it's not dangerous, but it is very dangerous. You could get in an accident. In 2012 there were 3,328 people killed due to distraction-related crashes. The most common distraction is cell phones, but there are apps that help you with distracted driving. Distracted driving is not something new, it has been around and continues to grow everyday. A lot could happen, and it can only take 5 seconds of your eyes off the road, but a lot can happen in 5 seconds.
Everyday in the United States around 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured due to distracted driving. If you do not know what distracted driving is, it’s when you do not have your full attention on the road because it’s somewhere else. For example, texting. In 2010 there were 3,092 deaths and in 2011 there 3,331. In the year of 2010 to 2011 there was a huge increase in the number of people being killed due distracted driving. There are things one can do to prevent more people dying and it's just to stay off your phone. Texting is one of the major issues but there are texting alternatives. The first one is Voice Recognition which translates words into text, but you still have to use your hands to send the message. Another is Auto Responder. The autoresponder sends out a pre-written message to a caller when you get instant or email messages. This message can explain why you are not answering at the moment because you are driving. Example phrases include “can’t talk right now” and “I'll call you back”. The last one is Text Blockers, an excellent way for teens to message their friends and to prevent teens from texting while driving. It disables texting when the vehicle is going over 10 mph. There are two disadvantages to distracted driving. The first one is that is dangerous. It is dangerous because you could get into an accident and get seriously hurt or possibly get killed. Researchers have also found that people cannot multitask, the brain can only do one thing at a time. Driving and texting need full attention and you can not do both at the same time. The second reason is the is is against the Law. In New Mexico, texting or talking on the phone while driving is illegal. Also anyone under 18 years old is prohibited from using a cell phone (in any way) while driving. In Utah it's the same law but you could only use your phone if there is an emergency. The state of Colorado bans everyone who is driving from texting and driving, except for emergencies. Drivers who are under 18 years old are can not use any mobile device while driving. As a general rule, drivers should make every effort to move to a safe place off of the road before using a cell phone for example pull over. However, in emergency situations a driver must use their judgment regarding the urgency of the situation and the necessity to use a cell phone while driving. The safest thing is you could do is just pull to the side of the road or park somewhere where you could answer the phone. https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html https://www.dmv.org/distracted-driving/laws.php https://itstillruns.com/disadvantages-texting-driving-8758329.html https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812260 https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html https://www.personalinjurysandiego.org/topics/facts-about-texting-driving/ https://www.dmv.org/distracted-driving/laws.php https://itstillruns.com/disadvantages-texting-driving-8758329.html
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Texas Massacre Adds 4,000 Names to Gun Banby Shawn McCraith '18 Last November Devin Kelley, an ex-US airman of the United States Air Force, opened fire on a church congregation in Sutherland Springs, Texas killing 26 people. The U.S. military failed to add Kelley to a gun ban list because of his dishonorable discharge. In Kelley’s case he was charged with aggravated assault, which should have hindered the individual from being able to purchase a gun. After the shooting, the Department of Defense has pushed to properly update the FBI’s system to keep any military personnel who were kicked out of the military for violence to be barred from ever purchasing a weapon. Within the past three months since the shooting, more than 4,000 names have been filed into the system which is a 38% leap. The FBI system identifies reasons to keep civilians and former military personnel from buying guns, which includes any that have been dishonorably discharged or convicted by a general court martial. Ever since 2015, a massive 11,000 dishonorably discharged personnel has been published online and is now at 15,597. The Department of Defense has not taken note of the jump in submissions and so for an unknown time period there was 4,000 people who could have bought guns even though they were legally barred from it. The main three branches of the United States military have been scrutinized because of their failure to backlog the names of the people who were not supposed to have been able to buy weapons. The Air Force has been focused on because the shooter was an ex-US Airman and the Secretary of the Air Force has reported that they are reviewing cases dating back to 2002. Lawmakers have been set into action because of the shooting, and are now trying to strengthen the national background check system. http://thehill.com/policy/defense/373396-us-military-added-4000-to-gun-ban-list-after-texas-church-massacre-reportpurchasing a weapon https://www.click2houston.com/news/after-texas-church-massacre-military-adds-4000-names-to-gun-ban-list Dog Thrown to His Deathby Meche Williams '19 Saturday February 10th a little four year old Chihuahua that was had fur the color of black and tan named Dunky was thrown to his death. Near San Francisco Union Square, a man tried to break into the car Dunky was in at Sutter-Stockton Garage in Union Square. When he broke into the car there were pieces of glass covered in blood from Dunky and a bloody trail leading to the railing that was seven stories high where the dog was thrown off of. Later that same day, in the afternoon drivers passing by the garage around 2:00 pm saw the animal dead outside Stockton Street Tunnel near Sutter Street. When the police were notified and started their investigation they looked at the scene and noticed there was a camera that had the view of the railing in it. They watched the video taped and recognized the man from previous contacts. The man suspected of throwing Dunky to his death is 35-year-old, Wakeen Best a San Francisco resident. Sunday February 11th they arrested Best at Polk and Bush streets and he is now being charged with suspicion of felony burglary, animal cruelty, possession of stolen property, vandalism, grand theft, carrying a concealed weapon and probation violation. And to top it all off he is being held without bail for suspicion of misdemeanor counts of possession of burglary tools, violating a court order and possession of drug paraphernalia. