 A lot of people don’t like McDonalds because they feel like the products aren’t healthy, or that they are not telling the truth about what they really use, or that it is not natural, or that it is processed food. Some people still enjoy McDonalds because they don’t really care, or they just think it’s good. Here’s some things that I am going to tell you about McDonalds and if the products are natural like they say. McDonald's is an American hamburger and fast food chain that is located all around the world! McDonald's was first founded in 1940, in Saint Bernadino, California. The founder of the McDonald's Franchise is Ray Kroc.
Previous rumors have said that McDonald’s burgers are made out of HUMAN meat also HORSE meat and “pink slime” for their chicken nuggets. Today we are going to find out if it is true. In Oklahoma city people said they witnessed people putting HUMAN meat in their freezer, but those rumors are false! Do they use HORSE meat? No, they use 100% halal beef and pure chicken! The rumors are fake there food is all natural. Sometimes it’s alright to eat McDonald’s. My favorite is chicken nuggets. Story by Morghyan Harbison Sources: https://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/humanmeat.asp https://www.mcdonalds.com/  A poop log You may not believe it at first, but in Catalonia and Valencia on December 8th children are happily coming home to see a new big poop log sitting on their table. According to slate.com, the kids have to provide it with a blanket and give it food such as dried nuts and berries. They feed it (stuff it with goodies) every day until Christmas Eve. Then they get a stick and wet it, and they take it to the Christmas poop log and whack it while singing a traditional song:
Poop log Poop nougat Hazelnuts and mato cheese If you don't poop well I'll hit you with a stick Poop log! The song is originally in spanish and the lyrics are: Caga tió, caga torró, avellanes i mató, si no cagues bé et daré un cop de bastó caga tió! Then the children leave the room, giving the parents enough time to put presents and candy under the blanket. The most common candy to put under the blanket isTurron. The ending of "the pooping" is signaled by a stinky herring, or fish. Then the family burns the log for warmth. This may not sound real, but we assure you that it is! Story by Sophie Kafka and Emma Locane  1: Blobfish are endangered.
2: Blobfish live in deep cold water at depths close to 4,000 feet. 3: The Lifespan of a Blobfish Is Unknown. 4: Blobfish can reach 12 inches in length. 5: Females lay thousands of pink eggs on the ocean floor. 6: Blobfish are carnivores. Their diet is based on crustaceans, sea urchins, shellfish and sea pens. 7: Blobfish live on the seafloor and occasionally end up caught in the trawling nets, which is always fatal for blobfish (they die the moment they are taken out of the water due to rapid change of pressure). 8: The oldest blobfish ever found was 130 years old. 9: Blobfish don’t have a swim bladder. A swim bladder is a internal gas-filled organ that is used to control their buoyancy. 10: Blobfish live in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. 11: Blobfish will remain still almost their entire lives. They are only likely to move if there might be food nearby. Some blobfish might actually starve to death because food might be too scarce in the area where they are. 12: The materials that they are made out of are just a bit lighter than water, which allows them to float a bit above the seafloor. 13: There are only about 420 blobfish left in the world. 14: Blobfish do not have teeth and cannot bite you. 15: The average weight of a blobfish is about 20 pounds. Story by Isabella Baker Sources: http://facts.net/blobfish/ http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/blobfish_facts/2657/ https://navajocodetalkers.org/14-blobfish-facts-for-kids/  Music is a huge part of everyday life. We listen to it when we’re driving to school, doing homework, and other simple everyday tasks. According to an official survey by Audio-Technica, the average human will spend more than 13 years of their life listening to music, but how are you affected by the music you choose to listen to throughout those 13 years of your life?
