Stuff You Should Know
Tornadoes in Oklahoma
On May 20, deadly twisters touched down in the town of Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb located near Oklahoma City. Twenty-four people were killed and more than 120 were injured. The tornados were approximately a half-mile in width and caused major damage to homes and local businesses. President Obama officially declared the area a major disaster, which means those affected by the tornados are now eligible to receive federal funds to be used for recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide the local government with support, including training and small business loans for rebuilding.
In the United States, “tornado season” is typically March to May, with some time variations depending on the region of the country. The parts of the country that see the most funnel cloud action are Florida and an area called Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley is made up of the northern-most part of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and small tips of Colorado, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
You can view the brief statement that the president made the day after the storms here.
Dig Deeper–Are tornadoes typical where you live? If so, what precautions do your family and community take to stay safe? If not, what natural disasters are most common where you live? How do you prepare for these disasters, and what makes those preparations different from the precautions taken for tornadoes?
Obama’s Counterterrorism Speech
Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo
Drone vehicles like this one has been a source of controversy for President Obama.
President Obama gave a major speech on May 23 at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. In his speech, Mr. Obama outlined the counterterrorism policies the United States uses to keep our country safe. The president spoke about how terrorism has changed since September 11, 2001, and the kinds of new threats that continue to arise. President Obama addressed controversial topics such as drone strikes, the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the ongoing investigations of national security news leaks.
On drone strikes, President Obama said they will only be used in cases where a suspect is an imminent threat to the American people and cannot be captured in any other way. Even though civilian casualties have been reported, he said that the risk must be carefully measured. Regarding his efforts to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Mr. Obama, who pledged to close the prison in his first term, said that there is no justification to keep the facility open beyond politics. In response to the attack in Benghazi, the president called for increased funding for overseas security, as well as better diplomacy with other nations, increased intelligence, and more aid toward seeking peace in the Middle East.
What Do You Think? Read the transcript this speech. Find at least two opinion articles, one in favor of, and one in opposition to, the policies outlined by the president. Whom do you agree with more? Why?
Memorial Day Box Office Report
The summer movie season keeps arriving earlier and earlier. Despite this, Memorial Day weekend still set box office records last week with earnings of $276 million. Leading the pack was Fast & Furious 6, where a group of retired criminals speed their way through 12 countries on an important government mission that will allow them to clear their collective criminal record. The movie earned $120 million here in the United States alone. The Hangover III, a group of guys try take their buddy to Las Vegas following the death of his father. During the trip–as happened in the first two Hangover movies–events go terribly (and hilariously?) wrong. The Hangover III earned $52 million in the United States. Rounding out the top three with weekend ticket sales of $48 million was Star Trek Step Into Darkness, where the crew from the U.S.S. Enterprise is faced with a threat from within.
Epic, the new animated movie from the makers of Ice Age, also debuted Memorial Day weekend. It follows a teenager named MK who sets out to find her lost father and discovers a secret world. It earned a weekend total of $42 million and was the third-biggest animated Memorial Day weekend debut. Not all moviegoers were out to see a big-budget Hollywood hit. The independent film Before Midnight, the third in a series that follows a couple that met twenty years ago on a train in Europe, earned $274,000. This figure may not seem like much when compared to the films mentioned above, but considering the number of theaters where it played, the film’s per-screen average is very impressive.
What Do You Think? What movies have you seen so far this year? Are there any you are looking forward to seeing this summer? What are some of your favorite summer movies of all time? Do some research and determine how these films did on their opening weekends.
Vintage Apple Computer Fetches High Price
The Apple 1 was the world’s first ready-to-use personal computer. It was hand-assembled by Steve Wozniak in a garage, originally sold for $666.66, and came with no keyboard or monitor. It was basically a circuit board that users had to assemble into a final product themselves. Of the 200 Apple 1 computers originally produced, there are only six known units that still function. Last month, one of them was sold at an auction in Germany for $671,400. The seller was Fred Hatfield, a programmer from Columbus, Ohio, who bought the computer in 1976 for $700. He was initially unhappy with the Apple 1 and contacted the company. Steve Jobs wrote Hatfield a letter, offering to buy the Apple 1 back at a loss. The note was included in the auction.
The story of Apple’s beginnings is a legendary one. Two computer engineers quit their day jobs and went about creating an inexpensive, easy to use home computer. The Apple II, released in 1977, was considerably more sophisticated (and more expensive, priced at $1,298 for 4K of RAM and $2,698 for 48K). Subsequent models improved on both the speed and design of the Apple II.
To learn more about the history of computer technological development, visit the Web site of the Computer History Museum.