ISIS beheads antiquities expert Khaled al-Asaad
One of the Syria’s top antiquities scholars was beheaded this week after being arrested by ISIS. Khaled al-Asaad was crucial in the excavation and restoration of the city Palmyra’s vast ruins. He was also important for rescuing and preserving precious artifacts from the city. After beheading the 81 year old ISIS hung his body from Palmyra’s ancient Roman columns. Assad may have been executed for his fight to save special artifacts from being destroyed by ISIS. Many archaeological experts are threatened to work with ISIS or to die when ISIS gains new territories, they mainly want help reaching these items in order to take them as treasures of their own. The death of al-Asaad is tragic and shocking, and is a loss for us all (Giglio).
St. Louis Police shot an armed 18 year old
Last week in north St. Louis, Missouri, one man was left killed after arriving at a home with a search warrant. Two men fled the home both holding loaded handguns. One man turned towards the police aiming his gun, causing the two police men to open fire. The boy was 18 year old Mansur Ball-Bey, and after the shooting crowds of people confronted officers from across the police tape. Officers in SWAT gear appeared at 3:30 pm, and arrested nine people at the protests, but supported those who were protesting peacefully. Although four guns were found at the scene with some cocaine, three of the guns were stolen, and gunshots could be heard around the area. During the night, a few fires were lit on the streets. Police did everything they could to keep from protestors turning to violence (Koerner).
Heidi Klum gets back at Donald Trump
In an interview last week, Trump stated that Klum “is no longer a 10” in his opinion. Klum decided to respond to Trumps statement by making a harmless, but clever video of the number 10 being ripped off her shirt by a fake Trump, only to reveal the number 9.99 under her shirt. A beautiful response to a stupid comment, Trump has recently been stating unnecessary insults towards women. It’s nice to see someone respond to his absurd statement (Lowry).
Captain Kristen Griest and Lt. Shaye Haver were the first women to graduate from Army Ranger School
Griest and Haver graduated from the Army Ranger School on August 21st. They graduated along with 380 men, and were the only two women out of nineteen that succeeded and finished the three-part course. The course took the 62 days, through a “Darby Phase”, “Mountain Phase”, and “Swamp Phase”. By passing this 62-day course, the women have proven that “Every soldier, regardless of gender, can achieve his or her full potential” (Griffin). Hopefully this success will encourage more women hoping to one day become an army ranger to believe in themselves and follow their dreams (Griffin).
Resources
Giglio, Mike. "ISIS Beheaded A Renowned Syrian Antiquities Expert And Hung His Body From Ancient Roman Columns." BuzzFeed. 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015
Koerner, Claudia. "Fires, 9 Arrests After St. Louis Police Fatally Shoot 18-Year-Old." BuzzFeed. 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
Lowry, Candace. "Heidi Klum Had The Best Response To Donald Trump." BuzzFeed. 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
Griffin, Tamerra. "Two Women Will Graduate From Army Ranger School For The First Time." BuzzFeed. 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
