"Terrorism" in the News

Chappell, Bill. "What We Know: Multiple Terrorist Attacks Hit Spain."
     National Public Radio, NPR, 18 Aug. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/
     thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544407561/
     what-we-know-multiple-terrorist-attacks-hit-spain. Accessed 19 Aug. 2017.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544407561/

what-we-know-multiple-terrorist-attacks-hit-spain

Three coordinated terror attacks take place in Spain leaving fourteen dead and one hundred injured around this past Thursday, August 17th. The first attack being a van plowing through a pedestrian sidewalk in Barcelona at five pm Thursday. In Cambrils, at three am local time, five men drove a van through a road block and onto a walkway along the beach. In Alcanar, a house, believed to be a jihadist structure for making bombs, exploded. Analytics believes ISIS is responsible for the attacks due to a precedent of coordinating deadly vehicle attacks on civilians. 

"Identity" in the News

Cooper, Helene. "Trump Says Transgender Ban Is a ‘Great Favor’ for the

    Military." The New York Times, New York Times Company, 10 Aug. 2017.

    Accessed 18 Aug. 2017. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/10/us/politics/trump-transgender-military.html

President Donald Trump claimed that he was doing a favor for the military by banning transgender people from service. Trump defended his proposal by saying that the military can not afford the medical costs of transgender people. Also, he claims that having transgenders serve in the military is considered a distraction from the military’s goal of victory. Many people who serve in the military came out as transgender when Obama was President, and Trump’s announcement has caused many people from the L.G.B.T community and supporters to criticize and denounce it. Already two L.G.B.T. groups have filed lawsuits against the proposal, one of which includes five transgender women currently serving in the military, claiming that it violates their constitutional rights.

"Terrorism" in the News

The Associated Press. "Suicide Bombers Kill at Least 20 People in                        Northeastern Nigeria." The New York Times, The New York Times Company,    15 Aug. 2017. Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/world/africa/suicide-bombers-kill-at-least-20-people-in-northeastern-nigeria.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FTerrorism&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection

In Maiduguri, Nigeria, at least three suicide bombers caused a terrorist attack on a village in the northeast section of Nigeria. One of the terrorists placed their bomb in the village’s market, while the other two went to a nearby camp. At least 20 people were killed in the explosions, and at least 80 were injured. These terrorists are part of a group called Boko Haram, an Islamic group who have been disputing with Nigeria for about eight years and has left approximately 20,000 dead in the process.

"Disease" in the News

Banigan, Melissa. "Why You Need to Know about Mice, Ticks, Warm                     Temperatures and Lyme Disease." The Washington Post, 18 June 2017.           Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/why-you-need-to-know-about-mice-ticks-warm-temperatures-and-lyme-disease/2017/06/16/cd7a4ab8-4aef-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.d46c37403f2e

The past three summers have been the hottest summers ever recorded, and, as a result, pests have thrived. Around 40-90% of these pests have carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Blacklegged ticks, in particular, gave Lyme disease to humans after they collected it from mice. Lyme disease cases have more than doubled since 2000, which is due to the milder winters and warmer summers, and the increase in acorns which is food to mice. Because of the boom of mice and therefore the increase in Lyme disease cases, the Cary Institute is releasing “The Tick Project”, a five year study where they are trying to reduce the amount of ticks instead of the mice.

"Ethnocentrism" in the News

Heim, Joe. "Recounting a Day of Rage, Hate, Violence and Death." The                Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2017. Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/charlottesville-timeline/?utm_term=.be37fc3c5de5

In August, a group of white nationalists arrived in Charlottesville, VA to rally and protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Violence then broke out between the Unite the Rally protesters and a group of 30 U-Va students, united to march against the supremacists by circling the statue. The next day, the original date of the rally, things quickly became violent when armed nationalists and militia groups and anti-fascists both gathered. Law enforcement eventually issued an order to disperse the rally and it seemingly diffused the violence but not the tensions. That afternoon, a man intentionally drove his car at a group of people, killing one of them and injuring 19, and two people died in a police helicopter crash. By Saturday evening, a group of people placed flowers on the scene of the car crash as a vigil for those who died, were injured and for the tragedy of the situation motivated by racism.

