On Friday January 5th, officials announced that Zara Tindall, Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, is pregnant again. Mrs. Tindall is also the daughter of Princess Anne. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “The Queen and members of the royal family were very pleased to hear this news.”

The baby will the second child of Zara and her husband, Mike Tindall, a rugby star. The couple already have a 3 year old daughter, Mia Tindall. Mia is known for stealing the spotlight, and getting cuddles and kisses from Prince Harry at polo events. Many times, she had happily shown off Queen Elizabeth II’s purse during official photo shoots.

Mia was also there to help her parents’ difficult time when Zara had a miscarriage days before Christmas 2016. Mike Tindall told The Sunday Times, “The saving grace for us was Mia, our daughter who is now 3.” Mike also talked about how he was able to spend more time with Mia now, since he retired from rugby. The spokesperson also stated that the child will be due this summer, arriving a few months after Duchess Kate’s baby, who is due to arrive in April.

Back in October, Kensington Palace made the announcement that Duchess Kate was expecting another baby after the 12-week scan. Duchess Kate Middleton has had hyperemesis gravid arum (severe morning sickness) during her last two pregnancies, which is why the pregnancy was announced early. The pregnancy was initially announced on September 4, when Duchess Kate cancelled a visit to the London’s Children Centre because of severe morning sickness.

This is an exciting year for the royal family as Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding is due to be happening around May, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be welcoming their third child in April, and in the summer, Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, Zara, will be adding another member to the royal family.

Scientists have recently had theories that support the idea that chocolate will go extinct in the next 30 years. Right now, the main producers of cacao plants (chocolate) are Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Unfortunately, the arable land in both of those places is a being greatly affected due to climate change. The air and soil temperatures are changing, and the way the beans are growing has changed.

The next biggest reason the plants may go extinct, is because of an insect-spread fungal diseases called “witch’s broom” and “frosty pod.” These diseases have already destroyed many of the cacao trees in Central America; their original natural home. Scientists, and farmers alike, are currently trying to find ways to keep those diseases contained, and not let them spread to the new chocolate empires.

800,000, out of the 25 million people, in Ghana, farm chocolate as their main crop. If these plants go extinct, not only would those people lose their biggest crop, and therefore their biggest source of income, the economy would be greatly affected. Most of Ghana’s economy comes from chocolate. Without that crop being exported, they would lose out on billions of dollars.

For more information, please visit:

“Chocolate Is a Bittersweet Way of Life in Ghana.” NBCNews.com https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/chocolate-bittersweet-way-life-ghana-n212741.

Lee, Bruce Y. “Could Chocolate Actually Go Extinct In 40 Years?” Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/01/01/is-chocolate-going-extinct-whats-being-done-to-prevent-this-disaster/#37c65561540f.

Freelanceqz. “The world’s two largest cocoa producers want you to buy their chocolate, not just their beans.” Quartz https://qz.com/981562/ghana-ivory-coast-are-marketing-more-chocolate-to-the-world/.

In Southern California, many are being forced to flee because of the wildfires. Officials refer to the wildfires as the “Thomas Fire.” The “Thomas Fire” started on Dec. 4th, about 69 miles from Los Angeles. According to Fox News, about 50,000 people have been forced to evacuate.

Officials had not yet figure out what caused the “Thomas Fire” to start in the first place. On Dec. 6th, another wildfire erupted known as the “Skirball Fire.” It burned about 422 acres and was around in the area of Bel-Air neighborhood. The “Skirball Fire” started because of an illegal cooking fire under the San Diego Freeway.

Scott McLean, an information officer at the California Department Of Forestry and Fire explained that the wildfires have been so destructive recently because of the drought that California has had for the last 5 years, which created a lot of dead vegetation. This year, California had a good amount of rainfall during the spring, but the summer heat dried out the growth of the vegetation.

The autumn winds is also something to worry about. It is fueling the wildfires, causing the wildfires to spread faster and cover more area. This year, primarily, it is the Santa Ana winds that are fueling a lot of the wildfires. Usually, most winds will blow off to the Pacific Ocean, but the Santa Ana winds blow off into the desert of Arizona, then move west toward California. The millions of dead trees also allows wildfires to move quicker, scorching more land.

On Dec. 11th, the Santa Ana winds begin cooperating by pushing the fire away from the nearby communities, which allowed firefighters to see and help people. The “Thomas Fire” has destroyed around 1,000 structures. There has been only one death so far, 70-year-old Virginia Pesola died in a car crash while trying to evacuate from the “Thomas Fire.” A firefighter was injured while 3 other people were burned trying to retrieve the woman’s body.

Later, a firefighter was killed by the “Thomas Fire.” According to CNN, Lynne Tolmachoff, the spokesperson for The California Department Of Forestry and Fire Protection, the firefighter was driving on a fire engine on the east flank of the “Thomas Fire.” The man had not been identified at the time of this article, but he was pronounced dead on the scene by a medical team.

CNN meteorologist, Brandon Miller, reported that the winds had been picking up again and would make the job tougher for the 8,000 firefighters. CalFire had reported that about 1,000 fire engines, and 27 helicopters are involved in dealing with the “Thomas Fire” alone. The winds continue to be fierce, with the wind going 60 mph in the mountains, and about 35-50 mph in the valley-coastal areas.

Sexual assault has been one of the most heated topics of 2017. Since the initial allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein in October, a stream, or rather a torrent, of allegations of sexual misconduct have been leveled at many other significant figures in entertainment, politics, and journalism, including: Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, and even Minnesota senator Al Franken, who has now said that he intends to resign from his position (MinnPost). The phenomenon has been dubbed, “The Harvey Weinstein effect” as reported by USA Today.

