Jennifer Mee, a Floridian teenager who once gained fame as the "hiccup girl," is now in the spotlight for a different reason. Hee was recently charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting and armed robbery of Shannon Griffin. Griffin's body was found with "several gunshots to his upper body." Mee brought Griffin to a home where two others, Laron Raiford and Lamont Newton, robbed him at gunpoint (Flam). "Jennifer Mee lured the victim to the address...

• Word Count: 491
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Paul Waggoner, an American, temporarily abandoned his post at a construction company in Nantucket, to co-found Materials Management Relief Corps and travel to Haiti to provide assistance to ... his veins. Then he died." However far-reached this accusation seems to Americans, Haitians strongly believe that a person is capable of being turned into a zombie, which is defined by a prolonged coma-like state (Troutman). Waggoner's history is anything but clean. In 2007, he was accused of kidnapping a former friend, holding him hostage, and beating him ... this charge was somewhat biased. He claims...

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• Grade Level: High School

Stretching the dollar has replaced recreation as the American family's pastime. In an economy soured by a volatile stock market and mortgage lender meltdowns, two-paycheck families are busting the budget on necessities. Even conservative spenders are growing weary. During a recent small group discussion, a mother of three held back tears as she described the effects of the dollar's weakening buying power. She ... will raise commodity prices. Gavin acknowledged that paying for a fill-up remains a shock, but said that rising food costs could eventually have more of an impact on a budget becaus...

• Word Count: 398
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• Grade Level: High School

... and no daylight to guide his way. In a matter of days, the sanest of men would go quite mad. Humans tend to be people of schedules, reliant on time to know what to do and when to do it. Various societies throughout the history of man have treated time differently, and even today there is a ... give some silly analogy about cogs in a machine working together in harmony, but truly platitudes would be all those words would be. The true reason that being on time is important is because we have inherited and continue to pass on the erroneous idea that timeliness is a virtue. How many employer...

• Word Count: 509
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• Grade Level: High School

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was recently in America this week for the UN General Assembly being held in New York City. The problem with this is, that puts her right in the fire, so to speak. She and her country have defaulted on billions in debt owed to U.S. creditors. President Kirchner has repeatedly ignored the U.S. federal court system and supposedly removed any of her country's assets to outside the U.S. and away from collectors. With her being in New York this week for the UN talks, U.S. bondholders' have become more upset due this obvious slap in the face to the U.S. Justice s...

• Word Count: 212
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• Grade Level: High School

The trial of former University of Virginia lacrosse player, George Huguely V, for allegedly murdering his on-again off-again girlfriend, Yeardley Love, began last week and has largely centered around the incriminating emails Huguely sent to Love before the incident stating, "I should ... administering CPR (FOX News). Huguely and Love dated for two years before the relationship went sour, as displayed by the exchange of emails used in the courtroom. These angry and abusive emails suggested infidelity on both ends of the relationship and violence on Huguely's end. Just two days before Love's dea...

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... least 14 others, and setting more than 60 buildings ablaze. South Korea answered with approximately 80 artillery shells from its own howitzers and put its fighter jets on high alert. Because the island was occupied by civilians, South Korea believes that the shelling of Yeonpyeong, which lies near the disputed maritime border separating North and South Korea, was a breach of the 57 ... -year armistice that put a halt on the Korea War without a peace agreement (Morrissey). North Korea argued that the South's live-fire drills nearby were provocative and alarming (Frayer). Kim ... U.S. to ...

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... than $455 billion in deficit spending according to the Congressional Budget Office's Monthly Projections for November 2008, Senator Coburn's report is raising eyebrows on Capital Hill and beyond. According to Senator Coburn's report, in 2008, the U.S. government provided wasteful spending for programs that continue to be ineffective ... . To date, their messages have gone unanswered. The Cleburne, Texas school district misspent more than $367,000 of federal grant money on things like a huge inflatable alligator and an Under the Sea Waterslide. The district could not provide lesson plans ...

