A Year in News

By Savannah McDade Posted November 30, 2010

Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award that can be granted to an individual serving in the United States Armed Forces. The Medal of Honor is not bestowed often; a mere 87 recipients that have received the award are still living.

On September 10, 2010, President Obama awarded 25-year-old army specialist Salvatore Giunta the Medal of Honor. Guinta demonstrated heroic actions on October 25, 2007, when he instinctively placed himself in the midst of enemy fire in order to give aid to fellow wounded soldiers. In the middle of chaos, Guinta noticed that his comrade Sergeant Josh Brennan was missing. In order to search for him, Guinta ran out of sight of the rest of his regiment, therefore, opening himself up to ultimate vulnerability. He spotted two Taliban fighters dragging away Brennan’s body. Guinta killed one and wounded the other in order to save Brennan. Sgt. Brennan died shortly after; however, because of the bold impulsive actions Guinta took, Brennan was able to have a proper burial.

Guinta is the first living recipient since the Vietnam War.
Information provided by:
www.cmohs.org
www.washingtonpost.com
northshorejournal.org
cnn.com

Oil Spill
On April 20, 2010, a drilling rig, working for the oil company BP, exploded a mere one mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. This is turn, resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history.

Nearly five months after the initial explosion, the oil well was finally sealed when cement was poured into the base of the well. However, throughout the tragic five months, an estimated five million barrels of oil leaked into the gulf, 11 drillers were killed during the explosion, nearly 500 birds, 227 turtles, and 27 mammals had been found dead along the gulf coast, and the incident reportedly added up to approximately 40 billion dollars.
Information provided by:
www.huffingtonpost.com 
www.guardian.co.uk
topics.nytimes.com

Haiti
On January 12, 2010, a disaster struck Haiti when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island resulting in a staggering death toll of approximately 300,000 people and with some three million people in need of emergency aid. Because of the poor infrastructure of buildings in Haiti, the damage was catastrophic. Relief efforts have been made by various associations such as The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, as well donations contributed by numerous Churches. Preceding the devastation of the earthquake, Haiti suffered an outbreak of cholera. According to the CDC, the outbreak was confirmed on October 21, 2010. This is the first time Haiti has seen an outbreak of Cholera in over 100 years and according to an article

Posted by Fox News cholera has left around 3,000 people ill and 250 deceased as of October 24.

Information provided by:

www.cbc.ca
www.telegraph.com
www.foxnews.com
www.associatedcontent.com
www.nowpublic.com

Bullying
On September 22, 2010, Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi posted a farewell suicide message on his Facebook site. Clementi allegedly threw himself off of a bridge into the Hudson River after his roommate clandestinely filmed Clement in the midst of a sexual encounter with another male and proceeded to post the video online. 

Incidents such as this are causing colleges and schools all around America to crack down on harassment. 

The Obama Administration is working on behalf of federal laws and rules that will result in harsher punishment for discrimination and harassment in schools. 
Information provided by:
www.insidehighered.com
abcnews.go.com

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