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(09/04/18 1:17am)
By Rebecca Colnes
Staff Writer
The Trump administration announced the cancellation of over $200 million in aid to Palestinians on Aug. 24. The U.S. considered cutting funds in order to relocate the money to “high priority projects elsewhere,” according to Fox News.
The administration did not support the Palestinian Authority’s handling of the money, which they used to pay stipends to families of Palestinians killed, injured or jailed as a result of attacks against Israelis, according to Fox News. Israel and the Trump administration believe this act encourages terrorism.
Cutting this aid means the U.S. will no longer provide any monetary aid to Palestinians.
Previously, the money went through non-government relief organizations and was allotted to construct infrastructure, assist in humanitarian causes, foster democracy and provide education, according to The Washington Post.
In 2016, the U.S. provided about $290 million to Palestinians, who occupy disputed territory in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and has donated a total of $5.2 billion since 1994.
Funds were also allocated to security assistance, public diplomacy and mine clearance operations, according to The New York Times.
Palestinian officials said the withdrawal will affect the programs overseen by the U.S. Agency for International Development. This agency governs debt relief, economic growth, water and sanitation, education, health and governance in Palestinian regions, according to The New York Times.
Fox News reports that the loss of this financial assistance will provoke Palestinians, who might object to this potential peace agreement.
“The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion,” the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee stated in response to the withdrawal, according to The New York Times.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization also rebuked the decision, calling it “‘a cheap use of blackmail as a political tool,’” according to Fox News.
U.S. political leaders also had public responses to the decision.
“It is the Palestinian people, virtual prisoners in an increasingly volatile conflict, who will most directly suffer the consequences of this callous and ill-advised attempt to respond to Israel’s security concerns,” said Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, according to NPR.
(04/30/18 12:23am)
By Rebecca Colnes
Staff Writer
Southwest Airlines is receiving backlash after an engine failure on Southwest Flight 1380 killed one person and injured seven more on April 17, according to The New York Times.
The Boeing 737-700 was on its way to Dallas from New York City, but made an emergency landing in Philadelphia about 40 minutes into the flight, according to CNN.
Passenger Jennifer Riordan was partially sucked out of the plane when debris moving at high speeds blew out the window. She was pulled back in, but died at a Philadelphia hospital from blunt trauma to her head, neck and torso, according to CNN.
A single fast-rotating fan blade from inside the engine broke off due to the weakening of the blade metal, according to The Wall Street Journal.
After the window was shattered, the cabin was depressurized for 20 minutes as wind and debris swirled around passengers. The plane quickly descended, but the pilots managed to level the aircraft as it successfully made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport, according to The New York Times.
Flight captain Tammie Jo Shultz flew the plane with only one engine. Shultz was one of the Navy’s first female pilots during a time when women were not allowed to serve in combat. She kept calm throughout the incident, according to The New York Times.
Around 11:20 a.m., the plane landed in Philadelphia to applause from passengers who informed their friends and families by phone that they were OK. Riordan was taken to the hospital while flight attendants assisted other passengers with minor injuries, according to The New York Times.
Southwest Airlines sent letters to passengers expressing “sincere apologies,” according to CNN. Included in the envelope was a check for $5,000 to cover immediate financial needs and a travel voucher worth $1,000.
Airlines have previously given passengers money in traumatic situations, according to CNN transportation analyst Mary Schiavo.
“It gets money in the hands of people that need counseling or something,” Schiavo said.
This accident happened two days after the plane passed visual inspections, according to The New York Times.
The National Transportation Security Board is investigating the engine failure and is still looking for debris from the engine. They are also reviewing data from the airplane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, according to The New York Times.
Southwest Airlines has canceled dozens of flights to allow time for engine inspections in light of the incident, according to NBC.
(04/02/18 9:11pm)
By Rebecca Colnes
Staff Writer
A powerful gun control movement resulted in worldwide protests on March 24, according to The New York Times. The “March for Our Lives” demonstrations were organized in response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14.
While hundreds of thousands of marchers walked streets in cities across the globe, the main protest was located in Washington D.C., where an estimated 180,000 people marched, according to The New York Times.
The gun used by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, the only charged suspect of the shooting, was obtained legally, according to USA Today.
The shooting rekindled the national debate on gun control and led to unprecedented legislation in Florida that placed new regulations on gun purchases, according to The New York Times.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students gathered support for the demonstrations through social media. Emma González, a senior with 1.2 million Twitter followers who has become a gun control activist following the shooting, and Sarah Chadwick, a senior with 269,000 followers, used memes and quipped public replies to politicians to spread their message, according to The New York Times.
Small protests in opposition of the March for Our Lives movement emerged in cities including Salt Lake City and Boston, according to CNN.
These protesters wielded signs emphasizing the importance of the Second Amendment and self-defense, according to The New York Times. Signs displayed messages including, “AR-15s EMPOWER the people,” “Criminals love gun control” and “What can we do to stop mass shootings? SHOOT BACK.”
“We believe in the Second Amendment,” said Paul Allen, a counterprotester from Boston, according to The New York Times. “You people will interpret it the way you want and we’ll interpret it for what it is - that law-abiding citizens who are true patriots have the right to bear arms. They haven’t read the Constitution and don’t know what it means.”
In addition to the March 24 protests and the newly signed Florida gun limitations, high schoolers throughout the U.S. participated in a nationwide 17-minute school walkout on March 14, representative of the 17 students killed in the Parkland shooting, according to The New York Times.
Gun control activists are planning the next school walkout on April 20, the 19th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, according to CNN.