Stand Up For Jay: Ending ALS

Olivia Hiriak
Staff Writer

On January 25, there will be an auction to raise money for Jay Smith as he battles ALS. His mother, Barb Smith, who is a local resident in New Hope, will preside over the auctioning event. The event starts at 5:30pm and will be held at the Pinecrest Country Club.
  Some of the many amenities that will be offered are a sit down dinner, open bar, comedy shows, and a raffle. However, the main event is the silent and live auction. The many auction items that will be available are vacation getaways to Cape May, Boston, NYC, sports tickets, spa packages, artwork, and many more. For admission into this event, the fee is $125. All proceeds go towards Jay Smith as he battles ALS.
  Show your support and come to the Stand Up For Jay event that will work towards fighting ALS. Registration and further donations can be made at StandUpForJay.com.

Two Twins Two Decades

Staff Writer Eric Locke

  When most people think of New Year’s Eve, they think of spending time with family and friends to celebrate the beginning of the new year. However, this is not how everybody spends their holiday. Dawn Gilliam and Jason Tello spent New Years Eve in St. Vincent Carmel Hospital in Indiana.

  As midnight approached, Gilliam had still not given birth, until 11:37 p.m., when Dawn brought her daughter, Jocelyn, into the world. It was not until 12:07 a.m. that Gilliam gave birth to the second twin, Jaxon. 

  Gilliam and Tello did not have an easy journey up to this point, Gilliam believed she may have had to give birth as early as Thanksgiving. This scare was the result of a high blood pressure issue Gilliam had. Nonetheless, Gilliam’s blood pressure issues mitigated and the pregnancy continued on track. 

  Twins are rare, but twins born on different days, in different months, of different decades, is somewhat nerve racking. It is also incredible to think that this almost didn’t happen as a result of Gilliam’s blood pressure scare. It is not often we see these small, inspirational, seemingly impossible instances take place but when we do they are meant to be shared so everyone can see how many incredible things the world has to offer. 

The Bombing of Suleimani

By: John Devaney and Teddy Devaney

On Jan. 3, a few days after the start of the New Year, Iranian military general, Qassim Suleimani, was killed by a drone strike from the United States’ military near the Baghdad airport. He was viewed in the U.S. as a war criminal, and also one of the most powerful men in Iran. 

This attack on Suleimani took place after the recent protests and attacks on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, and Iran was responsible for previously taking an American Ambassador hostage in 1979.  Suleimani himself was responsible for killing and wounding thousands of American troops in Iraq, Seria, Afghanistan where he supported Shiite militia groups and IED attacks. 

President Donald Trump addressed the nation on live television on Jan 4. Trump claimed that Sulemani was “plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.”(C-Span) He followed up by saying “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.” 

The country seems to be split in half following the killing of Suleimani. Some clips show people running through the streets celebrating, cheering, and crying tears of  joy, in Iraq. While the citizens of Iran feel the opposite. Some chant “revenge is coming” and “death to America”. (CNN)

The United States by far has the stronger military and intelligence agencies, it is only a matter of if, and how the recent threats by both countries will be carried out. The recent Iraq parliament vote expelled U.S troops from the country. If they are, it will result in casualties on both sides. It is clear that Trump does not want to start a war, yet the tension is visible between the U.S and Iran.

Who Reigned Supreme in this Year’s National Dog Show?

Lucie MacGillvray

Staff Writer

Over Thanksgiving Break, viewers sat down to watch one of the most popular annual events: the National Dog Show. For more than 125 years, the Kennel Club of America has presented the National Dog Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. On Nov. 16-17, precious pooches from across the country gathered in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, and the results of the show were aired after the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Nearly two hundred breeds competed for the title of Best In Show along with their devoted handlers. In the end, the chubby bulldog, Thor, smashed the competition and went on to win the prestigious title. Thor’s owner, Kara Gordon, is a proud Philadelphia native.

