Amazon Raises Their Minimum Wage

Connor Fitzgerald

Staff Writer

On Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, Amazon had released a statement that they are raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour for United States employees. The raises apply to part-time workers and people hired by temporary agencies. Amazon has also said they believe the American minimum wage should be raised.

The current minimum wage in the U.S. has been around $7.25 for almost 10 years or so now. The new minimum wage from Amazon will affect approximately 250,000 employees and to 100,000 more workers they plan to hire for the holiday season.

This change in pay will start on Nov. 1. Jeff Bezos has always received criticism for Amazon’s low pay. After Bezos announced this, Target stated they would raise their minimum wage to $15 by 2020. Walmart also exclaimed they would raise their minimum wage to $11 an hour in January.

“We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead,” Amazon’s executive, Jeff Bezos, had stated. “We’re excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us.”

Amazon has significantly changed the retailing industry in the past couple of years. Amazons’ high popularity and sales have caused many businesses and stores in the sectors Amazon disrupts to go out of business. One example of this is the closing of the toy store company Toys “R” Us. President Donald Trump is not a fan of this and believes that it is ruining the industries.

New Hope Fugitive Captured

Will Kelley and Kel MacDowell
Staff Writer

Over the past week, New Hope has been the temporary hiding spot of David Allen Hamilton, 47. According to the Solebury Township Police, Hamilton has been on the run since last week. He was charged with two counts of rape and sexual assault on two different young women.
     On September 21, Hamilton tried to take a New Hope Borough police officer’s gun. He was unable to get the gun and has since disappeared into the woods. Hamilton is suspected to be a 20-year military veteran. Additionally, Hamilton will be charged for aggravated assault.He is suspected to be armed and dangerous. Currently, there is a $1,000 reward for anyone that can give information leading directly to his arrest.
     After a few weeks on the run, Hamilton was caught Friday, September 28, in a bedroom closet in Aston, Pennsylvania. Aston township Police Detective said, “We received the tip this morning that David Hamilton was on the 100 block of Roberts Road here in Aston Township.” He was found hiding in a second-floor closet of his relative’s home in Aston township, Pennsylvania. David Hamilton had a lot to say while being taken in by authorities about the accusations. Hamilton states, “I am innocent until proven guilty and I hope there is a good lawyer out there who will help me.”

Instagram Founders Resign, Facebook’s Downfall Continues

Matthew Bracco

Staff Writer

Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, are choosing to resign, which may be a troubling signal for Facebook, who owns the app.

    Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s chief executive, and Mike Krieger, it’s chief technology officer, have resigned and plan to make their departure in the coming weeks. “We’re planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again,” Systrom said. “Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that’s what we plan to do.”

Instagram was purchased by Facebook in 2012 for $1 Billion. However, Facebook has been on a continuous downward spiral. Facebook’s stock hit a peak low in July after it’s second-quarter earnings report showed slowed revenue growth and they haven’t necessarily recovered from that drop yet.

Facebook had barely any new users since their second-quarter and actually lost some users in Europe and Canada. Investors are worried about the future of Facebook, and Instagram’s co-founders making an exit does anything but aid Facebook’s growth. According to the Wall Street Journal, Instagram’s co-founders battled with Facebook leadership, including Zuckerberg. One person familiar with the matter told the Journal the relationship had become “tense” in recent months.

“Kevin and Mike are extraordinary product leaders and Instagram reflects their combined creative talents,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “I’ve learned a lot working with them for the past six years and have really enjoyed it. I wish them all the best and I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next.” Although their ties are cut, Systrom and Krieger remain “excited” for the future of both Instagram and Facebook.

Attempted poisoning of government officials

Lauren Walinski

    Ricin is a deadly poison derived from castor beans which, once ingested, injected, or inhaled, causes the body to stop making proteins. Once it is  in the body, it takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days to work, depending on the concentration and dosage. A lethal dose of  purified ricin powder is only the size of a few grains of table salt. This is what it seems William Clyde Allen III had intended to send to the Pentagon and to the White House.
    The Pentagon received two envelopes containing a strange substance, and the White House a third. This substance was later revealed through FBI testing to be a concoction made of castor beans. While not technically ricin, it could still be dangerous to ingest.
    The White House envelope was addressed to President Trump. The two envelopes to the Pentagon had been addressed to Jim Mattis, the Defense Secretary, and Adm. John Richardson, chief of the US Navy. The would-be assassin, Allen, served in the Navy for four years.
    Allen was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah, after his envelopes were intercepted by the Pentagon and White House mailing facilities. He has been indicted on seven counts.

