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(04/09/19 4:23am)
By Viktoria Ristanovic and James Wright
Nation & World Editor and Staff Writer
On March 31, former Vice President Joe Biden released a statement defending himself and denying inappropriate allegations made by Lucy Flores, a former Nevada state assemblywoman, according to The New York Times.
Flores had published a personal essay on March 29 describing the 76-year-old former vice president engaging in inappropriate contact, including kissing her on the head five years ago during a Democratic campaign rally.
The New York Times reported that Flores’ story has attracted negative attention to Biden’s “interactions with women over his long career in national politics,” which has caused bad publicity for his anticipated announcement as to whether he will run for president in 2020.
Flores was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014 when she met Biden. In her essay, she wrote how Biden had agreed to attend a rally to help her campaign.
“At first, she wrote, she felt ‘grateful and flattered.’ But as she was about to step on stage, she ‘felt two hands on my shoulders’ and ‘froze.’ Then, she said, Mr. Biden leaned in and ‘inhaled my hair,’ and ‘proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head,’” according to The New York Times.
According to CNN, after giving a speech at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Conference in Washington, D.C., Biden expressed his apologies for not comprehending how his behavior could have been interpreted. However, he did not apologize for his intentions and used humor when referring to the allegations.
“‘I am not sorry for anything that I have ever done –– I’ve never been disrespectful, intentionally, to a man or a woman,’” CNN reported.
Although at least six other women have come forward to accuse Biden, several former female staff members and Democrats have jumped to his defense, according to USA Today. Stacey Abrams, who nearly won Georgia’s race for governor in 2018, was one of them.
“‘The responsibility of leaders is to not be perfect but to be accountable, to say, ‘I’ve made a mistake. I understand it and here’s what I’m going to do to reform as I move forward,’ and I think we see Joe Biden doing that,’” Abrams stated, according to USA Today.
Biden acknowledged the allegations in a video posted on Twitter on April 3, but he first addressed the public about it on Friday, April 5, according to CNN.
“‘I’ve never thought of politics as cold and antiseptic,’ Biden said. ‘I’ve always thought it about connecting with people, as I said, shaking hands, hands on the shoulder, a hug, encouragement, and now, it’s all about taking selfies together. You know, social norms have begun to change, they’ve shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset, and I get it, I get it.’”
(02/26/19 7:02am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
On Feb. 18, President Donald Trump advised that military officials in Venezuela support their self-declared interim president, Juan Guaidó. Trump also said that they should permit humanitarian aid for Venezuela, according to CNN.
At his speech in Miami, Trump urged the Venezuelan people to increase pressure on the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and to get rid of the blockade that is preventing food and medicine shipments from entering Venezuela at the Colombian border. He talked to military leaders who support Maduro and said that their holdings have been identified and the U.S. is “prepared to use force if necessary,” The Miami Herald reported.
As Trump criticized Maduro’s regime, he also used Venezuela as an example of the “dangers of socialism” and argued for an end to socialism in Western nations, according to CNN.
“‘The twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere and frankly in many, many places around the world,’” Trump said while speaking at Florida International University, according to Bloomberg. “‘The days of socialism and communism are numbered, not only in Venezuela but in Nicaragua and in Cuba as well.’”
Trump referenced Maduro in his recent State of the Union address, according to Bloomberg. Although the president did not link U.S. Democratic policies to socialism beliefs, he vowed he would “keep the ideology from taking hold” in a Feb. 18 speech.
“‘This will never happen to us,’” Trump said. “‘Socialism is a sad and discredited ideology, rooted in the total ignorance of history and human nature, which is why socialism eventually must always give rise to tyranny, which it does,’” Bloomberg reported.
The United Nations and European Union still see Maduro as Venezuela’s leader. The Miami Herald reported that leftist activists have accused Trump of “adopting decades of hawkish behavior by the U.S. in South America.”
“‘This is not about democracy. This is about special interests,’” said Yadira Escobar, a radio personality who represented Hands Off Venezuela, an anti-interventionist group, according to The Miami Herald.
