Story 1: The science story

Story 2: NCAA allowing students to receive money (https://www.npr.org/2019/10/29/774439078/ncaa-starts-process-to-allow-compensation-for-college-athletes)

Story 3: UK General Election:  (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49826655)

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Story 1:

A seal sustained multiple injuries from plastic waste in the ocean.

Flowerpot was discovered and rescued on a Norfolk beach with its head stuck in a piece of plastic waste left in the ocean.

This was the 51st animal which has been recovered by the RSPCA and taken in for treatment. The charity has said the injuries sustained from this plastic will take months to heal and have caused a considerable amount of pain to the seal (named Flowerpot).

With the use of bone pliers, the RSPCA were successfully able to cut the plastic away from the seals neck and allow freedom. Flowerpot will have to have daily salt baths in order to help heal the deep wound which surrounds the neck area. Flowerpot will also be on antibiotics to ensure a sustainable recovery.

Flowerpot would’ve been “restricted” in the wild which would’ve made the seal very easy prey to predators.

Story 2:

The NCAA has stated they intend to allow their athletes to receive compensation with the use of their name or image.

The board of governors made a decision to vote on the controversial topic. In this vote they were deciphering whether the student athletes should benefit from their name, image and likeliness. 

Michael Drake claimed that the board want to provide “the best possible experience” for these college students and insisted there would be “additional flexibility” within the NCAA.

However, it has not yet been made clear when these new changes will come into full effect. 

Story 3: 

Boris Johnson has called for another General Election to take place on December 12^th, 2019

The decision was made in attempt to hopefully end the constant stalemate which continues to grow as the weeks continue.

Parties will compete for 650 seats across the country. 326 will bring a majority to any party. 

It is understood that Johnson has called for an election in order to achieve greater voting power in the House of Commons. Johnson’s Conservative party does not currently hold a majority, but the prime minster hopes this snap election will bring one. 

A majority would mean Johnson could begin to pass legislation on Brexit with far greater ease as his party would hold that crucial majority in the commons.

Boris Johnson calls for general election to take place on December 12th.

After another delay in the events leading to Brexit, the prime minster has announced it time to vote for who holds power in the United Kingdom. The Conservatives to be led by Boris Johnson (the standing prime minister) and the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn.

In order for any party to gain a majority, they need to achieve over 326 seats which is over half. There are 650 seats available to MP’s and once any party gains over 326, they hold a majority in parliament (making it easier to pass legislation).

Anyone over the age of 18 is allowed to take part in the vote, and voting will take place between 7:00 and 22:00.

If a party doesn’t win outright, a coalition between two parties must be formed in order to fill the 326 seats forming a majority.

A coalition often results in great controversy as two parties rarely share the same political views which means passing law in parliament is often a hazard.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49826655

A seal sustained multiple injuries from plastic waste in the ocean.

Flowerpot was discovered and rescued on a Norfolk beach with its head stuck in a piece of plastic waste left in the ocean.

This was the 51st animal which has been recovered by the RSPCA and taken in for treatment. The charity has said the injuries sustained from this plastic will take months to heal and have caused a considerable amount of pain to the seal (named Flowerpot).

With the use of bone pliers, the RSPCA were successfully able to cut the plastic away from the seals neck and allow freedom. Flowerpot will have to have daily salt baths in order to help heal the deep wound which surrounds the neck area. Flowerpot will also be on antibiotics to ensure a sustainable recovery.

Flowerpot would’ve been “restricted” in the wild which would’ve made the seal very easy prey to predators.

The deep cut can be seen below.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-50167858?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment&link_location=live-reporting-story

I spoke with Coach Sapp and asked him a few questions about Morningside’s national championship effort and how he sees the future for the golf team. 

The team played in the afternoon on the first day and then played in the morning on the second day. The national championship was played in Mesa, Arizona. Freak winds were experienced throughout the week but were heightened during the time Morningside was on the course. 

Sapp spoke about the tough conditions that the men had to face on the first and second day. “Man, the wind was really blowing in the afternoon on that first day,” described how the team had to fight against the elements to post a respectable score. 