• Word Count: 621
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• Grade Level: High School

... now own a cell phone, and that number is growing larger every day. The impact of cell phones on society has become huge. One reason that the cell phone has made such an impact on society today is because of the advances they have made with them through modern technology. When the cell phone ... to make calls. That is not the case today. Now you can hook up to the Internet via your cell phone, and stay up to date on the latest news, banking, entertainment and fashion. You can check your email and chat to friends. Cell phones of today also have the technology built ... is unique to them,...

• Word Count: 418
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• Grade Level: High School

... his campaign and how he handles the rising oil prices will ultimately characterize his presidency, if elected. John McCain has an interesting stance on offshore drilling. It's interesting because he has, for one reason or another, changed his outlook on the issue. For the longest time, McCain was opposed to any idea that purported drilling just off the coast of the United ... the Atlantic coast. According to a Larry West article at About.com, McCain is "in favor of reopening U.S. coastal waters to offshore oil drilling, claiming that offshore drilling will help American families by lowe...

• Word Count: 436
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... federal prisoners will be released early because of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's decision to retroactively apply the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced prison terms for inmates convicted of crack-cocaine offenses. On a unanimous vote, "unfairly long sentences" for crack offenders, who are mostly African Americans, were reduced to be more compatible with sentences given to powder-cocaine offenders, who are often white ... sentences given to crack-related crimes such as possession and trafficking. Many people believed the law was racially discriminatory because crack users are typical...

• Word Count: 790
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... -Kahn's lawyers to discuss whether to dismiss the felony charges. State Supreme Court will convene in Manhattan on July 1st, and Justice Michael J. Obus is rumored to be considering easing the outrageous bail conditions he originally imposed on Strauss-Kahn. Strauss-Kahn stands to be released on his own recognizance and freed from house arrest. In turn, it is likely that the serious ... originally believed they had an extremely strong case because of the accuser's testimony, plans to tell the court that they "have problems with the case" (Dwyer). "It is a mess, a mess on both sides," sai...

• Word Count: 840
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... make a big impact. Others are opening and hiring lawyers in lower-cost areas of the United States, including West Virginia and North Dakota. Approximately 16,000 people worldwide are employed by legal outsourcing companies, according to Edward Brooks, founder of the LPO program, which matches legal outsourcing companies with potential clients. Of the world's $200-billion-a-year legal market, this particular ... industry only accrued a small portion, an estimated $400 million in revenue in 2010. However, that number is expected to increase to $2.4 billion by 2012. Mark Ross, a vice presi...

• Word Count: 1048
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and the well-known work of art Emile, ou l"education. In English translation it reads Emile: or, On Education. Emile was published in the year 1762, and was proclaimed by Rousseau himself as both the best as well as the most important writing he ever penned. Emile is a philosophical ... outlook on man himself. The book looks at both political and philosophical questions concerning man's relationship to the rest of society. The book focuses largely on how one ... can keep their self naturally good while being inundated by a society that can be both evil and corrupt. Emile takes pieces f...

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Will Cars in the Future Run on Green Gas? Millions of years ago, crude oil was formed. It was made by algae, and somehow then buried deep within the earth. These algae are still capable of producing oil. While it's easy to produce an ... makes ethanol cheap is the huge government subsides it receives. Ethanol uses massive amounts of energy in production. We have also seen firsthand the effect on grocery prices when our corn crop is used for ethanol production instead of being used for feeds, oils and other food products. Ethanol reduces the efficiency ... of gasoline, and causes problems in ...

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... fact-based approaches" citing that "we need more humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs. The one thing we cannot afford to do is to go on pretending the war on drugs is working" (BBC News). However, the U.S. and Mexican governments immediately dismissed the report and ... on drugs, he has no plans on stopping before his term ends. A public poll in Mexico revealed that the majority of residents oppose legalizing drug sales because of security issues (Ellingwood). Calderon has battled off opposition to his drug policy for quite some time. Three Latin American ... le...