(02/12/19 6:21am)
By Daniel Hurley
Staff Correspondent
Nayib Bukele, former mayor of El Salvador’s capital of San Salvador, was elected as the country’s president in a landslide victory on Feb. 3, The Guardian reported. With more votes than the two major competing parties combined, Bukele’s victory ended a quarter of a century of two-party dominance in El Salvador.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters of Bukele’s Great National Alliance party, the president-elect exclaimed that his election is a victory for the Salvadoran public above anything else, NBC News reported. Running on a platform to end corruption and gang violence, create jobs and crack down on crime, Bukele garnered enough support to surpass the 50 percent threshold to win the election.
Making his political debut as mayor of San Salvador in 2012, Bukele was automatically considered to be a potential presidential contender. Despite a large base of popular support, Bukele’s stark criticism of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front party got him expelled from the party, which led to him becoming the unlikely leader of the small, conservative Grand Alliance for National Unity party, according to NBC News.
Since 1992, the FMLN and Nationalist Republican Alliance parties dominated Salvadorian politics. However, both parties have been subject to corruption scandals in recent years, providing an opening for the GANA party to position itself as the choice for reformers.
Although he has won the election, the question now is whether Bukele will be able to accomplish what he promised his supporters during the election cycle. With his party holding only 10 seats in the Legislative Assembly, which is short of the 43 votes needed to pass any legislation, it is now a priority for Bukele to seek allies.
One of his central campaign promises is to establish an international commission to investigate official corruption, according to the Brookings Institution. However, this policy item is unlikely to garner support from the FMLN or ARENA, according to NBC News.
Despite the obstacles that might lie ahead for Bukele, his election brings a renewed hope to a country and region that has been plagued by poverty, authoritarian rule and crime. Time will tell whether Bukele is able to institute the reforms necessary to bring the kind of prosperity to El Salvador that he promised. At the moment, though, a historic chapter in Salvadoran political history is being written.
(02/12/19 6:09am)
By James Wright
Nation & World Editor
Recently, federal prosecutors in New York have requested interviews with executives of The Trump Organization, which signals a growing potential threat to President Donald Trump and those in his realm who are under investigation by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, according to CNN.
Prosecutors in New York have undertaken two investigations of Trump-related entities. The first one examines possible campaign-finance violations by executives within The Trump Organization during the company’s efforts to repay Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen for hush-money payments he made to keep women quiet who previously claimed to have had affairs with the president. The second investigation concerns the Trump inaugural committee and possible financial abuses related to the more than $100 million in donations raised for his inauguration, CNN reported.
Those who are involved in discussions regarding the inaugural fund, a nonprofit that organizes festivities for the president’s swearing-in, declined to comment to investigators. Trump’s inaugural fund raised $107 million, which is the most in modern history, according to ABC. Prosecutors have been in contact with Trump’s family business since they have subpoenaed documents from the Trump inaugural committee.
Inaugural committees cannot accept foreign donations and must report their donors. If the committee had contributors directly pay vendors without passing the money through the committee, it could go against laws of public disclosure, The Washington Post reported. At least two former Trump campaign officials have been questioned by prosecutors, with one of those officials being asked about the official coordination between the Trump Organization and the presidential campaign, CNN reports.
The subpoena also asks for records about vendors and contractors who worked for the inaugural committee, along with online communications records with an online payment-processing company called Stripe. Stripe was backed by a number of major investors, such as the venture capital firm, founded and managed by Jared Kushner’s brother, Josh Kushner, ABC reported.
Despite the investigations circling the president and his family business, the committee has not been formally accused of wrongdoing and the subpoena does not name the head of the inaugural committee, Tom Barrack, or any other members of the inaugural committee, yet worries persist among political insiders about the numerous investigations of Trump’s operations and business dealings, according to ABC.
On Feb. 5, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attributed the president’s legal problems to anti-Trump “‘hysteria.’” She said on CNN that it is coming from people who search for “‘anything to try to create and tie problems to this president,’” The Washington Post reported.
(02/05/19 2:23pm)
By James Wright
Nation & World Editor
On Jan. 25, FBI officials arrested longtime Republican political operative Roger Stone at his Florida home for lying to Congress, obstructing justice and witness tampering, according to NBC News.
Stone’s alleged crimes include covering up his involvement with the 2016 release of stolen Democratic National Committee emails by Wikileaks, according to NBC News.
Stone pleaded not guilty to felony charges in federal court on Jan. 29, The New York Times reported. Along with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of investigators, prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office will try the case. This indicates a shift from Mueller’s case involving Russian interference in the 2016 election to the U.S. attorney’s office as the Russia investigation is winding down, according to The New York Times.
