Entry #17 - Apr 15th, 2015

Man taken into custody after landing a single-person aircraft on Capitol grounds

Apr 15th, 2015

By: Johnny Yu

CNN News

On Wednesday a small manned aircraft landed on the west front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Police have taken the pilot into custody. The President also has been briefed on the situation according to White House spokesman, Eric Schultz.

The pilot is a mailman from Florida who planned the flight to protest the Supreme Court decisions in Citizens' United case and the influence of outside money in politics. He told the Tampa Bay Times that he wanted to deliver a mail to lawmakers outlining his complaints.

The Capitol Police have not yet disclosed the pilot's identity. They were questioning him in custody and trying to find out whether the landing was a mechanical issue or something else.

A friend who have known the pilot for years said "there's nothing on the helicopter that is dangerous". He also said that the flight was meat to send a message to Congress about campaign finance reform.

My Thoughts & Opinion

The unexpected landing that the pilot did on Capitol grounds was extremely foolish. I understand that the pilot was worried about his country and wanted to deliver his own message, but landing outside of U.S. Capitol would not only get yourself in trouble, the message you wanted to deliver would probably get taken away by the police. That pilot should really thought about the consequences before he decided to do the landing.

Entry #16 - April 11th, 2015

Shooting at U.S. Capitol was a suicide, police say; lockdown has been lifted

Apr 11th, 2015

By: Johnny Yu

CNN News

A shooting that caused the lockdown of the U.S. Capitol for several hours on Saturday turned out to be a suicide that has no connection to terrorism, said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine in a news conference.

Dine told reporters that an unidentified male walked through a public area on the west front of the Capitol early Saturday afternoon and shot himself. The unidentified shooter had a backpack and a rolling suitcase that authorities treated as suspicious packages, the lockdown was prompted as they were discovered.

The male carried a sign with a message about "social justice" and something about taxing the "1%." There was "no nexus to terrorism" apparent so far in this incident, said Dine.

My Thoughts & Opinions

Why would people want to kill themselves just because life has been a little harsh on them. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Also if someone really wants to kill him/herself and end his/her pain, pick somewhere private and no one would see. Public areas are the worst places for suicides. Because your death might scare innocent citizens and children, leave them something they would never want to see in their lives. So really, think thoroughly before doing things, as they could affect yourself, even people around you.

Entry #15 - April 11th, 2015

Can squid help make soldiers invisible?

Apr 11th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News

Scientists say that cephalopods, like squid, octopus and cuttlefish, may hold the key to develop a brand new combat technology that will allow soldiers to avoid infrared detection.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine claimed that they have found a way to use proteins in the cells of pencil squid to develop "invisibility stickers" which can be worn by ground troops.

Alon Gorodetsky, assistant professor of chemical engineering and material sciences, along with his team, have put all their attention on specialized squid cells known as iridocytes, which contain a unique light-reflecting protein called reflectin. They were also able to engineer E. coli bacteria to synthesize reflectin and coat the protein onto a packing tape-like surface to create the "invisibility stickers".

These reflectin-coated stickers can change into virtually any color with a chemical or mechanical stimulus, causing ground troops to be invisible towards enemies.

My Thoughts & Opinions

The future is finally coming. Invisible soldiers that usually appear in fictions and sci-fi movies are no longer fictional. But this development does not mean that world peace will be easily achieved. We have no idea which country will be the one getting the patent from the developers once the development is done. We also have no idea what the country with the patent would do with this development because if they use it to fight other countries, their chance of winning the fight is much greater than others. Let's just hope this development will not fall into wrong hands once its finished.

Entry #14 - April 6th, 2015

Craig Hicks may face death penalty in slaying of 3 Muslim students

Apr 6th, 2015

By: Johnny Yu

CNN News

Craig Hicks, who is responsible for the deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, can face death penalty, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. ruled on Monday.

Hicks was arrested on February 10th in the deaths of Yusor Mohammad, 21, her 23-year-old husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and 19-year-old sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. They were all brutally shot in the head.

