This week, Starr’s Mill experienced its first half-day of the school year so that the teachers could have a professional learning day. The professional learning day allowed several teachers to share how they teach. Students all over Fayette County were definitely excited to leave school early as well. However, just because the school day was stopped early, didn’t mean news ended abruptly. With another hurricane hitting Puerto Rico, an earthquake in Mexico, and a new report on modern slavery, The Prowler has the news.   

Hurricane Maria threatens to hit Puerto Rico with growing force (9/18)

Category four Hurricane Maria is increasing in strength as it barrels toward the Caribbean, specifically toward Puerto Rico. The hurricane’s intensity has doubled in the short span of twenty-four hours, with winds of 125 mph. The storm is supposed to hit Puerto Rico around 8 p.m. this evening, the country’s first category four hurricane in 85 years. The island is expected to have up to 20 inches of rain in some areas, which will most likely cause dangerous flash-floods and mudslides.

The governor of Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations. Citizens are advised to seek shelter with friends and family in places safe from Hurricane Maria. Rescuers will not be in service after winds reach 50 mph and the size of the hurricane suggests that all of Puerto Rico will be affected. Hurricane Maria should last until Wednesday before weakening out.

Earthquake causes havoc in Mexico City (9/19)

A major earthquake, which was estimated to be 7.1 on the Richter scale, struck Mexico City on Tuesday, killing at least 217 people so far. The capital city also witnessed the fall of 44 buildings.  This quake is the second one to hit in 12 days, and it  struck on the anniversary of a similar quake that hit in 1985.

The epicenter was in Roboso, Mexico, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City. The amount of damage done is yet to be determined, but people stuck in offices had to duck for cover under office desks. Earlier in the day, buildings in the city ran preparation drills due to the ‘85 quake, which left 9,500 people dead, and 100,000 houses destroyed.

Slavery in the 21st century  (9/20)

Recently, a new report found that there are about 40 million slaves in the world today. The report classifies forced labor, forced marriage, forced sexual exploitation, and state-imposed forced labor all as forms of modern slavery. The report also defined modern slavery as situations from which the victims cannot escape, or do not have a choice in. It also stated that, “women and girls accounted for 71 percent of slavery victims.”

The report gathered its information from 2012 to 2016 using mainly surveys to collect their data from almost 50 countries. The most common place for modern slavery is Africa. Close behind are Asia and the Pacific.  

Woman will become first female to be an infantry officer in the Marines (9/21)

For the first time in the 242 year history of the United States Marine Corps, a woman will become an infantry officer. The woman, whose name has not been released to the public yet, is set to graduate from infantry officer school on Monday.

In order to graduate, she had to hike long distances with a heavy load, and complete a grueling obstacle course with the stressful conditions that is meant to resemble infantry combat. She definitely put in the hard work, as 25% usually don’t graduate from the school and settle for other, low ranking positions in the Marines.

Kim Jong Un threatens to test hydrogen bomb in Pacific Ocean (9/22)

After President Trump’s threat toward North Korea this Tuesday, Kim Jong Un had several words to say about the president of the United States. The North Korean leader made a televised statement calling Trump “mentally deranged.” He also called Trump a dotard, a word which here means “a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise.”

Not long after, Kim’s foreign minister released a statement saying that North Korea was ready to test a new hydrogen bomb over the Pacific. The foreign minister did not know when this action would be taken as it was up to Kim.

The U.S. is not the only country concerned with this statement. Japan is ready to take action since the possibility of a flyover is imminent. Japan has already experienced two such flyovers.