Stone’s arrest has drawn the ire of some elected Republicans in the Senate and conservatives around the country. There were at least 12 FBI agents who arrested Stone in dramatic fashion in front of a large swath of television cameras as they wore shoulder weapons, body armor and fatigues. Some former FBI officials and federal prosecutors explained the unusual use of force by saying that Stone had the potential to destroy evidence if he was given a chance to surrender, according to The Washington Post.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is also the Senate Judiciary chairman, is asking the FBI to explain why Stone was arrested and whether the media was tipped off beforehand, according to Politico.
“‘The American public has had enough of the media circus that surrounds the Special Counsel’s investigation,’” Graham said, according to Politico. “‘Yet, the manner of this arrest appears to have only added to the spectacle. Accordingly, I write to seek justification for the tactics used and the timing of the arrest of Mr. Stone.”’
President Donald Trump, in an interview on Jan. 30 with the conservative Daily Caller website, agreed with Graham about the FBI’s tactics in the raid of Stone’s house, saying he would “think about” asking the FBI to review its policies on the use of force in light of Stone’s arrest, The Washington Post reports.
Stone remains confident that he will be proven innocent in the court of law. He also refused the idea to testify against Trump, instead arguing that he will be “completely vindicated,” The New York Times reports.
“‘There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president, nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself,’” Stone said outside a courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to The New York Times.
(11/27/18 2:18am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
More than a quarter million people took part in demonstrations in France on Nov. 17 to protest against planned increases in gas taxes. Most of the demonstrators around the country wore yellow construction vests as they protested in suburbs and more rural parts of France, where people rely on their cars to get to work, according to The New York Times.
The demonstrations have created an atmosphere of discontent by disagreeing with the policies of French president Emmanuel Macron, as a large contingent of demonstrators shouted “‘Macron quit!’” and blocked the entrance to the Champ-Elysee, the presidential palace of France, according to The New York Times.
These protests are distinct because there is no official leader or organization orchestrating the protest movement, according to BBC.
The unstructured approach is emblematic of a new kind of political movement in France, one that questions the strength and efficacy of Macron’s policies and how they affect working-class citizens within the country, according to BBC.
Several of the main opposition parties have come out and supported the protests, including the center-right Republicains, the far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, BBC reported.
“‘It’s a movement that goes beyond political differences and that’s dangerous for Emmanuel Macron,’” said French author of politics, Jerome Saint-Marie, according to BBC. “‘As long as the opposition to Macron is split between left and right, his power isn’t challenged. The gilets juanes (yellow vests) are a kind of social reunification that goes beyond political divisions.’”
The protests were projected to be one of the toughest tests of the 18-month presidency of Macron. Diesel prices have surged 16 percent this year from an average of $1.41 per liter to $1.69 per liter, according to CNN.
The price hike is caused by a leap in the price of oil, with Brent crude oil prices, a benchmark for world prices, increasing by over 20 percent in the first half of this year from $60 a barrel to $86 a barrel in early October, CNN reported. Even with the increase in oil prices, the French people are not necessarily directing their agitation toward the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or U.S. tariffs on Iran; rather, they are explicitly upset at Macron, for not only levying additional taxes on the French populace but also continuing former president Francois Hollande’s environmental policies, according to CNN.
“‘This government hasn’t understood the anger of the French,’” explained Olivier Faure, head of the French Socialist Party, according to CNN.
Macron campaigned on the idea of being a president aided by the support of grassroots movements and as someone who could heal the deep divide between the right and left of the country, according to BBC. Now, however, the president faces a difficult challenge and it remains to be seen whether he can effectively lead in spite of the recent increase in protests around the country.
(11/06/18 12:39am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
A man accused of sending at least 14 pipe bombs to prominent Democratic leaders and critics of President Donald Trump has been formally charged with five federal crimes in Miami, according to The Independent.
Cesar Sayoc, 56, was arrested on Oct. 26 for his connections to the pipe bombs sent to influential figures in the Democratic Party, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sayoc was charged with the mailing of explosives, threatening a former president, making threatening interstate communications and assaulting federal officers, according to The Independent.
Sayoc is an ardent Trump supporter, and planned his attacks at least three months in advance, according to The New York Times.
