The Spill: NBA Anger

Welcome to LNGenZ’s roundup of the trending topics in the news this week.

The NBA Gives in to China’s Pressure

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has been in the news lately because of a controversy over some comments made by one of its managers. Daryl Morey, the owner of the Houston Rockets, recently said that he supported the activists who are fighting for their rights in Hong Kong, a country that is ruled by the Chinese government. His comments angered the People’s Republican of China, and the country threatened to stop doing business with the NBA. Currently, the basketball league has an agreement with China to broadcast games to the Chinese people. This deal has enabled the NBA to make a significant sum of money.

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Elevator to the Moon: Can We Build It?

How exciting would it be to be able to go to the moon, especially if you didn’t have to travel in a rocket? Imagine having an escalator or elevator that took you straight there. Just step into the chamber and let the elevator transport you. Well, that concept is closer to a reality than you may think. Scientists have predicted we will be able to do just that as early as 2050. NASA, along with space agencies in China and Japan, have been working on this idea for years.

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Hurricane: A Canine Hero Rewarded for His Service

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” One canine is basking in the recognition of his fight to protect the First Family of the United States.

Meet the brave and loyal pooch, Hurricane, a black Belgian Malinois and US Secret Service canine officer who was on duty with his handler, Officer Marshall Mirarchi, at the White House October 22, 2014, when a stranger breached security.  A man had vaulted the north lawn fence, darting across the lawn, and towards the family residence.

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Nobel Prize: What Does it Mean?

The Nobel Peace Prize is a well-known award given to people or organizations that have demonstrated an extraordinary effort to improve the world. This year’s award went to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmend Ali “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.”

Ali was recognized for many other reasons, as well. In his first 100 days as Prime Minister, he managed to lift the country’s state of emergency, grant amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, dismiss military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, discontinue media censorship, legalize opposition groups that had been outlawed, and increase the influence of women in the political and community life.

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Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Columbus Day is celebrated each year on the second Monday in October. It is in honor of Christopher Columbus, the explorer who brought Europeans to the Americas. It is also a celebration of the growth of our nation since the Pilgrims first arrived and began eking out a life in the new land.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after a lot of pressure from the Catholic organization the Knights of Columbus, proclaimed the first official day to honor Columbus. But it was President Richard Nixon who made it official by designating the second Monday in October as officially Christopher Columbus Day in 1972.

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