Iraqi Suicide Bombing Kills 12 People

According to CNN:



A suicide bombing in Iraq has left 12 people dead and 24 others wounded. The bomber walked into a cultural center in the city of Ramadi wearing a vest strapped with explosives. Several people had gathered at the center to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, officials from the Ramadi police stated. The deputy governor of the mostly Sunni-populated Anbar province, Hakmat Zaydan, was among those injured in the attack.

Chinese Court Upholds Sentencing for American Citizen

According to CNN:



A Chinese court has recently reached a decision to uphold the 8-year prison sentence for an American citizen, a decision which has "extremely disappointed" the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Xue Feng, a naturalized American citizen, was convictend on charges of violating state secrets, which earned him a sentence of 8 years and a 200,000 yuan (app. U.S. $30,400) fine. Feng has already served about 3 years of his sentence.

Iranian Request Challenges Egypt-Israel Relations

According to CNN:



Iran's military has placed a request to allow two of its warships to travel through the Suez Canal, causing tensions between Israel and Egypt's new military government. The Egyptian government, while having sovereignty over the canal, is bound by the Camp David Accords of 1976 to grant free passage to ships to all nations as according to the 1888 Constantinople Convention. The issue is that Iran is a sworn enemy of Israel, Egypt's partner in the treaty. The two ships, both of which are armed with missiles, could cause political issues between Israel and Egypt. The new Egyptian regime is still considering whether it will allow the ships to pass, although officials have stated that passage will probably be granted.

Borders Bookstore Files for Bankruptcy

Borders Bookstore has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans on downsizing their operations. The bookstore chain plans on closing 200 of its 642 bookstores. In Connecticut the Borders locations at Manchester, Milford, Danbury, Simsbury, Wilton and Southbury will close in the next few weeks. Borders says that these stores are loosing $2 million every day they are open and buyers can expect to find closing sales starting this weekend. Borders says the reason for the decline in sales is due to the electronic book stores that are sweeping the nation, such as Apple's iBooks, and Amazon's Kindle. Bookstores just can't compete with a store that is open all day and night and offers books anywhere on the go.

Sources:
NBC Connecticut

Food Drive

The RHAM Leo's club will be having a food drive during lunch Monday March 14th through Friday March 18th. All proceeds are going to Hebron Interfaith Human Services (HIHS). They will be accepting any non-perishable goods. What they would most appreciate would by hygiene related goods, though, such as deodarant, toothpaste, mouthwash, and other products. Those are often in short supply at places such as HIHS. If you have any questions you can talk to a Leo's Advisor or Colin Howard who is running the commitee.

Moore leads UCONN

In last night's game against Oklahoma, Moore set a Big East record. At the end of the first half Moore scored the point that gave her the title of the Big East's all-time leading scorer with 2,796 points and counting. UCONN won against Oklahoma, (86-45) with Moore supporting the Huskies with 27 points. This is Moore's senior year at UCONN and the future is looking bright for this young star. Connecticut Sun's coach, Mike Thibault, said that, "Moore is talented enough that she could have started for his team the last few years." She is expected to be the number one pick for the WNBA's draft this April.

Sources:
Norwich Bulletin

Obama's New Budget

President Obama released his new budget plan for the 2012 fiscal year. The plan includes $3.7 trillion in nation wide cuts. This includes cutting back or removing 200 national programs to save $30 billion. Along with these cuts comes a $5.4 billion insensitive for clean energy research, this will lead to doubling the funding for energy efficiency programs and 70% rise in renewable energy research. But this has yet too enter the house. Tomorrow, the budget enters the house and will be the attention of the house for a while. The republican and democratic parties will try to work out what is expected to be one on the biggest challenges this new house will face.

Sources:
The New York Times

Honduras Plane Crash Kills All On Board

According to CNN:


On Monday, Feb. 14, a passenger plane crashed outside the capital of Honduras, killing all 12 passengers and both pilots. The plane had taken off from San Pedro Sula and was on its way to Tegucigalpa. After being cleared to land, the plane lost communication just before the crash. 13 people were killed on impact, and the second pilot died on the way to the hospital. Emergency personnel are searching for the data recorder and hoping it can help them find the cause of the crash.

Egyptian Artifacts

During the large-scale anti-government protests in Egypt many ancient artifacts were damaged. Artifacts damaged include: two mummy skulls and statue of King Tutankhamun standing on a panther. At the begining of the protests civilians aimed to protect the artifacts by forming a human chain. Now, the army has taken over protection of museum. Steps are being taken to reopen the exhibits. The nearby archeological sites have been reported secure after the looting at the museum.



