In The News: Ten headlines you need to know this week
Editor’s Note: The following is a summary of the 10 stories from last week that a college student needs to know.
1. Cease-fire in the plans for Syrian civil war
The United States and Russia are both discussing a cease-fire in the ongoing Syrian civil war. The war is between western-backed rebel fighters and members of the Islamic State.
According to Fox News, Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have agreed that better diplomatic relations must occur between their countries to reach a complete cease-fire in Syria.
The talks came amidst the most aggressive attack ISIS has launched in a year. The terrorist organization launched an offensive along Turkey’s southeast border and seized two towns close to it.
-Fox News,
April 10
2. Brussels attack was intended for France
Authorities said that the Brussels attackers had initially planned to strike France but changed their mind as investigators closed in.
According to a laptop recovered by investigators, the same terror cell that attacked Paris in November had plans to attack high-profile targets in Paris more recently.
Authorities also reported capturing the only surviving suspect of the Brussels attack on Friday.
Mohamed Abrini, 31, admitted to being the “man in the hat” in surveillance videos of the suspects and was captured in the midst of several raids that took place across Belgium.
-CNN,
April 10
3. Fireworks accident leaves 105 dead
In what is being called an accident, 105 people were killed and more than 500 were injured when sparks from fireworks at an Indian temple ignited a much larger cache.
The larger bunch of fireworks caused a large explosion and fire that burned the temple to the ground. The fire ravaged the temple and also damaged houses nearby.
According to CNN, the disaster started as a celebration. Indians were celebrating a goddess who worshipers believed lived inside an ant hill.
CNN also says it is not uncommon for there to be fireworks at these style of celebrations.
-CNN,
April 10
4. Kerry target of rocket strikes in Afghanistan
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was the target of rocket strikes on Saturday. Kerry was in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan to try and unite the Afghan government.
Kerry was trying to promote cooperation in a national unity government that he helped to create. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have the same amount of power and both feel the country should be run differently.
The attacks, which were claimed by the Taliban, came an hour after Kerry left the country. No casualties occurred from the attacks.
-CNN,
April 10
5. Obama defends
Clinton’s email scandal
President Obama has come to the defense of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton has been under scrutiny for several months due to her use of a private server to access government records, some of which were classified.
Many critics argue that hackers could have accessed the “top secret” information on the computer.
Obama guaranteed that politics would not influence the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation.
Obama also said Clinton exhibited “carelessness” in handling emails, but defended her, calling her “outstanding” and saying he believed she has not put national security at stake.
-USA Today,
April 10
6. Trump and Clinton projected to win Pa.
Both presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are set to win New York and Pennsylvania in the primary elections.
According to a poll released by Fox News, Trump is slated to win 55 percent of New York’s 95 delegates. Trump is also show to capture 48 percent of the delegates offered in Pennsylvania.
Clinton is set to take 53 percent of the vote in New York and 43 percent in Pennsylvania.
The results of the poll come as good news to both frontrunners after their chief rivals, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders have put together a string of wins.
Cruz has won the last two Republican contests; on the Democratic side, Sanders has won the last seven.
-CNN,
April 10
7. Anti-LGBT law placed into effect in Mississippi
A Mississippi law being called discriminatory by the LGBT community has been placed into effect.
The law, which was signed into effect on Tuesday, April 6, allows business owners to not hire a potential employee, refuse to pay them and also gives landowners the ability to not sell or rent property based upon a buyer’s sexual orientation.
The bill also allows doctors to refuse treatment for someone who wants a sex assignment surgery.
While the critics of the bill argue that is discriminating against the LGBT community, the state of Mississippi and proponents of the bill say it protects religious freedoms and prevents businesses from being controlled by the state government.
Governor Phil Bryant gave reasoning for the bill: “to protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions of individuals, organizations and private associations from discriminatory action by state government.”
-CNN,
April 6
8. Former NFL player shot in road rage incident
Former New Orleans Saints defensive end, Will Smith, was killed late Saturday evening.
Smith played for the Saints from 2004-13 and was a member of the Super Bowl XLIV championship team.
Smith was driving on a highway when he was rear-ended by a Hummer.
Smith crashed into a friend’s car in front of him.
After the accident, Smith exchanged words with the driver, Cardell Hayes, 28, before Hayes pulled a gun, shooting Smith. Smith’s wife, who was traveling with him, was also shot twice in the leg.
Hayes pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying an illegal weapon in 2014. In addition to his wife, Smith leaves behind two sons and a daughter.
-USA Today,
April 10
9. Zika virus officially linked to birth defects
The World Health Organization has confirmed that the Zika virus causes microcephaly and Guillen-Barre syndrome.
The virus had long been believed to have been the cause of the birth defects, but had never been officially linked to it until now.
Microcephaly causes the brain to stop growing or not develop properly.
This is why the back of the head is smaller than the front of the head for those affected.
Guillan-Barre syndrome causes paralysis of the body and, at its worst, is a hospital emergency.
-CNN,
April 7
10. Virtual reality videos coming to YouTube
YouTube, one of the internet’s largest video sharing sites, says virtual reality is the next big thing for computing platforms.
Google, who has experimented with driverless cars, owns YouTube.
Google’s Manager of Technology Programs Tom Small said they soon won’t be looking at phone screens but using the virtual reality to interact with the videos and look at things from different perspectives.
YouTube filmmakers were invited to the Sundance Institute to work with experts on how to use 360 degree angles from beginning to end.
-USA Today,
April 9