It has been nearly three weeks since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, and although emergency assistance is being provided, people are looking to desperate measures in order to attain their basic needs, one of them being water. Naturally, people are bringing in water from the nearby streams, but they are also bringing in a disease.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that is acquired by ingesting a substance that has been infected by animal urine or feces. As of now, there are many dead animals either in or nearby streams, and the fluids from their remains are spilling into the water. However, leptospirosis is very treatable. Penicillin, one of the most popular antibiotics, is the main agent used to combat leptospirosis. So, you might ask: why are people dying from this? The answer is simple: hospitals are running out of medicine, and quickly. Even a drug as commonplace as penicillin is a luxury, so people with this disease are unlikely to get treated.
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On October 2, 2017, Americans woke up as if it were any other day. They groggily yawned, stretched, and checked their phones. They turned their brightness down so they would not be blinded, but they were awakened by the news that another incident has claimed the title of largest mass shooting ever in one of the country's most prolific cities: Las Vegas. A city known for its gaudy lifestyle, Las Vegas has had a rich impact on American life, but today, we mourn the dozens of people who were murdered, not out of spite, but by chance. As of now, officials have stated that 58** people have been murdered, and an additional 515 people have been injured. The shooter was Stephen Paddock, 64, a Nevada native. He used a semi-automatic rifle from the 32nd floor and shot down into the neighboring Harvest Festival. The police were able to track him down by the smoke alarms that were set off from the gun smoke. Paddock was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gun shot wound. It is rumored that he was neck-deep in massive gambling debt, although the motive behind the attack has not been made clear to investigators yet. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gave the Mavericks' private plane to J.J. Barea, the Maves' guard, in order for him to fill the plane with emergency materials. Barea was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and he felt that he should be able to use his sports fame in order to give back to his community.
Barea was not alone in this thought, though, Cuban artist Pitbull donated his own private plane for the purpose of evacuating cancer patients in Puerto Rico to the mainland. Jennifer Lopez donated $1 million to emergency relief aid, and she will be joined by other Latino artists such as Luis Fonsi and Marc Anthony for a concert that will donate all of its earnings to restoring the island. As tensions between North Korea and the United States rise, the world has been on its toes with the idea of an impending attack on American soil. Our "Leader of the Free World", Mr. Donald Trump, has shared more than his fair share of uncensored insults by both the traditional press and Twitter. However, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has now expressed his distaste for the American president, calling him a "dotard". According to Google, a dotard is "an old person, especially one who was become weak or senile". We will wait for Trump's response to the insult that we never knew existed.
Some adults have the mentality of a child in an adult body, and there has been no better example as of late than Twitter user @Leletill. She read on the label of poster paint a footnote that said it "washes easily off skin". However, as most of us know, just because we can do something doesn't absolutely mean that we should. Looks like some still haven't gotten the memo - cue the pink face: Beautiful. ain't she? Despite the rest of Twitter finding her blunder completely hilarious, she doesn't find her situation the least bit comical, even threatening to sue Palmer Paint Products. Lawsuit or not, nothing can help her save face in this situation. Thanks for the laugh, Leah!
So, you'd think that with the oncoming monster that is Hurricane Irma heading towards Florida, they'd be in a complete state of panic. However, there's always that group of comedians that bring laughter to every situation. In this case, it's the numerous amounts of events that Floridians have created on Facebook such as "Shoot at Hurricane Irma" and "Spin your fidget spinners clockwise to counteract Hurricane Irma". And, of course, my personal favorite:
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Gracemarie Cepero-LopezJust a high school senior trying to pass with all A's. |