Ebola returns to Liberia months after nation declared free of virus (5)

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf discussing Ebola outbreak on CNN

Three confirmed cases of the Ebola virus have been found in Liberia. Just two months earlier, Liberia declared free of the deadly disease. All three of the confirmed cases are undergoing treatment at an Ebola treatment center in Monrovia, Liberia's capital. The World Health Organization and Liberia's health minister, Dr. Bernice Dahn, believe that more cases will probably emerge. However, Dahn is confident that Liberia will stop the virus and eventually win the fight against Ebola. Liberia has the highest number of fatalities from the Ebola outbreak with 4,808 deaths.

CNN: Ebola returns to Liberia months after nation declared free of virus

Ben Carson compares some refugees to 'rabid' dogs (4)

Ben Carson pauses as he speaks about refugees.                                                                                 www.reuters.com

On Thursday, Ben Carson compared safeguarding Americans from Islamic terrorists who may sneak into the country as refugees to parents keeping their children safe from rapid dogs. He stated that "If there's a rabid dog running around in your neighborhood, you're probably not going to assume something good about that dog, and you're probably going to put your children out of the way. That doesn't mean that you hate all dogs". He said that you should put your intellect into motion and consider how to protect your children. I agree with Ben Carson because I'm sure there will be terrorists trying to sneak in to the US as refugees. I believe we should take further action to throughly do a background check to be 100% sure the refugees are only refugees before we allow them to enter the US.

CNN: Ben Carson compares some refugees to 'rabid' dogs

Clinton: US must push Arab leaders to confront Islamic State (3)

Hillary Clinton addressing her plan to fight ISIS 

Hilary Clinton stated that "the entire world must be part of this fight (against the Islamic State), but we must lead it". She is urging Americans to rise above personal fear to fight jihadism and lead the world in defeating the Islamic State. After the Paris terror attacks, she also called on Arab nations to increase their involvement in defeating Islamic State militants. She backed up President Obama's use of special forces and she supports a no-fly zone over the northern region of the country. It is time for America to step up and take the lead to defeat the Islamic State.

Fox News: Clinton: US must push Arab leaders to confront Islamic State

Syrians with stolen passports caught trying to enter US (2)

Honduran authorities arrested five Syrians at the Tocontin International Airport 

Five Syrians were caught trying to make their way into the United States from Honduras. The Syrians had stolen and doctored Greek passports to look legitimate. This group of Syrians traveled from Syria, to Lebanon and Turkey, to Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, and then Honduras. It is very rare for people with stolen passports to enter the U.S. because of the strict customs and border protection. Hopefully no one will make their way into the United States because stuff happening in the world right now is terrifying.

Fox News: Syrians with stolen passports caught trying to enter US, police say

Carson pledges to advocate for statehood for Puerto Rico (1)

Puerto Rico                                                                                                                           www.johnnyjet.com

Ben Carson stated on Sunday that he supports the U.S. territory Puerto Rico becoming America's 51st state. He believes that statehood for the island would benefit both the United States and the Puerto Ricans, saying that "we probably have more patriotic Puerto Ricans than almost any other state. Look at all the contributions that have been made to America." Puerto Rico becoming a state would strengthen the United States and would spark the island's economy. When Hawaii and Alaska became states, their debt was quickly shaken. I think it would be awesome if Puerto Rico (a beautiful, tropical island!!!) became a state.

The Big Story: Carson pledges to advocate for statehood for Puerto Rico

Political Parties in Nigeria

 1 & 3. Nigeria has a multi-party system

• 1.  Alliance for Democracy (AD)
• 2. All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP)***
• 3. All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
• 4. All Peoples Liberation Party (APLP)
• 5. African Renaissance Party (ARP)
• 6. Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP)
• 7. Community Party of Nigeria (CPN)
• 8. The Democratic Alternative (DA)
• 9. The Green Party of Nigeria (GPN)
• 10. Justice Party (JP)
• 11. Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN)
• 12. Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ)
• 13. Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN)
• 14. National Action Council (NAC)
• 15. Nigeria Advance Party (NAP)
• 16. National Conscience Party (NCP)
• 17. New Democrats (ND)
• 18. National Democratic Party (NDP)
• 19. National Mass Movement of Nigeria (NMMN)
• 20. New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
• 21. Nigerian Peoples Party (NPC)
• 22. National Reformation Party (NRP)
• 23. Progressive Action Congress (PAC)
• 24. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)***
• 25. Peoples Mandate Party (PMP)
• 26. Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)
• 27. Party for Social Democracy (PSD)
• 28. Peoples Salvation Party (PSP)
• 29. United Democratic Party (UDP)
• 30. United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP)

2.

