by Eric Torres, Editor-in-Chief

As the world commemorates the 20th anniversary of the most horrific terrorist attack in U.S. history, we remember those who were lost on that tragic day and also thank those who ensure that it never happens again.

Twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001, planes hijacked by members of Al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist group, crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., with a fourth plane that was suspected to have been heading to the White House, or the Capitol Building, crashing in rural Pennsylvania. 

Nearly three thousand people lost their lives that morning. This figure includes citizens of 77 different countries, countless American citizens and 441 heroic New York first responders. Even today, 9/11 remains a touchy subject for Americans, and combined with the strife in Afghanistan, many look back on these events with anger and political resentment. 

It is important, however, to look back at these horrific events, separated by 20 years, through a different lens, one of gratitude. 

The United States of America has not suffered another major terrorist attack of the same magnitude since that day. Although we are not completely free from the specter of terror, the brave, hard-working men and women in U.S. defense and intelligence have mitigated threats over the last two decades.

Furthermore, the American military, which has spent the last 20 years in the Middle East, has also worked extremely hard to combat terrorism in the region, which in turn has helped ensure safety and security in the United States. Thousands of American military lives and countless more civilian lives have been lost in the Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan in post-9/11 wars. Last week, 13 more brave servicemen and women lost their lives as the U.S. left Afghanistan.

Beyond that, it is important to remember that we, as Americans, live in a country where many people dedicate their lives to ensure our safety. This is something that many Americans unintentionally take for granted, due to the fact that there is not really a highly societal threat at present. The lack of awareness and gratitude toward U.S. military and intelligence apparatuses stems from the great job they do everyday.

Next time, when someone mentions 9/11, or the mess in the Middle East, instead of reacting in an analytical or political manner, react with gratitude for those who work to preserve the safety of this great nation.

by Andrew Fierro, Managing Editor

Hurricane Ida has proven to be one of the most dangerous storms in history, having drastic effects on many states on the east coast with approximately $50-60 billion in property damage and a death toll over 50.

Hurricane Ida first made landfall on the August 29th in Louisiana, marked as a category four storm with maximum sustained winds reaching up to 150 miles per hour. Since that day, Ida has been on a treacherous path of pain and destruction.

The lives lost has been mainly due to the flooding that has taken place and unfortunately is expected to continue to rise. The storm that started out in Louisiana has made its way through many states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and many more.

The storm, which was initially predicted to cause an estimated $15 billion in property damage, has likely caused somewhere between $50-60 billion in damage. In a country where the economy is still recovering and in many ways still being impacted by COVID-19, the intense damage caused by the hurricane could not have come at a worse time.

In Louisiana alone, millions of people were without power as the hurricane, along with the trees it knocked over, destroyed power lines cutting off electricity from the people in the homes and businesses. Some of these outages included the entire city of New Orleans, which had a negative effect on the search and rescue efforts that were already underway. In some areas of Louisiana, it is possible that it may take up to a month before the power is restored.

As mentioned, with sustained winds of 150 mph, Ida has now tied the Last Island Hurricane in 1856 and Hurricane Laura in 2020 as the strongest hurricane in history to strike Louisiana. On top of that, it is also tied as the fifth strongest hurricane to have made landfall in any location inside the United States, even peaking at a wind speed of 172 miles per hour.

New Orleans, as well as the rest of Louisiana, was not the only place affected by the storm, as many other states dealt with disastrous impacts as well. People of other areas around the Gulf of Mexico suffered majorly, with residents fleeing and seeking safety and shelter. The hurricane passed toward the northeastern United States, through states such as Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

Not only did the hurricane itself cause extremely bad conditions for the people of these states, but the remnants of this hurricane proved disastrous as well. On September 1st, storm remnants caused a regional tornado outbreak in the northern mid-Atlantic area. These tornados proved to be extremely dangerous and stronger than the average remnant that is common from a tropical storm.

One of the major reasons that Ida was able to cause so much damage was its resilience to land. Most hurricanes weaken substantially after impact with land, but this was not the case with Ida. What started out as a category four hurricane retained this status for five hours after connecting with land, sustaining winds over 130 mph. It did not drop below major hurricane levels until nine hours from the original landfall.

As the U.S. deals with one problem after another, the country has shown incredible resilience to battle through many adversities. President Joe Biden gave remarks to the country and, most importantly, the people struggling, in order to tell them to keep safe and that nothing is beyond this country’s capacity when the people work together.

by Dominic Ramirez

As schools of all levels return to campus, COVID-19 remains a looming threat to the reopening effort across the country.

After a year and a half of online learning, schools are finally starting to reopen, but in doing so, they are putting kids at risk, especially those who are too young to be vaccinated. Various spikes in COVID-19 cases around the country have posed challenges to school leaders.

American children everywhere seem to be affected by the recent increase in COVID-19 cases among children. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ website, since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been a grand total of 4.8 million coronavirus cases among children in the United States, with somewhere around 204,000 cases being added since the last week of August. As a result, many schools across America are now considering going back to online learning.

Even as the schools in California are following the guidelines provided by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), COVID-19 cases are up. Since August 25, 2021 there have been 467,048 cases in children from age five to 17, an 11.2% increase from the previous couple weeks, according to the CDPH.

Outside of California, school communities and districts are being hit just as hard, if not harder. A school district in Waco, Texas has already had to shut down due to the death of two of their teachers. The two teachers, Natalia Chansler and David McCormick, both taught sixth grade social studies.

Meanwhile, in the state of Florida, there have been no less than 580,000 positive COVID-19 cases since the start of August, according to the Florida Department of Health. However, despite this, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is launching an effort to ban schools from forcing kids to wear masks. The Florida Department of Education even took away funding from two schools because they made wearing a mask mandatory on school grounds, a school policy change obviously connected to rising COVID-19 cases among children.

Citizens can help slow the spread of COVID-19 in their areas by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, thoroughly washing one’s hands and staying home if you feel sick.