-AP

Heavy Fire Damages 3-Story Building

According to courant.com, firefighter are still on the scene of a multi-family home at 439 Hillside Avenue in Hartford. Fire broke out at the three story building just before 2:30 Thursday morning. This has left eleven residents without a place to stay. Firefighters are now tearing off portions of the roof, so they can gain access to hot spots. The narrow streets and icy conditions have made the fire very hard to fight, according to fire officials. Firefighters were ordered out of the building at one point because the blaze was so intense. Hillside Avenue is closed from between New Britain Avenue and Ansonia Street. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the fire marshal and no injuries have been reported.

One Hospitalized After Two-Car Collision In Danbury

According to courant.com, one person was admitted to Danbury Hospital for injuries that happened in a serious car accident Tuesday evening. On White Turkey Road, around 6:30 pm there was a two-car crash, according to police. Police are saying that two people were involved in the accident. One of the person's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. The names of the drivers or the seriousness of their injuries have yet to be released by police. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Do Not Engage Thursday, with Taproot at Webster Theater

The local RHAM band Do Not Engage will be doing a show Thursday, Feb 10th, 2011 at the Webster Theater, featuring Taproot. Do Not Engage is an alternative rock band that has done their fair share of shows, their last one was about a month ago at Toad's Place.

Egyptian Vice President Promises Changes

According to CNN:

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, in an attempt to appease protesters in Tahrir Square, has promised that changes will come to the current government. Suleiman met with several representatives of the anti-Mubarak protesters and discussed several possible changes to the country. One particular issue that both sides agreed to is a future end to the military emergency law, which was enacted in 1981 when President Hosni Mubarak took power. Other matters discussed at the meeting included attempts to secure free media in the country, and forming committees to bring about a representative government. However, several protesters in Tahrir Square are not pleased by the meetings, questioning whether those who met with Suleiman were capable to represent a whole revolution. Some people have also implied that the meeting may be a trick to try and disband the protesters while President Mubarak stays in power. Even with the dissenters, U.S. President Obama believes that these talks can aid in a relatively orderly transformation in Egypt to a representative government.

Local Band to Play Benefit Show

The freshman group Dino and the No-Names are hosting a concert to benefit the Hebron Interfaith Human Services and the Marlborough Food Bank.


The event will be held at Marlborough Congretional Church at 7 p.m. on February 17th. Tickets are $5 for anyone over the age of 12, those attending the show are also encouraged to bring canned goods.


If anyone would like to know more about Dino and the No-Names they can visit their Facebook page or look up their songs on Youtube.



-Hebron Bulletin

Penguin Plunge

The idea of jumping into ice-cold water may not seem that appealing, but many RHAM Students and even some faculty will be doing just that on March 12th.



March 12th is the date of the Penguin Plunge! The Penguin Plunge is a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Plungers try to raise get as many pledges as they can, a minimum of $ 50 is required to be able to jump.



The RHAM Leos Club is organizing a group to attend this year. Also, Mr. Buckwinski, a math teacher here at RHAM, is facing the cold and offering his students extra credit for participating in the Penguin Plunge. If interested in attending talk to Leos: Molly Bushey, Hannah Bushey, or Brynn Hainey.



Freeze for a good cause on March 12th!!

Music Review: Diddy Dirty Money-Last Train to Paris

I give this album 2 stars. When I first put in the disc I wasn't sure what to expect from Diddy. As soon as the first track began to play I thought I had made a mistake and put a Kanye CD in instead. He has copied his style and it just did not work. There are a total of 2 good tracks on this album and they were the ones that sounded more like the old Diddy and less like Kanye. The other songs were just unappealing to my ears. The songs had bad flow and the synthesizers did not enhance the lyrics rather it dragged them down. I feel Diddy and his crew need to focus on how they wrote "Hello Good Morning" and "Your Love" and his next album may top the charts.

Greyhound Bus Hijacked

A Greyhound bus heading from Richmond to Raleigh was hijacked on I-85 in North Carolina. The suspect had a gun and told the driver to pull over. He also said that he had an explosive device in his bag. When the bus pulled over at a rest stop, most of the passengers were let off the bus. The bus continued for another 4 miles and the local police surrounded and took down the suspect. No one was injured in the incident and the suspect is in custody.



Sources:

The Baltimore Sun

Snow, Snow and more Snow

As of right now, Hebron has 28 inches of snow on the ground. This snow is a mix of compact snow from the last big snow storm that happened mid January; and icy and wet snow from today and other melting days. All this snow has been piled up in parking lots and sidewalks to make way for traffic but their is no more room to put it. With the weather patterns we have seen in the past month, it is only fair to say that February will bring just as much snow as January did. This raises the question of where will all the snow go, and what will happen when it all melts in the near future. But for now the snow has caused roofs to collapse, cars to crash and an extra week of make up days in June. So clear your roofs and push back your snow banks because winter 2011 is not over yet.