For starters your music can, obviously, affect and show off your mood at the time. If you’re in a bad mood and are listening to hardcore rock music, your mood most likely won’t change. On the other hand, if you’re listening to Disney classics when in a foul mood, you might end up twisting that frown upside down. Going off of that, music can inspire the creativity regions of our brain. Apparently noise alone has proven to start up the creative side of the brain. Most people have some sort of playlist on their phone or device that they listen to regularly. Of course everyone has their own music taste, but did you know that your favorite songs can help define your personality? According to Fast Company, there are several traits that many people who listen to specific genres share. You can go to this link to see what your playlist says about you, https://www.fastcompany.com. Although music has been proven to help us with our reasoning skills it can significantly hurt our driving skills. Even though the 7 hour road trip to grandma’s house would be unbearable without your trusty tunes, but it can really distract us on the road. According to several studies, people who weren’t listening to music performed better on the road then those who were. Lastly, music is really good for us physically and mentally. Different types of music have shown to help move couch potatoes into the great outdoors and can help us perform in different scenarios. Music is a huge part of the modern day lifestyle, and who knows what we would do without it. That’s one of the reasons Asheville Middle offers so many different music options, because AMS knows the scientific benefits music can give people of all ages. Story by Fiona Austin  BTS at the AMAs The American Music Awards took place on November 19th in Los Angeles. The event featured many acts that made history, and touched people’s hearts. One in particular being the performance of Kpop superstars, BTS. The group made their American television debut at the award show, performing their hit song “DNA”. Fans of the group, also known as ARMY, have anticipated this performance for weeks now and were more than excited to finally witness it whether it be live from the show or at home on their TVs. The group ended up receiving a standing ovation from the audience, old and new fans alike.
Everyone enjoyed the performance with people such as Jared Leto saying “I need a moment to recover from that performance.” and “Baby Driver” star, Ansel Elgort, recording the whole thing. Many see the performance the group gave as a way to break barriers for more international artists. BTS were the first Kpop group to ever perform on American television. However, the AMA’s are not the only American platform the boys have appeared on recently. They also performed “DNA” on “The Late Late Show with James Corden”, and have other appearances lined up such as “The Ellen Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. The group seems to have gained a new respect here in America as well as some new fans. People are now eager to know more and can’t wait to see what they do next. Story by Krislynn Hawkins  Social media has dominated our current society; in a world practically ruled by technology, everyone is affected in one way or another. However, it seems that this fact is not always thought about. How are the young people of this generation actually affected by the constant display of their lives on the internet?
Recently, ABC News conducted a completely candid interview with a group of teenage girls aged 15-17. The girls were asked about their personal struggles and thoughts associated with social media. The interview claims that the things said by the girls are the kind of things parents should know about social media. Dr. Logan Levkoff, an expert in parent-child communication, told ABC News “The challenge with social media is that it doesn’t give a young person freedom to make mistakes without being defined by them”, adding that she believes “social media plays a huge role in causing anxiety for teens.” The girls interviewed admitted that social media plays a large part in their lives. When asked if any day went by that they did not worry about their online profile, the answer was a collective “no”. 16 year old, Booch O’Connell says, “There’s just constant pressure, I guess, with everyone and social media.” Two of the girls, Anyaa Adams and Cayla Kumar, both told ABC that the comments they receive on social media often cause them to question themselves about things they were originally confident about. Although social media are online platforms, it can affect us in our offline lives. O’Connell added “Cyberbullying translates to real life, and you have people taunting you while you’re right there.” The rates for cyberbullying in our current society are high as many people practically live online. 87% of today’s youth have witnessed cyberbullying and 34% acknowledge that they’ve experienced it themselves. While it may not be something they openly speak about, every young person has some sort of opinion on social media. Guadalupe Martinez, an eighth grader at Asheville Middle School gave her overall opinion on social media and its effects, “It can pressure someone to feel like their profile is being judged and seen by everyone, all the time, and can make them feel as if they have to act in a certain way that will make them seem cool.”. Social media platforms have a large impact on anyone who uses them. It seems to often be treated as a frivolous thing for fun; it’s important that not just parents, but everyone are aware of the effects it can have on each and every one of us who are online. Story by Krislynn Hawkins  Recently on a trip to New York City, I got the chance to see the show Kinky Boots on Broadway! From the incredible choreography and costumes to the amazing acting and singing, this show was life changing. The extremely talented cast transports you to the world of Price and Son Shoe Company in North Hampton where you witness the son (Charlie) growing into a man and facing various challenges. The story then takes a turn when Charlie meets drag queen “Lola” who opens a new door to Charlie’s newly acquired “niche market”. Women’s stiletto boots that can support a man, or a Drag Queen like Lola, without breaking. Lola and Charlie soon team up to change Price and Son Shoes for the better. This heartfelt story brings an energy to the stage like no other. The end of the show was breathtaking. Such a powerful production.
Story by Olive Donochod  An ad for the show I have grown up watching Disney, and there were never shows or movies showing same sex relationships. Recently, this has started to change. Disney has aired its first coming out scene on the show Andi Mack. I personally think this was a great idea because the people who kids see on TV are the people they start to look up to. People need to see realistic representation of all different groups. This is when you see people on tv who you can relate to, or people who are like you. You also can't just ignore the fact there are people who have feelings for the same gender. Kids should know that this is okay!
