By Jack Moncure Trucks these days have gotten crazy compared to trucks of years past. Trucks at one point were simply a utility vehicle, mainly purposed for work and meant to be on the job. Trucks today have adopted a whole new spirit. Trucks have become available to the everyday user. Trucks nowadays get better mileage and have more comfortable interiors. They aren’t the heavy-duty brutes they used to be. Today’s trucks are packed with the latest technology, and they aren’t just designed to be understated work horses. They make a statement. You see manufactures making off-road brawlers like the Raptor, TRX, TRD Pro and more. Truck manufacturers are loading trucks up with all the technology learned from off-road racing. Right now manufacturers like Ford, Dodge, Toyota, and Chevy are competing to make the best off-road capable trucks. They are putting new suspension systems derived from racing, increased horsepower with turbos and superchargers, and so many more features designed to make the driving experience more thrilling. This kind of competition is what breeds greatness, and competitions are pushing manufacturers to build trucks better and better. We are seeing auto manufactures take off-road trucks seriously and give us what we want. Overall, I think the truck market is great right now. It makes me happy to see OEM’s taking off-roading seriously. More and more people are getting into off-roading, and it’s good that new capable trucks are becoming more accessible. Not to mention how cool it is that they are even making these things. Trucks have changed over the years drastically, arguably for the better. These trucks of today are doing things no one ever thought trucks could do.
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By Manny Villa On May 5, 2023, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit Ishikawa, Japan. There was one fatality and multiple injuries. Buildings were also damaged. The Shika nuclear power plant, which happens to be in the area, fortunately has not been negatively impacted. There have been a reported 50 aftershocks in the area. Transportation services such as railway services were temporarily shut down for safety reasons.
Japan experiences earthquakes like this because of its geographic location. Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” which is infamous for extreme seismic activity. Normally earthquakes occur when two tectonic plates collide. However, in Japan’s case, multiple plates collide causing extreme earthquakes. One of the worst cases seen was in 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake beneath the sea near Fukushima that caused a devastating tsunami. The tsunami left about 18,500 people dead or missing, catastrophically damaged a nuclear power plant, and destroyed millions of dollars in property. By Victoria Valenzuela In numbers, over 50,000 people die each day from Fentanyl poisoning. For those who do not know, Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. In other words, its original use was for medical pain relievers. However, over time it's created such a huge threat in our society today. Not only is it stripping the lives of so many people, but it's also killing people who are not even aware they are taking it or ingesting it. For reference, it’s 50% stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It’s so important to be educated on the dangers of this drug because teenagers, adults, even children are losing their lives day by day. That can be your cousin, your sibling, your classmate–or even you. How you can be exposed: Although this is a pill, you can be affected by skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion. It can cause extreme happiness, drowsiness, nausea, confusion, constipation, sedation, tolerance, addiction, respiratory depression and arrest, unconsciousness, coma, and death. Something important to remember is that counterfeit drugs are often the most common drug that could be laced with Fentanyl. As scary as it may seem, it gets worse. Kids are being manipulated and tricked into taking things laced with Fentanyl and even taking the actual pill itself. People are calling it “the rainbow drug.” These drugs are being brightly colored to appeal more to the eyes of young children making it look very similar to Smarties. This in itself has caused over 5,000 deaths in young children and is increasing rapidly. Recognizing the danger of Fentanyl will save one life at a time. By spreading the word and educating others about the fatal flaws of this drug, you can make a difference. You just never know. Stay safe and stay proactive in educating yourself. You might just save your own life too.
By Lucas Fredette and John Arnold McDonalds has been accused of abducting kids to use for McChild labor. More than 300 minors, even two 10-year-olds, were found working unpaid at Mickey D’s. This goes against United States’ Child Labor laws. The McDonald's franchises using their way with children now faces over $200,000 in civil lawsuit penalties. Three franchises operating 62 Mcdonalds throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and Ohio were found breaking the Child Labor Laws. The children, moreover, worked more than legal limit of hours. Two 10-year-olds were found working at a McDonalds in Louisville until 2 AM. Investigators found that these two specific children were not only employed without pay, but they were even the children of a night manager. They were visiting their parents at work and put to work, which was not approved by franchisee organization management. According to corporate policy, non-employees were never to be in the kitchen area of the restaurant.
