"Suitcase Killer" Executedby Shawn McCraith '18 The “Suitcase Killer”, known as Rosendo Rodriguez III, was executed in Huntsville, Texas on March 28th when Rodriguez’ attorney made one last attempt to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court to stop the execution from happening. As reported by the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal Rodriguez, who is 38, was convicted and sentenced to death for killing and raping 29-year-old Summer Baldwin in 2005 in Lubbock. While Resendo was strapped into a gurney on the evening of March 28th he said “stop the death penalty” to “ save his brothers from death row” and urged people to contact the inmates on death row and “get to know them” which was also reported by the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal. Rodriguez became the fourth inmate this year to be executed at 6:46 pm on Tuesday. The prosecutors discovered evidence that Rosendo had beaten, raped, and killed 10-week pregnant Summer Baldwin by suffocating her in a suitcase. The suitcase was then thrown into the trash. Workers found the suitcase in September 2005 only to find the remains of Baldwin inside. A testimony at Rodriguez’ trial in 2008 revealed that Baldwin may have still been alive when she was stuffed into the suitcase. Rosendo Rodriguez was a former United States Marine reservist who was in Lubbock for training. He was linked to several other sexual assault cases including the confession of killing a 16-year-old girl who was reported missing; her remains were found mummified in a suitcase at the city dump. These cases were shown by court records that were obtained from The Associated Press. Assistant Texas Attorney General Tomee Heining said that the appeal was a “last ditch effort.” The appeal was denied thirty minutes before Rodrigues was scheduled to be executed. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2018/03/27/attorneys-texas-suitcase-killer-make-last-ditch-appeal-ahead-upcoming-execution AZ Governor Suspends Driverless Ubersby Meche Williams '19 Arizona state's governor, Doug Ducey, announced Monday that they are suspending Uber testing vehicles after one of their vehicles hit a pedestrian. Elaine Herzberg, 49, was walking her bicycle across an intersection late in the evening on March 18 when the autonomous vehicle hit her. Due to the extent of her injuries she died at a local hospital. There is a video released showing the 2017 Volvo XC90 SUV striking the women in Tempe, near Phoenix. After watching the video Ducey wrote, “I found the video to be disturbing and alarming, and it raises many questions about the ability of Uber to continue testing in Arizona. As governor, my top priority is public safety.” The Governor also said it raises questions about the ability of Uber to continue their testing in the state of Arizona because the video shows that it doesn't slow down or alter its course to avoid the pedestrian. The Uber company said, “We proactively suspended self-driving operations in all cities immediately following the tragic incident last week. We continue to help investigators in any way we can, and we’ll keep a dialogue open with the governor's office to address any concerns they have.” As of now there are currently twenty-two states that have passed laws for the use of autonomous vehicles according to the National Conference. Uber posted a statement on Twitter saying it has already suspended testing of self-driving vehicles in four cities: San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, and Toronto.The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident to find out if Uber can continue and what caused the accident and how to better prevent it. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/22/video-released-of-uber-self-driving-crash-that-killed-woman-in-arizona#ampshare=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/22/video-released-of-uber-self-driving-crash-that-killed-woman-in-arizona https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.azcentral.com/amp/447648002#ampshare=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe-breaking/2018/03/21/video-shows-moments-before-fatal-uber-crash-tempe/447648002/ Last Week's Poll Results!!Last week we asked Ambush! Poll takers whether they thought the state champion wrestler mentioned should be in the male or female division: 100% of Poll takers said that the wrestler should have to compete in the male division.
