Stories For The Week Of April 18-25

Senator Hillary Clinton needed to win this one in order to stay in the race. And she did. Of the 158 delegates at stake, Clinton took 81, while Obama captured 69, according to a Tennessee Journalist article by Dustyn Winder.

Clinton although still trailing Obama in the total delegate vote, with 1,603 to Obama's 1,738, according to MSNBC.com, she still felt confident she could win.

I won that double-digit victory that everyboyd on TV said I had to win, and the voters of Pennsylvania clearly made their views known, that they think I would be the best president and the better candidate to go against Senator McCain. Senator Hillary Clinton "I won that double-digit victory that everybody on TV said I had to win, and the voters of Pennsylvania clearly made their views known, that they think I would be the best president and the better candidate to go against Senator McCain," she said.

She later continued by saying, "I won the states that we have to win - Ohio, now Pennsylvania. It's very hard to imagine a Democrat getting to the White House without winning those states."

I think Clinton's win in Pennsylvania defiantly kept her in the race. I don't think she should get too cocky yet, though. The race isn't over. She still needs to keep her focus for the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

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Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, visited New Orleans Thursday, April 24 and discussed the mismanagement of the aftermath of Katrina according to MSNBC.

"Never again, never again, will a disaster of this nature be handled in the disgraceful way it was handled," McCain said in the article.

He continued by criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the disaster.

"If I had been president, I would have ordered the plane landed at the nearest base and I'd of been here," he said.

These statements could have mixed results for McCain, in my opinion. It shows that if elected McCain will not be the next Bush, doing away with the idea that we would be in store for another four years of Bush. This could gain McCain independent or Reagan Democrat votes.  On the other hand, it could seriously hurt him with Bush supporters. There is also the question of his wisdom in criticizing a prominent endorsement. I think we will have to wait and see whether his remarks will hurt him or help him. 

If I had been president, I would have ordered the plane landed at the nearest base and I'd of been here. Senator John McCain More information on this story can be found at MSNBC.com.

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In UT news, the activist group The Invisible Children came to campus Friday, April 18 and discussed the tragedy of the war going on in Uganda according to a Tennessee Journalist article by David Garret.

The war between the Uganda government ant the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been carried on at varying levels for close to 20 years. Perhaps the most horrific part of the war is the LRA's practice of abducting children and forcing them to be soldiers.

"Not only the children are being brutalized, the Ugandan people of all ages live everyday in fear of being kidnapped, tortured or even killed if found by the LRA or other guerrilla groups that prey on the Ugandan villages," Garrett said in his article.

More information on this story can be found in the Tennessee Journalist article entitled "Invisible Children highlight African neglect, conflict."

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Stories For The Week Of April 26-May 2 

Do opposing Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain actually agree on something? It seems so. Both senators have expressed support for a suspension of the federal gasoline tax according to MSNBC.com, while apparently Sen. Barack Obama did not according to an MSNBC article Friday.

"All I hear about is gas prices. Gas and diesel, everywhere," Clinton said in the article. "Some people say we don't need to get a gas tax holiday at all, it's a gimmick...I want the Congress to stand up and vote. Are they for the oil companies, or are they for you?"

Obama disagreed with her plan, saying that the gas tax could cost more than 6,000 jobs in Indiana.

This is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months. that is unless gas prices are raised to fill the gap. Senator Barack Obama "This is a plan that would save you pennies a day for the summer months. That is unless gas prices are raised to fill the gap," Obama said.

Personally, I am going to have to agree with Clinton and McCain on this one. I filled up my tank tonight in preparation for my three-hour trip home this weekend and noticed gas prices up to $3.46 a gallon for unleaded gasoline. Now I am lucky to have a car that gets pretty good gas mileage but I was shocked to see that it cost $35 to fill up my tank. Last August I could fill up for under $30.

I would love a gas tax holiday. I think it would really help everyone, especially those who are struggling to get by. With the food prices going up, some people can't afford to not have a gasoline tax holiday. Obama's opposition to this is only going to hurt him in the polls.

More information on this story can be found at MSNBC.com.

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On Friday, President Bush asked Congress for $70 billion to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year according to FOXNews.com.

This request came on top of a pending $108 billion request for this year. According to the Fox article, the $70 billion would bring the total spending in Iraq and Afghanistan to $875 billion since 2001.

Some in Congress who are against the war were frustrated at not being able to force Bush to "scale back war operations" as the article said.

I think that this could look bad for a president whose public confidence is already low. However, if the money will help us win the war and bring are troops home, then it could be a good move.

More information on this story can be found at FOXNews.com.

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In local news, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam suggested spending $3.8 million of the budget to increase the salaries of city workers, according to knoxnews.com.

The money would be spread out over the next three years and begin with $1.1 million this year. The overall budget for next year would be $168.5 million, which is around a 3.4 percent increase from last year, said the article.

Haslam also said the budget will not have an increase in the property tax rate.

"I think all of us would agree that this is a time to be particularly cautious in how we spend our taxpayers' money," he said.

More information on this story can be found at knownews.com.