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. Trump, Sanders win big in New Hampshire
The perceived front-runners going into the first primary in the nation both wound up winning, but by much bigger margins than originally anticipated.
For the Democrats, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton getting about 60% of the vote to her 40%.
For the Republicans, Donald Trump came in first with about 35% of the vote with John Kasich coming in second with approximately 16% of the vote.
The race for third place was close between Texas Senator Ted Cruz, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio as all hovered between 10-12% of the vote.
The Democrats will face off next in Nevada and the Republicans will face off in South Carolina, both contests on Feb. 20.
-Google News
Feb. 9
2. Missing teen found dead
In a continually evolving story, a female teenager was found dead in Virginia and now two Virginia Tech students have been charged with murder.
A CNN report by Ralph Ellis says that the missing teen, Nicola Lovell, was last seen in late January and upon discovering she had not returned home, a search was started that lasted several days.
Nicola’s body was eventually found over a hundred miles away from her last seen location.
The police were able to arrest college student David Eisenhauer and Natalie Keepers and both were tried in court last week for killing Ms. Lovell.
Police are still investigating the exact cause of death and the motive behind the killing.
-CNN
Feb. 2
3. Zika Virus concerns grow in America
The Center of Disease Control has now released warnings and information for Americans concerned about the growing threat of the Zika virus.
According to the New York Times, Zika was first reported in the United States last week when a Dallas hospital reported that a patient claimed the virus was spread via sex instead of the presumed known route of infection: mosquito bites.
The problem continues to intensify, especially in Central and South America as Fox News is reporting that the Colombian president has announced that more than 3,000 pregnant women in his country have the Zika virus.
-New York Times,
Feb. 6
4. Chipotle’s E. Coli outbreak now over
Popular restaurant Chipotle’s E. coli outbreak appears to have finally come to a close.
Nation’s Restaurant News is reporting that the investigation into the company by the Center for Disease Control is now over and after making some menu and food preparation changes, such a problem should not arise.
CNBC reported how damaging the outbreak was for Chipotle saying that their stock went down 30% in the December alone, but since the CDC’s announcement was made, the stock has slowly started to tick back up.
The CNBC report by Sarah Whitten also reported that the company will start “inviting customers back to restaurants in February with increased marketing and direct mail offers.”
-CNBC
Feb 1
5. Women may be forced to register for draft
Two American generals made headlines when they declared that women should have to register for the draft.
In a report by NBC News by Corky Siemaszko, the chief of staff to the Army and an official from the Marine Corps both said they wanted to see a change to the draft rules that includes women as potential draft candidates now that all combat jobs are open to women as well as men.
Current law says that only legal, American male residents between 18 and 26 are required to register with the government in case of a draft. The amendment to the law is still being discussed in the U.S. Senate.
At the Republican debate on Saturday, many of the candidates responded that they agreed with the generals’ recommendations and that if President, they would include women as potential draft candidates.
-NBC News
Feb. 6
6. FBI investigating Flint water tragedy
After tragedy struck the city of Flint, Michigan when reports surfaced of lead contamination in the residents’ drinking water, the FBI has now agreed to join the investigation into how one of Michigan’s biggest cities fell into such a horrible situation.
ABC News says that the FBI is working with “a multi-agency team” made up of various level governmental agencies to see how the transition of water systems and pipes inadvertently caused the problems.
While the investigation is on going, NBC News has reported that Michigan Governor Rick Synder (R) will put forth a bill that would give $30 million dollars directly to residents affected by the catastrophe to cover their water bills they would have had to pay normally.
Other water users would get 20% taken off of their water bills.
-ABC News
Feb. 3
7. IRS computer
issues cause headaches
According to reporting from the AP, the IRS had some computer glitches on Wednesday that prevented them from accepting online tax returns filed by Americans leading up to the Tax Day deadline.
In a separate report by USA Today, the IRS has now said that the government agency is still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong and how bad the outage was, but notes that those who did file electronically will still receive their tax refunds in the next 2-3 weeks. Many services are still not available today, more than 24 hours after the problem was first reported.
-AP News,
Feb. 4
8. North Korea launches a satellite
North Korea on Saturday announced that they have launched an “earth observation satellite” amidst disdain and with rebuke from many world leaders.
The Washington Post writes that South Korea believes that the North is telling the truth that such a satellite did launch and was successful in entering space.
The concern is that through such a satellite, the North Koreans would have the ability to use the same technology to attack other countries, including South Korea, Japan, or the United States.
The National Security Adviser to President Obama called the launch a “provocative action” and that it goes against rules put in place on North Korea by the United Nations.
-The Washington Post
Feb. 6
9. Amazon to open 400 bookstores in malls
Amazon is known for its online presence but now Amazon wants to have a physical presence as well.
An article in Reuters reports that Amazon is starting to open bookstores around the country and plans to have 300-400 stores open in the next several months to a year.
Amazon executives however have not confirmed that this is the case. The news was reported to the press by the vice president of investor relations of a major mall operating company.
The news comes as a surprise as it would pit Amazon against big-box bookstores like Barnes and Noble.
-Reuters
Feb. 2
10. Voice of Bugs Bunny passes away
The man behind the modern voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck passed away yesterday at the age of 63.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that Joe Alaskey passed away in his New York home after an illness.
Writer Jill Leovy says that Alaskey’s niece expressed how much Joe loved his job saying that “He took it so seriously, it meant so much to him — it was a heavy responsibility.”
Alaskey took the reins as one of the primary Looney Toons voices after the original voice of many of the characters, Mel Blanc, passed away in 1989.
-Los Angeles Times
Feb. 4