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Arizona Law Requires Disclosure of Need for Abortionby Shawn McCraith '18 Lawmakers in Arizona have reviewed a law that requires a woman having an abortion to disclose the information as to why she will be having an abortion. The Senate Bill 1394, introduced by Nancy Barto from Phoenix, which requires a doctor to obtain the information that cause their patients to want an abortion and that information would be reported to the Arizona Department of Health. Some possibilities to choose from would be “rape”, “abuse”, “separation”, “divorce” and “extramarital affairs”. The bill has been passed by the Arizona Senate and was presented to the House Committee for Judiciary and Public Safety on Wednesday afternoon. A Democrat from Tucson by the name of Kirstin Engel said that the law is invading the privacy of women and that government will now be involved with doctor-patient relationships. The bill was developed by Cathi Herrod, who supports anti-abortion and whose Center for Arizona Policy has been adding more laws for abortion over the past years which is making it tougher to obtain one. In the United States the mortality rate is the highest in the world. Jodi Liggett the vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Arizona said “It's a bad joke to ask women about the reasons for their abortions when you have no intention of ever addressing any of those needs, now or in the future.” A reason that there may be so many abortions is because the slashing of funds to welfare programs so women would feel like they can’t support the baby if it was born. The Arizona Public Health Association, the Arizona Medical Association, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have opposed Senate Bill 1394. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-lawmakers-to-women-why-are-you-getting-an-abortion-10228912 Family of Four Found Deceased in Vanby Meche Williams '19 Written on March 16, 2018 A family of four was found dead in a van on March 15 around 8:40 p.m. The officers were dispatched at 8:35 p.m. to 12031 Brookhurst St. to investigate a suspicious car. The officer arrived at a CVS drug store parking lot in Garden Grove and found a family of four dead; out of those 4: 2 of them were children believed to be under the age of 4, a boy and girl. A woman told the police that as she walked nearby the van she smelled a foul odor. The van had the windows covered with a blanket and a sunscreen; the four family members have not yet been identified. But there were two females and two males inside the van; the cause of death is unknown and there has been no appearance that they suffered any noticeable trauma. It was also suggested that they were homeless and the witness that discovered the victims said the white Honda van has been sitting in the parking lot for several days, Whitney said. Officer Whitney said, “It is an officer’s worst nightmare to come across a family who appears to have died together, it’s sad for everyone involved.” Friday morning the van was towed away by the Orange County Sheriff's Department crime lab for processing. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mercurynews.com/2018/03/16/family-of-4-with-2-children-found-dead-in-van-in-garden-grove/amp/#ampshare=http://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/16/family-of-4-with-2-children-found-dead-in-van-in-garden-grove/ NM Students Fight For School Safetyby Meche Williams '19 Wednesday, March 14, 2017, students attending Sandia, La Cueva, Eldorado, and other surrounding schools in New Mexico took part in a peaceful protest by walking out of class early Wednesday afternoon. They planned to leave for 17 minutes; each minute for all 17 students that were killed in the Stoneman Douglas shooting. Eldorado High School’s message was “enough is enough” that can be found online by the looking up “#enough”. The students decided to meet up in the courtyard at 10 a.m. and used snapchat to remind the students of the walkout; they did their 17 minutes of silence then used there remaining time to rally on about school safety with speeches, chants, and solutions. The students at Eldorado plan to stay involved and participate in the community-wide rally March 24. Eldorado students are not the only ones staying involved and planning to continue their participation for safer schools and stricter gun laws, Cibola and La Cueva students are as well. Cibola Junior Joliana Davidson said, “I think that the NRA is an extremely powerful company that is paying off our government, and I think they need to work harder to change things and care more about our livelihood over the money.” Highland High School students put together a “sit-in” Wednesday at their school, filling the hallways in “solidarity of the Parkland Shooting.” Volcano Vista Principle Vickie Bannerman planned to have a fire drill at 10 a.m. because it fulfilled their monthly fire drill and allowed her students to take part in the national remembrance for the Stoneman Douglas High Victims. Bannerman had the faculty monitor the students; students released 17 balloons at 10:17 a.m., gave speeches, and let a special bell ring for 17 minutes. The principle was satisfied with the way the students and staff handled things. The national march for gun control and school safety is also planned for March 24. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.kob.com/albuquerque-news/students-host-walkout-events-across-new-mexico/4825472/#ampshare=http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/students-host-walkout-events-across-new-mexico/4825472/ Transgender Wins State Title 2 Years in a Rowby Meche Williams '19 Written Friday, March 9, 2018. 18-year-old Mack Beggs is a transgender wrestler from Texas. Mack Beggs was born as Mackenzie Beggs, a female, but identifies as a male; who won the state title in the 6a-110 pound division twice. He attends Euless Trinity High School as a senior and entered the Texas state tournament with a perfect record. The championship match was on sunday february 25th and he was against Chelsea Sanchez and he beat her for the title. Once he was named as the state champion for the 110 pound division the crowd had a mixture of boos and cheers. Beggs said, “It definitely felt different” to the Dallas Morning News. Mack wanted to compete in the men's division but do to University Interscholastic League rules they forced him to compete in the girls division because the rules state the athletes must compete in the gender division that's is shown on their birth certificate. Beggs has not undergone gender reassignment surgeries yet but since his freshman year he's been taking small doses of testosterone injections prescribed by his doctor. The competitors feel that it's unfair that Beggs is competing in the girls division because he’s been taking testosterone injections since freshman year and it gives him an advantage. One parent from Texas High school has filed to sue UIL, but the UIL still stands firm with its rules. Even still when more than a dozen other states and NCAA allow the athletes to compete in the gender they identify themselves as. