 A 3-year-old, Casey Lynn Hathaway, was found on January 24th after claiming he had hung out with a bear for two days, according to CNN. The three-year-old, who is just over 2 feet tall, disappeared from his grandmother’s house in Craven County near New Bern. According to ABC 11, the boy disappeared on January 22nd. He was playing outside with two other boys and according to Fox News, the others went inside but he did not. The authorities first learned of Casey’s disappearance 45 minutes later when his family called the police. In the call to the police, Casey’s great-grandmother states that Casey usually didn’t go missing and that he’d been in the woods for at least 45 minutes at the time of the call. Many organizations, including the US government, joined in the search, including the FBI, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, the Chocowinity EMS, NCIS, and the Marine Corps.
At first, the searchers were worried that the temperatures, which were dipping near freezing, would work against them and Casey. ABC 11 reports that Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes was worried that the boy was not dressed for the weather. The first night dropped to 20 degrees Fahrenheit and on the second night, Craven County received 2 inches of rain, CNN writes. Major David McFadyen of the Craven County Sheriff’s Office says that there are bears in the woods of the county, but there’s no evidence to prove one of them stayed the nights with the boy. McFayden says that all that matters was that something was there to comfort him during the three days. He says, “We are very pleased he had that type of comfort. There were very brutal conditions out there.” Many volunteers turned out for the search to find Casey, but they were reluctantly turned away; the conditions were so bad. Hendrix Valenzuela, a Multi-Hazard Field Planner with the DPS, reports, by Thursday late evening, our hopes to find him in a well-being state was diminishing. According to historical search and rescue data, our window of opportunity was closing. And eventually with any operations the situation shifts from search and rescue to recovery. (Meaning they then would search for a body, not a live person) He also says that the searchers had never mentioned the “possible negative outcome” to one another but knew deep inside that it was probable that Casey wouldn’t survive another night. Casey was found on January 24th in good condition, the FBI confirms. The searchers had received numerous tips and followed them all, Hughes reported. "It was folks giving us tips and leads," Hughes said. "We hit every one of them immediately and it paid off." A search team followed a tip from a woman walking her dog, reporting that she’d heard a child calling out in the woods, and found Casey Lynn Hathaway in “a tangle of vines and thorns.” Reportedly, Shane Grier, the captain of the Chocowinity EMS, found him along with Valenzuela. “We responded to a tip and found him by voice," Grier said. "Disentangled him from some briars and brought him out." Grier said as soon as he got to the location, he heard Casey calling for his mom. "He was cold. He was verbal," Grier said. "Considering the conditions, I think he's doing very well." Sheriff Hughes believes that Casey was not in the same area the entire time. "I think he moved around," Hughes said. The FBI says that he is in good health and is talking and has been reunited with his family. “We were at the right time and right place, and glad we could follow that lead to reunite Casey with his family,” said Valenzuela. “The entire search over three days was a team effort, all the agencies did a heck of a job.” Casey’s mother, Brittany Hathaway, says that Casey is, “He’s good, he’s good, he’s up and talking, he’s already asking to watch Netflix” and “eating Cheetos, nuggets, and watching ‘PAW Patrol.’” He’s currently being treated at Carolina East Medical Center, where he is being evaluated and will undergo a forensic psychological exam this week, CNN reports. On January 25th, the boy’s aunt posted an update on the Casey on social media. “Casey is healthy, smiling and talking,” Breanna Hathaway wrote. “He said he hung out with a bear for two days God sent him a friend to keep him safe. God is a good God. Miracles do happen.” In any case, thanks to the professional searchers and volunteers alike who helped find Casey and get him back to his family safe! Oh, and the bear. You can’t forget the bear. Story by Caroline Barton SOURCE FOR PICTURES: https://www.ncdps.gov/blog/2019/01/25/search-three-year-old-boy-ends-successfully-thanks-teamwork  How are they numbered?
