Hot Topics: Child Held in Bunker, Embassy Attacked and Clinton Exits

This column is designed to offer a platform to discuss national stories on a local level. Share your opinion in the comment section!

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Boy Kidnapped from School Bus, Currently Held in Underground Bunker

It's been three days since a man walked into a school bus, shot the driver and kidnapped a five-year-old boy. The two of them are now in an underground bunker in Midland, Ala. The boy, identified only as Ethan, suffers from ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome. 

Police are speaking into a PVC pipe to communicate with the man, Jimmy Lee Dykes. His motive is unclear, as are his demands. 

According to local police, the boy is unharmed. More than anything else, police, family, and the community are asking for prayers. 

American Embassy in Turkey Attacked

Another U.S. embassy has been attacked, this time in Turkey, although it was not as intense as the attack in Benghazi. Two people, including the suicide bomber and a Turkish guard, were killed, while a woman was seriously injured. 

The suspects? Either Al Qaeda, a "proxy for Iran", or a Marxist group, according to Fox. Although the White House is calling it an "act of terror," they do not assign blame to anyone yet. 

The bomb exploded inside of the embassy, but did not do much damage. 

Clinton Steps Down, John Kerry Steps In

Hillary Clinton is out as Secretary of State, and John Kerry is in. Here are a few of her notable accomplishments. Want to add more? Tell us in the comments!

• Created the first Office of Global Women's Issues
• Included the United States in the Trafficking in Person report
• Created the Office of Global Partnerships
• Convinced Chinese leaders to free blind dissident Chen Guangcheng
• Established the position of Ambassador for Women
• Hosted town halls with global youth
• Raised awareness for global minorities

Lindsay Novis, in PolicyMic.com, had this to say about Clinton:

"Clinton has orchestrated some of the most tactful diplomatic successes the department has seen in a while, and she’s looking to make changes for the long-term. Through her vast network of personal relationships with leaders around the world (developed during her time as First Lady and continued as Senator of New York), Clinton has been able to subtly mastermind some moments of great diplomatic effort, from forming a coalition to stop Qaddafi’s massacres in Libya (though some progressives disapprovingly saw this as aggressive action justified by humanitarian intervention) to convincing Russia and China in the UN Security Council to help isolate Iran and North Korea (whether right or wrong, she succeeded in her pursuit)."

While some see her as the most influential woman in the world, others are simply not impressed. Fox News' Brit Hume puts it this way: 

"You look across the world now at the major issues: are Arabs and Israelis closer to peace? How about Iran and North Korea and their nuclear programs? Have they been halted or seriously set back? Has the ‘reset with Russia,’ which she so famously introduced with a photo op in Moscow with the reset button, has that led to a new and more cooperative relationship? Is there a Clinton doctrine that we can identify that she has articulated and formed as Secretary of State? Are there major treaties that she has undertaken and negotiated through to a successful conclusion? I think the answer to all those questions is that she has not, and those are the kind of things that might mark her as a great Secretary of State."

What are your thoughts on Clinton's efforts during her time as Secretary of State?