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/02/26/texas-transgender-wrestler-mack-beggs-wins-second-straight-title-draws-mixed-reactions/23371302/ Utah Students Walkout to Protest Gun Violenceby Mariah Tso '21 In Salt Lake City, Utah thousands of students walkout to join their friends in a nationwide protest against gun violence. Students walked out at 10:00 am. It was one month since the tragic shooting in Florida took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The students who walked out stayed outside or on school property for 17 minutes, one minute for each victim who lost their lives on February 14, 2018. At Brighton High School students walked out to the football stadium and read one name of each victim each minute and sat in silence to show respect. Also at Syracuse High and Timpview High dozens of student walked out and gathered together with school staff while security looking over them. Many are calling for stricter gun laws and improved school safety. Hundreds of students from multiple Utah high schools, junior high schools and even elementary schools participated in the event. At Salt Lake's Bryant Middle School, students walked out of school and tied orange ribbons to a chain-link fence on the south side of the school campus also wrote messages promoting peace and kindness at school on pieces of orange paper, which were linked in a paper chain. But in Parkland, Florida they bowed their heads in honor of the dead for the 17 victims they also carried signs with messages like “Never again” and “Am I next?’ They also repeated over and over “Enough is Enough”. In a wave of protests one historian called the largest of its kind in American history, tens of thousands of students walked out of their classrooms Wednesday to demand action on gun violence and school safety. http://fox13now.com/2018/03/14/utah-students-join-nationwide-walkout-in-protest-of-gun-violence/http://kuer.org/post/listen-utah-students-join-nationwide-walkout-protest-gun-violence#stream/0 https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900012904/utah-students-join-national-school-walkout-to-protest-gun-violence.html https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46280110&nid=157 Last Week's Poll Results!Last week we asked Ambush! Poll takers if they had ever used Uber: 67% said no while the other 33% said yes.
Teen Brings Homemade Bomb to Schoolby Mariah Tso '21 A student at a southern Utah high school has been charged with bringing a homemade bomb to the school. It was discovered in a backpack emitting smoke and prompted an evacuation said police. This incident happened on March 6th 2018. The boy was arrested Monday night. After Pine View High School was evacuated for two hours that afternoon while the FBI and a bomb squad investigated. The boy name has not been given out the police have refused to give the boy identity and his age. Police said no one was hurt and no damage was reported. The school reopened Tuesday morning. Police did not describe the homemade bomb in detail but said it "had the potential to cause injury or death." According to police, the homemade bomb had enough explosives within it to possibly cause serious injury or death. The teen had been researching ISIS and showing interest in promoting the organization. Police also said more charges are pending as a suspect in raising an ISIS flag on a pole at another school last month. That happened on February 15, a day after a mass shooting at a school in Florida. The authorities though putting up the flag was a school prank. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/utah/articles/2018-03-06/suspicious-package-evacuates-utah-school-juvenile-arrested http://www.kalb.com/content/news/Utah-teen-brings-homemade-bomb-to-school-476130423.html https://theworldnews.net/uk-news/teen-charged-with-bringing-homemade-bomb-to-utah-school Independent Uber Trucks Deliver Goods Across AZ Borderby Shawn McCraith '18 Uber, for the past year of 2017, has been contracting with trucking companies to use their autonomous Volvo big rigs to travel across Arizona for transporting goods. The self-driving trucks meet with human truckers to transfer loads and meet another conventional human trucker on the other side of the state where the human trucker can then deliver the goods to a big city. With this new technology Uber could get rid of long haul drives that are completely autonomous and have no one at the wheel of the trucks. Another scenario is Uber could sell this new technology to trucking companies so that driver’s can sleep while the self-driving truck takes care of the long distance driving which would allow the jobs of truckers to be accomplished much quicker. Alden Woodrow the lead of Uber’s self-driving truck effort said that “the big step for [them] recently is that [they] can plan to haul goods in both directions”, meaning the ability to coordinate drop offs and pickups. Uber Freight is an app that matches loaders and shippers utilizing the Uber’s ride hailing technology. The technology to make the autonomous truck happen is still in a young age and has to be regulated by the government. A truck that would allow sleep during the long hauls would be profitable but investments would have to be made for the trucks as well as trust would need to be built upon the self-driving trucks. Woodrow does not believe that the company will own many of the trucks because it would mean buying them from other companies. The Uber program driving the trucks only stays on the highways because of the difficulty of driving in urban traffic. The Volvo trucks receive loads at weigh stations. The Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group has self-driving car testings in Arizona, Pennsylvania and San Francisco. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/06/uber-trucks-start-shuttling-goods-arizona-no-drivers/397123002 Last Week's Poll Results!Last week we asked Ambush! Poll takers if they though gun laws needed to be stricter within the United States; 50% said they thought the laws needed to be a little stricter while the other 50% said that the laws need to be made stricter.