"Nuclear Weaponry" in the News

Berkowitz, Bonnie, et al. "How Three Recent Launches Signaled New Leaps in

  North Korea’s Missile Capabilities." The Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2017.

  Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/north-korea-launch/?utm_term=.14df723bfa61 

This July, North Korea launched two successful ballistic missile tests, which demonstrated that the country’s nuclear weapons are capable of targeting United States allies as well as the country’s intent on advancing their nuclear weapon abilities to potentially reach US soil. Further, North Korea further expanded its nuclear threat by producing warheads that can be fitted to these intercontinental missiles. These missiles are two-stage Hwasong-14 ICBMs, the first missile capable of reaching Alaska, and the second capable of reaching the U.S. East Coast. However, just because the rockets can reach the United States, North Korea’s system may be faulty, so it is not definite that North Korea’s weapons are an imminent danger. Nevertheless, it is an advance in North Korean technology, and eventually could cause a great deal of harm.

Diplomacy In the News

"Modi Is about to Become the First Indian Prime Minister to Visit Israel."
     PRI, Public Radio International, 3 July 2017, www.pri.org/stories/
     2017-07-03/modi-about-become-first-indian-prime-minister-visit-israel.
     Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

The prime minister of India has visited Israel being the very first prime minister from India to ever visit Israel. Israel has been searching for allies for a long time to vote their way in UN bodies and to have a partner in business. It has been 25 years since the two countries have had a diplomatic tie or relationship. The two countries would make a contract for India to buy $2 billion worth of of weapon technology. India would be getting an advance defense system, and plenty of medium ranged surface to air missiles and launchers. Both of the country leader also discussed issues about agriculture and water technology.

Nuclear in the News

Warrick, Joby, et al. "North Korea Now Making Missile-Ready Nuclear Weapons, US
     Analysts Say." The Washington Post, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2017,
     www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/
     north-korea-now-making-missile-ready-nuclear-weapons-us-analysts-say/2017/08/08/
     e14b882a-7b6b-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.4e89e322c157.
     Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

North Korea finally managed to build a miniaturized nuclear war head that can fit in a missile. Which is a sign that they can become a nuclear power in the future. Last month the United States counted upwards of 60 nuclear weapons controlled by North Korea. Other independent studies think that the number is much smaller than it is. It is hard to determine the exact number of nuclear weapons North Korea has because they're very secretive and insularity. The intelligence Community assess North Korea's nuclear weapons are going to be able to fit into a missile and launched in an ICBM( Inter- Continental Ballistic Missile) type of missile. North Korea said they would have plenty of nuclear ICBM's as a guarantor of his regime's survival.

Conflict in the News

"The Military Option with North Korea Is 'Locked and Loaded,' Trump Says."
     The PRI, Public Radio International, 11 Aug. 2017, www.pri.org/stories/
     2017-08-11/military-option-north-korea-locked-and-loaded-trump-says.
     Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

The conflict between The United States and North Korea, have become more real as threats from North Korea saying they will bomb Guam which is a major military base of the United States. They now also have to power to store a nuclear war head in a missile. Their missiles can now reach some of the mainland of the United States. China, one of North Korea's greatest ally in the Korean War now says that it might not back up North Korea in the conflict between them and the United States, China has said that they would stay neutral if North Korea attacked and the United States retaliated. The UN security Council had a sanction against Pyongyang banning exports on coal iron lead, and fish.

Terrorism in the News

"Britain Suffers Its Third Deadly Terrorist Attack in as Many Months." The
     Economist, TheEconomistNewsPaper, 4 June 2017, www.economist.com/news/
     britain/
     21722994-attack-london-bridge-marks-return-crude-low-tech-assaults-britain-suffer
     s-its-third. Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.

On June 3rd there was another major terrorist attack in Britain, it's the third one in less than 3 months. A van ran into pedestrians and men got out and started stabbing people, it left 7 dead and 48 injured. They have made several arrest on accomplices in the area, the prime minister, Theresa May, stated that " Terrorism breeds Terrorism," she also stated how there is too much tolerance of Islam extremest. After the general elections, they made looking over the counter terrorism policies urgent. They want to tag and curfew suspects, more power to take passports, and making the anti- radicalization strategy.