The allegations have ranged in severity from rape, to sexual assault or abuse, to sexual misconduct, and the reactions to these allegations have been mixed, but dramatic, to say the least. According to a USA Today article, many of the accused have been fired or resigned from their jobs or projects (Weinstein, Spacey, Lauer), more have apologized (C.K., Franken, George H.W. Bush) or denied the allegations (Roy Moore), or a combination of the three.

Republican politician Roy Moore’s case has been particularly controversial as he was, when the allegations were made, running in a Senate election (ABC News). He was accused by eight women, according to a Washington Post article, two of which were 14, below the Alabama age of consent of 16, when they claim the misconduct occurred. Moore specifically denied the allegations of two of his accusers and continued to run despite them, and requests from Democrat and Republican senators, such as John McCain, who said on the Senate Government website, “The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying,” and he should resign.

These allegations, and their outcomes, are enough to give anyone pause. Almost everyone opposes sexual abuse in any form, but it can sometimes be hard to tell whether an allegation is valid, and, if so, how specifically to respond; especially when the allegations are being made at such an alarming rate. This question is of particular importance when it comes to public servants such as Roy Moore or even Donald Trump, who been accused of various degrees of sexual misconduct by 15 different women (CNN Politics).

The Alabama Senate elections results were officially released by The New York Times on Thursday, December 14. Roy Moore lost by a narrow margin to Doug Jones, 49.9% to 48.4%, with the rest of the votes being write-ins. The loss is still surprising, however, as Doug Jones was considered an outsider and a long shot in Alabama, a state which hadn’t had a Democratic senator in 20 years, before eight women came out against Moore.

TIME Magazine has awarded “The Silence Breakers” (those who came out against sexual abusers), the distinction of “People of the Year.” Without a doubt, the unraveling of the Harvey Weinstein effect will come to be seen as a defining event of our contemporary epoch in later years.

What is Net Neutrality?

Net Neutrality is what gives us the freedom to browse the Internet. It’s what prevents big phone and cable companies from controlling what we access and browse. Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) give us the platforms to post what we want. They provide the freedom and platforms for our speech. Net Neutrality prevents the ISP’s from controlling how fast or slow our Internet access is. It gives everyone on the Internet an equal experience.

What’s happening to Net Neutrality?

There has been concern that we could lose our Net Neutrality. Soon, the FCC (Federal Communications Commision) will vote to determine the status of Net Neutrality. Since 2015, the FCC has tried their hardest to change the rule of Net Neutrality. If things were to change, that means ISP’s would have control over what we do. Not only could they speed up or slow down our Internet access, but they could determine what is posted. The loss of Net Neutrality means potentially paying for the sites we want to access. It would be like subscribing to a magazine, making daily tasks harder.

Who will be affected?

Without knowing, everyone is affected. Whether you’re trying to roam the Internet or you’re trying to check out a business, it can be harder to access their content. Losing the ability to share online will make it harder for certain events. This means that groups such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ will have a hard time planning their events. Anyone who depends on the Internet to receive or put out information will have a hard time.

How can this change be prevented?

If you have social media, you’ve probably seen the petitions going around. You may be wondering “How does a lousy petition help?” The FCC doesn’t think many people understand Net Neutrality. These signatures bring it to their attention that we care about our Internet. Now, will this prevent Net Neutrality from changing? Possibly. Many have taken the opportunity to call the FCC and tell them what it means to lose their Net neutrality. Taking action by simply signing a petition can possibly stop us from losing our Internet freedom. 

To help prevent Net Neutrality, visit the petition below:

https://www.change.org/p/save-net-neutrality-netneutrality?recruiter=763323166&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uABIRswAAAAAAWh88MyGOFL82OTJhYzVlMg%3D%3D

For more information about Net Neutrality, please visit:

https://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now
or
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2017/11/26/when-the-fcc-kills-net-neutrality-heres-what-your-internet-will-look-like/#216b23e44c68

Clarence House (office of Prince Charles) announced the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Monday, November 27. The announcement shocked the world greatly, and after the announcement, the two made a brief appearance in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace. Harry told the reporters that he knew Meghan Markle was “the one from the first time they met.” The prince declined to tell the story of the proposal, but when he was asked if it was romantic or not, he answered “Of course it was.” Meghan Markle said she was very happy and flashed the engagement ring to the reporters.

According to Kensington Palace, Harry designed the engagement ring with a gold band, a large diamond from Botswana, and two smaller diamonds from a collection of Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Botswana is a significant place for Prince Harry and Meghan because they had spent time together there in the past year and a half. Cleave and Company, Court Jewellers, and Medallists were some of the companies that made the ring.

The couple plans to marry in spring 2018, and live at Nottingham Cottage, at Kensington Palace, where Prince Harry currently lives. Meghan Markle will be the first American to marry a British Royal since the marriage of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII. Harry’s grandparents are delighted and wishes the couple every happiness.

Harry also sought Markle’s parents and had received their blessings already. Her parent’s statement said, “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter had always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents. We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.”

Prince William had just finished attending a charity event in Finland when he was asked about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement. He replied with “Wishing them all the happiness in this very exciting time. Very excited and delighted for them both.” Then he added, “For me personally, I hope it means he stays out of my fridge, and stop him scrounging over my food like he’s done over these past few years, I’m pretty excited.” He also confirmed that Prince Harry and Markle are absolutely in love and wishes them all the happiness and success in the wedding preparations.