Current Events in May

I like writing about current events on my blog, but I've been so busy lately that I've fallen behind.

May 6: Three young women (Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight) were found in Cleveland.. Amanda Berry was abducted nearly a decade ago when she was 16. These women were held captive by Ariel Castro, who restrained them, tortured them and sexually assaulted them.

In  the second picture below, Amanda Berry is reunited with her sister, and is also pictured with her six-year-old daughter, who was fathered by Castro. Ariel Castro is also pictured, as well as the house where he held these women hostage.

Amanda's home was decorated with balloons and flowers after she was found alive:

This is Charles Ramsey, the man who heard Amanda's cries for help and went to her aid. He's definitely an interesting character and his interview was quite comical to watch. The funniest line from his interview what was, "I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms… either she's homeless or she's got problems." I don't know if you've ever seen those hilarious autotune remixes on YouTube of Sweet Brown or Antoine Dodson, but this remix of Charles Ramsey is pretty funny.

He was even interviewed by Anderson Cooper… lucky dog!

May 8: Jodi Arias was found guilty of murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander in Mesa, Arizona, on June 4, 2008. She brutally stabbed him multiple times, slit his neck from ear-to-ear (nearly decapitating him) and shot him in the head. At first she lied about the murder, but when she was caught in her lies she confessed to murdering Alexander. She said that she killed him in self defense after Alexander started attacking her. According to Arias and Alexander were having a "photo shoot" in the shower when Arias accidentally dropped Alexander's expensive camera. Alexander started attacking Arias, and she killed him in self defense. Here are pictures of Jodi and Travis before Travis' murder:

Above are pictures of Jodi Arias before the murder, and below are pictures of her during the trial looking much more humble. I'm sure she thought this "Plain Jane" look would work in her favor much more than her worldlier "before" look.

The trial lasted for five months and Arias was found guilty earlier this month. I'm glad the jury didn't buy her "self defense" story, because the murder definitely seemed premeditated, and not like it was self defense. I'm not a psychologist, but she definitely seems like a sociopath!

May 20: An E5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, (outside Oklahoma City) just before 3 PM  while school was still in session. This massive wedge tornado was reportedly a mile wide with winds  estimated between 200 – 300 mph. The death toll from the tornado was originally reported as 51, but the next day it was adjusted to 24 since some of the victims had been counted twice. Nine of the victims were children.

Some  aerial shots of the destruction:

Plaza Towers Elementary School took a direct hit and seven children died there. It’s amazing that there wasn't a higher loss of life in the tornado, especially at Plaza Towers school since it was demolished. Nearby school, Briarwood Elementary, was also destroyed, but no one lost their life. Here's an aerial shot of Plaza Towers elementary school before and after the tornado.

Digging out from the rubble. This would've been such a terrifying experience, ESPECIALLY for these little kids!

I LOVE this next pic... a plaque with the words "The most important things in life aren't things" was found in the ruins of someone's home. How fitting! I'm sure the home owner was just sick over losing their home and all of their earthly posessions, however, I'm sure that pales in comparision when you consider their lives/the lives of their family members.

May 22: 25-year-old British soldier, Lee Rigby, was viciously attacked in Woolwich, Southeast London. Michael Adebowale (22) and Michael Adebolajo (28) attacked Rigby on the street, butchering him to death with a meat cleaver and a carving knife. Throughout the attack the two killers shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ (Arabic for ‘God is great’) then they demanded horrified witnesses to film them as they ranted over the soldier’s crumpled body.

One of the attackers ranted to a television camera after the attack, saying that the attack was in retribution for all of the Muslims that have been killed by British soldiers. In these pictures you see the attacker with hands stained bright red with the soldier's blood, and him still holding on to the meat cleaver and carving knife he used to hack Rigby to death.

This is Rigby's fiancée, Aimee West. These pictures are absolutely heartbreaking; they really capture her grief over losing her fiancé and the father of their baby.

Pictures of the shrine where people left mementos to honor the fallen soldier:

I hope and pray that June is a much more peaceful month, although I won't count on it because it always seems like just a matter of time before the next big disaster happens.