  Other categories included the Working Group, which was won by Nick the Siberian Husky, the Sporting Group, which was won by Daniel the Golden Retriever, the Best of Hound Group, which was won by Maddie the Pharaoh Hound, the Toy Group, which was won by Bono the Havanese, the Herding Group, which was won by Sophia the Old English Sheepdog, and the Terrier Group, which was won by Blaine the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier.

  Tate Pronel, a student at New Hope-Solebury, as well as an avid dog fanatic, said “I love watching the National Dog Show every year after the parade. The dogs are so adorable!”Another student at New Hope-Solebury, Liam Lund, said “I am so proud that the show is held in my favorite local city, Philadelphia! Someday I hope to be able to watch the show in person!”

  In 2020, the show is scheduled to occur from Nov. 14-15. Tickets go on sale during the first week in June, so make sure to mark it on the calendar! 

The House Impeachment

Rex Fowler

Staff Writer 

President Trump is now impeached. Spanning from Sept. 24, 2019, to Dec. 18, 2019, many government officials were involved in the long process to impeach the president. Some government officials like Timothy Morrison have testified that “he was justified in urging Ukraine to investigate corruption, even if allegations involved former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter” and they have argued that “the fight is a disagreement over foreign policy, which the president has the authority to direct,” as reported in USA Today. On the other hand, Democrats have accused Trump of obstruction of Congress and risking the United States’ national security.

  Some Republicans had claimed that there was no quid pro quo because according to them, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, was unaware of the $400 million of aid being withheld by Trump. Democrats fulfilled their goal to vote on impeachment before Congress’s Christmas break. Republican Jerrold Nadler hoped the accelerated pace would help prevent any outbursts on Trump’s part.

   Government officials that have testified so far are Fiona Hill, the former Trump adviser on Russia, David Holmes, the political counselor to the United States Embassy in Ukraine, Laura K. Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the E.U., George P. Kent, the Deputy assistant secretary of state, Kurt D. Volker the former special envoy to Ukraine, and Marie L. Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, and former National Security Adviser John Bolton just to name a few. 

  Now that the Articles of Impeachment have been released,  the Democrats’ goals are clear. The first Article is the accuses Trump of violating his oath of office by urging Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election by asking them to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. In Article One, they also argue that pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens by withholding military aid and a meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Zelensky compromised national security. They also claim that Trump weakened the democratic process and that he “betrayed the nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections.” said in the articles of impeachment. 

  Article Two states that the president told people to ignore subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives. The Democrats claim that this is Obstruction of Congress, while Republicans claim it is not. Democrats believe that when Trump allegedly obstructed congressional oversight, he also damaged the proper functioning of the rule of law.

  The Senate will now hold a trial and vote on whether or not President Trump will be removed from office.

Rapper Juice Wrld Dead at 21

Brendan O’Boyle

Staff Writer

Rapper Juice WRLD tragically died at age 21 on Sunday, Dec. 8. Juice WRLD was looked at as one of the most promising new talents in the Hip-Hop world after the release of his popular song “Lucid Dreams,” which is now six times platinum. He suffered a seizure at an airport in his home city of Chicago after getting off of his private jet. He planned on coming home to Chicago to celebrate his 21st birthday. Officials say the seizure could have been caused by an overdose on prescription medication that the artist had taken after police found pounds of marijuana and other drugs on his jet. The prescription medication is likely the painkiller Percocet, a mixture of acetaminophen and oxycodone.  

  Fans were devastated, but not surprised that this is what could have killed him because Juice WRLD was known for discussing drug and alcohol abuse in his music.

  Born Jarad Higgins, Juice WRLD started making music when he was attending high school in Chicago. It was also around the time he started with heavy drug use. He has said in interviews that some of his biggest influences in music were Travis Scott, Eminem, and Future. He has also said that rap’s drug culture is what first got him into heavy drug use. Juice WRLD was known for having a connection with fans because of the way he used to relate to them through his music.

  Many celebrities have spoken out about his death in the past weeks. Fellow rappers such as Drake, Travis Scott, and Meek Mill took to Twitter to express their sadness about the late rapper. It specifically hit home with many people because of how young he was and how easily this death could have been prevented.