•  Nigeria has a federal republic government, which is a federation of states with a democratic form of government. 
• The separation of powers is based on the United States' system. 
• The executive power is exercised by the president, who is the head of state, the head of government, and the head of the multi-party system. 
• There is a legislative branch (The National Assembly)- a Senate and House of Representatives.

4. The People's Democratic Party has a ⅔ majority rule over the National Assembly.

5. In Nigeria parties are officially recognized by the government. The political parties are usually formed from parts of other parties.

6. Most of the issues addressed by Nigerian parties are related to social and political problems. Economic government regulation, welfare, revenue distribution, and same sex marriage are all important present issues debated by the parties. 

President Obama addresses climate change in his first post on Facebook (5)

President Obama takes a selfie with a glacier

On Monday, President Barack Obama joined Facebook. He posted a video of himself walking through his beautiful back yard at the White House, and made sure that people knew that his Facebook account is "a place where we can have real conversations." His first post was about climate change, stating that Americans needed to "preserve this beautiful plant of ours." He expanded on how he wants the future generations of America to be able to enjoy national parks, the mountains, and the oceans because they are incredibly beautiful and some of the greatest gifts we have ever received.

CNN: President Obama joins Facebook, addresses climate change in first post

Carson and Trump compete for lead while Rubio is in third (4)

Ben Carson and Donald Trump                                             www.philly.com

Ben Carson leads the presidential race at 24%, Donald Trump closely follows at 23%, Marco Rubio follows at 12%, while Ted Cruz an Jeb Bush trail at 8% each, according to a McClatchy/Marist GOP presidential primary poll. It has been shown that for Carson, Rubio, and Cruz, the more Republican voters that hear about them, the more they like them. For Carson, 67% of Republicans said the more they hear about him, the more they like him. For Rubio, 58% say this is the case and for Cruz, 51% say this is the case. However, Republican voters who hear more about Bush and Trump, tend to dislike them more. 58% of Republicans say this is the case for Bush and 49% say this is the case for Trump.

CNN: Poll: Carson and Trump vie for lead, Rubio in third

ISIS may be responsible for the crash of the Russian jet (3)

Debris from the crashed Russian jet in Egypt                                                                                   www.nydailynews.com

The Russian jet that crashed in Egypt was "more likely than not" related to the Islamic State extremist group, ISIS. In this tragedy, 224 people were killed by a bomb placed on the plane by ISIS, investigators say. Security officials at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport have reported that the security is very poor, stating that drugs and weapons pass through security checks and scanning devices often do not work. Sharm el-Sheikh is a major tourist attraction in Egypt, so they are trying to protect their tourism industry by preventing foreign media. In Russia, over a thousand mourners gathered into St. Issac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, lit candles, and stood and prayed for the victims as the cathedral bells rang 224 times.

Fox News: 'Sensitive' intel suggests ISIS may be responsible for downing Russian jet, UK official says

Ben Carson slams reporters over questions about his past (2)

Ben Carson, Republican Presidential Candidate                                                                         www.newsbusters.org

After the media reported about Ben Carson's past, he aggressively defended himself. Nine childhood friends of Carson's declared that they had no memory of the violent incidents that Carson describes in his personal narrative. He states that "this is a bunch of lies attempting to say I'm lying about my history. I think it's pathetic, and basically what the media does is they try to get you distracted." Another question that has been argued about in Carson's past has been his scholarship to West Point. Because of all of these accusations, Carson says that "A lot of people think that I'm soft because I'm quiet. I think they're starting to find out that I'm not soft. And that I can be loud, particularly when the injustice is being done".

CNN: Carson slams reporters over questions about his past

Paul Ryan as the Speaker of the House (1)

Paul Ryan as new Speaker of the House.                                 www.slate.com

Paul Ryan was elected to the new House speaker position. He received 236 votes, while his democratic opponent, Nancy Pelosi, received 184 votes. He declared that "the House is broken", but he is going to move forward and start fresh. Ryan vowed to do the best that he can to help America with tough issues such as fixing the tax code, growing the economy, paying down the debt, and creating a more transparent legislative process. He also called for the Republicans and Democrats to pray together, hoping to create a deep bond between the two parties. Ryan's first real test as Speaker of the House is a long-term bill to fund highway programs.

