8 year old kills father and friend

For my outside reading i read an article from www.cnn.com. The atricle is called Prosecuter Seeks to Drop Charge Against Young Murder Suspect. The article is about an 8 year old boy who is suspected of the killings of his father, Vincent Romero, 29, and his father's friend, Tim Romans, 39. They two men were found to be shot in their home. At first when the boy was being interviewed by the police, he completely denied shooting the two men, and claimed that he never even got near the gun. Later in the questioning, the boy admitted to shooting his father after he found him on the ground drenched in blood slightly shaking. He said that he shot him because he was suffering, and he wanted to end the pain. This was quite confusing to the officers, considering the boy was giving a number of different stories to them. They repeatedly told him that the truth was the most important thing in this case, and that telling the truth would make everything better. In the end they decided that the 8 year old boy who was suspected of killing his father and friend, was innocent. They dropped all the charges, and let him go. I thought that this article was pretty interesting because I personally would not have let the boy go, considering he lied to the officers at least 3 times.

Playing With Fire

For my outside reading, I read an aritcle out of the magazine Teen Vogue called "Playing With Fire". This article is about the latest research on smoking habits and how dangerous it can be to your health. It has information about how smoking can affect all of the following areas of personal health; weight/height, skin, sleep, heart, brain, and hair. It reports that many girls decide to start smoking because they have heard that it could help them lose weight. Well studys show that that myth is completely false. Also, researchers have found that boys who smoke an average of 100 cigarettes per month are roughly an inch shorter than non smokers. Another fact about smoking and what it does to your health is that it can be very dangerous to your skin. According to New York City-based dermatologist Francesca Fusco, M.D. "Smoking constricts your blood vessels, thereby restricting blood flow to the skin. That translates to slower skin-cell turnover, which can lead to clogged pores and acne." The article also talks about how smoking can affect a person's heart. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that people, ecspecially women, who smoke cigarettes are up to 4 times more likely to develope some kind of heart disease. A very interesting fact about smoking is that it causes hair to gray and thin at a very young age, much younger than it would for a non-smoker. This article even comes with some how-to-quit tips for addicted smokers. Some include substituting a daily smoke for a walk, organizing a group of friends who are willing to quit with you, to repeatedly put out your cigarette so that you eventually get in the habit of it, try chewing on carrots, celery, or apple slices instead of smoking a cigarette, and to seek professional help. Furthermore, this article as a whole is completely against smoking and shows people the dangerous effects it can have one you. My opinion is that smoking is a gross and dangerous habit that can harmfully effect you and others around you.

Fat Kid Rules the World

I have just started this book called Fat Kid Rules the World. I read up until chapter six, learning a lot about the main character. His name is Troy Billings, and he lives in New York City. The book opens with a pretty tragic scene, Troy is attempting suicide. He is standing at a subway station thinking deeply about life, and right when he was about to jump he hears some voice behind him talking. He realizes they are talking to him and turns around. He sees a filthy, extremely thin boy about his age. After introducing themselves, Troy realizes he knows this boy. His name is Curt MaCrae, the school famous drop out druggie. He is known all through out the school as the kid who gets in daily fights, gets invited to all of the local band's parties, does drugs, and is homeless. He tells Troy to since he "saved his life", he owes him lunch. Troy knows that Curt most definately did not save his life, only briefly distracted him, but on the other hand would never turn down the chance at making a friend. Troy is obese and severly depressed because of it. He gets mocked on a daily basis for everything he does, and really doesn't know the point of living any more.