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sfgate.com/news/amp/Police-Man-throws-dog-to-death-after-breaking-12605916.php https://www.google.com/amp/abc7news.com/amp/pets-animals/dog-tossed-to-its-death-from-sf-parking-garage-during-burglary/3069203/ Ambush News Interviews Floyd Kezele,Professor for UNM-Gallup, about the CCTE Programby Lucia Kezele '18 Ambush News Interviews Students about UNM-Gallup CCTE Programby Meche Williams '19 by Shawn McCraith '18 by Mariah Tso '20 Your Decisions Affect Those Around Youby Meche Williams '19 and Shawn McCraith '18 Suicide is a problem around the world and it can’t be solved with the flick of the wrist or a simple speech. Studies done in January 2017 by the New Mexico Department of Health say that New Mexico has the fourth highest rate of suicide in the United States. NM studies show that suicide is the eighth leading cause of death but is the second leading cause of death for the ages group of 10-49 years old. For white people the age group more susceptible to commiting suicide is from 35 years and older and for Native Americans the age group more susceptible is from 35 years and younger. But if we look at it from another perspective like gender, men were three times higher than women to commit suicide. Men from the age 75 years and older and women 45-54 years were more likely than any other age to commit suicide. About 53% of suicides used a firearm of some sort in 2011-2015 and it's still increasing. If we look at a the bigger picture and look at the statics of the United States suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. There are on average 44,965 deaths per year just in the US from suicide. Just as New Mexico in the US the men are 3.57 times more than women likely to commit suicide and on average there are 123 suicides a day. The different methods of suicide include: suffocation (25.9%), poisoning (14.9%), firearm (51%), and other (8.2%) that were done in 2016. One quote comes to mind when I think of suicide by Kirkup, “Suicide doesn’t end the pain. It just passes it on to someone else.” It’s so powerful and true; when ending your life you don’t just get rid of it completely but rather pass it on to your parents, friends, spouse, or siblings. They feel the heartache and pain because they lost you. Most of the family members that lose a loved one are stuck with such a huge question, “Why did they do it?”. It stays with some for months, years, or decades after the death of their loved one and they start to lose themselves because of it. Some family members who lost a loved one go through so much emotions such as, guilt, intense emotions, longing for the loved deceased, emotional pain, question religious beliefs, become isolated, anger at the deceased, rejection, lose of appetite, and wondering how they could of prevented it. I joined a support group for families affected by suicide and asked if one person wanted to share their story or say something to someone who is facing suicide or a family affected by suicide as well. A woman messaged but wanted to stay anonymous so we’ll call her Amy, her brother took his life seven years ago and she felt sadness, anger, and then more sadness. She still misses him and carries this grief with her and can't believe it happened. Amy said, “If I could say something to someone contemplating suicide it would be to get help. There is someone out there in your same position and knows what you're going through. Don't be shy or embarrassed. Talk to someone, anyone. Don't leave your loved ones with the sadness of feeling like they could have done more to help or save you. It's a pain I can't even put into words. So many questions.. When they feel like they can't go on keep trying. It's only temporary things will get better. The best quote I've seen and I completely agree with is you're not getting rid of the pain you're just passing it to someone else aka friends and family when you're gone.” Amy knows the pain and intense emotions of losing a loved one and struggles through it everyday but she keeps pushing through it because she has a family of her own that need her love, care, and support. The absolute best way to reach a counselor or someone to speak with when in a crisis is to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. The online chat is inefficient for reaching actual counselors. The average wait for an online meet would be close to 30 minutes to an hour because of the waiting line on the website. Two chats were attempted with no luck of actual contact with a representative. When reaching out for a counselor the wait in line is lengthy and not at all effective for people who need immediate conversations or questions. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline callers will be immediately directed to an assistant for care and management. The New Mexico Crisis Line is excellent in speaking to callers about any type of crisis and can try to answer questions to the best of their abilities. They keep their phone lines clear to speak with people that need assistance in whatever they need relating to a crisis or suicide. If you are in need and want to talk to someone please take that step. There are people out there who want to help you or listen to you if that's what you need. You can call: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 they also have lifeline chat New Mexico Crisis Line at 1-855-662-7474 https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/ https://nmhealth.org/publication/view/help/1832/ https://www.medicinenet.com/suicide/article.htm#what_is_the_treatment_for_suicidal_thoughts_and_behaviors_what_types_of_specialists_treat_people_who_are_suicidal Utah High School Will Stick With Problematic Mascotby Shawn McCraith '18 A new high school in the town of Farmington said that they will not change the name of their mascot name, “The Phoenix”. It could have been the Fascists or the Farts but “Phoenix” was chosen instead. The mayor of Farmington, Jim Talbot, joined some concerned parents about the disapproval of the new chosen mascot name. Talbot wrote in the city’s newsletter that “the plural name sounds like male anatomy.” He has been calling for the district to bypass student’s suggestion and to call the mascot “The Eagles” a numerous amount of the community members wanted to have that option in the survey. Jim Talbot also wrote that “it is their responsibility as leaders” to ensure that the students take pride in their everyday high school life and that a mascot is an immense