Top News Stories of 2007: Anna Nicole, Duke Lacrosse and the Jena 6

This past year there were plenty of things going on that attracted media coverage. Some showed us that life can be a battle and some showed us that we haven't progressed in society as much as we think that we have. Here are three stories that gained media attention in 2007.

Anna Nicole Smith Dies

Anna Nicole Smith, 39, was known by millions. To those who watched her in "The Anna Nicole Show," there were many troubled times for her, both in the past and in the present. She was a Guess model early in her career, she was a Playboy playmate, a reality television star and spokesperson for the diet aid Trimspa. She was also known for her continued legal battles over the estate of her deceased husband, Howard Marshall. The most recent thing that put Anna into the spotlight was over the paternity of her daughter, Dannielynn. There were arguments over whether Howard K. Stern, Larry Birkhead or a number of other men have fathered her child. Shortly before her death, Smith had dealt with the death of her twenty year old son.

It seems that Anna had much going on in her life and her untimely death left her daughter without a mother. There are still questions to the role that Howard K Stern could have played in her death as well as the death of her son, Daniel. It seems that many questions may never be answered.

www.annanicole.com

The Duke Lacrosse Case

Three men who played for the Duke Lacrosse team were accused of raping an exotic dancer at a team gathering. This case brought headlines because this was not only seen as a possible rape case, but also brought forth racial tension in the community. The lacrosse players were Caucasian and the exotic dancer was African-American. After a long investigation, the three Duke students were not guilty. Michael Nifong, the attorney who handled the case was disbarred based on the way that he handled the case. It was found that Nifong withheld DNA evidence that could have cleared the players early in the investigation.

The Jena 6

Racial tension has been the topic of much discussion in 2007. Six African-American teens were placed in jail after the beating of a Caucasian student. It is said that this came from many months of being taunted by the Caucasian students at their high school. They would hand nooses from the tree outside of the school in an effort to keep African-Americans from sitting under what they considered to be "their tree."

The Caucasian teens in the matter were suspended from school. The African-American teens, the Jena 6, were charged with attempted second degree murder and conspiracy. Although some charges have been reduced and some are still pending, it shows that although many believe that racial discrimination is not the issue it was many years ago, we still have much more work to do in order to correct the problem.