Have you been so busy with #WorkForest that you have not had any time to keep up with the news? Here are some tidbits from this past week to keep you updated and in the know
*Image from The Washington Post
Aaaand they went nuclear. This week Senate Democrats went nuclear, by voting on a pretty big institutional change. In the past, presidential nominations and appointments have required a 60-vote threshold in order to avoid the minority filibuster. The Senate is made up of 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans, thus making it difficult for the majority party, Democrats, to ever reach that 60-vote threshold. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has threatened the “nuclear option” in the past, where nominations will only require a simple majority of 51 votes. This eliminates the filibuster that has been so often used by Republicans to block nominees. The new structure will certainly ease gridlock and obstruction in voting on nominations but will increase antagonism between Democrats and Republicans in the future.
JFK. This past Friday marked the 50th anniversary of President JFK’s assassination in Dallas, TX. There were many TV specials in addition to a rehashing of prevalent conspiracy theories. Several prominent theories exist, including ones that blame the mob, Russia or Cuba, the CIA, etc. Many people did not want to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the killing. However, several governmental investigations have continuously said that he was the only actor. We will all have to keep wondering.
*Image from NY Daily News
Some people just can’t get it right. This Monday George Zimmerman, the man we all know from the Trayvon Martin case, was arrested in an act of domestic violence. He was charged after the authorities came to his house in response to a call from his girlfriend, who claims he pointed a gun at her during their argument. Zimmerman, who was acquitted in July of killing Trayvon, has had several brushes with the law since then.
Relax, take it eassssy. Olympic skier, Lindsey Vonn, crashed this week while doing training. Vonn already suffered a bad crash last February, which required reconstructive surgery of her ACL. The new incident this week partially tore that surgically reconstructed ACL. Vonn plans to rest up and heal over the next few weeks but it is certainly questionable whether or not she will be able to participate in the Olympic Games in Russia in 10 weeks. Yikes.
*Image from Sports Illustrated
Jameis Winston. Florida State University’s star quarterback and Heisman front-runner, Jameis Winston, is currently the subject of an ugly sexual assault case. Almost a year ago, a woman left a bar and claimed that she was sexually assaulted. She identified Winston as her attacker but was discouraged by local detectives to pursue the case, as she was in “football country.” Her plight is now making headlines after Winston’s DNA was discovered in her underwear. His attorney claimed that to be expected, as it was “consensual sex.” The victim’s family came out with a statement this week however, that it “was rape.” A decision by Florida’s State Attorney is expected soon.
I ran…get it? Today, after many days of negotiation between Iran and 5 world powers, including the U.S., a deal was reached to limit Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lighter sanctions. This preliminary deal will last for 6 months and makes it very difficult for Iran to create any new nuclear weapons.