Current Events

On November 14, 2019,  the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D), said that " President Trump’s alleged decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations of Joe Biden and the 2016 U.S. election amounted to bribery." She stated that President Trump's bribe was to " grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation.” When this Ukraine scandal first arose, Trump was accused of a quid pro quo, but now he is accused of bribery. Trump and the GOP have " rejected claims of improper pressure on Ukraine, and the president has called the impeachment probe a witch hunt." So far, there have been two diplomats to testify. One of these diplomats,  acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor, " testified about  an additional purported link between  Mr. Trump and a pressure campaign on Ukraine. He said that an aide recently told him that he overheard a phone conversation between Mr. Trump and Gordon

California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has declared that "   the state of California could take over the Pacific Gas and Electric utility company if it does not pull itself out of bankruptcy by mid-2020." During a press conference he brings this issue. He states, " "PG&E as we know it may or may not be able to figure this out. If they cannot, we are not going to sit around and be passive... If Pacific Gas and Electric is unable to secure its own fate and future ... then the state will prepare itself as backup for a scenario where we do that job for them." With all this going n, it turned out that PG&E admitted that " i ts equipment may be linked to at least three of the over 12 fires in the past week."  Article

As residents in Chesapeake, Virginia get ready for Halloween, as is the city council. March of this year was when the city council decided to restrict trick or treating for youth over the age of 14. Laura M.  Holson from the New York Times writes, " The city passed a new  ordinance   that raised the trick-or-treating age to 14, saying anyone who was older than that could be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined $250."  This became an issue in  Chesapeake because in 1970 " a group of mischief makers threw exploding fireworks into Halloween bags." Due to minor injuries the council at the time restricted anyone older than 12 from trick or treating, and anyone caught " could be fined as much as $100, arrested and sent to jail for six months." Article

Senators Lindsey Graham (R) and Chris Van Hollen (D) introduced a sanctions bill yesterday to punish Turkey for their attacks on the Kurds. For the record, the Kurds are " one of America’s best partners in the region" which helped fight against ISIS. These attacks are occurring due to President Trump's decision to remove 50 troops from northern Syria. In addition, section 1 of the bipartisan bill includes sanctions on Turkeys leadership including the president, Vice President, Minister of National Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Treasury and Finance, Minister of Trade, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. Section 2 of the bill is on military transactions with turkey. The bill states, " Sanctions against any foreign person who sells or provides financial, material, or technological support or knowingly does a transaction with the Turkish military." Section 3 is on Turkey's energy sector. The bill states, "Sanctions any foreign

The 20th century was a time where 9 in 10 Americans believed in God and were part of an organized religion. When the 90's came about that statistic changed. People that didn't identify with an organized religion (nones) started to come out of the dark. Dereck Thompson, the author of the article, mentions how Americans were becoming less interested in religion because of the GOP. Thompson points to the 70's where the religious right gained traction. The religious right was becoming concerned with the rise of secularism due to "the sexual revolution, the  Roe v. Wade  decision" and "the nationalization of no-fault divorce laws." This was where christians started to really get involved in politics. This is where the GOP and the religious right became one. This brought forth Ronald Reagan, Bush Sr, and other election victories. This ended up making liberal democrats extremely uncomfortable, Thompson writes, " it disgusted liberal Democrats, especially t

2020 Democratic presidential candidates poked at education during the last debate. Julian Castro basically says that schools are segregated because neighborhoods are segregated. Bernie Sanders pointed out that the United Sates has " one of the world’s highest child poverty rates." Andrew Yang says what most of us think. He says, “Let me be clear. I am pro-good school." California Senator, Kamila Harris, mentions how race is a factor in a child's educational career. She states,   “If a black child has a black teacher before the end of third grade, they’re 13 percent more likely to go to college. If that child has had two black teachers before the end of third grade, they’re 32 percent more likely to go to college.” Former vice p resident, Joe Biden, brings up how slavery has affected the education system. He says, “A kid coming from a very poor school, a very poor background, will hear 4 million words fewer spoken by the time they get there.”  The author of the articl