Florida teens involved in burning plead not guilty

Three young teenagers from Fort Lauderale are accused of setting their fourth friend on fire after a dispute regarding 40 dollars, a video game, and a bicycle.  According to CNN.com,  Matthew Bent and Denver Jarvis, both 15 years old, and Jesus Mendez, 16, are being charged as adults with one count of attempted murder for their actions.  Today, the three boys plead not guilty, a public defender for one of them said.  Michael Brewer, the victim of the attack, is in guarded condition at University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center.  Over 65 percent of his body was burned in the incident.

My Take: This story is newsworthy because the teens plead not guilty today.  It is a crazy scenario when children take acts of violence like this upon one another.

H1N1 virus passing over in central New York

The H1N1 virus has appeared to have subsided in certain areas of Central New York, according to Syracuse.com.  The amount of flu cases that can be lab-confirmed dropped to 202 for the week of November 14th.  This covers Onondaga, Madison, and Cayuga counties.  That number is a large drop off from the 337 cases that were recorded the prior week.  However, these case that are reported by labs do not account for the number of cases that are treated without going to the doctor.  There is still the possibility of the flu returning in the spring, forcing parents to strongly consider getting their children vaccinated.

My Take: This story is of worthiness to a reader because the H1N1 virus has been a cause for concern throughout the fall and into winter.  If the virus is truly beginning to decrease, people should be able to know about it.

Ross ready to return to the gridiron

Heralded New York Giants cornerback, Aaron Ross, is prepared to make his season debut on Sunday after an injury-plagued season up to this point., according to ESPN.com.  Ross has missed the first nine games of the season, but will take the field against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.  He will not start the game, but will be mixed in with fellow cornerbacks Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas.  Ross, a third year professional from the University of Texas, has been missed heavily by the Giants defense this year.  The secondary has been consider a weakness for New York this season and Ross's return is long awaited.

My Take: The Giants are the most popular professional football team in the state of New York and have lost four of their last five games.  The return of Ross is an important piece of news to Giants fans, who consider him to be one of their best defenders and an instant playmaker on a less than stellar defense.