Hicks was the victims' neighbor, and he turned himself in to police on the night of the killings. Immediately next week, he was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and a count of discharging a firearm to an occupied dwelling. "He had no prior criminal record," said police.

On what might have been Hicks' Facebook page, numerous posts against religion were found. The victims' family members have asked authorities to investigate the slaying as a hate crime.

My Thoughts & Opinions

Ones religions don't have to do with anyone else's opinions. We live in a free society, so mind your own business. This Hicks guy obviously went too far in this racial discrimination thing and caused innocent young people to lose their lives. One should never judge other people based on what he/she knows. Instead, we need to tolerate and learn to understand each other. This is the only way to end terrible things like this killing and make our world a better place.

Entry #13 - March 28th, 2015

Police: 2, perhaps 3, missing in New York building explosion

Mar 28th, 2015

By: Johnny Yu

CNN News

New York's East Village was turned into piles of blocks by a powerful explosion. It used to be a block filled with artists, college students and urban eclectics.

Investigators are checking whether a gas line was accessed incorrectly at the building where the explosion happened, and left more than 20 people injured. NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce also said that one additional person might be missing.

Officials provided a rough timeline about what appears to be a gas-related explosion, and the evidences showed that gas utility inspectors checking in the building's basement left the premises about 30 minutes before the blast went off at 3:17 p.m.

My Thoughts & Opinions

At this point, I have no idea whether this explosion is caused by gas utility inspectors' mistakes, or someone messed up the gas line without noticing. But what I need to say is that people need to be more careful and all the maintenance workers should really make sure that everything is well in the buildings that people live. Because one little mistake, might cause the loss hundreds people's lives. 

Entry #12 - March 4th, 2015

With no bodies found in past week, AirAsia Flight 8501 main search ends

Mar 4th, 2015

By: Johnny Yu

CNN News

National research and rescue chief of Indonesia, Bambang Soelistyo, announced that the main search-and-recovery operation surrounding crashed AirAsia Flight 8501 officially ended on Tuesday.

On December 28, the crew on the Airbus A320-200 jet lost contact with air traffic controllers. Indonesian Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan later explained the plane climbed rapidly and stalled shortly before it crashed.

Searchers found remnants from the AirAsia aircraft and the remains of some passengers in the Java Sea.

As of Tuesday, 94 bodies were identified as passengers who had been on the AirAsia plane, with six other bodies still in Surabaya's Bhayangkara Hospital. But this result still leaves some families waiting.

My Own Thoughts & Opinions

Authorities need to be more aware about plane safety. We already had many crashes in the past years, and they all left families grieving for their lost ones. Airlines always tell the families who lost their loved ones that they are sorry about the accident, but instead of saying sorry, why don't you make sure that same accident will not happen again in the future? What is lost is lost and will never come back. So airlines, think about this and be more careful in the future.

Entry #11 - March 4th, 2015

One of FBI's most wanted terrorists captured in Somalia

Mar 4th, 2015

By: Johnny Yu

CNN News

Somali intelligence announced on Tuesday that a Somali-American on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list has been captured.

Liban Haji Mohamed, once a taxi driver, was arrested when he traveled from an area controlled by terror group Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, and is now being held and interrogated by Somali officials.

Mohamed was born in Somalia but is an U.S. citizen. He left United States when he was 29 years old and joined Al Qaeda in Somalia. He was wanted by the FBI for providing material support to terrorists.

My Own Thoughts & Opinions

It is great seeing that another threat has been wiped off citizens' daily lives. One thing I don't understand is that why would anyone leave United States to join a terrorized organization. There are so many opportunities in United States, this Mohamed guy could have just find a normal job and live peacefully like everyone else. Instead he decided to support terrorists who do nothing other than tearing people's lives apart. We all need to think thoroughly before deciding what to do, I guess this guy just did not care about what would happen to him if he joined a terrorized organization.