The FBI found conclusive evidence from Sayoc’s laptop and cellphone, which were found in his van, according to The New York Times. In addition, law enforcement officials stated that Sayoc had prepared a list of 100 potential bomb targets, each of whom has been notified by authorities.
Sayoc’s cell phone contains photos of some of his alleged victims, including prominent billionaire George Soros, the homes of both Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden, along with a photo of a driver’s license belonging to former First Lady Michelle Obama, according to ABC News.
The FBI also reports that Sayoc’s laptop had a file with an address of former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office in Florida. That office was used as the return address on the packages containing the pipe bombs, according to ABC News.
Sayoc will be transferred to New York to stand trial and face federal charges, as per an order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, according to USA Today. Sayoc’s lawyers have found it in his best interest to have the hearing in New York instead of staying in Miami.
Questions remain about whether the pipe bombs sent out by Sayoc were able to detonate on their own, according to The New York Times. Prosecutors are still determining whether Sayoc had the necessary skills to successfully build a bomb that could detonate on its own, or if he intended to send the bombs out to forge a divide and heighten political tension.
The released court papers restate what authorities thought all along –– despite the bombs being crudely fashioned, they were in fact dangerous and sent out with the intention of detonation and causing maximum harm, according to The New York Times.
(10/29/18 11:37pm)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
A caravan of more than 8,000 Central American migrants is currently on its way to the U.S.-Mexico border, and other groups are already following in its footsteps, according to CNN.
The original group of migrants was organized in El Salvador, and has been making its way through Mexico since last week, according to The New York Times.
To maintain efficiency, the migrant groups are highly organized. More than 500 people are using four different groups in the mobile messaging platform WhatsApp to effectively organize an additional caravan that President Donald Trump has identified as a national security issue, according to CNN.
Despite being tracked by the Department of Homeland Security, organizers of the migrant group’s caravan seem relatively optimistic.
“Don’t be afraid,’” said an unidentified migrant who has contributed greatly to the formation of the caravan, according to CNN. “‘These caravans are being monitored by the entire world. Once you reach the U.S.-Mexico border, if you don’t force your way through no one will hurt you. Only God knows what will happen though.”
As of Oct. 25, the migrant caravan has neared Mapastepec, in Chiapas, Mexico, according to BBC. Some migrants seek a higher quality of life in the U.S., while some hope to reap economic benefits.
Changes in American immigration laws have made it more difficult for asylum seekers to qualify and apply for refuge in the U.S. Despite the international mandate to hear asylum claimants from those who are fleeing war-stricken areas, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in June that victims of domestic abuse and gang violence would no longer qualify for asylum in the country, and that refugees must be escaping persecution from their home countries in order to qualify, according to BBC.
Refugees and economic migrants are not the same and are therefore not awarded the same protections, according to BBC.
Trump has put pressure on the Mexican government to help curtail the growing caravan, as a newly-proposed bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Mexico allows U.S. border officials to legally turn away asylum seekers who have passed through Mexico, forcing them to find refuge somewhere else, according to The New York Times.
Following an order from Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to deploy 800 troops to the border to stop the migrant caravan from entering the U.S., as the administration sees the issue as an attack on the nation’s sovereignty, according to BBC.
(10/09/18 1:35am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
Facebook announced a major security breach into its network on Sept. 28. The company stated that hackers were able to gain access to about 50 million of the site’s accounts, though the company has not specified whether the hackers actually took control over and used these accounts or what the motive of the attack was, according to CNBC.
If successfully exploited by the digital criminals, cyber-security experts warn that Facebook users’ data could be used to commit identity theft or to blackmail other Facebook users, according to The Independent.
Several listings of people’s Facebook accounts are already available on the “dark web,” a section of the Internet that can only be accessed via special software. Accounts are on sale for as little as $3, according to The Independent.
Facebook shares have dropped more than 3 percent after news of the hacking broke, according to ETtech.
For many of the company’s users, the breach is reminiscent of the Cambridge Analytica scandal which made headlines this past spring. The U.K.-based conservative analytics firm obtained the personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users, according to Fortune Magazine.
Facebook should expect the most severe punishment to come from online regulators, according to CNBC. Institutions such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission expressed their discontent with the company’s response to recent security breaches.
The GDPR has the ability to fine up to 4 percent of a company’s yearly turnover; the FTC can monitor companies’ activities even years after an incident. Facebook also faces lawsuit risks, especially by victimized customers, according to CNBC.
