Good morning Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds — we’re all only human, after all.
But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.)
NASA Lands A Spacecraft On Mars For The Eighth Time
The NASA InSight mission has landed on Mars, after a seven-month-long journey through space. A couple minutes after landing, InSight sent an official “beep” to workers at NASA. The lander also sent its first image of the planet’s surface. On the official Twitter account for the lander, it apologizes for the grainy image and said “my lens cover isn’t off yet, but I just had to show you a first look at my new home.”
My first picture on #Mars! My lens cover isn’t off yet, but I just had to show you a first look at my new home. More status updates:https://t.co/tYcLE3tkkS #MarsLanding pic.twitter.com/G15bJjMYxa
— NASAInSight (@NASAInSight) November 26, 2018
The workers at NASA all erupted into cheers and applause once the mission was complete, according to CNN. People were able to see the landing around the world, and it was even broadcast on the Nasdaq Stock Market tower in New York City.
“Today, we successfully landed on Mars for the eighth time in human history,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement. “InSight will study the interior of Mars and will teach us valuable science as we prepare to send astronauts to the Moon and later to Mars.”
He continued, “This accomplishment represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners, and it serves as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team. The best of NASA is yet to come, and it is coming soon.”
Not much is know about the planets inner core, and that’s what the mission aim’s to learn more about.
Prosecutors Say Paul Manafort Lied, Following His Plea Agreement With The FBI
In a court filing on Monday, federal prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller said that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort lied to FBI and Mueller investigators. Manafort signed a plea deal in September and is now in violation of the agreements terms. The prosecutors alleged that he “committed federal crimes,” which alludes to how he lied about multiple matters. As a result, the special counsel is asking for Manafort to serve more jail time.
CNBC reports that Manafort agreed to plead guilty to charges related to “conspiracy involving money laundering, tax fraud, failing to report foreign bank accounts, violating rules requiring registration of foreign agents, lying and witness tampering.” He agreed in exchange for a lesser sentence. The agreement also said he cannot withdraw his guilty plea. After the court filing, the New York Times reports that he could receive jail time for at least a decade on 10 felony counts.
The filing said that Manafort’s team does deny any wrongdoing and “believes he has provided truthful information” to the government during the investigation. CNN and other news sources confirm that more details on his alleged crimes will be released at a later date.
When Mueller does his final report, will he be covering all of his conflicts of interest in a preamble, will he be recommending action on all of the crimes of many kinds from those “on the other side”(whatever happened to Podesta?), and will he be putting in statements from…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 26, 2018
President Trump Defends The Use Of Tear Gas & Says No Children Were Affected By It
Over 500 migrants tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday, according to the New York Times. The busy entry points at the border were temporarily shutdown, but have since reopened. Trump later threatened on Monday to permanently close the border, describing the migrants as “stone cold criminals.” Images were later released of women and children fleeing tear gas, which was released by US Customs and Border Protection agents.
Trump has since faced intense criticism on how he handle the situation. When speaking with reporters at the White House, Trump implied that the tear gas wasn’t used on children. Trump responded to a reporter’s question, who asked if the president was “comfortable teargassing children.”
“They’re not, as you know. They’re not,” Trump said via a video shared by CBS News on Twitter. “They had to use [it] because they were being rushed by some very tough people. And they used tear gas. Here’s the bottom line: Nobody’s coming into our country unless they come in legally.”
Images of children fleeing from tear gas have left many Democrats and activists reeling from the events.
Asking to be considered a refugee & applying for status isn’t a crime.
It wasn’t for Jewish families fleeing Germany.
It wasn’t for targeted families fleeing Rwanda.
It wasn’t for communities fleeing war-torn Syria.
And it isn’t for those fleeing violence in Central America. https://t.co/qhv7Rr1itn— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 25, 2018
It’s unclear what the White House’s stance is in regards to the reports on how children were impacted by tear gas.
What To Look Out For…
Dictionary.com just announced it’s 2018 word of the year as misinformation. It defines it as “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.” The Oxford Dictionary also announce it’s word of the year to be toxic. I don’t know about you, but I’m sensing a theme here.
Oxford Dictionaries names “toxic” its word of the year; it’s seen a 45% increase in lookups: https://t.co/L7WYM08Rut pic.twitter.com/iJcxlHOmz9
— NPR Books (@nprbooks) November 15, 2018