The Senior Vice President of McDonalds has made a statement showing the corporation’s disapproval of the situation. While the company has made a statement of apology and said that “under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen,” it will be hard for people to continue going to McDonalds without the suspicion that their scrumptious patties may have been flipped by a minor. By Gabrielle Born Today is Friday, May 19th. It is the third Friday of May. Guess what that means? It’s National Endangered Species Day! This special day was established in 2006 by the Endangered Species Coalition to teach people about the animals that are endangered, and how they could possibly help them. Today, we humans are supposed to learn about animals that are almost extinct.
There are actually several categories of animal endangerment. First, there is vulnerability, which is not where the animal is endangered, but close to being endangered. It is where the population of the animal has gone down at least 10% within 100 years. Next, there is endangered, where the animal is close to being almost extinct, and its population has decreased at least 20% within 20-60 years. Finally, there is critically endangered, which is where the animal has a population decrease of more than 50% within 10 years or 3 generations. When an animal is critically endangered, it means that it is literally almost extinct. What animals are endangered, and what animals are critically endangered?
What is causing these animals to be endangered? The primary cause of endangerment for animals is related to habitat destruction by humans. When the habitat of these animals is destroyed, the animals cannot find food and have no place to live. So, preventing habitat destruction is one way to promote survival of these animals. By Diego Campbell “Fauna” is a strange word. It refers to animals in a specific location. “Fantastic” can mean different things, but in this case, it means “seeming more appropriate to the imagination than to reality.” Over the past few months I’ve been writing about all types of strange, you-wouldn’t-believe-it-unless-you’ve-seen-it, kinds of animals. But this article has a very specific focus; it’s looking at animals that appear so unusual, you’d think they came from a magical land rather than a rainforest (ironically, they do in fact set up shop in the tropics.) A lot of animals are incredible, but few are as fantastic as these. Northern Glass Frog- Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni There are fewer frogs as transparent as the glass frogs, a word here which doesn’t mean having easily perceived emotions. The Northern Glass Frog is a small light-green frog with an underside that can become see-through. When the underside is clear, it’s possible to see the small amphibian's veins and organs. Not many animals can boast a visible beating heart like these guys. The purpose of the clear skin is simple: camouflage. The tropical rainforests in Central and South America these frogs like to call home are also home to plenty of predators. To protect themselves while they sleep, glass frogs divert red blood that keeps their skin opaque, a word here which means not transparent, into their livers. This makes their skin as transparent as a dewdrop. It’s almost like they cast a magic spell of invisibility on themselves. This unique skill gives them great chances of survival and gives humans a chance to learn how to prevent blood clots. Rhinoceros Snake- Gonyosoma Boulengeri The Rhinoceros Snake, also known as the Vietnamese Long Nosed Snake, is your typical subtropical rainforest snake, save for one small detail: a long scaly protrusion at the end of its head. This “horn” was such a defining feature that every title this animal has references it in some way. However, scientists aren’t actually sure if the horn serves any evolutionary purpose. These snakes are nonpoisonous rat eaters, but they will still go for anything as small as lizards or birds. Another name for this snake happens to be the Green Unicorn. With a horn and name like that, it isn’t hard to imagine this reptile as a legendary beast worthy of a quest or two. Orchid Mantis- Hymenopus Coronatus
Would you believe me if I said this is one of the fastest predators in nature? Surprisingly, the Orchid Mantis, or walking flower mantis, is pretty quick on the draw. They have to be if they want to catch the pollinators they depend on for food. Orchid Mantises have something called “aggressive cryptic mimicry,” a term here which means it not only looks like a normal orchid flower, it appears to pollinators as a larger and more attractive one. When a bee, butterfly, cricket, or beetle get too close to the pretty colors, the mantis strikes with blinding speed. Spiky hairs on its forelegs allow it to catch large insects, even if they are three times bigger than the mantis. They can be found in tropical forests of Southeast Asia and carry no poison or venom. However, their bites can still cause some skin irritation in humans, so the next time you are visiting Indonesia and want to stop and smell the orchids, make sure you take a good look at them first. Conclusion A magical frog, a unicorn snake, and a walking flower mantis. Who knew the tropics had so many crazy critters? I mean seriously: is there a portal to a fantasy world hidden in the trees or something? Anyway, they all made nice little additions for the series that I’ve had so much fun writing. I’ve always loved animals, and getting the chance to write about some of the most bizarre beasts was a great opportunity to express that love. However, with a hanging head and heavy heart, I regret to report that this is the final animal article I will be writing for The Halo. Don’t be sad, though. While I was doing research for all these animals, I saw tons of other strange creatures scattered around the internet. There must be countless more somewhere out there around the world. Even though this trilogy is complete, I encourage you to be on the lookout for awesome animals wherever you go. It’s a wonderful world out there, and we share it with some fantastic creatures. By Gabrielle Born Intro/background It's Cinco de Mayo time! Cinco de Mayo is a celebration that takes place on May 5 every year. History A lot of people think that it’s basically Mexican Independence Day, but it’s actually not. Mexican Independence Day is called Grito de Delores, which translates from Spanish to “Cry of Dolores,” and is celebrated on September 16th. Cinco de Mayo is the day when Mexico won a battle in Puebla in 1862 against the French during the Franco-Mexican War. While it is a minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States it has come to represent a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. California is one of the places that celebrates this holiday because we were involved in the war. We actually helped Mexico to defeat the French. What happens on this day?