Out-of-State Dogs Being Adopted in Denverby Shawn McCraith '18 Over the past few years the populations of dogs has increased all over the country due to a cycle of reproducing in the summer. A rescue organization called Denver Dumb Friends League has multitudes of dogs transported from Vinita, Oklahoma to become apart of a caring and loving family in Colorado. Since 2016, Denver Dumb Friends League has been in partnership with the Peaceful Animal Adoption Shelter and has documented around 30,000 dogs that came out-of-state to the Colorado animal shelters where hardly any dogs are euthanized due to the live release rate which is above 90 percent. Overpopulation in many states is a problem because of the reputation of shelters where no one wants to adopt an animal in this case a dog or puppy. Many dogs are transported into Colorado because it is an ideal place for dogs to be adopted. States that neighbor Colorado like Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas send candidates to capitalize on a seemingly endless demand. Communities in Colorado emphasize on the values toward owning a dog and adopting a healthy dog. Humane education, spay and neuter procedures, and an outdoors-oriented region which boosts the state’s status as extremely pet-friendly. Thousands of dogs are transported with a downside since Colorado has 260 registered operations there is also an unknown amount of operations that transport dogs from various areas without safeguards. States near the Gulf put Colorado’s shelters at risk due to the warm, humid temperatures. Heartworm, parvovirus, and distemper are prevalent in animals coming from the Gulf states which can leave the adopters with heartbreak or a hefty bill due to veterinary needs. So as Colorado recognizes dogs as family members, the business start to have more dog-friendly policies to create a market for four-legged companions. https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/25/out-of-state-shelter-dogs-welcome-colorado/ Lawmakers Want Gun Legislation Immediatelyby Mariah Tso '21 Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico says gun laws must be talked about at the federal level.He also said he wants to see a federal ban on bump stocks, high-capacity magazines, and to clarify the rules on universal background checks. When he says he wants talk about guns laws at a federal level he wants to speak about it with the three distinct branches (legislative, executive, and judicial), whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the president, and the federal courts, respectively. The guns laws in New Mexico are on foot, no permit is required to carry a firearm unless it is both loaded and concealed. Concealed carry of an unloaded firearm is legal without a permit in New Mexico, however the same restrictions that apply to openly carried firearms apply. But however Senator Tom Udall said in a statement, "As these atrocities grow ever more frequent and deadly in the United States, we cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to such preventable horror — or become numb to our responsibility to act. I plead with my Republican colleagues to move beyond the extreme positions of gun lobby SuperPACs and special interests who have opposed closing the gun-show loophole, expanding federal background checks, and other common-sense gun safety rules. It’s time for both parties to show political courage and take common-sense steps to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of those who seek to kill innocent people." https://www.sfgate.com/news/media/Lawmakers-want-gun-legislation-immediately-1200863.php http://www.koat.com/article/lawmakers-want-gun-legislation-immediately/18715427 https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/new-mexico/ Last Week's Poll Results!Last week we asked Ambush! Poll takers if they would take the CCTE Program: 50% said maybe while the other 50% said no.
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