Apple's Steve Jobs takes medical leave again

Recap:

This article was about apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs. He sent out a letter last week to all employees saying that he is taking a leave of absence for his health. He asked all employees and the public to respect him and his families privacy. Tim Cook will take over and help run the company in his absence. Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003 and has taken multiple leaves of absence since then. Many investors fear that his sickness may lower the value of apple stock and many others wonder if the company could come up with it's innovative ideas without him. In 2008 he lost a lot of weight and had to take a 6 month leave of absence.

Opinion:

I am surprised at this news as I didn't think he was this sick. I believe that his health could affect the company. Especially if he dies than I truly believe that the stock price would go down and the company would potentially lose money. He is the backbone of the company and he does a great job but if he isn't there to help run the company what would happen. I believe that apple will do fine during his leave of absence as he said he would be helping out with all major decisions.

Memorial will honor youngest victim of Arizona mass shootings

Recap:

This article was about the youngest victim in the Arizona shootings, her name was Christina Green. She was nine years old and a fantastic girl. She had just been voted on to student council at her elementary and she is an outstanding baseball player for her age. Her neighbour had just noticed that she was taking a strong interest in politics so she decided to invite her to come along with her to go to meet congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords. She was a bright young girl and it is very sad that she was killed. Her and 5 others were killed in the shooting. The primary target being Gabrielle Giffords. The shooter is said to have not liked Gabrielle Giffords ever since she didn't give him a straight answer at an event in 2007. Christina Green's memorial will be held on January 13th. She was born on 9/11 2001.

Opinion:

I think the entire story is absolutely tragic. I think it is especially sad that someone who is only nine years old died because of a man who wanted to shoot someone else. This is also a crazy story because of her birth date. She was born on 9/11 2001 which is surprising because that was a day that changed the worlds view on protection and this event again changes protection and how easily someone can shoot people. Christina sounded like someone who was going to do great things in her life and it's a tragedy that she had to die.

Obama taps Gene Sperling as new head of economic council

Recap:

This article was about how Obama has just appointed Gene Sparling the new head of economic council. It also discusses the economic council's goals and progress since the recession. It discusses the unemployment rate and the different jobs that have become available. Obama said in a press conference that the pace is clear and that the unemployment rate will continue to decrease. Gene Sparling is a very qualified man as he headed the economic council during the Bill Clinton era. He hopes to improve the unemployment rate and that is first on the agenda for the economic council. A few other people were also promoted to higher position's such as Jason Furman who was promoted to the position of principal deputy officer of the council and Katharine Abraham was also an added member to the council. All in all the economic council believes they have made good improvements and will continue to help the economy in the future.

Opinion:

I believe that the economic council is very important and that the unemployment rate going down is a very good sign. The economy is what drives the country and appointing a new head of a council is very important to make changes. This will bring in new views and ideas and this can help the council accomplish different things. I did a little research on Gene Sparling and he seems like a very good man for the job as he has been in the same position before. I think the economy is going to continue to become better and the unemployment rate will be better than ever.

Evacuations in Australia proceed as floodwaters rise

Recap:

This article was about the flooding that is happening in Australia and how it is affecting numerous residents in the state of Queensland. The flooding has affected almost everyone who lives in that general area. Rockhampton is the largest and most populous city that is strongly effected by the flooding. The airport in this town has closed down, making evacuations much more difficult. Also many homes from Rockhampton have been evacuated and the weather is not expected to let down. According to meteorologists the flooding is supposed to continue and potentially become even worse. This is some of the worse flooding that Australia has ever seen.

Opinion:

 As soon as I read this story I thought of the Australian exchange student James that lived with me for five weeks during November and December. James and I had discussed the flooding while he was here but his dad had told him that it wasn't serious and it most likely wasn't going to be. After reading this article I'm shocked to find out that the flood situation in Australia is quite serious. Many people have evacuated and cities like Rockhampton are having an extremely difficult time. I found this article extremely interesting and I hope that the flooding in Australia gets better and not worse.

Global food prices hit record high

Recap:

This article was about food prices and how many basic foods are hitting record high prices across the world. Experts say this is no where near a crisis but could become worse and worse. Others also say that this will be no where near the record high in the future as food prices continue to rise in developing and developed countries. The rise in food  prices will affect poorer countries because people won't be able to afford food. The impact will also be felt in developed countries because fast food restaurants and grocery stores start charging more which causes inflation. Rising food prices become the normal over the next few years. The article also discusses the importance of wheat and rice and although wheat is higher priced than it was in the 2007-08 food crisis, rice has been relatively stable, experts say this is important because it is one of the most common foods around the world.

Opinion:

This is a shocking article to me, I was surprised to hear that food prices are rising, I think in the long run food prices will continue to rise and eventually cause starvation around the world. Food  prices around the world have not risen too much from the food crisis in 2007-08 which affected countries like Haiti yet they are still at record highs. I think if food prices continue to rise than it will affect everybody because everyone needs to pay their bills and feed their family.