City also included a moment of silence. The Kansas City chiefs held the moment on the victims of domestic violence and their families. It’s an issue with an immediate connection to the Kansas City community and the Chiefs team. Jovan Belcher was a linebacker for Kansas City. Police reports say that on Saturday, Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Cassandra Perkins. He drove to the team’s practice facility where he then took his own life. When violence like this occurs, you might expect the issue of gun control to come up, you might not expect it to come up during a half time show. And that’s happened on Sunday night. 

 

NBC’s Bob Costas talked about it during the Sunday night football broadcast. He quoted another sports reporter, Jason Whitlock, whom Costas agreed with. Here is what he said, quote:”Our current gun culture ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy. Handguns do not enhance our safety. They tempt us to escalate arguments and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it.” Now, there are an immediate reaction to this online. It wasn’t necessarily about gun control, it was about Costas discussing the issue during a sports program. One sports talk show host said, quote, “I will gladly debate Jason Whitlock and Bob Costas on gun control, but we tuned in for an NFL game, ridiculous programming decision.” 

 

Another person on Twitter said, quote, “Big ups to Bob Costas for standing up for gun control. Hopefully, some day we can actually have a conversation about it as a nation.” So, on our blog today we are tossing it to you to get your take. We are focusing on what Bob Costas just did. Should he have weighed in on the issue of gun control during halftime, or was this an issue of a bad decision or bad timing? We are looking for your thoughts at cnnstudentnews.com. 

 

U.S. government is getting closer to the edge of the fiscal cliff. Congress and the president have until January 1st to agree on the plan to lower the country’s debt. That could include how the government takes in money through taxes and how it spends money. If they don’t come up with a deal, we know that taxes will go up for all Americans, and government spending will also get cut. Ted Rowlands looks at what that might mean for one city.

 

First and foremost, there is a Rock Island Arsenal. If Congress doesn’t act, defense spending will be slashed by 55 million next year and 450 billion over ten years. Which many fear could put the Arsenal in jeopardy. The Arsenal is the area’s largest employer. And though it’s not clear how any cuts would impact the installation specifically, the mere prospect has people worried. 

 

Next, is healthcare, another major employer in the quad cities, if Congress doesn’t act, Medicare reimbursement will initially drop by two percent. Trinity Medical Center in Rock Island is already budgeting for the fiscal cliff. Other possible fiscal cliff cuts that could hit Rock Island include the Army Corps of Engineers. They are here in part to manage the locks along the Mississippi. 

 

There is cuts to public education which the National School Board Association said could have a profound effect if Congress doesn’t act. There are potential cuts to social services. More than 12 percent of Rock Island’s population lives below the poverty line. And of course, there are the tax hikes. 

 

At Theo’s coffee shop, people have a lot to say about Washington D.C. and the fiscal cliff. James Cheeks says he’s counting on Congress to prevent his taxes from going up. 

 

“Scary. You know, it’s scary. Where then money is going to come from? You know, how am I going to pay this extra tax hike?”

 

The potential effects of the fiscal cliff aren’t necessarily any more or less significant here in Rock Island than they would be in any other city across the country. The bottom line is , if Congress doesn’t act, there will be significant repercussions for the entire country. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Rock Island, Illinois.