NEWS

Thursday, 24 October 2019 10:15

THE TRUTH HURTS, SOMETIMES

If you were lucky enough to see Lizzo last night at the Van Buren than you got to hear her Billboard chart topper "Truth Hurts". Lizzo's song has been number one on Billboard's Hot 100 meaning everyone has heard it; including three men who claim that they deserve some of the royalties for its signature line "I just took a DNA test...". Melissa Jefferson, better known as Lizzo, isn't standing for it and is asking the United States District Court in Los Angeles for a declaratory judgment. A declaratory judgment is a statement by the court defining the legal relationship of the parties, and is often the first step towards a lawsuit. In this case Lizzo is asking, "the Court to rule that they have no right to co-own the work or share in its profits." Now it is up to the Court to decide. Lizzo has stated that she was inspired by a meme that was rooted in a tweet from Mina Lioness, and has now agreed to give Lioness credit and a share of the songs royalties. Why would she do that? Find out by reading "Copyright".    
Thursday, 10 October 2019 13:35

DRIVERLESS DRIVING

If you're 16 right now, you may already have your driver license; but chances are the generation after you may never need one. In the past, learning the laws in the drivers manual and getting your driver license was an important step that was craved by teenagers for the freedom and autonomy driving provided. It allowed you to get from point A to point B without having to rely on someone else; hop in the car, turn the key (another thing that has gone by the wayside) and off you went. However, technology, has changed that by providing us apps like Uber and Lyft that allow you the ability to summon a driver on a whim and now it has gone another step further with Waymo and Tesla leading the way in automated self driving technology. Waymo announced in an email to its Phoenix Metro users that they soon, "may experience one of it's driverless rides!" Tesla also recently launched its "Smart Summon" technology which allows the vehicle to drive without a driver up to 200 feet on private property. Thanks to Executive Order 2018-04, Arizona is allowed to have driverless vehicles as long as they are in, "full compliance with all the applicable traffic and motor vehicle safety...laws and regulations of both the Federal Government and the State of Arizona". It is estimated that by 2021 this type of artificial intelligence (AI) will make driving yourself a thing of the past. Find out more about AI and its possibilities in Artificial Intelligence: Will it be a Boon for Mankind or a Disaster?
Thursday, 03 October 2019 15:00

SRO SAVES SOCCER

One school is thanking its School Resource Officer (SRO) for making a difference for their favorite part of the day, recess! Tolleson School Officer Chris Medaglia noticed during recess check out that there was not enough equipment for kids to play with at his school. Kids would come up to check out equipment only to be turned away without items like soccer balls and basketballs. According to KTAR, "After Medaglia told his department about the shortage, a commander came up with the idea for an equipment drive." Thanks to the Officer Medagalia speaking up and his department's outstanding effort Tolleson now has a few dozen new sport balls to give out at recess and there are no more empty hands at equipment checkout! Thank you to all School Resource Officers and all the valuable work they do. 
Wednesday, 25 September 2019 10:31

SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR DAY

Governor Ducey proclaimed September 25th to be Sandra Day O'Connor Day. It was on this day in 1981, 38 years ago, that Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court where she served for 24 years. During that time she made key decisions in many cases; including landmark cases like: Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington, Grutter v. Bollinger and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. She also paved the way for the other woman justices to join the bench first with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993, followed by Sonia Sotomayor in 2009, and Elena Kagan in 2010. Gov. Ducey called Sandra Day O'Connor, "A role model, trailblazer and Arizonan through and through, she has been a tireless advocate for justice, while inspiring countless generations around the world,” and it is for this reason we celebrate her and her achievements. Happy Sandra Day O'Connor Day!  
Monday, 16 September 2019 13:44

AZ ED STUDENT ADVISERS

Thursday, 12 September 2019 13:56

FLAVOR BAN

Six people have died from vaping and 380 people have been diagnosed with a mysterious lung disease; many of them young people. According to the Washington Post, "Many victims have ended up with acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs and prevents the oxygen people’s bodies need to function from circulating in the bloodstream." The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has even labeled vaping as an epidemic. Now the country may be facing new federal legislation. The President and his Administration is creating a policy through the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to ban most flavored vaping products in the hopes that this action will deter youth from taking up the habit. Once the FDA completes the policy it will become active after 30 days and only FDA approved vape flavors will be legal.    
Thursday, 05 September 2019 14:10

OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL

Thanks to a Gilbert High School student, Arizona now has new official representation for our state. If you have been here for a while you may know that we are the Grand Canyon state and you can probably recognize the state flag with the big star and rays coming off of it like the sun. But did you know that states have all sorts of official symbols? The most commonly known official symbols are the state bird and flower but the official representation doesn't have to stop there. Read our Officially Arizona article to find out what the Gilbert High School student added to our official list and see what other crazy items represent out state. You might be surprised by the list.
Friday, 30 August 2019 09:27

EXPANDING THE REACH OF THE INTERNET

A Phoenix based group of high school and college students are creating a new way to help those without the internet get connected using a mesh network. A mesh network uses a series of nodes that all connect to each other creating a net of coverage with less gaps, resulting in fewer dropped connections. The project, called Project Phoenix, has students work and understand how to build and manage these networks. The end goal is give individuals who don't have the internet the ability to use the internet. These students hope to provide individuals not only with access to the internet but also the ability "to access trainings and gain experience for well-paying high tech jobs." The mesh network is currently in its testing phase.
Tuesday, 20 August 2019 12:10

7 YEAR OLD WORLD CHAMPION

Since 2005 North Carolina has hosted a world tournament for junior golfers at the World Kids Golf Championship. According to U.S. Kids Golf, L.L.C.'s website over 1,500 players compete from over 50 countries on over a weeks worth of activates. All of this culminates in three rounds of championship play and this year the world champion for the 7 and under age group came from here in Arizona. Beu Ellington, is this years World Kids Golf Champion at just 7 years old. To win she did 108 strokes on a 9 hole course beating Gabriela Brambilla from Brazil and Erica Koshimizu from Japan by just one stroke. Beu Ellington's championship just goes to show you that you don't have to wait to become a champion. 
Friday, 09 August 2019 09:14

SENDING OUT AN SOS

Smartphones are all around you. Even if you don't own one personally chances are you still use one everyday; but are you aware of all the great features that are on that phone? Sure there are games, social media apps and of course a camera but smartphones also have great features that could potentially save your life. Did you know that you don't have to be able to unlock a smartphone to use its emergency features? If you are ever in a situation and you need help any charged smartphone will do. To get to this screen you just need to try to access the phone and use the touchscreen to hit  "Emergency" from there it will give you a keypad where you can dial 911. If you have an iPhone you can discreetly hit the volume button 5 times to make an emergency call or hit it once and drag the SOS slider on newer models. This feature also allows you to notify emergency contacts at the same time. Android phones have a similar feature that also allows the user to store personal emergency information and send out an emergency notification to contacts. To learn how to set it up visit this site.