part of a schools pride. A spokesperson for the David School District named Chris Williams said that submissions had “inappropriate” suggestions. Williams pointed out that obviously the Farts or Fascists was not a suitable mascot name for the Utah high school. Farmington High School’s principal ,Richard Swanson, is standing beside the students because it was a name that they chose and informed the parents that schools always find a way to create a new time cheer for opponents. Kyle Fraught, who is a Farmington resident, was the one to bring the attention of the mascot name, garnered more than 3,000 signatures. Fraught believes that the name will make the high school vulnerable to would-be hecklers or opposing schools. He said that he isn’t a “prude” and is only looking at the situation through a “non-prude lens” which makes the name a problem. Swanson hopes that the problem will be put to rest. Farmington High School is currently under construction and is scheduled to open this fall. https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2018/01/31/farts-and-fascists-top-student-picks-for-farmington-high-school-mascot-may-make-its-other-controversial-choice-seem-more-appropriate/ Women's Marchby Meche Williams '19 and Sage Addington '18 The women's march was on Sunday, January the twenty-first, in Santa Fe, New Mexico is the second annual. It started last year, the day after Trump's inauguration, in support for human rights because many felt threatened by Trump's administration about rights for women, abortion, LGBT community, access to healthcare and many more, it also helped jump start the #MeToo and #TimesUpNow campaigns. One of our editors/writers, Sage Addington, attended the women's March Sunday, so here is her experience: “I impulsively drove to Santa Fe Sunday morning when I got a Facebook invite for a Native Women's Walk. The invite said to come in traditional attire or contemporary clothing and that the event would be held at The New Mexico State Capitol. Unfortunately, I came about two hours in and by the time the 3 hour even was coming closer to an end, all the Natives had dipped. Earlier I heard talk of a group of Native women storming the stage and taking back the event I thought they had organized and the music of Pueblo drums. The only women I could see were, well, white women in bright pink pussy hats. I could have sworn this was going to be a Native event so I was bit disappointed, but a Women's Walk made sense. At the end of the rally, when the crowd had really thinned out and some women enjoyed dancing to music, all that was left of the Native women's impression was a sign, hanging on a snow covered pole. I'm all for women's rights, believe me, but... I felt really out of place with all the glances I kept getting, wrapped in my pendleton blanket because it was beginning to snow again. I’m not saying this to invalidate the struggles of other races, but some of the statistics are shocking. Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice says that Native American women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the USA in general. Additionally, more than one in three Native women will be raped during her lifetime, whereas, for women as a whole the risk is less than one in five. Native American victims of intimate and family violence are more likely than victims of all other races to be injured and need hospital care. It is described that the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is substantially higher among Indigenous people.” https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/Violence%20Against%20AI%20AN%20Women%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3875613/ http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-women-s-march-turns-out-thousands-on-plaza/article_344d095e-fefc-11e7-86fa-47d760cefaf2.html http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-women-s-march-turns-out-thousands-on-plaza/article_344d095e-fefc-11e7-86fa-47d760cefaf2.html California House of Horrorby Meche Williams '19 On January 14th, 2018, the thirteen children of David, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, were freed from their shackles, that were put on them by their parents. The children's ages ranged from 2-29 years old. Their home was filthy and was in horrible condition for kids to live in. On Sunday, one of the daughters, who was 17 years old, managed to escape from her home through a window and ran to call 911 from a deactivated phone she found in the house. She talked with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, telling them her parents, that were holding captive her and her other 12 siblings and had photos to corroborate her story. Six of her siblings were under the age of 18 and many of them were said to be “small” stated police officers including, Daniel Hoffman, a professional nutritional science professor. He had said “The problem is not having enough energy or micronutrients -- key nutrients like zinc, folate, iron -- for an extended period of time" he said. There had also been no sign of sexual abuse done to the children as far as they could tell."Kids can become 'stunted', meaning they're shorter than they should be for their age. If you lack micronutrients, you can meet energy to live everyday and even have a normal body weight, but growth can still be stunted.” The oldest son was a star college student; on his transcripts he had all A’s and was taking 15 credits per semester. He attended school from 2014-2016. The parents are being charged with torture and child endangerment and are scheduled for a hearing. Their bail was set at $9 million. The crazy part is that on social media or in public they seemed to be “the perfect family” but when you really analyze or look at them they look unusual; the boys having similar hair cuts and the girls as well. To add to that in their family pictures they had the children all dress alike. In a brief court appearance the parents we told not to contact the children unless they do so through the kids lawyer and so far no further action on their case has happened. https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/us/california-turpin-13-siblings-held-captive/index.html http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oldest-son-13-captive-children-star-college-student-52617648 http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/California-DA-says-couples-abuse-of-12-kids-became-torture-470118503.html Last Week's Poll Results!Last week we asked Ambush! Poll takers if they thought instances like the one with the fifth grader would increase as more states legalize marijuana: 50% said maybe and the other 50% said yes.
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