Security analysts believe that the high value of the data collected by cyber criminals means hackers will show no signs of stopping, and hacking will continue to be a lucrative endeavor, according to The Independent.
“‘Personal information is simply too valuable on the dark web,’” said Bill Conner, CEO of cyber-security firm SonicWall, according to The Independent.
Conner explained that perpetrators use personal data to hold victims ransom, extort information and destroy property.
“‘Organizations must exhaust all measures to diligently detect and protect their networks, devices and users,’” he said.
(09/25/18 2:13am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faces delays in his nomination process due to recent allegations of sexual misconduct.
Psychologist Christine Blasey Ford, 51, came forward in what started out as a confidential letter to senior Democratic lawmakers on Sunday Sept. 16 with a detailed account of an alleged sexual assault that took place when both she and Kavanaugh were teenagers nearly four decades ago at a high school party, according to USA Today.
Ford described the incident of alleged assault at one point as Kavanaugh trying to “inadvertently kill me.” The letter written by Ford, detailing the assault, has been shared among senators and federal investigators. They now want Ford to testify in front of Congress, according to The New York Times.
The White House released a press statement, which included Kavanaugh’s response to the allegations, according to The New York Times.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Kavanaugh said.
The letter mentions a second person who helped perpetrate the incident, Mark Judge, an author, filmmaker and former writer for the conservative news website, The Daily Caller. Judge also attended high school with Kavanaugh and Ford, and he repeated Kavanaugh’s sentiments on the issue, stating that both he and Kavanaugh were raised in Catholic homes and taught that the behavior described in the letter was never tolerable under any circumstances, according to The New York Times.
As Kavanaugh is up for nomination to the Supreme Court, many Democratic senators claimed that they do not want to move forward with the confirmation process until Ford can testify, according to USA Today.
Democrats demand that the FBI conduct a full investigation before any confirmation hearing is held, according to NPR. However, a spokesperson for the Justice Department said that the FBI already did a background check on Kavanaugh, and the bureau will not be further involved unless a federal crime is committed.
According to CNN, Ford will testify in an open hearing on Thursday, Sept. 27, regarding the charges she made against Kavanaugh.
“Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left-wing politicians who don’t want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay,” President Trump tweeted on Sept. 21, according to NPR.
On Sept. 23, a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, came forward in a New Yorker article and described an additional instance of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh during his freshman year at Yale University.
(09/18/18 12:32am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
The Nigerian military has restored order after the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram took control of the town of Gudumbali on Sept. 7, according to The Guardian.
This most recent display of violence has raised concerns regarding the security of the country and its ability to withstand such attacks from the group. At least eight civilians are estimated to have been killed and thousands more were forced to flee from their homes in the terrorist group’s first successful seizure of a town in more than two years, according to The Guardian.
“The encounter took place when the insurgents attacked the community, set some buildings ablaze and quickly withdrew from the community,” said Nigerian Army Spokesman Brig Gen Texas Chuwu, according to The Guardian.
Chuwu went on to explain that the military response was sufficient enough to restore order, and that reinforcements have been sent to protect the area.
Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group based in northeast Nigeria, according to The Council of Foreign Relations. Founded in 2002, the group, led by cleric Mohammed Yusuf, aims to establish and maintain Sharia law, which is a legal system that regulates citizens’ public and private behaviors. The group also wishes to implement a strict interpretation of the Quran and their intention is to transform Nigeria into a fundamentalist Islamic state.
The group’s followers, called Yusuffiya, consist mainly of northern Islamic students and clerics, many of whom struggle to find stable and productive work. It is for this reason that many join the group and remain committed to their cause, according to The Council of Foreign Relations.
Boko Haram militants are mainly located in northern Nigeria, specifically in areas such as Borno and Gudumbali. Due to their strict adherence to instituting Sharia law and forming a fundamentalist state, the group forbids participation in Nigerian politics until the system is completely overrun by extremist ideology, according to CNN.
More than nine years of conflict has claimed at least 20,000 lives in northeast Nigeria and has left towns and cities completely ravaged by the terrorist actions of Boko Haram, according to The Guardian.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to get tougher on the extremists in order to completely dispel them from Nigeria. He wants to provide his citizens with more security from the insurgent threat, according to The Guardian.