The second day was just as hard, Sapp mentioned that the guys are “truly up against it,” as they proceeded to try and grind out a second-day score. The wind was blowing around 25 mph with gusts of up to 40 mph. The wind was up all morning and then fell flat in the afternoon resulting as a massive advantage for those competing later in the day. 

Coach Sapp believes the men stand in a very strong place this year and hopes that they have a “greater impact” at Nationals this year. It is apparent Sapp is very confident in the men’s abilities and believes they can compete for a national championship title.

The rules of golf, for every single competitor, changed dramatically changed for 2019. Every golfer is certainly affected by these rules changes, whether it be a touring professional or simply a social club player.

One key rule that changed was the timing allowed to look for a golf ball. The previous allocation was 5 minutes. This was cut to 3 to encourage pace of play as it was believed that these extra couple of minutes were adding a great deal of time to people’s round.

Corey Matthey, a member of the golf team at Morningside, strongly believed that this change would really help the pace of play and speed up golf “dramatically”. Matthey explained that the average golfer may lose 5-6 balls around, and if every member in the group is to do this then it all adds up. A college player would expect to lose less. ”Shaving those minutes can reduce playing times by up to 30 minutes on a round,” explained Matthey.

Todd Sapp, Morningside’s head golf coach, also explained how the rule change would benefit the game. Coach Sapp explains that golf is taking “longer and longer”, so any rule change that encourages speed to increase has to be a good thing for the sport and its competitors.

Another significant rule change that came into effect for the 2019 season was a change in the height for where a ball must be dropped from. Previously, the golf ball had to be dropped from shoulder height, whereas now the new rule forces the player to drop from knee height to remove the element of a potential advantage a competitor may get from being shorter.

Xan Milligan (part of the Morningside golf team) explained how the rule change made no great sense to him. “There is no way a competitor can gain an advantage from dropping at shoulder height”, explained Milligan. He also added that the new knee height drop had become strange and “almost awkward” to execute.

In contrast, Jonny Douglass added that he saw how this change can remove the advantage players get. Douglass claimed that taller players drop the ball from a significantly higher spot which increases the chance of getting a “poor lie” which acts as a great disadvantage. The new rule levels out the field just a little bit more and makes golf that little bit “fairer”.

To continue, another rule change brought into effect which brought about the most controversy is whether a player would decide to putt the ball with the flag in or out of the hole. The previous rule forced golfers to putt with the flag out otherwise they would receive a penalty. The new rule was brought in to execute the idea of ‘ready golf’ which encourages the pace of play to be quicker. However, players believe they may receive an advantage by putting the ball with the flag in.

Matthey believed the rule change has no benefit to the player, the only benefit being the increase of speed. “Players may believe when the ball hits the flag it acts as a block, but I think the ball will just ricochet off the flag depending on the speed”, explained Matthey. He also added that every flag design and weight is different, so the results will constantly vary depending on what type of flag is being used.

However, Coach Sapp explained a different point of view. Sapp explained how the weight of the flag is likely to “grab the ball” which will slow down all momentum. Taking away this momentum will benefit the golfer as the ball isn’t likely to then race past the flag. Sapp also adds that this will help prevent 3 putt golfers who suffer greatly from lost strokes on the green as their odds are “a little bit higher”.

The England vs France game has been called off due to Typhoon Hagibis and the possible threats that can come from it.

The decision has “not been taken lightly,” explained Alan Gilpin due to the fact these games cannot be rearranged or played at all. This is because of the strict timing schedules established by the governing bodies of the World Cup.

Italy were supposed to play against New Zealand, but this game was also canceled due to the weather warnings. This has removed the “outside” chance that Italy could qualify for the further stages. This means they have to travel home without the opportunity of even playing for their chance which defeats the purpose of playing.

A cancellation of a game is seen to be a draw which means that both teams competing are presented with 2 points each. This also messes with the seeding system the World Cup would typically lose. This may find the two strongest teams competing in the early stage of the knockouts which isn’t typical.

