Author Archives: Izabella Felpeto

Royal engagement announced

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

After dating for over a year, Prince Harry proposed to American actress Meghan Markle on Monday.

Prince Harry, 33, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and fifth in line to the throne, finally popped the question. There were many doubts about their relationship, as it was kept private for a while.

It was no surprise that the couple carefully avoided paparazzi, because of obvious controversies Prince Harry caused in the past. A few of the various incidents with the tabloids included Harry wearing a Nazi costume at a party and photos of the young rebel prince smoking cannabis in public.

Although, his “bad boy” days are behind him. The prince has matured in the past three years after seeking help and admitting his suffering after the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He has been more involved in philanthropic work and being a vocal advocate for people with mental disabilities.

His bride-to-be does not exactly scream conservative for the British monarchy. Her parents Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle said they were “incredibly happy” for the couple. Her mother is a yoga instructor and her father is a cinematographer. Markle, 36, is an actress, best known for her work on the TV series “Suits,” is biracial and has been divorced once. She is a global ambassador for World Vision Canada — and she has worked for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The young couple wishes to modernize the royal family and end the era of conservatism.

We are involved in modernizing the British monarchy,” Prince Harry said in an interview with Newsweek. “We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people.”

The wedding will take place in the Spring of 2018, according to a statement released by Clarence Household. The couple will be known as the duke and duchess of Sussex, according to British news media.

Hurricanes rank No. 3 in football

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

The Miami Hurricanes prove that “you can’t spell undefeated without the U,” after destroying their long-time rival, Notre Dame, 41-8 this past Saturday, in one of the most exciting home games of the season.

The Canes started the game strong, earning two touchdowns in the first quarter and putting the Fighting Irish (who finally scored in the 3rd quarter) to shame.

A year ago, the Hurricanes and the Fighting Irish met in South Bend, Ind., with Notre Dame escaping with a 30-27 victory. The iconic teams: No. 7 Miami Hurricanes and the No.3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish continued their rivalry, with the Canes dominating the Fighting Irish in a game that set fans wild over a hard-earned victory.

The Canes (9-0, 6-0 ACC) are now ranked No. 3 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

“We’re just trying to get better every week,” linebacker Michael Pinckney said. “We just come out every week, we can’t take anyone lightly. We got great things ahead. I just feel like we have to come out this weekend and take Virginia no lighter than we took Notre Dame.”

The team is one step closer to the ACC championship and Miami fans are loving it.

“My goodness. Malik Rosier’s performance last Saturday becomes even more impressive. Best to him and his family,” tweeted ESPN’s sports commentator Stephania Bell.

The Hurricanes will continue their battle to the ACC title with Virginia, tomorrow at noon.

Houston Astros win World Series

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

Just nine weeks after one of the worst hurricanes and severe flooding hit Houston, the Astros prove that #houstonstrong is more than just a trending hashtag.

On Wednesday night, the Houston Astros made history by winning the World Series in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, making it the city’s first baseball championship. Never had the team even made it to the seventh game before.

“Earned History,” is what the Astros posted on their Twitter after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 during Game 7, making it the first win for World Series veterans Justin Verlander and Carlos Beltran. This was retweeted more than 50,000 times.

“No matter what, this Series is going down in the history books as one of the best Series of all time,” said Verlander after the Astros took a loss in Game 6. “I think tomorrow’s going to be nothing short of spectacular either way. I hope we blow them out, but the way these things have been going, I don’t see that being the case.”

This game did well in bringing Houston together after some games were forced to be played away from Houston, due to the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

“My mom lost her car & nearly our house to Harvey. It’s her birthday & she’s SO happy the Astros gave her a World Series win #HoustonStrong,” tweeted Leah Ware, a local fan.

Most players helped with relief efforts and even wore the words “H Strong” on their jerseys.

Three Astros players, including shortstop Carlos Correa, dedicated their win to those affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Outfielder Carlos Beltran, a Puerto Rico native, donated more than $1 million to disaster relief for the island.

Pending answers on Niger attack

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

The U.S. Department of Defense continues to investigate a more accurate account of events for the attacks in Niger.

