Frozen In Time

A dying 14 year-old girl was just granted her last wish – to be frozen instead of buried. The young British girl was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, so she wanted to be cryogenically preserved so that she may be awakened in the future when a cure is found. While her mother was supportive, her father disagreed with the procedure. So, it went to court, and the judge ruled in the young girl’s favor. Cryogenic preservation is a purely speculative procedure invented around 1960. Once a patient is declared dead, a response team injects chemicals into the body to prevent blood clotting and brain damage. Then, the body is cooled, and the blood is removed and replaced with antifreeze to further prevent clotting and ice crystals. Next, it is placed in a waterproof bag, cooled to around -94 degrees using dry ice, and stored in a container with liquid nitrogen. There are only three storage facilities in the world: two in the U.S. and one in Russia. No patients have been revived thus far, and scientists believe that none ever will. Regardless, this case brought to light a procedure that most have only witnessed in cartoons

Never Too Old

At age 55, Joe Thomas, Sr., who just became the oldest college football player ever, is proving to people nationwide that you’re never too old to follow a dream. Joe Thomas, Sr. was the fourth of twelve children born to a sharecropper. As a young student, he had hearing problems, making education difficult for him. However, he thrived on the football field as a star defensive lineman. He never got to play college ball, though, and instead embarked on a series of business ventures, finally settling on a construction business. He also had a son, who is a current Green Bay Packers linebacker. Four years ago, the recession wiped out Thomas’s construction business, so he went back to school at South Carolina State, pursuing an engineering degree and walking onto the football team. He is now a college senior, and he has been attending football practices for about four season now. On South Carolina State’s senior night against Savannah State, Thomas finally got to play in a game, finishing with four carries and a 3-yard gain. “It was certainly one of the happiest days of my life,” he said.

Lost In The System

A $10 million class action lawsuit was recently filed in federal court against Bill Oldham, the Shelby County Sheriff, and hundreds could be affected. A computer system upgrade inside 201 Poplar has caused delayed inmate processing. People are getting lost in the jail system. Even when bonds are being made, people are still remaining in jail instead of being released. In the intake area, which is a waiting area without cots or beds that is designed to seat 60, there have been 120 people. The area is designed to hold people for hours, but they have been held there for days. Issacca Powell is just one of the people involved in the class lawsuit. He was pulled over for a broken windshield and taken to jail after cops discovered that there was a warrant for his arrest. He spent the next two weeks in jail without being shown to a judge, without having a court date set, and without being notified of a bond. After his family made bond, he still spent two more days in prison. Yikes. If the lawsuit is successful, the jail will be making serious changes, but file this one under “we’ll see.”

Foreign Relations

Last week, 17 year-old twins sisters, Monica and Sabrina Flores, took the soccer field to play in a u-20 quarterfinal match. Here’s the catch: they were on opposing sides – Sabrina played for the U.S. side and Monica for Mexico. After a competitive game, the Americans came out with a 2-1 win. At the conclusion of the 90-minute period, Monica was in tears, and her sister was quick to comfort her. A picture of the sisterly moment quickly spread over social media. It is unclear as to why the two sisters are on two different national teams, but it is likely that Monica just failed to make the U.S. team. Although Monica may be distraught over her team’s loss and being away from her sister, hopefully she will find comfort in the fact that she will reunite with her sister at Notre Dame, where they are teammates on the school’s soccer team.

Abuse of Power

7-year-old Baltimore native Trayvon Grayson was brutally abused by his school tutor this week. Grayson’s tutor Timothy Korr, threw him against the wall for “acting unruly.” Trayvon was left with a fractured jaw and two missing teeth as a result of Korr’s assault. Oddly enough, Korr denies assaulting Trayvon. He even claimed that he lost his footing and “hit himself” against the wall. Unfortunately for Korr, Grayson’s mom and the surveillance video say otherwise. He was soon after charged with first and second-degree child abuse and assault as well as reckless endangerment and neglect of a minor.

Lone Wolf

On Monday, the federal judge accepted Dylann Roof’s request to represent himself. If you can’t recall, last year, Roof killed nine black people in a Charleston church. Roof has just been declared “competent” for trial, and the court is questioning potential jurors until they can find 70 possible options. The judge is facing a bit of difficulty finding impartial jurors simply because of the horrific nature of the crime. Roof has 33 federal charges. Among these counts are nine counts of violating the Hate Crime Act, resulting in death and three counts of violating the Hate Crime Act involving an attempt to kill. If Roof is convicted, he would likely face the death penalty. If you can’t recall, last year, Roof killed nine black people in a Charleston church. Roof has just been declared “competent” for trial, and the court is questioning potential jurors until they can find 70 possible options. The judge is facing a bit of difficulty finding impartial jurors simply because of the horrific nature of the crime. Roof has 33 federal charges. Among these counts are nine counts of violating the Hate Crime Act, resulting in death and three counts of violating the Hate Crime Act involving an attempt to kill. If Roof is convicted, he would likely face the death penalty.

Around the World

Connecticut native Cassie De Pecol is on a journey to travel to every country on the planet. She’s also on her way to becoming the person to do this the fastest. In 15 months, she has already been to 180 counties out of 196. By the end of 2016, she expects to be done. De Pecol has spent about $198,000 on her travels, most of which has been donated by sponsors. She’s also made a great deal of money from Instagram promotion. However, her trip hasn’t just been for fun – she has also been filming a documentary, collecting water samples for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, and acting as an ambassador for the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism. Follow @expedition196 on Instagram for some serious travel envy.

Last Hurrah

On November 22, President Barack Obama presented his last Presidential Medals of Freedom. That day, 21 people received the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. The recipients included people such as Ellen DeGeneres, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Michael Jordan. Obama has awarded more Presidential Medals of Freedoms than any other president in history. In typical Obama fashion, he had the room laughing, despite the importance of the award. Though most presidential gifts are slow-coming with long staff reviews, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a chance for the president to show their personality.

30 Years Later…

Scientists in South Africa are starting the first human HIV vaccine trial in 7 years. Reminder: an estimated 30 million people have died in the 30 years since the start of the AIDS epidemic, including 1.1 million in 2015. Researchers continue their search for HIV prevention, but thus far have come up with little to no successful preventions or cures. These South African doctors are beginning a large and advanced human trial for an HIV vaccination, projected to end in 2020. The vaccine being studied is called HVTN 702 will include 5,400 men and women infected with HIV. Hopefully, this trial will prove successful, and when paired with HIV prevention methods, will finally end the tragic HIV virus forever.

Pop Culture Announcement

Netflix announced on Wednesday that its subscribers can now download television shows and movies on their mobile devices. Now, you can watch your movies on-the-go without internet connection and without having to use data. Do you normally pay for an in-flight movie? No need anymore – because of this update, Netflix is now airplane-mode compatible! This. Is. Life-Changing.