The United States Interstate sign is a red, white and blue shield and has the word “interstate” on the top, the state housing the interstate, and the route number. Interstates are one, two, or three digit numbers. If a interstate has a “0” at the end, (examples: 40, 70, 90) the interstate is running from east to west. If an interstate has a “5” at the end, (examples: 5, 15, 35, 95) it runs from south to north. The interstates are numbered going from west to east. Interstate 5 is on the west coast, I-95 is on the east. Interstate 45 is running up the middle of the country. The east-west interstates are numbered starting with the south. Interstate 10 is running at the bottom of the country, while interstate 90 is running at the top. I-40 is running through the middle. If the interstate is a three-digit number, then it is a route that either is a spur or a circle around a specific space. (examples: 495, 240, 305) The end two numbers depends on what the parent interstate is. For example, if there is a route coming off of interstate 94, a three digit route may be 794. The first number depends on whether the interstate is a circle route (connects back to the parent interstate twice, making a circle) or a spur route (has only one end connecting to the parent route). If the first number is a even number, then it is a loop route. (examples: 440, 836, 205) If the first number is a odd number, it is a spur route. (examples: 770, 515, 926). There are other routes that do not end with a “0” or “5”. It is still the same rule, if the last number is a odd number, it runs north to south, if it is a even number it runs east to west, it is just it does not span the whole country. Business routes Business routes are loops or spurs around a city that have the same parent number as the interstate it is coming off of. The sign is a green shield with the word “business” at the top, whether it is a loop or spur, and the parent route number. Examples Here are some real-world examples of what I just explained above. I-40 I-40 is probably the best example because it covers everything I just talked about. I-40 goes from California to North Carolina, (east to west) therefore the last digit is a zero. There are many spur or loop routes coming off of Interstate 40. An example would be in Nashville, Tennessee. There is a I-840 and I-440. They are both loop routes, because the first digit is an even number. In Fort Smith, Arkansas, there is an interstate 540. This interstate is a spur route and only has one end connecting to I-40. In Winston Salem, North Carolina, there is a I-40 Business loop around the city. I-95 I-95 is a interstate running from Florida to Maine, going north to south on the east coast, hence the name, 95. Interstate 95 goes the whole way up the country, going from the most southern point of Florida (Miami) to the border of Maine with New Brunswick, Canada. Interstate 95 goes through a total of 14 states, not including Washington D.C. It goes through many large cities such as Miami, Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Portland. I-95 is the parent of 24 interstate routes. There are two city loops and one spur route coming off of I-95 just in Washington, D.C. I-27 I-27 goes south from Amarillo to Lubbock, Texas. Since it does not end with a “0” or a “5”, it does not span the whole country. The end number is a odd number, so that means it runs north to south. Facts
US Highways The US highway system is over 160,000 miles in total that is somewhat similar to the US interstate system. The US highway system is also very different. The odd numbers are usually run north to south, (example: US-21 runs from Columbia, SC to Charlotte, NC, which is north to south.) which is the same as the interstate system. What isn’t the same is that the smaller numbers in the US highway system start on the east. (US-1 starts in Jacksonville, FL and US-101 starts in Los Angeles, CA). The even numbers, just like the interstate system, run from east to west, but unlike the interstates, the lower number is on the canadian border while the higher ones are at the gulf coast and Mexico. (US 2 is against the Canada border while US-98 is at the bottom of the country. The most major routes usually end with a 0 or 1, but there are many exceptions to this (US-51 goes from the southern part of Louisiana to almost the Michigan-Wisconsin border. An acception to this would be US-25 which runs from Georgia to Ohio. There are also, just like the interstates, spur, loop and business routes. There are also “alternate” routes and “direction” routes. Business routes (US highways) Business routes are pretty much exactly the same as interstate business routes, they are spur or loop routes off of a major US highway. The only thing that is different is, well, there’s a lot more of them. In a town called Sedan, Kansas with about 1,000 people (as of 2017), has a business route going through it (Business US-166). Spur/loop/parent routes Another thing that US highways and Interstates have in common is loop, spur, and parent routes. They work a little bit differently though. Just like interstates, a 3-digit US highway has a parent route. You find the parent route by looking at the last two numbers of the 3-digit highway (Example: the parent route of route 643 would be 43). The 3-digit route does not necessarily have to connect directly to the parent route. It can run closely beside it or just be connected by other routes. Technically, route 936 could be across the country from route 36, it would just have to be connected by other highways. US-395 runs closely to the left of US-95. US-422 is directly connected to US-22 in Pennsylvania. US-431 is only connected to US-31 by other routes, not directly. Facts
Story by Ryan Oast Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Numbered_Highway_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Greensboro_road_signs.jpg  The government shutdown has been active for one month so far - the longest in history. To learn more about the shutdown itself please look to another article here on cougar news which will hopefully explain why it's happening etc.