On Oct. 3, 12 members of the U.S. Special Operations Task Force and 30 Nigerian forces left Niger’s capital, Niamey, to travel to a small village near Tongo Tongo, to complete a mission for the purpose of gaining information. The following day, U.S. soldiers and the Nigerien forces were ambushed by an Isis-affiliated group composed of 50 attackers.

Two hours after the attack, French Mirage jets came to assist the soldiers. Questions remain about why the soldiers waited an hour into the fight to call for help.

“But it’s important to note that when they didn’t ask for support for that first hour, my judgment would be that that unit thought they could handle the situation without additional support,” said Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford during a briefing at the Pentagon on Monday. “And so, what we’ll find out in the investigation exactly why it took an hour for them to call.”

Information is still pending about why the mission in Niger went wrong, leaving four U.S. soldiers dead, two soldiers injured and five Nigerien troops dead.

Even after the most updated timeline of events were released, it is uncertain why fallen solider Sgt. David Johnson’s body was left unrecovered for two days.

“We owe the families of the fallen more information and that’s what the investigation is designed to identify,” said Dunford.

The U.S. Africa Command is continuing a thorough investigation of what happened.

Opioid deaths continue to rise

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

Opioids, which are among the deadliest drugs in American history, continue to concern public health officials, as the number of drug-related American deaths rise.

An opioid is a drug derived from opium, which is a narcotic that has served as a base to produce other drugs with similar “pain reducing” effects like heroine and morphine.

Approximately two million Americans have a problem with opioids. Although it is a necessary medical advancement because of its continual aid for chronic pain and cancer patients; it is also a highly addictive drug that has increased the amount of deaths in the past years.

The problem began in the 1980s, when scholarly articles, which were popular among doctors, began easing the fear of prescribing opioids for chronic pain. Its effectiveness among patients began an uprising demand for pain killers. By the 1990s the pharmaceutical companies caught on. Shortly after, they began marketing drugs of this type and helped the industry for pharmaceutical narcotics grow.

Among the contributors to these fatalities is Fentanyl, a synthetic, cheaper, and more potent version of the narcotic, that has become more popular among drug users in the recent years.

According to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, “Heroin has become much cheaper in recent years as the supply in the United States has grown.”

Residents are becoming concerned about the high number of overdoses, especially in places with a more common vulnerability to drugs, like The Bronx, in New York City.

“Especially in the South Bronx, you have so many people in housing who overdose, says The Bronx native Terrell Jones.

This is not only a social issue in The Bronx, but also among areas where drugs are easily accessible. People are overdosing by the numbers and it seems to see no end.

Allegations against Weinstein continue

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BY IZABELLA FELPETO

30 women have come forward to confirm sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Stories of assault from women who interacted with one of the most powerful men in Hollywood have been circulating the media since October 5th, when the New York Times shed light on a crime that has been terrorizing women for decades. Three of the thirty women that have come forward about Weinstein’s advances go as far as defining the violation as rape.

The New York Police Department is further investigating claims of assault made by women who worked with the co-founder of the production-and-distribution companies Miramax and Weinstein Company. This was no surprise to the N.Y.P.D., who had a secret recording of Weinstein apologizing to a model after admitting to groping her outside of a hotel room. It was determined that the recording did not supply sufficient evidence against Weinstein.

“Our sex-crime prosecutors made the determination that this was not going to be a provable case and the decision was made not to go forward,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. when questioned about the recording.

Previously received reports accusing Weinstein of sexual assault are now being used as evidence in reviewing the case.

“We are focused on the facts, not if people liked Harvey,” said the DA.

Several actors have come forward with statements about the abuse of power in the film industry. Reports of Weinstein’s abuse were overlooked even though suspicions circulated around Hollywood for years.

“Why weren’t people able to speak out in the way they wanted to?” said Film producer Elizabeth Karlsen in a detailed interview.

She goes further to explain that the inability of entertainers to speak up about this sort of behavior is one of the worst and unspoken issues in the industry and has to end.

“This behavior toward women in any field, any country is unacceptable,” said Angelina Jolie, who is a director and well-known actress and worked with Harvey in the 90s. She too spoke up about the producer’s advances.

Weinstein’s career at the Weinstein company has been terminated and he has issued a public apology for his inappropriate behavior. However, he has not admitted to any allegations of assault. Meanwhile police investigation continues.