(09/04/18 12:55am)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
Arizona Senator John McCain died in his home on Saturday, Aug. 25 after a losing a long fight with brain cancer, according to The New York Times. He was 81 years old.
McCain, a renowned naval aviator survived the depths of the Vietnam War to eventually become a staple in Republican politics. He was also a two-time presidential candidate.
Revered by his colleagues in the chambers of Washington, McCain is remembered as a patriotic maverick who represented the old-guard, establishmentarian wing of the Republican Party. In addition, his ability to reach across the aisle and work to reach bipartisan agreements won him the respect of many political foes, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“‘Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John’s best, he showed us what that means,’” said former president Barack Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential election, according to CNN.
Obama’s mentioning of McCain’s courage can be attributed to the senator’s service during the Vietnam War. Having grown up in a military household—his father and grandfather were both four-star admirals in the U.S. Army—McCain carried his name into battle with intense yearning to serve his country in the fight against the spread of communism, according to The New York Times.
McCain’s bravery and heroism were demonstrated throughout his struggle as a prisoner of war. He was kept in solitary confinement for two years, and was subject to frequent beatings from communists in North Vietnam. This, in part, led McCain to attempt suicide two times while in captivity, according to The New York Times.
Because McCain’s father was commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific Theater, the North Vietnamese tried to coax McCain into an early release, and they engaged in mockery by referring to the captive soldier as the “Crown Prince.” McCain refused to be released and endured severe beatings, saying that being released ahead of previously captured POWs would serve as a propaganda victory for the communist forces, according to The Wall Street Journal.
McCain’s experiences in Vietnam would greatly alter the person he became upon his return, and his career in politics reflected that change. It helped form his views on torture, as he became an ardent opponent of tactics such as waterboarding enemy combatants to obtain classified information, according to The New York Times.
He reached across party lines multiple times to warn of the dangers of waterboarding. He spoke out after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that torture works, according to The Wall Street Journal.
McCain’s personal animus with President Trump represented a growing rift within the Republican Party, as McCain early on classified himself as a Reagan Republican, according to The New York Times. He did this by maintaining stances such as support for free trade and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and by possessing a deep suspicion of Russia’s ability to interfere in free elections.
The Senator’s impactful life dedicated to serving the U.S.’ interests at home and abroad will serve as a legacy that his colleagues, and the American electorate, will not soon forget.
(04/22/18 5:55pm)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
Algeria suffered its deadliest plane crash in history on April 11, killing at least 257 people and leaving few survivors, according to CNN.
The aircraft came down immediately after taking off from Boufarik military airport shortly before 8 a.m., west of the nation’s capital of Algiers. The Algerian Defense Ministry said that most of the passengers aboard were military personnel and their families, as well as 10 flight crewmen, according to BBC.
It was scheduled to fly from Boufarik and land in the border town of Béchar, which serves as an important base for the Polisario Front, a group seeking independent territory along the Moroccan border. The Polisario Front is backed by the ruling Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) party. Among the crash victims were 26 Polisario members, according to BBC.
This is the second disastrous plane crash to strike the north African nation in the last four years. In July 2014, a Hercules C-130 military jet crashed on Algeria’s eastern coast, killing 77 people, according to The New York Times.
The Defense Ministry has opened an inquiry into the cause of the crash, which is still unclear, according to The New York Times. Onlookers near the Boufarik military base saw intense flames spiraling out of one engine as the plane lifted off the runway. Seconds later, the plane crashed violently into the ground.
“We saw bodies ... It was a catastrophe,” a witness said, according to CNN. “We were afraid the plane would explode. We covered some bodies and put out some fires.”
Algeria’s maintenance aviation record is problematic and has damaged the government’s reputation, according to BBC. The government has come under intense scrutiny for its lack of transparency.
There are claims that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is a figurehead for the Algerian military, according to The New York Times. Bouteflika is wheelchair-bound and rarely makes public appearances, and many Algerians worry that the public will never learn the true reasons behind the crash.
“The people will resign themselves to it because there is no information,” said Lahouari Addi, a prominent Algerian political scientist, according to The New York Times. “There is no transparency in Algeria, no debate. The prime minister has no power.”
(03/25/18 5:49pm)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
Leaders of the U.S., U.K., France and Germany signed a statement on March 15 that condemned Russia’s use of a nerve agent to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter on British soil, leaving them both hospitalized in critical condition, according to The New York Post.