Fox News: Ryan succeeds Boehner as speaker, seeks to fix 'broken' House

Americans and TV News

Summary of the Article:
This article focuses on how Americans get TV news at home. It stated that Democrats are more likely to get their news from multiple TV sources while Republicans are not. It touched on how many, how often and when Americans watch the news. It was also explained that Americans watch their news on cable TV, local TV, and network news. Cable news is the most popular news viewing on average.

1. Over the course of a month, 71% of Americans watch local TV news while 65% watch network news.
2. More than one-third of Americans watch the news on cable TV.
3. News viewership is the largest during the night.
4. Americans who watch cable news very heavily watch for 72 minutes on average a day. TV local news heavy viewers average around 22 minute.
5. Heavy viewers of network and local news spend their most time watching cable news.
6. More than 50% of adult Americans watch more than one form of TV news.
7. CNN reaches 20% of US adults, Fox News reaches 18%, and MSNBC reaches 14%.
8. 28% of Fox News viewers watch MSNBC, while 34% of MSNBC viewers watch Fox News. 54% of MSNBC viewers watch CNN, while 44% of Fox News viewers watch CNN.
9. About 38% of Americans access their news sources through their home desktop/laptop computer.
10. Nbcnews.com is one of the most viewed news sites on the internet. The second most viewed news site is cnn.com, followed by foxnews.com

Follow up to Man Behind the Mosque

1. Assume that the documentary, The Man Behind the Mosque, provided an accurate and research-based perspective on how the “Ground Zero Mosque” became a story. Based on what you saw there, what steps can you remember the cable-news media covering the story taking to investigate who was actually behind the Mosque in terms of mission, goals, and funding?
   
• The cable-news media investigated by interviewing the real estate agent of where the mosque was going to be, Islamic people, Christians, and families of those lost in 911. 
2. Who brought the story of the “Ground Zero Mosque” to Fox News, the station that broke the story and led coverage of the story?
   
• Pamela Gellar, executive director of Stop Islamization of America, brought the story to Fox News.
3. It can be argued that much of the cable news coverage of the story was just that – coverage of a “story,” and how people felt about this “story,” rather than actual reporting.  Explain how we can see this at work
   
• There were many parts where the cable news coverage focused on the families of those lost in 911. These families expressed the way they felt rather than the actual facts. The man trying to build the mosque also expressed how hurt he felt that people thought he should move the mosque. He should have looked at the facts of 911 and realized that it really is inconsiderate to place a mosque on ground zero.
4. The journalists of Frontline included coverage of and interviews with the staff of Park 51 (the NYU grad and a couple other part-timers).  Do these individuals appear ever to have been interviewed on cable-news?
   
• The real estate-agent, Sharif El-Gamal, declined to be interviewed by Fox News. None of the other staff members were interviewed on cable-news. Sharif El-Gamal and a female staff member was interviewed by Frontine
5. What sources did Cable news appear to rely on for knowledge and expertise about Islam?  How credible did you find these sources?  Why?
   
• From the Frontline video, Cable news mainly focused on historians who were not Islam. This was not credible because they did not have the proper knowledge and expertise about Islam.
6. How relevant is the ownership of a media source for understanding its goals and how its goals may shape bias in its coverage? 
   
• The ownership of a media source is relevant because they want to share and spread their ideas. Its goals may shape bias because they may only promote their viewpoint.
7. Who was, at the time of the Ground Zero Mosque story, the second largest shareholder in the News Corp?
   
• Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
8. If you bring up the topic of the Ground Zero mosque today, many people might say something like, “Oh yeah . . . What ever happened to that?”  Think about it:  Given the level of urgency that was attached to the story, why did cable news just stop covering the story of the Mosque at Ground Zero?
   
• Cable news stopped covering the story of the Mosque at Ground Zero because people lost attention and it was too controversial of a topic.
9. Read about what polls reveal about Americans and their views on Islam.
   
   http://www.pewforum.org/2009/09/09/publicationpage-aspxid1398-3/

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-7jsJa5YaWrZ0hmRHVtUmtlbkk&usp=sharing

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/10/americans-islam-poll_n_7036574.html