Cosby receives three- to 10-year sentence

McAfee Madding
Staff Writer

The first high-profile conviction since the #MeToo movement put an international spotlight on women’s stories of abuse. Bill Cosby, comedian, creator and star of many long lasting television shows, started his career in Stand-Up Comedy in the 1960s before creating his own sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show in 1969. Cosby was sentenced to  three to 10 years for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. In 2015 New York Magazine published an issue with 35 of the 46 accusers of Cosby, giving those victims a platform to tell their stories. These incidents happened between 1965 and 2008
Bill Cosby was one of America's greatest comedians, so when these victims stories came forward in the mid 2010’s, not only was it surprising because it was a sexual abuse scandal, but in this case the abuser was often nicknamed “America's dad.” Cosby has been affiliated with Temple University decades, he served on the board of trustees before resigning in 2014. In 1991 Temple University awarded Cosby an honorary doctorate, but they have finally decided to strip him of that title.
Cosby's first trial in June of 2017 ended in a mistrial, the latest trial in Norristown, Pa., took place on Sept. 24, 2018. “Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others,” Constand commented about the incident. Constand was the only accuser that came forward and pressured any kind of charges towards Cosby. In this new age of the #MeToo movement created by, Tarana Burke, this is a small step towards justice for all victims of sexual assault.

Tsunami devastates Palu, Indonesia

Kennedy Fisher
Staff Writer

On Friday, Sept 28, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake triggered a 20-foot tsunami that ruined Palu, Indonesia. The wave came crashing into Palu turning the town into a wasteland.The town was wiped of electricity,clean food and water.
A series of buoys connected to seafloor sensors designed to detect tsunamis had not been functioning since 2012 due to lack of funding.The soil turned into something similar to quicksand and swallowed town buildings whole.
Two thousand  lives were taken due to the tragedy and 5,000 are still missing. About 70,000 people are now homeless and are camping in tents. Search and rescue are having trouble reaching all these people in time.
Rescue workers are also concerned about a 8,530 foot volcano in western Sumatra that had started erupting after being dormant for 400 years which took time away from the tsunami disaster. Although many people in New Hope may not feel not directly affected by this disaster, Charity Navigator offers many options for supporting organizations that are on the ground helping those in need.

Is Instagram Listening to You?

Lauren Hunt and Frany Barile
Staff Writers

You’re scrolling through Instagram and an ad pops up. To your surprise it is something you just talked about. This isn’t a coincidence. Instagram is now recording your conversations and using them to create ads better geared toward your interests.
     There is speculation surrounding the idea of Instagram recording its users and using their conversations for advertising. To test this theory, users purposefully talk about a product without having the Instagram app open and see if the product shows up as an advertisement on their Instagram feed. For many people, the product is advertised on the app as soon as one day after they talked about it.
     Instagram has become increasingly popular throughout the years. In Feb. of 2013, there were 100 million users. In June of 2018, that number rose to 1 billion monthly active users. This makes Instagram a hotspot for advertising. Instagram is listening, and the only way it can know about certain conversations among its users is to listen through their cell phone microphone.
     We asked a New Hope Solebury student, Kennedy Fisher, about her own experience with the new method of Instagram advertising. “I was talking about ordering some Domino’s Pizza with a group of friends. Later that afternoon, an ad popped up on Instagram for Domino’s. I don’t think it’s helpful, I think it’s just creepy.” Kennedy’s story is very similar to what most Instagram users experience.
     This way of advertising could become the new norm. Although it creates more customized ads, is it crossing the line between personalized content and invasion of privacy?