Mexican food is eaten during Cinco de Mayo. What kinds of Mexican foods? We eat foods such as tacos, burritos, tamales, and taquitos! We also drink special drinks, such as horchata and a type of Mexican hot chocolate called champurrado. Some people have social gatherings and parades, and dances. By Manny Villa
On April 23rd, an American Airlines flight on its way to Phoenix had to turn around and return to Ohio's John Glenn Columbus International Airport because of a “bird strike.” A bird strike is what the name entails, when a bird or multiple birds strike a plane and cause it to malfunction. The strike happened just a few minutes after takeoff, so the plane was able to turn back around and head back. A video recording shows fire on the plane's right wing from the bird strike. Luckily no one was injured and the plane made a safe landing. Last time there was a devastating bird strike was in 2009 when a flock of geese disabled all the engines. The pilot had to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River and was successful with no deaths. According to the FAA bird strikes may be increasing because of the increase of bird population. We can see this in the Canadian geese population as it has tripled in the last decade. By Jake Swan Six cows were found dead in Texas with an unknown cause of death. All 6 mysteriously had cuts around their jaw area and did not have their tongues. There was no spilled blood, just an incision on the cow's jaw. Around the cows bodies the grass was undisturbed showing that there was no sign of struggle. There were also no footprints or tire tracks. These cattle weren’t traveling together either. The cattles were found along the Texas State Highway inside Madison, Brazo, and Robertson Counties. Surprisingly, each cattle was part of a different herd and were found on a different pasture. So, who was this sneaky tongue stealer, and why did they do it? This mystery is not out of the ordinary. In 2019, five dead bulls were found dead with their tongue and genitals removed in Oregon. There was no indication of the cause of death and people’s minds went wild theorizing what may have happened. Their theories ranged from disease carrying bugs to aliens invasion. Overall, FBI investigators concluded that there were no prompted theories of what happened to these Oregonian bulls other than predator attacks. Surprisingly, unlike most attempts at stealing of cattle, whose beef is very valuable, cow tongues do not sell for a lot of money. Other motives could be that these animals may have been grazing on tribal lands. There has been no determined cause of death, and the local sheriff said that if anyone has information, he would like them to step forward. This mystery has people’s minds in a twist, and has many people asking what happened to these cows, and who is this mystery cow tongue stealer?
By Kyle Shisbey A statue or figure of Mary is crowned with a floral wreath as part of the May Crowning ritual, which honors her as the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven. May Crowning can be observed at any time during the month of May and has no particular date. Although there is no formal procedure, May Crownings are customarily observed on any day at Mass, and following a procession, a crown of flowers and herbs is placed on the head of a statue of Mary. It is typically followed by songs and prayers honoring Mary. For the remainder of the month, the flowers and herbs are typically changed to keep them fresh. St. Anthony will hold our May Crowning after the May 12th Mass. All year long, people honor and worship Mary, the Mother of God; but May is a unique time to honor the "Queen of Heaven." Since the Middle Ages, when May was regarded as the beginning of a new growing season and the end of winter, May has been referred to as Mary's month. It's a time for fresh starts and an opportunity to begin with appreciation and devotion. There are several explanations for why she is referred to as the "Queen of Heaven." She is regarded as the crown of creation since she was a model disciple of Christ. She is also the mother of Jesus, the universe's and Israel's King and the Son of God. And of course, she is the most important woman of our faith, and our spiritual mother.
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