The government shutdown has made many government-owned buildings close down temporarily. Specifics include; Museums, Embassies, The Pentagon, National Archives, and National Parks. There are most likely more but my focus is on National Parks and, before you ask, yes ALL government buildings are closed down until the shutdown is lifted. The outrage of Park fans is that even some people could be in danger, as people who are invading national parks are getting injured because staff aren't on duty to stop people from getting hurt. For example, a person walking their dog in Yosemite ended up having to chase it and fell off into Nevada Fall. This wouldn't have happened if staff were there to tell him to not take his dog. Including this incident, there have been 7 deaths and 4 of which have been suicides, and of course, we give our condolences to those families of all of the victims. Not only are people in danger but the wildlife in these National Parks are being hurt by other people and some VERY rare trees and plant life, that have been the reason that the sites became Nation Parks in the first place. The most important type of which is the rare Joshua Trees, which as IFLScience says ¨Will take some national parks years to recover¨. It has now been a month, the longest in history so far, and while it continues it will be a hard record to break. Another park near us is Blue Ridge Parkway which, had to put up a BRPA on their website to warn people to be careful. We also ask all people who plan to enter national parks to be careful. Story by Skye Robertson Sources: https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/about-brpa/ https://www.npca.org/articles/2029-how-is-the-partial-government-shutdown-affecting-national-parks https://www.thedailybeast.com/government-shutdown-means-history-is-on-hold-at-national-parks  The death penalty is a very controversial subject. Many people believe that it is nowhere near acceptable for the government to kill anybody for any reason. On the other hand, though many people believe that if you committed a crime so terrible it is only ok for you to be put to death. This is an unbiased telling of the rules and regulations of North Carolinas death penalty laws. Many states don't use the death penalty because they believe it is a cruel and unfair punishment and therefore they have stopped using it. Although many other states still use capital punishment. 30 states use capital punishment and it is illegal in 20 states. It is still a legal punishment in North Carolina though it has not been used since 2006.
In North Carolina, the death penalty has been around since the state was a British colony though back in that time people were hung. In 2009 the supreme court decided that the death penalty would be disproportionate for any offense against an individual that did not involve the death of the victim. This means only murder suspects can be on death row. This penalty is very controversial and has not been used much in the past 10-15 years. The death penalty can only be given for forms of murder such as various forms of murder such as murder committed during a drug-related death, drive-by shooting, murder during a kidnapping, and murder for hire. The death penalty is also called capital punishment. Many people who are death row never get executed or die of natural cause while awaiting execution. This occurs with around one-fourth of death row inmates. The last person In North Carolina to be executed was in 2006 in North Carolina. Many sources say that there is a good chance that Samuel Flippen is the last person to be executed in NC, he was executed in 2006 for the murder of his 2-year-old stepdaughter. The autopsy of his daughter Britney Hutton revealed that she was beaten to death because she wouldn't stop crying, after Samuel Flippen’s wife at the time, Tina Flippen, had left for work around 9:15. He was executed by lethal injection at the age of 37. He was executed on the eighteenth day of August in the year 2006 and he mouthed the words “I love you”, to his parents outside of the window. He said those final words before dying at 2:11 am. He was convicted of first-degree murder and executed after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request to stop the execution. Story by Brooke Darby Sources: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/18/AR2006081800140.html?noredirect=on https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article215100635.html  If you have been watching the news or been on social media lately you have probably heard about the partial government shutdown that we are in right now. Most people have started to wonder about the history of government shutdowns, and just like you probably have I've started my own research. I'm going to give you the rundown on the government shutdown, what causes them, and the difference between a partial and full shutdown.
