N.Y. Women Accused of ISIS-Inspired Bomb Plot Plead Not Guilty

Two women from New York, ages 28 and 31 who were roommates, were accused of being involved in ISIS. They were accused of supposedly planning to build an explosive device which would take part in an ISIS attack. They had a federal court hearing in Brooklyn, New York and both pleaded not-guilty. One of the women, who appeared in a head scarf was smiling while there, and the other showed no emotion at all. As of 2 p.m. on May 7th, their next court date will be May 20th. One of the women, Noelle Velentzas stated that she didn't understand why people were travelling to other countries, when they could just plan and create terrorist attacks in their own country. Both of the women are U.S citizens, and the charges against them are development of destructive weapons and conspiracy.


 "New York Women in ISIS-inspired Plot Plead Not Guilty." CNN. Cable News Network, 7 May 2015. Web. 7 May 2015.  http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/07/us/new-york-terror-court-pleas/index.html

Minneapolis Men Allegedly Trying to Join ISIS Highlight Role of American Recruiter

Recently, six men have tried going to Syria to join the ISIS terrorist organization.  A man by the name of Abdi Nur, originally from Minneapolis, has been attempting to get his friends in Syria but has failed multiple times now.  He is a big recruiter for ISIS by getting people from America to join.  They had been talking to Abdi over social networks and other forms of communication that have been discovered by the FBI resulting in the arrests along with leads from other individuals.  Although these men were in custody, Adbi is still promising them that he can get them to Syria with him.  Before the men were captured, they were instructed to get fake passports from Mexico to get through to Syria.  The fight with ISIS is ongoing and will continue to be for many years to come.

Perez, Evan. "Minneapolis Men Allegedly Trying to Join ISIS Highlight Role of American Recruiter." CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/politics/isis-minnesota-arrests-abdi-nur/index.html>.

Female finalists to be the new face of the $20 bill

There is a group of people fighting to get a womans face on the $20 bill.  The group labels themselves as W20 and are hoping to have a face on it by 2020 because it will be the 100 anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.  There are only 4 women left in the drawing including Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Mankiller.  These finalists were selected by a group of 250,000 voters which took place online.  

Rooney, Ben. "Female Finalists to Be the New Face of the $20 Bill." CNN Money. Cable News Network, 8 Apr. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/08/news/woman-on-20-bill/index.html>

TSA Union Calls for Arming Some Airport Employees

A TSA Union is asking for permission to have certain TSA officers armed with deadly force if and when necessary.  This current topic arose when a man charged a TSA desk with a Machete, Wasp Spray, and homemade weapons such as molotov cocktails.  This attack is the second time an instance as such has happened.  These TSA agents are very vulnerable to attacks due to the fact they aren’t carrying lethal weapons and are the front line at the airports.  Airports rely on police officers for these types of instances which does not do enough.  The Union only wishes to have a new unit that is armed, not all agents.  Some oppose this due to the fact there are shady people and also because they will be targets to these crazy people attacking airports.  

Hoye, Matthew. "Should the TSA Have Guns? - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/politics/tsa-guns-protection/index.html

"Scientists Discover Black Hole 12 Billion times More Massive Than the Sun"

In China, a group of researchers discovered a massive black hole they claim to be 12 billion times the size of the sun.  They claim that it was formed nearly 900 million years after the “big bang” happened.  Xue-Bing Wu, a researcher from Peking University spotted this black hole with his telescope while observing the universe in Yunnan, China.  This particular black hole is more that six times larger than any other hole known of at this time and is named SDSS J010013.02.  This has “the brightest quasar of the early universe.” according to a research group at the University of Arizona.  A quasar is a beacon of light powered by black holes due to matter being destroyed and heated to millions of degrees.  Wu from the University of Arizona stated "Just like the brightest lighthouse in the distant universe, its glowing light will help us to probe more about the early Universe."




Cullinane, Susannah. "Scientists Discover Black Hole 12 Billion Times Bigger Than The Sun."CNN. Cable News Network, 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/world/space-black-hole-new/index.html.

In Bid to Allow Guns on Campus, Weapons Are Linked to Fighting Sexual Assault

A group of advocates are pushing to allow weapons on campus to create a safer environment.  They believe that allowing students to have weapons would help prevent things such as sexual assault and mass shootings.  There are currently ten states fighting to have laws passed where students have the right to bear arms if they feel necessary.  A negative to this is the fact that a lot of students in college consume alcohol, which could possibly lead to gun accidents.  There are many frustrated people with this topic such as when State Representative Dennis Baxley said, “If you’ve got a person that’s raped because you wouldn't let them carry a firearm to defend themselves, I think you're responsible.” during a meeting held in the house.  Of the people surveyed, sixty percent of men are against these bills and eighty six percent of women are also opposed.  

Schwarz, Alan. “In Bid to Allow Guns on Campus, Weapons Are Linked to Fighting Sexual Assault” The New York Times (2015). 18 February 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/us/in-bid-to-allow-guns-on-campus-weapons-are-linked-to-fighting-sexual-assault.html?ref=politics