September’s News Bytes

Septembers+News+Bytes

In an address to the United Nations on Sept. 20, President Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea as a result of its increasing number of missile tests. Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, fired back in a rare televised statement in which he said, “I will surely and definitely tame the deranged US dotard [old person, esp. senile or weak] with fire.” Additionally, the small nation later announced that there is a possibility of launching a nuclear missile over the Pacific. Meanwhile, the U.S. is expanding its sanctions on North Korea, which will now affect its textile, fishing, and shipping industries.

Hurricane Maria continues to move through the Caribbean after becoming a Category 3 hurricane with winds of up to 125 miles per hour. The storm moved east of the Bahamas on Sept. 22 and is expected to weaken while moving northward. The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was devastated by the hurricane, which leaves much of the island without power, possibly for months. Hurricane Maria follows a long procession of hurricanes this season. Hurricane Harvey and Irma both reached the southeastern United States earlier this month. Hurricane Harvey reached winds of 130 miles per hour after making landfall near the Texas Gulf Coast, while Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean islands before moving north to Florida through Georgia and weakening into a tropical storm.

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have proposed a new bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and create a new system for distributing federal funds for healthcare assistance. The authors of the bill claim that the increased flexibility from giving states blocks of money, rather than having Medicaid and insurance subsidies, will allow states to devise better programs. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) revealed that he would vote against the proposal, while seven Republican governors, including Chris Christie of New Jersey, have publicly opposed the bill. 

This week, new developments arose in the F.B.I. investigation on Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election. According to CNN, the F.B.I. was allowed to wiretap Paul Manafort’s electronic communications beginning in 2016 and continuing into this year. Additionally, in July, Manafort’s house was raided by the F.B.I., pointing possible interference in the presidential election by Manafort and Russian officials. Meanwhile, Facebook is being forced to share over 3000 ads with Congress. These ads belonged to about 470 fake accounts which were all traced back to one Russian firm, which may confirm Russia’s role in influencing the election.

The Department of Homeland Security decided not to extend Oct. 5 deadline for DACA recipients whose permits expire by Mar. 5, 2018. President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 5 that the program would end. While Congress has yet to adopt an alternative to the program, Senate Republicans have already drafted a bill that would give paths to citizenship and address problems in the current immigration system such as chain migration and overstaying on visas.

Over the past weekend, the hashtag #TakeAKnee has become popular, thanks to the help of Pres. Trump, who tweeted out against NFL players protesting the flag and national anthem. Before Sunday football games, several teams locked arms during the national anthem, while individual players sometimes opted to kneel or sit. Other teams, like the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Chargers, chose to remain in the locker rooms while the anthem played.