I'm going to start by telling you the difference between a partial and full shutdown and brief details on the wall itself. A partial government shutdown is when Congress doesn't pass funding or the president doesn't sign them before the previous appropriation doesn't run out. A partial government shutdown can also happen when the president and Congress can't agree on funding for something, for example, our current shutdown, which happened because the president wants 5.7 billion dollars for border security. The 5.7 billion would let President Trump build another 237 miles of steel fencing, and that's adding to the 580 miles in place. But this wouldn't cover the whole border, as there would still be 1,140 miles left because the border is 1,954 miles long. So the difference between a partial and full shutdown is that during a partial government shutdown about 25% of the government is shut down, places like national forests, museums, and non-essential personnel. But places like jails, IRS, TSA, FAA are still open, the thing is the people who work at those places have to work but are not being paid to do so and about 1 out of 16 workers have said they can not come to work. But a full government shutdown is when everything government related is shutdown This is all according to my various sources CNN, The Washington Post, and Investopedia. Now I am going to list all partial and full shutdowns in U.S. history in total there have been 21 government shutdowns all for either very short or long periods of time. I am going to list each shutdown and the president that they happened with. The first ever government shutdown was in 1976 with President Gerald Ford it was 10 days long and lasted from September 30th to October 11th. The next few shutdowns were with President Jimmy Carter who had a total of 5 government shutdowns 3 in 1977, 1 in 1978 and the last in 1979, the first was 12 days the last 11 days and the longest was 18 days. Next was President Ronald Reagan who had 8 his fist in 1981 and last in 1987. He had 2 shutdowns in 1982, 1 in 1983 another 2 in 1984 and one in 1986. His longest was only 3 days and his shortest was legit 1 day long! Up next we have President George H.W. Bush who only had 1 shutdown in his presidential career which was in 1990 and 3 days long from October 5th to 9th. President Bill Clinton had 2 shutdowns one in 1995 and the last 1995-1996. His first one was 5 days long November 13th-19th, and the last one was the longest government shutdown in America but not anymore, it was 21 days long and crossed on over into the new year from December 5th to January 6th. Next, we have President Barack Obama who had one shutdown that lasted 16 days from October 1st to the 14th in 2013. Now last but not least we have our current President, President Donald Trump who has 3 government shutdowns each of them was in 2018, the first lasted one day which was February 9th, the second was Jan 20th to 23rd which was 3 days long. The last which is the shutdown that we are in right now which started on December 22 and it has not ended yet, this is all according to ThoughtCo. So far the shutdown has not ended yet, and the democrats dont want the wall and the President does, he would like 5.7 billion dollars for funding for the wall. Journalists have asked President Trump if he will declare a national emergency and his response was “I can do it if I want,” … “I may do it.” If he was to declare a national emergency he could get funding without going through Congress and use Pentagon funding to build the remainder of the wall, another option has the Army Corps of Engineers build it. This is according to CBS News. Now I am going to talk about who has been affected by this shutdown, many government agencies have been affected including Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, and many others have been affected too like the Environmental Protection Agency and even NASA. Many people are working without pay or staying home without pay about 800,000 are just living without pay. Some have to work and will be repaid when our government opens back up, but others are being sent home with no such chance of being repaid. This is all according to the Washington Post again. Thank you for reading my story on the government shutdown and all it's many details and history and have a great rest of your day. Story by Diakhou Gaye |
