Stage Dive

On Monday, April 2^nd Zephyr Ciesar took a tragic fall while rehearsing for an upcoming performance of Anything Goes. She played the role of Reno Sweeny, the female lead in the show that was supposed to open later this month. She was doing her big number on the set, which was a ship that’s top deck was sixteen feet off of the ground. She was tapping the choreographed part of the song, Anything Goes, in heels and lost her balance, falling backward off of the back of the ship. “When she fell she let out ear piercing screams,” said an anonymous cast member. Immediately someone called an ambulance. “I don’t know how we are going to do the performance,” said director Lizbeth Thomas, “but we are just happy that the fall didn’t kill her or injure her anymore than it did.” It has been released that she broke her collar bone and arm, but will be okay.

Ban of too-skinny Models in Ads

In Israel, about 1,500 children and teens are diagnosed with eating disorders annually. Because of the high number of people with eating disorders, a law has been passed that bans the use of underweight models (with a body mass index of 18.5 or less) in advertising. It also bans agencies from altering their pictures to make the models look thinner without telling the audience. While some modeling agencies are not happy, Adi Barkan said, "This is such a happy day for me, and it should be for everyone in the modeling business. All over the world, 20 years ago, we saw girls who were skinny, but today we see girls who are too, too skinny," he said. "They are dying. The business only wants the skinny girls. So the girls, they stop eating. It's terrible. We must be more responsible and say to them that it doesn't have to be that way." There is no consequence for using an underweight model, but parents of children with eating disorders will be able to sue the agency if they feel that the cause of the disorder was from the advertisement. Hopefully the rate of eating disorders will go down because of the new law.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/20/new-israeli-law-bans-use-of-too-skinny-models-in-ads/?hpt=hp_bn5

Indiana School Bus Crash

A school bus collided with a bridge, killing the bus driver, a student and injuring others, while making its morning rounds Monday morning. The bus crashed at approximately 7:45 a.m. on the way to Indianapolis Lighthouse Charter School. Two male students were critically injured, and one five or six year old was killed. The two male students that were critically injured and eight others were taken to Indianapolis hospitals. One of the injured children was rescued from under the bus’s front wheel, and fire department crews rescued four people from the bus in 45 minutes. The students that were not injured were taken to school which was only two miles away from the accident. One lucky student missed the bus and had to have his grandfather take him to school. On the way, he saw the accident scene. He said the bus driver was a good driver and cared about the safety of the children. There is still no apparent reason why the bus hit the bridge, except that the pavement may have been wet. Beth Bray, a worker at the Indianapolis mayor’s office, said, “We’re trying to help parents and get everybody coordinated.” The school released the students early Monday.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/12/1-kid-driver-die-in-ind-school-bus-crash/?test=latestnews

Indiana Mother Saves Kids from Tornado

Stephanie Decker’s home was pummeled by two tornadoes on Friday in Indiana. She was home with her two kids when her husband texted, warning her about the tornado headed for their three-story house. She took her son and daughter to the basement and shielded them from debris with a blanket. To further protect her kids, she reached around them, holding them, so everything coming at them would hit her instead of her children. After the first tornado went through, she had two steel beams on her legs and was stuck. Then next tornado came through and again she attempted to cover her children as well as she could. Everything was hitting her back, but she was on top of her children keeping them safe from the beams, pillars, and furniture, while they screamed that they did not want to die. When the storm passed, Stephanie Decker saw that her house was gone. Luckily, her neighbors were able to help her and keep the bleeding under control until the ambulance arrived. It was a miracle that Decker and her kids lived. Neither of her kids had a scratch on them, but their mother lost part of both of her legs, and broke seven of her ribs.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/06/indiana-mom-loses-legs-saving-kids-from-tornado/?hpt=hp_bn1

Sophomore Shoots 5, Kills 3

Monday, February 27^th, sophomore T.J. Lane shot five students that attend Chardon High School. Three students, Daniel Parmertor, Russell King Jr., and Demetrius Hewlin, died while the other two were wounded. Lane confessed to bringing his uncle’s .22-caliber gun and a knife to school and firing ten rounds. One student saw a few students get hit by bullets and fall to the ground bleeding, and ran out of the building to tell authorities. Also, the police received a call from a person hiding in a teacher’s lounge that did not lock, causing everyone inside to panic even more than they were before. While this event is tragic, thankfully Frank Hall chased the gunman out of the school, possibly saving lives. Police still cannot figure out Lane’s motive and reasoning for choosing his seemingly random victims. Because he is 17, and the act was so violent, he will mostly likely be tried as an adult. Classes will resume Friday, but parents and students are encouraged to go to counseling on Wednesday and Thursday. The community is still in shock, and is not even close to putting the shooting behind it.

Friend: Alleged gunman had sad 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/29/justice/ohio-school-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

More Foreign Films in China

China had a quota of 20 foreign films per year. Most of the films were from the Unites States. Now 14 more IMAX and 3D films will be allowed every year. Also foreign film companies will be allowed to have a 25% cut of the box office, which is only 13%-17% now. This will support thousands of jobs related to the film industry. According to the Motion Picture Association of America, around 2.2 million American jobs are dependent on the film and television industries. IMAX is also going to bring Chinese films to the U.S. This change will increase the amount of opportunities for the film companies of China and America to work together to create more films.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/21/showbiz/china-us-film/index.html?iref=allsearch

Fatal Fire in Honduras Prison

A fire blazed in a minimum-security prison in Comayagua, Honduras late Tuesday, killing more than 300 inmates. Forensic teams found 150 bodies in the building, but many more are unaccounted for and possibly dead. One survivor reported, “Everyone ran for their lives. Prisoners awakened to the screams of fellow inmates and forced themselves out of the prison any way they could.” Authorities do not know yet what could have caused the fire, but most of the prison was affected. The nation’s electric utility is going to check the wiring in all of the prisons as a precaution, and hope it doesn’t happen again. This is the third prison fire since 2003 that caused death.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/15/world/americas/honduras-fire-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2