British authorities have insisted that the March 4 attack of 66-year-old Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England was directed by the Kremlin. The statement has received support from other countries within and outside the EU in regards to the blaming Russia for the incident, according to CNBC.
The poison was identified as the nerve agent Novichok, which was secretly developed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, according to CNN. No country other than Russia is known to have ever created or used the poison.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, British Prime Minister Theresa May expelled 23 Russian diplomats from British soil, according to BBC. The expulsion is the largest in the U.K. in over 30 years. The individuals, identified as “undeclared intelligence officers,” have one week to vacate the country.
“We do hold Russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act and despicable act,” May said during a visit to the attack site, according to BBC.
Russian government officials denied any connection to the attack, including President Vladimir Putin, who called the accusations “delirium and nonsense,” according to CNN.
The statement of condemnation concluded that there is “no plausible alternative explanation” to Russia’s alleged involvement in the attack. It referred to the incident as the "first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War," and “an assault on U.K. sovereignty,” according to BBC.
U.S. President Donald Trump, one of the statement’s signatories, described the attack as a “very sad situation,” according to BBC.
“It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it," Trump said.
The EU is split on administering additional sanctions on Russia, especially considering that separate countries have varying national interests. For example, countries in Eastern Europe have closer connections with Putin and would likely see their own economies suffer as a result of imposing sanctions on Russia, according to CNBC.
Delivering a unified response may prove more difficult than expected, according to Otilia Dhand, senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence, in a report by CNBC.
“I don’t get the feeling that among EU leaders there is a big appetite for additional economic sanctions on Russia,” Dhand said. “In fact, this is quite unlikely. Individual sanctions? Probably, yes.”
Several western countries are in agreement about Moscow’s ties to the nerve-gas attack on British soil, but Putin has denied any wrongdoing in the case. Just hours after U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson claimed that Russia has been stockpiling Novichok for years, Putin affirmed Russia’s innocence, according to CNN.
"The first thing that came to my mind: If it was military grade agent, they would have died on the spot, obviously," Putin said, according to CNN. "Russia does not have any such agents, we destroyed it all."
(03/19/18 3:45pm)
By James Wright
Staff Writer
Over 40,000 Slovakian citizens participated in a string of demonstrations beginning on March 9, according to The New York Times. The demonstrations are in response to the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, according to Bloomberg.
Kuciak was investigating political corruption in the Slovakian government, led by Prime Minister Robert Fico. The journalist suspected that some government officials had ties to Italian organized crime groups, most notably the ‘Ndrangheta, according to The New York Times.
Kuciak was investigating whether the crime syndicates were stealing European Union aid funds and then using them to bolster Slovakian politicians, according to Bloomberg.
Kuciak and Kusnirova were both found shot dead in his home on Feb. 25, according to The New York Times.
“I really hope the murder will be solved,” said Peter Nagy, a protest organizer, according to The New York Times. “If it’s not, it’s going to leave a stigma in the society.”
The protests were the largest demonstrations in the Slovakia since the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which toppled communism in the country, according to The Guardian.
Civilian anti-government protests have become commonplace in Eastern Europe in the past few years, according to The Guardian. The protests, which typically have little effect on policy, often focus on issues of corruption and political ties with Russia.
Fico’s reputation has been shattered over these latest accusations. Though the Slovakian economy flourished during his 10 years of service, protesters chanted, “Enough of Fico” and jangled keys during protests, a gesture reminiscent of anti-Communist rallies during the 1980s, according to Reuters.
Fico’s Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak resigned on March 12 after being blamed for botching the investigation into Kuciak’s murder and other corrupt dealings. Kalinak, who oversees the Slovakian police as interior minister, has become the fourth government official to step down, according to The New York Times.
“I think to fulfill my mandate I have to do everything to preserve stability in Slovakia,” Kalinak said, according to The Guardian.
Kalinak was Fico’s right-hand man for 12 years, according to The New York Times. Though he survived past scandals, the execution-style murders of Kuciak and Kusnirova was a chilling reminder for Slovakians who endured Communist rule.
“Politicians in power have lost our trust,” said protester Maria Kuliovska, according to Reuters. “We don’t trust them to guarantee an independent investigation. They have failed to investigate all previous scandals.”