Disney wants to celebrate differences and the things that make us unique. Disney has had LGBTQ+ characters before, but never a coming out scene. One was on an episode of the show Good Luck Charlie which featured a lesbian couple, another was Disney XD's Star vs. the Forces of Evil which had a same sex kiss, and in the new Beauty and the Beast, LeFou was gay. Overall, this was a great step to show diversity in our community, especially children's shows. Story by Maya Fuchs  What is the most popular holiday? If you ask your friends, family, or anybody else they might say Halloween, Christmas, etc... but which is the actually the most popular? It's hard to tell but according to The Guardian, in America the most popular holiday, if you look at it based on cards bought, is Christmas; 1.6 billion cards are sent for this holiday. Close behind Christmas is Valentine's Day with 151 million. Why is Christmas the most popular holiday? Well, Christmas is a time where people get together with family and open gifts. Also, there is snow during Christmas, which everyone loves. Kids love Christmas because they are the ones getting the gifts. My personal opinion is that Christmas is the best, it is my favorite holiday because there is no school; maybe that is one of the reasons it is so popular with others too! If you were wondering what the least popular holiday is; based on the number of cards sold, it is Saint Patrick's day with 7 million.
Story by Jacob Francis  So your sitting doing some homework, or going on a walk, or you need something to listen to on a road trip. Here’s your perfect RnB playlist, for just chillinggggg!
Let’s start with… (WARNING: some derogatory language used in a few on these songs. Younger viewers are advised to listen to the cleaner versions.) Worst Luck - 6LACK This song is about a man (probably 6LACK) who doesn’t feel happy with who he is, and he’s very self-criticizing and doesn’t believe he deserves much. In the song, he’s convincing his love that she’d be better off without him. In a broader meaning I think this song is indeed sad, with it’s smoother slow beat. It kinda shows the inside of the mind of someone who self loathes. It’s more like a bit of a piano ballad. It makes you feel a little melancholy and to be honest, it’s one of the songs where you have your earbuds in your ears and you’re in the car looking out the window imagining a music video. HiiiJack - SZA HiiiJack is also a song about a kind of broken love, but when describing it she compares it more to war. This song isn’t as sad, it’s more like tough love. This song is a little more fast paced and it’s definitely a chill type of song; Something you would listen to by the pool. Black Spiderman - LOGIC This song is more about empowerment, during it LOGIC raps about people just being themselves and being proud of who they are. How race, religion, sexual orientation, color, and creed shouldn’t separate because it all comes back to the fact that we’re all human. LOGIC says “This song is the celebration of unity and a world built upon division. People say things like I don’t see color, I just see people. To which I retourt you should see color, you should see a black man, a white woman, a brown little girl or any other color of the rainbow.” Stated by Genius Lyrics It’s also a fast paced jazzy song, all I know is it’ll definitely get you dancing. Blind Man - Xavier Omar Xavier talks in ‘Blind Man’ about a person's inner being, meant more to him than their outer being. One of the lines says “You're so beautiful, girl a blind man could love you”. Now this is yet another slower song, it also kinda makes you wish you had a relationship.. Or maybe that’s just me. Frustrated - R.LUM.R In “Frustrated” R.LUM.R says it’s basically like a “letter to himself” talking about how he needed to take in charge of his future instead of letting every little thing stop him from pursuing music. More specifically in this, he talks about a woman being the person holding him back. He says “You give me your kaleidoscope in monochrome so unlike the way you color me at home” (as recorded by Genius Lyrics). I think it means, she keeps making this picture of him and her at home together and it frustrated him, and kept him at home. First off R.LUM.R sounds just like Jamal from Empire if you know who that is, he’s amazing. This song over have a chill beat and a nice vibe. Slide - Calvin Harris So you may know this song very well, in fact in fairly sure it’s played on the radio a few times. I’m guessing you like the song because of it’s catchy tune but what’s behind the lyrics? For the very first line Frank Ocean sings “I might, empty my bank account, and buy that boy with a pipe, I might I might”. That line refers to a painting named ‘Garcon a la pipe’ By Pablo Picasso created in 1905. This painting was one of the highest prices ever for a painting, costing at a staggering $104.2 million since May 4, 2004. The reason it’s mentioned in the song is because, the song talks about finally getting accustomed to the rich life after everything he’d been through. How hard he had to work to get there. So there you have it, 6 songs you should definitely consider adding to your playlist! Story by Trinity Barnwell-Thomas |
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