Hurricane Michael Tears through Florida, Leaving Extensive Damage

Amy Tao and Marina Skubin

Hurricane Michael has ripped through Florida, Georgia, and the Virginias, making it one of the strongest storms to hit the continental U.S
     The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Mexico Beach, Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 10th. Governor Rick Scott of Florida described Michael as “the worst storm that our Florida Panhandle has seen in a century”. It toppled trees, blew away fences, and bent stop signs almost parallel to the ground. The 155-mile-per-hour winds blew debris around the never ending rains. It was impossible to see the full extent of the damage because the waters were still rising, topping some buildings. By 2 a.m. Thursday, Michael, now a tropical storm, was 25 miles east of Macon, Georgia, lost strength, with winds at 60 mph.b
     Around 7,800 people were seeking shelter in American Red Cross shelters on Wednesday night. 1.4 million people people across seven states have lost power. Local governments have placed dusk-to-dawn curfews across several states as they worry the death toll will rise from 19 people. Dozens are still missing as authorities desperately search through mounds of debris. A couple stranded in their home after Michael had written “HELP” using debris and fallen trees in an effort to be saved. Their niece spotted the signal after searching aerial maps by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The couple was eventually rescued by emergency responders from the NOAA.
    Even though the storm is calming down, the damage it has will last for years to come. The estimated cost of damage left by the hurricane is around $8.1 billion. Randy June, a resident of Mexico Beach, was one of many victims whose entire neighborhood was destroyed. “We’re gonna rebuild somehow,” he said. “I just don’t know how yet.”

Trump issues new tariffs

Ally Mangano and Nick Oz
Staff Writers

Recently, President Trump has been under fire for his new tariff comments and policies. Trump is no stranger to controversy, opposition, and being thrown into the fire, and continues to stand firmly behind his policies on tariffs.
Although initially approached with much opposition, China has responded just as Trump, and those who sided with him, hoped. China has agreed to cut import tariffs on about 1,600 products as of the turn of November. On America’s end, Trump is aiming to stop China from controlling the U.S. economy. China, on the other hand, is thinking more politically than economically as they seem to be biting at Trump’s bait. They are working on overall domination rather than just doing so from an economic standpoint. Lowering these tariffs can help the Chinese in other facets, such as real estate. This may lead the housing bubble to pop in China, which would make homes more affordable for generations to come, starting with young, developing families. Additionally, these actions serve to provide China with motivation to progress in terms of research, technology, and more. The competition from foreign companies may just in fact drive China to do better themselves, thus becoming more productive domestically. These resulting changes may just serve to boost China’s economy and make them more progressive for the long haul.
This scenario has seemed to follow Trump’s ideal path, as China forces American companies into doing business in China to transfer technology and intellectual property,  threatening the U.S. economy. However, China has shown that this may be helping them just as much, if not more so.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh Scandal

Cheyenne Carr
Staff Writer

Brett Kavanaugh was nominated  to be a Supreme Court justice back in July. Recently, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward and said that 36 years ago Kavanaugh sexaully asaultted her. Back in summer 1982, Dr. Ford alleges that Brett Kavanaugh assault her at a high school party. She claimed it was a small party and that people were drinking alcohol when Kavanaugh pinned her down onto the bed, groped her, and tried to remove her clothes and bathing suit while covering her mouth. She also said that his friend Mark Judge was in the room and that they were both laughing at her. Kavanaugh says he “categorically and unequivocally” denied the allegations made against him from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
     On Sept. 27, 2018, both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh Appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and were questioned by senators and outside prosecutor Rachel Mitchell. The hearing went on for days. Ford discussed the personal difficulties she had after the alleged assault. Kavanaugh claimed the allegations were false, however, he did admit to drinking with his friends and attending parties in high school but he didn’t know anything about the allegations.
     With still no conclusion, an FBI investigation into the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh ordered by Mr. Trump. He gave the F.B.I a week, they interview many people. Since it was not a criminal investigation, FBI agents will not be able to get search warrants. Witnesses can refuse to cooperate, but talking to the FBI agents is a powerful motivator to telling the truth.
     It was a close vote, 50-48. After weeks of these allegations the Senate has finally come to a conclusion. After seven background checks on Kavanaugh, a week of FBI interviews, and a hearings for days, the senators have voted to make him an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court.