What’s Happening

May 3, 2010 • Hannah Doksansky  
Filed under News, Top Stories

Recovery efforts slow after oilrig explosion

The Coast Guard has been trying to set fire to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this week. CNN reports that the main concern is the possibility of the oil reaching the protected marshlands on the Louisiana coast and harming the natural wildlife refuges. It is unknown how the Coast Guard is going to burn the oil; however, it is their last option. Scientists estimate that over 42,000 gallons are being spilled into the ocean from the oilrig that exploded and sank last week. Eleven workers are assumed dead, but as of yet, no bodies have been found.

California County bans fast-food kids’ meal toys

Santa Clara County passed a law this past Tuesday, the 27^th, that says  fast food restaurants can no longer give toys to kids in meals that have over 485 calories. CNN quotes the government saying that they believe that the toys are luring children to the unhealthy meals and that this gimmick is contributing to the childhood obesity problem in the United States. In addition to a caloric count maximum, the county has outlined other sodium and fat quantity guidelines that they hope will force the fast food restaurants to revamp their menu options. The law will take effect on May 11^th, and the restaurants will have to comply with their standards to continue selling their iconic toys.

 Seventy-five Georgia high school students win Gates scholarship

 This week the AJC featured the seventy-five low income students that were awarded Gates Millenium Scholarships through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The couple has donated $1.6 billion dollars to give high school students full-rides to any college for as many years as the student needs. In addition, students receive moral and mentor support as well as counseling. Graduate school is also paid for by the foundation if the student wishes to study in a science or mathematics field. Most of the recipients come from low-income and minority households and have overcome serious challenges. Recently, the foundation has been working with the Atlanta Public School System to increase the viability of the applicants to ensure that the students who receive the scholarship are the ones that deserve it the most.

HP set to buy Palm for $1.2 billion

MSNBC reports that Hewlett-Packard is looking into purchasing Palm, a smart phone producer. They proposed this past Tuesday a deal that includes HP purchasing the company above its stock market closing price. HP could end paying $1.2 billion dollars in cash for the company and its stocks. Acquiring the company will open up a new door for the computer-based HP by allowing it to expand into mobile phone endeavors and integrate the technological advances from Palm into it’s own system. Economic and business analysts say that this combination of HP’s global market and reputation along with Palm’s engineering know-how has potential to be a brilliant combination.

Law in Arizona to outlaw illegal immigrants  

A law set to take effect in the summer will allow police to arrest suspected illegal day laborers in Arizona. This is the culmination of many efforts to decrease the number of illegal immigrants in the state. Arizona has experienced tremendous results with an exodus of immigrants leaving for Texas and New Mexico at each stage of the law reform. Arizona hopes to decrease the size of the underground economy to increase the amount of jobs available for legal citizens and the amount of tax money coming into the government. MSNBC says the new law has already decreased the number of day laborers picked up, even though the law is not yet in effect. Some people are fighting the law because its “unconstitutional and [they] fear it will lead to racial profiling.”

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