Remembering 9/11
On September 11, 2001, millions of Americans were going about their business on a regular Tuesday. That morning fourteen members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The terrorists deliberately crashed two of the planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City causing the buildings to collapse. […]
The Johnstown Flood of 1889
On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam in southwest Pennsylvania collapsed. The waters of Lake Conemaugh burst from behind the earthen dam with the force of Niagara Falls. When the 40-foot wall of water reached Johnstown, located in a valley 14 miles below the dam, it had already carried debris, people, and animals from […]
Remembering 9/11, Twenty Years Later
Twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001, millions of Americans were going about their business on a regular Tuesday. That morning fourteen members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The terrorists deliberately crashed two of the planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City causing the […]
YOU DECIDE: School Social Media Free Speech Case
As a student, what are you allowed to say–and not allowed to say–on social media? That’s the question at the heart of a recent Supreme Court ruling. A high school student from Pennsylvania is at the center of the case. She posted her frustration on Snapchat after not making the varsity cheerleading team. Here, btw […]
Battleground States Certify Election Results
This week’s Election Central update lets you know what is happening as states begin certifying final vote totals. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and the Republican National Committee are creating legal challenges to call the certified vote totals into question. A month has now passed since Election Day 2020, and the states are only now completing […]
Election . . . Week?
The most recent story on Election Central presents the big changes of a dramatic 2020 election week. On Saturday, November 7, Joe Biden gained the necessary number of Electoral College votes to be the 46th president of the United States. But some Congressional races have not yet declared a victor. In fact, a few key races […]
Pennsylvania Ballot Postmark Debate
The most recent story on Election Central explains how court challenges are happening regarding how to count mail in ballots. Americans are voting early both in person and by mail in record numbers in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Providing citizens with more voting options presents some unique challenges, such as long lines at early […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
#RickyRenuncia (Ricky Resign) Be careful what you put in a text message. That’s a lesson that Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello learned the hard way earlier this month when nearly 900 pages of sexist, homophobic, profane, and otherwise offensive texts that he exchanged with his top officials were made public. Once the texts (which mocked […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
New Gene Therapy Trials Underway Do you think scientists should be allowed to modify the genetic material of human beings? What if you had a serious or life-threatening disease that could possibly be helped if scientists could modify your genes? You may have heard of CRISPR last year, when a Chinese scientist used this gene-editing […]
A 9/11 Tale of Hope
So many stories that originated from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are sad stories of loss. But there are also some stories of human kindness and changed hearts. Today, before the annual remembrance of that sad day, let us hear and think about a positive story, in which a group of American travelers were fortunate […]