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... problems stems from the fact that he's overweight, and voters are typically drawn to more aesthetically pleasing, more fit candidates. Senator John McCain cautioned Christie against a hasty decision on CBS' "Face the Nation." "The swimming pool looks a lot better until you jump right in. The water may not be quite as warm as you think," he ... before," he said. "His positions, whatever he's done as a prosecutor, any case he's never tried, any opinion he's ever gotten out of a judge, everything - it's all going to go under scrutiny that we've seen time after time is enormously more diffi...

• Word Count: 822
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... - greatly differed for the three ethnic groups. Black households had $5,677 in wealth on average, Hispanic households had $6,325, and white households average $113,149 in wealth. Furthermore, unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics rose at a faster pace than for whites, according to a study by the Center for American Progress. At the same time, median family income was declining faster for the minority ... ," revealed one report. Naturally, the drop in the housing market affected Latinos greatly (Costa). Rakesh Kochhar, Associate Director for Research at the Pew Hispanic Center, agre...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... jeopardizes the life of the mother (McCaffrey). In 1998, during an interview with Nation's Restaurant News, Cain described himself as "pro-life with exceptions, and people want you to be all or nothing" (McCaffrey). However, Cain changed his position during a recent interview with CNN, where he said the government should play no role in guiding a woman in what to do after ... twice the rate for Hispanics (Fox News). Sanger, who died in 1966 long before abortion was legal, founded the American Birth Control League in 1921 - the predecessor to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America....

• Word Count: 556
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... members of both parties would back the push for an increase in the federal debt ceiling in the coming months (Hulse). White House spokesman Jay Carney did not appear rattled by Cantor and Kyl's announcement, stating that they had expected the president to take charge of the talks eventually (Hulse). Congressional Democrats were more open with their disappointment. "We cannot balance ... revenues (Hulse). "I know the frustration that he feels when Democrat members continue to want to bring tax hikes into the conversation, and insist that we've got to raise taxes on the American people," ...

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... American value system and it would be reasonable to suggest that this will not change anytime soon. Therefore, it is also reasonable to suggest that young people learn as soon as possible in their lives that others expect them to be on time for a variety of reasons, which are discussed further below, followed by ... even some other Asian countries such as Japan (Thongyou, 2003). Likewise, Perez, Ramirez and Kranz (2007) report that some Latin American countries such as Mexico feature a more relaxed attitude about punctuality, and being a few minutes late is not typically considered to be...

• Word Count: 1150
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press" (Weiss). The flotilla participants are largely unaffected by the warning, however. In fact, instead of backing down, many are simulating encounters with the Israeli Navy instead (Chick). On the other hand, the Israeli forces have undergone several months of training to stop the flotilla (Weiss). Approximately ten ships ... The biggest ship, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, pulled out of the group earlier this month. Additionally, Greek authorities are refusing permission for several vessels to leave Greece on...

• Word Count: 620
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the shortage in primary care physicians and the government's new laws regarding private health insurance, Obama administration officials are recruiting "mystery shoppers" who will experience and report firsthand on the growing problem. Although many physicians are angered at the idea, the administration says the survey will address a "critical public policy problem," the increasing shortage of primary ... regarding access to healthcare. In fact, the Massachusetts Medical Society discovered that 53 percent of family physicians and 51 percent of internal medicine physicians did not accept...

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... such illegitimate deals could cost them their entire fortune." Xianding also commented, "The strictest punishment used to be seven-years in prison. Now it's ten" (China Digital Times). In a notice on Friday, the Supreme People's Court urged harsher penalties for both corrupt manufacturers and food inspectors. "Those food safety crimes leading to fatalities or any other serious aftermath should be sentenced ... strong social reactions. Our task to maintain food safety remains challenging," said Wang Shengjun, the country's top judge (Jiang). Before this surge in cases, government had crack...

• Word Count: 519
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to win over cross-over voters who had not decided. The contention on those looking to ban same-sex marriage is that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. This was specifically supported by opponents to same-sex marriage realizing that many of the educational texts ... in favor of same-sex marriage looking to defeat Proposition 8 took their opponents to court. A series of lawsuits were filed yet all these legal distractions further clouded the main issue if whether it was constitutionally correct to allow for two members of the same sex to ... dental and life insurance coverag...

• Word Count: 907
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