The spokesman for the decision made it perfectly clear that the safety of the people must come first in these scenarios.

As a rule, a decision must be made 6 hours before kick off in order to proceed or cancel the game planned ahead. This doesn’t leave either team much time to prepare for a sudden result.

It is also understood that fans who had tickets to the game will receive a “full refund,” which is greatly important.

Greta Thunberg delivers a powerful message in front of the United Nations demanding immediate change to help save the planet from carbon emissions.

Thunberg presented a speech to world leaders and members of the United Nations (at their headquarters) in order to bring about change to the modern world is suffering and how change must happen with immediate effect in order to save the younger generations.

Thunberg states “How dare you,” when addressing the counsel that sit before her. She believes the execrating rate of carbon output is causing great damage and is a burden the future generations will have to deal with.

“With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 1/2 years,” claims Thunberg with the support of studies conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Thunberg claims that the United Nations have “stolen” her dreams with their lies and constant refusal to accept the current conditions of the earth and the ecosystems that inhabit it.

Thunberg continues to explain the urge for change and how immediate the actions to fix the earth must be. She states the “eyes of all future generations are upon you”. And if the United Nations are to fail, they will never be forgiven.

After the speech, 65 nations had announced efforts to achieve a net-zero emissions by 2050.

The rules of golf changed dramatically changed for 2019. Many new rules were added to the sport as well as removed which formulated many different opinions. Every golfer is certainly affected by these rules changes, whether it be a touring professional or simply a social club player. 

One key rule that changed was the timing allowed to look for a golf ball. The previous allocation allowed was 5 minutes and this was cut to 3 in order to encourage pace of play as it was believed that these extra couple of minutes were adding a great deal of time to peoples rounds. 

Corey Matthey, a member the golf team at Morningside, strongly believed that this change would really help the pace of play and speed up golf “dramatically”. Matthey explained that the average golfer may lose 2-3 balls a round, and if every member in the group are to do this then it all adds up. “Shaving those minutes can reduce playing times by up to 30 minutes on a round,” explained Matthey. 

Todd Sapp, Morningside’s head golf coach, also explained how the rule change would benefit the game. Coach Sapp explains that golf is taking “longer and longer”, so any rule change that encourages speed to increase has to be a good thing for the sport and its competitors. 

Another significant rule change that came into effect for the 2019 season was a change in the height for where a ball must be dropped from. Previously, the golf ball had to be dropped from shoulder height, whereas now the new rule forces the player to drop from knee height in order to remove the element of a potential advantage a competitor may get. 

When asked, Xan Milligan (part of the Morningside golf team) explained how the rule change made no great sense to him. “There is no way a competitor can gain an advantage from dropping at shoulder height”, explained Milligan. He also added that the new knee height drop had become strange and “almost awkward” to execute.

In contrast, Douglass added that he saw how this change can remove the advantage players get. Douglass claimed that taller players drop the ball from a significantly higher spot which increases the chance of getting a “poor lie” which acts as a great disadvantage. The new rule levels out the field just a little bit more and makes golf that little bit “fairer”.

To continue, another rule change brought into effect which brought about the most controversy is whether a player would decide to putt the ball with the flag in or out of the hole. The previous rule forced golfers to putt with the flag out otherwise they would receive a penalty. The new rule was brought in to execute the idea of ‘ready golf’ which encourages place of play. However, players believe they may receive an advantage by putting the ball with the flag in. 

Matthey believed the rule change has no benefit to the player, the only benefit being the increase of speed. “Players may believe when the ball hits the flag it acts as a block, but I think the ball will just ricochet off the flag depending on the speed”, explained Matthey. He also added that every flag design and weight is different, so the results will constantly vary depending on what type of flag is being used. 

However, Coach Sapp explained a different point of view. Sapp explained how the weight of the flag is likely to “grab the ball” which will slow down all momentum. Taking away this momentum will benefit the golfer as the ball isn’t likely to then race past the flag. Sapp also adds that this will help prevent 3 putt golfers who suffer greatly from lost strokes on the green as their odds are “a little bit higher”.