Plans in order to ban ‘bump stock’

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

After one of the deadliest shootings in American history, with 58 people killed and 489 wounded; it is no surprise that officials are beginning to consider the steps necessary to further regulate access to and use of guns.

On Thursday, Oct. 5, lawmakers began efforts to ban legislation on bump stocks, an attachment that enables a semiautomatic weapon to fire faster. Bump stocks are not banned even though it allows a person to fire a gun at the speed of a fully-automatic gun because of technicalities with how it is made.

Jill Snyder, a special agent in charge at the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says “The classification of these devices depends on whether they mechanically alter the function of the firearm to fire fully automatic.”

After the world witnessed painful video coverage of the shooting; experts concluded it is proof enough that a semi-automatic weapon with a bump stock can accelerate the speed of the shots to the level of a fully-automated weapon. Twelve of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock’s rifles carried a bump stock.

The National Rifle Association issued a statement saying “The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”

Republicans have already demonstrated support to alter the gun laws. Republican representatives Mike Gallagher and Adam Kinzinger asked for signatures to petition a change in the 2010 administrative decision saying that bump stocks are legal.

There is still no answer on this ban from President Trump, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the president is a “supporter of the Second Amendment” and that he is “open” to discussing the ban on “bump stock.”

Open roads for women in Saudi Arabia

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

As of Tuesday, Sept. 26, Prince Muhammad bin Salman lifted the ban on women driving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“This is the right time to do the right thing,” he said to American reporters.

Not only has the young Prince challenged social order by lifting this ban but, on Sept. 23, the country’s National Day; women were allowed to present themselves in the Riyadh stadium for the first time. His promises to Saudi Arabia’s youth, which make up about 70 percent of the country, have posed a threat to the traditional religious views of the Islamic religion.

His efforts to banish conservatism have been publicly critiqued, especially, on social media. Hours after the news was released, “the women of my house will not drive” quickly became the most popular Twitter hashtag in Saudi Arabia.

Beginning June 17, 2018, all women have the right to get behind the wheel and obtain a driver’s license, with permission of a male guardian.

This victory has not been easy as confirmed by many Saudi women activists who have fought hard against female oppression in the country. Manal al Shariff, who has a history of charges for “driving while female,” shed tears after hearing this and said “Saudi Arabia will never be the same again. The rain begins with a single drop.”

The driving restriction can improve the country’s economic state. With limited transport, it is difficult for women to commute to work unless they have a car service, which can be expensive. The other option would be to travel with a male guardian. However, some Islamic extremists still argue that driving could affect a woman’s fertility by harming her ovaries.

In celebration, women have posted photos and videos on social media of them driving. Madeha al Ajroush, a proud Saudi woman, tweeted: “The will for women to drive has finally come. We Saudi women has the freedom of mobility.”

Support offered for Mumbai victims

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By IZABELLA FELPETO

More than 23 people have been found dead Thursday morning after a five-story building in Mumbai collapsed.

Rescue workers continue to search for at least 30 missing victims at the scene of the tragedy, while local firefighters remain on location, clearing out debris that could potentially cause victims who are still trapped in the remains to suffocate.

Located in India’s West Coast, this city is known for its heavy rainfall and flooding. Although five were reported dead as a result of the heavy flooding; authorities are uncertain if the collapse was due to rainfall, which began on Saturday morning.

According to local news media, the 117-year-old building on the busy street of Pakmodia needed repairs since 2013. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai was the current owner of the building and is now being investigated for the negligence of necessary renovations.

MCGM claims to have urged the inhabitants to evacuate the building earlier this year, however, it is still unknown as to why they remained after a warning. The company is said to appear in court on Wednesday.

Government spokesperson Vijay Khabele Patil said “they are concerned officers who had to look after repairs and other things” did not do that.

City officials remain concerned with the construction of buildings in Mumbai, and fear that this may only be the first tragedy of many. They fear that hundreds of buildings in the city may be unfit for living conditions.

Although the flood waters increase each day, fortunately, so does the support, concern, and medical response for the citizens of Mumbai.

Many celebrities have reached out on social media to share their support. Dilip Kumar, an Indian producer, actor and activist tweeted “May Allah keep all of you safe. #mumbaiRains. I’ve been told the authorities are doing their best to make it easy for you. God bless.”